2007 Monaco Grand Prix Free Practice Report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, F8-VII/03):
FP1: 21st 1:21.634 (19 laps)
FP2: 22nd 1:19.358 (29 laps)
Christijan Albers (car 21, F8-VII/02):
FP1: 22nd 1:23.235 (5 laps)
FP2: 21st 1:18.820 (29 laps)
Weather: FP2: 28C ambient / 45C track, FP1: 27C ambient /
35C track. Very hot, beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine
The Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team has concluded a
somewhat frustrating free practice session today in Monaco
as set-up and tyre evaluation was cut short by engine-related
problems for both cars in the first session and a crash from
Adrian Sutil in the second.
Christijan Albers completed only five laps in the morning
practice after an engine failure in the first half an hour
of the session brought an end to his running. Following an
engine change between sessions, Christijan was however able
to complete 35 laps in the later practice with a best time
of 1:18.820.
Adrian Sutil similarly missed a large chunk of the first
practice session with an engine-related issue and put in just
19 laps. After setting some promising times in the second
session, unfortunately on his first lap on the supersoft tyre
compound two thirds of the way into the session, the German
ran into the barriers at Portier. Although uninjured, Adrian
was unable to continue the session while his car was recovered
and brought back to the garage.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
"In general it was a difficult day for us. In the morning
session we had a problem with the engine so we couldn¡¦t
do much running, instead being limited to just an installation
lap and one run. In the afternoon we tried some new set-ups
which was OK, but we need to improve our speed overall as
we are losing too much time. I put the softest tyres on in
the second session but the balance was really difficult and
I couldn¡¦t get round the corner and went into
the barrier. It was not a huge crash but I¡¦m
a little bit disappointed all the same."
Christijan Albers (car 21)
"We had bad luck this morning with the engine failure
and had to wait until the afternoon to do some longer runs,
but obviously I still want more! We are not that far away
but we still need to do some work as we could easily be quicker
and I made a slight error on my fastest lap."
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
"A difficult first day for both cars. We lost most of
the morning session on Christijan¡¦s car with
the engine problem and had to change it and also had an engine-related
issue on Adrian¡¦s car, so he also missed out
on some running. In the second session we were able to get
some more work done and evaluate different tyres, but unfortunately
Adrian went off on his first run with the softer tyre. Christijan
also made a mistake on his fastest lap on the softest tyres
so it was a difficult day all round. But on the positive side,
I think there is a lot more to come from the car and we look
to be very close to group in front. We just hope we can get
it right on Saturday."
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