Formula 1
French GP: Force India Friday practice report
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02): FP1: 20th 1:18.673 (13 laps) FP2: 20th 1:17.868 (33 laps) Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05): FP1: 19th 1:18.072 (27 laps) FP2: 18th 1:17.394 (42 laps) The Force India Formula One Team's 2008 French ...
Published: Jun 20, 2008, 8:44 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Adrian Sutil (car 20, VJM01/02):
FP1: 20th 1:18.673 (13 laps)
FP2: 20th 1:17.868 (33 laps)
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21, VJM01/05):
FP1: 19th 1:18.072 (27 laps)
FP2: 18th 1:17.394 (42 laps)
The Force India Formula One Team's 2008 French Grand Prix got underway today at a cloudy and chillier than usual Magny-Cours circuit in the heart of rural Burgundy. The weekend kicked off with two 90 minute practice sessions, in which the team concentrated on establishing a baseline set up and comparing the Bridgestone Potenza tyre compounds available.
Adrian Sutil completed just 13 laps in the cooler morning session as a result of an issue with his brakes. Rather than risk further damage, the team chose to end the session early and change the brake calipers for the afternoon. Adrian went on to put in 33 laps of the 4.411km track in the second practice, however reported a lack of grip in the warmer temperatures of the afternoon.
Giancarlo Fisichella meanwhile completed his programme, with 27 laps in the morning and 42 in the afternoon. With a best lap of 1:17.394, the Italian was 18th fastest in the second session, just over 1.5secs from the fastest time of the afternoon.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
'Overall it was such not a great day as we had a few small technical problems today. The main issue was with the brakes and then the tyres overheating. I was struggling under braking, and this morning I lost a lot of the session. In the afternoon the track was slower as the temperature increased and it was difficult to get the tyres to work well again, but now we have found the problem and can get it fixed for tomorrow.'
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
'We went through the scheduled programme today and made some steps forward, but we are still relatively far away from the others and have some work to do. The grip level was quite poor in both sessions and we had some understeer in the high speed corners. We also compared the tyres and the softer compound works OK, but it will still be a difficult weekend.'
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer
'A pretty typical first day doing our normal programme of set up work and tyre evaluation. Adrian struggled a bit with the car under braking all day and we will need to work on this tomorrow. We nevertheless managed to complete our programme with no major issues. The tyre position looks fairly clear now and we have established a fair set-up, so overall a reasonable first day for us.'
-credit: force india
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article French GP: Practice 1 times
Next article French GP: Toro Rosso Friday practice report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Giancarlo Fisichella
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
How Jordan took its last F1 victory on this day in 2003
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brazilian GP
How Jordan took its last F1 victory on this day in 2003
On this day in 2005: Kimi Raikkonen’s Suzuka masterclass
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
On this day in 2005: Kimi Raikkonen’s Suzuka masterclass
More from
Force India
Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders
Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India
Formula 1
Formula 1
Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India
Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70
Formula 1
Formula 1
Austrian GP
Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70
Latest news
Toyota clinches 2026 NASCAR Cup manufacturer championship early after dominant season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
55 min
Toyota clinches 2026 NASCAR Cup manufacturer championship early after dominant season
Tyler Reddick really needed NASCAR Phoenix win for several reasons
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
58 min
Tyler Reddick really needed NASCAR Phoenix win for several reasons
Bubba Wallace laments mistake after heartbreaking Phoenix loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
1 h
Bubba Wallace laments mistake after heartbreaking Phoenix loss
NASCAR is getting the championship finish it has pursued since 1992
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
2 h
NASCAR is getting the championship finish it has pursued since 1992
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe