The weather conditions were extremely hot for Rahel Frey’s first outing at Sepang International Circuit at 11 sharp for the start of the first official practice session that was dedicated to the “rookie” drivers. Since she arrived in Malaysia, Rahel Frey had a full PR program or her slate allowing her to acclimatize and discover the city of Kuala Lumpur. However, trainer Helmut Fink insisted on a disciplined and intensive high temperature training program for both drivers.
In the rookie session, Rahel Frey, the second female driver of A1 Team Switzerland was able to learn the track and then put in consistent times finishing with a lap time of 1.58.848 at the end of the first part of the first practice. Engineer James Robinson had a heavy technical program for Rahel to deal with two precise technical evaluations at the same time: an engine installation and bedding brakes. A red flag caused by Team UK interrupted the session. In the second part of the session, that restarted at 11.35, Rahel completed a best time of 1.55.102 on her sixth lap.
Rahel Frey: “What a good experience. The session was a lot of work but I hope I prepared the car well for Neel and it was very interesting. Everything went per plan except the number of yellow and red flags deployed. The rhythm of the session was greatly disturbed following an accident between Mexico and New Zealand causing us to lose the best laps for our new tyres. The heat surprised me a lot but we were well prepared which is a very important component of this competition. ” Preparations for qualifying and the continued in the official practice with Neel Jani in view of the qualifying and races on Saturday and Sunday.
Neel Jani said: “The Sepang track is as spectacular as per my memories of it. I did not really notice too much the difference despite resurfacing. The tyres have held up amazingly well. It really feels good driving. We had a good session and tried a lot of different technical solutions for the car. My goal is to improve tomorrow from P2 to P1. “
Max Welti: “Rahel Frey did a fantastic job and I am pleased with the work that she has achieved today. She drove well which is never easy when you do not know a track. But her driving skills have shown themselves well. The result of the official free practice with a second position for Neel Jani and a time of 1.49.911 validate the changes made by the team. This is a good indication for the rest of the weekend. ”
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