Sebastian Vettel(STR3-03):
“Last year we ran mainly in the wet, so it was good to have a dry day today. Ithink this is one of the most difficult circuits when it comes down to setting upthe car. It is tricky because of the mix of a long straight, some high speedcorners and then some difficult low speed winding corners. Unfortunately,this afternoon, we had a hydraulic problem which meant I didn’t manage todo the long runs I wanted. But the car seems well balanced, which I was ableto check at the very end of the session after the boys had worked very hardto get me out on track before the flag. I think we should be fine for qualifying,but for race set up I would have preferred more time to do some long runs.Tyre wise I think we are sorted though.”
Sebastien Bourdais(STR3-04):
“It’s my first time at this track and also my first visit to Japan. The track is notthe most exciting but it’s nicely done with a good bump-free surface and it’s agreat facility. It’s not a difficult to track to learn as there only eight realcorners. But after that, it can become quite tricky, because at the finalcomplex, if you are too aggressive on the entry you pay the price on the exit,losing time for the straight, so you have to be careful not to be your ownworst enemy. So, it’s not easy setting up the car as you want minimumdownforce for the long straight and you want quite a bit of downforce for thecomplex and the two quick corners, which requires a compromise. I think wehave got it about right so far and in terms of tyres, there seems to be quitehigh degradation, which is normal for a first day as the track began to pick upgrip this afternoon.”
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