Jules Bianchi fastest again at Magny-Cours

Jules Bianchi has ended the second day of testing at Magny-Cours fastest overall, once again asserting his authority around the French circuit. The Frenchman was fastest yesterday for Ferrari, before switching to Force India for the second day of proceedings. Bianchi was followed home by Sam Bird in 2nd, and Davide Rigon in 3rd for Ferrari.

The second day of the test was run in slightly cooler conditions in comparison to the opening day, with Jules Bianchi enjoying the ability to test for two teams this week and switching from Ferrari to Force India for the days proceedings. British driver Sam Bird continued his work for Mercedes, whereas Ferrari opted to run former GP2 driver Davide Rigon. Once again the teams utilized the Young Driver test to great effect, by testing new components in preparation for the final seven races of the season.

Local driver Jules Bianchi once again ended the days running on top, albeit driving for a different team. The 23-year-old set a 01:16.467 throughout the day, a time which was more than 1.5 seconds quicker than his personal best set the previous day with Ferrari. Bianchi racked up the miles behind the wheel of the Mercedes-powered VJM05, completing 117 laps in total.

Sam Bird ended the day 2nd, a whole second off Bianchi’s time at the top. The Briton was once again the centre of attention, as Mercedes continued to test their rendition of the Coanda-effect exhaust layout. Bird completed 125 laps for the German marque, and was joined within the paddock by current Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, who was eager to remain up to speed with the progress on track.

After topping the opening day of the test with Jules Bianchi behind the wheel, Ferrari ended the second day 3rd and last with former GP2 driver Davide Rigon driving for the Scuderia. The Italian driver carried out various aerodynamic work for the Italian-outfit, and set a personal best time of a 01:17.925 after 163 laps around the Magny-Cours circuit.

Tomorrow will see the three-day test come to a conclusion at Magny-Cours, with GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez set to replace Jules Bianchi at Force India, whereas Sam Bird will relinquish his seat at Mercedes for the Kiwi of Brendon Hartley.

Davide Rigon, Scuderia Ferrari: “I have driven the circuit before and I really, really enjoy it. In a Formula 1 car it is unbelievable – I think I was laughing to myself for the first 10 laps before getting on with my programme! It’s a nice track with quick corners, chicanes and slow turns, so a good mix. In the morning we did a lot of aerodynamic work and this afternoon we focussed mainly on long-run set-ups. Fortunately the track proved very stable, which allowed us to get accurate measurements. Overall I am very happy.”

Sam Bird, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS : “We’ve had a second very positive day at the test and successfully completed our planned schedule, including the evaluation of the performance items that we wanted to achieve. It was a great experience to be back behind the wheel of a Formula One car this week, and to help with the development programme, and I would like to thank the team for giving me this opportunity.”

Jules Bianchi, Sahara Force India: “Today was very enjoyable and it was great to do so many laps. I’ve done a lot of Friday practice sessions with the team, but when you spend a full day in the car you can do so much more and really start to find the limit. It was a chance for me to get more used to the control systems and experience the car on both high and low fuel. The team asked me to work on the set-up and we saw the lap times improve during the day. I think the time in the car was very valuable and will allow me to help the team even more in the remaining seven races of the season.”

Times:

1. Jules Bianchi (Sahara Force India ) – 1m16.467 – 117 laps – 514.8km
2. Sam Bird (MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS) – 1m17.462 – 125 laps – 550km
3. Davide Rigon (Scuderia Ferrari) – 1m17.925 – 165 laps – 726km

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