Oliver Berman: I was hampered by brake problems.

      Rio Hirakawa took part in the first free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, replacing Oliver Berman, the team's main driver, for one hour at the wheel of the Haas, and Esteban Ocon conducted both Friday practice sessions. The Haas racers tested the new items, and after completing their work, they commented on the results of the day.

      Oliver Berman (9th): "It was a good session, although I'm not completely happy with the car. Throughout the entire training session, I was hampered by problems with the brakes.

      Apparently, we are quite competitive with an empty tank. We decided to work on a long series on Soft tires – we have to study the collected data, but I am quite happy with how the only training session went for me.

      The new bottom of the car is working as expected, which is great, because the team has put a lot of effort into getting it ready quickly. I'm proud of the team, and now we can drive more aggressively, which should boost our speed. I hope we can show a good result."

      Esteban Ocon (16th): "A difficult day. It was impossible to draw conclusions from the results of the first training session, but the second one turned out to be more productive, and we gathered more useful information. It's difficult for us on this track because the car is prone to swinging on the straights, which was evident back in Suzuka.

      Besides, the car doesn't have enough top speed, but we'll continue working tomorrow. The team is trying to find a solution, but at the moment everything looks the same as in Suzuka."

      Rio Hirakawa (17th in the first session): "It helped me that last year I worked with the team on tests after the end of the season. I was already familiar with everyone, so I quickly got used to it. Today's experience is different from last week's, as the track temperature is very high and the session turned out to be quite difficult.

      To be honest, I didn't have enough time to adapt in the car, but I have a good feeling about it, and I was able to provide the team with feedback. The car is developing in the right direction, and I have other training sessions ahead of me, so I can prepare better."