Faster Than The Setting Sun - Jerez Test, Day 4

Kimi Räikkönen completed his second day at the wheel of the E21 by setting the fastest time to conclude an encouraging week for Lotus F1 Team at the first pre-season test in Jerez.

The Finn ran through a continued programme of aerodynamic assessments as the fine Jerez weather continued. Proceedings today were interrupted by red flag periods including a lengthy pause for track run-off repairs, meaning track running concluded 30 minutes later than billed.

Fast Facts:

• Track: Jerez, Spain, 4.4km
  
• Chassis: E21-01
  
• Weather: Sunny, ambient 5-18°C, track 7-26°C
  
• Programme: Systems checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, assessment of the performance of the car with its initial aerodynamic package, exhaust exit evaluations.
  
• Laps Completed: 83
  
• Classification: P1, 1:18.148
  
• Interruptions: Red flags and track repairs.
  

What’s Next?

The team returns to Enstone. Testing resumes in Barcelona on February 19.

Kimi Räikkönen:

“We continued our work from yesterday and made some good progress. We’re at the top of the timing monitors, but that means nothing in testing. Our focus has been testing parts on the car, but I’ve been able to get the set-up more to my liking. For sure there’s more work to be done in this area, but that’s what we’re here for. The car feels strong and we seem to have a good idea of where we’re going with improvements. Let’s see what happens in Barcelona.”

James Allison, Technical Director:

“We certainly have a reasonable baseline to be working from and plenty of data to analyse back at Enstone next week. The E21 was immediately easy to drive which is what drivers want, and it’s demonstrated satisfactory pace from what we’ve seen so far. We’ve had a few minor gremlins to iron out, which is what testing is all about, but nothing to cause too much concern. We’ve established a baseline set-up and gained good data about various aerodynamic packages we wanted to test; particularly with exhaust exit evaluations. Both drivers have pronounced themselves relatively happy with the E21 and we know where we’re going with the next developments.”