Bianchi completes hat-trick as Young Driver Test comes to a conclusion

Jules Bianchi has continued his dominance at the Magny-Cours Young Driver Test by finishing the third and final day fastest overall, once again a whole second faster than his nearest competitor of GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez. The Frenchman was fastest in all three days at the test, running for both Ferrari and Force India throughout the week.

After switching from the Scuderia to Force India yesterday, Jules Bianchi returned to Ferrari for the final day of running. The day started in inclement weather conditions, with the Frenchman running on the intermediate tyre early on. However, the weather improved as the day progressed, enabling the three drivers to use the dry Pirelli compounds later in the day. Once again, Ferrari were testing several new front wing designs, as the Scuderia prepares to fight for the Championship in the closing seven races of the season.

Jules Bianchi completed a whopping 136 laps throughout the final day, setting a personal best time of a 01:16.985 towards the end of the days running. This time was roughly a second quicker than his initial pace at the beginning of the Young Driver Test, which was also set in a Ferrari. However, the Frenchman’s time was much quicker yesterday in a Force India, which was a 01:16.467.

With Jules Bianchi moving back to Ferrari for the final day, Force India elected GP2 driver
Rodolfo Gonzalez to carry out testing duties for the Silverstone-based outfit. The Venezuelan driver last drove a Formula 1 car during the Mugello mid-season test for Caterham, and ended the final day of running at Magny-Cours 2nd fastest. The 26-year-old completed 79 laps for Force India, with a personal best time of a 01:18.018.

After two days of testing for Mercedes, reserve driver Sam Bird relinquished his seat for the Kiwi of Brendon Hartley. The former Red Bull and Toro Rosso reserve driver hadn’t driven F1 machinery for several years, but was able to improve as the final day progressed. Hartley continued testing Mercedes’ new Coanda-effect exhaust layout, and completed 87 laps with an overall personal best of a 01:18.671.

With Jules Bianchi eyeing a potential race seat at Force India next season, he’s most certainly made himself known throughout the F1 paddock during the last three days of testing. Mercedes have also raised eyebrows amongst the paddock, after testing their new Coanda-effect exhaust layout, as the German marque eyes a competitive end to the 2012 season.

Testing times:

1. Jules Bianchi - Ferrari - 1’16’’985 - 138 laps
2. Rodolfo Gonzalez - Force India - 1’18’’018 - 79 laps
3. Brendon Hartley - Mercedes - 1’18’’671 - 87 laps

Quotes:

Jules Bianchi: “In the morning, I did a few laps to get a feel for the car on the intermediate tyres and even though there was not much grip, it was no bad thing to get some experience in the wet, after two days of dry testing. After a few hours the track dried and we carried on with our programme, centred mainly on aerodynamic measurement and set-up evaluation. I feel I learned a lot from this test and I think the work was constructive for me and for the team. We tried to improve the balance of the car and looked at some things that could be useful in the upcoming races.”

Rodolfo Gonzalez: “Today has been a great experience. The conditions were quite difficult to begin with because of the wet start to the day, but it was good to try out the wet and intermediate tyres. The other main task was getting used to the control systems and building my speed and feel for the car. I’m quite happy with my pace today, although I think there was more to come because it was my first time driving at Magny-Cours and my first time in the car. The team did a great job of making me feel welcome and comfortable, and I really hope to get another chance to drive a Formula One car soon. ”

Brendon Hartley: It was an amazing feeling to be back driving a Formula One car today, and I would like to thank the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team for giving me this opportunity. The track was quite wet this morning so we lost some time but once it had dried out, we were able to get on with the test programme, using mainly the hard tyre. It was a successful day for both me and the team, and we completed the programme, despite the weather. I’m happy with my performance and pleased that it only took a couple of runs before I was on the pace as it’s been three years since I last drove a Formula One car. I’m very grateful for the experience and really enjoyed working with the team today.

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