01/08/2018
NEWS STORY
Despite the absence of Haas, the second and final day of the Hungaroring in-season test saw 11 drivers on duty, as once again Toro Rosso ran one car for its own purposes and another - shared by Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly - for Pirelli 2019 tyre compound testing.
In all the 11 drivers completed 1,097 laps, whereas yesterday the 10 drivers on duty completed 908 laps.
Over the course of the day there were two red flags, both caused by Force India tester Nikita Mazepin stopping on track. As a result the Russian - whose father is believed to be one of those considering making a bid for the troubled Silverstone-based outfit - completed just 51 laps.
Kimi Raikkonen set the early pace, and going into the lunch break was only 0.001s off yesterday's best set by Antonio Giovinazzi. However, in the afternoon Russell posted a 1:15.575, the fastest ever lap witnessed at the Hungarian track.
Raikkonen and Red Bull's Jake Dennis led the way in terms of mileage, both completing 131 laps. Indeed, seven of the drivers on duty completed in excess of 100 laps.
Being a test session, sensors and flo-vis were very much in evidence, with Williams continuing to work with its 2019 front wing, which at one stage sported so much flo-vis in various hues it appeared the Grove outfit was also trialling a new livery.
Yesterday's pace-setter, Giovinazzi, was back in action again today, this time at the wheel of the Sauber, his best time almost 2s off the pace set yesterday in the Ferrari.
Excluding the two drivers assigned to Pirelli testing, Raikkonen was the only 'regular' driver on duty today.
At Mercedes, George Russell was back behind the wheel of the W09. The Mercede driver completing 116 laps as the team focused on aerodynamic testing and brake developments. The team also worked on the set-up of the car.
"Day two ran very smoothly," said Russell, "and was a much more productive day for the team and me. We did some runs on the hypersoft tyre, which was an incredible experience for me. I had never driven that tyre before, nor a Formula One car in anything other than a race setup. That was a great experience and it puts a smile on my face that we achieved the fastest lap ever around the Hungaroring. All in all, it's been two productive and positive days and I can't wait for the next opportunity to drive an F1 car again.
"We've had quite a good day today," added engineer, Rich Lane. "After a tricky day yesterday, we managed to recover the test and got through most of the programme that we had planned for the week. Today's work focused on brakes and aerodynamics. We also worked on George's performance and he did a very good job today as always. It's been a positive end to the first half of the season and everyone is now looking forward to summer shutdown in a couple of days and then Spa."
Kimi Raikkonen got behind the wheel of the SF71H, while Antonio Giovinazzi, who had driven it yesterday, was having another day of testing, this time in the Sauber.
The Finn had a busy programme, focused on various set-up solutions and tyre testing looking at five compounds; Medium, Soft, Supersoft, Ultrasoft and one set of experimental and therefore unmarked Pirellis.
By the end of the day and despite several red flag interruptions, Raikkonen had covered 131 laps, the best of which being a 1:15.649, set on used Hypersoft tyres, that Giovinazzi had run yesterday.
"In the end, it's not that different to a Friday at a Grand Prix," said the Finn, "when you try out various solutions. And that's why, being a test, the lap times don't mean much."
Over the two days of testing, the SF71H completed 227 laps, equal to 994 kilometres.
Red Bull Simulator Development Driver Jake Dennis posted the third fastest time of the day as the team worked through a busy programme of development work aimed at the final stages of this season, and with an eye to the 2019 campaign.
Today was Dennis' second taste of the RB14 after making his test debut for the team in May. Once again, the simulator driver provided the team with a huge amount of valuable data and feedback as he worked through set-up options, tyre testing, aero mapping duties and, just for good measure, some performance runs on the softer end of Pirelli's tyre range.
"That was a good day!" he said. "We did 131 laps, I think Daniel did 125 yesterday, so a lot of mileage for the team and a lot learned.
"I was focused on some long runs in the morning and then some softer tyre stuff, which I enjoyed. To push the car to its limits was a great experience. Then it was back to more long runs in the afternoon and we think we made some big progress with the car. Overall, a very good day and I can't thank the team enough for inviting me back. Also, 131 laps for a rookie - I'm certainly feeling it now!"
"We had a very busy programme today and we got through all of the items scheduled," confirmed Senior Projects Engineer, Jeff Calam. "In the morning we again ran with a range of parts targeted at the RB15 and were able to do a lot of good work testing those against the RB14. We also got through some aero mapping of the RB14 and the data we gained will be of enormous value in relation to the final nine races of the season.
"We also did some tyre work, with Jake completing runs on the softer tyres. It was great for him to get a real feel for what the RB14 is capable of and I think he enjoyed the experience. His feedback throughout was very good and not only was it valuable for him to get another real world experience of the car, it will also help with correlation with his simulator work. All told this has been a very positive test for the team, and a great way to head into the much-needed summer break."
After spending yesterday in the Ferrari SF-71H, today Antonio Giovinazzi was at the wheel of the Sauber C37.
The Italian driver completed a total of 120 laps throughout the day, finishing in fourth place with a lap time of 1:17.558 on hypersoft tyres. The team ran through the planned programme efficiently. It consisted of mechanical set-up work, testing of new aerodynamic parts, as well as runs on various tyre compounds. The team is now heading into the Formula One summer break, and will be back on track for the next race - the 2018 FIA Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
"I am very happy with how the day went," said the youngster. "It was good to be back in the car after completing FP1 for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team last week, and spending a day of testing with Ferrari yesterday. With a full day in the C37, I feel very comfortable and have learned a lot about its behaviour on track. We completed the planned programme which was our target, so I am very pleased. The team has done a fantastic job in developing the car. With the data that we collected today, they can hopefully continue to work in that direction. I look forward to being in the car again."
"I was extremely excited to be back in the car and I am happy with the way we worked today," said Nikita Mazepin even though he onlt completed 51 laps. "We had a couple of issues with the car that prevented us from completing our programme, but we were still able to have some meaningful running and complete more than 50 laps.
"I am grateful to the crew for their hard work. Every time I step into an F1 car it's a big enjoyment boost compared to the GP3 cars I am used to. Working with the team is incredible: even though I have been with this group of people for two years now, every time I am testing I am impressed by the level of professionalism and expertise that surrounds me. There is so much I can learn from the engineers and I am determined to give the best possible feedback to help the team progress."
"Nikita settled in quickly with the team and we were able to hit the ground running," added chief race engineer, Tom McCullough. "We went through all our data and information-gathering programme in the morning, but unfortunately we had a couple of technical issues that cost us track time later in the day.
"The crew did well to replace the affected parts and we were able to catch up and bring forward our test programme, while giving our development driver some valuable experience behind the wheel. Overall, we had two productive days here in Budapest to finish the first part of the season."
"We have ended what has been a successful test," said Rob Smedley. "We came here to predominately concentrate on 2019 aero specification and we have carried out every single item on the test programme regarding 2019 that we set out to, and some more.
"The engineering team and mechanics couldn't have worked any harder and have done a great job. We need to go away now and use all the data to help us with correlation for 2019 regulations. Additionally, we had a look at the remainder of the season, some set up, some tyre preparation work and we have some interesting directions from there.
"Robert set some good lap times considering the tyres we gave him and the time in the car. Overall, it's a good way to go into the summer break for the team.
"It was a good day," said Robert Kubica. "We had a mixed programme with some data collection for next year and trying to understand our car better for 2018. We also ran a few runs with the current car specification to help with the rest of the season. We have a lot of data to go through and analyse but it was a good test to end on before the summer break.
Check out our Wednesday test gallery from the Hungaroring, here.
At McLaren, Lando Norris completed 73 laps. The morning's to-do list was a continuation of yesterday's, as the youngster did a number of short runs with quick changes to facilitate aero tests, correlation and data gathering.
Over the mandatory one-hour lunch break the team carried out various component changes ready for the afternoon session, which, like yesterday, focussed on slightly longer runs for configuration tests and tyre compound evaluation, as well as further planned set-up work.
Despite threats of rain, unlike the previous day it never materialised, and Norris was able to complete his running in dry and sunny conditions.
"Yesterday was quite tricky because it was the first time I've driven in the wet in Formula 1," said Norris, "and it's quite a different experience to Formula 2. Driving these cars does take a bit of time to get used to, but a lot of it's just because of the run plan, testing a lot of different parts and getting aero data.
"The team has been trying to get as much information as they can on things open to them over the next few race weekends, and things that they tested over this weekend, so they can analyse the runs. There's not been that much performance testing where I've been able to do as quick a lap-time as I would like, but a lot of it has been going over the run plan and sticking to that.
"This year's car feels much better than last year's, for sure, mainly because it's got a bit more power, but it's hard to say. Compared to last year I've been doing a lot more testing rather trying to make myself look good by doing a fast lap-time.
"The first important thing is being able to jump in and get up to a pretty reasonable base quickly, and not wasting the whole morning taking ages to get up to speed. It's about being within a few metres straight away on the braking points and high-speed corners. Secondly, the team wants consistency and your feedback, so that they're able to precisely know if something's worse or better, and whether to keep it for the future.
"These test days are just as important as any other days I've ever done. Whether it's Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, here last year, they're all important in terms of how I drive on-track, my behaviour off-track, my feedback, and how I try and move everything forward."
"Overall, today has been another good day," added Gil Ferran, "and we've gathered information that is both relevant for this year and next year.
"Unfortunately, we had a couple of small issues this afternoon that limited our mileage, however they didn't have a major impact on our run plan.
"Lando has done a great job and hasn't put a foot wrong over the last two days. Now onto our summer break, and I wish everyone an enjoyable and restful two weeks off."
Renault enjoyed a "smooth and insightful day's running", with test and development driver Artem Markelov in the cockpit for the first time in the Renault R.S.18.. The Russian racked up 108 laps, completing a range of test items and set-up work throughout the day.
"It was a really good experience to drive the Renault R.S.18 for the first time," said Markelov, "and I want to say a big thanks to the team for the opportunity. We started on balance settings to get up to speed, and then various tyre assessments including the fast Hypersofts in the afternoon session. The downforce and the braking was different to what I'm used to, but I enjoyed it and it was very interesting to experience that for the first time. I started to build the confidence up as the day progressed, so I expect to get quicker and quicker each time I get an opportunity in the car."
"Artem delivered exactly what was required of him today and gave a good account of himself," added Alan Permane. "It was a solid day working through an extensive technical programme which leaves us with a large amount of data to help refine our set-up and development programme. Artem's level of feedback was strong for his first time in the car."
"It was a really long day today," said Sean Gelael, "122 laps after the 109 laps I've done for Pirelli yesterday!
"We ran some interesting tests throughout the sessions, a lot of it was focussed on the aero and a couple of performance runs in the hot conditions which we were able to get a lot of data from. Hopefully, all of the information we gathered over the past two days will help the team for the second half of the season."
"It was great to welcome Sean back into the car for the first time since T03 in Spain," said chief race engineer, Jonathan Eddolls, "he drove our car yesterday but that was for a Pirelli tyre test. He took over the testing duties after Brendon yesterday.
"We had quite a lot of aero mapping and aero rake work this morning, so we had several large aero rakes on the car to gather data to correlate to CFD and wind tunnel. We completed those first before getting into some aero mapping runs. The second half of the morning we completed some performance runs for Sean, we ran on the Ultrasofts and moved onto the Hypersoft tyres. The Hypersoft was quite an aggressive tyre here, so even by the last sector the tyre had started to give up. For the time of the day, the lap times were reasonably competitive.
"Across those runs we were trying some further mechanical background tests following on from the successful tests we did yesterday. Moving into the afternoon, we fitted a third rake on the front brake duct to measure the front wing wake, and then we did some Soft tyre runs which focussed on some new suspension components. It's the first time we have run those on track, so we spent a number of runs carrying out system checks and then performance runs for good balance.
"At the end of the day we had a couple of Medium tyre runs, where we tested some more engine mapping work, and across those runs we tested some further mechanical setup work focussing on the front end of the car. It has been a very busy seven weeks of testing and racing, with some more challenging than others, but everyone in the team across the factories in Faenza, Bicester and Honda have been pushing throughout to the maximum and the result in Hungary race showed we are not giving up the fight! I would like to thank everyone in the team and also Honda for giving 100% through the first half of the season, and I wish everyone a well-deserved two-week break to come back refreshed to continue the fight for points in the second half of the season."
"These two test days after the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend were very important for Toro Rosso," added Franz Tost, "because we had a lot of different test topics to cover. We have been focussing not only on the aerodynamic aspects but also on the mechanical side of the car. It was an unusual post-race test as we have been running two STR13s: one car to complete a standard test session for the team, and the other which was allocated specifically to complete the Pirelli test.
"We covered most of the mechanical tests on our plan yesterday, and we completed the list this morning when Sean carried out many test items which were useful for the aerodynamic department as well. Today, Pierre and Brendon shared duties for the Pirelli tyre test, taking the wheel from Sean, who was able to cover 109 laps for Pirelli yesterday.
"We finished our fourth test of this year with 248 laps in total, which means we could fully cover our programme for this two-day test in Budapest. We didn't complete any low fuel runs or qualifying simulations in order to concentrate on our aerodynamic development. It's now in the hands of our engineers to analyse all of the data we've collected, to get the best out of the car for the second half of the season. We will also use the findings from the test to work towards building next year's STR14. I would like to thank all of the race team, especially the engineers and mechanics, because the last few weeks were really tough for everyone. I wish them all a nice summer break, hoping they will recover, recharge the batteries, and come back highly motivated for the second part of the season."
"This has been a useful and productive two-day test," said Honda's Toyoharu Tanabe. "Like all PU manufacturers, we do a lot of work on the test bench, but there is no substitute for actually running on a race track.
"Honda PUs completed 499 laps in total, including the Pirelli test car, which is a distance equivalent to 2,186 kilometres and we believe the data from that will help us make our next steps forward.
"The first half of the season is now over and I appreciate the hard effort made by all the members of the team so far. We are now looking forward to enjoying a short break from work before returning to racing in Belgium."
Check out our Wednesday test gallery from the Hungaroring, here.