Gutierrez still getting to grips with Abu Dhabi track
The 22 year old Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez today can the Sauber C31 Ferrari at Abu Dhabi in the young driver test. This extends to his experience with the current car after his experience in FP1 at the Indian Grand Prix where he stepped in for Sergio Pérez.
Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering:
“Obviously we know Esteban a lot better than we knew Robin before yesterday, and he is also quite familiar with the team and the track. This helps for some procedures and communication but, nevertheless, he isn’t in the car every day. Again he did a good and reliable job for us. We basically ticked off everything from today’s job list. In the morning and early afternoon the focus was on aero work with a set up change over the lunch break. Later in the afternoon we repeated the programme we did yesterday with Robin, giving Esteban a set of medium compound tyres as well as a set of softs. In the end he did a high fuel run on medium tyres. For tomorrow we have some brake testing and suspension work on the list.”
Esteban Gutiérrez:
“The morning session was very interesting for me because we tested a lot of different things, and I hope I gave my most precise feedback to the engineers. After being in the car so recently in India, of course, I feel a lot more confident in handling all the system like KERS and DRS. In the morning session I used only hard tyres, but in the afternoon I certainly enjoyed running the medium as well as the soft compound. The last sector of the track I find a bit tricky, especially turn 20. I don’t have the confidence yet to push harder there.”
Circuit: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi / 5.554 km
Driver: Esteban Gutiérrez (MX)
Weather: Sunny and dry, air 29-32°C, track 30-44°C
Chassis / engine: C31.02 / Ferrari 056
Mileage today: 94 laps
Fastest lap: 1:43,485 min (new soft tyres)
