Barcelona Tests II – Day 2: Nico Rosberg Impresses with the Mercedes
The second day of the week in Barcelona is highlighted by an impressive Mercedes setting the best time in the tests. Three red flags disrupted the end of the day but the drivers ran a lot, advancing in their testing program. It is also worth noting the first outing of the Force India, reliable, just like the McLaren-Honda.
Under beautiful sunshine and milder temperatures than yesterday, the drivers made the most of their day. With 6 single-seaters surpassing 100 laps out of 8, the day was – to say the least – productive.
Nico Rosberg thus sets a record time this year in Barcelona. With 106 laps to his name, he sets a time of 1:22.792 on soft tires, which is 1.2 seconds ahead of Bottas and the Williams, also on soft tires.
Felipe Nasr is in 3rd place. The Sauber driver was enduring with 141 laps on his counter, more than twice the distance of a Grand Prix. He is ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari, who completed 143 laps.
Jenson Button made his mark on this day. The unreliable McLaren-Honda completed only 7 laps yesterday. It managed to complete 100 today before breaking down 15 minutes before the end of the day. Fuel tank test? In any case, it’s still nearly 3 seconds behind Rosberg’s Mercedes.
Maldonado also marked the (end) of the day. The Venezuelan completed 140 laps and was responsible for the premature end of the session by hitting the tire barrier just before the pit lane entrance, 50 seconds before the session’s end.
He outpaces Verstappen in the Toro Rosso and with the first Renault engine in this ranking. The rookie completes 139 laps but had to stop his session an hour early due to an electrical fault.
He is ahead of the parent team, Red Bull, which had Kvyat running today. The Russian could only complete 84 laps. He caused one of the three red flags early in the afternoon.
At the end of this ranking, we find the Force India of Nico Hülkenberg. The German driver took the wheel of the VJM08 for his first outing. The car proved reliable, although he couldn’t complete more than 77 laps. Force India was uncertain today, but the team finally brought out its new machine just before the lunch break.
Note this performance by the German driver while he was driving on the track:
Nico Hülkenberg est en piste avec la Force India, mais il vient de publier un tweet. Trop fort ce @NicoHülkenberg #F1
— Motors Inside – F1 (@MotorsInside) 27 Février 2015
The sun should also be present tomorrow.
The result of the second day of private testing in Barcelona – Friday, February 27, 2015:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:22.792 | 106 | |
2 | Bottas | Williams Martini Racing | 1:23.995 | +1.203 | 90 |
3 | Nasr | Sauber F1 Team | 1:24.071 | +1.279 | 141 |
4 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:25.339 | +2.547 | 143 |
5 | Button | McLaren Honda | 1:25.590 | +2.798 | 101 |
6 | Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1:26.705 | +3.913 | 140 |
7 | Verstappen | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:26.766 | +3.974 | 139 |
8 | Kvyat | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:26.965 | +4.173 | 84 |
9 | Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:28.412 | +5.620 | 77 |
