Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix – Practice – Friday

6 April 2018

Weather: FP1: sunny/cloudy and dry, 30-31°C air, 38-44°C track; FP2: sunny/cloudy and dry, 27-28°C air, 33°C track

It was a good start to the weekend for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team at the Bahrain International Circuit. Marcus Ericsson focussed on mechanical work during FP1 while Charles Leclerc completed aerodynamic testing. During FP2, both drivers completed short-runs in preparation for tomorrow’s qualifying. At the end of session the drivers completed a practice of red flag procedures.

Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):
C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
1^st practice: 17^h / 1:33.508 min (22 laps) / 2^nd practice: 19^th / 1:32.733 min (32 laps)
“It was a busy session today. FP1 was quite good – I focused on mechanical set-up work. During FP2 I lost the rear of the car, which was not ideal, but as the session progressed the balance improved and the car felt good towards the end. It seems that we are moving in the right direction. We will be analysing the data tonight and will see what we can do for tomorrow’s qualifying.”

Charles Leclerc (car number 16):
C37 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
1^st practice: 12^th / 1:33.278 min (20 laps) / 2^nd practice: 16^th / 1:32.372 min (37 laps)
“In general, it was quite a positive day for us. The qualifying performance was good and the car felt good to drive. At the end of the second session I completed a red flag practice. We will be looking at what we learned during today’s sessions, and build on that for FP3 and qualifying. I look forward to being back in the car tomorrow.”