Fernando Alonso ended the first day of testing at Jerez with the fourth fastest time of day. However with rain falling, the test was not purely about performance, but also the reliability of the new F10 championship challenger
"We worked on reliability and we can confirm that we are very satisfied as far as this front is concerned,” said head of race engineering Chris Dyer. "Just like in Valencia we drove with different fuel loads and the results, even under these track conditions, were positive regarding the car’s behaviour, driveability and ease. The performance level, compared to our competitors, remains a question mark, because we don’t know under what conditions the other cars are testing. We haven’t made any steps ahead as far as performance is concerned, but we did in terms of reliability. We collected lots of data regarding the rain tyres, because the track conditions remained pretty vague as far as intermediates or super wets were concerned."
"Fernando has great experience, in the races and in terms of the car’s development," Dyer continued. "His feedback is very helpful and really precise. His indications now won’t have effects on the car’s project, but he’s extremely important now and in the near future. He’s not a surprise for us: we knew that he’s a great driver and his relation with the technicians is growing very well, day after day.”