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As it happened: Test day two
By Glenn Freeman, Ben Anderson, AUTOSPORT staff, Lawrence Barretto and Mitchell Adam
The live commentary has ended. No further updates will be posted.
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FASTEST TIMES |
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P |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
1 |
Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m22.792s |
2 |
Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1m23.995s +1.203 |
3 |
Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1m24.071s +1.279 |
4 |
Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m25.339s +2.547 |
5 |
Jenson Button | McLaren | 1m25.590s +2.798 |
6 |
Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1m26.705s +3.913 |
7 |
Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1m26.766s +3.974 |
8 |
Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1m26.965s +4.173 |
9 |
Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1m28.412s +5.620 |
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All timing unofficial. Updated: 16:58 GMT |
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OVERVIEW |
DAY TWO |
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CURRENT WEATHER |
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Clear skies |
High Temp: |
13°C / 55°F |
Track: |
Dry |
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Mercedes - Rosberg
Red Bull - Kvyat
Williams - Bottas
Ferrari - Vettel
McLaren - Button
Force India - Hulkenberg
Toro Rosso - Verstappen
Lotus - Maldonado
Sauber - Nasr
It's pretty cold at the Circuit de Catalunya, with track temperatures just 10C, so expect teams to focus on data collection early on.
The team was also at the centre of one of the day's bigger news stories, following Fernando Alonso's accident last Sunday. A cautious approach will be taken with the two-time world champion's health, which means McLaren's unsure if he'll race in Australia.
Bottas - 11
Rosberg - 8
Nasr - 9
Verstappen - 6
Kvyat - 6
Button - 4
Vettel - 3
Maldonado - 3
Button has managed four installation laps this morning, which is more than half the number he completed in total yesterday.
Of the group, Maldonado and Vettel have set their first times of the day, a 1m30.722s for Pastor and a 1m30.068s for Seb.
1 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m27.965s
2 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m28.408s +0.443
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m29.456s +1.491
4 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m30.722s +2.757
5 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.350s +10.385
Kvyat, Button, Bottas and Hulkenberg are yet to hit the board.
@ToroRossoSpy "Hey! That's the wrong Verstappen you are interviewing... @Max33Verstappen is in the car today! :P"
That race was won by Jacques Villeneuve, whose last Grand Prix victory came in September 1997, (the Luxembourg GP) two days before Max was born.
Sorry if you remember watching that race and now feel old.
Vettel - 22
Bottas - 20
Rosberg - 18
Maldonado - 18
Nasr - 17
Kvyat - 14
Verstappen - 13
Button - 8
Yesterday, his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr was full of praise for the car. "It felt different, it felt really good to be honest," he said.
"That's why I want to congratulate all the guys back at the factory for the great job they have done because out of the box I already felt it is a step forward, a more complete package."
Vettel is up to 34 laps for the day already and is currently lapping in the low-mid 1m30s.
Vettel - 36
Maldonado - 33
Bottas - 33
Rosberg 30
Nasr - 29
Verstappen - 23
Button - 15
Kvyat - 14
With both drivers on the medium rubber, Rosberg passed Vettel then gapped him by the length of the main straight within about five laps. The Ferrari was also shifting up a fair bit further down the straight than the Mercedes.
There has been some talk of another rain shower - yesterday's running in the hour before lunch was significantly affected - during the day and the level of cloud cover has been gradually increasing.
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.365s
2 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m26.032s +0.667
3 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m27.965s +2.600
4 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m28.153s +2.788
5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m28.408s +3.043
6 Jenson Button McLaren 1m28.868s +3.503
7 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m29.456s +4.091
@Rowlinson_F1 "This is Norbert Vettel, Seb's dad, watching his boy testing"
Team-mate Marcus Ericsson was in the same boat 12 months ago, with Caterham, and is well aware of Sauber's famous F1 alumni.
"For the whole history of Sauber they've helped a lot of young drivers get established in Formula 1 and become great Formula 1 drivers," the Swede said during last night's media briefing.
"Of course, I aim to do the same thing here. I can see why that happens because it's a very professional team, very strong structure in the team. It gives the drivers the confidence to improve themselves as well."
All just 13 months after BEN ANDERSON wrote that he could make the big leap from karting to Formula 3...
* Nico Rosberg sets the early pace for Mercedes, the German clocking a 1m25.365 on the mediums
* Jenson Button and McLaren manage 22 laps, which is three times the number completed in total yesterday
* The new Force India is expected to break cover later today
@Rowlinson_F1 "Hearing from a very good source that Manor Marussia F1 will be confirmed on the 2015 F1 entry list later today."
Here's the latest lap counts:
Vettel - 48
Rosberg - 42
Vertsappen - 42
Nasr - 41
Maldonado - 39
Bottas - 39
Button - 29
Kvyat - 20
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.365s
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.901s +0.536
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m26.032s +0.667
4 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m27.965s +2.600
5 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m28.153s +2.788
6 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m28.408s +3.043
7 Jenson Button McLaren 1m28.868s +3.503
"We went to Turns 1, 2, and 3 to start with and the Mercedes looks awesome through there. It's got great driveability out of Turn 2 and good aero balance through 3.
"Rosberg looks like he's driving quite under the limit, but is still quick.
"The McLaren front end turns in really positively and Button looks like he’s able to place the car quite comfortably where he wants, but whether that's because he's going slower because of the engine is a question mark."
Vettel - 66
Verstappen - 64
Nasr - 58
Rosberg - 53
Bottas - 52
Maldonado - 39
Button - 35
Kvyat - 26
Today's theme is your favourite F1 season.
What's the one year you could happily watch the highlights from again and again? The title battle and storylines that captured your imagination more than any other?
Let us know with the #autosportf1 hashtag and we'll publish a selection of the best here in AUTOSPORT Live over the lunchbreak.
When Force India's new car turned a wheel for the first time, Sergio Perez was among the interested onlookers.
He'll get behind the wheel on Sunday, with Hulkenberg driving this afternoon and tomorrow.
Here's Sergio rugged up in his coat and scarf, looking like he's just stepped out of the pages of a fashion catalogue.
A catalogue for people who like to be stylish and accessorise with informative headsets and stay safe behind a barrier.
His team-mate, meanwhile, has now completed a second lap.
1 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m24.071s
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.216s +1.145
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.339s +1.268
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m26.032s +1.961
5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m26.766s +2.695
6 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m28.013s +3.942
7 Jenson Button McLaren 1m28.052s +3.981
8 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m29.294s +5.223
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m31.165s +7.094
Verstappen - 78
Vettel - 69
Rosberg - 64
Nasr - 59
Bottas - 58
Maldonado - 50
Button - 44
Kvyat - 36
Hulkenberg - 9
* Nasr fastest with soft tyre run
* New Force India makes debut in hour before lunch
* McLaren bounces back from troubled Thursday to complete 44 laps
* Session runs without incident
"The Mercedes looks a joy to drive, smothered in grip, and the Williams is also impressive - much more consistent and stable at the rear than last year's car.
"The Ferrari wasn't turning in well at low speed, and couldn't carry the same momentum through Turn 3 as the Mercedes, but Vettel was on long runs, so it's possible the car was simply fat with fuel.
"Didn't see much of the Red Bull, but the 'new' Toro Rosso looked decent in Verstappen's hands. He was fighting to control some wheelspin exiting the slower corners, but looked very neat otherwise.
"The Lotus and the Sauber both look tough to drive. Maldonado and Nasr were both fighting the wheel mid-corner and Maldonado particularly was struggling to be consistent through turns one, two and three.
"It was good to see Button rack up some decent laps in the McLaren-Honda. The chassis looks good, but the fact it turns in very well may be accentuated by the engine not running at full power yet.
"The Honda still sounds unrefined compared to the others out there, so (unsurprisingly) plenty of work still to do."
"It has to be 2007," says @brianlelas, "The whole Alonso/Hamilton and Spygate drama, the fantastic finale..." while @Kimivani has the Finnish slant on that season: "To me it must be 2007 when Kimi won the title!It was just absolute thriller start to finish!Whole finland was happy for Iceman!"
Some nostalgia for @SamStoreF1: "Eight-year-old me loved Irvine and Frentzen taking on the McLarens!"
And @zeromoda sent us a three-tweet epic of reasons: "1999 had it all: A titanic battle between two champions, one champion taken out, an unlikely challenge from his number two, an even more unlikely challenge from a little Irish team, in Monza Hakkinen was human after all, the Nurburgring GP, the Return of the King in ominous form, disqualifications, reinstatements and a title showdown in Suzuka."
It was a bit of a cracker, prompting memories of a particularly long and delirious teenage night shift on a fledgling AUTOSPORT.com on the Malaysian GP weekend for one of us here too.
"My favourite F1 season is an odd one - 1977. Lotus sniffing at ground effect, Scheckter in a Wolf, Villenueve and turbos debut."
Plenty of votes for Ferrari's return to glory in 2000, 2010's five-way title decider and 2012's Alonso/Vettel showdown too.
"Surely '97? So many teams at the front, and the battle between JV and Schumi with them never on the podium together."
"Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Piquet, Hakkinen driving. Spectacular cars and still some romance left in the sport!"
Thanks for all your suggestions, we'll do another Twitter poll over the lunchbreak on Saturday and Sunday too.
Track action at Barcelona resumes in five minutes.
We're going to get him to sit down at the end of the day to plough through questions from our readers about what he's seen at the test - submit yours using #askKarunF1 on Twitter
Vettel - 81
Verstappen - 78
Rosberg - 65
Nasr - 63
Maldonado - 61
Bottas - 59
Button - 48
Kvyat - 41
Hulkenberg - 5
The team is gradually introducing aero upgrades during the rest, read more here.
1 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m24.071s
2 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m24.944s +0.873
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.216s +1.145
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.339s +1.268
5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m26.766s +2.695
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m26.965s +2.894
7 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m28.013s +3.942
8 Jenson Button McLaren 1m28.052s +3.981
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m29.287s +5.216
Vettel - 94
Verstappen - 84
Nasr - 84
Maldonado - 81
Bottas - 68
Rosberg - 65
Button - 58
Kvyat - 51
Hulkenberg - 15
* Bottas fastest on soft rubber, with second fastest time of all Barcelona testing
* Button logs 64 laps in McLaren-Honda
* Force India appears, turning 20 laps
* Testing runs without red flag for bulk of the day, before Kvyat stops
"Kvyat's car is under wraps and being hoisted onto the back of a truck. Can't get close enough to see there is any damage."
As a result, and also aided by McLaren's better day, we saw 467 laps in the morning session, compared to 257 on Thursday.
"Lotus, Ferrari and Williams have spotters standing outside the garage looking down the pitlane to keep an eye on the activity down at Turn 1."
@FFranciscojga: "Very good news"
@debbie42000: "Great news-they deserve to be on the starting grid in Melbourne.Good luck to their crew, been a nightmare for them."
@NickieHough1: "Brilliant news - hope they have a really good year!"
@LauraSimpson87: "Great news for not only @ManorF1Team and Marussia fans, but for the sport as a whole"
"Through Turns 1, 2 and 3, Verstappen really impressed me. It's the first time I've really seen him live on track and I think he seems to fully justify the hype.
"He was the only one - apart from Rosberg and Vettel - who was able to drive every lap of his run on exactly the same bit of tarmac, which says something.
"A little later, through Turns 5, 7 and 9, he again looked really smooth, really confident and assured in the car."
Verstappen - 111
Nasr - 111
Vettel - 108
Maldonado - 106
Bottas - 75
Button - 73
Rosberg - 73
Kvyat - 53
Hulkenberg - 31
Lots of big numbers.
1 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m23.995s
2 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m24.071s +0.076
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.216s +1.221
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.339s +1.344
5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m26.766s +2.771
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m26.965s +2.970
7 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m28.013s +4.018
8 Jenson Button McLaren 1m28.052s +4.057
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m28.847s +4.852
Verstappen - 135
Nasr - 129
Vettel - 120
Maldonado - 118
Rosberg - 84
Button - 83
Bottas - 80
Kvyat - 53
Hulkenberg - 46
As a small thank you, we're offering you a chance to read GARY ANDERSON's 'blueprint' for Formula 1's future for free - all you have to do is click on the link below:
You'd forgive him for dropping a microphone and saying 'Nico out'.
Having spent spent its time on medium rubber, turning times not that far from soft and even super soft runners, that's more than a little bit of a statement from Mercedes.
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.792s
2 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m23.995s +1.203
3 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m24.071s +1.279
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.339s +2.547
5 Jenson Button McLaren 1m25.590s +2.798
6 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m26.766s +3.974
7 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m26.965s +4.173
8 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m28.013s +5.221
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m28.847s +6.055
Verstappen - 139
Nasr - 129
Vettel - 126
Button - 95
Rosberg - 91
Bottas - 89
Kvyat - 65
Hulkenberg - 56
@NicoHulkenberg "Really excited about the partnership with #RWT in 2015. THX!"
"The Lotus looks very edgy, very nervous to drive. I think the drivers are going to be earning their money again this year, unless they can find a solution to make it more comfortable."
"I was out watching Rosberg's quail run through Turns 7, 8 and 9 and it looked like a properly quick, committed lap. The car was working well.
"I still think that while his lap was seven-tenths faster than Massa's yesterday, the track's had another day of rubber. So I would argue that Williams could probably get within three or four tenths of that time. "
@WilliamsRacing "With 20minutes left of the day we have completed our programme so car is being prepped ready for tomorrow."
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.792s
2 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m23.995s +1.203
3 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m24.071s +1.279
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.339s +2.547
5 Jenson Button McLaren 1m25.590s +2.798
6 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m26.705s +3.913
7 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m26.766s +3.974
8 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m26.965s +4.173
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m28.412s +5.620
Vettel - 143
Maldonado - 140
Nasr - 141
Verstappen - 139
Rosberg - 106
Button - 101
Bottas - 90
Kvyat - 84
Hukkenberg - 77
There are just two more days of pre-season running to go, so expect the clearest hints of 2015 form so far over the weekend - and as ever you can follow it all with AUTOSPORT Live from 8am UK time each morning.
We'll also have CRAIG SCARBOROUGH technical analysis of the latest car upgrade, more from Chandhok at the trackside and a couple more free features for you to enjoy.
Thanks for your company on AUTOSPORT Live today, we'll see you back here around 8am tomorrow morning.