Nico Rosberg set the fastest time on a rain-interrupted day in Jerez

On a rain-interrupted first day of pre-season testing in Jerez, it was Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg who set the quickest lap time; a 1m 20.927s, a lap time he set before the rain began to fall. The German Rosberg said:

“The car felt very good today. Compared to Valencia where I was sitting too low which affected my visibility and the set-up wasn’t perfect, today I felt really comfortable and I could push so it was an enjoyable day and a good start to the test for me. Our objective here is to learn as much as possible, put miles on the car and engine to check the reliability and to make progress on our set-up work. The rain is a little frustrating but the car feels good to drive and that’s what’s important.”

Nico Rosberg

The Swiss Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi was second, with a fastest lap just over a tenth down on that of Rosberg. Nico Hulkenberg of Williams took third with a fastest of a 1:22.243. Hulkenberg set the most laps on the day – he went round the Circuito de Jerez 118 times.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished in fourth in the Italian team’s F10. Alonso covered 88 laps today, focussing on reliability, testing and evaluating Bridgestone’s wet tyres. The Spaniard Alonso said:

“The work was influenced by the bad weather, but nevertheless we managed to drive many kilometres. So we’re satisfied, because we could collect lots of data, which is important for the reliability. We hope that the weather is better tomorrow, because it’s important to drive on a dry track, too. The car went very well on the wet track though and it’s easy to drive. The feeling is good, just like on the dry. All in all I had some positive sensations today.”

Fernando Alonso

Kamui Kobayashi was fifth, setting a fastest of 1:23.287 from his 55 laps, and McLaren’s Jenson Button was sixth with a 1:24.947 from 68 laps. Vitantonio Liuzzi slotted into 7^th with a 1:24.968, completing 71 laps in the Force India’s VJM03 debut run. Vitaly Petrov was eighth in the Renault.

The RB6 was launched in the Jerez pit lane prior to the start of the day’s testing, and it was Mark Webber took to the cockpit for the opening day in the car. It wasn’t overly successful times-wise, with Webber setting a fastest of a 1:26.502 in his 50 laps. An oil leak in the RB6 late in the morning led to a precautionary engine change in the afternoon. Despite this, Ian Morgan, Red Bull’s head of race engineering is feeling optimistic:

“It was great to finally see the car in action after a long winter with no testing. Everything ran very smoothly this morning and the build of the car was very structured. It’s frustrating that a problem with a simple component late morning forced an engine change later in the day, as it cost us quite a lot of time. However, the most disappointing thing today was the weather – it’s good to have a test in the wet, but it’s not ideal when it’s your first. We’re hoping for better conditions tomorrow when we will continue working through the new car system checks.”

Ian Morgan

Timo Glock was last in the Virgin Racing VR-01, setting a fastest of a 1:38.734, although he only completed 5 laps thanks to some new parts arriving late last night, and the rain.

Results

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:20.927, 57 Laps
2. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:21.031, 84 Laps
3. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:22.243, 118 Laps
4. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:22.895, 88 Laps
5. Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber, 1:23.287, 55 Laps
6. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:24.947, 68 Laps
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:24.968, 71 Laps
8. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:25.440, 27 Laps
9. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:26.502, 50 Laps
10. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:38.734, 5 Laps

Gallery

Images (C) Red Bull/Getty Images, Mercedes GP/LAT/www.hoch-zwei.net

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