Scuderia Ferrari simulator driver Antonio Fuoco relayed that the SF90 Formula 1 car provided a “really good” driving experience for the Italian.
Fuoco completed 120 laps on his first appearance in the 2019 car, ending Wednesday third fastest on the final day of the post-Spanish Grand Prix test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Formula 2 staple Fuoco stood 1.5 seconds away from the day’s fastest time, set by Mercedes AMG Motorsport‘s Nikita Mazepin, and 0.2s adrift of second placed man Alexander Albon for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Albon and Fuoco traded times late on in Wednesday afternoon’s session, the former stopping on track and causing a session-ending red flag with less than 10 minutes to go just after he had set his best time.
However, Albon used the C5 tyres on his performance runs compared to Fuoco’s C4s.
“It was a positive day,” said Fuoco.
“We completed various tests and ran a total of 120 laps.
“In terms of the programme, we concentrated on short runs with different tyre compounds in the morning followed by longer runs in the afternoon and performance runs at the end of the day.”
After a difficult Spanish GP for the Scuderia, where they finished fourth and fifth, the 22-year-old believes that the car feels positive, but Ferrari are yet to analyse the data.
He also added that it was important for him to experience the real car in order to compare it to his simulator work.
Fuoco’s last test outing for Ferrari came in 2016 and he thanked the team for the opportunity.
“The car felt really good to drive,” Fuoco continued.
“It will be important for us to analyse the data we collected today, as well as the correlation with the simulator, given that I do a lot of work in it.
“I really enjoyed the day and would like to thank the team for this opportunity.”
