Fri: Renault, McLaren, Ferrari

Friday 26th September 2008

Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa claimed the top three places on the timesheets in Singapore.

Renault
Fernando Alonso: The first day of work has gone well. The circuit is interesting, very bumpy in places, especially into turn number 7, and we have to keep an eye on that because it can become a problem. In terms of the lighting, when I walked the track I was impressed, but behind the wheel at 300 km/h some parts of the track are a bit dark. But despite that, this is an amazing opportunity for the spectators to attend a night race and I am satisfied with my day."

Nelson Piquet Jr: It was an interesting experience to drive today during the night and the organisers have done a remarkable job to make this possible. The behaviour of the car felt good and it reacted well to the different set-up options that we tried. However, we still have a bit of work to do ahead of qualifying tomorrow, but the first signs are encouraging."

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton: Q: What are your first impressions of the circuit?
"Through certain corners there was lots of bottoming, and when you hit a bump it would throw the car around quite a bit - but it's an amazing venue."

Q: Were the lights a distraction?
"No, they weren't an issue for me."

Q: Was it difficult to learn the circuit?
"On my first proper run, I managed to find a half-decent line - but the car was still bottoming in places. I was able to get more comfortable with the car; on first impressions, there seems to be quite a lot of grip on the track, so you can brake quite late into the slower corners."

Q: Is any part of the track particularly memorable?
"It's a very physical circuit - more than I expected, actually. You need to put a lot of work into the car to get a good lap - I'd say it requires double the energy of Monaco over a single lap. One lap around here is like two laps of Monaco!"

Heikki Kovalainen:Q: How did you find your first laps driving in the dark?
"To be honest, racing under the lights wasn't really a problem. The track was quite bumpy. Perhaps we should also look at the pit entry - it could be quite difficult if a driver decides to pull into the pits at the last minute. However, everything else about the track is fine."

Q: What was the visibility like?
"The visibility was fine, to be honest - I don't think it really makes any difference for the drivers. Same with the bumps, we'll get used to them very fast."

Q: Was there one part of the track that was difficult to learn?
"Not really, this place has got some difficult corners but I quite like all the sectors. It was quite a busy session today and the traffic made it a bit difficult to pull a clear lap together but it feels good when you get it right."

Q: And the Turn 10 chicane?
"It's fine."

Ferrari
Felipe Massa: A positive day. This is only the start of the weekend and there is still a lot of work to do, but we have got off on the right foot. The car is handling well, especially on the harder tyres, but we know track conditions will improve so it is too early to draw conclusions. Visibility is not a problem. The entry and exit to the pit lane could turn out to be a bit critical in the race. In general, the track surface has a lot of grip but in some points there are some bumps that are a bit of a pain. I think we will be competitive: whether we will be more or less so than our rivals, I cannot yet say. It is a street circuit which means you have to concentrate all the time as there is no margin for error."

Kimi Raikkonen: The visibility is great and you don't really feel you are driving at night with all the lights on the track. In general I like the track although some parts are too bumpy. The entry and exit to the pit lane are pretty difficult and we will have to be very careful. At the start of the day, we had a well balanced car and then, in the afternoon, we tried a modification to the front end that we had tried at the Mugello test last week, but it did not produce the effect we hoped for, but there was not enough time to switch back. Overall, I think we will be competitive. Overtaking? I don't think we will see much, as usual in fact."