• European Grand Prix - FP2

Kobayashi loses time with hydraulic issue

Kamui Kobayashi was limited to 39 laps during both practice sessions on Friday © Press Association

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• Race:
• European Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Kamui Kobayashi

• Teams:
• Alfa Romeo

Kamui Kobayashi said his Friday practice sessions at the European Grand Prix were hampered by hydraulics problems even though he managed to set the third fastest time.

Kobayashi was 0.261s off Sebastian Vettel at the top of the timesheets after FP2, but completed just 20 laps in the second session compared to Vettel's 33. Kobayashi said he is happy with his setup and is hoping that will help when it comes to longer runs and race pace.

"For me it was quite okay today, except for an hydraulic problem which prevented me from doing long runs in the afternoon," he said. "In the morning we had a couple of test items. This worked fine and was the reason why I didn't do performance runs in the first session.

"Despite the fact that there had not been too much time for set up work, the car was good when we fitted the soft tyres. Tyre management will be the key here and this depends not only on the driving, but also on the car's set up. For the race it is important to get everything right in this regard so that the tyres don't drop off too quickly, but tomorrow first we have to focus on qualifying. The grid position here is more important than on other tracks because overtaking is really difficult."

Kobayashi's Sauber team-mate Sergio Perez, 16th fastest, was less happy with his setup but is confident he has found the basis for a solution.

"For me it was a rather difficult day because I wasn't happy with the balance of my car," he added. "On low fuel I struggled a lot, while it was better on a high fuel load. Kamui and I had different programmes for today and we now have a lot of data to be analysed and compared. I think we probably have found something today what could help us for tomorrow."

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