Jerez F1 Test 2013: DAY 4 - Sergio ends the first development round for the MP4-28

Don't Copy From This Blog...

Sergio returned to the cockpit for his second day of testing, putting a useful 434km under his belt as he continued to acquaint himself with his new team and car.

Following a similar pattern to the past three days, the day began with some aero correlation work, conducted over a number of shorter runs, before the team turned its attention to mechanical set-up work.

As yesterday, the afternoon was spent carrying out a series of longer runs – with live pitstops – to more fully understand the set-up changes.

Location: Circuito de Jerez, Spain
Driver: Sergio Perez
Track length: 4.428km
Laps: 98
Km covered: 434
Best laptime: 1m18.944s
Test dates: Four days (February 5-8)

Conclusions

Our first test with MP4-28 has been extremely productive: despite a few reliability issues on the opening days, running has largely been trouble-free. Jenson has expressed his initial confidence with the new car, and Checo has played himself in quickly, completing nearly 800km in his first week. He already feels comfortable behind the wheel of a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

The Jerez test was a good baseline for the rest of our winter work.

DAY 3 Standings
Pos / Driver / Constructor / Best time / Laps

1 / Kimi Raikkonen / Lotus-Renault / 1m 18.148s / 83

2 / Jules Bianchi / Force India / 1m 18.175s / 56

3 / Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull Racing / 1m 18.565s / 96

4 / Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / 1m 18.669s / 142

5 / Jean-Eric Vergne / Scuderia Toro Rosso / 1m 18.760s / 92

6 / Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes AMG / 1m 18.905s / 145

7 / Sergio Perez / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 1m 18.944s / 98

8 / Valtteri Bottas / Williams / 1m 19.851s / 92

9 / Pedro de la Rosa / Ferrari / 1m 20.316s / 51

10 / Charles Pic / Caterham / 1m 21.105s / 109

11 / Luiz Razia / Marussia / 1m 21.226s / 82

12 / Paul di Resta / Force India / 1m 23.435s / 49

~ Official photo and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

Jerez F1 Test 2013: DAY 4 - Lewis concludes the session with record mileage

Don't Copy From This Blog...

Lewis Hamilton completed the final day of the first winter test in Jerez, Spain for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS today. After running on his first day in the car was limited to just 15 laps, Lewis today completed a total of 145 laps as he familiarised himself with the new F1 W04.

• Lewis’ running this morning concentrated on set-up changes as he familiarised himself with the car

• Following a delay to repair the track surface at Turn 5, Lewis focused on completing a race distance

• This was successfully completed during the afternoon with further valuable miles put on the new car

• Lewis and Nico completed a combined total of 1426 km over the four days of testing in Jerez

DAY 3 Statistics

DAY 3 Times

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS will resume testing on Tuesday 19 February in Barcelona.

Lewis Hamilton
"Today we managed the kind of mileage that the car is capable of and I think we have a good platform to start working from. Now we need to understand the F1 W04 even more: personally, I am learning something with every lap I do and every change I make to the set-up. Overall, I think we are probably at the level we would have hoped to be. The team has done a great job to add downforce to the car over the winter and they now need Nico and me to tell them where we can improve and the direction we need to go. Everybody has been incredibly supportive and I am really building a good bond with the team; they feel energised, ready to go and everybody is working flat out to move us forward."

Ross Brawn
"After a difficult first half of the test, the last two days have really been as good as we could have hoped for. Nico is probably best placed to compare between last year’s car and the new W04 and he seems pretty enthusiastic, but it is hard to have any reliable feeling of where we stand relative to the competition. Lewis had a very constructive day today as he settled in to the car; he has been very straightforward in telling us what he thinks, is interested in everything about the car and has a very good eye for detail. Overall, the step we have to make from where we were at the end of last year is substantial and it is also, of course, a moving target. But looking at the team as a whole, I can see very encouraging signs of progress."

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

Jerez F1 Test 2013: DAY 3 - Jenson Button back in the cockpit of the MP4-28

Don't Copy From This Blog...

Jenson returned to the cockpit this morning to complete his second day of running at Jerez, concluding his programme for this test.

As in previous days, the morning kicked off with further aero evaluation work – conducted over a number of shorter runs. The team then ran through a suite of larger mechanical changes in order to understand key changes in set-up – these were fully evaluated over a series of longer runs throughout the afternoon.

The team also conducted a number of live pitstops during the afternoon’s running.

Jenson made a precautionary stop on the track during the session’s dying minutes, and the car was recovered safely.

Location: Circuito de Jerez, Spain
Driver: Jenson Button
Track length: 4.428km
Laps: 83
Km covered: 368
Best laptime: 1m19.603s
Test dates: Four days (February 5-8)

What’s next?

Sergio returns tomorrow for the final day’s running. As before, he will conduct a mix of aero and mechanical work, also running through a similar series of larger mechanical changes in order to better understand the set-up characteristics of MP4-28.


DAY 3 Standings
Pos / Driver / Constructor / Best time / Laps

1 / Felipe Massa / Ferrari / 1m 17.879s / 85

2 / Nico Rosberg / Mercedes AMG / 1m 18.766s / 148

3 / Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull Racing / 1m 19.052s / 102

4 / Kimi Raikkonen / Lotus-Renault / 1m 19.200s / 40

5 / Jean-Eric Vergne / Scuderia Toro Rossa / 1m 19.247s / 85

6 / James Rossiter / Force India / 1m 19.303s / 42

7 / Jenson Button / Vodafone McLaren Mercedes / 1m 19.603s / 83

8 / Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber / 1m 19.934s / 110

9 / Max Chilton / Marussia / 1m 21.269s / 78

10 / Valtteri Bottas / Williams / 1m 21.575s / 86

11 / Charles Pic / Caterham / 1m 22.352s / 57

12 / Paul di Resta/ Force India / 1m 23.729s / 7

~ Official photo and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More

Jerez F1 Test 2013: DAY 3 - Nico Rosberg and the F1 W04 in top form

Don't Copy From This Blog...

Nico Rosberg completed a successful third day of pre-season testing for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS today in Jerez, Spain. Following a difficult start to the week with limited mileage, Nico was today able to complete a total of 655 km – over two race distances - to make good progress through the team’s test items.

• Nico’s work today focused on reliability running to put mileage on the car and aerodynamic evaluations
• Nico ran the medium and hard compounds throughout the day, setting his fastest time on the medium tyres
• He evaluated a new front wing design this morning and ran with the new parts throughout the afternoon.
• His total number of laps exceeded the highest single-day total from last year’s pre-season test in Jerez (132 laps for Michael Schumacher on 8 February 2012 in the 2011 car)
• Nico also completed pit-stop practice during the final hour of today’s running

DAY 3 Statistics

DAY 3 Times

Lewis Hamilton will complete the fourth and final day of the test tomorrow.

Nico Rosberg: "I’m very happy with today and I think it was probably a personal record for me to do almost 150 laps. I’ve never been so well prepared physically as I am this season; I feel on top form and it was no problem to complete the programme. To drive the distance from Silverstone to Spa in one day with no problems whatsoever is a fantastic achievement from the team. It really made up for the last two days and put a smile on everybody’s face. In terms of driving the car, I have a good feeling, I can push it and feel comfortable - but obviously we still have plenty of work to do to continue improving."

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

Copyright © 2013, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

Read More