The 2013 Young Driver Test came to a close at Silverstone after a productive day for most. Fans were treated to yet another scorching day with attendance peaking at over 7,000 on the final day of the test.
Triple world champion Sebastian Vettel - who is not so young - topped the time sheets for Red Bull Racing. It was an expected and predictable result with the German taking to the track on Friday afternoon.
His focus was on the Pirelli tyres and the manufacturer provided him with a packed schedule to complete after the lunch break. He circulated the Silverstone circuit 79 laps over the course of the afternoon session, giving Pirelli and the team vital data on the tyres that they will race with in Hungary.
Vettel's best time of the day was a 1m32.894, three tenths faster than Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo when the Aussie took to the track on day two to test for his potential future employer. It was also a tenth faster than the 23-year-old's lap time in the Toro Rosso STR8 after he split his time between the parent and junior team on Thursday.
It was a trouble free day for Vettel and his early time was unbeaten by the chequered flag, his nearest challenger being the Force India of Adrian Sutil. The German was in the car for most of the day before handing it over to James Calado with half an hour to go for a final run of the test. Sutil's best time was three tenths shy of Vettel's benchmark but he completed 99 laps at the wheel of the VJM06.
With fan favourite Kimi Raikkonen pulling out of the test, Nicolas Prost found himself back in the car for a full day of running in the E21. His best lap time was 0.012 seconds shy of Sutil's best effort which was impressive for the Frenchman. Carlos Sainz Junior switched over from Toro Rosso to Red Bull for Friday morning.
The Spaniard impressed considerably and hailed the day as a "dream come true" - after labelling his drive in the STR8 on Thursday as "the best day of my life." His best lap-time was just over half a second down on Vettel's time. He completed 35 laps at the wheel of the RB9 and finished just ahead of Davide Rigon in the Ferrari F138 who gained yet more vital experience in F1 machinery.
Rigon took over driving duties from Felipe Massa in the afternoon with the Brazilian described the new Pirelli tyres as "consistent and safer" after trialling them for the first time. He completed 69 laps of the Silverstone circuit before returning to the pits to hand the reigns over to Ferrari's protegee.
Jean-Eric Vergne's outing for Toro Rosso was largely compared to his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's drive for the team in Thursday. The Frenchman's best time of 1m33.647 was close to seven tenths slower than Ricciardo's although, of course, the Italian know the fuel loads in the car.
Gary Paffett had the McLaren MP4-28 all to himself but lost vital track time after an engine problem. This had him garage-bound for a quite some time as the team resolved the situation. After completing just six laps in the morning session he soon made up for the time lost and completed 69 laps overall.
He finished just ahead of Williams development driver Susie Wolff. Despite over 30 drivers taking part in the test, all eyes and focus were on the only female taking part in the test. The Scottish racer took a little bit of time to build her confidence up in the car but completed a respectable 89 laps and set a fastest time just 2.1 seconds off the pace of Vettel.
Giedo van der Garde had a productive but eventful afternoon in the car after bringing out the red flags. He beached the CT-03 in the gravel but managed to return to the race track after his car was recovered to complete 65 laps. Charles Pic finished in 12th place after circulating the track 66 times. The Caterham duo sandwiched F1 debutant Daniil Kvyat who took over the Toro Rosso in the afternoon.
He managed 22 laps before a mistake cut short his day. Kimiya Sato also had his first run in F1 machinery with the Sauber C32 all to himself. The Auto GP star completed 67 laps overall and finished 2.7 seconds off the pace.
Rodolfo Gonzalez was the leading Marussia after taking to the track on Friday morning. He brought out an early red flag after an off-track excursion which curtailed his running after 24 laps on track. James Calado set the 15th fastest time after being given one final drive in the car just prior to the chequered flag.
The Brit impressed during the test and drove on all three days after a five lap run to end the day on Friday. Jules Bianchi rounded out the results with his Pirelli directed programme that was interrupted by a mechanical problem that pitched him off track at Becketts.
Despite two hours remaining, Marussia could not get him back out on track and hence his day came to an early end.
Final Results:
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
His focus was on the Pirelli tyres and the manufacturer provided him with a packed schedule to complete after the lunch break. He circulated the Silverstone circuit 79 laps over the course of the afternoon session, giving Pirelli and the team vital data on the tyres that they will race with in Hungary.
Vettel's best time of the day was a 1m32.894, three tenths faster than Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo when the Aussie took to the track on day two to test for his potential future employer. It was also a tenth faster than the 23-year-old's lap time in the Toro Rosso STR8 after he split his time between the parent and junior team on Thursday.
It was a trouble free day for Vettel and his early time was unbeaten by the chequered flag, his nearest challenger being the Force India of Adrian Sutil. The German was in the car for most of the day before handing it over to James Calado with half an hour to go for a final run of the test. Sutil's best time was three tenths shy of Vettel's benchmark but he completed 99 laps at the wheel of the VJM06.
With fan favourite Kimi Raikkonen pulling out of the test, Nicolas Prost found himself back in the car for a full day of running in the E21. His best lap time was 0.012 seconds shy of Sutil's best effort which was impressive for the Frenchman. Carlos Sainz Junior switched over from Toro Rosso to Red Bull for Friday morning.
The Spaniard impressed considerably and hailed the day as a "dream come true" - after labelling his drive in the STR8 on Thursday as "the best day of my life." His best lap-time was just over half a second down on Vettel's time. He completed 35 laps at the wheel of the RB9 and finished just ahead of Davide Rigon in the Ferrari F138 who gained yet more vital experience in F1 machinery. Rigon took over driving duties from Felipe Massa in the afternoon with the Brazilian described the new Pirelli tyres as "consistent and safer" after trialling them for the first time. He completed 69 laps of the Silverstone circuit before returning to the pits to hand the reigns over to Ferrari's protegee.
Jean-Eric Vergne's outing for Toro Rosso was largely compared to his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's drive for the team in Thursday. The Frenchman's best time of 1m33.647 was close to seven tenths slower than Ricciardo's although, of course, the Italian know the fuel loads in the car.
Gary Paffett had the McLaren MP4-28 all to himself but lost vital track time after an engine problem. This had him garage-bound for a quite some time as the team resolved the situation. After completing just six laps in the morning session he soon made up for the time lost and completed 69 laps overall.
He finished just ahead of Williams development driver Susie Wolff. Despite over 30 drivers taking part in the test, all eyes and focus were on the only female taking part in the test. The Scottish racer took a little bit of time to build her confidence up in the car but completed a respectable 89 laps and set a fastest time just 2.1 seconds off the pace of Vettel.
Giedo van der Garde had a productive but eventful afternoon in the car after bringing out the red flags. He beached the CT-03 in the gravel but managed to return to the race track after his car was recovered to complete 65 laps. Charles Pic finished in 12th place after circulating the track 66 times. The Caterham duo sandwiched F1 debutant Daniil Kvyat who took over the Toro Rosso in the afternoon.
He managed 22 laps before a mistake cut short his day. Kimiya Sato also had his first run in F1 machinery with the Sauber C32 all to himself. The Auto GP star completed 67 laps overall and finished 2.7 seconds off the pace.
Rodolfo Gonzalez was the leading Marussia after taking to the track on Friday morning. He brought out an early red flag after an off-track excursion which curtailed his running after 24 laps on track. James Calado set the 15th fastest time after being given one final drive in the car just prior to the chequered flag.
The Brit impressed during the test and drove on all three days after a five lap run to end the day on Friday. Jules Bianchi rounded out the results with his Pirelli directed programme that was interrupted by a mechanical problem that pitched him off track at Becketts.
Despite two hours remaining, Marussia could not get him back out on track and hence his day came to an early end.
Final Results:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m32.894s 79
2. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.242s +0.348s 99
3. Nicolas Prost Lotus-Renault 1m33.256s +0.362s 83
4. Carlos Sainz Jr Red Bull-Renault 1m33.546s +0.652s 35
5. Davide Rigon Ferrari 1m33.592s +0.698s 19
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m33.624s +0.730s 69
7. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.647s +0.753s 42
8. Gary Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.294s +1.400s 77
9. Susie Wolff Williams-Renault 1m35.093s +2.199s 89
10. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m35.155s +2.261s 65
11. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.281s +2.387s 22
12. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m35.576s +2.682s 60
13. Kimiya Sato Sauber-Ferrari 1m35.642s +2.748s 67
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.339s +3.445s 24
15. James Calado Force India-Mercedes 1m36.451s +3.557s 5
16. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m36.744s +3.850s 39
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