The sound of F1 engines flooded the French countryside, with 3 F1 teams deciding to test at the former F1 circuit at Magny-Cours. Ferrari, Force India and Mercedes used the track time not only to access the drivers but to also test valuable parts on the car.
With running going on from early morning to mid-afternoon, lots of laps were completed. Jules Bianchi ended the day on top in the Ferrari.
Bianchi is the current Force India reserve driver and will take part in the Silverstone based teams running on Wednesday too. He is also part of the Ferrari young driver academy, and lapped the French circuit 87 times. His best time of 1m18.070 was the fastest of the day. Bianchi also races in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, to keep his skills sharp for a possible F1 debut in the near future.
It was not all smooth running for Jules though, as his car ground to a half late on with a suspected mechanical failure. Bianchi, who was racing at his home track, finished the day 0.5 seconds faster than Luiz Razia in the Force India.
Razia is currently racing in the GP2 series, the feeder series to F1. He currently lies second in the championship after losing the lead at the last round in Monza. He completed 64 laps and had a best time of 1m18.535.
Mercedes were the final team to run at Magny-Cours, and outlined their intentions of testing some big upgrades with experienced tester Sam Bird. The Brit, who also races alongside Bianchi in FR3.5, completed 95 laps of running on the W03, with new Coanda-effect style exhaust, and set a best time of 1m19.094.
The second day of three will see Bianchi move over to Force India for 1 day of testing, while Ferrari replace him with Davide Rigon. Bird will continue testing with Mercedes.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Bianchi is the current Force India reserve driver and will take part in the Silverstone based teams running on Wednesday too. He is also part of the Ferrari young driver academy, and lapped the French circuit 87 times. His best time of 1m18.070 was the fastest of the day. Bianchi also races in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, to keep his skills sharp for a possible F1 debut in the near future.
It was not all smooth running for Jules though, as his car ground to a half late on with a suspected mechanical failure. Bianchi, who was racing at his home track, finished the day 0.5 seconds faster than Luiz Razia in the Force India.
Razia is currently racing in the GP2 series, the feeder series to F1. He currently lies second in the championship after losing the lead at the last round in Monza. He completed 64 laps and had a best time of 1m18.535.
Mercedes were the final team to run at Magny-Cours, and outlined their intentions of testing some big upgrades with experienced tester Sam Bird. The Brit, who also races alongside Bianchi in FR3.5, completed 95 laps of running on the W03, with new Coanda-effect style exhaust, and set a best time of 1m19.094.
The second day of three will see Bianchi move over to Force India for 1 day of testing, while Ferrari replace him with Davide Rigon. Bird will continue testing with Mercedes.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Jules Bianchi Ferrari 1m18.070s
2. Luiz Razia Force India-Mercedes 1m18.535s + 0.465s
3. Sam Bird Mercedes 1m19.094s + 1.024s
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