Max puts in stunning laps during the last FR 2.0 test of the year

Published on 16 December 2013 by Verstappen Info Page

Max Verstappen successfully concluded his last Formula Renault 2.0 test of the year at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain. Throughout 2013, the sixteen year old talent contested in several FR2.0 test, often claiming the fastest lap times. And once again, Max could reflect on a successful day of testing as he maintained Saturday's fine form, storming to second fastest.

Max' time, a 1:39.2, was just a tenth shy of the fastest lap and put him in the top region of the leader boards, as over forty drivers contested in the two day FR2.0 test at Jerez. It is therefore hardly surprising that Max was in a good mood after a long weekend of testing with Josef Kaufmann Racing: "Today, like Saturday went very well. I was right on the pace early in the morning. After using a scrubbed set of tyres to get the car up to temperature, I went out on fresh tyres and was really able to push hard."

The tyres have a very specific window in which they operate to their full potential. This means the drivers only have a couple of laps to set the best time. Max explains: "Jerez is a really nice track but the tarmac is pretty rough which means the tyre wear is high so everything has to fall into place to get that perfect lap. It's a great challenge". As we have come to expect from the talented Dutchman, Max delivered the goods: "It all went rather well on my fastest laps as I didn't experience much traffic and I felt comfortable setting my fastest times."

In the afternoon, the Dutchman changed his priorities: "The track started to lose its speed as the temperature rose to 22 degrees so we decided to try different set ups. Some of the changes worked, others did not. But from the information you gather, you try to find the best set up", explains Max as he elaborates on his collaboration with Joseph Kaufmann Racing. "Working together with this team has been a huge pleasure. You really work in a relaxed and comfortable environment with a bunch of experienced people. These guys work to a very high standard, and as we go through the data we analyse every detail to get the perfect set up. In addition, we analyse my onboard footage with the race engineer, which makes these test days incredible valuable."

In contrast to his previous FR2.0 tests, father and mentor Jos Verstappen did not accompany his son in Spain. "I think I coped well without Jos", smiles Max.
Despite there not being official timing, we have reliable track and time data as pretty much all teams, revealed their lap times. The most relevant times are displayed below.

Lap times FR 2.0 test Jerez, Sunday December 15 (unofficial):

Josef Kaufmann Racing
Max Verstappen      1:39.2s
Gustav Malja        1:39.4s
Kevin Jörg          1:39.4s

Manor MP Motorsport
Ignacio d'Agosto    1:39.1s
Steijn Schothorst   1:39.2s
Roy Geerts          1:40.5s

Fortec Motorsports
Ben Barnicoat       1:39.5s
Matt Parry          1:39.7s
Jack Aitken         1:39.9s
Charles Leclerc     1:39.9s
Nicklas Nielsen     1:40.5s

Prema Powerteam
Dennis Olsen        1:39.6s
Hans Villemi        1:39.6s
Bruno Bonifacio     1:39.9s

AV Formula
Beitske Visser      1:39.7s

ART Junior Team
Levin Amweg         1:39.8s
Aurélien Panis      1:39.9s
Callan O'Keefe      1:40.1s

KTR
Gregor Ramsay       1:40.2s
Jules Gounon        1:40.3s

Niels Hendrix / Stefan Meens