08/11/2012
NEWS STORY
Reigning GP2 champion Davide Valsecchi, at the wheel of the Lotus E20, topped the timesheets on the final day of the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.
On his way to posting a best time of 1:42.677, the second best of the entire test, the Italian completed 86 laps, bringing Lotus total this week to 213 as its focus now switches to next weekend's United States Grand Prix next weekend.In the morning Valsecchi concentrated on aerodynamic testing and DDRS iterations bewfore switching to front drum testing and tyre assessment in the afternoon.
"It's been a really good experience for me," said the Italian. "I was very pleased with my sessions and followed everything the team asked of me without making any mistakes. I took it very easy in the morning so I could get used to the car and soon became more confident, meaning towards the end I was much better in terms of pace.
"The team listened to my feedback and made the changes I suggested," he continued, "particularly towards the end of running. I want to say thank you to Lotus F1 Team who have been really good; the engineers and the mechanics have all been brilliant and it has been a great day for me."
"The final day's running with Davide has been a good end to our test," added race engineer Simon Rennie. "In the morning we completed additional aerodynamic work and looked at further evaluation of our DDRS, providing us with enough data to make an informed decision at a later stage in Enstone. Before lunch Davide completed performance runs as he became accustomed to the set up and quickly explored the limits of the car.
"Obviously the step from GP2 to Formula 1 is not enormous, but we were impressed with how quickly he was up to speed by this morning.
"For the afternoon session, we looked at developments of our front drums and then completed a tyre programme which gave Davide the opportunity to try out the various compounds. We ran the hard, medium and soft tyres and he found good improvements in terms of grip with each step in the compounds. All in all it's been a good day, and Davide did a great job."
As on Tuesday and Wednesday, McLaren had two driverson duty, Oliver Turvey in the morning and Kevin Magnussen in the afternoon.
Turvey continued the Woking team's evaluation of a new front wing, providing extremely useful feedback and data. In the afternoon, Magnussen returned to the cockpit, running through a series of mechanical balance changes aimed at unlocking tyre performance. The young Dane clocked sufficient mileage this week to be able to apply for an F1 Superlicence.
"This week's test in Abu Dhabi was extremely useful for the team," said Sam Michael, "Gary, Oliver and Kevin all drove with great discipline to enable us to gather a considerable amount of data, collectively racking up more than 1500km.
"In addition, all three days were trouble-free, which is a great testament to the ongoing resolve of our mechanics and engineers, many of whom have been away from home for several weeks, and who travel directly on to the USA for the final two races of the season. They are a credit to our team.
"Gary and Oliver are outstanding team players and continue to deliver strongly for us. In Kevin's case, his pace, consistency and engineering feedback were all excellent. Given his performance, he certainly didn't look like a guy who had never turned a wheel in a modern F1 car before the start of this week!"
At Sauber, Esteban Gutierrez added another 80 laps to his tally as the Swiss team brought its toital laps over the three days to 252.
"I think today's programme was very useful," said the Mexican. "Not only for me, but also for the team because we were able to test and analyse a lot of different things. I tried to give precise feedback over the day and in the end I was pushing a bit with the soft tyres, but I must admit I didn't manage to make use of the peak of the tyres' performance. Nevertheless I am very happy with how the two days of testing went and I want to thank the Sauber F1 Team for all its work."
"Day three of this test was also a very productive one, as we got all the work done," added Giampaolo Dall'Ara. "Overall we are very happy with the mileage we covered here in Abu Dhabi and also with the feedback from the two young drivers. Today Esteban started with some more aero evaluation. We were running on high fuel, did some set up work and brake tests. Over lunch we changed the front suspension to test some new items. For the afternoon session we then gave Esteban some fresh tyres - one set of hard, two medium and one set of the soft compound."
Having driven for Sauber on Tuesday, today Robert Frijns was on duty for Red Bull, the Dutch youngster taking over from Felix da Costa at the wheel of the RB8.
Frijns earned his place in the cockpit by virtue of winning this year's Formula Renault 3.5 series and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The Dutchman spent the morning focussing on aero work but in the afternoon, around some mechanical testing, there was time for some performance runs and he ended the day with a lap of 1:43,233. That left him fourth on the timesheets, just under six tenths off Davide Valsecchi's best.
"It was a long day and we tested a lot on the car," said Frijns. "I think I did a good job for the team and team worked hard with me so I'm pleased with how it all went.
"In the morning I was driving a little in cruise control as we were doing some aero work and the team needed accurate data with the flow-vis. In the afternoon there was some mechanical work, which was good and I think the team gathered a lot of useful data.
"I'd like to thank Renault for the opportunity to come to Red Bull Racing for this test in the RB8," he added. "It's the quickest car at the moment, so it was a real pleasure to drive for them today. Thanks also to Red Bull Racing for giving me this opportunity to drive the car."
Luiz Razia was back in action for Toro Rosso, the Brazilian completing 68 laps on his way to posting the sixth best time of the day.
"It was tough for me today, because I've been running a fever," revealed Razia, "although it didn't stop me completing the programme. Like on Tuesday, the team had plenty of work for me to do and I was happy that I was able to find a good balance on the car and also had more confidence when it came to changing settings from the steering wheel while I was driving. Overall, these two days in the car have been a great experience for me and I really enjoyed working with an Italian team, as everyone at Toro Rosso made me feel very welcome."
"The past three days have been very productive, as our car ran with no major problems," added Laurent Mekies, "which allowed us to complete a lot of laps. Our job list was very full, testing many items, the majority aimed at next year's car, which will be very useful when it comes to preparing for 2013. In addition, it's fair to say that some of the work could be beneficial to us in the remaining two races of this year. Both Luiz, on the first and last days and Johnny yesterday, did a good job for us, by not making any mistakes, thus allowing us to complete our programme."
After two days with Giedo van der Garde at the wheel, today Caterham handed its car over to American Alexander Rossi.
"It's been a great day in the car and I want to thank the whole team for giving me the chance to drive in Abu Dhabi," he said. "I last drove this car in FP1 in Barcelona back in May and it's definitely come on a long way since then.
"The plan today was mostly focused on running through setup options. With such limited time on Fridays at a GP this was a chance for us to work through a whole range of different setups and I'm sure we've helped give the team a lot of information that will come into play at the last two races of the season.
"It's obviously not ideal that we had to end the session early, but when I boxed after my 14th run there was oil on the garage floor so the engineers had to call the session over. That meant I didn't have the chance to do any performance runs and I'm sure if I did my lap times would have been close to the race drivers, but issues like that are just one of those things. They'll take a proper look at what caused the problem and I'm sure it won't affect the team's preparations for Austin or Brazil.
"Despite that it's been a great day and another step in my development as a driver. The next time I'll be in a race car will be in Jerez for the GP2 test with Caterham Racing and I'm really looking forward to picking up where we left off in Barcelona as the quickest car."
Today's Times - All Times Unofficial
| Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap |
| Valsecchi | Lotus | 86 | 1:42.677 | 121.004 mph |
| Magnussen | McLaren | 51 | 1:42.827 | 0.150 |
| Gutierrez | Sauber | 80 | 1:43.093 | 0.416 |
| Frijns | Red Bull | 53 | 1:43.233 | 0.556 |
| Turvey | McLaren | 44 | 1:43.604 | 0.927 |
| Razia | Toro Rosso | 68 | 1:45.286 | 2.609 |
| Rossi | Caterham | 86 | 1:46.485 | 3.808 |
Best Times To Date
| Date | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
| 6-Nov | Magnussen | McLaren | 1:42.651 | 121.034 mph |
| 8-Nov | Valsecchi | Lotus | 1:42.677 | 0.026 |
| 7-Nov | Da Costa | Red Bull | 1:42.679 | 0.028 |
| 8-Nov | Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:43.093 | 0.442 |
| 7-Nov | Turvey | McLaren | 1:43.176 | 0.525 |
| 8-Nov | Frijns | Red Bull | 1:43.233 | 0.582 |
| 6-Nov | Paffett | McLaren | 1:43.407 | 0.756 |
| 7-Nov | Mortara | Lotus | 1:43.418 | 0.767 |
| 6-Nov | Frijns | Sauber | 1:43.775 | 1.124 |
| 6-Nov | Prost | Lotus | 1:44.194 | 1.543 |
| 7-Nov | Cecotto | Toro Rosso | 1:44.569 | 1.918 |
| 6-Nov | Razia | Toro Rosso | 1:44.691 | 2.040 |
| 7-Nov | Van der Garde | Caterham | 1:45.106 | 2.455 |
| 8-Nov | Rossi | Caterham | 1:46.485 | 3.834 |
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