Sebastien Buemi is confident of a strong qualifying following a solid start to his Australian Grand Prix weekend on Friday. The Toro Rosso driver set the sixth-quickest time in the rain-hit second session, having finished eighth in the morning.
"I was quite happy with the way things went, even if the weather was not so good," said Buemi. "Unlike Bahrain, I managed to complete all the sessions which is positive. Now we have to analyze the data from FP2, as it should give us a good picture of tyre behaviour in all conditions – wet, dry, high and low fuel – working mainly in race trim. We are quite confident that we can be well prepared for qualifying and the race. A good day's work."
Teammate Jaime Alguersuari was also positive after his first day of running at the Australian circuit, the Spaniard posting the 19th-fastest time after 43 laps.
"It is my first time here and I think it is an amazing track," he said. "It's a pleasure to be here in Melbourne, because everyone had told me what a great event this is. Luckily the weather was with us in the first session, so I was able to enjoy learning the track and I was quick.
"This afternoon in the wet in the second session, of course there was a lot less grip, which is made worse by the fact this is a street circuit. All the same, driving for 90 minutes in the different conditions was very useful. A positive start."