It was a busy day out on track, as Formula 1's second winter test completed its third day.
There were a number of driver changes for Thursday's testing action, which was a largely uninterrupted day. There were a few small issues, but none of those suffered at Jerez.
There was a certain Spaniard who moved to the top of the time sheets, and another racer making a return.
So who was piloting the cars today? Mark Webber (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
Fernando Alonso rounded out his running for Ferrari at the second winter test, topping the time sheets with an impressive fastest time of 1m21.875. After trying out longer runs on the previous two days, the team put him on an aggressive schedule of short runs that really put both the F138 through its paces.
The impressive lap time was set on the soft Pirelli tyres, and took place in the morning session. He led the time sheets for most of the day and looked pleased with his programme, completed 97 laps. Second placed man Nico Hulkenberg set his fastest time on a similar short run, also on the yellow marked tyres. He was just three tenths off Alonso's best time, setting his just prior to the lunch break.
91 laps of running was impressive enough, but Lotus driver Romain Grosjean completed a mammoth 119 circuits of the Barcelona track, just over three tenths slower than Alonso. The Frenchman took over the E21 from Kimi Raikkonen and will complete the Enstone based teams second test running.
Nico Rosberg ended the day fourth fastest, of course times do not mean everything and lap counts can be even more important. The German completed 108 laps piloting the W04, showing off Mercedes new found reliability. He completed a few strong mid-afternoon runs on the medium tyre, but did not complete a race run.
Williams split their drivers for Thursday's running, Maldonado driving the car in the morning and Bottas in the afternoon. The drivers ended up fifth and sixth, the Venezuelan eighth tenths down on the days pace setter Alonso, and Bottas 0.150seconds further back. They completed 79 and 68 laps respectively, a grand total of 147.
Jenson Button was next up, simmering low on the time sheets. After Perez topped the timings on Wednesday, Button finished just under a second down on Alonso. However his best time was set on the orange marked Hard compound tyre, concentrating on the harder compounds for most of the day. He completed 71 laps, seven shy of eighth place man Adrian Sutil's tally.
The German returned to driving a Formula 1 car, the first time since the final Grand Prix of 2011. He endured a solid day, in a last minute attempt at convincing Force India to hire him to fill the vacant second seat.
Mark Webber had a low key day in the Red Bull RB9, completing 108 laps and ending the day 1.1 seconds down on 2012 Drivers Championship runner-up Alonso. The Aussie almost completed a full race run, but fell short due to a red flag.
Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso had a similarly low key day of running, Jean-Eric Vergne setting the 10th fastest time. He completed 106 laps and finished 1.5 seconds down on Alonso.
Max Chilton completed a third straight day in the MR02, but will hand over to team-mate Luiz Razia for the final day of testing. He ended the day four tenths faster than rival Giedo van der Garde in the Caterham, who created the only red flag of the day late on in the afternoon session.
A busy and reliable day of running, we will see how long that lasts.
 |
| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
There was a certain Spaniard who moved to the top of the time sheets, and another racer making a return.
So who was piloting the cars today? Mark Webber (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
Fernando Alonso rounded out his running for Ferrari at the second winter test, topping the time sheets with an impressive fastest time of 1m21.875. After trying out longer runs on the previous two days, the team put him on an aggressive schedule of short runs that really put both the F138 through its paces.
The impressive lap time was set on the soft Pirelli tyres, and took place in the morning session. He led the time sheets for most of the day and looked pleased with his programme, completed 97 laps. Second placed man Nico Hulkenberg set his fastest time on a similar short run, also on the yellow marked tyres. He was just three tenths off Alonso's best time, setting his just prior to the lunch break.
91 laps of running was impressive enough, but Lotus driver Romain Grosjean completed a mammoth 119 circuits of the Barcelona track, just over three tenths slower than Alonso. The Frenchman took over the E21 from Kimi Raikkonen and will complete the Enstone based teams second test running.
Nico Rosberg ended the day fourth fastest, of course times do not mean everything and lap counts can be even more important. The German completed 108 laps piloting the W04, showing off Mercedes new found reliability. He completed a few strong mid-afternoon runs on the medium tyre, but did not complete a race run.
Williams split their drivers for Thursday's running, Maldonado driving the car in the morning and Bottas in the afternoon. The drivers ended up fifth and sixth, the Venezuelan eighth tenths down on the days pace setter Alonso, and Bottas 0.150seconds further back. They completed 79 and 68 laps respectively, a grand total of 147.
Jenson Button was next up, simmering low on the time sheets. After Perez topped the timings on Wednesday, Button finished just under a second down on Alonso. However his best time was set on the orange marked Hard compound tyre, concentrating on the harder compounds for most of the day. He completed 71 laps, seven shy of eighth place man Adrian Sutil's tally.
The German returned to driving a Formula 1 car, the first time since the final Grand Prix of 2011. He endured a solid day, in a last minute attempt at convincing Force India to hire him to fill the vacant second seat.
Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso had a similarly low key day of running, Jean-Eric Vergne setting the 10th fastest time. He completed 106 laps and finished 1.5 seconds down on Alonso.
Max Chilton completed a third straight day in the MR02, but will hand over to team-mate Luiz Razia for the final day of testing. He ended the day four tenths faster than rival Giedo van der Garde in the Caterham, who created the only red flag of the day late on in the afternoon session.
A busy and reliable day of running, we will see how long that lasts.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.