Rosberg happy with new Mercedes but Vettel fastest

UPDATE Following its launch this morning at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Red Bull Racing’s RB7 completed 93 laps today, on its first day of testing. The team used the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the car and it was the first chance the team had had to use the Pirelli tires since the Abu Dhabi test at the end of the 2010 season.

Head of Race Engineering, Ian Morgan said: “We had a very good shakedown with the RB7 today and completed everything we aimed to on day one. It’s an encouraging start to what we hope will be a successful season for the RB7."

Sebastian Vettel said: “It was good today and I felt comfortable in the car, I enjoyed it. It was day one for most of us and there’s a long way to go with testing ahead of the season and a very long racing season after that – with 20 races – so things can change! We’ve only made the first step today, but we had a reliable day and can be very proud of what we have achieved so far."

Rosberg on track with new Mercedes was slow compared to World Champion Vettel's new Red Bull. An ominous sign for all the wannabees.

02/01/11 Nico Rosberg was happy with Mercedes' new 2011 car on the first day of testing at Valencia despite being slightly faster than a turtle.

The German and his famous teammate Michael Schumacher put the first miles on the W02 at the Spanish track but were not close to the top of the times.

Rosberg also had a technical problem and stoppage on the front straight, but declared himself happy anyway even though he was dead last.

"I felt at home straight away," he said, "and that's important."

Tuesday's fastest runner was world champion Sebastian Vettel in the new Red Bull, nearly a second faster than the next best runner in a 2011 car, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Quotes

Nico Hulkenberg
Generally a very productive and promising first day with the team. The main goal was principally for me to get used to the team, the car and the new Pirelli tires and my impressions of all were pretty positive. It was great to be back in an F1 car and I got back up to speed quicker than I thought. Program-wise I worked through the different set-ups on the car and was able to complete a lot of laps, which gave me a good first understanding of how the Pirelli tires worked as I was not able to do any running at the tire test last year. I really enjoyed the day and am looking forward to working with the team over the coming weeks as we prepare for the start of the season.

Paul di Resta
A short outing for me today, but good to get back in the car and out on track again after a couple of months off. And great to be back in the team environment knowing that this is all building up to the start of my first season in F1. We completed just under 30 laps to get ready for the full day tomorrow. I think we're in good shape to get through the full program and get the information we need to feed into the development of the new car.

Day 1 Results

* 2011 Car