Nico Hulkenberg topped the second day of pre-season Formula 1 testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Continuing on from yesterday’s programme that included tyre and balance evaluation, the German managed, setting his best of 1:22.608 on the 54th of 112 laps.
Having reported no problems with the Force India VJM05, Hulkenberg will hand the car over to teammate Paul di Resta for the rest of the week.
Sauber had a better day with Sergio Perez at the wheel of the C31, although the end of the afternoon was lost to an exhaust problem. The Mexican still managed to register 85 laps, while the team conducted tyre comparison runs and aero set-up stints.
Red Bull concentrated on full race simulation yesterday, with world champion Sebastian Vettel logging over a century of laps, despite a minor issue during the morning. The team also lost time during morning pit stop practices when several pieces of equipment refused to work in the cold temperatures.
Fernando Alonso clocked up 87 laps at the wheel of the Ferrari F2012, with the Italian team endeavouring to alleviate balance issues.
A drive shaft issue cost Daniel Ricciardo a severe amount of time in the Toro Rosso STR7. The Australian ran the majority of his 48 laps in the morning, prior to a stuttered afternoon programme.
In contrast to Ricciardo, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton clicked off 121 laps in the MP4-27. The former champion spent the cool morning gathering tyre balance data, in conjunction with minor changes in set-up and track temperature, before conducting race simulations in the afternoon.
Nico Rosberg set 82 laps in the Mercedes F1 W03, until an transmission oil leak curtailed running, while Williams’ young reserve pilot Valtteri Bottas completed general set-up and familiarisation work in the FW34.
Vitaly Petrov enjoyed a reasonable first day in the Caterham CT01, as the Russian acclimatised to his new found surroundings. Marussia’s Charles Pic continued to lap in last year’s MVR-02, while he readies himself for his debut season in Formula 1.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.608s 112 2. Perez Sauber 1m22.648s +0.040 85 3. Vettel Red Bull 1m22.891s +0.283 104 4. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.180s +0.572 87 5. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.639s +1.031 48 6. Hamilton McLaren 1m23.806s +1.198 121 7. Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.555s +1.947 82 8. Bottas Williams 1m25.738s +3.130 117 9. Petrov Caterham 1m26.605s +3.997 69 10. Pic Marussia 1m27.343s +4.735 108
