Despite a powertrain problem, Kamui Kobayashi managed to complete 78 laps for Sauber on Day One of the pre-season test session in Barcelona, and finished as the fourth fastest driver.
Overnight rain and the resulting damp track this morning allowed the team to try the wet tyres from Pirelli, as technical director James Key explained:
“Pirelli brought the wet race spec tyre here and, as we had already tried the intermediate race spec, we decided to use the opportunity to get to know the wet tyres. This was useful because the track started to dry up by mid-morning, and we were able to learn how both, the wet and the intermediate tyres behave on a drying track, which is always useful.
“We then suffered a problem with the powertrain, which delayed us a little bit this morning, but after this we recovered in the afternoon. We did another fuel system check test by running out on the track, and then worked on the tyre compounds we have here – the hard, the medium and the soft. We finished the day with a long run.
“Kamui did a good job on this and was fairly consistent, which is good for the medium tyre on a track which is hard on tyres. It wasn't really until this afternoon that we were able to start to set up the car for Barcelona. We found some useful directions and we will carry on with that work tomorrow.”
Kobayashi returns to the car on Saturday before handing the C30 over to Sergio Perez for the final two days of the Barcelona test.
