Barcelona Testing 2 – Day 2: Grosjean and Vergne at the Forefront

The Lotus team made a strong impression in Jerez, but during the first tests in Barcelona, things didn’t go as well. However, it seems to have regained its good form as Romain Grosjean finished on top today in Barcelona. The French driver once again clocked the fastest time of the day in the Lotus E20.

He is ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne for a French one-two. Following are Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, and the surprising Heikki Kovalainen, who finishes in 5th place, 1.2 seconds behind Grosjean, thanks to a lap time set on super-soft tires. It is difficult to have a clear idea of each’s performance because Vergne and Grosjean set their times with soft tires at different times of the day, while Vettel set his best lap on medium tires and Alonso on hard tires.

The session was action-packed, with a delayed start due to fog and then numerous red flags – 8 in total. However, several drivers still managed to complete a lot of laps, notably Grosjean, Kovalainen, and Alonso, who each drove more than 100 laps – Alonso was the most diligent with 124 laps completed, followed by 123 for Grosjean and 104 for Kovalainen.

Kamui Kobayashi drove little today due to a hydraulic leak. The mechanics had to change the gearbox as a result, which immobilized the Sauber C31 for most of the afternoon. Nico Hülkenberg also experienced a problem with the VJM05 and barely drove this afternoon as well.

Vergne also had problems with his engine – it had to be changed, and the Frenchman could only get back on the track at the end of the afternoon to continue testing – he specifically practiced pit stops with his team.

Tomorrow several drivers will make way for their teammates, notably with Romain Grosjean being replaced by Kimi Räikkönen and Jean-Eric Vergne by Daniel Ricciardo.

Barcelona Private Tests 2 – Day 2 Standings