It was very much a training day on Friday for Williams F1's newest recruit, Canadian driver Lance Stroll.
While his more experienced team mate Felipe Massa knuckled down to a conventional programme in free practice, for Stroll it was more a case of simply getting used to the unusual Sochi Autodrom venue.
"For Lance, the focus was on learning the circuit," confirmed the team's chief technical officer Paddy Lowe. "This is a track he hasn’t driven before, and he made good progress through the day."
"It is a bit strange here," Stroll admitted. "It is not one timed lap and then the tyre goes away, it builds up a lot. We need to figure out how to deliver the lap time when the tyre is at its best.
"There is still improvement to come, and that is generally from my side. It's my first time here and I am just getting the car set up the way I want.
Stroll ended FP2 19th fastest, but there was good reason for that apparent lack of pace compared with the rest of the field.
"I didn't use the ultrasofts as I am saving them for tomorrow," he explained. "That will give me a much better feeling and I will try to get in some good runs.
"We have not decided our strategy for the race yet. It is low grip here and the degradation doesn't look high, so we will have to see what approach is best."
"We chose to run two sets of super soft tyres with [Lance] in FP2," Lowe elaborated. "It gave him a more consistent tyre with one less variable. We have lots of interesting data in terms of tyre performance and endurance.
"There is still a lot of work to do tonight. We look forward to competing strongly tomorrow."
GALLERY: All the pictures from Friday in Sochi
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