Barcelona Test No.2: Day 2 Recap
February 27, 2019
Date: Wednesday, February 27
Location: Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, Spain
Layout: 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile), 16-turn circuit
Driver: Romain Grosjean
Laps Completed: 120 laps
Distance Completed: 558.60 kilometers (347.04 miles)
Best Lap Time: 1:18.330 (5th overall)
Fastest Lap: 1:17.144 by Carlos Sainz of McLaren F1 Team
Most Laps: 130 laps by Carlos Sainz of McLaren F1 Team & Robert Kubica of Williams Racing
Romain Grosjean returned to preseason testing with Rich Energy Haas F1 Team Wednesday at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya. The 32-year-old Frenchman recorded a solid 120 laps around the 4.655-kilometer (2.892-mile),16-turn track, adding to the 198 laps he accumulated in last week’s opening test.
Grosjean’s fastest time was a 1:18.330, earned on a set of Pirelli C5’s. It placed him fifth among the 13 drivers who turned laps Wednesday at the home of the Spanish Grand Prix.
The day started with a series of short timed stints on C2 and C3 rubber, followed by longer outings to take Grosjean’s tally to 57 laps by the lunch break. The afternoon run plan saw Grosjean sample the two softest compounds offered in preseason testing, the C4 and C5 tires. He used the softer of the two options, the C5, to good effect in the final hour of track time, setting his best marker on his 110th lap of the day.
McLaren F1 Team’s Carlos Sainz set the day’s quickest time (1:17.144) and ran the most laps (130) along with Robert Kubica of Williams Racing.
In a change to the previously scheduled order, the final two days of testing will see Grosjean and Magnussen share the driving duties each day, starting Thursday with Magnussen running the morning and Grosjean the afternoon. Grosjean will then drive Friday morning with Magnussen concluding testing that afternoon.
Romain Grosjean:
“It’s been a good day with a fair number of laps. We had a bit of a slow start in the morning, but then we got into it, we did the program we wanted. I drove the car in different conditions. It still feels really good, it reacts very well. There are a lot of things we’re improving day-after-day. The team’s doing a great job and I feel we’re headed in the right direction. I’m looking forward to getting more laps in this week.”
Guenther Steiner:
“It was another good day of testing. We enjoyed quite a bit of running, we got more than 100 laps which is always good. I think we’re making up for all the time we lost last week. We’re learning, trying to find out what the tires are doing, and what we need to do on the set-up. A couple more days like this and we’ll be ready for Melbourne.”
ENDS