Force India endured a frustrating third days testing after reserve driver Jules Bianchi made, what he described as a ‘small mistake’, on his second lap.
The Frenchman got his first taste of the VJM05 just an hour into the days session, but on his third lap he span at Sito Pons and ended up in the gravel trap after making slight contact with the tyre barrier.
“I made a small mistake on my second run,” said Bianchi. “The tyres were a bit cold and I spun into the gravel and touched the wall with the right rear wheel.”
The damage to car the wasn’t severe, but due to a lack of parts, the Silverstone based outfit called an end to the day.
“It was not a very big impact, but it caused some damage,” he explained. “I’m very sorry because my mistake has cost the team a lot of time and effort.
“Going away from here I want to focus on the positives because we had a very good day yesterday and I’ve really enjoyed working with the team this week.”
Nico Hulkenberg, who had been scheduled to take over from Bianchi in the afternoon, will now get his first taste of the car on Friday.
“A bit frustrating to lose some track time today, but we will take it on the chin because we had two very productive days earlier in the week with plenty of mileage,” added Andrew Green, the teams technical director.
“The damage to the car was not that significant, but a lack of spares at this time of year meant we could not go back out in the afternoon. The car will be ready for tomorrow morning when Nico gets his test programme underway. We will resume the aero work we started this morning and make the most of the tyres that we saved from today’s limited running.”
