Pirelli: 'Teams clearly lack dry conditions'

During today's two free practice sessions, all teams were busy collecting data on all three tyres available this weekend. A lot of rain is expected for tomorrow, which could affect the programme of the Russian Grand Prix.

In case of heavy rain, which is predicted, FP3 and qualifying could be moved. For qualifying, there is even the option to drive it on Sunday morning. In the extreme case that both sessions cannot take place, the results of FP2 will determine the grid for Sunday.

Lack of dry conditions

"Tomorrow’s expected weather influenced free practice today, with the drivers concentrating more on collecting plenty of data over all three compounds as well as setting a lap time just in case FP2 has an influence on the grid positions for the race, with a strong chance that tomorrow will see wet conditions all day", Mario Isola said on the website of Pirelli.

Isola continued: "The circuit actually offered quite good grip and, as expected, plenty of track evolution, although the rain tomorrow is likely to reset the asphalt, which adds to the question marks. Under these circumstances, the red flag in FP2 was unfortunate, with the teams likely to head into Sunday’s race with a distinct lack of dry running.”