Michael Schumacher was behind the wheel of the new Mercedes AMG W03. A smooth morning session enabled the team to begin set-up comparisons with the new chassis. However, a hydraulic problem identified during the afternoon session brought an early end to the planned programme. Schumacher ended the day in sixth place.
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| Michael Schumacher, Mercedes AMG (Photo: WRI2) |
Mexican Sergio Pérez was seventh in the Sauber C31-Ferrari. The day was hampered by some technical issues, including a rear anti-roll bar which resulted in a total of 66 laps for the young Mexican.
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| Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham (Photo: WRI2) |
The Caterham CT01 of Heikki Kovalainen suffered a broken track rod which cost the team valuable track time.
Lotus F1 Team had to stop testing after Romain Grosjean and the engineers discovered that the new E20-02 chassis was not behaving correctly. After investigation at Enstone, initial plans to bring out chassis E20-01 to Barcelona have been held in order to give the team enough time to rectify the situation.
Second winter test session*, Barcelona, Spain, Day 1:
1. Vettel Red Bull 1m23.265s 79 laps
2. Hulkenberg Force India 1m23.440s 97
3. Hamilton McLaren 1m23.590s 114
4. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.618s 76
5. Alonso Ferrari 1m24.100s 75
6. Schumacher Mercedes 1m24.150s 51
7. Perez Sauber 1m24.219s 66
8. Senna Williams 1m25.711s 97
9. Kovalainen Caterham 1m26.035s 31
10. Grosjean Lotus 1m26.809s 7
11. Pic Marussia 1m28.026s 121
*Unofficial timing