Nico Rosberg sets fastest time on last day of testing

David Bodapati March 4, 2013

420 2 minutes read

Barcelona, 3 March 2013: Nico Rosberg completed the final day of pre-season testing for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday. With twelve days of track action completed over three tests, the team will return to base to make the final preparations for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in two weeks time.

Meanwhile, Sahara Force India wrapped up its winter testing programme in Barcelona today with Paul Di Resta completing 112 laps in the VJM06.

Day Four Numbers:

Chassis: VJM06-03

Laps: 112 laps

Mileage: 521 km

Fastest lap: 1:21.664

Classification: P6 of 13

Paul Di Resta: “My last day in the car before Melbourne and we made the most of it. The race distance this afternoon was straightforward and there were no red flags while we were running. The weather was much warmer today and that gives us useful tyre information, which we can compare with the data we have from Adrian’s work yesterday in similar conditions.”

Jakob Andreasen, Chief Race Engineer

“Winter testing comes to an end with another full day and a race simulation for Paul. Combined with the race distance for Adrian yesterday, we’ve achieved our mileage target and have a much better understanding of the performance windows of the tyres. Two weeks today we will be racing in Melbourne and we are feeling positive and pretty well prepared. Our reliability has been good and we’ve made steady progress through the job list. As always at this time of year, it’s a case of all hands on deck, both at the track and back at base, but everybody has played their part to ensure a smooth winter programme over the last few weeks.”

AMG Mercedes Press Re

Motor Racing - Formula One Testing - Test Three - Day 4 - Barcelona, Spain — Paul Di Resta on the last day of Barcelona testing on 3 Mar 2013. A Sahara Force India Photo.

lease said:

Nico’s programme today focused on set-up evaluations over short runs in the morning and longer runs this afternoon
His fastest time of the day was set during the morning session on the soft compound Pirelli tyres
Nico completed 131 laps, just under two race distances, which was the highest mileage recorded today

The F1 W04 has completed 5224 km over the three tests, with Nico and Lewis totalling 2640 km & 2584 km respectively.

Nico Rosberg
I’m pleased with our pre-season testing programme. We have achieved a lot of mileage and I can feel that the balance of the car is good. I have the general feeling that we are in a better position than in the second half of last year but this is testing not racing, of course. The conditions in the first race will be completely different to here as it will be much hotter in Melbourne and Sepang so we need to wait and see. Thanks to the team here at the track and back home at the factory for all their hard work over the last month. I hope it pays off and we can look forward to a positive season ahead together.

Ross Brawn
With the conclusion of our testing programme, I am pleased with the progress that the team has made over the last month and the steps forward that have been made with the car. We have achieved our objectives for the test programme and the mileage that we have been able to complete has been very satisfying. Lewis has settled into the team extremely well and everyone has enjoyed working with both him and Nico throughout the three tests. We now have one final week back at the factory to complete our preparations; both drivers will be at the factory this week and, as always, there is a lot of work to do in a short space of time. We’re realistic about our performance here and our position once we get to Melbourne, and we look forward to the challenge of a new season ahead.

Pos.	Driver	Car	Time	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS	1:20.130	131
2	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:20.494	120
3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:21.444	122
4	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	1:21.541	118
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	1:21.658	50
6	Paul Di Resta	Sahara Force India	1:21.664	112
7	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:22.415	42
8	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	1:22.514	100
9	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:22.524	31
10	Charles Pic	Caterham	1:23.115	116
11	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:23.167	62
12	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:23.628	91
13	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:24.103	49