The Formula 1 field continued to find the limit of their new machinery at the second day of testing at Jerez.
After contrasting fortunes on day one, it was more of the same on day two as some teams struggled with reliability and others racked up the laps on the Circuit de Jerez. Lotus driver Romain Grosjean topped the time sheets, after narrowly missing out on the top spot on day one.
However it was Lewis Hamilton who was creating all the headlines in his first test for Mercedes. A brake problem meant he clattered in to the Jerez barriers after just 14 laps, whilst it was contrasting fortunes at McLaren as his replacement, Sergio Perez, had a good first day.
Drivers testing on day two: Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Paul Di Resta and James Rossiter (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Luiz Razia (Marussia).
Grosjean had a near trouble-free day at the front, topping the morning and afternoon session. He narrowly missed topping the opening day, showing that so far Lotus are looking strong.
His best time of 1m18.218 was the fastest of the two days of running so far, and he completed a good haul of 95 laps. By sunset the Lotus drivers nearest rival was Di Resta in the Force India, also lapping the Jerez circuit 95 times. The Scottish Driver was seven tenths off Grosjean’s best time, after an issue free few hours of running. He completed most of the days running, before handing the car over to simulator driver James Rossiter for the final hour of the day.
Just one second separated Di Resta and eighth place man Felipe Massa by the end of the day. In between Daniel Ricciardo had another strong run in the Toro Rosso in the STR8. 83 laps of running meant the team were able to gather lots of data and knowledge. Mark Webber was next up, day one runner-up. He lapped the Jerez circuit 101 times and was the first man of the winter to top a century of laps, Sebastian Vettel will drive the car on Thursday and Friday.
Nico Hulkenberg had another steady day at the office for Sauber, as he gets used to his new surroundings and team. 99 laps overall meant he came close to joining Webber with over a century of circuits, but it was sixth place man Lewis Hamilton who had the paddock talking. The biggest story of the day was a return of technical gremlins to Mercedes. After losing track time on the opening day, Hamilton drove the car for the first time and crashed on his 14th lap, meaning the team had run gathered just 29 laps of running in two days.
An electrical fault meant he struggled to slow down the car at the
end of the back straight, ploughing through the gravel and hitting the
wall. Whilst the speed when he started to brake was around 160mph, the gravel did it's job and soon slowed him down, saving the W04 from more
extensive damage. The “Silver Arrows” worked throughout the day to try
to resolve the issues but in the end, for the second day in a row, they
had to admit defeat and concentrate on day three.
In contrast the man who replaced Hamilton at McLaren had a strong first day getting accustomed to the MP4-28. Sergio Perez completed 81 laps and ended the day 1.3 seconds off the pace of Grosjean. The Mexican completed several trouble-free long runs but ended his time in the car early to check the front of the car.
Felipe Massa was next up for Ferrari, his second day of three in the F138. The Ferrari yet again failed to stand out, but did get lots of consistent and important mileage. He was hampered early on as the Italian team assessed the aerodynamics of the car but was soon let loose on the track. Pastor Maldonado drove the 2012-spec Williams chassis and finished the day 2.4 seconds off the pace, ahead of James Rossiter in the Force India. He completed 19 laps in his hour of running, lapping faster than Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde in 11th and new Marussia signing Razia in 12th.
It was another busy day at the office for the worlds fastest racing drivers, with issues to resolve but plenty food for thought.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
However it was Lewis Hamilton who was creating all the headlines in his first test for Mercedes. A brake problem meant he clattered in to the Jerez barriers after just 14 laps, whilst it was contrasting fortunes at McLaren as his replacement, Sergio Perez, had a good first day.
Drivers testing on day two: Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (McLaren), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Paul Di Resta and James Rossiter (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Luiz Razia (Marussia).
Grosjean had a near trouble-free day at the front, topping the morning and afternoon session. He narrowly missed topping the opening day, showing that so far Lotus are looking strong.
His best time of 1m18.218 was the fastest of the two days of running so far, and he completed a good haul of 95 laps. By sunset the Lotus drivers nearest rival was Di Resta in the Force India, also lapping the Jerez circuit 95 times. The Scottish Driver was seven tenths off Grosjean’s best time, after an issue free few hours of running. He completed most of the days running, before handing the car over to simulator driver James Rossiter for the final hour of the day.
Just one second separated Di Resta and eighth place man Felipe Massa by the end of the day. In between Daniel Ricciardo had another strong run in the Toro Rosso in the STR8. 83 laps of running meant the team were able to gather lots of data and knowledge. Mark Webber was next up, day one runner-up. He lapped the Jerez circuit 101 times and was the first man of the winter to top a century of laps, Sebastian Vettel will drive the car on Thursday and Friday.
Nico Hulkenberg had another steady day at the office for Sauber, as he gets used to his new surroundings and team. 99 laps overall meant he came close to joining Webber with over a century of circuits, but it was sixth place man Lewis Hamilton who had the paddock talking. The biggest story of the day was a return of technical gremlins to Mercedes. After losing track time on the opening day, Hamilton drove the car for the first time and crashed on his 14th lap, meaning the team had run gathered just 29 laps of running in two days.
An electrical fault meant he struggled to slow down the car at the
end of the back straight, ploughing through the gravel and hitting the
wall. Whilst the speed when he started to brake was around 160mph, the gravel did it's job and soon slowed him down, saving the W04 from more
extensive damage. The “Silver Arrows” worked throughout the day to try
to resolve the issues but in the end, for the second day in a row, they
had to admit defeat and concentrate on day three.In contrast the man who replaced Hamilton at McLaren had a strong first day getting accustomed to the MP4-28. Sergio Perez completed 81 laps and ended the day 1.3 seconds off the pace of Grosjean. The Mexican completed several trouble-free long runs but ended his time in the car early to check the front of the car.
Felipe Massa was next up for Ferrari, his second day of three in the F138. The Ferrari yet again failed to stand out, but did get lots of consistent and important mileage. He was hampered early on as the Italian team assessed the aerodynamics of the car but was soon let loose on the track. Pastor Maldonado drove the 2012-spec Williams chassis and finished the day 2.4 seconds off the pace, ahead of James Rossiter in the Force India. He completed 19 laps in his hour of running, lapping faster than Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde in 11th and new Marussia signing Razia in 12th.
It was another busy day at the office for the worlds fastest racing drivers, with issues to resolve but plenty food for thought.
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