Barcelona II, day 2: Team and driver quotes

Toro Rosso Renault

Phil Charles (Chief Race Engineer)

“We can be pleased with what we achieved today, even if we had to stop running with around an hour to go, due to an electrical problem. In the morning, we continued the programme we began yesterday, acquiring useful data relating to the new aero package, with plenty of “in and out” laps. Towards the end of the morning, we did some decent running, looking at chassis work. Then, after the lunch break, Max set off to do a race distance, until towards the end of the run, the car stopped. Nevertheless, another day with plenty of laps to learn from.”

Max Verstappen

“Another good day as we did a lot of laps. From my perspective, the most important part was this afternoon’s race distance, when the pace looked very promising. It was my first time driving the car with the latest updates and they seemed to be working very well and I felt very comfortable with it. On Sunday, I get my last chance to drive before Melbourne, so it will be important to get in as many miles as possible, try to improve the car and increase our understanding of the overall package.”

Sauber Ferrari

Another positive day for the Sauber F1 Team with Felipe Nasr behind the wheel of the Sauber C34-Ferrari. Today the team went through a similar programme to the day before, focusing on aero measurements, set-up work, race simulation and short-runs. In total, Felipe Nasr completed 141 laps.

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:

“It was another good day for us. The programme was more or less the same as yesterday, with aero measurements and race starts in the morning. Later on Felipe went through a race simulation, and we were also able to test a different rear wing at the end of the day.”

Felipe Nasr:

“Today was very productive as we went through the whole programme. In the morning I was able to get a feeling for the car during the short-runs on the soft and medium compounds, which was quite positive. After the lunch break, I went through a race simulation on different tyres. It was a good experience, and I now have a better understanding for the car during the long-runs. I am also quite happy with the balance of the car. Again today we made another step forward, and we have to keep pushing in this direction.”

What comes next:

Tomorrow, Marcus Ericsson takes over the Sauber C34-Ferrari before Felipe Nasr will be back in the car for the last day of testing on Sunday.

Williams Mercedes

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: We started the day doing some aero work comparing data and driver feel. We then moved onto a few performance based runs. Later in the day we worked on race procedure including some longer runs and grid simulations. We have had some new components that have performed as expected which has been productive. We have a busy final two days of the test as we optimise the time left until the first race.

Valtteri Bottas: It was nice to focus on performance today and work to get the lap times lower. We are working hard and still have two days left of the test so there is more still to do. The day was busy and we know there is still more to come, I feel positive and the balance was good. We still need to make sure we look at the longer runs and not just the one lap qualifying pace.

Red Bull Renault

Daniil Kvyat’s pre-season testing programme drew to a close today in Barcelona, with the Russian completing 84 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya for a best time of 1:26.965. In the morning, while preparing new parts for the car, the team elected to concentrate on aerodynamic work and shorter runs. With the new elements installed over the lunch break, the team switched its focus to long runs. A sensor problem led to a spell in the garage in mid-afternoon but thereafter Daniil ran without problem.

“We had a couple of issues today but nothing too serious. So, while it would have been nice to do a few more laps, we did get a lot done today. You always want more and we’re always looking for improvement but overall I’m happy,” he said. “Today was my last day of testing and I’m happy with the level I reached with my group of guys over the past few weeks. I think we’re heading in the right direction, we have a good understanding between us, we’re not lost anywhere and we know what we need to do for Melbourne.”

Head of Race Engineering Guillaume Rocquelin added: “It doesn’t sound very exciting but aside from a couple of minor glitches it was a very normal day of testing – exactly the type of day you’re looking for. We had some parts arrive overnight as a fix for the problem we had yesterday afternoon and while we were waiting for those to be prepped we spent the morning doing aero work, which was part of the plan anyway. By the time we got through that, we were ready to run the new parts in the afternoon. We were focused on long runs but then we had a problem with a sensor, which stopped us briefly. After that though it was business as usual. It was Daniil’s final day of testing and he has been excellent throughout. His ability in the car was never in doubt but it is a big ask for a driver to start with a new team and to familiarise yourself with everything in just six days of testing. However, he integrated into the set-up very quickly, got to know his guys well and got to grips with all the systems and procedures in double quick time. He’s been very impressive and I think he’s well prepared for the first race.”

McLaren Honda

After yesterday’s disappointing start to the final pre-season test, today was our most productive and promising day of the winter.

The team did a fantastic job to replace the power-unit ahead of today’s session, with the team ready to start when the track opened at 0900. The morning was spent carrying out front-wing work and corresponding set-up changes. In the afternoon, the team switched to a long-run programme, evaluating mechanical balance while also carrying out a number of pitstop rehearsals with the race crew.

Shortly before the end of the day, Jenson stopped out on track with an unspecified electrical issue, but had already completed 101 laps – comfortably our longest daily mileage this year.

The lack of running so far this year means we’re still playing catch-up with our planned development programme, but a day like today certainly helps us to make up ground at a more desirable pace.

Jenson Button

“We’ve still got a lot of work still do to, but we had a good day today. It’s never easy when you’ve missed out on so much testing, but we’re making good progress, and we got lots of really useful information today.

“We know we’re not the quickest guys out there, but you’ll certainly see a lot of improvement by the time we get to Australia.”

Force India Mercedes

The new Sahara Force India VJM08 made its bow at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Nico Hülkenberg completing a total of 77 laps.

Nico Hülkenberg

“It was a very good day, at least in terms of the running we managed to do. We were able to run reliably straight out of the box and that is very encouraging. The boys and girls at the factory and here at the track have been pushing really hard in the last couple of weeks and to do 77 laps in little more than one afternoon is a remarkable job by the team. Obviously we still have a big task ahead of us and we are playing catch-up in certain aspects, but I am quite satisfied so far. The car feels pretty good, although making a direct comparison with our 2014 car is not easy as the conditions in winter testing are always very particular. One of our team’s strengths is to learn about the car quickly, so we will need to get as much data as possible to get in a good position for Melbourne. Tomorrow we will be looking at doing more long runs, working with the various tyre compounds and putting more mileage on the car."

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer

"It has been a real big effort from all the staff back at the factory to get the car ready and out here for this test. Managing to run our installation laps before the lunch break was very useful and helped us achieve a solid first day with the VJM08. These are the very early stages of the VJM08’s running and it is encouraging to get 77 laps on the board: we could have got even more mileage hadn’t it been for the red flags at the end of the day. Today was all about achieving a first understanding of the new car and to run this long allowed us to collect a sizeable amount of very valuable data. We will go through it tonight and it will help us prepare for what is hopefully going to be another productive day tomorrow."

Lotus Mercedes

Pastor Maldonado completed a tally of 140 laps – more than 650km or the distance of two Grands Prix – as he resumed test duties in the E23 Hybrid at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today. Pastor ran an extensive programme including a race simulation, clocking a best lap time of 1min 26.705secs.

Romain Grosjean will take to the wheel of the E23 tomorrow.

Pastor Maldonado:

“We ran the car for a long time today which has been a good endorsement of my winter training programme as I still feel fresh after 140 laps! We did a lot of different assessments so I had plenty to think about and it was good to do the race simulation as we’ll soon be heading to Melbourne. There’s a lot of information to digest from today and I can’t wait to get back in the car on Sunday.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director:

“We’ve completed a high tally of laps today and the E23 has run reliably throughout. This is great for us as we’ve been able to try a number of different set-up and aero configurations to enable us to get as much data as possible to make further progress in our understanding of our new car. Pastor did a great job despite driving the equivalent distance of more than two Grands Prix and we’re looking forward to Romain jumping back into the car tomorrow.”

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel: “I drove more than two Grands Prix today, but I don’t know if I won one, that depends on what the others did! Jokes apart, it’s nice that at the final test we could cover more and more mileage. Today we didn’t have any problem, we know there is still a lot of work we can do as a team, but so far I feel very good. If I had to pinpoint one thing, I’d rather be a bit quicker, but it’s difficult to evaluate how quick we are, because some people tried more of a qualifying trim and others did less so. I never drove the 2014 Ferrari, but I think this one it’s a massive step forward. That doesn’t mean that we are satisfied as it’s clear that if you want to win, you have to beat Mercedes. It’s exciting to see what’s going on behind them, which I think it’s not clear judging from the lap times we’ve seen so far”.

James Allison: “Today was a much, much better day, with almost flawless reliability, and it’s much more encouraging, as we get close to Melbourne, to have that. We did a lot of setup work as well, were very conservative for outright performance, but were able to get good direction for the start of the season”.

Mercedes

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS continued the third test of the 2015 season today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Nico Rosberg at the wheel of the F1 W06 Hybrid

— Today’s schedule consisted of aero analysis work in the morning, followed by setup evaluation in the afternoon
— Nico emerged for his first run at precisely 09:00 CET, completing 65 laps before lunch and a further 41 after the lunch break
— Mercedes-Benz Power Units today completed a total of 1,923 km
— Lewis Hamilton is scheduled to take the wheel of the F1 W06 Hybrid tomorrow for the third day of the test

Nico Rosberg

Today was a difficult day to start with but ended on a positive. During the early runs, even though the numbers looked like they were in the right place with the setup, it was actually very far away from where it needed to be, which was unusual and caught us off guard a little bit. We didn’t really understand why, so a big part of the day has been chasing the setup and finding the right direction. It was really difficult to understand where to go. I had a lot of oversteer in the car, so the rear was just all over the place with no traction. But eventually, towards the end especially, it was feeling more and more decent. Then, putting the soft tyres on, that gives you the grip anyway so it doesn’t really matter what the balance is – more or less it will be possible to do a good lap. I’m pleased with my two laps at the end – I nailed them pretty well and they were both identical, so a good ending to the day. We’re confident that we have a good car and I’m starting to feel good in it. At the same time, of course, we’re well aware that the others have been posting some quick times and we can take nothing for granted. We have a great team who are doing a fantastic job and always want better and better, so we will keep our heads down and keep working. It’s a work in progress…