Super Zuber
Among the leading drivers since Thursday morning, Andreas Zuber (Carlin Motorsport) was quickest outright in Friday’s free practice. At the end of the two sessions, the Austrian topped the timesheets, ahead of Adrian Valles (Pons Racing) and Colin Fleming (Jenzer Motorsport).
Andreas Zuber (Carlin Motorsport): “We worked hard preparing for qualifying and for the race. My engineer and the team have done a great job which has enabled me to be among the leading drivers since yesterday. I’m aiming to be in the first three in qualifying – I need to score some good points this weekend.”
Colin Fleming (Jenzer Motorsport): “Things are just getting better and better, the car set-up is good. I can’t wait to start a race for the first time this season.”
Eric Salignon (Cram Compétition): “We didn’t have any problems over the last couple of days. We have had time to get everything in place. I’m aiming for a win this weekend!”
Tristan Gommendy (KTR): “The traffic is very difficult to manage. I couldn’t get a clear run at the track for seven consecutive laps and then I didn’t have enough petrol left to go for a quick lap. We have the potential for be fighting for the lead and to lap in 1’21’’8.”
Markus Winkelhock (Draco Multiracing USA): “It’s very close between the drivers, I’m pleased with my times. We worked well in preparation for qualifying even though we didn’t put new tyres on the car.”
Felix Porteiro (Epsilon Euskadi): “I would love to finish well here in front of my home fans. I’m putting the team under pressure to find that extra tenth of a second that would allow me to compete with the leading drivers.”
Simon Pagenaud (DHG Saulnier Racing): “We weren’t very good on Thursday morning but we have improved the set-up since then. I’m pleased and feel confident of being able to involved in things at the head of the field. I hope to qualify on the first two rows. And if I finish even higher on the grid than that, well, so much the better!”
Enrico Toccacelo (Victory Engineering): “I have never driven here before. Qualifying is going to be key because there aren’t many places to overtake. We tried out a lot of things on the car’s set-up today and I think that we managed to find a good balance.”
Robert Kubica (Epsilon Euskadi): “I didn’t have the chance to take full advantage of my new tyres due to the red flags, but the most important time to lap well will be in tomorrow’s qualifying sessions.”
Giorgio Mondini (Eurointernational): “We had a bit of difficulty getting the car set-up right. It was good this morning but we had some gearbox problems this afternoon. This is the most difficult start to a season I’ve ever had in my career, it’s particularly hard after winning the Formula Renault V6 title last year. We’re making progress, however, and are much closer than at Zolder.“
Damien Pasini (Cram Compétition): “We were in the mix this morning but the car’s performance tailed off this afternoon in the heat.”
Raffaele Giammaria (DAMS): “The car is fun to drive, but I still need more practice with it. My last track outing goes back to some winter testing with the old Dallara-Nissan car. The most difficult aspect is getting used to the carbon brakes. I’ll be treating this first race as if it was additional testing.“
Cumulative free practice sessions classification
POS - DRIVER - NAT - TEAM - MORNING - AFTERNOON - BEST
1 Andreas ZUBER AUT Carlin Motorsport 1'22.051 1'21.823 1'21.823 2 Adrian VALLES ESP Pons Racing 1'21.932 1'22.799 1'21.932 3 Colin FLEMING USA Jenzer Motorsport 1'22.490 1'21.991 1'21.991 4 Will POWER AUS Carlin Motorsport 1'22.714 1'22.061 1'22.061 5 Felix PORTEIRO ESP Epsilon Euskadi 1'22.128 1'22.312 1'22.128 6 Eric SALIGNON FRA Cram Competition 1'22.264 1'22.132 1'22.132 7 Tristan GOMMENDY FRA KTR 1'22.333 1'22.165 1'22.165 8 Milos PAVLOVIC YUG GD Racing 1'22.172 1'23.461 1'22.172 9 Markus WINKELHOCK GER Draco Multiracing Usa 1'22.292 1'22.184 1'22.184 10 Daniel LA ROSA GER Interwetten 1'23.271 1'22.250 1'22.250 11 Tomas KOSTKA CZE Victory Engineering 1'24.022 1'22.295 1'22.295 12 Celso MIGUEZ ESP Pons Racing 1'22.350 1'23.069 1'22.350 13 Patrick PILET FRA Jenzer Motorsport 1'22.405 1'24.013 1'22.405 14 Damien PASINI FRA Cram Competition 1'22.415 1'23.859 1'22.415 15 Alx DANIELSSON SWE Dams 1'22.431 1'23.867 1'22.431 16 Enrico TOCCACELO ITA Victory Engineering 1'22.463 1'22.795 1'22.463 17 Simon PAGENAUD FRA DHG Saulnier Racing 1'22.573 1'22.552 1'22.552 18 Christian MONTANARI SMR Draco Multiracing Usa 1'22.627 1'22.570 1'22.570 19 Ryo FUKUDA JPN DHG Saulnier Racing 1'22.626 1'22.887 1'22.626 20 Robert KUBICA POL Epsilon Euskadi 1'22.702 1'23.099 1'22.702 21 Karun CHANDHOK IND RC Motorsport 1'22.806 1'23.696 1'22.806 22 Giorgio MONDINI ITA Eurointernational 1'23.809 1'23.196 1'23.196 23 Giovanni TEDESCHI ITA RC Motorsport 1'23.263 1'24.943 1'23.263 24 Jaap VAN LAGEN NED KTR 1'23.470 1'23.562 1'23.470 25 Raffaele GIAMMARIA ITA Dams 1'25.126 1'24.175 1'24.175 26 Ivan BELLAROSA ITA Avelon Formula 1'24.408 1'24.470 1'24.408 27 Frederick VERVISH BEL GD Racing 1'24.560 1'24.851 1'24.560 28 Mehdi BENNANI MAR Avelon Formula 1'25.849 1'26.218 1'25.849
