Mercedes remained on top of the Jerez timesheets on Thursday, courtesy of driver Nico Rosberg, but it was Lotus’s Romain Grosjean who was the fastest of those running in 2012 machinery. Grosjean set a best time of 1m 18.419s in the E20, as this week’s multi-team test continued in Spain.
Rosberg continued with his team’s tyre-focused programme in the MGP W02. He covered 118 laps which also allowed the team to put more mileage on several development items. Although the other teams will continue to test on Friday, Mercedes will leave the Spanish track and continue work in the factory on their new car.
“It seems that the tyres are closer performance-wise this year, with the rear tyres also looking a bit stronger,” said Rosberg. You can’t really compare the lap times with other teams, but it was interesting to learn a lot with our 2011 car. Defending 2011 world champion Sebastian Vettel was third quickest in the Red Bull ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne. Vettel, Hamilton and Vergne were all behind the wheels of their respective teams' 2012 cars for the very first time.
Vettel completed 96 laps in the RB8 and declared himself happy to be back on track after Christmas. As well as acclimatizing to his new charge, Vergne carried out an extensive aero test in Toro Rosso's STR7. “Was it a special feeling knowing this is ‘my’ Formula One car for the season? The Mexican managed to complete just 48 laps after the team were forced to change a gearbox oil filter. Team mate Kamui Kobayashi will be back behind the wheel on Friday. Kamui has another day of testing here tomorrow. Alonso continued where team mate Felipe Massa had left off on Wednesday, gathering data. He covered 67 laps, despite an interrupted morning caused by a hydraulic problem.
Bruno Senna was eighth on his first outing for new team Williams. The team has done a great job and I’m happy we have had a trouble-free day.”
Caterham’s new third driver Giedo van der Garde occupied the ninth slot after 74 laps in the CT01. “Reliability was again good for us today and tomorrow we will give Jarno (Trulli) his first taste of KERS, run through tyre evaluations and start exploring more of the car’s performance potential.”
“I made a small mistake on my second run,” explained the young Frenchman. “The tyres were a bit cold and I spun into the gravel and touched the wall with the right rear wheel.
Rosberg continued with his team’s tyre-focused programme in the MGP W02. He covered 118 laps which also allowed the team to put more mileage on several development items. Although the other teams will continue to test on Friday, Mercedes will leave the Spanish track and continue work in the factory on their new car.
“It seems that the tyres are closer performance-wise this year, with the rear tyres also looking a bit stronger,” said Rosberg. You can’t really compare the lap times with other teams, but it was interesting to learn a lot with our 2011 car. Defending 2011 world champion Sebastian Vettel was third quickest in the Red Bull ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne. Vettel, Hamilton and Vergne were all behind the wheels of their respective teams' 2012 cars for the very first time.
Vettel completed 96 laps in the RB8 and declared himself happy to be back on track after Christmas. As well as acclimatizing to his new charge, Vergne carried out an extensive aero test in Toro Rosso's STR7. “Was it a special feeling knowing this is ‘my’ Formula One car for the season? The Mexican managed to complete just 48 laps after the team were forced to change a gearbox oil filter. Team mate Kamui Kobayashi will be back behind the wheel on Friday. Kamui has another day of testing here tomorrow. Alonso continued where team mate Felipe Massa had left off on Wednesday, gathering data. He covered 67 laps, despite an interrupted morning caused by a hydraulic problem.
Bruno Senna was eighth on his first outing for new team Williams. The team has done a great job and I’m happy we have had a trouble-free day.”
Caterham’s new third driver Giedo van der Garde occupied the ninth slot after 74 laps in the CT01. “Reliability was again good for us today and tomorrow we will give Jarno (Trulli) his first taste of KERS, run through tyre evaluations and start exploring more of the car’s performance potential.”
“I made a small mistake on my second run,” explained the young Frenchman. “The tyres were a bit cold and I spun into the gravel and touched the wall with the right rear wheel.
