Not such a fantastic start in Bahrain

The Force India F1 team fired up their engines for what would be a relatively underwhelming Friday of free practice in the Kingdom of Bahrain today. Both drivers had difficulty in perfecting a set-up for their VJM01s and then, to add insult to injury, both had problems which effectively stopped them from putting in a fast lap on new tryes.

In first practice, Fisichella set the 17th fastest time, faster than both the Hondas. Sutil was behind the two earthdreams branded cars, with only the Aguris slower than him.

Fisi said, "It was not so easy to find the right set-up today: we have understeer in some corners, but then oversteer in others."

Adrian added, "The morning session was not great as the harder tyre was very hard and with the green track conditions it was difficult to get a balance."

FP2 saw the FI cars set the 18th and 19th fastest times, with Giancarlo getting the better of his younger team mate. They were ahead of the STR of Vettel and the two Aguris.

Adrian was prevented from setting a faster time due to a small incident with Fernando Alonso's Renault. The German said of the incident, "It seemed he lost a bit of downforce under braking and locked up the rear but it wasn't really a problem."

When Fisi was going to set a fast lap, there was a problem with his rear wing, not leaving him with enough time. Fisi went on, "There are some small improvements with the new parts but we have some work to do overnight."

With Adrian hoping to finish his first GP of the season, Mike Gascoyne said, "Adrian in particular felt more comfortable in the car than he has done since the start of the season, which is very positive for both him and the team."

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Source: F1 Network