First day in the wet for STR4
Formula 1’s tour of Southern Spain continues, with the second pre-season test getting underway at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit. As predicted, rain was a constant factor, falling in varying degrees throughout the day, apart from the first half hour or so.
Sebastien’s best time of the day was set in that dry period and after this, the STR5 had its first taste of running in the wet, so that the day proved to be an effective test of the Bridgestone Intermediates and Extreme wets. It’s worth noting that the Intermediates are a new tyre, with the front sharing the same narrow width as the dry tyres. As for the Extremes, these are the same tyres as in 2009, however they are mounted on narrower rims for 2010.
Switching between the two types of tyre, our Swiss driver also evaluated mechanical set-up suited to the wet conditions, as well as carrying out some launch simulations. The car ran reliably all day and the Toro Rosso day ended slightly ahead of the final chequered flag as the entire wet running programme had been completed for the day.
Buemi continues driving tomorrow.
