2019 FIA Formula One Emirates United States Grand Prix – Practice – Friday

Weather: FP1: sunny, 13.0-12.7°C air, 22.5-21.8°C track; FP2: sunny, 15.5-16.9°C air, 24.2-24.3°C track

Cold spell(s)

We can’t tell which was the last official session of a Formula One World Championship race to dip into the single digit temperatures – nor whether such an occurrence ever happened. All we know is that today was cold – really cold.

Austin has treated us to rain before – lots of rain – but our trips to Texas were usually a warm and temperate affair. T-shirt weather, effectively: nothing like the beanie hat and mittens-inducing cold spell of this week. And yet, here we are, seeing scenes we are more accustomed to in pre-season testing: mechanics hugging tyre warmers; scarves being deployed liberally; even the odd puffer jacket.

There are perfectly suitable meteorological reasons for this, of course, a logical explanation for this unexpected cold front. But these wouldn’t make a good story. It was Hallowe’en last night, after all, and a brief walk on Sixth Street in Downtown Austin would have presented an interested observer with a wide collection of ghosts, ghouls, demons and witches. Could one of them have been the instigator of this freeze?

A hex on the US Grand Prix weather is a fanciful story, of course. But if we are to live with this cold spell, let us at least imagine it to be a way more interesting kind of spell…

Kimi Räikkönen (car number 7):
Alfa Romeo #racing C38 (Chassis 06/Ferrari)
1st practice: 13th / 1:35.854 (22 laps) / 2nd practice: 16th / 1:35.387 (34 laps)

“It wasn’t a bad start for our weekend. The cold wasn’t as bad as it had been in the last few days and in the end it is the same for everyone. We have a better feeling overall after the first two sessions. True, the laptime is not where we want it to be yet, but the real test to see where we are is tomorrow.”

Antonio Giovinazzi (car number 99):
Alfa Romeo #racing C38 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)
1st practice: 15th / 1.36.037 (26 laps) / 2nd practice: 10th / 1:34.839 (29 laps)

“We finish the day with the tenth time and that’s not too bad. Our laps on soft tyres were ok and that gives me confidence we can be competitive. It was the first time for me here, so I took a few laps to understand the track: the surface is very bumpy and that adds a challenge, but I got in a good groove quickly. We still have some work to do tonight to make sure we have the car we need for qualifying, but we can be happy with the work we have done today. I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Media information:
All press content will be made available at the following link throughout the weekend in Austin: bit.ly/34bOF5q

Media contact:
Will Ponissi, Senior Communications Manager, william.ponissi@sauber-group.com, +41 79 591 57 85
Justine Hoffmann, Senior Communications Manager, justine.hoffmann@sauber-group.com, +41 79 774 03 12

About Sauber Group of Companies:

The Sauber Group of Companies is composed of three entities – Sauber Motorsport AG, which operates the Formula One team – Sauber Engineering AG, which focuses on prototype development and additive manufacturing – and Sauber Aerodynamik AG, which conducts full- and model-scale testing in the factory’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel and creates ground-breaking innovations in the field of aerodynamics. The companies collaborate closely to apply the expertise of 520 dedicated individuals at the headquarter in Hinwil, Switzerland, to all internal and external projects. Since its founding in 1970, the passion for #racing has been at the heart of Sauber.
For over 45 years, the innovative Swiss company has been setting standards in the design, development and construction of race cars for various championship series, such as Formula One, DTM, and WEC. Following its own Formula One debut in 1993, Sauber Motorsport AG has established one of the few traditional and privately held teams in the sport. After 25 years of competition in Formula One, the company launched a long-term partnership with Title Sponsor Alfa Romeo in 2018 and enters the 2019 championship under the Team name Alfa Romeo #racing.

- Photogallery (1)

mailingassets 31967b3ab9e6f10f2bbc09610aadfe797dab13d2

900x600, 73KB

- Documents (1)

Press release

245KB

Related news

april 19, 2024	april 17, 2024	april 15, 2024
2024 Chinese Grand Prix – Friday	2024 Chinese Grand Prixview	2024 Chinese Grand Prix: Preview
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber kept on top of changing conditions to record a double-SQ3 in the first Sprint Qualifying session of the ...	Daniel Ricciardo #3“Really looking forward to getting back to Shanghai. It's been five years since we raced there, so selfishly I ...	Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber will make a welcome return to Shanghai, as the Chinese Grand Prix returns for the first time since 2019....
Automotive Racing	Automotive Racing	Automotive Racing
#racing #f1 #cina #auto #alfaromeof1teamstake	#vettura #racing #f1 #cina #auto #visacashapprb	#racing #f1 #auto #shangai #alfaromeof1teamstake #car #motorsport
Download all	Download all	Download all
3	3	1

You might be interested in

march 22, 2024	march 06, 2024	february 29, 2024
2024 Australian Grand Prix - Friday	On the road together: Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber chooses Scania as its Official Team Supplier	BWT Alpine F1 Team and Alpine Endurance Team announce partnership with INFINOX
Work to do overnight after first day of running in Melbourne• The team experimented throughout Friday’s track action to continue i...	Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber will drive towards a sustainable future, as the team launches a partnership with transport solutions pro...	INFINOX marks its 15th year with ground-breaking partnership with BWT Alpine F1 Team and Alpine Endurance Team.INFINOX, marque mon...
Corporate Racing	Automotive Corporate Racing	Corporate Racing
#australia #racing #f1 #petronas #mercedes #grandprix	#truck #partnership #f1 #scania #alessandroalunnibravi #stake #2024f1worldchampionship #stakef1teamkicksauber	#racing #competition #wec #partnership #f1 #alpineracing #bwtalpinef1team #motorsport
Download all	Download all	Download all
10 1	1	3 2