Barcelona Test, Day 2: Race Distance For Vitaly

Vitaly remained in the R31 for day two of the Barcelona test as he clocked up 115 laps to demonstrate a clear step forward in terms of the car's overall reliability.

Driver: Vitaly

Chassis: R31-01

Fastest Lap: 1:22.670

Position: P3

Total laps: 115

What we learned today:

- The team improved its understanding of the forces acting on the tyres by running instrumented wheels this morning.

- Vitaly got a feel for the car over long runs by simulating a race distance this afternoon, using both the hard and soft compounds of dry tyres.

Vitaly: "I'm pleased with what we achieved today and I was able to learn a lot about the car and the tyres. We spent the morning doing shorter runs and working on the set-up, and I was pretty happy with the car by the end of the morning. But the most important thing was to complete the race distance, which we managed this afternoon. It's the first time I've been able to do consistent long runs and really start understanding the tyres."

Alan Permane's technical programme notes

- A good day for us. We did some data gathering in the morning, followed by set-up work and then a race distance in the afternoon.

- The focus of the set-up work today was looking at the rear suspension. We made various changes during the morning and found some good directions.

Did You Know?

Away from the track Vitaly enjoys practising martial arts such as judo and taekwondo as part of this training.