Friday Practice Recap

Scuderia Toro Rosso came into the Friday Practice Sessions for the Bahrain GP looking to rebound from a dysmal showing in China. While the results from FP1 didn't hold out much hope for an improvement, the squad made adjustments to the STR7s that moved both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne up the time sheets in FP2.

One thing that both drivers agreed on afterwards is that tire managment will be the key to having a good race on Sunday.

Daniel would only post the 20th best time in FP1, saying afterwardsthat he was getting wheel spin when on the Prime tires. After switching to the Option tire, and making a few set-up changes, the Aussie would jump up to the 11th spot in FP2. "We got a first impression of the tyres and I’d say the Option is better and seems to cope well with the hot conditions. Let’s say I don’t think anyone will do a one stop on Sunday and looking after the rear tyres will be a priority.”

Jean-Eric would fair slightly better - 17th - in FP1, but the crew still opted to change his car's set-up to match that on Daniel's for FP2, where he would finish with the 14th-best time. "It was definitely an improvement and we have made a good step forward, although we need to improve the balance still further for tomorrow. The tyres overheat very easily, so managing them is quite difficult and will be one of the keys to having a good race.”

“Overall, this was an intensive day’s work for us as we had a few bits and pieces to evaluate," noted Chief Engineer Laurent Mekies. "We are reasonably happy with what we achieved, made possible by the fact that both cars ran without any problems, completing a high number of laps (95 between both cars). We were able to scan a few car configurations and set-up options for Sunday’s race. Having such a productive Friday was therefore a good start to the weekend and we now need to convert that into an increase in our pace tomorrow.”