Fernando Alonso set the fastest time at Jerez today, on the final day of the opening pre-season Formula 1 test.
The Spaniard set a quickest time of 1:18.877; however Alonso only managed to complete 39 laps in the process.
It was a day of data collecting for the Scuderia, as the aim to shore up rumoured balance issues with the F2012 chassis. Alonso’s fast time was set during a low fuel run early in the day.
At Toro Rosso, Jean-Eric Verge clocked up 80 laps in the STR7, with the Italian squad running through various set-up configurations.
Sebastian Vettel managed 50 laps in the Red Bull RB8 after losing the morning due to an engine related electrical failure. The reigning world champion had completed only two installation laps when the problem occurred, leaving the German sidelined until after lunch.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton spent a portion of the day gathering data on the aerodynamic package, before moving onto set-up work, concentrating on suspension variables and basic set-up work.
Romain Grosjean’s day suffered a partial interruption when a water leak stopped his Lotus E20 machine. The GP2 champion still completed 95 laps of the Spanish circuit, running systems and temperature checks, while also gathering data for post-test performance evaluation. Grosjean started the day completing several short stints, before moving on to long runs in the afternoon.
Kamui Kobayashi completed 76 laps in his Sauber C31, despite enduring a stoppage due to a hydraulic leak. The team completed tyre evaluation as well as back-to-back aerodynamic comparisons.
Nico Hulkenberg got his first run in the Force India VJM05 today, running tyre comparisons and aerodynamic configurations.
At Williams, Bruno Senna enjoyed a race simulation and several shorter runs, as the Grove squad finished up their first test with the FW34. Senna logged 125 laps throughout the day.
Jarno Trulli got his first taste of the Caterham CT01 today, setting 117 laps as the team worked on finding a usable balance.
For the nuts and bolts of things, look to Joe Saward, Kate Walker, ManipeF1 and, of course, Autosport. For the more techy minded, there are always Racecar Engineering and Craig Scarborough.
2012 Formula 1 Pre-Season Test (Jerez, Day Two, February 10th) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s 39 2. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +0.720 80 3. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.606s +0.729 50 4. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.640s +0.763 86 5. Grosjean Lotus 1m19.729s +0.852 95 6. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +0.957 76 7. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +1.100 90 8. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +1.255 125 9. Trulli Caterham 1m22.198s +3.321 117
