01/03/2017
NEWS STORY
Jolyon Palmer and Nico Hulkenberg were both on duty today in the R.S.17 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Jolyon drove the morning session, completing 51 laps with a best time of 1min 21.396secs, the then third-fastest time. Nico drove in the afternoon, completing 42 laps with a best lap time of 1min 21.791secs, the fifth fastest of the day. Both drivers will be in action again tomorrow.
The fourth and final day of the first test will see a wet track with Nico in action in the morning, Jolyon in action in the afternoon.
Jolyon Palmer: "It wasn't a perfect start on cold tyres first thing, but other than that we've made some really good progress throughout the week in terms of set-up. I feel happy with where we are as it feels like we're making steps forward every time we go out. The car seems straight-forward to understand for the engineers and drivers, so that makes progress and development much easier than otherwise. I completed 51 laps this morning which is satisfying and we're constantly learning. I think that's showing in the performance."
Nico Hulkenberg: "It's a positive that we could complete more laps today. My time in the afternoon was slightly limited with some minor issues, but they were a valuable 42 laps and with some quality work done. We are constantly improving our understanding of the car and I learnt a few bits and bobs myself. Tomorrow we'll run on a wet track, which will be interesting. I'm open-minded with what to expect. It's going to be interesting in the morning with a wet track and pretty cool conditions; it could be fun, I'm interested to see what it's like."
Alan Permane, Sporting Director: "We had productive day with both drivers in the car and we've seen good feedback regarding every element assessed. The team has made strong progress with the set-up and managed a decent amount of long runs to assist with our data collection and understanding. We used Pirelli's soft tyre properly for the first time and it offers a decent chunk of pace over the medium compound. We're very happy with what we've seen today in terms of downforce and tyre usage so we have a good baseline to work from for next week's test."