» Glock: Virgin has ‘a big gap to close’

Despite team-mate Lucas di Grassi finally being equipped with the newest-spec VR-01 chassis, Virgin team-mate Timo Glock was suitably downcast after the Friday’s practice running at the Turkish Grand Prix, in which he finished slower than his Brazilian team-mate and well off the pace of their chief rival, Lotus.

"Today hasn’t been the best start to the weekend," Glock admitted. "We experienced a lot of balance problems with the car and this morning I was worried because it looked like we were going backwards rather than moving forward in the way we had hoped.

"Things were a bit better this afternoon but we have to home in on what is causing us the problem and find a solution overnight so that we can improve for tomorrow. Generally, at this stage, we have a big gap to close at the moment."

Di Grassi (pictured), by contrast, appeared a lot more upbeat after his first outing in the larger-fuel-tank VR-01.

"We’ve had a trouble-free and productive day in terms of completing our programme,” he said. "Having said that, the setup is far from perfect so we have a lot of work to do to find some solutions and improve the car for tomorrow. Despite this, it is good to have the revised car for the first time and to know that I will be able to push it on Sunday."

[Original image via GP Update]