Mazepin sets Barcelona pace

15/05/2019
NEWS STORY

Nikita Mazepin made an impressive debut for Mercedes today, the young Russian completing the most laps and topping the timesheets.

With Valtteri Bottas topping the times yesterday, this means that Mercedes has achieved yet another 1-2, while leaving Ferrari over 0.7s in its wake.

A day which saw 13 drivers on duty, two of them for Pirelli, was punctuated by a number of red flags stoppages, with Mazepin and Latifi stopping on track this morning and Sergio Sette Camara and Alexander Albon this afternoon, all three choosing to park up at Turn 10.

It was 20-year-old Mazepin's first day of testing for Mercedes, and few will have failed to be impressed by his pace and consistency as the German team continued with aero data collection and power unit work. The Russian completed a long run programme in the morning before moving to single lap runs in the afternoon, thereby allowing him to gain experience on the three softest tyre compounds.

"Today was incredible," he admitted. "Being a part of this team, even just for this day was very special for me. It's every young driver's dream to drive a car like this and today mine came true, so I'm really happy.

"Importantly it was a successful day on track too, we gathered most of the data we set out to collect, we didn't encounter any problems and from my side I felt I could deliver consistently throughout the day - which is important for the team. In the afternoon we were competitive on the performance runs and the car felt great. Everyone in the team is working so hard and you can feel that when you sit in this car."

"It's been another successful day, and we managed to complete all of the programme we had planned," added Sporting Director, Ron Meadows. "We spent the first three quarters of the day focused on aerodynamic and power unit development testing, before switching to one-lap performance runs, working through the different specifications of the tyre with Nikita.

"He did a really superb job today, just as we expected he would," he concluded.

"I think it was a very productive day," said Alexander Albon, who finished second quickest, albeit 1.3s off Mazepin's pace, having completed 109 laps, "as we completed all the runs we had planned.

"We learned more about the updates we brought here for the weekend and how they were working," he added, "I'm sure we will be able to take a lot of the things we learned from the test to the next races.

"On my side, I'm understanding more how I want the car to be and where I want the setup for qualifying. All in all, we got a lot done today."

"Alex took over from Daniil and completed some very important aero data gathering that kept us busy for most of the morning session," said Guillaume Dezoteux, the team's head of vehicle performance. "Before lunch, despite the two red flags, we managed to perform a couple of short runs on the C3 tyre compound for further tyre optimization.

"The wind picked up in the afternoon which made the car more inconsistent and difficult to drive for Alex. We focused on suspension setup to explore different approaches on the C2 rubber which was working well for him during the race. We followed this sequence by a couple of test items on the C3 compound and finally moved to the C4 to conclude on performance runs.

"We can be very happy how the in-season tests went for us. Both cars and the PU ran reliably, the drivers didn't make any mistakes and the team has been able to bring home a huge amount of data to analyse.

"Obviously, it is a challenge to stop testing that early in the season with 16 races still to go, but we are looking forward and we will do our best to improve our package from the data gathered here."

"We had another useful day of testing, following a similar programme to yesterday," said Masamitsu Motohashi, Honda F1 Deputy Technical Director. "That means we worked on some items aimed at long term development, while also looking at PU settings that we might run in Monaco, where practice starts in a week's time.

"Our PU worked smoothly over the two days and we completed a total of 231 laps with Scuderia Toro Rosso. Monaco GP is next on our agenda, so we'll be analysing all the data we gathered here to make further improvements for this event."

Ferrari added a further 247 laps to its total, Antonio Fuoco working for the team and Charles Leclerc carrying out tyre development work for Pirelli.

In the first four hours, Leclerc did 73 laps at the wheel of his SF90, with a best time of 1:18.666, while Fuoco did 66. The Italian did not push too hard on the opening laps, as he got to grips with the car, having covered a very high mileage in the simulator.

It was Fuoco's first drive in a current machine, as his last test dated back to 2016, when the technical specification of the cars was quite different. He ran both the C2 and C3 tyres, while trying some specific components in a series of short runs, to continue the car's development programme, which allowed him to make a first hand comparison with driving in the simulator. His best time was a 1:18.182.

After the lunch break, Leclerc continued the development work for Pirelli, some of it already looking at 2021, while Fuoco concentrated on some long runs, which helped him get a good understanding of the SF90.

Leclerc covered a total of 127 laps, with a best time of 1:17.349, while Fuoco did 120 laps and also tried the C4 compound tyres. His best lap was a 1:17.284.

"It was a positive day," said Fuoco. "We completed various tests and ran a total of 120 laps. In terms of the programme, we concentrated on short runs with different tyre compounds in the morning followed by longer runs in the afternoon and performance runs at the end of the day. The car felt really good to drive.

"It will be important for us to analyse the data we collected today, as well as the correlation with the simulator, given that I do a lot of work in it. I really enjoyed the day and would like to thank the team for this opportunity."

"It was a pretty good day in the car," said Kimi Raikkonen, who completed 110 laps on his way to posting the fifth best time of the day. "After yesterday's issues we had to change our testing programme slightly but we managed to go through all the different things we wanted to try.

"We had the chance to work with different compounds, we worked on the set-up and we put a few different parts on the car, so it was a busy day. I feel that if we did the race weekend again, we'd be stronger than we were."

Haas wrapped up its test with Kevin Magnussen, at the wheel, the Dane building on the 103-lap tally set by test driver Pietro Fittipaldi on Tuesday.

Magnussen clocked 46 laps by the mandatory lunch hour, the Dane ending the morning session fastest overall with a best time of 1:18.101, set on the C3 tyre.

An extensive afternoon run plan added a further 60 laps as Magnussen circulated exclusively on the C3 rubber. His pre-lunch hot lap remained his fastest placing him seventh overall.

"I was happy to get a lot of laps on a test like this straight after a race weekend," said the Dane. "It's really useful to be able to evaluate everything back-to-back.

"We've tried some interesting stuff and gathered a lot of data to go through. We're not chasing a lap time, we're giving specific feedback, gathering data.

"Some things were good, some not so, but it's testing, so we're trying stuff that's not necessarily going to make you faster - you're just getting information to help you make progress. Overall though, it's been a productive test day. I'm happy."

Racing Point completed its second day of running with Nick Yelloly once again on track in the RP19, while Lance Stroll was behind the wheel of a second car to support the Pirelli testing programme.

"Conditions have been a bit more challenging today," admitted Brad Joyce, the team's head of trackside performance, "with higher winds creating a dusty circuit and making things a little less straightforward. Turns three, nine and twelve in particular have been very tricky.

"Nonetheless, it's been a useful session. Lance has driven the Pirelli car today and completed the full programme for them. With Nick in the test car, we focused on long-term aero development and correlation work. He's done a good job - driving well, giving accurate feedback and not putting a foot wrong.

"Monaco is a very different circuit to Barcelona, but we've gathered a lot of data during this test which will be useful next week and for the races beyond."

Check out our Wednesday gallery from Barcelona, here.

"We had a successful and productive morning completing over 50 laps and gathering useful information on some test components," said Dave Robson, Williams senior race engineer. "The morning running came to an end just before the allotted lunch break when the car unexpectedly stopped on the start-finish straight. Resolving this issue took a little while but the team worked hard and diligently to ensure that we could return to the track and complete the most important afternoon work.

"Our in-season testing campaign is now over for 2019 and our attention will return to learning during free practice sessions at race weekends. Nicholas has done a superb job throughout this test and this has been crucial to our testing programme. We now look forward to having him back in the car in Canada where he will continue to assist our development programme.

"The trackside team have worked extremely hard over the last week or so in Barcelona and they can now look forward to a few days of rest before we move on to Monaco for Round Six of the Championship."

"Day two from a driver's point of view was more interesting than day one," admitted Nicholas Latifi. "I got to trial some of the softer compound of tyres, I used the C3, C4 and C5 which is fun to push a bit more. I tried some new development items that were brought to the car. In F2 we normally make a few balance changes, whereas this was putting something completely new on the car. It was interesting to see how that affected the car and for me to give feedback to the team.

Unfortunately, we had a problem that cost us one or two runs at the end of the morning and delayed our afternoon session by a few hours. However, we were still able to get back out and do some high fuel running which is good for my experience. Overall, I am pleased with the two days of testing and I look forward to my next outing with the team for FP1 at the Canadian Grand Prix.

At Red Bull, Dan Ticktum was behind the wheel for the second and final day, the Briton completing a total of 79 laps. Taking over from Pierre Gasly, who ran yesterday, Ticktum Dan continued development work in the RB15 running on both the C2 and C3 tyre.

Today's running was Ticktum's second day in the RB15, having made his debut last month at Sakhir in the test that followed the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"I think for the team, data-wise, we got what we wanted," said Ticktum, "as today was about executing a specific run plan rather than setting purple sectors.

"We had a driveline issue this morning which cost us a few hours but the running that we did get was positive. There will be more feedback later in the week, but overall, at the moment, everyone's satisfied."

"It was a full programme of aero testing today," added Simon Rennie, the team's group leader simulator engineering. "Some of that was about understanding the car that we have, and the rest was assessing future developments.

"The issue that we had at midday kept us in the garage for a few hours and it was a shame to lose that time but the running we had was very useful.

"Dan had a good day. As was the case in Bahrain, he did everything we asked him to do. There were many complicated procedures to master and he did them all faultlessly. It was interesting having him back in the car six weeks on from the Bahrain test, as he was able to relate to us the areas in which he felt the car has improved since the start of April."

McLaren had two drivers on duty, Oliver Turvey this morning and Sergio Sette Camara. While the Briton completed 52 laps, the Brazilian was limited to just 19 due to an unspecified issue with the car.

"Driving the car was an amazing opportunity for me today," said the Brazilian. "I was able to learn some new procedures, see how the car felt and do a few flying laps. It's a shame we had to cut the day short, but from my side I learned a lot and I'm really happy to have had the chance to drive a car like that. Thank you to everyone at McLaren for the experience and I hope to be able to repeat it again in the future."

"It was great to be back in the car for my first run this year," added Turvey. "With all the simulator work I've been doing with the team, it's great to get a feeling for the actual car and give some feedback to the race engineers at the track. It's also helpful for correlation with the simulator, which we can work on when I get back to the factory. This test has been useful for the rest of the season as we continue to develop the MCL34."

"Today was another useful day of testing with Oliver and Sergio at the wheel," said Andrea Stella, the Woking outfit's performance director. "Both of them adapted very quickly to the car and did a good job in helping us to complete our test programme, together with providing some interesting feedback on the behaviour of the car.

"The programme was once again fundamentally focussed on gathering data on the aerodynamics of the car and some set-up items in preparation for the coming races.

"The day's running ended slightly earlier than planned due to an issue with the car that we are currently investigating. Despite this, it was a smooth couple of days."

"This was an important two days," concluded Pirelli's Mario Isola, "as it was the final in-season official test of the year. From now on, the only other tests during the season are private Pirelli tests to assess future tyres: focussing on next year's 13-inch tyres until the summer, then exclusively on 18-inch tyres from September onwards.

"The teams conducted plenty of useful work in warm conditions, with track temperatures generally in excess of 40 degrees centigrade during each afternoon. As usual they had the full range of 2019 compounds available, and even though Barcelona favours the harder end of the tyre spectrum, we also saw some teams testing the softer compounds in preparation for Monaco and Canada, which are up next - probably to see how they work with the latest car upgrades.

"All the teams followed their individual programmes - using young drivers as well as established race drivers, as required by the regulations - with Ferrari and Racing Point additionally providing a second car for us to assess 2020 prototype tyres; many thanks to them for their availability.

"These were 'blind' tests, so that the teams and drivers did not know what they were testing, in order to provide a level playing field. We collected plenty of data in representative conditions: this now gives us a lot of numbers to analyse back in the office over the coming days and weeks as we continue to define next year's tyre specification."

Check out our Wednesday gallery from Barcelona, here.

Article from Pitpass (http://www.pitpass.com):

Published: 15/05/2019
Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2024. All rights reserved.