Jerez Testing – Day 3: Renault’s Problems Overshadow Magnussen’s Performance

This third day of testing in Jerez was once again marked by numerous red flags. Six in total, three of which were caused by teams powered by Renault. However, the Caterham also stopped twice in the pits without causing a red flag… Bringing the total number of mechanical issues on track to 8.

Many things are still not working very well for some teams, but others are doing much better. McLaren, for example, ran for the second consecutive day without issues and recorded the fastest time. The Woking team had Jenson Button driving in the morning and switched to Kevin Magnussen in the afternoon. It was the latter who set the fastest time of the day and the week so far with 1:23.276, an improvement of one second compared to yesterday’s time. As a reminder, last year’s fastest F1 time at Jerez during the same period was 1:17.879. The best are thus nearly six seconds behind compared to 2013.

To compensate for this and always learn more, the teams that can drive a lot. Thus, we have a count of 52 laps for Magnussen and 40 for Button, making a total of 92 laps for McLaren.

Second step, Massa in the Williams delivers a fine performance with a car equipped with the same engine. Massa did not encounter any major mechanical issues today and completed 47 laps.

Two tenths further, Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes is also very durable with 62 laps completed without any issues, which is not the case for Alonso, who had to abandon his Ferrari on the track around 11 a.m. this morning.

Nico Hülkenberg, 6th, is the last driver in this pack. The German driver also caused a red flag. He abandoned his car on the track shortly before 2 PM. The cars that follow are setting lap times that are much slower by 6 seconds. This is the case for Vergne’s Toro Rosso as well as Sutil’s Sauber.

These two drivers were unable to complete the desired program. Vergne first encountered multiple mechanical problems, completing only 30 laps. Sutil, on the other hand, damaged his car in the middle of the afternoon by hitting the tire wall. With a broken wing, the day ended earlier than expected for Sauber.

Robin Frijns, Daniel Ricciardo, and Max Chilton all took to the track today but did not have the opportunity to set a time. The Caterham experienced computer problems this morning that occurred when returning to the pits. Daniel Ricciardo completed only 3 laps at the wheel of the Red Bull. Adrian Newey returned to England today earlier than planned to study the situation. Finally, Max Chilton completed 5 laps, the first for the Marussia MR03.

The top 4 is monopolized by Mercedes engines. The German engine thus seems easier to integrate into the single-seaters than Renault and Ferrari engines. Renault should communicate again this evening to give an update on the situation.

Tomorrow will mark the last day of private testing in Jerez. It should be noted that Kobayashi will make his first kilometers at the wheel of the Caterham, while on the Force India side it is the young Daniel Juncadella who will take over from Nico Hülkenberg. At Marussia, it will be Bianchi at the wheel of the MR03.

Ranking of private tests in Jerez – Day 3: Thursday, January 30, 2014: