The first winter test of the 2014 Formula 1 season has come to a close after four days of on-track action at Jerez.
Felipe Massa set the fastest time on day four. The Brazilian was at the wheel of the new Williams FW36 once again, after a successful debut outing on day three.
Early running took place on the wet and intermediate Pirelli tyres after overnight showers soaked the Spanish circuit. The weather was cloudy and cold to start the day, with even more rain saturating the track surface in the morning.
However, the skies swiftly cleared and a dry line soon emerged. The afternoon running took place on the slick Pirelli tyres, with teams using a variation of compounds.
Due to the constantly evolving track conditions, the times tumbled dramatically late in the session. However, Massa ended the day with the fastest lap - a 1m28.229 - after completing 86 laps. It was a productive second day in the FW36 for the Brazilian, as he got to grips with the new car - and Mercedes power for the first time in his F1 career.
"It wasn't a great day because it was raining, but we completed some laps in the wet conditions which was interesting to understand how the car behaves in wet, with the tyres and new power unit," he said. "We managed to do many more laps today than we have in the last three days which is important.
"Today we didn't have any issues with the car which I think is also another step forward. We now need to concentrate and prepare with an aim to do more laps per day in Bahrain. Overall, I'm happy with my first days with Williams and I'm pleased with what I have seen in the team this week."
Fernando Alonso's fastest lap of the 2.75-mile circuit was nine tenths slower, but the Spaniard managed to complete 115 laps over the course of the day. It was a trouble-free second run driving the new Ferrari F14 T for the double world champion, as he gained more experience in the new 2014 machinery.
"A busy and very demanding day, during which we were able to do a good number of laps, which is the real aim of this first test," he said. "It’s difficult to get a clear picture of the behaviour of the wet tyres because the track conditions were in between damp and dry, which is maybe the worst situation for understanding how the Intermediates perform. The afternoon went well and we tried various aerodynamic and mechanical configurations, gathering a lot of data that will prove useful to continue the development work of the car."
Force India gave its newly-signed reserve driver Daniel Juncadella his first outing for the team. The youngster, who will juggle his F1 commitments with a season in the DTM series, completed 86 laps driving the distinctive new VJM07.
There were three red flags during the course of day four, with two of them being caused by McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen. The 21-year-old spun at the chicane, which caused the first stoppage, before ending his day early after a collision with the tyre barrier at turn 10 with 15 minutes of the session left on the clock.
However, it was a largely positive day for McLaren after a difficult start to the test. He managed 110 laps on Friday, five shy of the highest tally, and gained more experience at the wheel of the MP4-29.
Mercedes switched its schedule mid-way through the day. Nico Rosberg had completed a race distance and some more in the morning, so the Brackley-based outfit decided to put Lewis Hamilton in the car for the afternoon session to even out the running.
With a drying track and soft tyres, the Brit set the fifth fastest time - a 1m30.822 - and lapped the track 41 times. His team-mate ended the day in eighth place after 91 laps at the wheel of the W05.
Marussia's MR03 had only debuted on Thursday afternoon, so 25 laps was a big achievement for the team. Jules Bianchi took over driving duties from his team-mate Max Chilton but his first day in the car was far from smooth, with a few small problems causing a number of long stints in the garage.
"I was really excited to get my first taste of the new MR03 and I like it a lot," he said. "The car feels great to drive and I’m pleased that I was able to achieve some good mileage. You always want more, of course, but there is a lot to work through and understand, so we have to be patient and go through the programme in the right way, especially as we have had damp conditions to contend with also. It is early days but we were quite happy with the pace in the conditions and for our programme. Not a bad start."
Adrian Sutil was, once again, at the wheel of the Sauber C33 and he managed 69 laps. However, his running was delayed after an off-track excursion at Jerez brought out the opening session stoppage of the day. Still, it was another decent day on track for the Swiss team.
Kamui Kobayashi has officially returned to F1. The Japanese racer completed 54 laps driving the new Caterham CT05, which was - by far - the most reliable Renault-powered car of the day. But his day did come to an early end due to a power-unit problem.
The Renault power-units continued to be problematic, with Daniil Kvyat only managing nine laps with the new STR9. The Russian driver had to sit on the sidelines on Wednesday and, once again, spent the majority of the day out of the car. When he did get out late in the day, the 2014 machine stopped out on track.
Red Bull Racing didn't even attempt to return to the track after seven early morning laps for Daniel Ricciardo. The RB10 sported two extra cooling holes on the sidepod, but it wasn't enough to help cool the power-unit and Turbo.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit eventually called it a day early in the afternoon, choosing to get a head start on the packing up process after a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing four days in southern Spain.
Day 4 Times:
1. Massa (Williams) 1m28.229 - 86 laps
2. Alonso (Ferrari) 1m29.145 - 115 laps
3. Juncadella (Force India) 1m29.457 - 81 laps
4. Magnussen (McLaren) 1m30.806 - 110 laps
5. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m30.822 - 41 laps
6. Bianchi (Marussia) 1m32.222 - 25 laps
7. Sutil (Sauber) 1m36.571 - 69 laps
8. Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m36.951 - 91 laps
9. Kobayashi (Caterham) 1m43.193 - 4 laps
10. Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m44.016 - 9 laps
11. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1m45.374 - 7 laps
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| © Octane Photographic |
Early running took place on the wet and intermediate Pirelli tyres after overnight showers soaked the Spanish circuit. The weather was cloudy and cold to start the day, with even more rain saturating the track surface in the morning.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
However, the skies swiftly cleared and a dry line soon emerged. The afternoon running took place on the slick Pirelli tyres, with teams using a variation of compounds.
Due to the constantly evolving track conditions, the times tumbled dramatically late in the session. However, Massa ended the day with the fastest lap - a 1m28.229 - after completing 86 laps. It was a productive second day in the FW36 for the Brazilian, as he got to grips with the new car - and Mercedes power for the first time in his F1 career.
"It wasn't a great day because it was raining, but we completed some laps in the wet conditions which was interesting to understand how the car behaves in wet, with the tyres and new power unit," he said. "We managed to do many more laps today than we have in the last three days which is important.
"Today we didn't have any issues with the car which I think is also another step forward. We now need to concentrate and prepare with an aim to do more laps per day in Bahrain. Overall, I'm happy with my first days with Williams and I'm pleased with what I have seen in the team this week."
Fernando Alonso's fastest lap of the 2.75-mile circuit was nine tenths slower, but the Spaniard managed to complete 115 laps over the course of the day. It was a trouble-free second run driving the new Ferrari F14 T for the double world champion, as he gained more experience in the new 2014 machinery.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
"A busy and very demanding day, during which we were able to do a good number of laps, which is the real aim of this first test," he said. "It’s difficult to get a clear picture of the behaviour of the wet tyres because the track conditions were in between damp and dry, which is maybe the worst situation for understanding how the Intermediates perform. The afternoon went well and we tried various aerodynamic and mechanical configurations, gathering a lot of data that will prove useful to continue the development work of the car."
Force India gave its newly-signed reserve driver Daniel Juncadella his first outing for the team. The youngster, who will juggle his F1 commitments with a season in the DTM series, completed 86 laps driving the distinctive new VJM07.
There were three red flags during the course of day four, with two of them being caused by McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen. The 21-year-old spun at the chicane, which caused the first stoppage, before ending his day early after a collision with the tyre barrier at turn 10 with 15 minutes of the session left on the clock.
However, it was a largely positive day for McLaren after a difficult start to the test. He managed 110 laps on Friday, five shy of the highest tally, and gained more experience at the wheel of the MP4-29.
Mercedes switched its schedule mid-way through the day. Nico Rosberg had completed a race distance and some more in the morning, so the Brackley-based outfit decided to put Lewis Hamilton in the car for the afternoon session to even out the running.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
With a drying track and soft tyres, the Brit set the fifth fastest time - a 1m30.822 - and lapped the track 41 times. His team-mate ended the day in eighth place after 91 laps at the wheel of the W05.
Marussia's MR03 had only debuted on Thursday afternoon, so 25 laps was a big achievement for the team. Jules Bianchi took over driving duties from his team-mate Max Chilton but his first day in the car was far from smooth, with a few small problems causing a number of long stints in the garage.
"I was really excited to get my first taste of the new MR03 and I like it a lot," he said. "The car feels great to drive and I’m pleased that I was able to achieve some good mileage. You always want more, of course, but there is a lot to work through and understand, so we have to be patient and go through the programme in the right way, especially as we have had damp conditions to contend with also. It is early days but we were quite happy with the pace in the conditions and for our programme. Not a bad start."
Adrian Sutil was, once again, at the wheel of the Sauber C33 and he managed 69 laps. However, his running was delayed after an off-track excursion at Jerez brought out the opening session stoppage of the day. Still, it was another decent day on track for the Swiss team.
Kamui Kobayashi has officially returned to F1. The Japanese racer completed 54 laps driving the new Caterham CT05, which was - by far - the most reliable Renault-powered car of the day. But his day did come to an early end due to a power-unit problem.
 |
|
© Octane Photographic
|
The Renault power-units continued to be problematic, with Daniil Kvyat only managing nine laps with the new STR9. The Russian driver had to sit on the sidelines on Wednesday and, once again, spent the majority of the day out of the car. When he did get out late in the day, the 2014 machine stopped out on track.
Red Bull Racing didn't even attempt to return to the track after seven early morning laps for Daniel Ricciardo. The RB10 sported two extra cooling holes on the sidepod, but it wasn't enough to help cool the power-unit and Turbo.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit eventually called it a day early in the afternoon, choosing to get a head start on the packing up process after a thoroughly frustrating and disappointing four days in southern Spain.
Day 4 Times:
1. Massa (Williams) 1m28.229 - 86 laps
2. Alonso (Ferrari) 1m29.145 - 115 laps
3. Juncadella (Force India) 1m29.457 - 81 laps
4. Magnussen (McLaren) 1m30.806 - 110 laps
5. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m30.822 - 41 laps
6. Bianchi (Marussia) 1m32.222 - 25 laps
7. Sutil (Sauber) 1m36.571 - 69 laps
8. Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m36.951 - 91 laps
9. Kobayashi (Caterham) 1m43.193 - 4 laps
10. Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m44.016 - 9 laps
11. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1m45.374 - 7 laps
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