Berra: All three lineups can play their part in the race.

      This time Pirelli offered the teams softer tyre compounds than usual and are positive about the effect achieved…

      Simone Berra, chief engineer: “An interesting day, with a lot happening – teams tried to make the most of the available time, which was reduced by several red-flag stoppages. The main conclusion is that all three compounds will be able to play their part in the race. The Hard proved the most durable with the lowest level of wear, but at temperatures like today it can be slow to warm up and lacking in pace. The Medium provides the best balance between speed and stability, and the Soft tyres also showed good stability over long runs on some cars. Compared to C3, C4 tyres allowed drivers to gain more performance than we expected and did not suffer from wear over the distance. Over the two practice sessions the track cleaned up from wind-blown sand and became significantly faster, but the progress between sessions was small, since only one support-series session took place. Interestingly, teams were almost evenly split between those who chose two sets of Medium and one Hard per driver, and those who opted for C3 at the expense of C4. That means the third practice session should be especially interesting. From a strategy point of view, possibly even more than previously thought, the choice between one and two pit stops remains open, especially now that Soft tyres can quite feasibly be used in the race.”