Hulkenberg leads the way halfway through Barcelona day 3
Published on 24 February 2016 by Stefan Meens
For the first time a Mercedes powered engine topped the timing sheets after one of the pre-season test sessions. It was not the Mercedes factory team, but Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg who set the fastest lap in the morning session of the third day of the first pre-season test at Barcelona.
The German outpaced Renault’s Kevin Magnussen by 0.7s and Nico Rosberg (0.8s) by lapping the Circuit de Catalunya in a 1:25.266. Max Verstappen did not feature in the morning’s test. The Dutchman is scheduled to drive the new STR11 on the final day of the first pre-season on Thursday. Team mate Carlos Sainz is on testing duty today.
Like the two opening days, it is Mercedes that hit the track first at 9am local time. And similar to the previous days, it was the German team that clocks the most laps. Nico Rosberg went round the Spanish circuit 74 times, highlighting the Merc’s reliability.
The pace setters of the previous two days, Ferrari, were unable to gather much data this morning. The Maranello based team reached a total of four laps with Kimi Raikkonen not setting a time. Renault, however, bounced back after two difficult days as Kevin Magnussen completed 63 laps setting the second fastest lap of the session.
Carlos Sainz had a productive morning for Scuderia Toro Rosso. The Spaniard managed 66 laps, exceeding the number of laps he completed on the whole of Monday. Despite the valuable track time gained, the Faenza based squad had small issue after a pit stop simulation. One of the rear wheels was not mounted on correctly, forcing Sainz to stop the car at the end of the pit lane. The session is red flagged, but is resumed shortly after the Toro Rosso mechanics have pushed the STR11 back to their garage.
Sister team Red Bull swapped Daniel Ricciardo after two days of testing for Daniil Kvyat. Despite the Russian not completing a lot of laps, the Red Bull is only two tenths of the Toro Rosso’s pace.
F1 rookie and debutant Rio Haryanto caused the second red flag of the morning by spinning into the gravel in turn five.
Pre-season test 1, day 3 - Circuit de Catalunya - Wednesday 24 February 2016
MORNING SESSION 1. Hülkenberg Force India VJM09 1:25.286 37 2. Magnussen Renault RS16 1:26.014 +0.728 61 3. Rosberg Mercedes W07 1:26.084 +0.798 73 4. Sainz jr Toro Rosso STR11 1:26.239 +0.953 65 5. Kvyat Red Bull Racing RB12 1:26.497 +1.211 28 6. Massa Willliams FW38 1:26.712 +1.426 56 7. Nasr Sauber C34 1:26.840 +1.554 59 8. Button McLaren MP4-31 1:26.919 +1.633 44 9. Grosjean Haas F1 VF-16 1:26.955 +1.669 53 10. Haryanto Manor F1 MRT05 1:29.808 +4.522 25 11. Räikkönen Ferrari SF16-H geen tijd 4
