Jean-Eric Vergne took over driving duties in the STR9 today. Toro Rosso continues to make progress in several areas, even if today’s times reflect the fact the team was not chasing lap times. Work centred on evaluating various suspension settings and on getting the balance right with the new aero components first tried yesterday. Also on the agenda was engine mapping work, which also gave positive results, as did tests aimed at evaluating brakes and cooling with the different aero package. Daniil Kvyat takes over behind the wheel, for what will be his last day of testing, before he makes his official Formula 1 race debut in Melbourne.
Jean-Eric Vergne: “We completed a good number of laps today without any major problems, so it shows we are getting there. There is still a lot to do, but we can say we have made some steps forward and we must continue to do as much mileage as possible in the two days that are left. I will be back in the car on Sunday here, when I hope we will be in a position to do a qualifying and race simulation.”