Vitaly Petrov was the second fastest driver on Day 3 of pre-season testing Barcelona as he completed 93 laps for Lotus Renault today.
A damp track in the morning allowed the team to gather some useful data on the intermediate Pirelli tyres. They also evaluated a new exhaust tail pipe and its effect on the aerodynamic performance of the R31.
“We used the intermediates to begin with and it was one of our first opportunities to do a lot of laps with them,” explained the Russian. “The only issue we had was warming them up because it was very cold early on.
“The plan was to do a race distance in the morning and we managed quite a lot of long runs while the track was wet. Then, we put the slicks on just before lunch and started improving the set-up.
“We learned a lot of new things and I'm starting to understand the tyres more and how to get the most from this car.”
Nick Heidfeld takes over testing duties for the team on the final day of the test tomorrow.
