Force India and Williams jump to the top as final testing begins - Sergio Pérez posts the fastest time as Red Bull still struggle
Published by Christine
A new name hit the headlines today, as Sergio Pérez swept to the top of the timesheets with a lap time almost a second faster than second place. It was a surprising name in second too, with Valtteri Bottas also near the top. Both drivers completed over 100 laps, with Kevin Magnussen in the McLaren joining the century club.
Naturally, all eyes were on the Renault-powered teams and whilst Red Bull did manage a hefty (for them) 39 laps, most were completed in the morning before an overheating problem saw them stuck in the garage once again. Lotus managed 31 laps, but had to change the exhaust and found that to be a lengthier task than they might have imagined. Kamui Kobayashi brought up the rear for Caterham, with only 19 laps and plenty of problems.
This morning we had an electrical problem, not related to the engine, that meant I had to stop on track... In the afternoon we were back out first, but found a series of power unit related software problems kept meaning we had to come back to the garage earlier than planned.
In better news, Marussia managed a healthy 44 laps which gave them some good running for a change. The Mercedes powered cars topped the timesheets, but the works team weren't too worried about pace and Nico Rosberg was fourth fastest, focusing on long-run work instead.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S Pérez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:35.290 | 105 |
| 2 | V Bottas | Williams F1 Team | 1:36.184 | 128 |
| 3 | K Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:36.432 | 54 |
| 4 | N Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:37.624 | 89 |
| 5 | A Sutil | Sauber F1 Team | 1:37.700 | 89 |
| 6 | K Magnussen | McLaren Mercedes | 1:37.825 | 109 |
| 7 | D Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:37.908 | 39 |
| 8 | M Chilton | Marussia F1 Team | 1:38.610 | 44 |
| 9 | D Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:39.242 | 55 |
| 10 | P Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1:40.599 | 31 |
| 11 | K Kobayashi | Caterham F1 Team | 1:42.285 | 19 |
Everyone set a lap time and everyone completed more than ten laps so I think we can definitely say we're making progress. Still a lot of ground to cover for many, whilst others must be feeling quietly confident!
Triple figures for @SChecoPerez as he crosses the line to close the 100th lap of the day! Great work by him and all the team! #FeelTheForce
clubforce
Productive morning complete &we stop for lunch! We have an official lunch break this week so track closes for 30mins
A touch of setup exploration, but mainly race procedure work (including practice pit stops and starts) to follow this afternoon #W05sup #F1
Exhaust and assorted changes mean an early bath for us today, we'll be back on track early tomorrow morning
With the first day of testing complete, there are just three more opportunities left out in the desert. It really is getting to be crunch time for those that are lacking mileage and the desperation to get make a serious dent in their programmes must be starting to build for many of the teams. Tomorrow, it all gets underway again with Button, Bianchi, Ericsson and Hamilton taking a turn in their respective cars.
