Brawn GP – Jerez Test Report – Thursday

The third and final day of the Young Driver test in Jerez got underway this morning with overnight rain resulting in a damp track for the early laps. Mike Conway and Marcus Ericsson were again in action for the team with Mike completing 77 laps in the morning and Marcus taking over the car for the afternoon and completing 49 laps as the pair concluded the test programme by working through a series of set-up evaluations.

Mike Conway
“I’ve really enjoyed the last few days in Jerez and it was great to be asked back by the team to take part in the testing programme. The team had a great season and the chance to drive the World Championship winning car and experience its performance for myself has been amazing. We achieved some good work and it has been a nice way to end the season. Thanks to the team for giving me this opportunity.”

Marcus Ericsson
“It’s been a very exciting week and a dream come true to have the opportunity to drive a Formula One car particularly with the World Championship winning team. It’s been a really good experience for me to work with such a professional team and I am thankful to Brawn GP and Mercedes for giving me this opportunity. The car is very impressive. It’s so quick and the biggest difference from the F3 car has to be the power of the braking. I feel that I have adapted well to the car this week and I’m very happy with the progress that I have made.”

Ross Brawn
“Mike and Marcus have done a very good job during the test in Jerez this week. It has been a busy programme with a wide variety of test items to cover and their technical input has been to a very high standard. We know Mike well from his previous tests with the team and his feedback has been to his usual excellent standard. Marcus had his first opportunity in a Formula One car this week and he has performed very well showing exceptional maturity in his approach and feedback.”

RESULTS (All timings are unofficial)

Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault 1:17.418 77
2. Paul Di Resta Force India Mercedes 1:18.736 53
3. Gary Paffett McLaren Mercedes 1:18.746 59
4. Mike Conway Brawn Mercedes 1:19.096 77
5. Nico Hulkenberg Williams Toyota 1:19.226 106
6. Bertrand Baguette BMW Sauber 1:19.356 70
7. Oliver Turvey McLaren Mercedes 1:19.358 32
8. Marcus Ericsson Brawn Mercedes 1:19.382 49
9. Lucas Di Grassi Renault 1:19.602 123
10. JR Hildebrand Force India Mercedes 1:19.873 41
11. Pablo Sanchez Lopez Ferrari 1:21.068 39
12. Daniel Zampieri Ferrari 1:21.279 42
13. Marco Zipoli Ferrari 1:21.725 41
14. Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:22.493 50
15. Mirko Bortolotti Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:23.271 34
16. Ho-Pin Tung Renault 1:32.477 4

Brawn GP – Jerez Test Report – Wednesday

The second day of the Young Driver test in Jerez got underway this morning with Mike Conway continuing his driving duties in the Brawn-Mercedes BGP 001 car. Mike worked through a number of set-up changes with the car before a short rain shower briefly interrupted the track action. He continued his programme after lunch for a further three runs to complete 83 laps in total today.

Marcus Ericsson took over the BGP 001 to conclude the team’s programme for the remainder of the afternoon session. Marcus completed 37 laps as he continued his familiarisation programme with the car.

RESULTS (All timings are unofficial)

Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Gary Paffett McLaren Mercedes 1:18.718 80
2. Nico Hulkenberg Williams Toyota 1:19.184 94
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault 1:19.243 92
4. Paul Di Resta Force India Mercedes 1:19.411 58
5. Esteban Gutierrez BMW Sauber 1:20.190 68
6. Mike Conway Brawn Mercedes 1:20.222 83
7. Marcus Ericsson Brawn Mercedes 1:20.440 37
8. JR Hildebrand Force India Mercedes 1:20.517 49
9. Jules Bianchi Ferrari 1:20.586 113
10. Lucas Di Grassi Renault 1:20.898 54
11. Ho-Pin Tung Renault 1:21.492 67
12. Mirko Bortolotti Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:21.761 79

26-Nov-09: Lotus and Manor Join FOTA

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Listen to this episode

Today is the 26th November 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

Lotus and Manor Grand Prix have been welcomed to FOTA, according to reports from Autosport. Once again all the entered teams for 2010 are signed up to the organisation, and it was all done nice and unanimously. Although FOTA have been quiet over recent months, they are working on further cost cutting measures – potentially in the form of a group launch rather than the individual events we see in the few months before the season starts. They are also discussing the empty slot on the grid, and what is going to happen with Toyota’s exit and BMW’s potential entry – although I’m not sure that’s their decision.

Anyway, in other news, we have more names for the young driver test – IRL driver and Brit Mike Conway will have a go in the Mercedes GP car, joined by Marcus Ericsson, the Japanese Formula 3 Champion.

That’s everything for now, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.