Barcelona day 4: Grosjean P1, Mercedes impressive

Published on 22 February 2015 by Stefan Meens

On the final day of the second collective pre-season Formula 1 test, Roman Grosjean clocked the fastest lap of the day(1:24.067). However, Mercedes stole the headlines with Nico Rosberg managing to set the second quickest lap on a set of the harder compound.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen's Scuderia Toro Rosso team mate Carlos Sainz ends the day as the sixth fastest driver. Unfortunately, the Spaniard's running is cut short. Around 3pm,Sainz loses control of the STR10 in turn 3 and hits the barrier. Toro Rosso spend the rest of the afternoon investigating the incident, meaning Sainz' day end prematurely.

The Formula 1 rookie is not the only driver to cause a red flag. Earlier in the day, during the morning session, Fernando Alsono crashed his McLaren-Honda, also in turn 3. The team released a statement: “Fernando hit the barrier with the right side of the car. After which, he was taken to the medical centre where doctors provided first aid. He was conscious and talked to the doctors. However, as is the procedure in these situations, Fernando was taken to hospital for check ups.”

Throughout the day, several other red flags interrupted the sessions, however none were of the double world champion's severity. Nico Hulkenberg, in the 2014 Force India, Williams' flying Fin Valtteri Bottas and Sauber rookie Felipe Nasr were all forced to park their car due to technical issues.

In the end, Roman Grosjean set the pace, with Rosberg and Daniil Kvyat completing the top three. The third and final pre-season test will take place next week, February 26 until March 3. The Circuit the Barcelona-Catalunya will once again host the F1 class for 2015.

Second pre-season test - Barcelona day 4 - Sunday 22 February:

Pos      Driver                 Car              Time                   Laps
1 	 Romain Grosjean	Lotus	         1m24.067s		(111)
2 	 Nico Rosberg		Mercedes	 1m24.321s  +0.254	(131)
3 	 Daniil Kvyat		Red Bull	 1m24.941s  +0.874	(104)
4 	 Felipe Nasr		Sauber	 	 1m24.956s  +0.889	(73)
5 	 Valtteri Bottas	Williams	 1m25.345s  +1.278	(129)
6 	 Carlos Sainz Jr	Toro Rosso	 1m25.604s  +1.537	(88)
7 	 Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	 	 1m26.312s  +2.245	(76)
8 	 Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	 1m26.591s  +2.524	(36)
9 	 Fernando Alonso	McLaren	         1m27.956s  +3.889	(20)