For the second consecutive day, the Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda STR13 had a reliable day of testing, completing eighty-two laps with Pierre Gasly getting his first opportunity behind the wheel.
The Frenchman took over the driving duties from Brendon Hartley on Tuesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and he felt that had the weather conditions been better, they would probably have completed even more laps than they actually achieved.
The day also included his first, probably unwanted run in snowy conditions, but Gasly had positive first impressions of the STR13, feeling it reacted consistently in low, medium and high-speed corners.
“Conditions were really tricky today so we didn’t run as much as we could have done,” said Gasly. “This afternoon was the first time I drove a Formula 1 car in “snow conditions”, so it was quite epic!
“In terms of work, we got some good laps and more understanding about the car and the engine. We had some interesting tests, so overall I’m happy about today. The first feeling is positive, I felt comfortable with the car – It’s consistent from one corner to another, between the low speed, medium speed and high speed.
“I still have a lot of work to do and I think we have some good directions overall. We didn’t do any qualifying runs or pushing laps, as our aim was more completing many laps and this is what we achieved, even if we changed the run plan because of the weather.
“This morning we started really late but I think overall we maximised the time we had on track and we did the best we could do with the conditions.”
