Williams set new Barcelona benchmark as final test begins; McLaren last just seven laps before more unreliability strikes; Mercedes and Hamilton also miss afternoon due to W06 fault
Monday 16 March 2015 14:24, UK
Williams set the fastest lap of the Barcelona tests so far to offer the first compelling piece of evidence that Mercedes may not have it all their own way in 2015.
Felipe Massa’s lap of 1:23.500, made when the FW37 was running on soft tyres midway through the afternoon, was over half a second faster than the best lap recorded during last week’s meeting at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Perhaps just as significantly, Massa had also previously bettered the morning benchmark lap of Lewis Hamilton when using the medium tyres which the Mercedes has almost exclusively used this winter.
"I think we needed to prove that we are there in the fight, we don’t know how much with Mercedes, but to the others I think we are there," said Massa. "I am pretty happy, but it is still early."
Hamilton ended the day third fastest but didn’t appear for the lunch break due to a MGU-K failure on his W06.
But asked if the missed mileage was a setback, Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ: “I don’t think it’s dented anything. Testing is difficult.
“Of course, if you can have the whole day and it’s sunny and the tyres are working every time you can go out and do tons and tons of changes and learn things about where you want to put the car. So, naturally, that is what we are missing.
“So I’ve got one more day to hopefully have a clean day and if we can get 150 laps it’ll be great. But doing lots of changes and really trying to pinpoint where I want to put the car for the first race [is the priority] just to have all that knowledge in the bank, so when you get to the first few races you know the answer to the problems you may face. It’s all down to one day now, but I think we’ll be fine.”
McLaren, who have confirmed that Fernando Alonso was briefly unconscious after his accident on Sunday, endured yet more woe with their problematic new challenger. An engine change restricted the Honda-powered MP4-30 to just seven laps with the new partnership’s tally for the year an inadequate 210 after just nine days of winter testing. Despite their afternoon absence, Mercedes have already passed 1000. The chances of McLaren finishing the season-opening Australian GP in two weeks' time appears to be as slim as their 'size zero' rear bodywork.
'After just seven laps, Jenson noted a vibration and brought the car back to the pits, where we discovered a hydraulic leak that required a full power-unit change. The time required to complete the change unfortunately meant that our running for the day was over before lunchtime,' the team reported. Button, who has been on duty for six of the nine days so far, will be behind the wheel of the McLaren on Friday as well.
After conducting a full race simulation, Sauber's Marcus Ericsson switched to the supersofts for a late run and set the second-quickest time to cap an encouraging day for the Swiss outfit after a difficult first Barcelona test. Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull and the Lotus of Romain Grosjean were fourth and fifth respectively behind Hamilton.
Only Sauber and McLaren completed fewer laps than Ferrari at last week’s Barcelona test and the Scuderia’s post-Jerez indifferent form continued as Kimi Raikkonen recorded a modest 80 laps with a best of 1:26.327 – almost three seconds shy of Massa’s benchmark.
If Mercedes are to be challenged this year, it increasingly appears likely to emerge in white rather than red.
Barcelona Test Two, Day One Timesheet
1) Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:23.500, 103 laps
2) Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:24.276 122 laps
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:24.881, 48 laps
4) Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:25.947, 75 laps
5) Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:26.177, 75 laps
6) Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:26.327, 80 laps
7) Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:27.261, 86 laps
8) Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:31.479, 7 laps
