It was a rather wet and damp final day of the second F1 test.
The heavens opened early in the day, creating rather tricky driving conditions that caught many drivers out. It soon dried out and cars returned on a mix of Pirelli's dry compounds, but the heavens opened again later on. The darkened clouds even produced some hail.
The paddock groaned as the dark clouds loomed ahead, but the rain came as no surprise. On the previous day, drivers were already expecting the downpour and explained that the rain, coupled with the cold temperatures would mean they would learn very little from the final day of the second test.
So who was driving, or sailing, on Day 4? Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Jules Bianchi (Force India), Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
It was a dramatic day at the office for a number of drivers, as four cars slithered off the track within the first two hours of the session. There was also a total of eight red flags. However Lewis Hamilton did not put a foot wrong, topping the time sheets with a lap time of 1m23.282 on the Medium tyre, considerably slower than the previous days top times.
This was due to an early morning rain shower that dampened the circuit and created some tough driving conditions. It dried out for some decent running just before the lunch break, where Hamilton set that fastest time. Another rain shower over lunch meant it was a rather limited afternoon of running, with cars still running on intermediate tyres by flag fall. Hamilton completed 52 laps but was not a fan of the rain, telling Sky Sports F1 "I really don’t like driving in the rain, generally – unless it’s racing. I like racing in the rain.”
Former team-mate Jenson Button was not happy with the car or the predicted weather ahead of Day four of the first Barcelona Test, but looked strong in both the wet and dry conditions. His best time of 1m23.633 was the best of 70 laps, and was also set on the Medium Pirelli compound tyre.
Jean-Eric Vergne had a good day in the Toro Rosso STR8, after a few low key days of testing. He was some way off the front running pace, seven tenths off Hamilton's fastest time. His best effort was on the soft tyre, the best of 80 laps. Vergne caused one of the early red flags after slithering off track at turn five, a gravel trap that proved popular amongst the drivers. Hamilton also created one of the eighth red flags after stopping between turns five and six, a mechanical glitch that came just 45 minutes before the chequered flag.
Jules Bianchi probably felt disappointed with his day in the Force India. He was put in the car after Adrian Sutil, his rival for the second Force India seat, drove the VJM06 on Thursday. The wet running meant he could not show his true potential, posting the fourth fastest time. His lap was 2.5 seconds down on Hamilton's, the best of 61 laps. He too brought out a red flag after stopping on the pit straight.
Esteban Gutierrez had an eventful second day in the car at the Barcelona track, spinning twice and creating two red flags. The first was early in the morning, the Mexican was caught out by the damp track at turn five. He later suffered another off track excursion in the afternoon session, when the rain shower was at its peak. at turn four. He still completed 96 laps, but eventually finished 2.9 seconds down on Hamilton.
Sixth place went to Giedo va der Garde, another driver to bring out two red flags. The Dutch racer spun at the final turn, and then ground to a halt later on with a mechanical issue. He lapped the track 50 times and ended the day four seconds down on the Mercedes. Felipe Massa had an equally dramatic day, and was the first to spin. The experienced driver was caught out on his second lap, spinning at turn four. The Brazilian made his return to the F138 for the final day of the test, team-mate Alonso drove the car on the first three days.
Mark Webber was just a shade slower than Massa, the Aussie also suffered problems during the dramatic day. His RB9 slowed at Campsa with a mechanical issue. He still managed 56 laps, his best on the medium tyre being 4.3 seconds down on the top time. Max Chilton was next up in the Marussia, covering all four days of the test for the team. He ended the day over 6 seconds off Hamilton's benchmark, but had a productive day of running.
Romain Grosjean rounded out the top 10, a rather distant 11 seconds down. However Lotus spent most of the day data gathering and logging, ahead of next weeks third and final test.
Williams split the drivers running again, Bottas driving in the morning and Maldonado taking over the FW35 in the afternoon. However they obviously felt that the wet weather would not provide them with any useful information, hence why both drivers did not set a time. Despite completing 36 laps between them, the team instead focused on pit stop practice.
It was a rather dramatic and action packed final day of testing, with lots still to learn.
Testing will resume next Thursday, for the final winter test of the 2013 season.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
The paddock groaned as the dark clouds loomed ahead, but the rain came as no surprise. On the previous day, drivers were already expecting the downpour and explained that the rain, coupled with the cold temperatures would mean they would learn very little from the final day of the second test.
So who was driving, or sailing, on Day 4? Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Jules Bianchi (Force India), Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
It was a dramatic day at the office for a number of drivers, as four cars slithered off the track within the first two hours of the session. There was also a total of eight red flags. However Lewis Hamilton did not put a foot wrong, topping the time sheets with a lap time of 1m23.282 on the Medium tyre, considerably slower than the previous days top times.
This was due to an early morning rain shower that dampened the circuit and created some tough driving conditions. It dried out for some decent running just before the lunch break, where Hamilton set that fastest time. Another rain shower over lunch meant it was a rather limited afternoon of running, with cars still running on intermediate tyres by flag fall. Hamilton completed 52 laps but was not a fan of the rain, telling Sky Sports F1 "I really don’t like driving in the rain, generally – unless it’s racing. I like racing in the rain.”
Former team-mate Jenson Button was not happy with the car or the predicted weather ahead of Day four of the first Barcelona Test, but looked strong in both the wet and dry conditions. His best time of 1m23.633 was the best of 70 laps, and was also set on the Medium Pirelli compound tyre.
Jean-Eric Vergne had a good day in the Toro Rosso STR8, after a few low key days of testing. He was some way off the front running pace, seven tenths off Hamilton's fastest time. His best effort was on the soft tyre, the best of 80 laps. Vergne caused one of the early red flags after slithering off track at turn five, a gravel trap that proved popular amongst the drivers. Hamilton also created one of the eighth red flags after stopping between turns five and six, a mechanical glitch that came just 45 minutes before the chequered flag.
Jules Bianchi probably felt disappointed with his day in the Force India. He was put in the car after Adrian Sutil, his rival for the second Force India seat, drove the VJM06 on Thursday. The wet running meant he could not show his true potential, posting the fourth fastest time. His lap was 2.5 seconds down on Hamilton's, the best of 61 laps. He too brought out a red flag after stopping on the pit straight.
Esteban Gutierrez had an eventful second day in the car at the Barcelona track, spinning twice and creating two red flags. The first was early in the morning, the Mexican was caught out by the damp track at turn five. He later suffered another off track excursion in the afternoon session, when the rain shower was at its peak. at turn four. He still completed 96 laps, but eventually finished 2.9 seconds down on Hamilton.
Sixth place went to Giedo va der Garde, another driver to bring out two red flags. The Dutch racer spun at the final turn, and then ground to a halt later on with a mechanical issue. He lapped the track 50 times and ended the day four seconds down on the Mercedes. Felipe Massa had an equally dramatic day, and was the first to spin. The experienced driver was caught out on his second lap, spinning at turn four. The Brazilian made his return to the F138 for the final day of the test, team-mate Alonso drove the car on the first three days.
Mark Webber was just a shade slower than Massa, the Aussie also suffered problems during the dramatic day. His RB9 slowed at Campsa with a mechanical issue. He still managed 56 laps, his best on the medium tyre being 4.3 seconds down on the top time. Max Chilton was next up in the Marussia, covering all four days of the test for the team. He ended the day over 6 seconds off Hamilton's benchmark, but had a productive day of running.
Romain Grosjean rounded out the top 10, a rather distant 11 seconds down. However Lotus spent most of the day data gathering and logging, ahead of next weeks third and final test.
Williams split the drivers running again, Bottas driving in the morning and Maldonado taking over the FW35 in the afternoon. However they obviously felt that the wet weather would not provide them with any useful information, hence why both drivers did not set a time. Despite completing 36 laps between them, the team instead focused on pit stop practice.
It was a rather dramatic and action packed final day of testing, with lots still to learn.
Testing will resume next Thursday, for the final winter test of the 2013 season.
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