Racing Bulls drivers Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson have spoken of the challenges they face to score points at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP.
After a disastrous race in Bahrain, Racing Bulls is aiming for a better showing on the Corniche Circuit. However, both drivers occupied the midfield spots during Friday’s practice sessions, unable to move inside the top ten.
But speaking after FP2 in Jeddah, Hadjar has hinted that more setup changes overnight could transform the VCARB 02 on Saturday. Making his debut on the notoriously fast circuit, he also reiterated the need for clean laps.
“It was hard today too, it’s still hard to get the balance together. I still feel like there’s room for improvements quite a bit, so it’s reassuring. I know it’s not the best we can do, so it’s good for tomorrow.
“It’s the fastest street circuit that exists, so it requires a lot of focus throughout the laps, that’s for sure. It’s really tough, but it’s really enjoyable.
“I’ll definitely be better tomorrow after a night of sleep, that’s for sure. But to be fair, these cars give you so much confidence. I remember in FP2 it felt more challenging.”
Despite his challenges, Hadjar maintained that another Q3 appearance is a possibility during qualifying.
“For sure. Fighting for Q3, I think, is what’s going to happen. Then to make it is a different story, but we’ll give it a go.“
Lawson unsure of Racing Bulls pace at F1 Saudi Arabian GP
When asked to reflect on his Friday in Jeddah, team-mate Liam Lawson said both sessions had been “productive”. However, he is unsure of his qualifying pace.
“It was busy. It was good. It’s nice to drive an F1 car around here.It’s the first time I’ve done that. So it lives up to the hype, to be fair. It’s very fast. It’s very cool. And we had a productive day. Did a lot of different things, tyres-wise, test items-wise, to try and learn what we can for tomorrow.“
“I think pace-wise, it’s hard to tell right now. I think we definitely need to find some time relative to some of our competitors in the midfield. But obviously Alpine looked very strong this morning, looked strong again in P2.”
“William’s are fast. We need to probably make a step, but obviously that’s what we’re working on now.”
