Mercedes on a high after first Bahrain test
Following the first test at Jerez, Mercedes can again be satisfied after showing strong pace and solid reliability at the first 4 days of testing at Bahrain.
Mercedes impressed its rivals by consistently going fast, experiencing relatively minor issues compared to other teams. Nico Rosberg ended the test for the team, completing 59 laps and setting a 1:33.283, easily the fastest time of the entire week.
Nico Rosberg: "We can be very pleased with the first test in Bahrain this week. We completed a lot of mileage and learnt more about the car with every lap we achieved. This morning we were able to try some qualifying practice runs which felt good, meaning I could attack the lap a bit as I found a good balance. Later in the day we did a race simulation, which was crucial to learn all the new things in the car. There was a lot of feedback from the engineers, so my head was full of information! We suffered with an issue at the end of the day which ended our programme slightly early. There is still some way to go for us to manage the reliability before Melbourne as this will play a huge factor in the early races, but we're hopeful that we can make another step towards achieving this next week."
Paddy Lowe: "The final day of the test today saw us complete some lower fuel runs on softer tyres to get a series of one-lap simulations under our belt. We were happy with how the car responded to this programme. We then moved onto a race distance that we were able to complete, albeit with a pause in the middle for a red flag. It was pleasing to be able to complete that amount of running without any problems in the car. We attempted a further test programme at the end of the day but an issue halted that earlier than we hoped, meaning our day ended there. It's been a very positive week but we still have a lot of work to do next week to be prepared in time for Melbourne. A great job so far by the whole team trackside and back at Brackley and Brixworth."
Pre-season testing continues in Bahrain next week with the third and final test beginning on 27 February.
