Young driver test: team reaction after Day 3

HRT F1 Cosworth

On the third and final day of the Young Driver Test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, French driver Nathanael Berthon was the nominated driver to test for the HRT F1 Team.

The young 22 year-old French talent was consistent and progressed notably during the day, improving by two and a half seconds from the morning to the afternoon. He adapted quickly to the 5.554 km track and, after getting his first taste of the action yesterday where he completed 9 laps (49.98 kilometres) and focusing on adapting to the car, today work was focused on driving, set up of the control system and tyres.

The scheduled programme was completed without any incidents and Berthon was able to test up to eight different sets of tyres, made up of both soft and supersoft compounds. In total, he completed 51 laps (283.25 kilometres) and finished the day in 12th position with a best time of 1’45.839.

The team heads now to Sao Paolo, Brazil, where the last Grand Prix of the 2011 season will get under way in exactly one week.

Nathanael Berthon: "Today was a great experience but it felt like it was too short. I would like to spend some more time in the car but, as a first step, it was very good. I’m very tall and the fitting wasn’t ideal but I think that my performance was good; the engineers told me that they were really satisfied with the test. This will serve me well for the future and it is in Formula 1 where I want to be once the moment comes. The thing which surprised me the most about the experience
wasn’t the car itself but everything that surrounds it. It’s really impressive to see how many different things the team works on and all the data they look at is incredible. As for the car, it is much more balanced than a GP2, the braking is good and my favourite thing is the steering wheel, which is really light. Overall everything is impressive and it’s been a good experience to have".

Ángel Baena, Race Engineer: "Today’s work plan was quite intense and we’re very satisfied with how it went. Both the team and the driver did a perfect job and we completed the programme. We planned various tyre tests for today to get a better understanding of their degradation and
behavior on the first laps and also carried out some tests on the control system’s set up and some adjustments for next year’s car. We had a good connection with the driver and he adapted very quickly to the car. You could see he was really motivated, brave on quick corners but also very professional. The only inconvenience was that he is really tall and didn’t feel too comfortable in the cockpit, but despite this he worked hard and it showed. I think he has great potential".

Sauber Ferrari

The Sauber F1 Team enjoyed another productive day of testing with its test and reserve driver Esteban Gutiérrez (20) at the wheel of the Sauber C30-Ferrari.

The engineers obtained a lot out of this test. The job list for Esteban was long with a lot of hard work for the driver who covered a total of 173 laps over his two days in the car. This was the third and final day of the 2011 Young Driver Days at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Giampaolo Dall’Ara (Head of Track Engineering): “We had another very productive day of testing with Esteban. In the morning we started with an hour and a half of aero measurements with the 2012 tyres. Then we did set-up work with these tyres we shall be using in the future. After the lunch break we then worked for the next race in Brazil by using this year’s medium and soft compounds. We finished the programme with a run on a set of super soft tyres. Esteban impressed us again. He did a very professional and reliable job in testing. When working with him we tend to forget he is such a young rookie.”

Esteban Gutiérrez: “I am very happy. This test was a really nice experience for me. I was able to push to the limit in a lot of different circumstances – with fuel loads from high to medium to low and with different tyres and compounds. This was obviously great to get to know more about the car. On my final lap I was pushing a bit too much and spun while on the super soft tyres. Overall I am satisfied that I was consistent during these two days and, together with the team, we managed to go through a huge programme.”

Force India Mercedes

Max Chilton was back in the VJM04 today to complete a second day of testing with Sahara Force India at the Yas Marina Circuit. The British racer completed 79 laps and set a best time of 1:41.575 to end up as the fifth fastest driver of the day.

The programme included more 2012 Pirelli tyre evaluation, allowing Max to build on the work he completed on Tuesday. After some set-up work this morning, there was also a chance to complete some long runs in the afternoon.

Max Chilton: “Another excellent day which I really enjoyed. It helped having already done a day of testing on Tuesday because I knew the car, the systems, and just felt a bit more relaxed. So I was able to focus more on driving style and giving good feedback. We managed to do quite a lot, including some set-up work and a few long runs after lunch. At the end of the day I had some fresh tyres, but it was a shame there was a red flag in the middle of my final run. Still, I’m happy with the job I’ve done this week and I really hope I get the chance to do it again. Working with the team has been an incredible experience and I’ve learned a massive amount.”

Oliver Knighton, Race Support and Strategy Engineer: “A very good day with Max getting up to speed quickly and making a valuable contribution with his feedback. Today’s programme saw further work with the potential 2012 Pirelli tyres, some background data collection, as well as some aero work. A couple of small problems limited the total lap count, but it has been a very positive day and test overall with all the major objectives completed.”

Mercedes GP

The third and final day of the Young Driver Test took place in Abu Dhabi today, with Sam Bird rounding off the test programme for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS at the Yas Marina Circuit.

The team ran a 2012 exhaust position this morning and collected data to help develop our package for the new regulations. This afternoon, we returned to a standard car specification and focused on developing the set-up of the car on the soft Pirelli tyre.

The three day programme has been extremely productive and enabled Sam to complete over 1394 kms of running.

Sam Bird: “We again had a very good day today and were able to cover a lot of mileage with 104 laps in total. We were focusing on further development work for 2012 which went well and the team are very positive about the results gained. I would like to say thank you to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS for trusting me with the driving responsibilities for this three-day test. It’s been a very positive and enjoyable experience for me, and I’ve greatly enjoyed working with the team.”

Ross Brawn: “We have had a very good test in Abu Dhabi this week, and my compliments to Sam and the team at the Yas Marina Circuit for their efforts over the three days. The test has enabled us to make a good start to our 2012 preparations, and provided a wealth of data for our engineers to study. Sam has performed extremely well this week, providing consistency and accuracy in both his driving and feedback, and our engineers in Abu Dhabi have been very impressed with his contribution.”

Ferrari

Third and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari and the eleven other Formula 1 World Championship teams, at the Yas Marina circuit, in Abu Dhabi.

Once again today the 150° Italia was entrusted to Jules Bianchi. In the morning, the Frenchman worked on various different set-ups on the car and on aerodynamic measurement, while in the afternoon, he concentrated on evaluating the experimental Pirelli tyres over a long
distance.

By the end of the day, Bianchi had completed 106 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.41.347.

“These have been three very busy days of testing for me and the team,” commented the Ferrari man. “I am pleased with the work we achieved, because we were able to get through practically everything scheduled for this test. Specifically today, we did some long runs to check the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres over a long distance. During the three days, I only used the Soft compound, because it was the one that best suited the work the team wanted to carry out on track.”

With the Young Drivers Test now over, the Scuderia is preparing for the nineteenth and final round of the 2011 Championship, the Brazilian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place at the Interlagos (Sao Paolo) circuit, from 25 to 27 November.

Red Bull Renault

Jean-Eric Vergne completed the final day of the Young Driver Test at the Yas Marina Circuit
for Red Bull Racing today and again set the fastest time aboard an RB7.

It was the hottest day of the test so far, with air temperatures reaching 33˚C and track
temperatures creeping up to 55˚C. The team’s morning test programme went to plan, but the
afternoon was interrupted by a number of reliability issues, which prevented the team from
fully completing its planned tyre test.

Head of Race Engineering Ian Morgan said: “It was a frustrating day, due to a few niggly
reliability issues which hampered our progress in the afternoon – but we had a good morning.
Looking to Jean-Eric, I must say I have been very impressed with him during this test. He’s not
really been in our car for any length of time before this week and he hasn’t made a single
mistake. He’s good at taking in information and using it as required and he’s been consistent
and controlled. He was able to do as we ask and put in a lap time whenever we needed –
he’s done a good job.”

The team will be in action again next week in Sao Paulo for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the
final race of the 2011 season. Track activity starts on Friday 25 November.

Virgin Cosworth

Marussia Virgin Racing’s extended stay in Abu Dhabi came to an end this afternoon as the team concluded the third and final day of its Young Driver Test at Yas Marina Circuit.

After a slightly compromised day yesterday, 21 year old Frenchman Charles Pic was back in the car this morning to complete the planned longer run tyre programme and at the same time the team continued to run through a sequence of tests with development components for next
year’s car. Charles ended the morning having completed a solid 49 laps of running and in 10th position with a best lap time of 1:46.348.

This afternoon, Robert Wickens was back in the car following his Free Practice 1 outing in last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the intervening period he also spent a day (Tuesday) testing with Renault as his prize for winning the World Series by Renault FR 3.5 Championship. He continued the work with the Pirelli P-Zero development compounds and completed 34 laps, ending the day 13th with a best time of 1:45.934.

Robert Wickens: "Going into the afternoon session I knew I was going to have limited time, plus it took a little while to get the car to my liking. I then got straight into testing the Pirelli prototype tyres and I was quite
surprised by how different they are. It was a busy afternoon - I didn’t get out of the car at all - but I’m pleased with my progress and my lap. I have to look at the fine detail with the engineers to fully evaluate my performance but overall I’m happy with our work today and thanks to the team for offering me these two great opportunities here in Abu Dhabi. It’s been quite a week."

Charles Pic: "Today I was back in the car for the morning, so it was another good chance to really familiarise myself with the procedures and become more natural in the car. We made two runs on new tyres, so it was good experience, and after we made one long run of 18 laps together with a start simulation, so again a lot of things to learn and I have taken in a lot of information. We also did a lot of controls work such as bite point learns, which were interesting and I enjoyed the pitstop practice also. My thanks to the team once again because it has been a very positive experience here this week and I have enjoyed it very much."

John Booth, Team Principal: "It’s been a fascinating week here in Abu Dhabi, observing not only the young drivers Marussia Virgin Racing have been putting through their paces but also the next generation of drivers testing up and down the pit lane. Adrian, Charles and Robert have all acquitted themselves impressively and it has been a delight to work with each of them. Our objectives for here were two-fold - to evaluate the young drivers and at the same time work on some important developments for 2012, the most significant of which has been the Pirelli prototype tyres. The data we have collected this week has been invaluable and will be fed straight back into the 2012 design process. It has been a challenging few weeks
for the team, both here and back in the UK, and in particular I would like to thank the race team for their hard work in last weekend’s Grand Prix and at this week’s test. We’re all looking forward to rounding off the season in Sao Paulo and eagerly await the start of testing with next year’s car."

Team Lotus Renault

Jody Egginton: "It has been another good day. Alexander familiarised himself with the car very quickly and adapted to the new tyres comfortably which meant we could make progress all day. Our initial runs were to get him used to the car and settled with the tyres and the team.”

"Part two of the run plan was the second part of the damper programme that we ran yesterday, which provided us with some very interesting data and Alexander gave excellent feedback on the changes we made. We also gained some good data regarding the rear suspension work in general. We then progressed to working on some of prototype Pirelli tyres which reconfirmed what we learned earlier in the week which was good. We then did some performance runs on two compounds - on the supersoft tyres he put in consistent laps although we felt we didn’t extract the optimum time due to the red flag that was shown. He has done a brilliant job on his day’s running and he now has a basis on
which to build upon. We can see a few areas where he can improve and there is a lot more potential there. With another set of tyres on the final performance run you could expect a half second improvement with Alexander’s lap times.”

"The test session has been very useful overall. The various departments at the factory gave us a big list of work to carry out and we accomplished the vast majority of that list which is excellent and
the boys have worked extremely hard throughout the test. There were a number of rear end changes as we worked on the suspension, so the team have done a fantastic job to turn everything around and so quickly. Reliability has been good and the drivers have worked very well. I feel they have enjoyed themselves and have provided us with clear, useful feedback and data, so all in all a very successful test indeed."

Alexander Rossi: "This morning we started off with getting used to the car and finding my way with the T128, as obviously it’s a big step up from GP2, and I felt comfortable quickly as we worked up to a good setup level. Then our focus was on the damper work for the team, which involved various runs and looking ahead to the 2012 season, plus a few changes to the rear of the car and a few runs with the 2012 Pirelli tyres. In the afternoon we did some performance runs, which I wasn’t entirely pleased with, as I felt I could have achieved more, however my first day in the car was positive, and I feel there is a lot more potential to unlock.”

"To get behind the wheel and have that much time was really good. I was surprised at how much you learn during a day’s testing. There’s so much to take in, for example the briefing and debriefing sessions, it’s a whole step up from GP2, so it’s been an extremely valuable day.”

"It was really good fun to drive the car, and this car and the team are pretty special. Being able to work with the team as a driver was brilliant as I was able to further my relationship with them, with the
mechanics and engineers. I now know the team on a personal level and it’s really important to build those relationships. It’s been a good day, and I’m happy to get the experience behind the wheel and I think there is a lot more to come."

Williams Cosworth

Tom McCullough, Race Engineer: “It has been an excellent final day with Mirko Bortolotti. He did a really good job, improving on each run and iterating down to some good lap times. Overall, he gave excellent feedback, was consistent and is clearly physically fit. We have now completed our three day test and have lots of useful information to take away. The factory have done a great job this week in getting lots of test items out here in order to help our understanding of the FW34 and we can now return to the factory and analyse the data in order to develop the FW34.”

Mirko Bortolotti: “Everything was new for me today; the car and the track, so there was a lot to learn. The team had several objectives this morning so I wasn’t just focusing on lap time but on getting that work done for Williams’ 2012 preparations. We completed that and then moved on to finding performance this afternoon. It has been a really interesting day for me. I have really enjoyed being here with AT&T Williams and I am very happy with the job that we did.”

Toro Rosso Ferrari

This was the third and final day of the Young Driver Test, held at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit, in which all twelve Formula 1 teams took part.

Having had a day’s running each on Tuesday and Wednesday, today Stefano Coletti and Kevin Ceccon had a further half day in the cockpit of the TR6. The car ran trouble free, delivering another high mileage day. In total, over the three days, the two drivers completed a combined total of 1482.918 kilometres.

Laurent Mekies (Chief Engineer): “Another busy day to end this test, which has been very productive for us. We achieved a very high number of kilometres which is especially useful as it validates the reliability of some elements we were testing with a view to the 2012 car. That was one part of the programme, while on the other hand, we also used this opportunity to prepare for the final round of the championship in Brazil, in just over a week’s time. Time spent evaluating Pirelli’s development tyres for next year has also been very productive. Both drivers worked well, not making any mistakes and delivering a positive contribution to the team.”

From Abu Dhabi, the cars and equipment, along with some team members will now travel directly to Sao Paolo to begin work for the season finale at the Interlagos circuit.

McLaren Mercedes

Oliver Turvey returned to the cockpit to conclude the development work he initiated at the start of the test on Tuesday.

The team finished off its initial running of aero and mechanical systems for 2012, completing some useful fundamental research which will be fed into the development and build of next year’s car, the MP4-27A.

Lotus Renault GP

Jan Charouz has completed a good days’ testing, covering 455km in the Lotus Renault R31.

The main target of the day was for Jan to grow in confidence behind the wheel and for him to trial the different tyre compounds. Jan covered a total of 82 laps, summing up a total of 455.4 kilometres, finishing in 10th position with a time of 1’44.470. We did a lot of laps today and Jan’s feedback was good.

Jan: “I really enjoyed the day. The main priority was to try some new parts and to experience some different tyres and we managed to do that. We did a lot of laps which was really good for me. I’m happy that the team trusts me to do the development work with them, so that’s what we did for most of the morning. In the afternoon we did some quicker laps
but I didn’t manage to do the lap times I wanted to do. I have to improve myself but otherwise I was consistent in the long run and I’m really happy Lotus Renault GP gave me the opportunity to do this test. It is not the first time I have driven an F1 car and I really like using the DRS and KERS. It is really nice to use these - I really enjoyed today.”

Alan Permane: "The program scheduled for Jan Charouz was orientated towards data acquisition and then tyre work. Jan spent the morning with a huge amount of data acquisition equipment fitted to the car and went through a range of tests for us – firstly to learn more about the tyres and secondly to learn more about the aerodynamics, both of which are
areas we are exploring for next year’s car development. In the afternoon, Jan spent some time getting used to the R31 and the systems and completed a long run on the new 2012 Pirelli tyre. Jan also completed several procedural tests with starts and pit stops."