Sahara Force India completes 4-day testing

Sahara Force India ended its first week of testing as Sergio Perez completed 82 laps on a wet-to-dry Circuit de Catalunya. Overall Force India completed 278 laps during the first of the off-season testing in Barcelona here and Esteban Ocon was the fastest among the three drivers. The second test starts on March 7. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest among all drivesrs on Day 4.

Chassis: VJM10-02

Laps: 82 laps

Mileage: 382km

Best lap: 1:22.534 (P6)

Sergio Perez: “It was a positive week and I think we made a good step forward with understanding the VJM10 and finding the limit of the tyres. I feel more confident in the car; I have learnt a huge amount and I think my preparation is going to plan. We can be pleased with this last day of testing: we covered a lot of ground and we found some more performance. Hopefully next week we can be in  even better shape. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’m optimistic for Melbourne already.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Getting a new car on track is the end result of a long process, one that took the hard work of hundreds of people back at the factory and trackside. We are happy with how this week has gone and I want to say a big ‘thank you’ for the incredible efforts of everyone here in Barcelona and in our facilities in Silverstone and Brackley. We have been able to build up good mileage and iron out some of the inevitable teething problems that you get with a new car. We are confident we have made some important steps forward in understanding the VJM10 and the new Pirelli tyres, and we are looking forward to next week’s test, when we will focus more on performance and race simulations.”

eom/SFI press release