Tonio Liuzzi opened the final pre-season test for Force India, completing 65 laps in Barcelona.
Several red-flag incidents interrupted the team's planned programme, but Liuzzi still managed to set the sixth fastest time of the day. Force India mainly focused on pit stop practice, drills and general set-up, choosing to wait for more rubber to be laid on the circuit before they commence with longer runs later in the week.
Liuzzi explained how the track conditions had played a part in deciding the team's testing schedule. “Once we realised the track was really green and not good enough to conduct some useful testing, we concentrated on set-up and pit stop practice to get back into the rhythm of a race weekend. Overall it was quite OK but we concentrated a lot on the pit stop practice to get the guys back up to speed. Tomorrow will be where we move to look at performance and long runs so it should be a more representative day regarding the pace of the new car.”
Dominic Harlow, the chief race engineer for Force India, explained how the team are preparing for the return to racing. “The first day of our final pre-season test was concentrated on race team pitstop practice, with simulations of live race stops and various different race scenarios conducted through the day. The circuit conditions weren’t particularly good today, and tomorrow will be used to continue our set-up and development programme.”
Liuzzi will be back in the car tomorrow, and Adrian Sutil takes over testing duties on Saturday.
