18/02/2014
NEWS STORY
Almost all the teams have now confirmed their line-ups for the second pre-season test which gets underway in Bahrain tomorrow.
The centre of attention this week, albeit for all the wrong reasons, is Red Bull where Sebastian Vettel will drive the RB10 on Wednesday and Thursday before handing over to Daniel Ricciardo for the remaining two days. Having completed just 21 laps - under 60 miles - in Jerez the pressure is on the world champions.
The Lotus E22 is another car that will be the focus of media attention. Other than a couple of pictures which posed more questions than they answered, the car has been limited to promotional running at Jerez. Romain Grosjean will get his hands on the Enstone outfit's new car for the first two days before handing over to Pastor Maldonado.
Of the other Renault powered teams, Toro Rosso will have Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne alternating in the STR9, the Russian on duty tomorrow, while at Caterham Robin Frijns drives on Wednesday, Kamui Kobayashi on Thursday, Marcus Ericsson on Friday then back to the Japanese driver on Saturday.
Like Toro Rosso, Mercedes will alternate its drivers, Lewis Hamilton on duty tomorrow and Nico Rosberg on Wednesday, while at McLaren Kevin Magnussen has two days at the wheel of the MP4-29 before handing over to Jenson Button. Nico Hulkenberg has two days in the Force India before standing aside for Sergio Perez whilst Williams has yet to confirm its plans.
Fernando Alonso has two days in the F14 T before handing over to teammate Kimi Raikkonen, while Sauber has gone for the unique approach of letting Adrian Sutil loose in the C33 for the first and final days and Sergio Perez drives on Thursday and Friday.
As it happens, Marussia adopts a similar approach with Jules Bianchi bookending the test and Max Chilton being the 'filling'.
Chris Balfe