Jenson Button set the pace in Spanish practice, edging ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosbeg...
McLaren:
Jenson Button: "It was a positive afternoon. I did a good lap on the Option tyre, the car is running well, and our upgrades seem to be working. But there are still some improvements to be made. The Option seems to be a bit easier for everyone as it's softer and therefore more receptive to generating temperature. In P2, we also started to find a way to get the Prime to work, but then, later in the session, we couldn't quite get back to that sweet-spot. If we can solve these issues with the Prime and get it into its correct working range, I think we can be quite competitive this weekend. There are a lot of quick cars out there, but, aerodynamically, I think we've got a strong car. We've just got to make sure that we make sure that the four things touching the road are working properly for us too."
Lewis Hamilton: "The car already feels better than it did at the last race - there's a good series of improvements within the car. My long run this afternoon was very satisfying and there are positives to take from that, but there's still more time in the car, as Jenson showed. I struggled a little with set-up today. It's a little bit inconsistent, so it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly what's needed to make it better. But we'll be looking at the data to find out where the most significant issues are, and I'm confident we can make improvements overnight. Nevertheless, the upgrades we brought to this race seem to be working well and we've got good pace on the longer runs. The guys back at the factory did a fantastic job. It's been a positive day and we're in the fight."
Red Bull:
Sebastian Vettel: "It wasn't too bad today - there's a lot of stuff for us to go through. We had a few new parts to try, which is not that unusual for Barcelona. I'm pretty happy; we did a lot of laps and got through the programme well. The wind played a role today, you could see some cars going off the track and the asphalt temperatures can go high here which makes the car slide. It's similar here to last year and it's likely we will see a few stops on Sunday during the race."
Mark Webber: "It takes a while to get in to the groove here with the balance. We saw at the end of P2 that you have to get everything together to get the lap time here. We'll have more chances tomorrow to work on the short runs. We were trying a few things in those practice sessions and we'll see what Adrian and the guys come up with for us tomorrow. I'm not sure how many pitstops there will be on Sunday, but it will be quite a few. The soft tyre is a nicer tyre to run on - but tyre strategy will be very important here."
Mercedes:
Nico Rosberg: "Generally all worked well today, but there are also a few question marks after the two sessions. Tyre management will be a big challenge again this weekend, and that will be the key for success. We have got plenty of options to work though this evening to find the right set-up for the conditions out there tomorrow and on Sunday."
Michael Schumacher: "The way it worked out for us today demonstrated that the testing we did in Mugello was worth it, so again I'm happy we had the chance to do that. Of course it was very warm today and therefore the track was quite slippery, but that was according to our expectations. Our feeling for the weekend is pretty okay after everything we have learned in the two sessions, so we will now analyse the data carefully in order to work out exactly how to approach qualifying and the race from everything we have learned in the two sessions today."
Lotus F1:
Kimi Raikkonen: "There were no problems with the car and everything felt good today. We tried a different front wing, but in the car you can't tell if it makes much difference; that is why the team's engineers are looking at the data. I felt comfortable and I think the work done at Mugello and in the Windshear test programme have made improvements. We'll have to see tomorrow how much pace everyone has when it comes to qualifying as that's when it matters. We've been fast everywhere else so far and there's nothing to suggest we won't be fast here again."
Romain Grosjean: "It was a pretty good day today. The weather is fantastic, the car feels great and the lap times were promising; I'm a happy man. The balance felt strong on both tyres and we were able to complete long runs to give us valuable tyre data for Sunday. I'm happy with the performance of the car even when the tyres are nearer the end of their performance life which is a good sign for this weekend. It's very close of course, so qualifying will be interesting. I can't wait for tomorrow to come."
Related Links
FP2: Button edges Vettel in Barcelona
Gallery: The best of Friday's pictures
Pics: Getting nosey in Barcelona
