Di Resta and Sutil in action for Force India in Jerez
The Force India F1 Team resumed its VJM03 testing programme at the Circuito de Jerez today as the first of a four day programme got underway. New test and reserve driver Paul di Resta got his first taste of the 2010 challenger in the morning before Adrian Sutil took over for the afternoon’s running.
As was the case for last week’s test, running was punctuated by heavy rain storms and cloudy skies with high winds also a disrupting factor. However in a productive day working through set-up and control systems checks, Paul completed over 300km while Adrian covered 120km, bringing the day’s mileage to more than 450km.
Paul di Resta: "Today was my first run in the new car and it felt pretty good. The objective was to get as much running as possible and we managed over 300km, which was a great effort, particularly given the bad weather conditions we had over the morning. It seemed to be drying out and then the rain would return again so you were in a sort of no man’s land with the tyres. Even with this type of weather though I could get an impression of the car. It seems stable and good all round, a genuine improvement on the car I drove last year. I’ll be back in the car in Barcelona and am looking forward to it already."
Adrian Sutil: "It was a short session for me today. I only started my first run just before 4pm when the track was drying in places but there were still a few damp patches on the racing line. We did two long runs on the slick tyres but in the mixed conditions it was hard to get a view on the car. But at this stage all running is good and we’re ready to go out again tomorrow to get some more mileage and data on the car."
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: "Paul completed 76 laps today in unsettled conditions to get his first experience of the VJM03. He also carried out some control systems tests and ran wet, intermediate and dry tyres. During a very windy afternoon Adrian took over the car for a short programme in predominantly dry conditions continuing set-up development from last week’s test. The VJM03 ran reliably all day, which gives a good basis for the remaining three days."
Testing data
Driver: Paul di Resta (am) / Adrian Sutil (pm)
Track: Circuito de Jerez, Spain
Best lap time: 1:25.088 (Paul) / 1:24.272 (Adrian)
Laps completed: 104 (Paul 76 / Adrian 28)
Kilometres completed: 461km (Paul 337km / Adrian 124km)
