Jerez Day 1: Rosberg and Mercedes Lead on Wet Track!

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes driver, finished on top of the first test day of the week in Jerez where rain made its big return to Formula 1. The 24-year-old was the fastest during the first hour before the rain to set a best time of 1:20.927, just 0.104 seconds ahead of Sébastien Buemi for Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Despite this good time, his day ends badly as he causes a red flag 10 minutes before the end of the session. The German remains stuck on the track on his 58th lap. But Rosberg can be proud of his day as he felt much more comfortable in the car than in Valencia last week.

« The car was very good today. In Valencia, I was sitting too low, which affected my visibility. Additionally, the setup wasn’t perfect, but today I felt really comfortable. I was able to push, and it was a pleasant day. »

Due to the bad weather, the fastest drivers of the day are those who went out during the first hour. Thus, Mark Webber’s Red Bull RB6 does no better than the ninth and penultimate time. The car was still being set up in the morning. The Australian completed 47 laps before being forced to stop on the track due to an oil leak. He could only rejoin the session in the last 15 minutes as an engine change was necessary. However, Rosberg’s red flag allowed him to complete only three more laps.

« It’s frustrating to find that a simple component issue late in the morning leads to an engine change later in the day. It cost us a lot of time, » said Ian Morgan, who heads the race engineering team. « However, the most disappointing thing today was the weather. It’s good to do tests on a wet track, but it’s not ideal when it’s your first time. We hope for better conditions in the future. »

The Force India VJM03 was also unveiled to the public for the first time, with Vitantonio Liuzzi behind the wheel as Adrian Sutil had handled the shakedown at Silverstone. The Italian set the seventh fastest time of the day, four seconds behind Rosberg. Importantly, this time was set while the car was completing installation laps and before the rain.

« On dry ground, the balance was good, » claims Liuzzi, who completed 71 laps. « Even though the arrival of the rain made it more difficult to judge the car. »

Williams has accumulated numerous kilometers with the Cosworth engine. Nico Hülkenberg, who set the third-best time during the first hour, completed 118 laps. The team indicated that it was happy with the progress made. Hülkenberg was also one of the fastest drivers on a wet track with a benchmark time of 1:25.950s before the rain intensified.

Fernando Alonso, in his second appearance in a Ferrari, finished in fourth place behind Buemi and Hülkenberg. The Spaniard missed most of the morning after setting his time, but the team’s hopes of seeing the track dry up were in vain. However, he completed several runs in the afternoon, for a total journey of 88 laps.

« We are satisfied because we were able to gather a lot of data, which is important for reliability, » said Alonso. « We hope the weather will improve in the coming days because it is important to drive on a dry track. The car performed very well on a wet track. The feeling is good, just like on the dry. In any case, I felt positive sensations today. »

Kamui Kobayashi for Sauber also experienced a limited program due to the weather. He drove throughout the day to complete only 55 laps. The Japanese driver achieved only the fifth overall time, ahead of Jenson Button, whose McLaren was equipped with an aerodynamic sensor. The team installed it to try to maximize the data collected.

Vitaly Petrov completed only 27 laps on his second day in the Renault R30. After achieving his best time during the first hour, he stayed in the pits until the afternoon. Despite the absence of mechanical issues, the team preferred to limit his track time.

The new Virgin VR-01 made its public debut and was in the hands of German driver Timo Glock. The team brought new parts that arrived in Spain between Tuesday night and Wednesday. That’s why the car didn’t hit the track before the afternoon. After two installation laps, Glock completed three laps in the afternoon, setting a best time of 1:38.734s.

The tests continue today with only one change planned: Michael Schumacher replaces Nico Rosberg at Mercedes.

Results of Private Tests Jerez – Day 1 – Wednesday, February 10, 2010: