Barcelona F1 Test 2013: Complete Report from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

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DAY 1 Report

The second of Formula 1’s three pre-season Spanish tests kicked off today at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, an aero-dependent track that will provide teams with a clearer idea of the state of their preparations ahead of the 2013 season.

Sergio Perez kicked off the running this morning, his second outing behind the wheel of MP4-28. As at last week’s test at Jerez, the team spent the morning running through a series of aero tests before breaking to reset the car for some set-up comparison work.

After lunch, Sergio began a series of longer runs to evaluate the effects of the mechanical set-up changes. He also took the opportunity to more fully acclimatise himself to the cockpit controls and team communications that he will start to encounter in the races.

The afternoon concluded with a live pitstop practice. It was a productive day.

Location: Circuit de Catalunya
Driver: Sergio Perez
Track length: 4.655km
Laps: 77
Km covered: 358
Best laptime: 1m24.144s
Test dates: Four days (February 19-22)

What’s next?

Sergio concludes his running. Jenson takes over for Thursday and Friday.

DAY 1 Standings

Pos / Driver / Constructor / Time / Laps

1 / Nico Rosberg/ Mercedes AMG / 1m 22.616s / 54

2 / Kimi Raikkonen / Lotus-Renault / 1m 22.672s / 44

3 / Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / 1m 22.952s / 110

4 / Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull Racing / 1m 22.965s / 66

5 / Pastor Maldonado / Williams / 1m 23.733s / 86

6 / Daniel Ricciardo / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 1m 23.884s / 73

7 / Sergio Perez / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 1m 24.124s / 77

8 / Paul di Resta / Force India / 1m 24.144s / 82

9 / Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / 1m 25.124s / 68

10 / Max Chilton / Marussia / 1m 26.747s / 65

11 / Charles Pic / Caterham / 1m 27.534s / 49

DAY 2 Report

Sergio concluded his running at the Circuit de Catalunya, racking up 97 laps after an extremely productive day.

As usual, the morning kicked off with a series of shorter runs, aimed at gaining the engineers a better understanding of the car’s track-to-tunnel aero correlation and its reaction to a series of mechanical set-up changes.

Into the afternoon, the team ran through a number of longer runs – these were aimed at providing Sergio with a better understanding of the methods and systems that will be used by the race team during a race weekend, including cockpit switch adjustments and understanding radio messaging.

What’s next?

Jenson kicks off his running at Barcelona tomorrow. His programme will pick up where Checo’s left off, including further correlation and set-up work. With poorer weather on the horizon for Friday, the team will monitor the forecast and may choose to adapt the programme in order to optimise track time over the next two days.

Location: Circuit de Catalunya
Driver: Sergio Perez
Track length: 4.655km
Laps: 97
Km covered: 452
Best laptime: 1m21.848s
Test Dates: Four days (February 19-22)

DAY 2 Standings

Pos / Driver / Constructor / Time / Laps

1 / Sergio Perez / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 1m 21.848s / 97

2 / Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull Racing / 1m 22.197s / 84

3 / Kimi Raikkonen / Lotus-Renault / 1m 22.697s / 43

4 / Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes AMG / 1m 22.726s / 121

5 / Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / 1m 23.247s / 76

6 / Valtteri Bottas / Williams / 1m 23.561s / 98

7 / Daniel Ricciardo / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 1m 23.718s / 70

8 / Paul di Resta / Force India / 1m 23.971s / 62

9 / Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber / 1m 24.205s / 88

10 / Max Chilton / Marussia / 1m 25.115s / 67

11 / Charles Pic / Caterham / 1m 26.243s / 102

DAY 3 Report

Jenson’s first day in the car at this week’s test.

The first three hours of the day were spent focusing on mechanical set-up work and the evaluation of tyres.

The team then elected to carry out some larger mechanical changes over the lunchbreak, meaning Jenson didn't return to the track until 3pm. Thereafter, he focused on longer runs with a number of simulated pitstops.

What’s next?

The team plans to conduct more aero work tomorrow if the weather stays fine. However, with rain forecast for the whole day, our plans may change and we could well end up running Pirelli’s 2013 wet-weather compounds for the first time.

Location: Circuit de Catalunya
Driver: Jenson Button
Track length: 4.655km
Laps: 71
Km covered: 331
Best laptime: 1m22.840s
Test dates: Four days (February 19-22)

DAY 3 Standings

Pos / Driver / Constructor / Time / Laps

1 / Fernando Alonso / Ferrari / 1m 21.875s / 97

2 / Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber / 1m 22.160s / 91

3 / Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Renault / 1m 22.188s / 119

4 / Nico Rosberg / Mercedes AMG / 1m 22.611s / 108

5 / Pastor Maldonado / Williams / 1m 22.675s / 79

6 / Valtteri Bottas / Williams / 1m 22.826s / 68

7 / Jenson Button / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 1m 22.840s / 71

8 / Adrian Sutil / Force India / 1m 22.877s / 78

9 / Mark Webber / Red Bull Racing / 1m 23.024s / 108

10 / Jean-Eric Vergne / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 1m 23.366s / 106

11 / Max Chilton / Marussia / 1m 25.690s / 58

12 / Giedo van der Garde / Caterham / 1m 26.177s / 83

DAY 4 Report

Final day of the Barcelona test, and the second day in the cockpit for Jenson.

Despite temperamental weather – it started to spit with rain from first running this morning, meaning Jenson only conducted a single run on slicks – the team completed a full programme and was pleased with progress.

The rain also allowed the team to run Pirelli’s Intermediate and Full Wet compounds – another very useful opportunity ahead of the unpredictable weather often encountered at the opening races.

What’s next?

The team remains in Barcelona for a second session next week (Feb 28-Mar 3). Driving duties will be split Sergio-Jenson-Sergio-Jenson, and the car will run in Melbourne-spec for the first time.

Location: Circuit de Catalunya
Driver: Jenson Button
Track length: 4.655km
Laps: 70
Km covered: 326
Best laptime: 1m 23.633s
Test dates: Four days (February 19-22)

DAY 4 Standings

Pos / Driver / Constructor / Time / Laps

1 / Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes AMG / 1m 23.282s / 52

2 / Jenson Button / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 1m 23.633s / 70

3 / Jean-Eric Vergne / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 1m 24.071s / 80

4 / Jules Bianchi / Force India / 1m 25.732s / 96

5 / Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / 1m 26.239s / 61

6 / Giedo van der Garde / Caterham / 1m 27.429s / 50

7 / Felipe Massa / Ferrari / 1m 27.563s / 80

8 / Mark Webber / Red Bull Racing / 1m 27.616s / 64

9 / Max Chilton / Marussia / 1m 29.902s / 51

10 / Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Renault / 1m 34.800s / 41

11 / Valtteri Bottas / Williams / - / 23

12 / Pastor Maldonado / Williams / - / 13

~ Official photos and reports courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

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