Jerez Testing – Day 4: Massa on Top, Renault Teams Cease Operations

For this 4th and final day of private testing in Jerez, the rain made an appearance. Nevertheless, this did not prevent the drivers from taking to the track today, as two of them completed over 100 laps today in more or less dry conditions.

If Felipe Massa is the driver who finishes the day at the top of the timesheet, he is also one of the most enduring on track today with the Williams. On the contrary, Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull quickly retired. The Australian driver took to the track very early this morning to complete 7 laps without causing a red flag, then he never came out of his garage again.

Red Bull even announced that it would stop its testing earlier than planned, as early as the lunch break, admitting that the issue they are facing this week cannot be resolved in a few days. The team now has until the Bahrain tests, in 19 days, to find the solution. Adrian Newey, in fact, returned to work at the Red Bull factory as early as last night.

Ferrari was the team most present on the track today with Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is second in the standings, one second behind the Williams.

With 81 laps under his belt, the young Daniel Juncadella, who was driving for Force India today, achieved the third-fastest time. He encountered no problems despite a slippery track due to the rain.

Indeed, Kevin Magnussen paid the price. Very enduring, he drove 109 laps before making a mistake 10 minutes before the end of the day, causing a red flag and concluding the test day earlier than expected. Nonetheless, the young Dane had an impressive week for his F1 debut at the wheel of the McLaren MP4-29.

Mercedes alternated its drivers. Thus, Rosberg drove this morning and finished the session in 8th place with 91 laps on his counter, while Hamilton drove in the afternoon, in more favorable conditions and was able to complete 41 laps. In total, Mercedes completed 132 laps today.

Jules Bianchi is 6th. The Frenchman was behind the wheel of the Marussia, which was having its first full testing day after running for the first time yesterday. The MR03 did not cause a red flag and finished 4 seconds behind Massa.

The last three drivers are at the wheel of Renault-powered single-seaters. We have Kobayashi’s Caterham, which completed 54 laps but set its best time nearly 15 seconds behind Massa’s Williams… The Caterham also had to stop its day earlier than planned due to a problem with the engine.

Even worse, Toro Rosso and Red Bull together completed only 15 laps. Kvyat and Ricciardo spent a good part of the day in the garage.

The teams will now return to their factories to prepare for the upcoming private tests, organized this year in Bahrain at the Sakhir International Circuit. After this first round of observation, it’s time to address the issues encountered on the track.

Ranking of the 4th day of private testing in Jerez – Friday, January 31, 2014: