Jerez Testing – Day 3: Drivers’ Statements

Ferrari

Felipe Massa (1:17.879, 85 laps): Today, we managed to do more laps, and I was able to test different tires. I improved a lot when I switched to the soft ones, achieving a significant gap, perhaps even more than I expected. It’s always nice to reach the end of the day, see your name in first place, and know that you have the fastest car, but it doesn’t count.

To be honest, there are a lot of very fast cars on this track and I don’t know if we will really be in this position for the first race. We need to work a lot, we need to focus 100% to take advantage of this work and make the car faster so that it’s ready for the first race. I don’t know if we are ready today but what is certain is that it has been a positive start to the season.

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg (1:18.766, 148 laps): I’m very happy today and I think it’s probably a personal record for me to do almost 150 laps. I’ve never been as well-prepared as I am this season; I feel in top form and had no issue completing the program. Driving the distance of Silverstone and Spa in one day without the slightest problem is a fantastic achievement for the team. It really makes up for the last two days and puts everyone in a good mood. Regarding the car’s handling, I have good sensations, I can push, and I feel comfortable – but we obviously still have a lot of work to do to improve.

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel (1:19.052, 102 laps): For the moment, I think we can be happy. Mark had a good start to the days, and I took over today. It was nice to be back in the car, to get back into the swing of things and regain the rhythm. The initial feeling is good, and the car is working well. It’s difficult to judge the speed, but in terms of reliability, it seems good. Today, we did what we needed to accomplish – which was to get a lot of laps in the car.

At this stage, it is very difficult to judge the rest. A favorite might emerge after these three practice sessions, but in the end, things could be completely different in Australia because it’s a different circuit with different characteristics. I expect the championship to be at least as tight as last year, as the regulations haven’t changed much.

In terms of lap times, it’s always good to be at the forefront, but there’s a time of the year where it counts the least, and that’s here. Now we have to do our homework. It’s good for all of us to have done so many laps, to see that the car is working well, and we’ll move on from here for what’s next.

Lotus

Kimi Räikkönen (1:19.200, 40 laps):

« It was nice to be back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 single-seater. The E21 already seems good at the moment, even though the balance doesn’t suit me yet. That didn’t stop us from completing the program we wanted to do with many runs to test the aerodynamics. We know the car can go faster; we just did what we needed to do. It’s a shame we had a clutch problem at the end of the day, but we’re testing to find these kinds of issues and resolve them. »

Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne (1:19.247, 85 laps): It was really nice to be back behind the wheel for the first time this year. Early in the morning, I got accustomed again to a Formula 1 single-seater and of course, a brand new one, the STR8. Then, we immediately started working, and in the afternoon, we gained important insights about the car. Our goal today was not to find the perfect balance but to do as much work as possible, test as many parts as possible, and learn a lot. Today was also the first time I worked with my new race engineer, Phil Charles, and I must say everything went well, and I think the acclimatization period between us will be much shorter than I thought.

Force India

James Rossiter (1:19.303, 42 laps): It had been four and a half years since I last drove a Formula 1 car, but with the recent simulator experience, it didn’t take me too long to get into the rhythm. Today’s program was very useful to get a feel for the car compared to the simulator. The cars have changed a lot, and it was the first time I used KERS. It was important to understand how the tires behave, and we worked hard to try to comprehend that this week. This will help make the simulator model more representative to exploit the car’s potential.

Paul di Resta (1:23.729, 7 laps): No statement

McLaren

Jenson Button (1:19.603, 83 laps): First of all, it was nice to be back and to complete 83 laps, and my best time of 1:19.603 isn’t really important. This morning, we did aerodynamic work on several short runs. The team then made more significant mechanical changes to understand their impact on the settings, and all of this was evaluated during longer runs this afternoon. The team also conducted several pit stops this afternoon. I stopped on track in the last minutes, and the car was brought back intact. So nothing worrisome on that side. I am confident that we will be ready for Melbourne.

Clean

Esteban Gutiérrez (1:19.934, 110 laps): It was a very positive day with 110 laps completed. I had the chance to get to know the car and the tires, which behave very differently. Because of this, it was very important to understand their characteristics well to heat them up and their behavior on long stints with a lot of fuel. It was also interesting to feel the progress – it’s something that gets me going to go faster. I am confident with this new car and immediately felt comfortable behind the wheel.

Marussia

Max Chilton (1:21.269, 78 laps): I am extremely pleased with how my second day in the car went and I’m happy that we were able to reveal a little more of the car’s potential. Obviously, it’s only the beginning for all of us, but there are very positive signs and I’m very happy about that. The race runs went very well and we started to understand how the 2013 tires will degrade. Having completed the long runs we needed, it was nice to have a run on new tires at the end to explore the car’s performance a bit more. What we found was very encouraging and it has given the team a boost at the start of the MR02’s development.

Williams

**Valtteri Bottas (1:21.575, 86 laps):** « It was my first day as an official driver today and it has been a long wait. Since the announcement last year, I have been looking forward to this day and it is nice to finally start the season. Everything went as planned and we covered many laps doing aerodynamic and tire work to collect useful data. It has been a good start to the 2013 season for me. »

Caterham

Charles Pic (1:22.352, 57 laps): « It was good to be back on track, and for my first day with the team, it went quite well. We had a technical problem at the end of the morning that stopped the car on track, but the team did a very good job of solving the issue and giving me enough time to run in the afternoon to reach a total of 57 laps in the end.

The most important thing for this first day was to start getting used to the car, especially by working with the KERS and my new team. Everyone has been very helpful since I arrived at the factory and spent time in the simulator, and with my engineers and mechanics, so nothing was completely new to me.

Of course, it is important for me to feel comfortable in the car as quickly as possible and we carried out many procedures today, so I am delighted with what we have managed to achieve. Tomorrow, we will continue with a similar program, as well as aerodynamic tests, and keep putting mileage on the car.