2007 European Grand Prix Free Practice Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, F8-VII/03):
FP1: 21st 1:36.340 (22 laps)
FP2: 21st 1:36.527 (25 laps)
Markus Winkelhock (car 21, F8-VII/04):
FP1: 22nd 1:37.116 (30 laps)
FP2: 22nd 1:37.319 (19 laps)
Weather: Highs of 20 C ambient / 24 C track. Overcast with
heavy rain at intervals. Mainly dry track conditions.
The Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team's all-German line-up
had a challenging start to this year's European Grand Prix
at the Nurburgring.
Markus, making his Formula 1 race debut this weekend, used
the first session to hone his seating position and acclimatise
to the handling characteristics of the F8-VII on the 5.148km
circuit. The 27-year-old German improved his times throughout
the first one and a half hour practice, however in the second
session ran wide into the gravel trap at turn 11. Although
the car did not sustain any damage, Markus was unable to rejoin
the track and missed the final half an hour's running.
Adrian lost some time in the first practice as his car developed
a hydraulic problem during the first installation lap, but
the 24-year-old maximised track time in the remainder of the
sessions as he worked on set-up, balance and tyre evaluation.
After a further free practice session tomorrow morning, Qualifying
will start at 14.00 local time.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'It was a hard day today. I was not particularly happy with
the car as it was difficult to drive, with slightly too much
oversteer, and we don't seem to be able to get the tyres to
work with the set-up. I think it is just the characteristic
of the track with its high banked corners that we are having
problems with, but we'll have to work on the set-up overnight,
but if we can't find an improvement we will just do our best
to live with it.'
Markus Winkelhock (car 21)
'Actually today was not too bad, especially considering I
had only tested the car for one day this year before coming
here! I felt I went better throughout the day and I felt confident
with the car after just a few laps. Step by step we improved,
but unfortunately I was pushing too hard in the second session
and span into the gravel. We lost around 25 minutes of the
session, which was unlucky, but at the end of the day I was
not that far off Adrian, who I think has been very quick this
year. But I know where I am losing the time and I think I
can improve again tomorrow.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
'A reasonably difficult day for us. Both drivers were reporting
a lack of stability on turn-in and unfortunately we weren't
able to dial it out. Markus had some problems in the first
session with his seat fit but he was able to improve throughout
the day until his second session was cut short by his spin
into the gravel. Nevertheless he will have learnt a lot from
today and I'm sure he can improve again tomorrow. With Adrian
we didn't have any real issues although he lost some time
this morning with a hydraulic problem. Overall though we have
a lot of work to do overnight to improve the cars for tomorrow.'
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