The Tech 3 driver progressed throughout the weekend and came very close to securing his place in Q2 for the first time.
After his fine twelfth place in Thailand, Hafiz Syahrin arrived very motivated in Japan, a track that he really likes and on which he hopes to score points on Sunday to get back on Franco Morbidelli in the rookie standings.
The Malaysian driver initially got off to a slow start, finishing twenty-fourth in FP1 this Friday. The rain then arrived shortly before FP2, and he was very comfortable in the mixed conditions with the sixth fastest time. This morning, he continued to work in FP3 and finished nineteenth, before putting in a very good FP4 performance by entering the top 10.
These results bode well for qualifying. Syahrin was one of two drafted for Q2 at the start of the session, but ultimately had to lose by a tenth to Álvaro Bautista and Takaaki Nakagami. He will start from sixteenth position tomorrow and believes in his chances: “We did a good job in FP4, and also in Q1. We were very close and missed Q2 by only a tenth. Regardless, we found our rhythm again and I feel good with the team. I was just a little nervous during qualifying. We have great pace and I think tomorrow will be a good day for us. We must make the right choice of tires. From seventh to fifteenth place the results are really close, so I think if we get a good start and stay with this group we can score points. Thank you very much to my team because they found a very good package for me. I just need to improve my confidence. We are extremely motivated and will continue to work hard. »
