The F1 paddock reassembled at the Bahrain International Circuit, as the second winter test of the 2014 season kicked off.
The Lotus E22 made its public debut when the track eventually opened, following a 30 minute delay due to a problem with the track marshals.
Under the sunny and blue skies of Bahrain, pre-season testing resumed with all 11 teams in attendance. Major upgrades were taken to the test and trialled on the opening day, although the focus was still very much on reliability along with gaining mileage and data.
It was, like Jerez, a mixed day for the teams. Some managed to complete a good haul of laps, while others (particularly - still - the Renault-powered cars) suffered mechanical gremlins, causing them to lose track time.
Nico Hulkenberg set the pace on Wednesday, with a best time of 1m36.880. His time was quicker than the fastest lap from the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix, set by Sebastian Vettel.
It was a largely trouble-free day for the Force India team, with the returning Hulkenberg completing 78 laps of running - 14 more than Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard's best time was just under one second slower than the Force India driver's, but it was good enough for second. His day didn't get off to the best of starts, after smoke emerged from his F14 T on its installation lap.
His slowing Ferrari brought out the first of four red flags, although the double world champion was able to get the car back to the pits. Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest time but his day came to an early end after a brake problem.
The Brit still completed 74 laps of the 3.63-mile track after a largely positive opening test day. "It's been impressive to see us start the Bahrain test with good mileage and reliability, especially when you see how difficult it is for everyone with the new regulations," he said.
"The team can be very proud of this after so much hard work. Today was another good test of the car to see if any issues came up -we had a small issue with the brakes at the end but were still able to achieve a lot of laps today. We're not aiming to be top of the timesheets at the moment, it's more about ticking the reliability boxes, but we can be happy with where we are before the halfway point of the pre-season tests."
Kevin Magnussen was fourth fastest in the McLaren MP4-29. The Danish rookie lapped the Bahrain International Circuit 81 times, as he continues to get to grips with the new car.
All eyes were on Red Bull Racing after the team's disastrous first test in Jerez. However, things didn't get much better and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel had to wait three hours before he was able to drive the RB10 out of the pit garage.
The German driver set his best time, a 1m40.224, just before his car ground to a halt on its 14th lap of the day. Adrian Sutil managed 81 laps at the wheel of the heavily upgraded Sauber C33, but he lost track time after a mid-session spin at turn one.
Caterham reserve driver Robin Frijns was in the CT05 on Wednesday. The Dutchman completed 68 laps in the car, the most of any Renault-powered team, and was happy with the progress made.
"We’ve obviously made quite a lot of progress since Jerez and having finished the day with 68 laps, a lot more than the other Renault powered teams, I think everyone can be quite pleased with how this test has started," he said.
"That’s my last day in the car before the season starts and I’m happy to finish in the car in Bahrain with that mileage completed. I’m enjoying being part of this team – they all know what they have to do to start pushing up the grid, and being part of that is good."
Daniil Kvyat's difficult winter continued after the Russian only managed five laps on the first day of testing in Bahrain. A number of issues with the STR9 meant he was forced to spectate for most of the day. It was a similar story at Lotus, where Romain Grosjean gave the E22 its public debut in the morning.
After registering seven laps early on, the latest machine to emerge from Enstone spent the rest of the day in the garage before one final installation lap just prior to the chequered flag. His best time of 1m44.832 was just under five tenths slower than the quickest time from Kvyat.
The first winter test in Jerez was a promising and encouraging one for Williams, but the Grove-based outfit suffered a nightmare opening day after a fuel system issue meant engineers and mechanics had to take the power-unit off the car to complete repairs.
Felipe Massa completed five laps, which was two more than Jules Bianchi in the Marussia MR03. After its late debut in Jerez, a "IT configuration problem" cost the team plenty of track time. However, the Banbury-based squad is hopeful that the problem has been fixed.
Day 1 Times:
1. Hulkenberg (Force India) 1m36.880 – 78 laps
2. Alonso (Ferrari) 1m37.879 – 64 laps
3. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m37.908 – 74 laps
4. Magnussen (McLaren) 1m38.295 – 81 laps
5. Vettel (Red Bull Racing) 1m40.224 – 14 laps
6. Sutil (Sauber) 1m40.443 – 81 laps
7. Frijns (Caterham) 1m42.534 – 68 laps
8. Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m44.346 – 5 laps
9. Grosjean (Lotus) 1m44.832 – 8 laps
10. Massa (Williams) no time – 5 laps
11. Bianchi (Marussia) no time – 3 laps
 |
| © Sahara Force India F1 Team |
Under the sunny and blue skies of Bahrain, pre-season testing resumed with all 11 teams in attendance. Major upgrades were taken to the test and trialled on the opening day, although the focus was still very much on reliability along with gaining mileage and data.
It was, like Jerez, a mixed day for the teams. Some managed to complete a good haul of laps, while others (particularly - still - the Renault-powered cars) suffered mechanical gremlins, causing them to lose track time.
Nico Hulkenberg set the pace on Wednesday, with a best time of 1m36.880. His time was quicker than the fastest lap from the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix, set by Sebastian Vettel.
It was a largely trouble-free day for the Force India team, with the returning Hulkenberg completing 78 laps of running - 14 more than Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard's best time was just under one second slower than the Force India driver's, but it was good enough for second. His day didn't get off to the best of starts, after smoke emerged from his F14 T on its installation lap.
 |
| © Red Bull/Getty Images |
His slowing Ferrari brought out the first of four red flags, although the double world champion was able to get the car back to the pits. Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest time but his day came to an early end after a brake problem.
The Brit still completed 74 laps of the 3.63-mile track after a largely positive opening test day. "It's been impressive to see us start the Bahrain test with good mileage and reliability, especially when you see how difficult it is for everyone with the new regulations," he said.
"The team can be very proud of this after so much hard work. Today was another good test of the car to see if any issues came up -we had a small issue with the brakes at the end but were still able to achieve a lot of laps today. We're not aiming to be top of the timesheets at the moment, it's more about ticking the reliability boxes, but we can be happy with where we are before the halfway point of the pre-season tests."
Kevin Magnussen was fourth fastest in the McLaren MP4-29. The Danish rookie lapped the Bahrain International Circuit 81 times, as he continues to get to grips with the new car.
All eyes were on Red Bull Racing after the team's disastrous first test in Jerez. However, things didn't get much better and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel had to wait three hours before he was able to drive the RB10 out of the pit garage.
The German driver set his best time, a 1m40.224, just before his car ground to a halt on its 14th lap of the day. Adrian Sutil managed 81 laps at the wheel of the heavily upgraded Sauber C33, but he lost track time after a mid-session spin at turn one.
Caterham reserve driver Robin Frijns was in the CT05 on Wednesday. The Dutchman completed 68 laps in the car, the most of any Renault-powered team, and was happy with the progress made.
"We’ve obviously made quite a lot of progress since Jerez and having finished the day with 68 laps, a lot more than the other Renault powered teams, I think everyone can be quite pleased with how this test has started," he said.
"That’s my last day in the car before the season starts and I’m happy to finish in the car in Bahrain with that mileage completed. I’m enjoying being part of this team – they all know what they have to do to start pushing up the grid, and being part of that is good."
 |
| © Caterham F1 Team |
Daniil Kvyat's difficult winter continued after the Russian only managed five laps on the first day of testing in Bahrain. A number of issues with the STR9 meant he was forced to spectate for most of the day. It was a similar story at Lotus, where Romain Grosjean gave the E22 its public debut in the morning.
After registering seven laps early on, the latest machine to emerge from Enstone spent the rest of the day in the garage before one final installation lap just prior to the chequered flag. His best time of 1m44.832 was just under five tenths slower than the quickest time from Kvyat.
The first winter test in Jerez was a promising and encouraging one for Williams, but the Grove-based outfit suffered a nightmare opening day after a fuel system issue meant engineers and mechanics had to take the power-unit off the car to complete repairs.
Felipe Massa completed five laps, which was two more than Jules Bianchi in the Marussia MR03. After its late debut in Jerez, a "IT configuration problem" cost the team plenty of track time. However, the Banbury-based squad is hopeful that the problem has been fixed.
Day 1 Times:
1. Hulkenberg (Force India) 1m36.880 – 78 laps
2. Alonso (Ferrari) 1m37.879 – 64 laps
3. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m37.908 – 74 laps
4. Magnussen (McLaren) 1m38.295 – 81 laps
5. Vettel (Red Bull Racing) 1m40.224 – 14 laps
6. Sutil (Sauber) 1m40.443 – 81 laps
7. Frijns (Caterham) 1m42.534 – 68 laps
8. Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1m44.346 – 5 laps
9. Grosjean (Lotus) 1m44.832 – 8 laps
10. Massa (Williams) no time – 5 laps
11. Bianchi (Marussia) no time – 3 laps
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