Red Bull Racing
Sebastian Vettel: “It was quite a messy day because of the fog and there were quite a lot of red flags out there so it was hard to get into a good rhythm. We had our own stoppage on the circuit, but it was no problem. It’s never nice to stop but we brought the car back and it wasn’t a big problem. We didn’t fulfil the programme entirely but I think we are heading in a good way. I have one more day to go and so far testing has gone pretty well. Not perfect of course, it never is, but all in all I feel quite happy in the car. It’s more or less what we expected and hopefully we’ll have another two good days to prepare for the first race. The last couple of days of testing are always quite important as you always bring a few new things and it’s much closer to the car you will race in Melbourne, so we’ll see if that works out and hopefully we’ll be able to make another small step forward before the first.”
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: “Today was all about testing set-up. It was a good day: we learned quite a lot and improved a few things. We didn’t get a lot of mileage, as we had a lot of downtime in between changes. Our car feels better set-up wise, we still haven’t added the new aero package – so I think we’ll get a better picture of what the car will be like in Australia over the next two days. But I definitely feel like we have a competitive car. This year’s winter testing has been way better than last year. I’ve not had any problems, we’ve ironed out a lot of issues and I feel very comfortable. I’m fit and ready for Melbourne.”
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Michael Schumacher: “The start of our day was something of a struggle this morning, partly down to me as well, and it seemed as if the afternoon might start that way also. Fortunately the session turned out well, and we achieved all of the test items that we wanted. So in the end, it was a positive day, but we will only see later how we stand compared to the other teams.”
Lotus F1 Team
Romain Grosjean: “I’m very happy with the car, and it was great that we could still run strongly at the end of the session, even after a long stint. At the start of the day we suffered slightly with tyre degradation, but we changed a few things and this improved as the day went on. Today was the first race distance I’ve completed in a long time and I’m feeling pretty good. No doubt my neck will be a little sore tomorrow, but the rest of me is fine!”
Williams F1
Pastor Maldonado: “Our focus today was on pitstop practice, which is important to do before we get into a live race situation. Getting a clean, fast pitstop involves a combination of factors from both the team and driver. From my side, I have to position the car correctly in the box, get a good pull away from the stop and make sure I have clean in- and out-laps. We are trying many different things to improve all of these areas.”
Bruno Senna: “This afternoon was great as we did a lot of practice to understand our pitstop performance as a team. It is very important to practice as you come in at 100kph, the speed you would do on a motorway, and jump into a space just the size of the car. There is a lot of time to be made, and races can be decided by pitstops. I think we’ve really improved our performance today. I’m now looking forward to doing some stops in a race, and to being quick and precise when the pressure is on.”
Sahara Force India
Nico Hulkenberg: “The day started well with some set-up work and new tyres runs, but we had some downtime in the afternoon, which limited my mileage. It’s a bit frustrating, but we’ve had a pretty good winter so far and it’s nothing to worry about. I’ve got one more day in the car before we travel to Melbourne, so I will try to make the most of it and carry out a full race simulation.”
Sauber F1 Team
Kamui Kobayashi: “I am pretty happy with the car and its handling under race conditions. We wanted to improve compared to the last test, and we clearly did that. Obviously we couldn’t do everything we had on our programme, but I think we can compensate for that. We still have two days of testing left and I’m very much looking forward to being in the car again on Sunday. Of course it is too early to know where we are compared to the others, but the feeling is good.”
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne: “Of course it is a shame my winter testing ended with a less than satisfactory day, with not so many laps completed. However, yesterday we did a lot of running and the team still has two more days here with Daniel and I believe we can therefore make up for lost time. The day was not a complete wash- out, as we got some useful data in the morning and did yet more pit stop practices this afternoon. Since Jerez, the team and I have worked very hard to get me as ready as possible for the season and now, I’m looking forward to taking part in my first ever Grand Prix when the championship starts in Australia.”
Caterham F1 Team
Heikki Kovalainen: “I’m pleased with how today has gone. I’m still not quite 100% after a bit of food poisoning kept me away from the track yesterday, but I’m pretty much over it and the way today has gone is good news. We keep going in the right direction and seem to have put the little issues that were holding us up behind us and the number of laps we’ve now run means I’m starting to be able to fine tune the setup and find a balance I’m really happy with. There’s still more to come in outright pace and we’ll work more on that tomorrow, but I think we can say this has been another good day for the whole team.”
