World champion Sebastian Vettel took over testing duties for Red Bull on day three of the Jerez test, completing 99 laps in the RB7 and finishing the day sixth fastest.
This is the first chance the German has had to try some of the new Pirelli tyre compounds on long runs. He revealed afterwards that he is still getting to grips with the new-for-2011 features.
“Testing has gone well today,” said Vettel. “It's quite tricky with the (driver adjustable) rear wing; it acts in a similar manner to the f-duct last year, so naturally, as a driver, you want to use it as much as you can. When the tyres go off, it's not as easy to use as when the tyres are fresh, but you get used to it. KERS is not so easy to use, but again it's a case of getting used to it – its practice in the end.”
Head of Race Engineering Ian Morgan agreed that the day had gone well. “It was another good day today and we managed to get through our full programme, despite a number of red flags towards the end of the session,” he said. “Fortunately we were up on our schedule at that point, so we didn't lose too much time. The car ran reliably all day.”
Vettel will be back in the car tomorrow for the final day of the test.
