Motorsports Mondial

Drivers looking towards Melbourne.

Kimi Räikkönen:

“I was happy with today’s running. We didn’t have any major issues so it was certainly better than yesterday. Everything worked, we tried a lot of set-ups on the car and it all came together well. It was a long time in the car today but I feel fine. It was cooler today so the tyres didn’t work as well as otherwise but everything was okay. Of course, the fastest time at the end of the day looks good but no-one will know how fast any of the cars are until we get to qualifying at Albert Park. All the changes we have made over testing have been improving the car, so we’ll have to see what happens in Melbourne in a couple of weeks’ time. I’m feeling positive.”

Bruno Senna:

We had a productive morning completing a number of tyre tests and aero runs. It has been interesting to see the car developing. Overall we’ve had a good few days of running here in Barcelona.  We are still improving, but I feel we are in a solid position to go to Australia.

Pastor Maldonado:

We completed some good runs this afternoon and ended our test programme without issue. I’m feeling positive, and ready for Australia.

Nico Hulkenberg:

“We managed to fit a lot in today and hopefully when we have been through all the data we will have learned a lot, too. The race weekend simulation was useful, but unfortunately my race distance was cut short, so we will rely more on the data from Paul’s run yesterday. We were also busy trying all the tyre compounds to learn more about tyre management and how to get the most from them. You always want more time in the car, but I think we can be pleased with how our three tests have gone. We still need to find some more performance because the whole grid looks very close and competitive, and I expect the grid in Melbourne to be extremely tight.”

Vitaly Petrov:

 “I am more than happy with how we went today. The team has done a fantastic job all day and we’ve been improving in every area each time we went out. I had my new seat today so I’m really starting to get comfortable in the car and the laptimes are coming down, the setup is improving and everything is working really well. The last lap before lunch was close to perfect for me, with the conditions and the way the car behaved, but we know there is still more to come so that is good news, it keeps us pushing.

“This afternoon we were looking at a race simulation and despite the slightly early end to the day it all went to plan. The degradation levels were manageable and we didn’t have any issues at all with any of the systems – KERS, engine, gearbox or anything mechanical. We do have work to do, that’s the same for everyone, but I think we have prepared as well as we can for Melbourne so for me this has been a really good first couple of weeks with the team.”