Vergne fastest again on Day 2 in Abu Dhabi (Pictures)

Jack Sargeant On November - 16 - 2011

Jean-Eric Vergne, Red Bull, Abu Dhabi, 2011 - Photo © Red Bull/Getty Images

For the second consecutive day Jean-Eric Vergne is fastest in the Red Bull at the Young Driver’s Test in Abu Dhabi. It was slightly slower than his time from yesterday, but still enough to beat Ferrari’s Jules Bianchi.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Vergne, who missed out on some running time thanks to some sensor issues early on, and a KERS issue in the afternoon. Bianchi worked on new engine management components for Ferrari, and an evaluation of Pirelli’s experimental tyres.

McLaren’s Gary Paffett was 3rd ahead of the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, with the duo generally focusing on tyre work throughout the day. Johnny Cecotto Jr impressed with a 5th place for Force India in his first time in a Formula 1 car.

Tyres were on the agenda for Sauber F1 reserve Esteban Gutierrez and Mercedes GP’s Sam Bird, who were 6th and 7th respectively.

18-year-old Kevin Korjus got his first experience of driving a Formula 1 car with Renault, who performed set-up work amongst tyre testing, long runs and aero mapping. He admitted that “it was really hard especially for my neck, physically and to learn all the buttons, and to do everything at the correct time.”

Luiz Razia was 9th for Lotus, ahead of Toro Rosso’s Kevin Ceccon. The HRTs were split by the Virgin Racing of Charles Pic, whose running time was limited thanks to a problem. Charouz was the leading Hispania, with Frenchman Nathanael Berthon last.

1. Jean-Eric Vergne, Red Bull, 1:40.188, 43 laps
2. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1:40.279, 91
3. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:41.756, 71
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:42.367, 88
5. Johnny Cecotto Jr, Force India, 1:42.873, 84
6. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:43.637, 96
7. Sam Bird, Mercedes, 1:43.734, 94
8. Kevin Korjus, Renault, 1:43.776, 70
9. Luiz Razia, Lotus, 1:43.944, 89
10. Kevin Ceccon, Toro Rosso, 1:44.808, 97
11. Jan Charouz, HRT, 1:46.644, 56
12. Charles Pic, Virgin, 1:46.698, 61
13. Nathanael Berthon, HRT, 1:48.646, 9