Sauber Formula 1 Team may be running with a year-old engine, but that and the “rain” was not enough to hold back a surging Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian achieved a respectable P5 finish with a time of 1:22.401.
In total Giovinazzi ran 84 laps in the C36-Ferrari. Despite the track being artificially wetted prior to the morning session and during the lunchtime break, it didn’t take long for the Spanish sun to dry the track. Thus in addition to the wet and intermediate compounds being used, the soft and ultrasoft tyres were also taken out of their blankets and taken for a spin.
“It was another positive day,” he said. “We were able to test different tyre compounds on wet and dry tyres.
“I am overall satisfied with the two testing days, during which I was able to run a good amount of laps and to gain more experience.”
It is still unclear whether Giovinazzi will step in for Pascal Wehrlein again in next week’s second testing after the German was deemed unfit for the first testing following a back injury. He had apparently made progress in his recovery but will be at the mercy of the medical examiners who’ll have the final decision.
