The continued dominance of Mercedes-power during F1 pre-season testing saw Nico Rosberg set the fastest time of the week (1:33.283) when he topped the timesheets in Bahrain overnight.
Rosberg was happy with his day’s work, which included a variety of tasks.
“This morning we were able to try some qualifying practice runs which felt good, meaning I could attack the lap a bit as I found a good balance,” he said. “Later in the day we did a race simulation, which was crucial to learn all the new things in the car. There was a lot of feedback from the engineers, so my head was full of information!”
Following a familiar theme the top four cars consisted of Rosberg’s Mercedes W05, followed by Jenson Button (1:34.957) in the McLaren, the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen (1:36.718) and the Williams, being piloted by new test driver Felipe Nasr (1:37.569).
Despite completing 59 laps Pastor Maldonado (1:38.707) had a troubled day in the Lotus, once again a theme for Renault-powered cars, although he did post the fifth quickest lap of the day.
A drivetrain problem interrupted the day of Force India, after Sergio Perez (1:39.258) had done 19 laps. That was four more than Daniel Ricciardo (1:39.837) could do in the Red Bull RB10. It was a combination of software and mechanical woes which ended Daniel’s day early and he’s not shying away from the team’s problems.
“In all honesty it wasn’t a great day today,” said Daniel. “We have four more days coming up and hopefully we can maximise those.
“I have to say that on the run we did today the car did feel better. But unfortunately another problem arose and we couldn’t exploit that potential. At this stage we just need laps and I’m just hanging to get back in the car.”
Jean-Eric Vergne (1:40.472) went eighth fastest for Toro Rosso, ahead of the Caterham pairing, Kamui Kobayashi (1:43.027) and Marcus Ericsson (1:45.094).
Adrian Sutil had a chassis concern with the Sauber C33 and was unable to complete a timed lap. While reliability issues ruined Jules Bianchi’s day in the Marussia.
The final four days of testing before the Australian Grand Prix (16 March) resume in Bahrain next week (27 February–2 March).
Unofficial test times from Bahrain I (Day 4):
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes – 1:33.283 (89 laps)
2. Jenson Button, McLaren – 1:34.957 (66 laps)
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari – 1:36.718 (82 laps)
4. Felipe Nasr, Williams – 1:37.569 (87 laps)
5. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus – 1:38.707 (59 laps)
6. Sergio Perez, Force India – 1:39.258 (19 laps)
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull – 1:39.837 (15 laps)
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso – 1:40.472 (19 laps)
9. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham – 1:43.027 (17 laps)
10. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham – 1:45.094 (4 laps)
11. Adrian Sutil, Sauber – no time (7 laps)
12. Jules Bianchi, Marussia – no time (5 laps)
[Source: Formula1.com]