A medium-tyre run late in the day propelled Nico Rosberg up into second place on the timing screens on the final day of the second pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya, getting close to the times set by those running the Supersoft tyre, which Pirelli believe could be up to two seconds a lap faster.
Despite providing one of the eye-catching lap times of the final day in Spain, The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS driver was in reflective mood, feeling confident in his own car’s abilities while also keeping
“Looking at the times it’s of course still not clear where we stand and we’re keeping a close eye on the competition,” insisted Rosberg. “But we’re confident that we have a good car at least.”
Rosberg’s day wasn’t without trouble, when on cold tyres early in the day he lost control and spun into the gravel, necessitating a red flag period, and the German said the wind and weather conditions made the day pretty difficult throughout Sunday.
“Today was actually a really difficult day,” revealed Rosberg. “In the morning the tyres weren’t really working properly and then it was so windy out on track until late in the day.
“It was difficult to understand in the car because every run was different from corner to corner. Depending on where the wind was coming from, the car felt totally different. So it really made testing extremely tough today.
“Even the sun was making it tricky at the end once the wind dropped down, as it was just on the horizon. Some of the corners were absolutely blind so you just had to commit to it by memory.
“But anyway, together with the team I was still able to learn a few things and it was a good end to the test with no major problems on the car and a lot of useful running at the end when the wind was calmer.”
