Bahrain I, Day 2: Mercedes test report

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS continued its pre-season testing programme at the Bahrain International Circuit today, with Nico Rosberg taking the wheel of the F1 W05 for the second day. Nico’s best time of 1:36.965 placed him fourth on the time sheets after 85 laps.

— Today’s programme was focused on longer runs to simulate a race distance, with Nico completing 460 km in the car

— The plan was slightly hampered by two stoppages on track for the W05, both for different reasons

Lewis Hamilton will be back in the car tomorrow for the third day of the test.

Nico Rosberg

We achieved another good amount of laps today which proves that the first part of testing in terms of reliability is going well. We had a few small issues but it’s important to find out what they are to see what is not yet running perfectly. We need to push the car to the limits to see how it works in every condition. We don’t yet know where we are in terms of performance, but today was a great day for me personally because I felt at home in the new car for the first time. All the settings were as we would like and the buttons on the steering wheel are now easier to get used to. I look forward to getting into the car again on Saturday.

Paddy Lowe

Our day today was slightly troubled compared to other recent days; however, we still managed to get a lot of mileage done. We experimented with the medium tyre and found this to be a slight improvement on the harder compound with more consistency. We’re working to understand the issues that delayed running at various times throughout the day and this is exactly why we go testing as it gives us a good chance to resolve them before the racing begins. It’s pleasing to see that all the Mercedes-Benz powered cars are achieving good mileage up and down the pit lane, which gives us a great base to work from going forwards.