Nyck de Vries

“I’m glad we can go racing again immediately as there are several positives we can take from Monaco, even if the final result didn’t match our expectations. I had a clean weekend with no mistakes; it was my best qualifying of the year and in performance terms we were closer to the top ten than we had been. We ran our upgrades and it seemed to work, but we must wait for the Barcelona track to give us some real answers as Monaco is not at all representative. It means we will have plenty of work to do during Friday’s free practice.

“Like most drivers, I’ve spent plenty of time on the Barcelona track, racing there in GP3 and I won the F2 Sprint in 2019, after finishing second in the Feature race the year before. Everyone has plenty of data from there as it used to be the main testing track and it would also feature a lot in simulator development work. I like racing there; it’s a typical European venue and the Spanish crowd are very enthusiastic.

“I just really like that event and the track, and I’m looking forward to driving the new layout through the final corners, although of course it’s actually the old layout. It’s a good grand prix all round and the fact it’s so close to Barcelona means the fans get to enjoy the city, as well as the racing.”

Yuki Tsunoda

“I really enjoyed Monaco up until the moment it rained in the race on Sunday. We did a good job as a team through free practice and it was the first time I made it to Q3 at this track. Even in the race, things were going well, and the pit stop was well timed, but then the brake problems made it difficult to stay in the top 10.

“I am keen to get going again in Barcelona, where I picked up a point for tenth place last time. We got plenty of data relating to our updates in Monaco, but on the Spanish track we will definitely get a clearer picture of how they work and if they can put us more regularly in the points.

“I first raced here in GP3 in 2019 and the following year I finished fourth in both the F2 races. I’ve driven the new layout in the simulator – I think Alonso must be the only driver who remembers it from the past! The last chicane has gone which means it will be a much faster lap than in previous years. I’m not sure if it will make overtaking any easier or create more chances, but I’ll be interested to see. Having two fast corners at the end of the lap could affect tyre degradation, which is always high here, so it will require a different approach, even if tyre degradation is less this year. In the past, in qualifying, your tyres could be finished before the end of the lap, but the new faster corners at the end mean less requirement for good traction out of the turns. Let’s wait and see. I went straight from Monaco to Spain, trying to fit in some more physical training, which can be difficult to do with back-to-back races.”