OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Silverstone, United Kingdom, Jul 09, 2010
The opening two practice sessions for the British Grand Prix took place today at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire giving the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers, Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, their first opportunity to experience the remodelled and extended track layout.
In two busy practice sessions, the pair concentrated on set-up, fuel and tyre evaluations with Nico completing 50 laps and finishing the day in fifth position and Michael completing 46 laps in sixth place.
Drivers - Car No. - Chassis No. - Practice 1 - Practice 2
Nico Rosberg - 4 - MGP W01 / 02 - 21 laps, 1:33.318, P6 - 29 laps, 1:32.166, P5
Michael Schumacher - 3 - MGP W01 / 01 - 18 laps, 1:33.955, P9 - 28 laps, 1:32.660, P6
Weather - Warm & sunny
Temperatures - Air: 21-28�C / Track: 27-44�C
NICO ROSBERG
�It�s been a decent start today and we have been able to get on top of many of our problems from Valencia. We achieved some good set-up work to optimise the aero package. It�s not easy to understand and find the optimum so it was good to make progress there and I think that we�ve found a good direction. Our pace this afternoon was reasonable and we seem to be getting the most out of the car. I like the changes that they have made to the circuit here and it�s a great track to drive.�
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
�It was quite a reasonable Friday which went according to our expectations and it looks as if our updates have helped. Saying that, it looked similar in Valencia on Friday so I prefer to see what more we will find out tomorrow. The new part of the circuit is certainly interesting. It�s very fluid and fast but there is no overtaking possibility which is a bit of pity for me. The bump at Abbey is tricky, a lot of the drivers had to really work their steering wheel, so it is likely that this will be discussed more deeply in the drivers briefing today.�
ROSS BRAWN
�We�ve had a positive day but then we have had good Fridays before. The car is not too bad and the refinements that we have made to our updates seemed to have solved the temperature issues that we faced in Valencia. This is really a consolidation weekend for us where our focus is on the basics of tyres, fuel and set-up. Nico and Michael were reasonably happy today and our pace on high fuel looked good. It was tricky this afternoon with the gusty wind making it a bit edgy for the drivers and giving variable data but we have a lot of information to look at this evening. Silverstone is a great venue and it�s nice to be at a race which our staff can attend and enjoy.�
NORBERT HAUG
"We did a lot of laps today and learned a lot about the new layout of the Silverstone circuit. Our lap times with heavy fuel loads did not look too bad and we certainly can improve further. It will be important to get a reasonable position on the grid tomorrow to provide a good base for the race on Sunday."
* Official photos and info courtesy of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS *
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