Formula 1 Pre-Season Test 3: 5 Observations from Day 2 at Barcelona
The second day of the final pre-season test was arguably the most intriguing day since Formula One's winter schedule almost four weeks ago.
The 10th day of running in 2015 brought with it plenty of talking points, with McLaren finally showing signs of banishing their reliability problems, Force India finally introducing their new car and Mercedes finally showing their hand.
Here are five things that caught our eye on Day 2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Jenson Button and McLaren Have Best Day Yet
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Since last week's second test, Jenson Button has been something of a bad luck charm for McLaren.
The 2009 world champion was behind the wheel on both days the team suffered problems with an MGU-K seal, limiting his track time to just 45 laps, and was not called upon after Fernando Alonso's crash on the final day.
Button's misfortune carried into the first day of the final test, when he was reduced to just seven laps after a hydraulic leak, according to McLaren's official website, forced the team to end their running before the lunch break.
But his and the team's luck changed dramatically on Day 2, with Button and McLaren enjoying their most productive day of the winter thus far.
After completing 44 laps in the morning session, Button—whose previous best single-day tally was 35 laps, achieved in the first test—guided the car to its first century, ending the day with 101 laps.
As per Sky Sports' Live Blog, Button also completed the longest single stint in the MP4-30 for good measure, although the previous record of 11 was hardly difficult to topple with compliant, workable machinery.
And despite causing a late red flag, McLaren had that for the first time this winter, with the vastly improved mileage no doubt a welcome relief after a difficult week for the Woking-based outfit.
New Force India Has Decent Debut After Nightmare Start
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It took over nine days of pre-season to appear, but we finally had a first glimpse of the 2015 Force India on Day 2 at Barcelona.
After completely missing the first test, the team ran their 2014 car last week as they evaluated the new Pirelli tyres. A late start with their new car has left Force India with a race against time to get the VJM08 in shape in time for the Australian Grand Prix.
And their preparations got off to the worst possible start when Nico Hulkenberg—who only made his first appearance of the winter last week—suffered a puncture on his first installation lap.
Thankfully, however, this wasn't a sign of things to come, as the German got five laps on the board prior to lunch before going on to cover a promising amount of miles in the afternoon.
Hulkenberg ended the day with 73 laps, a hugely impressive tally for a brand new car.
Mercedes Finally Flex Their Muscles
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As we wrote ahead of the third test, it was unclear whether Mercedes would show their true pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, or wait until qualifying in Australia to blow the opposition away.
Well, the reigning world champions chose the afternoon session of Day 2 to bolt a set of soft tyres on the W06 for the first time this winter and challenged Nico Rosberg to do his worst.
Rosberg responded by instantly setting a lap of 1:22.792 seconds, putting a margin of 1.2 seconds between the Silver Arrows and the next best time recorded by Valtteri Bottas, as per Formula1.com.
You could almost hear the hearts of Ferrari, Red Bull and Bottas' Williams team drop like stones as Rosberg—who, despite missing the opening chunk of the afternoon session, once again passed the 100-mark barrier, recording a total of 106 laps—set the fastest time of the winter thus far.
And you know what? Mercedes probably have more in the tank, if we are to presume that their engine wasn't running on full power and their fuel load was relatively heavy.
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Sauber Get Back on Track
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After a messy second test, which saw Felipe Nasr collide with another car and the team temporarily run out of gearboxes, as per Sky Sports' Ted's Notebook, Sauber continued their recovery on Day 2.
The Swiss-based outfit have already completed 263 laps in the final test, with Nasr adding 141 laps to team-mate Marcus Ericsson's Day 1 tally of 122.
Sauber's program has been wide-ranging, with the team's official Twitter account confirming that aero measurements, setup work, short runs (on different tyre compounds) and a race simulation were on the agenda on Day 2.
Those short runs led to Nasr topping the time sheets at lunch, with the Brazilian's 1:24.071 seconds good enough for third at the close of play, as per Formula1.com.
Shortage of Red Flags Highlights Reliability Progress
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Last week's test was defined by several bizarre red flag interruptions, from Susie Wolff and Felipe Nasr colliding on track to the early morning spins of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg.
There were no such shenanigans on Day 2 of the third test, however, as on the whole cars remained reliable and drivers kept their focus.
In fact, it was not until 80 minutes of the afternoon session had passed that the first red flag of the day appeared, with Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull RB11 letting the pit lane down.
Kvyat's stoppage remained the only red flag incident of the day until the final half hour, when Jenson Button and Pastor Maldonado halted in quick succession.
Nevertheless, the shortage of red flag delays was evidence of the steps forward taken by the teams this winter in terms of reliability, with six drivers completing in excess of 100 laps on Day 2.
If the Australian Grand Prix were to take place tomorrow, it is fair to say that no team would disgrace themselves.
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