Sauber F1 Team Barcelona day 3 02.03.2013: Test in Barcelona – Day Three Finally the conditions were good for testing on day three. Esteban did some

Test in Barcelona – Day Three




Finally the conditions were good for testing on day three. Esteban did some aerodynamic tests and then made several runs in qualifying conditions.


In the afternoon he did a race simulation which was interrupted by a suspected water leak. Esteban completed 99 laps.


Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya, 4.655 km

Driver: Esteban Gutiérrez

Weather: sunny and dry,  air 8-18°C, track 10 -25°C

Chassis/engine: C32-2/Ferrari 056

Laps today:  99

Fastest lap: 1:22.553


Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering : "Today was Esteban’s final day of winter testing. Our plan was to simulate qualifying and the race. Unfortunately we had a few reliability issues which we are still investigating. Nevertheless, we completed 99 laps and Esteban's performance today was good.“


Esteban Gutiérrez: "It was an interesting experience to do a qualifying and race simulation. It gave me the opportunity to see how the car feels in qualifying and race conditions. The understanding of the tyres was a very important point, especially here in Barcelona where we know graining of the front tyres is a big issue.


However, we were able to manage the degradation of the tyres quite well. Unfortunately we were not able to complete the race simulation due to a supected water leak.


What comes next: Tomorrow, Nico Hülkenberg will be at the wheel of the Sauber C32. It will be the final testing day before the season starts on March 17th in Melbourne.      

 

Hanspeter Brack, photo Sauber F1