Silverstone Test: Day 2 Recap

Ferrucci’s best lap around the 5.891-kilometer (3.660-mile), 18-turn circuit, a 1:33.141, was earned in the afternoon on a set of Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires and scored him seventh fastest. It was his best overall time of the two-day test, beating his quickest time from Tuesday’s session by 1.7 seconds. Ferrucci ran 55 laps on Tuesday, surpassing the 300-kilometer (187 miles) requirement necessary for obtaining an FIA superlicense.

Kimi Raikkonen of Scuderia Ferrari set Wednesday’s fastest time (1:30.665), while Esteban Ocon of Mercedes ran the most laps (139).

Ferrucci currently competes in the GP3 Series with DAMS, an accomplished racing team that has helped graduate numerous drivers to the FIA Formula One World Championship. When Ferrucci took the wheel of the Haas VF-16 on Tuesday at Silverstone, it marked the first time an American driver had wheeled an American Formula One car since Oct. 9, 1977 when Danny Ongais drove a Penske PC4 in the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario.

Silverstone was the second and final in-season test for Formula One teams. Rules state that two days of each in-season test must be allocated to young-driver training, which is classified as someone who has competed in two or fewer grands prix. Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez participated in the first open test May 17-18 at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, making them ineligible for the Silverstone test but providing the opportunity for Ferrucci.

Santino Ferrucci, Development Driver, Haas F1 Team

“It was a great day and we achieved a lot for the team. We started with pit stop practices and everything went really well. I was then able to concentrate on some performance runs this afternoon. The soft tire was absolutely brilliant to drive on. The braking points are obviously a little bit later on the yellow tires and the traction was incredible. The guys did a great job setting up the car. The balance, for me, felt good all day. I had a lot of confidence in the car to really push the limits. Physically I felt good and the more laps I ran, the better I was feeling. It’s good to know I prepared well to be able to hop into the Formula One car from my GP3 car. Everything I’ve learned here will help me in the GP3 Series. The last couple of days have been a phenomenal experience. I couldn’t be happier.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“It was a good day again. In the morning we concentrated first on pit stop practice to get the team up to speed. It was also good for Santino to learn the processes as well as how to do some starts. We got a lot of data from it. The morning went very well, concluding with some runs on new tires so he (Ferrucci) could get a feel for how the car works. In the afternoon we continued with our program, including gathering some more aero data. We then concentrated on some more running for Santino to see how comfortable he was in the car. The last two days have been very worthwhile for us. It was a good job by Santino. He did more than we expected him to do. He only recently turned 18, and these cars aren’t easy to drive, but he was well prepared. Everybody on the team has been impressed with him.” 

Next Up

The FIA Formula One World Championship takes a weekend off before returning to action July 22-24 for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in Budapest. The GP3 Series will also be a part of the race weekend, with a pair of races July 23-24. Ferrucci will compete in both races for DAMS, and when not in the GP3 Series paddock, he will be embedded with Haas F1 Team during practice, qualifying and the race.