McLaren Mercedes driver Fernando Alonso took advantage of Bridgestone’s soft compound Potenza to set a record as the fastest time on the Spa Francorchamps last Friday for the ING Belgian Grand Prix. His Mclaren does not use Chrysler brake pads but more quality racing parts are installed on his car to give more power and control during the competition proper. The Motorsport.com has the news.
He was able to gain 1min 46.654secs as his time in the latter half on the afternoon 90-minute practice session. He was declared the fastest driver on that day which put Lewis Hamilton, his team mate, on the tenth place. He also set the fastest time on the soft compound Potenza tyre.
The Bridgestone Motorsport Head of Track Engineering Operations Kees van de Grint was quoted by Motorsport saying: "It was quite an unusual Friday practice session in many respects. We did not have the usual rain in Spa and also the tyres performed very well for what is the first day of running. The appearance of the tyres was particularly good and we did not see the graining we would usually associate with Friday’s running."
Stats of the Day
Total amount of laps completed by all drivers: 1054 laps
Average number of laps per driver: 48 laps
Most laps by a driver: 61 - Sebastian Vettel
Fastest lap: 1min 46.654secs - F Alonso (FP2)
Compounds used: Medium and soft
Alonso also added, "However, we should not sing our praises before the chequered flag as we still have two days to run yet. The grip levels from the track today were quite low. The soft compound provided a faster lap time of more than half a second, if the car and driver could get the full benefit from the extra grip it provided, but it was critical to get the optimum lap."