Selected team and driver quotes from the second day of testing in Bahrain.
Kevin Magnussen(McLaren Mercedes) | Fastest time(1:34.910) | 46 laps: “It’s a dream every time I get in the car: it’s just so cool to be here and to be driving. I’m really enjoying it.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get too many laps done this morning, but it was good to get some laps done at the end of the day. The afternoon was good for us, and we worked through our problems. The team is doing a great job to help me: they’re giving me really good guidance and making me feel confident. There’s a lot of discussion about laptimes, and it feels good to get some good times recorded, but winter testing is just that – testing. It isn’t about times.”
Nico Hulkenberg(Force India-Mercedes) | Fastest time(1:36.445) | 59 laps: “My two days in the car have been very positive. We’ve made some improvements to the car, collected lots of data, and continued to learn with each lap. At the moment it’s still early days, but I’m pleased with the progress we have made in terms of understanding the car. I think we are getting closer to seeing the potential of these cars, certainly compared with the performance in Jerez, but it’s such a steep learning curve and I expect the times to become quicker and quicker.”
Fernando Alonso(Ferrari) | Fastest time(1:36.516) | 97 laps: “Every day we learn a bit more about the car and its systems. We have made a major step forward compared to the first test and the whole team is working well. Even the performance seems to be thereabouts, but now’s not the time to try and chase it. It will be a challenge for everyone to be ready for the first race of the season and that is our aim at the moment. “There are still some small problems which we must try and resolve, just like when you buy a new domestic appliance, but that’s to be expected, given the radical new design. But every time we go out in the car, it gets easier and confidence grows and that’s why I think the most crucial test in performance terms will be the next one.”
Nico Rosberg(Mercedes) | Fastest time(1:36.965) | 85 laps: “We achieve another good amount of laps today which proves that the first part of testing in terms of reliability is going well. we had a few small issues but it’s important to find out what they are to see what is not yet running perfectly. We dont yet know where we are in terms of performance, but it was a great day for me personally because I felt at home in the new car for the first time.”
Valtteri Bottas(Williams-Mercedes) | Fastest time(1:37.328) | 116 laps: Today was a good day. After the problems we had yesterday it was great to complete 116 laps. We still have things we are working through but we were able to do the aero work we needed as well as complete a race simulation so we now have lots of data to look at. There is a lot of work still to do so we need to aim to have more days like today.
Kamui Kobayashi(Caterham-Renault) | Fastest time(1:39.855) | 66 laps: “It was good to be back in the car and even though we had quite a few interruptions in the morning with a telemetry issue, we still completed 66 laps which is another useful day’s work. Reliability is going to be so important this year, and it’s good that the issues we’ve had here have been fixed well enough to allow us to keep running. It’s also good to finish the day with a relatively quicker lap, but even though everyone knows lap times don’t really mean anything in the tests, it’s good for the team to start to see us unlocking some of the car’s performance.”
Sebastian Vettel(Red Bull-Renault) | Fastest time(1:40.340) | 59 laps: “Definitely a better day today. We did more laps, so that’s encouraging. It’s good to check the car, check the reliability, but obviously there is a lot still to do. It was good to get a proper first feel for the car and it feels OK but there’s a lot more to come. Its difficult to catch up [to rivals] because I don’t know what other people are doing, but we did more laps that we have done so far and that’s the big thing. We’re learning every single lap, even if the quality of the lap is sometimes not the best. However, the most important thing is to run and we did that. The last two days have been very useful. I hope Daniel can get some good laps in tomorrow”
Jean-Eric Vergne(Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari) | Fastest time(1:40.609) | 58 laps: “A good day, the best since testing began. This morning was relatively trouble free and we got through plenty of items on the job sheet. However, later in the day, we did experience a few minor technical troubles, that cut short our running time. It’s the first time I’ve been able to push the car on track and I have to say in terms of its balance, it gave me a good feeling. I hope that, as from tomorrow, when Daniil drives, we can start doing more and more kilometres.”
Esteban Gutierrez(Sauber-Ferrari) | Fastest time(1:40.717) | 55 laps: “The morning was very productive. We managed to do a lot of laps and understand a lot of things that need to be done. There is a lot of work to do to understand everything properly, especially the engine and electronics. In Jerez it was important that everything was running and functioning. Here in Bahrain it’s time to put everything together and make sure all the components are in tune, so we can start working on the potential of the car.”
Romain Grosjean(Lotus Renault) | Fastest time(1:40.670) | 18 laps: “It’s still early days and more laps would certainly help. There are a lot of things I’d like to work on and we’re in an initial phase in terms of driveability, and we haven’t started to look at things like set-up yet. Certainly we can say at this stage that there is still a lot of potential in the car! We haven’t had many laps and we haven’t gone too fast so it’s difficult to form an impression of the E22 as a race car yet. It’s not that we have many issues with the car, it’s just that the issues we have take a long time to change and try to rectify, so it’s been a little frustrating here. It’s one of those things with a new car, especially one with such advanced technology. Hopefully things are better for the next two days with Pastor and I have a nice reliable car when I return to test next week.
Max Chilton(Marussia-Ferrari) | Fastest time(1:42.511) | 17 laps: “My first day in the car got off to a good start. We were getting into the aero programme and gradually building towards some longer runs. Unfortunately we experienced the fuel system problem and to get to the root of that is quite a long and complicated process, so it took up most of the afternoon. We were seriously up against it time-wise, so all credit to the guys for pushing so hard and enabling us to get a further three laps in before the session end. These problems are all part of testing of course but we hope to start putting some bigger mileage on the car over the next couple of days”
The full unofficial timing sheet is included below:
Photo credits:
Title Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
