Van der Garde enjoys first F1 laps in wet

F1 Test, Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya

The very cold and damp conditions today made it difficult to do performance testing today, but it did enable Giede van der Garde to get to know a Formula One car in the wet, as well as discover the behaviour of the new Pirelli tyres.

Giedo van der Garde: “Despite today’s weather it’s been another relatively productive day. It’s certainly been one of the coldest days I’ve had on track, but even with the cold track temps and the rain that stopped and started we were able to get through quite a bit of work.

“The cold weather meant it might not have been much fun for the fans in the stands, but it was useful to get some laps done on the intermediate tyres as it was my first time in an F1 car in the wet, and to experience the car in the wet / dry conditions we had today. We also tried a couple more ideas to help improve the rear stability but, again, as the tyres weren’t really coming up to temperature we weren’t able to push too hard today.

“Even with the weather today it’s been a fairly good test for us. We’re steadily working through the plan, making sure we’re covering everything we need to and now we have a lot of information to help us prepare for the final test back here in Barcelona next week.”