Focus on new gearbox for Toro Rosso

It was a busy test week for the Scuderia Toro Rosso. The team mainly focussed on the new gearbox during the three-day test. Next week, the team will come in action at the circuit of Valencia where they will be working from Tuesday to Thursday.

"Overall, this has been a positive test with the main work focusing on our new gearbox, this being the first time we ran the « four race » version," explained Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. "We concentrated on getting it functioning correctly and, so far, we seem to be going in the right direction.

"Because of the difficult weather conditions, with the track taking a long time to dry on the first and last day, both our driver had the opportunity to run for the first time on both the wet and extreme wet tyres, without the assistance of engine braking and traction control. We also validated some new aero parts with encouraging results."

Vettel's final day ended prematurely, when he went off the track with about an hour remaining. Scuderia Toro Rosso now heads to Valencia next week, running from Tuesday to Thursday with the two Sebastiæns, after three generally successful days of testing here in Jerez, where the team has been able to gather useful data for the upcoming season.

Driver: Sebastien Bourdais Best time: 1:20.407 61 laps Pos. 4th
Chassis STR2-01

Driver: Sebastian Vettel Best time: 1:24.873 50 laps Pos. 14th
Chassis STR2-02