The first test in Barcelona was a helpful, but frustrating day for Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Alonso managed to finish seventh, setting a time of 1:24.170, over 2.5 seconds slower than that of Mark Webber. Despite the lowly position, the Spaniard seemed happy with the test.
“It wasn’t a perfect day, but it was very helpful nevertheless,” he told the official Ferrari website at the end of the day.
Ferrari were focused on evaluating some new aero upgrades brought to the test, including new wheel discs to channel the air into the brakes and around the wheels better and a fin on the bonnet similar to that used in 2008.
“We had several new things in the car and we collected some data to see how they work. Now we’ve got to understand how to exploit them.” He added.
The day didn’t go without problem, an electrical fault caused Alonso to stop out on track at turn 10. A few hours were lost to the problem, but he was soon back out onto the dirty and windy track, as he later described it.
“The track wasn’t great today. A little dirty and windy. It’s always interesting to drive on a circuit, where you’ll also have a Grand Prix, because you start seeing some aspects you’ll have to deal with later on. All in all I’d say it was a good day.”
