Sahara Force India F1 Team driver Sergio Perez felt he got in a productive afternoon of running during the final day of in-season testing in Bahrain on Wednesday.
The Mexican was working on long run performance rather than out and out speed on day two, which explains why the 27-year-old posted the slowest time of the day. With 70 laps to his name however, Perez was content that they had collated some valuable data for the upcoming races.
“It was only a half day in the car for me, but it was useful to have a solid afternoon to learn some things away from a race weekend.
“I worked on our race performance, which is one of our strengths, but there are still areas we need to improve.
“A total of 70 laps is more than a race distance and we’ve learned some things that will help us in the races coming up.”
Team-mate Esteban Ocon meanwhile concentrated on short run pace, and posted the sixth fastest time of the day, whilst completing a total of 60 laps.
The Frenchman felt it was extremely useful to be able to compare how the car felt today during their test programme, compared to just a few days ago whilst taking part in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“My focus today was on short performance runs. When you test a few days after the race at the same circuit, it’s a good chance to make comparisons and feel the improvements to the car.
“Track temperatures were really hot this morning, but the car felt good in these conditions, which is a good sign.”
Having finished with both drivers in the points at every race so far this season, which sees them sitting fourth in the constructors standings, Force India will be hoping the two-day test programme will allow them to step up their performance and start achieving the bigger points results, as well as a few podiums.
