The two rookie drivers of the Uralkali Haas F1 Team had reasonably good sessions on Friday at Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna in Imola, Italy. Mick Schumacher had a good day with consistent runs in both workouts. Nikita Mazepin had a few twists during the sessions.
The young Schumacher finished nineteenth in both training sessions on Friday. The German driver had a consistent performance curve, although his team reached the back of the field in the new season. Schumacher was pleased with his performance on Friday when he returned to a track he last raced in 2016.
Schumacher said: “It was fun, it felt great today. The track hasn’t changed much since 2016, so that was a good thing. In terms of the feel and the fun, it was definitely similar to my last visit here back then. The colder conditions today meant we could push a lot more in a row, which has both positive and negative effects.
“The only negative is that it’s a cold temperature and it takes forever for the tires to warm up. Sometimes even in the long run it is difficult to keep the temperatures there and keep them there, which is even more difficult. On the positive side, it means a lot of laps, so I can try a lot of things right away, especially on the C2 tire. I was able to really find out the limit, especially in FP2, and improve with every lap on the C4. The first lap was a warm-up, then we went through the run and improved with each lap. We’re pretty happy at the moment, but it only counts in qualifying. “
Mazepin had some twists and falls issues in the low grip Haas challenger. The Russian finished the first training session after such a turn with a red flag. Trying to limit his mistakes and make progress, Mazepin said, “I think we had a positive day – I really learned a lot about the car. I think I’ve made another very good step forward with the team to understand which car I want to drive. I had a good lap time in FP1, it was a good qualification simulation, I was happy with it.
“Then I made a mistake from which there was no going back, but overall it was a positive FP1 and then a FP2. I don’t leave anything on the table out there. I wouldn’t want to go to sleep thinking I left some time out there. There is of course a balance that I haven’t mastered yet, but we have time. All eyes are now on FP3 – the weekend is moving forward and I have to keep working on it. “
The two Haas drivers hope to stay clear, qualify well and finish the race on Sunday.
