Ricciardo: It’s even harder to see the top from the MCL36 cockpit

Summarizing the results of the first training sessions on the American circuit, McLaren racers noted that driving new cars there is even more difficult to drive.

Daniel Riccardo (3rd): “Although I didn’t work until the second session, I felt more tired than usual and didn’t do anything until 5 PM. But then I got behind the wheel and trained for an hour and a half, doing 40 laps, which is comparable to the distance of the race.

It was great and I am very happy to be back on such a great track. The feeling behind the wheel of a new generation car is very different because it is difficult to drive. Although the tarmac has been partially touched up here, the car vibrates noticeably on some parts of the track.

Now we have to analyze the information gathered, and until now it is difficult to say what we look like against the background of our rivals, also because everyone was working according to their program. But in general the feeling is good.

There is nothing to complain about, but just behind the wheel of these cars you have to overcome several other difficulties, including this aspect of vision. There are a lot of long turns on this track – I would even rank the 1st turn in this category. It used to be hard to see the apex there, and in these cars we have an even lower seating position, so visibility is even worse.

Several times I realized I was about to hit the curb, so I had to dodge, and I just tried to sketch some new landmarks for myself.

Lando Norris (6th): “Normal day, nothing special. But the job is uneven, and I can say that with confidence. I think we’ve mapped out the direction we’re going to go in.

During the second session, everyone was on an equal footing, no one had special opportunities to work on their program, everyone participated in tire tests. Something we outlined during the first session, but now working with the machine, will not continue until the third session. We are going to prepare for Saturday and try to analyze all the collected information.

But it’s really not easy to drive, and it’s not just the bumps – there’s some pretty intense rubber degradation, plus it was very windy today. All of this increased the chances of mistakes, and it was worth adding a little, as you felt like you were already flying beyond the limits of the possible. But determining this limit was very difficult and caused severe headaches. But that’s life, and everyone worked under the same conditions.

Alex Palow (17th in the first session): “I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Driving seemed like a much shorter session than watching workouts on TV. I have had a very useful experience, especially because I had the opportunity to drive the car of the previous generation McLaren.

The new cars are just great, and this track is great for them. Overall I’m happy with the speed we showed and I hope I was able to help the team a little bit. And the experience I have gained will serve me in the future.

It’s hard for me to make comparisons between last year’s car and the MCL36 because I mostly fly IndyCar vehicles, and it’s completely different. Although there is a certain difference between the two McLaren cars, I think they are both great. It feels like the MCL36 is better than its predecessor in some ways, worse in some ways, but at least it’s a great Formula 1 car.”