Fahrerstimmen – Tag 1

“Today has been really good, better than expected. Not just for me but for Daniel also, it’s nice to have us both at the top. We have a very good car at this circuit, good downforce and good mechanical grip. This was already clear from Monaco earlier in the year and you can see again it is working really well here. If you have good grip you can make quite a big gap quickly because the surface is quite slippery out there. As always there are areas to improve but for now it’s looking good. I said in Japan that it was one of my worst Friday’s in F1, this has been one of the best. The car was quick here last year but after today I think we are more competitive than 2017. We think I had a small issue with hydraulics at the end but we haven’t been able to check the car yet. We are not too concerned ahead of tomorrow, the guys will investigate this evening but hopefully it is a quick fix.”

“Our car worked really well on low fuel runs in both sessions today which should put us in a good position for qualifying, but I don’t want to be naïve as I’m sure Mercedes and Ferrari will turn it up and give us a push tomorrow. If it stays like this it could be a close six-way fight for pole which would be pretty exciting for everyone. Tomorrow I want to work more on our race pace and the high fuel runs as we weren’t quite as competitive on those. It seems with the altitude here everyone’s power levels are closer, we will see tomorrow once everyone goes into qualifying mode but today on paper we look good. The key in qualifying will be to get a clean lap as it’s still quite slippery around here and it’s easy to make small mistakes. The Hypersoft is graining a lot, which is actually quite nice, as most of the races this season have been easy on a one-stop so maybe we will actually get a two-stop this weekend.”

“It’s always a great feeling to take to the track in Mexico and that feeling is even better if your lap times look good relative to the opposition, even though the third places just have a symbolic value! It was a good Friday in general, with some testing in the morning and a strong programme in the afternoon that we managed to complete without any issues. Tyre understanding and management will be crucial for Sunday, so that is one of the main things to analyse. We are looking forward to tomorrow.”

“Today it was difficult to make the car work the right way. However, it was interesting to compare the packages this morning, while during the afternoon session we focused more on preparing for the qualifying session and the race, which was good. On the fast lap though, we struggled to find the right balance and squeeze everything from the tires. The difficult part is that there is no grip and downforce, so it’s pretty slippery and the tires don’t work the right way. So, I think this is why, in some cases, you can see big gaps in lap times. We’ll try to fix everything for tomorrow. This will be the main job to do. I believe everybody can still improve for tomorrow, and we’ll try as hard as we can, but I think the key point will be the tires”.

“The car felt good today, in line with our expectations for balance and feeling. It was a pleasant surprise to see how quick we were especially for a Friday. Tyre degradation is obviously something we’re looking at for the race as the Hypersoft gives good pace, but that performance doesn’t last. We have a few set-up areas to work on, so there’s potential for more to come tomorrow.”

"It was a really positive Friday for us. To be in the top 10 in both sessions and to finish P6 this afternoon was great! I enjoy coming to this track, I've raced here a few times before and it's my second visit in a Formula 1 car. We did a lot of testing on the new aero kit. I really think it suits my driving style so today it felt like we started getting the car closer and closer to what I want. It's great to come out punching after a few really good races for me, and I'm feeling good about the weekend so far."

Das Auto war an einigen Stellen gut, aber an anderen weniger. Es geht nicht um einen bestimmten Bereich - es gibt viele verschiedene Dinge, die wir verbessern können. Die hohen Streckentemperaturen waren schwierig, weil die Reifen schmolzen und sich Graining bildete. Aber das war heute für viele Fahrer so. Wir fahren auf dieser Strecke mit den größten Flügeln, sind aber aufgrund der Höhenlage auf den Geraden immer noch ziemlich schnell. Allerdings gibt es dann nicht viel Grip in den Kurven, selbst auf den HyperSoft-Reifen. Wir müssen Boden gutmachen und werden deshalb in unserem Debriefing alles durchgehen und uns alles im Detail ansehen, um Antworten zu finden. Red Bull scheint hier aktuell außer Reichweite zu sein. Ferrari liegt auf unserer Höhe, aber wir wollen mitkämpfen. Deswegen werden wir unser Bestes geben, um ein echtes Rennen zu erleben.

“This track has always been tricky to start with, because of the very low downforce, and today it was no different. It was a normal Friday in Mexico, with very limited grip on the track, so it’s easy to make mistakes and flatspot a tire. Because of this, we had a lot of vibrations in the car, which is not ideal, but towards the end it was getting better. How good we are against the others we’ll see tomorrow. For sure we improved through the session, but there is still some work to be done”.

Das war ein recht schwieriger Tag. Wir hatten in beiden Trainings mit der Pace zu kämpfen und wie fast alle hatten auch wir Schwierigkeiten mit der Lebensdauer der Reifen. Beide Reifenmischungen bekamen schnell Graining und es fühlte sich so an, als ob uns allgemein Grip fehlen würde. Das Auto rutschte viel herum, was wiederum den Reifenverschleiß förderte. Wir haben noch keine genaue Antwort darauf, warum unsere Pace noch nicht stimmt. Das müssen wir jetzt analysieren und uns alle Möglichkeiten ansehen. Bis morgen wartet viel Arbeit auf uns und wir kratzen uns im Moment noch etwas am Kopf. Ich bin aber zuversichtlich, dass wir im Verlauf des Abends die Antworten finden werden, um uns morgen gestärkt zurückzumelden.

“It was a good session for me. I was happy to be back in the car after missing out last week in Austin [due to the adverse weather]. It was a pretty straightforward session, testing set-ups and helping the team learn about the tyres. The conditions were quite tricky today and I experienced the lowest grip and the most sliding I’ve ever had in a Formula One car. The altitude reduces the downforce and you really feel it, but it was quite fun. Each time I drive the car I want to make a step forward in performance and I think today was one of my better FP1 performances.”

“Friday was a day of learning and we’ve come away with good information. This morning we were a bit surprised to see how the tyres were performing and they will have a big influence on the race result. If you understand them, you will find a big advantage. Qualifying well is important here, but I think even more important is to have strong race pace and that is where we are focussing our energy tonight.”

“I did my best to get up to speed quickly, but we didn’t have many laps on the hypersoft tyres. The long runs went to plan and we learned about the tyres, but I think everybody discovered that managing them on Sunday is going to be a big challenge. It’s the same for everybody and it should be entertaining for the fans.”

“Es war eine fordernde Trainingseinheit, denn die Strecke war recht dreckig und die Bodenhaftung gering. Wir fuhren auf den hyperweichen Reifen, also war die Abnutzung hoch, welches es noch schwieriger machte zu fahren. Zum Schluss war es allerdings trotz alledem eine gute Einheit und die Rundenzeiten waren in Ordnung. Ich bin mit unserer Arbeit zufrieden und konzentriere mich weiterhin auf die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Team für die restliche Saison.”

“Not an easy day to find the balance of the car and getting the tires to work. The hypersofts weren’t having a good time. We were suffering, as well, with the cooling and the altitude. There’s a lot to work on with the car. It wasn’t the performance we were expecting. I think the order is a bit surprising – the Renaults are very competitive, as was the Toro Rosso of (Brendon) Hartley, and Ferrari were a bit behind. There’s a lot of work to be done tonight. Hopefully, it’ll be a better day tomorrow. The exciting part is it looks like we’ll have more than one stop in the race.”

“Ich habe heute nur eine Trainingseinheit abgeschlossen, FP2. Es war eine recht schwierige Einheit und wir haben einiges an Arbeit vor uns. Ich hoffe, dass wir bis morgen den Schritt nach vorne machen können, den wir sonst von Freitag auf Samstag erreichen, damit wir unsere Performance auf dieser Strecke steigern können.”

"Today wasn't an easy day. The engine change in FP1 meant I couldn't run much in the morning, which affected the preparation for this afternoon's session. As for FP2, it wasn't a very clean session due to the traffic and a few drivability issues, so we have quite a lot to do tonight to get ready for tomorrow. Due to the penalty on Sunday, we will have to start from the back of the grid, so our main focus will be on the race pace. I'm still positive though, because even if it makes my life more difficult here, it's a strategic move for the remaining two races of the season."

“Overall, FP1 was a tricky session. It’s my first time here in Mexico City. The session was a combination of a lot of tyre degradation and a dirty track, which made the car really difficult to drive, so it was quite easy to make mistakes. “I had some lock-ups here and there, but overall we got through the run plan that we needed to do, and I think I gave myself a good feeling of the car and the track. That’s the main thing for me, so that when I come back here next year I feel more confident straight away. “In terms of driving the car, it was very tricky – the lowest downforce I have driven on. It was good to experience something different again, and in terms of my learning it was a productive session.”

“It was a reasonable Friday. I think for everyone the talking point was probably the tyres today. It was important for us to be on track and see the long runs, and we split the tyre compounds between us to see the degradation. I think everyone’s been struggling with it a lot today. “It’s a very slippery track to start on too and there’s a lot of evolution, so we’ll see how that goes. Actually, for us I think it would be a good thing if it’s like that on Sunday – it would definitely make the race more entertaining. “It’s hard to tell where we are in the competitive order as the field is actually very tight. The Red Bulls are definitely a step ahead but behind them it seems very close, so if we figure a few things out on our side and gain a little bit of performance we might be in for something good. The most important thing is going to be managing the tyres, and that’s going to be the biggest chance to score points here.”

It was the usual Friday. We did a fair bit of running and learnt a lot in these conditions with high altitude and low grip. It took some adapting from my side and for the engineers this weekend. We must think about a few things going into tomorrow. We will try to get into Q2, but we don't really know where our competitors stand, as you never really know on a Friday. Looking at the time sheets today it is close, but that is Formula One. It is going to be tricky on the tyres, especially for the guys starting on the hypersoft - I wish them luck! We will see what Sunday brings and I am sure it is going to be a very unexpected race on race strategy and other things. On fuel it is going to be challenging, but it is not the only track that has its fuel limitations, so that is nothing we haven't experienced before. Tyres, brakes, high altitude will be factors on Sunday.

“Es war ein schwieriger erster Tag hier in Mexiko. Ich habe mich mit der Balance des Autos schwergetan, sowie mit den Reifen, und das Fahren hat sich nicht toll angefühlt. Wir haben noch viel Arbeit vor uns, um zu verstehen wie wir uns bis morgen verbessern können. Die Strecke ist fordernd, besonders aufgrund der Höhenlage. Wir werden alles tun, um morgen gute Resultate zu erzielen.”

It was a busy Friday. We had an interesting morning where we went through a couple of interesting things. I don’t think they gave us any performance, but it was good to get the experience. In the afternoon we switched to long runs with high fuel. Performance wise, it was tough, which was not a surprise for us. Ahead of tomorrow we have a few things to optimise but we ran some productive tests, so we should be happy with that. All in all, a tough but reasonable Friday.

“It’s always a pleasure to come and race on this unique track, with low air density, fast straights and little grip. We had good feelings today. In FP2 we were testing different things that we carried on from FP1, and obviously the biggest issue was the tyres. There seems to be quite high degradation, so we wanted to check both compounds – also because there might be some rain tomorrow. We have gathered good information. “This is the kind of circuit where you need to adapt to a lot of things. It’s mechanically very demanding because of the engine and brake temperatures, so all in all we had an important day of testing. “It’s difficult to guess where we’ll be tomorrow and on Sunday, because the Hypersoft tyre only gives you one lap. Some of the top guys today on that lap maybe had traffic or a lock-up and didn’t put the lap together, which I think they will do tomorrow, so the pecking order will be more ‘normal’. “The Stadium is a unique part of the circuit, possibly not made for F1 cars, because it’s too slow and maintaining the tyre temperature there is the main thing to get a good Sector. But, you feel the warm atmosphere there, with 80 per cent of the grandstands full on a Friday. It’s impressive!”

“It wasn’t a good day. We didn’t learn too much. The tires were just not working at all. We’ll see what we can do on the tire side to get them into the window tomorrow. They weren’t working on low fuel or on high fuel. We’re looking for answers. We’ll have to think hard and come up with some ideas for tomorrow. I didn’t get my first lap in. I had to try again, but the tires had already died by then. It’s not as bad as it looks. It’s just frustrating when you want to go racing and you’re sliding around like crazy and the car isn’t behaving as you expected. We’ll see what we can do for tomorrow.”