Posted on 3rd February 2015
Yesterday, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel topped Formula 1 pre-season testing at Jerez for the second day running in the Ferrari SF15-T.
The four-time world champion set several laps faster than anyone else during two medium-tyre runs in the morning, and his position at the top of the times with a lap time of 1:20.984 was safe once a rain shower hit the track with an hour of running remaining.
Sauber used soft Pirelli tyres to take the runner-up spot for the second day running, with their new signing and rookie Felipe Nasr edging out Williams’s Valtteri Bottas when both were lapping on the yellow-sidewalled tyres at the same time in the afternoon. But Bottas finished the session in third place.
Once again, Mercedes topped the lap count again, but 2014 world champion Lewis Hamilton fell some way short of team-mate Nico Rosberg's day total of a 157 laps that was achieved at the first day of the test yesterday. Although Hamilton clocked 91 laps at the second day of testing, his day was cut short when a water leak forced him to stop the W06 in the pit entry of the Jerez circuit.
McLaren and Red Bull also endured troublesome days, with Jenson Button only completing six laps for the former and Daniil Kvyat failing to post a time for the latter. Button’s only laptime in the MP4-30 was 33 seconds off the pace and finished the day in seventh place, while Kvyat’s programme was limited to single-lap runs after he damaged Red Bull’s only front wing which forced him to run without one for the rest of the day's test session.
The second day of the test also marked the debut of the Lotus E23. Lotus missed the first day of testing due to issues with the car being transported. The Lotus team announced on Sunday that they would run on Tuesday and it was a fantastic achievement for them to be running today after the team worked hard during the night to build the car.
Maldonado and the E23 joined the action for the first time mid-morning and completed 41 laps with Pastor Maldonado who finished the day in sixth place. However, the Lotus was responsible for the only red flag of the day though, as a drivetrain issue forced Maldonado to stop on the approach to the final corner in the afternoon.
After the rain hit the Jerez circuit, very few teams went back out. However Vettel, Nasr, Max Verstappen and Button were the only drivers to take to the circuit in the wet.
Day Two Timesheet:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:20.984, 89 laps
2. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:21.867, 88 laps
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:22.319, 61 laps
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:22:490, 91 laps
5. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1:24.167, 73 laps
6. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1:25.802 41 laps
7. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:54.655, 6 laps
8. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, No time, 18 laps
Sarah Jones
