Jean-Karl Vernay (fastest): “It’s a very positive first contact with this track, which I didn’t know, and I am even surprised of my result. The track was very dirty, and I missed the track limits a couple of times when still exploring the circuit and learning it. I checked Stefano’s lines to try to learn faster, and when I put on new tyres at the end, the lap times came. The feeling is good, and I always liked a lot street circuits, now we can start working on the set-up”.

Dušan Borković (third fastest): “It’s the first time I race here and did not do any specific preparation prior to it, like simulator of watching TV footage. I just walked the entire track yesterday, little by little. It’s nice to be third, even on old tyres, but track conditions are surely going to change a lot before tomorrow. What I can say is that it is really very hot in the car, maybe the worst heat conditions I ever encountered in my career.”

Mikhail Grachev (fourth fastest): “The car is going much better than at Buriram, I hope we are back to the Sochi form! We still have some little issues with braking and wheel spinning at the exit of slow corners, but everything feels much better than in Thailand. The main issue is the heat, really terrible. And when you stop in the pits, is even worse because all the heat from the car comes into the cockpit.”