Silverstone welcomed the F1 party just weeks after the British Grand Prix for the 2013 Young Driver Test. Not only was it open to a mix of race and young drivers, it was also open to the public.
I attended the Young Driver Test on day one and it was a positively thrilling experience, seeing F1 cars in the flesh, smelling the burning rubber and hearing the meaty V8 engines. McLaren topped the time sheets with their young charger.
Kevin Magnussen was fastest on day one with a best time of 1m33.602. The Dane looked confident throughout the seven hours of track time, completing aero and investigative work in the morning and focusing on tyre evaluations and long runs in the afternoon.
The 20-year-old completed the most laps of anyone on the first day of running, completing 100 laps of the Northamptonshire circuit. He looked confident from the outset, looking particularly fast into the sweeping Brooklands corner from my vantage-point at Woodcote.
Paul Di Resta was second fastest after completing tyre testing on Wednesday afternoon. He completed 58 laps at the wheel of the VJM06 and finished a tenth behind the leading McLaren. With race drivers following schedules from Pirelli themselves, it was all about the tyres for the Scot.
Antonio Felix Da Costa was third fastest in the Red Bull RB9, a tenth further back from the first Force India. He completed 82 laps, a stark contrast to fourth place man James Calado who only managed 27 laps in the morning session.
The Brit took a bit of time to get into the swing of things but his confidence soon increased. Fellow youngster Daniel Juncadella set the fifth fastest time at the wheel of his Williams FW35, a good effort considering the teams struggles with the car.
The DTM driver looked particularly tentative in the early stages but managed to gain some speed in the afternoon session, completing 55 laps. GP2 bad-boy Johnny Cecotto Junior set the sixth fastest time for Toro Rosso after completing 75 laps and finishing five tenths off the leading time.
Robin Frijns - who looks to be out of a potential drive at Sauber in 2014 due to Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin - drove the C32 on day one and completed 72 laps. He lost track time in the afternoon but made up for it with a busy run to the chequered flag. Frijns looked very committed throughout the day and it was great to see him get some track time.
Nicolas Prost set the eighth fastest time in arguably the second fastest car - after the Red Bull - but he did only complete laps on the hard tyres. He completed 72 laps at the wheel of the E21 and gave the team vital data and information. However I must admit that the Frenchman looked the most tentative of all the drivers and seemed to lift off a little more than most at Copse.
Davide Rigon finished ninth on day one after a full day of running, 1.2 seconds off the pace after 76 laps. Alexander Rossi completed seven fewer laps but managed to finish just eight tenths off the Ferrari of Rigon. He could have been closer but lost out on setting a hot lap due to a hydraulics problem.
The American was one of the more confident drivers through Copse but he seemed to struggle more in the higher downforce sections of Brooklands and Luffied where I was positioned, however I'm no expert and it was just an obvservation.
Tio Ellinas debuted for Marussia in the morning session, setting a best time of 1m36.676 and completing 36 laps. Max Chilton took to the track in the afternoon but ECU problems meant that he was only able to complete 58 minutes of running, equating to 27 laps.
In all fairness to Chilton, the Marussia really did look like a handful for those 58 minutes. He was really struggling to find a smooth and fast line through Brooklands and on a number of occassions he took to the kerbing, losing time. We also witnessed an overtake after he made an error with Magnussen's McLaren getting the slipstream - cue gentle cheers.
It was a fantastic day out and such good value. It cost just £20 to get in and spend seven hours watching almost a continuous stream of F1 cars and £10 for the pit lane walkabout which proved to be very interesting, seeing the showcars and watching the teams at work on the real thing.
One thing that really had me in awe was watching the cars speed along the old pit straight and turn the wheel right into Copse. They did it at such high speeds and it really made me respect the drivers even more than I previously did as they are going at such speeds. I know we may criticise Chilton sometimes for being slower than his team-mate but watching the cars on track with my own eyes, it really is inspiring stuff.
Young Driver Test – Day 1 – Final Times
1. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1:33.602, 100 laps
2. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:33.774, 58 laps
3. Antonio Felix da Costa, Red Bull, 1:33.821, 82 laps
4. James Calado, Force India, 1:33.986, 27 laps
5. Daniel Juncadella, Williams, 1:34.098, 55 laps
6. Johnny Cecotto, Toro Rosso, 1:34.193, 75 laps
7. Robin Frijns, Sauber, 1:34.236, 72 laps
8. Nicolas Prost, Lotus, 1:34.810, 72 laps
9. Davide Rigon, Ferrari, 1:34.874, 76 laps
10. Alexander Rossi, Caterham, 1:35.651, 69 laps
11. Tio Ellinas, Marussia, 1:36.676, 36 laps
12. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:38.347, 27 laps
For a look at some of my images from the day, check out the album on Facebook.
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| (c) Jack Leslie |
Kevin Magnussen was fastest on day one with a best time of 1m33.602. The Dane looked confident throughout the seven hours of track time, completing aero and investigative work in the morning and focusing on tyre evaluations and long runs in the afternoon.
The 20-year-old completed the most laps of anyone on the first day of running, completing 100 laps of the Northamptonshire circuit. He looked confident from the outset, looking particularly fast into the sweeping Brooklands corner from my vantage-point at Woodcote.
Paul Di Resta was second fastest after completing tyre testing on Wednesday afternoon. He completed 58 laps at the wheel of the VJM06 and finished a tenth behind the leading McLaren. With race drivers following schedules from Pirelli themselves, it was all about the tyres for the Scot.
Antonio Felix Da Costa was third fastest in the Red Bull RB9, a tenth further back from the first Force India. He completed 82 laps, a stark contrast to fourth place man James Calado who only managed 27 laps in the morning session.
The Brit took a bit of time to get into the swing of things but his confidence soon increased. Fellow youngster Daniel Juncadella set the fifth fastest time at the wheel of his Williams FW35, a good effort considering the teams struggles with the car.
The DTM driver looked particularly tentative in the early stages but managed to gain some speed in the afternoon session, completing 55 laps. GP2 bad-boy Johnny Cecotto Junior set the sixth fastest time for Toro Rosso after completing 75 laps and finishing five tenths off the leading time.
Robin Frijns - who looks to be out of a potential drive at Sauber in 2014 due to Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin - drove the C32 on day one and completed 72 laps. He lost track time in the afternoon but made up for it with a busy run to the chequered flag. Frijns looked very committed throughout the day and it was great to see him get some track time.
Nicolas Prost set the eighth fastest time in arguably the second fastest car - after the Red Bull - but he did only complete laps on the hard tyres. He completed 72 laps at the wheel of the E21 and gave the team vital data and information. However I must admit that the Frenchman looked the most tentative of all the drivers and seemed to lift off a little more than most at Copse.
Davide Rigon finished ninth on day one after a full day of running, 1.2 seconds off the pace after 76 laps. Alexander Rossi completed seven fewer laps but managed to finish just eight tenths off the Ferrari of Rigon. He could have been closer but lost out on setting a hot lap due to a hydraulics problem.
The American was one of the more confident drivers through Copse but he seemed to struggle more in the higher downforce sections of Brooklands and Luffied where I was positioned, however I'm no expert and it was just an obvservation.
Tio Ellinas debuted for Marussia in the morning session, setting a best time of 1m36.676 and completing 36 laps. Max Chilton took to the track in the afternoon but ECU problems meant that he was only able to complete 58 minutes of running, equating to 27 laps.
In all fairness to Chilton, the Marussia really did look like a handful for those 58 minutes. He was really struggling to find a smooth and fast line through Brooklands and on a number of occassions he took to the kerbing, losing time. We also witnessed an overtake after he made an error with Magnussen's McLaren getting the slipstream - cue gentle cheers.
It was a fantastic day out and such good value. It cost just £20 to get in and spend seven hours watching almost a continuous stream of F1 cars and £10 for the pit lane walkabout which proved to be very interesting, seeing the showcars and watching the teams at work on the real thing.
One thing that really had me in awe was watching the cars speed along the old pit straight and turn the wheel right into Copse. They did it at such high speeds and it really made me respect the drivers even more than I previously did as they are going at such speeds. I know we may criticise Chilton sometimes for being slower than his team-mate but watching the cars on track with my own eyes, it really is inspiring stuff.
Young Driver Test – Day 1 – Final Times
1. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1:33.602, 100 laps
2. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:33.774, 58 laps
3. Antonio Felix da Costa, Red Bull, 1:33.821, 82 laps
4. James Calado, Force India, 1:33.986, 27 laps
5. Daniel Juncadella, Williams, 1:34.098, 55 laps
6. Johnny Cecotto, Toro Rosso, 1:34.193, 75 laps
7. Robin Frijns, Sauber, 1:34.236, 72 laps
8. Nicolas Prost, Lotus, 1:34.810, 72 laps
9. Davide Rigon, Ferrari, 1:34.874, 76 laps
10. Alexander Rossi, Caterham, 1:35.651, 69 laps
11. Tio Ellinas, Marussia, 1:36.676, 36 laps
12. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:38.347, 27 laps
For a look at some of my images from the day, check out the album on Facebook.
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