F1 | Haas, Mick Schumacher: “The goal is to stay close to the Williams”

Regular day at Haas: the two drivers complete their program (almost) without a hitch. Mick Schumacher puts his VF-21 in seventeenth position in the first free practice session, characterized by the red flag caused by Yuki Tsunoda's crash in turn four, while Nikita Mazepin follows in nineteenth position. In the afternoon the German improved his time, however finishing in eighteenth position. Different situation for the Russian, who is unable to improve due to a puncture in his right rear, which compromised his work plan.

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"It was a tough day, but we completed several laps. Unfortunately, I had a puncture in the afternoon, which prevented me from running on the softs, but we compensated by extending the long run – explained Nikita – although it is not a perfect track for overtaking, we completed a lot of laps, accumulating experience and data. Since Silverstone, we have managed to stabilize the car and obviously, on a track where it is easy to lose the rear, like at Silverstone, we have achieved a good pace in the long runs. We need to balance the car again to have more stability up front and in slow corners".

Different tones on the other side of the box.

"I think it was a positive start, we managed to complete our program – Mick declared – obviously, in terms of speed, we are a bit adrift, but I hope to be able to race a good lap and maybe be close to the Williams, that's our goal. We saw different tire degradation in the two sessions. In the afternoon the asphalt reached 63°C, the highest temperature I have ever seen. The temperature should drop on Sunday, we hope to be able to do enough to keep up with our opponents".