Weather came in to play yet again, particularly as day two of the third winter test kicked off in Barcelona.
An overnight storm meant the session started with wet conditions, but unlike yesterday the track dried off before the lunch break, giving teams much needed dry running ahead of the season opener.
There are just two weeks left until the cars take to the track, so the dry running was hugely welcome. Teams mainly focused on long runs, but a late push saw Romain Grosjean top the time sheets for Lotus.
So who drove in the car today? Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
Conditions gradually improved over throughout the day, teams getting in substantial amounts of dry running. After running under the radar for the last few days, Lotus finally showed their hand by setting the fastest time. He completed 88 laps over the course of the day, half a second clear of the trailing pack. It was his final day in the E21, the next time he will drive the car will be during FP1 in Australia.
Jenson Button set the second fastest time, his best lap being completed on the Medium Pirelli rubber, as opposed to the Soft compound used by Grosjean on his fastest lap. Button said he felt a lot happier in the MP4-28 but they were still struggling with setting up the car, the fastest man of the morning session.
Williams launched their FW35 at the second test, and since then they have looked fast. Pastor Maldonado ended the day a second off Grosjean's
best time and completed 74 laps. However he did create a late red flag,
grounding to a halt on the pit straight late in the afternoon.
Sebastian Vettel may be a three-time world champion, but he can still make the odd mistake. The German slid off the circuit but managed to continue, obviously pushing hard ahead of the season opener. Red Bull continued to look consistent and Vettel's best time, on the Medium tyre, was a second off the Lotus.
A number of other drivers also struggled, particularly early in the morning during the switch from Wet to Intermediate tyres. Rosberg, Ricciardo and Vettel all came a cropper at turn five, but all managed to continue.
Fifth went to Nico Hulkenberg, whilst Adrian Sutil returned to Formula 1 as a fully fledged driver. It was like he had never left, Sutil completing 62 laps to get useful running under his belt. He did suffer a half spin, but managed to continue.
Daniel Ricciardo was next up, also setting his best time on the Medium Pirelli rubber. The Aussie did lose vital track time early on, after suffering a technical failure. Time topping driver Grosjean also suffered a similar fate, whilst Giedo van der Garde also created a late stoppage.
Between the Toro Rosso and Caterham drivers came Max Chilton, the Brit again driving in the car. His team-mates future looks in doubt, Chilton capitalising with yet more running and preparation in the MR02.
Rosberg ended the day rounding out the top 10, completing 120 laps but not really setting the time screens alight. He blamed the slow pace for the amount of fuel in the car.
Likewise, Fernando Alonso completed over 100 laps in the Ferrari F138 but set the slowest time of the day, 1m27.878. He was over five seconds behind Grosjean, a large field spread due to the range of different programs. Alonso also ground to a halt just before lunch with a mechanical issue.
Another very interesting day, the teams getting some very useful dry weather running in.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
There are just two weeks left until the cars take to the track, so the dry running was hugely welcome. Teams mainly focused on long runs, but a late push saw Romain Grosjean top the time sheets for Lotus.
So who drove in the car today? Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Adrian Sutil (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) and Max Chilton (Marussia).
Conditions gradually improved over throughout the day, teams getting in substantial amounts of dry running. After running under the radar for the last few days, Lotus finally showed their hand by setting the fastest time. He completed 88 laps over the course of the day, half a second clear of the trailing pack. It was his final day in the E21, the next time he will drive the car will be during FP1 in Australia.
Jenson Button set the second fastest time, his best lap being completed on the Medium Pirelli rubber, as opposed to the Soft compound used by Grosjean on his fastest lap. Button said he felt a lot happier in the MP4-28 but they were still struggling with setting up the car, the fastest man of the morning session.
Williams launched their FW35 at the second test, and since then they have looked fast. Pastor Maldonado ended the day a second off Grosjean's
best time and completed 74 laps. However he did create a late red flag,
grounding to a halt on the pit straight late in the afternoon.Sebastian Vettel may be a three-time world champion, but he can still make the odd mistake. The German slid off the circuit but managed to continue, obviously pushing hard ahead of the season opener. Red Bull continued to look consistent and Vettel's best time, on the Medium tyre, was a second off the Lotus.
A number of other drivers also struggled, particularly early in the morning during the switch from Wet to Intermediate tyres. Rosberg, Ricciardo and Vettel all came a cropper at turn five, but all managed to continue.
Fifth went to Nico Hulkenberg, whilst Adrian Sutil returned to Formula 1 as a fully fledged driver. It was like he had never left, Sutil completing 62 laps to get useful running under his belt. He did suffer a half spin, but managed to continue.
Daniel Ricciardo was next up, also setting his best time on the Medium Pirelli rubber. The Aussie did lose vital track time early on, after suffering a technical failure. Time topping driver Grosjean also suffered a similar fate, whilst Giedo van der Garde also created a late stoppage.
Between the Toro Rosso and Caterham drivers came Max Chilton, the Brit again driving in the car. His team-mates future looks in doubt, Chilton capitalising with yet more running and preparation in the MR02.Rosberg ended the day rounding out the top 10, completing 120 laps but not really setting the time screens alight. He blamed the slow pace for the amount of fuel in the car.
Likewise, Fernando Alonso completed over 100 laps in the Ferrari F138 but set the slowest time of the day, 1m27.878. He was over five seconds behind Grosjean, a large field spread due to the range of different programs. Alonso also ground to a halt just before lunch with a mechanical issue.
Another very interesting day, the teams getting some very useful dry weather running in.
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