The final meeting of the overseas tour, the Sepang International Circuit hosts the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend. Malaysia offers special conditions, combining heat, humidity and heavy rain.
If this Friday morning the track, recently modified and resurfaced, remained dry, rain arrived this afternoon. In the dry, Loris Baz experienced some difficulties and did not regain the necessary confidence. On the other hand, the Frenchman appreciated the delicate conditions of the second session. He completed a total of 17 laps to set the fifth fastest time just moments before the end of the session, in 2'09.698 and less than a second off the reference time.
Conditions should be similar on Saturday, but the Avintia Racing team driver remains confident and hopes to shine in the standings.
Loris Baz: "This morning's session was a little complicated, as is often the case at the moment. The track was still wet at the start. We finished the session in the dry, but the track conditions were mixed on the first laps. On slick tires, I didn't have full confidence.
During the second session, which took place in the wet, I used the intermediate tires. This allowed us to observe that this type of tire is usable on this track whereas it was much less so on other circuits. The rain tire tends to destroy quickly due to the heat of the track. The mixed tire may therefore be a possibility depending on the conditions.
I really had fun this afternoon, which is really positive. I took advantage of it by completing a lot of laps. Conditions should be similar on Saturday. In the wet, there are ways to achieve good results. In the dry, it will be about finding the feeling again. If it rains, we won't be fighting for the same places as in the dry, but it will be important to find some sensations.
Regarding the modifications made to the circuit, I think that the new asphalt dries much slower than the previous one. The last turn does not really require a new trajectory, you simply have to be careful when braking. There is a small modification at the second corner which is rather beneficial for us, because there is no longer the bump which posed a problem in the past. Other than that, there aren't any big changes to the handling. »
