The three-day Formula 1 test at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours got off to a busy start today as Scuderia Ferrari, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS and Sahara Force India completed significant running at the French venue.
Piloting Ferrari’s F12012 at his home circuit, Jules Bianchi recorded the best time of the day with a lap of 1m18.070. The 23-year-old will switch to Sahara Force India tomorrow with Italy’s Davide Rigon taking his place in the famous red machine.
Brazilian Luiz Razia grabbed the second fastest time for Sahara Force India by setting a 1m18.535 late in the afternoon session. Britain’s Sam Bird was P3 for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, circulating in 1m19.094.
All three drivers enjoyed extensive running on the 4.4km circuit where conditions remained dry and warm for the duration of the opening day. Bird was particularly busy, the 25-year-old completing a total of 95 laps as his team worked through a number of new upgrades on their F1-W03. Bianchi got through 87 tours aboard the Ferrari while Razia ran 65 laps in what was his first outing for the British-based team.
The day proved notably trouble-free, with only two brief stoppages during the eight hours of running. The test resumes tomorrow morning at 9am local time with tickets available on the gate for €10.
Jules Bianchi, Ferrari: "I knew the track from racing here in Formula Renault and F3 and I really enjoy it. It has a great mix of corners, with some quick turns which are important for the aerodynamics, and then the hairpin where you can work on traction and brakes. All this makes it a good track for testing and I’d like there to be a race here."
"Today we tried various aerodynamic components which are not big evolutions for the car, but things already tried on Fridays at the races and brought here to confirm some of the data. It’s the first time I’ve driven this year’s car and it was good opportunity for me to get some experience of it. I immediately felt comfortable, with a good pace, but right near the end of the session when I wanted to go for a time, we had a small electrical problem. Apart from that, it was a completely positive day: I really like driving this track and it’s characteristics are particularly well suited to testing."
Luiz Razia, Force India: "It’s always valuable to spend time in a Formula One car and today has been really useful. It’s given me the chance to get to know the team and get comfortable in the car. The biggest challenge was getting used to all the switches on the steering wheel so that was good experience and I learned about all the car’s systems. I also got to experience KERS for the first time. There were some issues with the car in the morning so I did most of my laps in the afternoon and the track just got faster and faster as the track rubbered in. We made some improvements to the car during my runs in the afternoon and some balance corrections which worked well. I really enjoyed working with the team and hope I get the chance to build on this in the future."
Sam Bird, Mercedes: “We’ve had a very productive first day of the test today and were able to complete everything that we had planned on our programme. It felt great to be back in the car again and I enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve driven at Magny Cours previously in a Formula 3 car and it was good to experience it today in a Formula One car. The layout here is nice and smooth whilst also being quite challenging. We’ve collected a lot of data today which will take some time to sift through this evening and I’m looking forward to another good day tomorrow.”
Day 1: Times/Laps/Distance covered
1. Jules Bianchi (Scuderia Ferrari) – 1m18.070 – 87 laps – 383.76km
2. Luiz Razia (Sahara Force India) – 1m18.535 – 65 laps – 286.72km
3. Sam Bird (MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS) – 1m19.094 – 95 laps – 419.05km