Jerez Testing – Day 2: Mercedes Piles on the Laps, Renault Faces Troubles

The private tests in Jerez are traditionally the first winter private tests. The goal is first to ensure that the car functions correctly—each part separately, then the car as a whole. With all the regulation changes this season, this objective is even more important than in previous years. So, even though Button set the fastest time with the McLaren-Mercedes, it is Rosberg’s Mercedes that is the most enduring on track today and thus makes a strong impression.

The conditions, however, were not met. Indeed, the weather was rainy this morning in Jerez and the track was deliberately wet in the first hour to test the new rain and intermediate tires provided by Pirelli. The weather improved during the day, offering some clear spells from 11 a.m.

Jenson Button, who was wearing a helmet in tribute to his father, deceased a few days ago, completed 43 laps at the wheel of the McLaren MP4-29 equipped with the new Mercedes V6 Turbo. The McLaren did not come out on track yesterday and did not cause any red flags today, a sign that everything is on track despite being a day behind some teams.

Kimi Räikkönen, comme hier, ran a lot. He completed 47 laps with stints of 5-6 consecutive laps. He is second today, six-tenths behind the McLaren.

Bottas drove for 35 laps today. The Williams driver took to the track to test the rain tires in particular. He clocked the 3rd fastest time of the day, more than a second behind the McLaren.

Nico Rosberg was also enduring on the track. He even completed 97 laps all by himself today, stringing together stints without any technical problem forcing him to his pit. The Mercedes was notably testing the operation of its ERS system and conducting aerodynamic tests. The rear wing was particularly studied with flow-viz – this fluorescent liquid that allows the detection of aerodynamic flow patterns.

5th place, Perez caused one of the three red flags waved on the track today. The Force India driver completed less than 40 laps. Gutierrez, in 6th, also encountered a mechanical problem causing a red flag on the track. The Sauber driver completed 53 laps, with his red flag occurring late in the morning. The third and final red flag of the day: Marcus Ericsson in the Caterham ended his session 1.5 hours earlier than planned due to an engine issue.

Note that in terms of endurance, it is Red Bull and Toro Rosso who have been struggling since the beginning of these tests. Indeed, the Toro Rosso hasn’t completed a single lap while the RB10 only did 8 laps today, several of which were this morning under the rain. Victim of a mechanical problem, Vettel remained stuck in the garage all afternoon. The culprit is the power unit system provided by Renault.

The engine manufacturer experienced the same problem today with the three teams powered by Renault. A too fragile part is preventing the functioning of the entire power units. Rémi Taffin, as a representative of the engine manufacturer, is expected at the press conference to explain in more detail the issues encountered today.

**The results of the private tests in Jerez – Day 2: Wednesday, January 29 /f1/news/16819-formula-1-pays-tribute-to-john-button.html:**