Tanabe on difficult Friday: 'It was a combination of factors'

Little grip

"Formula 1’s first day of action at the Istanbul Park circuit since 2011 was made difficult for all teams and drivers through a combination of factors: a new track surface that had no rubber on it and low track temperatures through both sessions, meaning there was very little grip," says Tanabe on the Honda website.

Tanabe says that the settings have been adjusted so that the cars from both Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri should perform optimally. He also says that good information can be obtained from the Friday sessions.

Changing conditions

"If it’s dry on Saturday, we can expect the track conditions to continue to improve and we will take that into account in our PU settings, although the forecast is for occasional rain, so we will ensure we are flexible and ready for whatever the track is like during qualifying," concludes Tanabe.