Jerez Testing Day 1: Rosberg fastest in the wet
With rain showers predicted throughout the test, the first downpour arrived after only an hour of running this morning and the conditions remained wet throughout the day. Nico had time to complete a couple of short runs in the dry before the rain arrived and the test program was changed accordingly.
Using the Bridgestone Potenza wet and intermediate tires, Nico gave the MGP W01 car its first run-out in wet conditions, completing 57 laps over the day. Nico's fastest time of 01:20.927 which was top of the timesheets was set in the dry this morning.
Michael Schumacher will take over at the wheel of the MGP W01 tomorrow for the second day of the test.
It’s worth noting that the Intermediates are a new tire, with the front sharing the same narrow width as the dry tires. As for the Extremes, these are the same tires as in 2009, however, they are mounted on narrower rims for 2010.
Nico Rosberg: "The car felt very good today. Compared to Valencia where I was sitting too low which affected my visibility and the set-up wasn't perfect, today I felt really comfortable and I could push so it was an enjoyable day and a good start to the test for me. Our objective here is to learn as much as possible, put miles on the car and engine to check the reliability and to make progress on our set-up work. The rain is a little frustrating but the car feels good to drive and that's what's important."
RESULTS (All timings are unofficial)
Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Nico Rosberg MERCEDES GP PETRONAS 1:20.927 57
2. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:21.031 84
3. Nico Hulkenberg Williams 1:22.243 118
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:22.895 88
5. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber 1:23.287 55
6. Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:24.947 68
7. Tonio Liuzzi Force India 1:24.968 71
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:25.440 27
9. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:26.502 50
10. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 1:38.734 5