Mclaren top the times as the Silverstone driver test gets underway - Paul di Resta and Max Chilton the non-young drivers on the day
Published by Christine
The first day of testing at Silverstone began under beautiful blue skies, with fluffy white clouds and a warm breeze. It was very un-Silverstone-like. Taking the theme of unusual occurences and running with it, McLaren managed to post the fastest time of the day, with young driver Kevin Magnussen behind the wheel.
He finished ahead of Paul di Resta, who along with Max Chilton in the Marussia, made up the "real" driver representatives for the day. The rest were young drivers, with some making their F1 debut. Daniel Juncadella was in action for Williams, and admitted the conditions were a little bit tough!
From the first lap I could feel the speed of the car and it was a great experience today. I’m really happy with the chance the team gave me. I was happy with the balance of the car and it was good to try the new tyres. Physically I feel good, it was just quite warm today but as I’m used to closed cars in DTM I can’t complain really!
- Daniel Juncadella, Test driver, Williams
There weren't too many incidents to note, although Robin Frijns did spin off in the Sauber. Several teams had some mechanical trouble - Marussia could only give Chilton about an hour of track time after an ECU issue, whilst Caterham had their running cut short after the car developed hydraulics problems. It limped back to the pit lane sounding very unhealthy!
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Magnussen | Mclaren | 1:33.602 | 100 |
| 2 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 1:33.774 | 58 |
| 3 | António Félix da Costa | Red Bull | 1:33.821 | 82 |
| 4 | James Calado | Force India | 1:33.986 | 27 |
| 5 | Daniel Juncadella | Williams | 1:34.098 | 55 |
| 6 | Johnny Cecotto | Toro Rosso | 1:34.193 | 75 |
| 7 | Robin Frijns | Sauber | 1:34.236 | 72 |
| 8 | Nicolas Prost | Lotus | 1:34.810 | 72 |
| 9 | Davide Rigon | Ferrari | 1:34.874 | 76 |
| 10 | Alexander Rossi | Caterham | 1:35.651 | 69 |
| 11 | Tio Ellinas | Marussia | 1:36.676 | 36 |
| 12 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1:38.347 | 27 |
Force India and Marussia were the only team running two drivers with split days, whilst McLaren's Kevin Magnussen, the pacesetter for the day, was the hardest working. He completed 100 laps overall.
James returns to the pits after the last run of the morning. Full debriefing is the next item on the agenda
clubforce
Chequered flag at the end of a short (23 laps) afternoon for @maxchilton. P12 after a Pirelli tyre focused programme
#YDT useful for #F1 teams in an era without testing, not only to develop cars, but to give young/new team members experience at the track. Assistant engineers/no.2 mechs given chance to run cars for experience. Traditional route of team development no longer exists without tests
Dani has impressed the team and been great to work with today.... So we're letting him back in the car tomorrow! #YDT
The line-up seems to be changing all the time, but at the moment it looks as though Daniel Ricciardo will be in action tomorrow, and both Pastor Maldonado and Nico Hülkenberg should be making an appearance.
