By Andrew Cutler
June 9 2012

The Pace of the STR7 did not look particularly impressive during the Friday Pracice sessions for the Canadian GP, but the team, while determined to improve on that issue, is still reasonably happy with how the day went. Some new parts were tested, hopefully paving the way for future performance improvements.

Jean-Eric Vergne would log 69 laps between FP1 & FP2, but place no better than 16th fastest (in FP1). Daniel Ricciardo, who was carrying out the testing of new exaust system parts, put in 65 laps, and was just behind JEV as the 17th fastest in FP1. 

Here are their post Friday comments:

Jean-Eric Vergne:

 “The day went smoothly, because even if there were a couple of red flags and a few drops of rain, we managed to get through all our programme, completing a good number of laps. However, at the moment, we are a bit too slow and must work hard overnight to find some speed from the data. On the long runs with more fuel, we were looking better than the short ones. As for the track, I enjoyed my first time driving on it and it’s certainly challenging and exciting.”

Daniel Ricciardo:

“We ran the usual Friday programme, with the exception that we had some new parts to try, including wings aimed specifically at this track which needs the lowest levels of downforce so far this season. Apart from that, we also evaluated some updates concerning the exhausts. It was a productive day and we were lucky to escape the rain, which arrived just at the end of FP2. That’s a good thing, because the forecast is for dry weather from now on. The car ran trouble-free so I was able to complete a lot of laps. We can improve the balance, but we have started on the right foot, because even on a dirty track this morning the car felt quite good and the balance in terms of braking was fine. I expect tomorrow’s performance will be more representative of our real pace. Hopefully, we can qualify well and have a good weekend.”

Laurent Mekies, Chief Engineer:

“A very busy Friday for us with quite a lot of new parts to evaluate. Some were linked to Canada and the specific nature of the track which is the lowest downforce one we have come to so far this year, therefore we had new front and rear wings to deal with that. On top of that, as part of our ongoing development programme we had some significant modifications on Daniel’s car concerning the exhaust system. So apart from preparing for qualifying and the race in the usual way, we also worked on evaluating these updates. Although we have learned some interesting things for the future, we still have a lot of work to do to improve car balance and grip level for tomorrow. Overall a positive day in terms of running, with no issues on both cars, but we are aware we must work hard to bring improvements that can make us more competitive tomorrow.”