Report: ‘Solid start’ made during Free Practice in Monaco

The team enjoyed a solid opening day around the streets of Monaco, with neither driver picking up damage as they got to grips with these new machines around this unforgiving circuit.

Our duo of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi completed 135 laps between them across both sessions, with our No23 placing P15 and P14 in FP1 and FP2 respectively, whilst our No6 finished P18 and P19.

The bumpy track surface was causing plenty of headaches throughout the paddock, with Alex catching a huge snap coming out of the tunnel to save his FW44 from a visit into the barriers.

He’d go on to record a best time of 1:14.486 in FP2 which was good enough for P14 on the chart, something he is aiming to build on as the weekend progresses.

“It felt good out there today,” the Thai driver stated, continuing: “We were feeling fairly optimistic heading into FP1 as the track is similar to the Miami circuit which seemed to suit our car’s characteristics slightly more, so I’d say that we aren’t too far off where we want to be.

“There are a few corners in the second sector where we should be able to find some more lap time, so that’s what we’ll be working on tonight. I’m feeling positive; I think we’ll be pushing for Q2 tomorrow.”

After ending the day just shy of completing a full race distance, Nicky will be heading into the weekend with a clearer idea on how to build upon his best time of 1:16.276.

“It was very tricky today, explained the Canadian. “I think in general these new generation cars are trickier around here, the ride on the bumps is very harsh and visibility is tricky, meaning that on a few corners here you’re sort of guessing where to turn.

“I’m sure a lot of other people are going through similar things. In terms of the car, we’re not quite there with optimising it, but we have a clear direction of where we need to go overnight on my side.”

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, believes the team are in a strong place going into Saturday’s all-important qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, saying: “It was a good day with no damage to either car and plenty of laps completed by both drivers.

“Alex was reasonably happy with the car straight away and we were able to address his minor issues ahead of FP2. Nicholas has struggled a little bit more, but he improved during the day and has a direction to look at overnight.

“We know that this circuit is tricky and unpredictable and that a lot can change as the weekend progresses. Usually, there is an extra day before we return to the track and so it will be interesting to see how conditions are tomorrow.

“We have made a solid start to the weekend and have given ourselves the best possible chance of making further progress overnight.

“We will need to keep ahead of the changing track and weather conditions, but if we can do that then we can have a good weekend.”

In Formula 2, both our Academy Drivers were put into Group B for the split qualifying session and were unfortunately caught out by a late Red Flag – Roy Nissany will start from P12, with Logan Sargeant one row back in P14.