Verstappen fastest as Barcelona test ends

F1 Test, Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya

Max Verstappen kept on performing strongly following his victory at last weekends' Spanish Grand Prix by topping the times on the second and final day of testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Times however were of little relevance, with teams opted for a wide range of different tyres and running programmes.

Verstappen carried on the aero development work for Red Bull Racing, started yesterday by Daniel Ricciardo. His program, however, had the additional target of getting the driver comfortable in the car and comfortable with his crew. He eventually set his fastest time on the soft tyres.

“It was good to get back in the car today,” said Max afterwards. “The car is good to drive, very enjoyable and we achieved very good mileage. We didn’t have any problems and could run the whole day. For me personally it was good to have the opportunity to get even more comfortable with the car. I was able to try some new things and find ways to improve my performance. I learned a lot about the RB12 today, which is very, very positive.”

Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne similarly enjoyed getting back behind the wheel for the first time since his point-scoring debut at the Bahrain GP. He was second fastest today.

“The car felt good straight away today," said Vandoorne. "It’s been a positive and productive day. The car feels better in every area, with downforce feeling much improved compared to Bahrain. All in all, the progress with the car is good, so I’m happy.”

Pascal Wehrlein was in the car of Mercedes as the team opted last night to call the German up to test new parts, despite having scheduled to run Renault test driver Ocon.

"That was a good day. A bit unexpected," said Wehrlein. "The team called me yesterday evening as they couldn’t finish their test programme and needed an experienced driver to finish it off, so I came back to the track to do a seat fitting that night! We did 133 laps today – two race distances – and finished the test programme, which was important for the team. We tried a few different setups during the morning – mainly looking at aerodynamic with the aero rig. Then we did some long runs in the afternoon, so a good programme. I must say I really enjoyed the car – it felt amazing!"

At Haas, Esteban Gutierrez had a productive day for his team while 5th fastest man, GP3 driver Antonio Fuoco thanked Ferrari for the opportunity to run the Ferrari SF16-H for the first time.

Overall, it proved to be another productive day for the teams, all of which now depart directly to Monaco to prepare for the Monaco Grand Prix in 10 days.