Fernando Alonso led Day 2 of testing in Valencia
Fernando Alonso led the second day of testing in Valencia, as Lotus ran their TL11 for the first time.
The session was stopped twice – once for Paul di Resta spinning early on, and the second for when Rubens Barrichello stopped out on track with an electrical problem.
Sebastien Buemi stopped near the pit lane with 15 minutes to go, and Lotus only got 15 laps in with Heikki Kovalainen, after a power steering issue. The team have said that it is a mechanical failure, and the part will have to be sent back to England for repairs.
Both Red Bull and Williams shared their cars between their drivers, though Mark Webber only got 40 minutes of driving in today.
Lewis Hamilton took distinct interest in the “massive degradation” of the Pirelli tyres, hoping that they will spice up the stretegies:
It was quite easy to get into but they’re not easy to drive. They (the tyres)
fall off quite quick and over a long run it’s interesting.
Obviously last year we had one pit stop and now the degradation is massive
on these tyres. It might be for some people they have to do two or three pit
stops, for example.
I didn’t actually like doing one pit stop last year, I think it wasn’t as
exciting as it has been in the past when we did two pit stops or three pit
stops.
So I’m hoping that we have to do a more this year, it adds a little bit
more excitement to it.
Despite his troubles, Heikki Kovalainen was still happy with his first impressions of the TL11:
"I'm very positive. The feeling and the sensation from the car was totally
different compared to last year.
It has a lot more potential than last year's car; it's just difficult to say
how quick it is yet because we didn't give it a single lap to set a time. It
(today's test) was just to check the installations. Tomorrow we will get a
better idea."
Times from Day 2:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Alonso Ferrari 1.13.307 108
2. Vettel Red Bull Renault 1.13.614 0.307 43
3. Di Resta Force India Mercedes 1.13.844 0.537 111
4. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1.14.353 1.046 83
5. Kubica Renault 1.14.412 1.105 104
6. Rosberg Mercedes 1.14.645 1.338 69
7. Glock Virgin Cosworth 1.15.408 2.101 34
8. Barrichello Williams Cosworth 1.16.023 2.716 51
9. Perez Sauber Ferrari 1.16.198 2.891 42
10. Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1.16.266 2.959 29
11. Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1.16.359 3.052 46
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso Ferrari 1.16.474 3.167 64
13. Webber Red Bull Renault 1.17.365 4.058 17
14. Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth 1.17.769 1.165 80
15. Kovalainen Lotus Renault 1.20.649 7.342 15
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