Selected quotes from day 4 in Bahrain:
Mercedes
Nico Rosberg
We can be very pleased with the first test in Bahrain this week. We completed a lot of mileage and learnt more about the car with every lap we achieved. This morning we were able to try some qualifying practice runs which felt good, meaning I could attack the lap a bit as I found a good balance. Later in the day we did a race simulation, which was crucial to learn all the new things in the car. There was a lot of feedback from the engineers, so my head was full of information! We suffered with an issue at the end of the day which ended our programme slightly early. There is still some way to go for us to manage the reliability before Melbourne as this will play a huge factor in the early races, but we're hopeful that we can make another step towards achieving this next week.
Paddy Lowe
The final day of the test today saw us complete some lower fuel runs on softer tyres to get a series of one-lap simulations under our belt. We were happy with how the car responded to this programme. We then moved onto a race distance that we were able to complete, albeit with a pause in the middle for a red flag. It was pleasing to be able to complete that amount of running without any problems in the car. We attempted a further test programme at the end of the day but an issue halted that earlier than we hoped, meaning our day ended there. It's been a very positive week but we still have a lot of work to do next week to be prepared in time for Melbourne. A great job so far by the whole team trackside and back at Brackley and Brixworth.
McLaren
Team statement: The fourth and final day of the first of two Bahrain pre-season tests. Jenson was again behind the wheel for McLaren Mercedes, completing 66 laps as the team worked through a suite of set-up changes.
This week’s test enabled the team to develop and refine areas of investigation that were initiated at the Jerez test earlier this month. This week’s run data will feed into next week’s test, also in Bahrain, when the team will update and run the MP4-29 in the specification intended for the season-opener in Melbourne.
Equally importantly, the team completed more than 1600km of largely trouble-free running – an encouraging figure given the important role that reliability will likely play in the opening races
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen We have managed to improve some things compared to Jerez and we continue to understand more about the behaviour of the car. We tried various solutions to try and be as well prepared as possible for next week’s test and for the start of the season.
Hitting the barrier? I spun on the kerb at the exit of turn 4, these things can happen! Luckily, it was right at the end of the day, I’m only sorry because it means the team now has more work to do.
Williams
Felipe Nasr
I am very happy to have driven a Formula 1 car for the first time, and reaching 87 laps made it also a very productive day. There were so many things going through my head before sitting in the car. It was what I was expecting though: very different to any other car I have ever driven with the amount of downforce, brake efficiency and the power. It was a learning process for me, but I was giving feedback to the engineers all day and I think we found some good things. I'm so pleased to have had this opportunity and I am now looking forward to the next time.
Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer
We had Felipe Nasr in the car today. He did a very good job for us. We were keen for him to get some experience of the FW36 under his belt as it's important that he gets up to speed quickly so he can help us with the development of the car. He had a very sensible measured approach so we are happy with what we have seen so far. He gives good feedback, works well with his engineers and is also quick, and so we couldn't ask for more and are also looking forward to running him at some races this season. Once again, were it not for the red flags we would have clocked up over 100 laps for the third day running, so that is a further positive. Overall, it has been a successful test covering most of our reliability work. We can now start to push on performance all the way up to Melbourne.
Lotus
Pastor Maldonado
We gained a lot more laps today and it was good for me to get time in the car. There was a lot of work with different settings, aero runs and similar which meant there was quite a lot to think about, but I think it all went well. The car was much more reliable which has helped with our work and hopefully it’s a good sign for next week.
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director
Today was much better for us and we’ve been able to go through a lot of different aero assessments as well as mapping and settings work with the new drivetrain. We did have a few glitches which stopped us but these were quickly rectified. We’re still very early on in our understanding of this car and we clearly have a lot of work to do, but today has been our most productive day so far.
Force India
Sergio Perez
It’s a shame to lose the track time this afternoon, but I think we can feel quite positive about what we have learned this week. Every lap in the car gives us more information and we are always trying something new. I was not able to do the long runs we planned this afternoon so it’s important to do those next week. We also need to start pushing the performance and set-up work, which is not really an area we have focussed on that much yet.
Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer:
Although we didn’t cover a large number of laps today, we were able to complete some aero work this morning and evaluate some more set-up items. The programme was cut short by a drivetrain issue just before lunch, which confined us to the garage for the rest of the afternoon. With the amount of work involved in resolving the problem and the lack of time available, we decided it was better to regroup and put our efforts into achieving our objectives next week
Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo
In all honesty it wasn't a great day today, I guess we still need more time. We have four more days coming up and hopefully we can maximise those. I have to say that on the run we did today the car did feel better. But unfortunately another problem arose and we couldn't exploit that potential. I hope we can do more running next week. I'm happy I'm doing the first two days. At this stage we just need laps and I'm just hanging to get back in the car.
Race Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum
This morning we felt like we were in good shape. We had everything completed ahead of schedule and got out in good time. However, on Daniel's install we noticed a software problem and that knocked us back for the morning. We got out again around lunchtime and put in a 10-lap run but we had to abort that as we had another mechanical issue. We brought Daniel back in and discovered some damage on the car, which following investigation was worse than we imagined. The guys worked really hard to get everything fixed and we were hopeful of getting out at the end of the day, even if just for an install.
In the end, though, I don't think it would have been possible as a couple of late red flags ended running for everyone. It's been a difficult week:
we've made some very good progress, particular on day two, but we've also had a number of problems that have again held us back. The engineering team will head back to Milton Keynes now to plan the next moves and we can only look forward and try to get everything in place for T-03 here next week.
Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne
There’s no point in making negative comments, because everyone knows we are facing major problems and we are not alone in that. We knew when we came to Bahrain that there had not been enough time since the previous test to have solved all our issues. On the positive side, we have managed to fix some of them now. Also, even if I have not done so many laps, it’s clear from those I have managed to complete, that Toro Rosso has done a good job to give me a car that feels nice to drive, if we talk about the elements that used to be the main topics before this year, such as the aero and mechanical side of the package. It’s frustrating, but we need to keep calm and not get stressed as there are still a few weeks before Melbourne. We will try again here in Bahrain starting on Thursday. Clearly, in Melbourne, just finishing the race will mean you have a good chance of scoring points.
Caterham
Marcus Ericsson
It's clearly not ideal that I couldn't run more today, but overall I'm pretty happy with how the first Bahrain test has ended. I did nearly 100 laps yesterday and that was really important, giving me time in the car to get used to the systems and start working properly on the tyres. We have a few days now to prepare for the third test and I can't wait to get back in the car.
Kamui Kobayashi
The team worked very hard to fix the electrical issue that cut my teammate's run short this morning and it was good to get out for the last hour. Obviously we couldn't get too much done in the time left, but we tried a couple of things that we'll look at tonight and be back for the final test next week when we want to step up the performance levels before we head to Australia.
Jody Egginton, Caterham F1 Team Deputy Technical Director
Overall this has been a positive test for us and Renault who have made good progress from where we were in Jerez. The multiple red flags throughout the four days hurt us and all the teams but we've run more laps than any of the other Renault powered cars and have made substantial progress on understanding how to operate the 2014 package, as well as completing significant long run mileage that has given us a lot of useful data on the car, power unit and the 2014 tyres. It's obviously disappointing that we had limited running today due to an electrical issue with the Power Unit but we worked hard throughout the day to rectify that problem with Renault and add more mileage for the last hour, so it wasn't a wasted day by any means.
Pace-wise, Kamui's time on day two was the first time we started really pushing overall performance and we know there is a lot more to come, from the Power Unit and the car in general, so we have plenty of reasons to be positive ahead of the final test here in Bahrain. Now we have a short break before T03 but the work continues, here in Bahrain and back at Leafield and we're looking forward to another successful final test here starting on Thursday.
Cedrik Staudohar, Track Support Leader, Renault Sport F1:
We can be reasonably pleased with how the first Bahrain test has gone for us and Caterham F1 Team. An enormous effort has been made by everyone at Viry and here on track to rectify the problems we encountered in Jerez and the mileage Caterham has been able to accumulate here shows we have made significant progress. Although the electrical issue today cost us some track time overall we have a lot more information about the electrical system, which we will build on in the next test. For the third test we will be increasing the Power Unit performance levels and are confident that with the improved reliability we have seen over the last four days we will be able to achieve the targets we have set for us and the team before we go to Melbourne.
Marussia
Team statement: On day four of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, we experienced a continuation of some component reliability issues. Since the first time these were encountered earlier this week, the team back at the Marussia Technical Centre have been working on revised components in order to resolve the problems. These arrived in Bahrain this morning and instead of pursuing running with the original parts, the trackside team opted to deviate from the planned programme in order to fit and shake down the new components before the end of the day’s running.
After a huge effort to prepare the car, we were able to return Jules to the track for the final 10 minutes of the session, but he completed only one lap before the session was red-flagged when Raikkonen crashed. The session was not restarted. Nonetheless, the expectation is that the new components will provide a better basis for next week’s test here at the Bahrain International Circuit
Sauber
Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering
We have learned a lot in the past four days. We were able to explore the different tyre compounds, complete aero tests, do qualifying and race simulation, just to name a few things. Of course it was frustrating to lose out on so much time today. We discovered a problem with an internal part of the monocoque, which is why we had to change the chassis. We have identified the problem and reinforced the new chassis for today. We put the necessary improvements in place and are confident that this will not happen again. The team worked incredibly hard to put the car back on track. But that’s what testing is for, and we are glad the issue came up now and not in Melbourne. Over the next few days we will be analysing a lot of data and start preparations for the final pre-season test next week.
Adrian Sutil
It was a disappointing day. We lost valuable time on track, even though the pit crew did an incredible job to have the car back together in the afternoon. These things happen when you are testing, and we learn from this. Now we will focus on getting the most out the four days we have left.