Jerez day 2: Max fifth after 73 valuable laps

Published on 02 February 2015 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished day two at Jerez in fifth position. It was his first outing in the STR10 this week. Scuderia Toro Rosso team mate Carlos Sainz drove the new car on the opening day of the first collective test.

It was not Max' first time at Jerez. At the end of 2013 and in March 2014, the youngster took to the track in a Formula Renault 2.0. From FR 2.0 to F1 is a big step but Max hit the ground running in Southern Spain. He completed 73 laps and achieved a fastest time of 1:24.167. 

Max clocked most of his laps in the morning session as the afternoon session was interrupted by rain. He explains: “In the morning we had some difficulties in warming up the brakes, but we fixed that very quickly. After that, we managed to do some long runs that helped me to learn about the new car straight away. In the afternoon it rained a bit, but it was useful for me to experience the intermediate tyres”, says Max reflecting on a valuable day of testing. “It feels good to finally start working for the upcoming season and I’m happy with my first test day here in Jerez.”

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel continued to impress in the Ferrari SF15 topping the time sheets for the second consecutive day. The German finished the day ahead of Sauber's F1 rookie Felipe Nasr, Williams ace Valtteri Bottas and reigning world champions Lewis Hamilton. The latter, in his Mercedes, completed the most laps of the day (91).

Red Bull surprised onlookers by sending Daniil Kvyat out without a front wing. The former Toro Rosso driver damaged the only wing available to the team and was forced to limited running.

Tuesday, Carlos Sainz will drive the STR10 after which Max will occupy the cockpit for the fourth and final test day on Wednesday.

Via Twitter and Facebook we'll keep you updated throughout the test followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action. You can find the schedule for the Jerez test here. Don't forget to check out our exclusive photo album.

Jerez day 2, Monday 2 February

1  Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari 	1m20.984		(88)
2  Felipe Nasr		Sauber 		1m21.867   +0.883	(88)
3  Valtteri Bottas	Williams 	1m22.319   +1.335	(61)
4  Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes 	1m22.490   +1.506	(91)
5  Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso 	1m24.167   +3.183	(73)
6  Pastor Maldonado	Lotus 		1m25.802   +4.818	(41)
7  Jenson Button	McLaren 	1m54.655   +33.671	(6)
8  Daniil Kvyat		Red Bull 	- 			(18)