A couple of days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Formula One teams were back in action at the Yas Marina circuit for the annual young driver test.
Jean-Eric Vergne, now at the wheel of a Red Bull (he drove a Toro Rosso in practice last Friday), set the pace of the opening day. The Frenchman completed 83 laps and improved on his morning’s best lap in the final hour of running.
He was almost a second quicker than 2nd-placed Jules Bianchi, Ferrari’s test driver. The Scuderia concentrated his working program on aerodynamic testing. The third fastest time was set by the Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robert Wickens, at the wheel of a Renault.
Winner of the feature race of this weekend’s GP2 Final, Fabio Leimer got to test a Sauber and was fourth fastest, ahead of McLaren’s test driver Gary Paffett. The Briton had to share the driving with Oliver Turvey.
Max Chilton completed his first proper day of testing for Force India in sixth place. Valtteri Bottas was seventh but lost track time with a gearbox problem on his Williams. Oliver Turvey (McLaren), Sam Bird (Mercedes) and Rodolfo Gonzalez (Lotus Renault) completed the top ten.
The other drivers in action were Stefano Coletti ( Toro Rosso), Dani Clos (HRT), Charles Pic (Virgin) and Adrian Quaife Hobbs (Virgin).
Fastest times of the day:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Times | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Red Bull Renault | 1:40.011 | 83 |
| 02 | Jules Bianchi | Ferrari | 1:40.960 | 85 |
| 03 | Robert Wickens | Lotus Renault GP | 1:42.217 | 78 |
| 04 | Fabio Leimer | Sauber Ferrari | 1:42.331 | 67 |
| 05 | Gary Paffett | McLaren Mercedes | 1:42.912 | 41 |
| 06 | Max Chilton | Force India Mercedes | 1:43.016 | 81 |
| 07 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Cosworth | 1:43.118 | 71 |
| 08 | Oliver Turvey | McLaren Mercedes | 1:43.502 | 35 |
| 09 | Sam Bird | Mercedes GP | 1:43.548 | 51 |
| 10 | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Team Lotus | 1:44.022 | 87 |
| 11 | Stefano Coletti | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:45.278 | 87 |
| 12 | Dani Clos | HRT Cosworth | 1:45.329 | 68 |
| 13 | Charles Pic | Virgin Cosworth | 1:46.930 | 30 |
| 14 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Virgin Cosworth | 1:47.292 | 32 |