It wasn’t the best day for us. We thought we’d made a step forward at the Barcelona test but on this track we didn’t have the car we expected. The latest spec engine certainly delivered and it’s a decent improvement, but we still have work to do on the set-up and, of course, finding more downforce. It was unfortunate to end the second session early. I just understeered into the wall; I turned in and I just had no grip. The data showed I wasn’t going any faster than the lap before so it’s frustrating. Thankfully the only damage was to the front wing which makes it easy for my crew as that’s just one bolt-on part.

We discovered a lot about the direction we want to go with the car and I think we can move forward quite well. The day didn’t start out all that pleasantly; the track was slippery and I made a mistake in Tabac; I just had a small bit of oversteer while pushing the limit and I found the wall. But we were trying something that we were doing in testing last week and, even if we weren’t quick, we took a great deal from it which is good. Let’s see what happens on Saturday!

We learnt a fair amount from our set-up programme today despite losing some running with both cars. We made some improvements between the two sessions but have more to get out of the car, especially when running the ultrasoft tyre. Tomorrow will be spent going through the data and ensuring we get the maximum out of everything at our disposal for Saturday.