Hungarian GP: Red Bull Friday practice notes

Tonio Liuzzi was the only Red Bull Racing driver on the track this morning, as David Coulthard and Christian Klien completed only one lap each. Although the 24-year-old Italian suffered a couple of minor 'moments', when he spun his RB1 at Turn 1 and ran wide at Turn 12, he was able to continue with no problems.

The discovery of an oil leak in his RB1 meant he started the second session 30-minutes late. Despite losing track time, he completed 15 laps, while David and Christian completed 47 between them.

The main factor today was the extreme temperatures. While the track temperature peaked at 48°C, the air temperature rose to a stifling 36°C. With the drivers wearing FIA-approved fire-proof garments including a long sleeve top, trousers, socks, a balaclava, multi-layer racing suit, helmet, gloves and boots, it can't have been very comfortable for them in the cars.

David Coulthard:

"We chose not to go out this morning for tactical reasons, but this afternoon we completed our normal Friday tyre evaluation programme. I'm reasonably comfortable with the balance of the car now, we just need to fine-tune the controls a little and see how the track evolves tomorrow."

"We have a slightly different aero-package for this race, which feels better, but I think we can only judge where we are and note any improvements we've made once we've completed qualifying and ultimately, the race."

Christian Klien:

"We only completed an installation lap in the first session, to check that the car was running correctly. We saved all our laps for the second session, as the Hungarian track is always quite dirty before many cars have run on it."

"The afternoon session was good for me I think. I did one run to get used to the track and the braking points and then got quickly up to speed. The balance of the car felt very good on one lap, but we have to improve it over long distances. Qualifying is really important here, as it's so hard to overtake during the race. "

Tonio Liuzzi:

"The first session was not so bad. I tried to find a good car set-up, because this track is different to all the others we use during the season. We struggled a little bit at the beginning, but afterwards the car felt better and was well balanced."

"At the start of the second session, the guys found an oil leak on my car and I had to wait a while before I could start the run. We lost some track time, but crucially we managed to complete enough laps to test each tyre."

Günther Steiner:

"We had to change the engine oil pump on Tonio's car and that's why he went out 30-minutes late in the second session. Unfortunately, we discovered the leak quite late. Looking at the aerodynamic performance side, everything is going to plan. We still have some work to do, but in general it looks like we're going in the right direction."

David Coulthard
1st Practice Position: 25th
Best Time: No time
Laps: 1
2nd Practice Position: 13th
Best Time: 1:22.886
Laps: 24
Chassis Number: 3

Christian Klien
1st Practice Position: 24th
Best Time: No time
Laps: 1
2nd Practice Position: 10
Best Time: 1:22.626
Laps: 23
Chassis Number: 1

Tonio Liuzzi (Test Driver)
1st Practice Position: 15th
Best Time: 1:24.174
Laps: 19
2nd Practice Position: 14
Best Time: 1:22.913
Laps: 15
Chassis Number: 2

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