HRT Formula 1 Team continue second day of pre-season testing in Jerez

HRT Formula 1 Team continued today in Jerez with its programme in the second and final day of testing that the team had scheduled for these first official pre-season tests. Pedro de la Rosa was in the cockpit of the F111 and completed a total of 64 laps,
clocking a best time of 1’22.128, which was one and a half seconds quicker than his fastest lap time yesterday.

The cold conditions in the morning meant that the team opted for a conservative strategy and waited for the track temperature to rise above the 6ºC registered at 9 in the morning. The programme consisted in continuing testing with the new hard, medium and soft compound tyres, and also carrying out tests which were more orientated towards driving, such as engine mapping and race start simulations.

HRT F1 Team leaves Jerez satisfied after achieving its objectives of assembling and optimising the team’s work in the first event of the year.

Pedro de la Rosa says, “Today we’ve progressed quite a bit as the day wore on; we’ve got more out of the car without having changed practically anything. Above all, today served me to get to know the tyres better. We all got to know each other a bit better and worked well together. I got rid of the rust yesterday and today I refreshed myself. On the first day the objective was not to go to the limit, but to get to know the people and for all of us to start working together. And the team did a good job. Today was more about seeing how far I could go, and that is why I think we improved on our times so much. Today I’m even more satisfied than yesterday, but on a personal note because I drove better. I’m leaving with a smile on my face and very much looking forward to Barcelona."

Toni Cuquerella, Chief Race Engineer comments, “The two days of testing have served as good practice for the team, the majority of which is new, the equipment, which is also new, and also as a chance for Pedro to try out last year’s car and regain feelings at the steering wheel. We haven’t experienced major problems and completed the test programme with both the systems and the team working well. We’ve also extracted enough data from the new compound tyres with this car to be able to compare it with the data regarding 2011’s tyres and reach conclusions that will help us for the next tests. Therefore we can say that we’ve met our targets for these tests. When we arrive in Barcelona with the new car, everything else will be in place so we can fully concentrate on the car."

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