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| Pascal Wehrlein took control of the Mercedes W06 Hybrid on day one |
After a dominant 1-2 in the race at Austria, Mercedes dominated the final in-season test of the Formula 1 season at the Spielberg circuit, with Pascal Wehrlein taking the honours for the team on day one,with a best time of 1m11.005s, and completing 67 laps of the Red Bull Ring, despite the morning part of the session being rained off, allowing for a two hour extension to the end of the session.
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| Esteban Ocon got behind the wheel of the Force India VJM08 |
Esteban Ocon completed a good 76 laps at the wheel of the B-spec Force India, with a best time of 1m11.192s , just over a tenth slower than Wehrlien. The Force India team were buoyed by the car's performance, with the full package finally appearing at Silverstone in less than a weeks time, potentially with an inventive nostril nose (not shown in the picture above!).
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| Max Verstappen had a busy day in the Toro Rosso STR10 |
Max Verstappen finished the day with a very impressive 92 laps, and a best time of 1m11.328s. Verstappen had enjoyed a strong Austrian Grand Prix, finishing P8 after fighting with Pastor Maladonado's Lotus, and carried on that good form in the test with some impressive lap times, given the conditions on the day.
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| Antonio Fuoco kicks up the spray in the SF15-T |
Antonio Fuoco made his testing debut at the hands of the Ferrari SF15-T, and posted a best time of 1m11.331s and 71 laps, and gathered some good data for the Scuderia. He did blot his copybook later on in the day by crashing the car, but it was a solid debut for the Ferrari Driver Academy racer.
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| Romain Grosjean had a fairly quiet day in the Lotus |
Romain Grosjean was next up with the Lotus in fifth place, completing a rather smaller number of laps at 45, with a best time of 1m11.509s. The Frenchmen sadly retired from the Grand Prix on the Sunday thanks to gearbox issues, and will be hoping for a much better race at Silverstone.
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| GP2 race Pierre Gasly got some more laps under his belt in the RB11 |
Pierre Gasly returned to the wheel of the Red Bull RB11, posting a best time of 1m11.757s and completing a very respectable 80 laps, as Red Bull seek to turn their so far atrocious season around. With Force India eyeing their fourth place in the constructors championship with the B-spec VJM08, Red Bull really do need to pick up the pace.
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| Raffaele Marciello was in action again for Sauber |
Raffaele Marciello was next up in the Sauber C34, with a lower lap total of 53, and a best time of 1m11.826s, the last man to post a time in the 1m11's. Marciello is having a solid season in GP2, and hopes that if his performances continue to be good their, he may end up racing for Sauber in 2016.
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| Stoffel Vandoorne got behind the wheel of the troublesome MP4-30 |
McLaren's troubled MP4-30 completed 76 laps at the hands of GP2 sensation Stoffel Vandoorne, who had the perfect few days, with a 1st and 2nd in the GP2 races, before driving the McLaren in the test. The team said they had a good day despite the weather, electing to use the older nose before Alonso switched to the new short one the following day. Vandoorne's best lap time was a 1m12.530s.
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| Susie Wolff was in action again for Williams, giving the FW37 a 39 lap run |
Finally, Susie Wolff got another chance to drive the Williams FW37, with a best time of 1m13.248s and only managing 39 laps, the weather disrupting Williams program. She enjoyed herself though and trialed some strange new parts, most noticeably a winglet in front of the rear tyres, which the team said they were using to gather data. Whilst the Williams winglet was illegal, due to its size, there is a loophole for winglet's to be there...will a smaller one appear at Silverstone?
Here is the table with all the lap times and lap totals;
Day two
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| Nico Rosberg topped the table on day two with a busy day in the Austrian mountains |
After dominating the race on Sunday, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg kept up the momentum and posted the fastest time on the second day of the test, completing a fantastic 117 laps and posting a best time of 1m09.113s. Rosberg no doubt has high hopes for Silverstone, where he won in 2013 and took pole last year. Can he keep up the momentum and beat Hamilton on home ground?
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| Esteban Gutierrez had another run in the SF15-T |
Esteban Gutierrez returned to the wheel of the SF15-T after driving the car at the Barcelona test and posted the second fastest time of the day, with a 1m09.931, and completing a very good 110 laps, only 7 less than Rosberg as Ferrari try harder and harder to bring down the Mercedes star.
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| Valtteri Bottas sparks his way onto the start/finish straight in the FW37 |
Williams had a much better second day of the test, with Valtteri Bottas completing a solid 79 laps at the wheel of the FW37, with a best time of 1m10.029s, third fastest for the day. Williams are now firmly back as one of Formula 1's top teams and have high hopes for the best few races. Lets see if they can close the gap to Ferrari.
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| DTM champ Marco Wittmann had a very busy day at Toro Rosso! |
Reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann got his first taste of F1 machinery, driving the Toro Rosso STR10, as a reward for winning the 2014 DTM championship. Wittmann should have driven the 2012 car last year, but the day was rained off, so he got to drive the latest machine, as well as giving Toro Rosso some good data. Wittmann completed an astonishing 154 laps, and posted a respectable best time of 1m10.103s, fourth fastest for the day. Whether we will see him in an F1 car again, who knows? But he did enjoy his day, which is always good to hear!
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| Pascal Wehrlein was in action again for Force India, just like he was pre-season |
Pascal Wehrlein was once again in action, this time for Force India as they continued to get the B-spec car ready for Silverstone. Wehrlein posted a best lap time of 1m10.253s, and completed 132 laps, more good data for the team, as they prepare themselves for an important race.
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| Jolyon Palmer had a good day in the Lotus E23 Hybrid |
Britain's Jolyon Palmer was back at the wheel of the Lotus E23 Hybrid, clocking up 110 laps and with a best time of 1m10s.288. The GP2 champion from last year is no doubt frustrated he is not racing this season, but is enjoying his reserve role at Lotus, and is working hard for a race seat in Formula 1 for 2016.
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| Fernando Alonso got some good mileage in the updated McLaren-Honda |
Fernando Alonso managed to get some good mileage on McLaren's new upgrades, 104 laps on the board for the Spaniard and some useful data for the team, after he tangled with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. His best time was a 1m10.718s.
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| Fernando takes a selfie whilst sat in the MP4-30 |
Fernando even managed to take a quick selfie before heading out for another run in the MP4-30. Despite the cars lack of pace so far, he seemed to have enjoyed himself! Those upgrades giving him confidence maybe?
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| Daniel Ricciardo may have had a brake issue, but it didn't stop him putting in over 100 laps! |
Daniel Ricciardo had a good day at the wheel of his Red Bull RB11, with 116 laps on the board and a best time of 1m10.827. The car did stop with brake issue's an hour from the end of the session, but the team did get Ricciardo back out again later on, completing a few more laps before the checkered flag.
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| Felipe Nasr and Sauber had a good second day at the test |
Finally, Felipe Nasr finished at the bottom of the timesheets for Sauber, with 138 laps on the board and a best lap time of 1m10.922s, although the impressive lap total was no consolation for the horrific race the team had on Sunday. Manor Marussia, as in Barcelona, didn't take part in the test, as they would learn nothing running a car they have now ran for nearly a season and a half. Lap counts and times/gaps for day two are below;
The next race is of course the British Grand Prix this weekend at Silverstone, where Hamilton will look to make it another home win. Rosberg however won their in 2013, took pole last year and was on course for victory until gearbox issue's intervened. Can he beat Hamilton again? Until next time folks, ciao!
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| Valtteri Bottas heads down to turn 8, as he prepares to start another lap |
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