Barcelona I, day 1: Team and driver quotes

Team quotes

Toro Rosso Renault

After a first outing in Jerez de la Frontera, Scuderia Toro Rosso is back in action at the Catalunya track, home to the Spanish Grand Prix, for a further four days of testing. Nine teams are taking part this week. Max Verstappen was driving and he will alternate with Carlos Sainz over the four days. Max was the busiest driver today, completing the highest number of laps.

Phil Charles (Chief Race Engineer)

“A productive start to our second test session of the winter, with Max having his first experience of Barcelona at the wheel of a Formula 1 car and he settled in smoothly. Apart from a small problem around lunchtime, the day’s programme went to plan. In the morning, we carried out some useful chassis tests, while the afternoon was given over to going through race procedures and pit stops, particularly useful for Max, but also for the team as a whole.”

Max Verstappen

“We didn’t get as much done in the morning as we would have liked, but in the afternoon, we picked up the pace and I completed almost a race distance. I’m very pleased about managing that, as it’s the first time I’ve done that many laps and it was a very useful experience. The same goes for the pit stops and the other race procedures that we practiced.”

Red Bull Renault

Formula One’s second pre-season test of 2015 got underway in Barcelona today, with Daniel Ricciardo recording 59 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya. The bulk of Daniel’s laps were completed in the afternoon, as the team made a late start to the morning session due to a number of upgrades needing to fine-tuned before the Australian took to the track. Thereafter, the team’s running was trouble-free, with Daniel enjoying a brief run on the soft tyre to slot into third place on the timesheet, with a lap of 1:25.547.

“The car felt good today, we got a bit of running done on a few different [tyre] compounds, which was interesting and we got a lot of data, which is always good,” said Daniel. “I think we’re chipping away. We’re definitely making progress but it takes time. However, I think come Melbourne we’ll be there.”

Head of Race Engineering Guillaume Rocquelin added: “A slightly difficult morning for the team but not wholly unexpected given that we had some new parts here which needed to be dialled in. There were some software issues in the morning, which held us back a bit, but while those were being sorted out we were able to get through some aero mapping work, which was useful. Then the car got better and better through the day and in the end Daniel was able to run on the pace. We did mostly short runs today as that suited the game plan for the updates we have but by the afternoon I think we could have sent him out for as long as we wanted as the car was running well at that stage. Ultimately, what we got today is pretty much what you’d expect from the first day of a test at which there are quite a few new things to factor in.”

Lotus Mercedes

Lotus F1 Team topped the times on the first day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with Pastor Maldonado setting a fastest time of 1min 25.011secs during the course of completing 69 laps at the track.

Lotus F1 Team Third and Reserve Driver Jolyon Palmer will get behind the wheel of the E23 Hybrid as he undertakes his first driving duties for the team tomorrow.

Pastor Maldonado

“It is always good to see your name at the top of the timing monitors and my fastest lap was just in the course of our normal programme for the day. It feels good to drive the E23 in Barcelona. The car responded well to the changes we made and we were able to complete a good number of laps. The team has made strong progress since Jerez and we have a great starting point for the rest of the week. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a perfect track to assess a new car so we’re happy with progress today.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director:

“It’s been a positive day. We had a couple of software niggles in the morning then we were able to work through a solid programme of setup work during which we racked up a good number of laps. The car did have an extended lunch break whilst we changed the clutch, then we were able to complete further work in the afternoon. We’re happy that we’ve made good steps forward since Jerez and we’re working steadily through our evaluations whilst confirming directions for improvement.”

Force India Mercedes

Sahara Force India opened its 2015 season with a positive day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. 20-year-old German Pascal Wehrlein made his debut behind the wheel of the VJM07 in the morning, with race driver Sergio Perez taking over in the afternoon as the team completed a total of 66 laps. Perez will resume his testing duties tomorrow.

Pascal Wehrlein: “It was great to spend the morning with Force India and to have the opportunity to drive their car for the first time. It’s a good team and everyone was really welcoming. After a few laps I felt very comfortable and confident in the car. Then, of course, I had to move across one garage and drive the Mercedes for the afternoon which was a bit of a surprise. But I will have another day with Force India this week. Driving two Formula One cars in one day was amazing and I am really looking forward to getting back out there again.”

Sergio Perez: “It’s a very nice feeling to be back on track after the break and to start getting back into a racing rhythm. When I got the call to come to the track, I was really excited about having an earlier start than planned. There is so much to do: I have to get to know my new race engineer, Tim, we have new tyres and new parts to try. I think it was a positive afternoon and a good head-start on the work we are planning to do tomorrow. We can be happy about our day’s work, it was a promising beginning and we can build on it in the remaining three days. 34 laps was a good number for half a day and tomorrow we will be aiming to add many more to the tally.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “It was a very positive start to our on-track season with no technical issues and lots of mileage. Even though we had to deal with an unplanned driver change, we managed to achieve all our main goals for the day. Pascal settled into the team straight away and was able to give good feedback on the test items he covered this morning; for Sergio, it was a matter of getting back to action and having his first experience with the 2015 tyres as he completed all the outstanding items on our test programme. In addition to the work on the new Pirellis, we completed a series of tests on development mechanical components on the VJM07. The aim is to have a similarly productive day tomorrow.”

Williams Mercedes

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: We have had a reasonably successful day adding mileage to the FW37. The morning’s focus was on completing a race distance and further set-up work with the car. This afternoon we had some system checks planned, but unfortunately lost a lot of time which affected the programme. We will be able to add these back in later in the week, it’s just a shame for Susie to lose the time in the car when we were having a productive day.

Susie Wolff: We learnt a lot today. Carrying out some longer runs in the morning gave me experience of tyre management and it was good to get time in the FW37. The car has a lot of potential and the number of laps we completed today gave the team a lot of data. It’s just a shame I didn’t get the chance to drive the faster tyre. I got a good feeling of the car and as a driver, have learnt a lot.

McLaren Honda

The team kicked off this week’s Barcelona test with a series of short runs to evaluate some mechanical balance changes. After concluding the third run of the morning, and with the team getting into the programme, a broken seal on the MGU-K caused a problem that ended running for the day. Despite the stoppage and the limited running, Jenson was upbeat about the car’s balance, handling and predictability.

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer - chief officer of motorsport

“We had to stop running this morning after discovering a faulty seal on the MGU-K. That faulty part then caused an issue that requires full replacement of the power-unit - and the time needed to make those changes effectively ends today’s programme.

“We’ll need to run a re-designed component to avoid a potential repeat of the problem. Unfortunately, we won’t be in possession of that updated part until Saturday, which means that we may face the same problem when we run again tomorrow.

“Such issues are all part of testing, but we’ll make the best changes we can overnight, and will plan for a productive day of running - with Fernando behind the wheel - tomorrow.

“Hopefully, with a bespoke solution ready for Saturday, both drivers will have an opportunity to get some useful laps under their belts, with Jenson driving on Saturday, and Fernando concluding the test on Sunday.”

What’s next: Second day of the test – first day in the car for Fernando. With the prospect of limited mileage, the team will look at undertaking some time-intensive bigger set-up changes in a bid to maximise learning about the car’s balance – so expect lengthy breaks between runs throughout the day.

Sauber Ferrari

Felipe Nasr was behind the wheel of the Sauber C34-Ferrari for the first day of testing in Barcelona. The Sauber F1 Team was able to fulfil its programme in the morning, which consisted of measurements as well as testing different mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups. Due to an incident, Felipe Nasr lost around three hours of track time in the afternoon. In total, the Brazilian completed 79 laps.

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:

“The day started well. The morning went pretty much without trouble, so we were able to fulfil the programme. In the afternoon everything was a bit unfortunate, starting off with the accident which caused a loss of track time. The team did a good job getting the car back for the last half an hour. Obviously, the programme could not be completed, but it was still positive to go out for a few more checks. When we went out late the car was repaired in a rush, and we noticed something that was not normal in the data, therefore we stopped the car on track as a precaution.”

Felipe Nasr:

“I feel quite comfortable with the car. This morning everything went according to plan, and we were able to go through the planned programme. I think we made steps forward in comparison to Jerez, and we are heading in the right direction. In the afternoon we started the programme as scheduled, but were then stopped by an incident. I think Susie (Wolff) did not see me coming, and then we unfortunately collided in turn five. We had quite a lot of damage to fix, which hurt our programme. Considering the damage, the team did an amazing job to put the car back together in only a few hours. We were able to go out again and complete some checks. Despite the incident, it was a good day and I am positive about what I have seen today. We will keep improving on that.”

What comes next:

Tomorrow and on Saturday, Marcus Ericsson will be behind the wheel of the Sauber C34-Ferrari.

Mercedes

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS began the second test of the 2015 season today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of the F1 W06 Hybrid in the morning and Pascal Wehrlein taking the reins in the afternoon.

— Lewis emerged for his first run at precisely 09:00 CET, completing 10 laps before being forced to sit out the remainder of the day with a fever
— The F1 W06 Hybrid remained parked until just before lunch as the crew made the necessary adjustments to accommodate Reserve Driver Pascal Wehrlein
— Pascal completed 47 laps for the Silver Arrows during the afternoon, bringing the day’s total to 57
— Mercedes-Benz Power Units today completed a total of 1,294 km
— Nico Rosberg is scheduled to take the wheel of the F1 W06 Hybrid tomorrow for the second day of the test

Pascal Wehrlein

Today was a really good day in my career. I was quite surprised in the morning when I got the information that I would be driving the Mercedes in the afternoon. But I am here and I want to drive, so I am ready for any opportunity. To drive two Formula One cars in one day was amazing, so I’m very happy. We lost a bit of time in the garage which was a shame as I would have liked to do some more laps. But the time I had I really enjoyed. Spending the morning with Force India, also, was a great experience. It’s a good team, everyone was really welcoming and after a few laps I felt very confident in the car. I will have another day with them this week so I am really looking forward to getting back out there again.

Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen: “It’s not that different from Jerez, we don’t know about the fuel other cars
had, and some of them were on soft tyres. We keep doing our stuff, have made our plan and try to follow it. The car is a completely different story from last year’s, we’ve still got a long way ahead of us but the team is working well and has produced a very nice car”.

James Allison: “Overall we are content with the day, happy because the work we’ve been doing in learning how the car responds to set-up changes was very satisfactory, less happy with the laps count for the day. I hope that in the remaining days we get some more mileage under our belt”.