Hulkenberg gets first taste of VJM05
Nico Hulkenberg got his first run in the VJM05 today as Sahara Force India completed a busy week of testing in Jerez. While Nico got a feel for the car, the team carried out aero work, tyre data collection and some long runs in the afternoon.
Nico Hulkenberg: “A busy first day in the car and good to get so many laps under my belt. It was my first time in the new car so I concentrated on getting comfortable and up to speed. The long runs were useful for that and it also allowed me to start understanding the new tyres. There is still a massive amount to learn and lots of data to look at, but it feels like we have a good baseline to develop from and I’m pleased with how the day went.”
Andrew Green, Technical Director: “Nico was in the VJM05 for the first time today, so the focus was on making sure he was happy and allowing him to build his confidence with the new car. At the same time we spent the morning ticking off some set-up items and working through the aero programme we started yesterday. The afternoon gave us a chance to let Nico get a better feel for the 2012 tyres as we ran both the soft and the medium compounds.
“Overall I think we can come away from Jerez feeling positive. The car has run reliably, the initial feedback from the drivers is encouraging and we’ve learned a lot about the set-up directions we want to explore over the coming weeks. I also want to highlight the tremendous effort from the team at the track this week, backed up by the staff at Silverstone, which helped ensure we got the most from our first test with the new car.”
Chassis: VJM05-02
Laps: 90
Mileage: 399 km
Fastest lap: 1:19.977
