03/12/2009
NEWS STORY
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Australian Daniel Ricciardo set the pace on the final day of testing at Jerez, the British F3 champion, at the wheel of the Red Bull RB5, posting the fastest time of the week.
Following on from the past two days, the team once again worked on aerodynamic testing aimed at 2010, getting through its entire programme, even though track time was shortened by some light rain in the middle of the day. Ricciardo's performance was impressive the Australian recording the lap time of the year at the Spanish track.
"These last three days have been an incredible experience for me," said Ricciardo, as he reluctantly stepped out of the cockpit. "I would like to thank Red Bull for giving me this great opportunity, which has made me even more determined to make it into Formula 1 one day. I know it was just a test, but seeing my name on the top of today's timesheet was really something special."
JR Hildebrand and Paul di Resta once more shared driving duties for Force India, with the American getting out in the morning before the Scot took over for the afternoon.
On the programme for both today was further aero and mechanical set-up evaluation over both long and short runs. Hildebrand was able to complete 41 laps before a red flag and rain shower slowed progress, recording a best lap time of 1:19.873. di Resta put in 53 laps in a slightly interrupted afternoon programme, however he completed his schedule with a best of 1:18.736, the second quickest time of the day.
"Today was a little frustrating," admitted Hildebrand, "because we again lost our quickest outings when the engine saving mode switched on and then when we tried to re-run the new tyre outing the red flag came out when I was six tenths up on my fastest lap. That would have put us squarely in the thick of the front runners. Knowing I had the time in me and couldn't get it is in part frustrating, but I can only be so frustrated as I know how much quicker we really were. I am still struggling with some instability into the corners but the team was able to make some improvements for the afternoon and with a bit more time I could make some adjustments myself. I have had a great experience here and I really feel at this point that my confidence and comfort in the car was quite high. I've been happy with my performance and I would like to thank the team for giving me this opportunity."
"It was a little interrupted this afternoon with one spin into the gravel and then an electrical issue that stopped us out on track so we lost some time in places," added di Resta. "All the same the team ran through their programme and despite the stoppages we made progress and I think the team got some good results. I think I had a good time at the end and found some more performance so I'm happy on both accounts. Thanks to everyone for a great week and for giving me a chance."
"A satisfactory completion to the test today," said chief race engineer, Dominic Harlow. "The weather cost us a little track time at the start of the day and in the early afternoon, but with our programme adjusted we were able to accomplish most of what we set out achieve. Overall the Young Driver Test has proven to be a very positive initiative for F1, and it's been a productive test to finish the year"
For McLaren, Oliver Turvey took over for the morning, concluding the running he began on Tuesday afternoon. On a slippery track, he began with a number of aero tests at slower speeds until conditions improved and the test team switched him to a 10-lap run, running through a suite of different set-ups to give Oliver a feel for the changes.
"Oliver did a very good job," said test team manager, Indy Lall, "and contributed towards our week's test work. He made a very good impression on his introduction to Formula 1."
With a midday patch of drizzle, it was decided to switch the car over for Gary Paffett's run in the afternoon. He spent the remainder of the day conducting a very disciplined series of set-up and tyre analysis runs.
According to the Woking outfit, the three days' work was very encouraging and has provided a useful benchmark for the team's preparations for 2010 and the launch of the MP4-25.
Mike Conway and Marcus Ericsson were again in action for Brawn GP, with Conway completing 77 laps in the morning and Ericsson taking over the car for the afternoon and completing 49 laps as the pair concluded the test programme by working through a series of set-up evaluations.
"I've really enjoyed the last few days in Jerez," said Conway, "and it was great to be asked back by the team to take part in the testing programme. The team had a great season and the chance to drive the World Championship winning car and experience its performance for myself has been amazing. We achieved some good work and it has been a nice way to end the season. Thanks to the team for giving me this opportunity."
"It's been a very exciting week," added Ericsson, "and a dream come true to have the opportunity to drive a Formula One car particularly with the World Championship winning team. It's been a really good experience for me to work with such a professional team and I am thankful to Brawn GP and Mercedes for giving me this opportunity. The car is very impressive. It's so quick and the biggest difference from the F3 car has to be the power of the braking. I feel that I have adapted well to the car this week and I'm very happy with the progress that I have made."
"Mike and Marcus have done a very good job during the test in Jerez this week," said ross Brawn. "It has been a busy programme with a wide variety of test items to cover and their technical input has been to a very high standard. We know Mike well from his previous tests with the team and his feedback has been to his usual excellent standard. Marcus had his first opportunity in a Formula One car this week and he has performed very well showing exceptional maturity in his approach and feedback."
Williams' Nico Hulkenberg finished fifth quickest, the German once again working on set-up with the high fuel loads to be run next season.
"We've had two positive days at Jerez," said the German. "It was good for me to get back in the car and get some laps in before next year. I covered a lot of mileage, which I was pleased about, and I got used to driving the F1 car quite quickly, which I wasn't really expecting as it's been quite a long time since my last outing. The car felt good and we fitted in a lot of set-up work, so I'm happy with the two days."
For BMW's final outing as an F1 team in its own right, the German team had a rather more mature driver at the wheel.
2009 Formula Renault champion Bertrand Baguette from Belgium, had already tested the French manufacturer's F1 car on Tuesday. However, today he was at the wheel for BMW, working on a similar programme in order that he might become familiar with the car.
In the afternoon the team let him run aerodynamic tests, including downforce measurements on different configurations. The engineers were said to be "very happy" with his feedback and comments, as well as with the useful overall results of the day.
Despite several interruptions, including mechanical changes to the car, the Belgian managed to get good mileage under his belt. Like Alexander Rossi (Tuesday) and Esteban Gutierrez (Wednesday), he was not sent out with an extra low fuel load.
At the end of the day a still fresh and chirpy Baguette commented: "I am very happy with what we did today. In the morning I was worried because of the weather conditions but, apart from the rain at lunch time, it turned out to be a very nice day and we completed our entire programme. Of course I'm also happy that I managed to get in a good lap time on my very last run despite a lot of fuel on board. The balance of the car was very good, I enjoyed the driving a lot. I was able to work with the engineers and want to thank the team for all that I have learned today."
For Renault, third driver Lucas di Grassi covered 123 laps behind the wheel of the R29. Ho-Pin Tung also had the chance to drive a handful of extra laps in the damp conditions, adding to the 67 laps he completed yesterday. The priority for the day was to continue evaluating developments for 2010 and to add mileage to new components.
"Today was a busy day and I completed over 120 laps," said di Grassi. "We did lots of different things including some performance work, some long stints and simulations for 2010. It was good for me to get back in an F1 car and the programme over the last couple of days has given me a lot of valuable experience. We managed to complete the most important tasks for the week and hopefully everything we have learnt will help with the development of next year's car."
"We had a productive day of testing with Lucas," added chief race engineer, Alan Permane, "with the programme based around preparation for next year. We ran the car quite heavy in the morning as we did some work on the brakes and then in the afternoon we completed some back-to-back testing on the front and rear suspension. While the track was damp we put Ho-Pin back in the car to give him the chance to experience an F1 car in wet conditions. Overall it has been a successful week for us: the team has worked hard and we've come away with a lot of valuable data which will be useful for the development of next year's car."
As part of an initiative which began in 2008, in collaboration with the ACI-CSAI, on track for Ferrari today were the top three finishers in the Italian Formula 3 Championship - the Italians, Daniel Zampieri and Marco Zipoli and the Mexican, Pablo Sanchez Lopez. Between them, the three drivers covered a total of 122 laps.
For Toro Rosso, Mirko Bortolotti was at the wheel of the STR 4 in the morning, with Brendon Hartley taking over for the afternoon. The three days produced plenty of aero measurement data for the team's engineers to work on for next year and, although frustrating for the drivers, as it affected their lap times, the car was run in heavyweight configuration for most of the time, in order to assess the impact of running heavy fuel loads next year.
"I am very happy to have been given this opportunity by Red Bull and it was an honour to drive for Toro Rosso," said Bortolotti. "I felt comfortable with the team where everyone made me feel welcome. It was a very interesting experience, especially testing some things that might be used on next year's car. It's a shame that it started to rain today, which prevented me using a new set of tyres, but that's the way it is."
"I was really happy with this half day," added Hartley. "We did a lot of running and I think my pace was pretty good, when fuel-corrected, so from my side I'm quite happy. It was interesting for me to work with so many people, with such a big team, as I am used to working with just one engineer. It was a great experience and I really want to say thank you to Red Bull."
"Both drivers did a good job," said Franz Tost. "They are talented and if they do well in other racing categories in 2010, I think they have a good chance of being up to the required standard to make it into Formula 1 in 2011. We completed many laps and we achieved our main targets, namely to get an impression of both the drivers and to carry out some tests aimed at next year."
Today marked the end of on-track F1 action for 2009, which the next test not due to get underway until February 1 at Valencia.