(formula1.ferrari,com)
Scuderia Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen ended the final day of the
Jerez winter test top of the time sheets. The Finn set a fastest time of 1m
20.841s completing 104 laps over the course of the day. Ferrari ended up
fastest on three of the four day test with the SF15-T. Speaking at the end of
the test Kimi Raikkonen stated:
‘Over the
winter, we have made a good step forward and this car is definitely an
improvement over the 2014 one. It’s the whole package that has progressed, but
there is still a lot of work to do. We are not comparing ourselves to the
others, we just got on with our own job, without looking at what they were
doing. Times are of relatively little importance; what matters is that we
have put together a good number of laps without having any real problems.
Today’s conditions were not that easy, with too strong a wind blowing on track,
but then it’s the same for everyone. As I said, we now have a good basis from
which to start the development work.’
The Maranello based outfit covered a total of 345 laps
between their drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel over the course of
the test. The SF15-T ran trouble free over the course of the four days.
Speaking about the test Scuderia Ferrari Technical Director James Allison
commented saying:
‘When you
bring a new car to the track, you’re always excited and worried and that is
mixed with a profound hope that all the hard work of so many people will
be rewarded with performance. We leave this test without having all our
expectations met, simply because we would have liked to have done even more
mileage and because you always want to be faster. However, having said
that, given how it went, overall we can be pleased, because we have had a solid
start. Now, we are keen to push on with the development work in Barcelona,
so as to be ready for the first race in Melbourne.’
Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene was full
of praise for the work that his drivers have done over the course of the
opening test and was extremely happy with the work done by the team both at the
circuit and back at their Maranello HQ. Speaking at the conclusion of the test
the Italian stated:
‘If one
makes a comparison to last year, these past few days of testing have produced
encouraging signs. The team has worked well, both at home and at the track and
our drivers did a great job, providing the engineers with valuable feedback.
But above all, I am pleased that the group has rediscovered its motivation and
team spirit. In terms of performance, I don’t think our competitors – one in
particular – have shown their true potential over these past days. I think we
will only discover the truth about them and about ourselves at the last
Barcelona test session. Now, my attention turns to Paris, where tomorrow’s
meeting will decide the future of our sport.’
The Sauber F1 Team had another fantastic day of running as
Marcus Ericsson ended the test in second place for the Swiss based outfit,
completing 112 laps with a fastest time of 1m 22.019s. Speaking following the
test Marcus Ericsson stated:
‘It was another good day for us with more than
100 laps completed. It’s been a great first week of testing for the whole team,
and I would like to thank everybody for the work done.
We collected a lot of good information. It was
interesting for me because I drove the car on days one and four, and it was
obvious that we were able to make some progress in between. Felipe and the team
did a good job, so when I jumped in the car again I was able to immediately
notice the progress, which is encouraging. I think we have a good basis which
we can now build on.’
The Sauber F1 Team have done a fantastic job during the
opening test and have looked extremely strong so far. Felipe Nasr topped the
time sheets on Tuesday having completed 108 laps, making Ferrari power the unit
to beat in the opening test as the Italian manufacturer topped the time sheet
on all four days. Speaking following the Jerez test Sauber’s Head of Track
Engineering Giampaolo Dall’Ara stated:
‘It was another productive day for the Sauber F1 Team. We concentrated on some academic measurements, which took quite a lot of patience
from Marcus’ side, because he had to drive out and in, again and again. Overall
the four day test was definitely very positive. There were hardly any
reliability issues on the car, and definitely nothing major. The drivers and
the team worked very well, and it was good to get to know each other. We will
now analyse all the data in order to make further progress in Barcelona.”
Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team’s world champion Lewis
Hamilton was third fastest completing the most number of laps at 117 laps with
a fastest time of 1m 22.172s. Hamilton was happy with his running despite a
brief interruption this morning. The team made some history today as they
completed the most number of laps ever in winter testing. Speaking following the test Hamilton stated:
‘It’s been pretty
amazing this week to see how reliable the car has been and how much mileage
we’ve covered. The team here at the track and back at the factories is so
enthusiastic and energized which is great to see. We all loved the experience
of last year and everyone wants to do it again. This is where you prove out the
car – looking for as many laps as you can, not searching for fast times. It’s
been really positive from that perspective and every day here the car has got
better as we learn more about it.
Everyone will keep bringing upgrades through
pre-season, so the cars will develop and they will improve and that then
carries on through the first race. I can’t really say much about the
performance of the car yet but it doesn’t feel any worse than last year’s,
which is a good sign. I’m fit and ready to go – 117 laps today felt fairly easy
– so I’m already looking forward to getting back to it in Barcelona.’
Max Verstappen was fourth fastest for Scuderia Toro Rosso
with a 1m 22.553s completing 97 laps in the STR10.
Williams Martini Racing Team’s Felipe Massa was fifth
fastest with the Brazilian completing 73 laps with a fastest time of 1m
23.116s. Speaking following the test he stated:
‘The FW37 once again proved how reliable it was
with an error free day. The car has been consistent over the last four days and
we have made good progress. We have highlighted certain areas that need work
and so will make sure the car is improving every time we take to the track. We
have our feet on the ground and are focused on making this car quicker when
testing continues in Barcelona.’
The Grove based outfit’s Chief Test and Support Engineer Rod
Nelson stated:
‘Today was another trouble-free day and so we
completed our programme for the week. Today’s focus was on aero and mechanical
set-up, as well as working through systems reliability. We have highlighted
areas we need to improve before Barcelona and leave here with a reliable
package that is straight forward to work with.’
The Lotus F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean was 6th
fastest with the Frenchman completing 53 laps for the Enstone based outfit as
the team continued to rack up the mileage with their new Mercedes power unit.
Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat completed 64 laps
setting the 7th fastest time of the day with a 1m 23.975s.
McLaren Honda’s Jenson Button rounded out the time sheets in
the MP4-30 on a difficult day for the Woking based outfit. The 2009 world
champion completed 35 laps with a fastest time of 1m 27.660s.
Formula One now has a break of two weeks until the next
pre-season test which takes place at the Circuit Du Catalunya in Barcelona from
February 19 – 22.
© Ben Johnston 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment