Kimi brings down the curtain on second week of testing - Räikkönen crashes, Marussia are thwarted and Nasr makes his debut
Published by Christine
At this point, it feels like each testing post is just the same as the one before - Mercedes were strong, Renault are struggling and there are technical issues up and down the grid. On the final day of the first week of running in Bahrain, though, we did see a crash. I assume this hasn't happened too often so far because we haven't had enormous amounts of running, but it was Kimi Räikkönen who caught the kerbs at the wrong angle and ended up with his Ferrari in the wall.
Luckily for the Finn, he'd already completed more than 80 laps and was the third fastest driver of the day. Others were less fortunate. Toro Rosso were hoping to capitalise on the final session but struggled with what Jean-Éric Vergne called a "major" engine problem.
We had a major problem today. We all know there are some problems from the beginning so there is nothing new. I will not talk negative because I don't feel like it and everybody knows it so I don't need to say anything else.
- Jean-Éric Vergne, F1 driver, Toro Rosso
Even though he's trying not to be negative, it still seeps through. Marussia also had heaps of problems and failed to set a lap time, Sergio Pérez's running was curtailed by a gearbox issue, whilst Daniel Ricciardo spent much of the afternoon in the garage with the team working on fixing up the car.
Mercedes had some good running, with Nico Rosberg fastest, and plenty of laps completed as they continue to show good reliability - both within the works team, and for them as an engine supplier as well.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:33.283 | 89 |
| 2 | J Button | McLaren Mercedes | 1:34.957 | 66 |
| 3 | K Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:36.718 | 82 |
| 4 | F Nasr | Williams F1 Team | 1:37.569 | 87 |
| 5 | P Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1:38.707 | 59 |
| 6 | S Pérez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:39.258 | 19 |
| 7 | D Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:39.837 | 15 |
| 8 | JE Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:40.472 | 19 |
| 9 | K Kobayashi | Caterham F1 Team | 1:43.027 | 17 |
| 10 | M Ericsson | Caterham F1 Team | 1:45.094 | 4 |
| 11 | J Bianchi | Marussia F1 Team | No time | 5 |
| 12 | A Sutil | Sauber F1 Team | No time | 5 |
Williams fielded their brand new third driver, Felipe Nasr, who was only confirmed hours before the test began. He hit the ground running, however, completing nearly 90 laps and coming in with the fourth fastest time. That's not bad for your first day at work!
We didn't have the best day today; but we have a great team of people working behind. I'm very proud of my team!
EstebanGtz
After a massive effort by the team, we're back out for the last 10 minutes of the day
Red flag! Argh, the agony. Jules heads back in
Rod Nelson: Felipe Nasr was in the car today, he did a very good job. He gives good feedback, works well with his engineers and is quick #F1
Talking of power units, the @MercedesBenz powered teams have now completed over 10,000kms in testing. Huge credit to everyone at Brixworth
That wraps up the second week of pre-season testing, and I'm sure the teams are glad to have another break to think about all the issues they've had so far. They've not got long, though, as the final four days of testing get underway, still in Bahrain, on Thursday next week. Stay tuned to find out who manages to get some decent running in, and if anyone can tame that Renault power unit!
