BAHRAIN – The final day of the first of two pre-season tests in Bahrain saw Dan post 15 laps as the team's running was hampered by issues discovered during the morning session.
"In all honesty it wasn't a great day today," said Daniel. "I guess we still need more time. We have four more days coming up and hopefully we can maximize those. I have to say that on the run we did today the car did feel better. But unfortunately another problem arose and we couldn't exploit that potential. I hope we can do more running next week. I'm happy I'm doing the first two days. At this stage we just need laps and I'm just hanging to get back in the car."
Race Engineering Coordinator Andy Damerum added: "This morning we felt like we were in good shape. We had everything completed ahead of schedule and got out in good time. However, on Daniel's install we noticed a software problem and that knocked us back for the morning. We got out again around lunchtime and put in a 10-lap run, but we had to abort that as we had another mechanical issue. We brought Daniel back in and discovered some damage on the car, which following investigation was worse than we imagined. The guys worked really hard to get everything fixed and we were hopeful of getting out at the end of the day, even if just for an install. In the end, though, I don't think it would have been possible as a couple of late red flags ended running for everyone. It's been a difficult week. We've made some very good progress, particular on day two, but we've also had a number of problems that have again held us back. The engineering team will head back to Milton Keynes now to plan the next moves and we can only look forward and try to get everything in place for T-03 here next week."
DAY THREE UPDATE
The team's third day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit got off to a positive start this morning as Daniel took over at the wheel of the RB10. However, midway through today's running the team discovered a mechanical problem, and in anticipation of tomorrow's final day, the decision was taken to suspend running this afternoon.
"It was going OK," said Daniel of his morning outing. "I did some good laps, and those came off the back of the more than 50 laps Seb did yesterday, so we're getting there. Obviously, I would have liked to do more this afternoon, but we still have tomorrow ahead of us and it's important to be ready for that. The car is definitely making progress though. It's coming together bit by bit. We'd love a big chunk all at once, but obviously that's not the way these things work, so we have to be a bit patient for now. However, it is coming and we're heading in the right direction. Tomorrow it would be nice to get more laps in and then roll on next week."
Race Engineering Coordinator Andy Damerum said: "After yesterday's good work we had another positive period overnight with the car build, which we're getting quite good at, and it looked good this morning. We were focused on short runs for Daniel, as the car feels very different to the one we had in Jerez and we wanted to build things up gradually for him. We made more changes over lunch, and in doing so we came across a mechanical issue that we hadn't encountered before, and because of its nature it means we have to take the car apart. As everyone in the pit lane is finding out this is a long process, so we decided to suspend running in the afternoon so that we can be ready for the final day. These issues are of course frustrating, but this was unrelated to the others so it's just a case of tackling each issue as it appears. A tough night in prospect but we hope to get a good day in tomorrow."
DAY TWO UPDATE
Seb posted a total of 59 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit on the second day of testing in the Gulf state, as the team made progress towards solving the reliability issues that have so far hampered our pre-season preparations.
Afterwards, Seb said his latest spell at the wheel of the RB10 had ended on a positive note.
"Definitely a better day today," he said. "We did more laps, so that's encouraging. It's good to check the car, check the reliability, but obviously there is a lot still to do. It was good to get a proper first feel for the car, and it feels OK but there's a lot more to come. It's difficult to talk about catching up [to rivals] because I don't know what other people are doing, but we did more laps than we have done so far and that's the big thing. We're learning every single lap, even if the quality of the lap is sometimes not the best. However, the most important thing is to run and we did that. The last two days have been very useful. I hope Daniel can get some more good laps in tomorrow."
Race Engineering Coordinator Andy Damerum added:
"We had a good day. We did a tremendous amount of work overnight and the guys really pulled it together – so much so that we were ahead of schedule with the car this morning. We were able to fix the problem we had yesterday very quickly and there were no lingering issues, so we managed some good running today. Every lap you turn gives you a huge amount of data and that's gold dust, so we're pleased with what we got done today. We're not out of the woods yet and we still have a lot of work to do, but the direction we've taken is looking like the right one. After a successful morning we tried some new elements late in the day, which we had been waiting for. Sebastian felt those were a big step forward, so overall a very encouraging session. The times of course are irrelevant, as we're solely focused on reliability at the moment, and in that respect we feel we are making good progress."
BAHRAIN TEST - DAY TWO TIMESHEET
1. Magnussen, McLaren, 1:34.910, 45 laps
2. Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:36.445, 59 laps
3. Alonso, Ferrari, 1:36.516, 96 laps
4. Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:36.965, 84 laps
5. Bottas, Williams, 1:37.328, 115 laps
6. Kobayashi, Caterham, 1:39.855, 65 laps
7. Vettel, Red Bull, 1:40.340, 58 laps
8. Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:40.609, 58 laps
9. Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:40.717, 55 laps
10. Grosjean, Lotus, 1:41.670, 18 laps
11. Chilton, Marussia, 1:42.511, 17 laps
DAY ONE UPDATE
Today the team continued our pre-season preparations in Bahrain where Seb put in 14 laps. After a long build in the morning, the champion made it out on track, but his progress was ended late in the afternoon by a mechanical issue.
"Obviously we're not happy with where we are now and we have a long way ahead of us," said Seb. "The first gut feeling from the car is OK, but we need more running. It's not easy to find a quick fix, but I think we understand the problems. We sorted out the issues from Jerez and we were able to do some laps today. However, very often you fix one problem and another pops up, which is what happened. That's testing. We all knew this year was a massive challenge and we knew it would be difficult. We obviously didn't want this, but it is what it is and we are working flat out to solve the problems."
Race Engineering Coordinator Andy Damerum added: "It's been a very long two weeks for everyone back at the factory, and I have to say that while it might not appear so on the surface there has been a big improvement since Jerez. We are obviously playing catch-up, and for us this was very much like a first test, so we were sending the car out to do one lap, then two and trying to build from there. In that regard the laps completed were good. However, we were sidelined by a mechanical gremlin but one unrelated to the issues in Jerez. That's the way of testing. All these problems have to be ironed out and only reveal themselves as you progress. We'll look at solving that issue now and we're itching to get out on track again tomorrow."
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