Kamui Kobayashi had a trouble free day in Barcelona today as he managed a total of 125 laps, allowing Sauber to complete a comprehensive programme of testing.
“We had no technical problems at all, and I think this was the first time we were able to complete the whole programme,” said the Japanese driver. “We worked on the set-up, and we now have a better understanding of the tyres. We collected a lot of data, and I'm happy with what we achieved today.”
Technical director James Key explained how the team approached the second day of this test in Barcelona, and discussed some of the intricacies of testing the new Pirelli tyre compounds:
“We completed 125 laps, which is good. It was a case of working through some programmes to understand more about the tyres. Barcelona is a good track to get a handle on tyres, but the cold condtions this morning made it a little tricky with high wear on the front tyres, although this was probably not unique to us.
“We ran through a race set up programme this morning using all three compounds – hard, medium and soft – to get an overview of the longevity of their performance. This also allowed Kamui to work on managing the tyres from a driver's perspective.
“In the afternoon we worked on the set-up and used a new package to improve mechanical grip, and this looks okay. We also worked with the different compounds, but this time with set-up changes between them to understand better their one lap performance, although it wasn't a qualifying simulation.
“We recovered well after a slightly tricky day yesterday, and Kamui did a very good job.”
Sergio Perez takes over testing dutires from Kobayashi for the final two days of this four-day test.
