Robert Kubica: I think we can split the day into two halves because we had some problems in the morning and we only managed to do our first real run about 1:30pm. But, after we solved the issues with the car, we managed to do a bit of set-up evaluation and some tyre work. However, because of the time we lost this morning we didn’t complete the laps we targeted, but it’s better to get any reliability issues with the car during testing, rather than when we get to the first race in Bahrain.
Adrian Sutil: It felt good to be in the car again after a few months away! Everything went pretty smoothly, as we expected with the VJM03, so we could complete the work we wanted to do. Paul and Nico had collected a lot of data on the tyres in the previous two days, so my aim today was to continue this work on alternative set-ups and fuel loads. We got all the information we needed and I feel like we understand the tyre performance pretty well now. Having got back into the car again I now can’t wait to get my first taste of the VJM04 next week in Jerez.
Mark Webber: Today was the first good long run in the car for me, so we learnt a lot. There are some quick cars out there, but it was a good finish to the test for us. We had a good day one and day three, day two wasn’t quite so productive, but overall the team has done a bloody awesome job – to get the car here for the first test and do the work we’ve done straight out of the box, it’s impressive.
Felipe Massa: We had a problem right at the start of the morning, when I was out on very old tyres. It was not nice having to stop pretty much before I’d started the real work, but then, it was a relief to find out it was nothing that serious. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time and, in the afternoon I tried to make up for it and get a feeling for the new car.
(continued): I am pleased with how they [the tyres] behaved. I think that the fact there is a definite level of degradation is a positive thing in terms of the spectacle. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to do more laps, but the feeling I had was similar to the one from Abu Dhabi, even if that was at the wheel of a very different car. In my opinion, there is not that much that needs changing and I think Pirelli is working in the right direction. We did not try the hardest tyre here, because this track is not best suited to them: when we have done that, then it will be possible to give a more complete evaluation of them.
Sergio Perez: I’m very happy with how things went today. It was a busy day and I learnt a lot about the systems and the car, while the team also collected a lot of information. We will keep working hard to improve – me personally from a driver’s perspective and all together, of course, with regards to the car. I’m already very much looking forward to the next test in Jerez and can’t wait to run the C30 again.
Sebastien Buemi: Another interesting day, my first full one in the new car. I was able to have a good look at all three compounds of tyre from Pirelli, from the Medium through to the Super-soft. I used KERS all day and we had no issues with the system. The first three days of running with the new car have been productive, and now we must prepare to make progress in Jerez next week.
Jarno Trulli: It has been a very positive first day, despite the fact we deliberately didn’t set any meaningful laptimes as the car is missing a few parts that will be with us tomorrow. Nevertheless, the car feels great – it has good grip and today we were able to concentrate on carrying out work on the systems which we were going to have to do at some point anyway. Now we can concentrate on building up the performance levels tomorrow and in the next tests, so while it’s a shame I couldn’t have a full taste of the car, it was still a very positive first day in the new car.
Pastor Maldonado: I am feeling much more confident in the car now using both the KERS and the rear wing. I am also working even better with the team and developing the car over both long and short runs. I am feeling better every time I get in the car.
