Young Drivers Test – Day 3: Vettel Tops the Charts
Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time on this third day of young driver testing at Silverstone. It is also worth noting the strong performance of Susie Wolff at the wheel of the Williams, as well as the young talents from Red Bull, Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat.
For the third and final day of the 2013 young drivers test, it was Sebastian Vettel who was the fastest behind the wheel of his Red Bull RB9. The reigning triple world champion led ahead of Adrian Sutil, Nicolas Prost, Carlos Sainz Jr – who drove for Red Bull, Davide Rigon and Felipe Massa, Jean-Eric Vergne, Gary Paffett and Susie Wolff in 9th position.
The woman in her thirties, who had the opportunity to test the FW35, was delighted with her day and is now fully prepared in case she ever has to race in a Grand Prix: The team did a fantastic job throughout the day by walking me through everything step by step. In hindsight, it would have been nice to run with the new tires later in the day because I had spent more time in the car, so I don’t think I got the most out of the mediums. Physically, it wasn’t easy, but it was what I expected. I was well-prepared, so it was manageable. My only issue came from my seat as I moved around a bit. Doing pit stops this afternoon was also very beneficial as there are a lot of things to think about during these stops. It was a fantastic experience.
The members of the Red Bull Junior Team stood out today, notably with 18-year-old Carlos Sainz Jr, who was one of the most prominent drivers. The son of former rally champion Carlos Sainz clocked the 4th fastest time of the day. Daniil Kvyat, 19, was slightly less prominent, driving the Toro Rosso with the 11th fastest time.
In total, 16 drivers took to the track today with varying fortunes, notably for Jules Bianchi, whose half-day was significantly disrupted by a mechanical issue, with the Frenchman only able to cover 39 laps in his Marussia for the last time. James Calado, on the other hand, was the driver who completed the fewest laps today with only 5 laps covered.
Leading the attendance ranking on track is Adrian Sutil with 99 laps completed, Susie Wolff is 2nd with 89 laps, and Nicolas Prost is 3rd with 83 laps completed in the Lotus E21.
Ranking of the third day of the 2013 young drivers’ tests:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:32.894 | 79 | |
2 | Sutil | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:33.242 | +0.348 | 99 |
3 | Prost | Lotus F1 Team | 1:33.256 | +0.362 | 83 |
4 | Sainz Jr | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:33.546 | +0.652 | 35 |
5 | Rigon | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:33.592 | +0.698 | 20 |
6 | Massa | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:33.624 | +0.730 | 69 |
7 | Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:33.647 | +0.753 | 42 |
8 | Paffett | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 1:34.924 | +2.030 | 77 |
9 | Wolff | Williams F1 Team | 1:35.093 | +2.199 | 89 |
10 | Van der Garde | Caterham F1 Team | 1:35.155 | +2.261 | 65 |
11 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:35.281 | +2.387 | 22 |
12 | Pic | Caterham F1 Team | 1:35.576 | +2.682 | 60 |
13 | Kimiya Sato | Sauber F1 Team | 1:35.642 | +2.748 | 67 |
14 | Gonzalez | Marussia F1 Team | 1:36.339 | +3.445 | 24 |
15 | Calado | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:36.451 | +3.557 | 5 |
16 | Bianchi | Marussia F1 Team | 1:36.744 | +3.850 | 39 |
Unofficial lap times
