It may be the end of the Jerez test, but for the teams there are plenty of opportunities to come. The sun set over the Spanish circuit, as another year of testing at the venue comes to a close.
Barcelona is the next stop for the F1 Fraternity, the Circuit de Catalunya to be precise. It is a home from home for many drivers, due to its history as a race track and testing venue. However this article is about what just happened, the fourth day of testing at Jerez. It left teams with a lot to think about.
Reliability still proved to be an issue for the teams as a whole, but those who escaped it previously developed issues on day four as predicted. You can not go through a first test without a problem.
Who was in the car on Friday? Well the drivers out on track were: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Pedro De La Rosa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Paul Di Resta and Jules Bianchi (Force India), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Charles Pic (Caterham) and Luiz Razia (Marussia).
Lotus have shown strong form and reliability during their time testing at Jerez, and Kimi Raikkonen emphasised this by topping the time sheets on the final day. 83 laps rounded out a good two days in the car for the "Iceman", with a best time of 1m18.148. It fell short of Felipe Massa's best time on Thursday, but it was still a brilliant lap.
After the large gaps of the previous days test, it was refreshing to see some close times. In fact, Jules Bianchi narrowly missed out on setting the fastest time. The Frenchman drove for Force India, the team he is widely expected to join. The Silverstone based squad are yet to announce their second driver, but many think it will be him. He certainly showed some speed, ending the day just 0.027seconds off Raikkonen's best lap. He completed 56 laps for the team,before Di Resta returned to make up for lost time.
Sebastian Vettel narrowly missed out on completing 100 laps, missing the mark by four. However third fastest and a largely untroubled session meant he ended the day four tenths off Raikkonen. He led the morning session but dropped back, many think his RB9 was sporting new parts due to the teams secrecy when he returned to the pit garage.
Esteban Gutierrez was next up, completing yet more laps in the Sauber C32. 142 laps was an impressive feat and meant he covered over two full race distances. He finished five tenths off the fastest time. Jean-Eric Vergne continued Toro Rosso's steady top five progress, rounding out the top five and completing 92 laps. He was six tenths off Raikkonen and looked to be getting comfortable with the STR8.
Lewis Hamilton returned to the car after his dramatic exit from the second day of testing. Fortunately for him, the W04 had no major issues and meant he could complete lap after lap. Like Gutierrez, he too completed over two race distances with a lap count of 145. His best lap was a 1m18.905.
The man who replaced him at McLaren, Sergio Perez, was next up after another steady test day. He too was seven tenths off the pace and completed 98 laps, giving the McLaren MP4-28 more mileage. Valtteri Bottas was next up in the 2012-spec Williams, with a few 2013 parts on the car for good measure. The Finn, who is regarded as a star of the future, completed more mileage to add to his impressive testing career. Of course this season he will step up to a race seat.
Pedro De La Rosa had a rather dramatic day in the Ferrari F138. After three days in the hands of Felipe Massa, the Italian squads new Development Driver took over the reigns. Pedro was on fire by his second lap, literally. The Spanish driver stopped on track, but he managed to get out and complete 51 laps. He was 2.1 seconds off the pace, eighth tenths faster than Charles Pic in the Caterham. The Frenchman completed 109 laps in his bright green machine.
Luiz Razia returned to the Marussia MR02 and completed 82 laps, ending the day three seconds off the pace. Paul Di Resta was not scheduled to run on Friday but after losing most of his potential driving time on Thursday, he cut Bianchi's day short and completed 49 laps.
There was another red flag though, after the track developed a hole on one of the kerbs. The session was stopped for over an hour and meant that 30 minutes of extra running was added to the day.
Another dramatic day at Jerez, but now the F1 field moves on to Barcelona in a just over a weeks time.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Reliability still proved to be an issue for the teams as a whole, but those who escaped it previously developed issues on day four as predicted. You can not go through a first test without a problem.
Who was in the car on Friday? Well the drivers out on track were: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Pedro De La Rosa (Ferrari), Sergio Perez (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Paul Di Resta and Jules Bianchi (Force India), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), Charles Pic (Caterham) and Luiz Razia (Marussia).
Lotus have shown strong form and reliability during their time testing at Jerez, and Kimi Raikkonen emphasised this by topping the time sheets on the final day. 83 laps rounded out a good two days in the car for the "Iceman", with a best time of 1m18.148. It fell short of Felipe Massa's best time on Thursday, but it was still a brilliant lap.
After the large gaps of the previous days test, it was refreshing to see some close times. In fact, Jules Bianchi narrowly missed out on setting the fastest time. The Frenchman drove for Force India, the team he is widely expected to join. The Silverstone based squad are yet to announce their second driver, but many think it will be him. He certainly showed some speed, ending the day just 0.027seconds off Raikkonen's best lap. He completed 56 laps for the team,before Di Resta returned to make up for lost time.
Sebastian Vettel narrowly missed out on completing 100 laps, missing the mark by four. However third fastest and a largely untroubled session meant he ended the day four tenths off Raikkonen. He led the morning session but dropped back, many think his RB9 was sporting new parts due to the teams secrecy when he returned to the pit garage.
Esteban Gutierrez was next up, completing yet more laps in the Sauber C32. 142 laps was an impressive feat and meant he covered over two full race distances. He finished five tenths off the fastest time. Jean-Eric Vergne continued Toro Rosso's steady top five progress, rounding out the top five and completing 92 laps. He was six tenths off Raikkonen and looked to be getting comfortable with the STR8.
Lewis Hamilton returned to the car after his dramatic exit from the second day of testing. Fortunately for him, the W04 had no major issues and meant he could complete lap after lap. Like Gutierrez, he too completed over two race distances with a lap count of 145. His best lap was a 1m18.905.
The man who replaced him at McLaren, Sergio Perez, was next up after another steady test day. He too was seven tenths off the pace and completed 98 laps, giving the McLaren MP4-28 more mileage. Valtteri Bottas was next up in the 2012-spec Williams, with a few 2013 parts on the car for good measure. The Finn, who is regarded as a star of the future, completed more mileage to add to his impressive testing career. Of course this season he will step up to a race seat.
Pedro De La Rosa had a rather dramatic day in the Ferrari F138. After three days in the hands of Felipe Massa, the Italian squads new Development Driver took over the reigns. Pedro was on fire by his second lap, literally. The Spanish driver stopped on track, but he managed to get out and complete 51 laps. He was 2.1 seconds off the pace, eighth tenths faster than Charles Pic in the Caterham. The Frenchman completed 109 laps in his bright green machine.
Luiz Razia returned to the Marussia MR02 and completed 82 laps, ending the day three seconds off the pace. Paul Di Resta was not scheduled to run on Friday but after losing most of his potential driving time on Thursday, he cut Bianchi's day short and completed 49 laps.There was another red flag though, after the track developed a hole on one of the kerbs. The session was stopped for over an hour and meant that 30 minutes of extra running was added to the day.
Another dramatic day at Jerez, but now the F1 field moves on to Barcelona in a just over a weeks time.
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