It seems like a waste of time to have Valsecchi there and not use him, only to wait for Grosjean. But okay I hope they still do a race sim today.
maybe it made not much sense to let drive Valsecchi more cause he doesn't know the car and can't say much about new parts? " title="hmm" /> also we was using everything from Kimi, seat and so on so maybe that was also a problem " title="dunno" />
With scheduled driver Kimi Räikkönen sidelined through illness, Davide Valsecchi and Romain Grosjean both took turns in the E21 for today’s test at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Vastly improved weather on day three in Barcelona meant that Davide made his E21 debut on a dry track, completing 16 laps of familiarisation and exhaust / aero assessments to set the eleventh quickest time of the day.
After a brief stop-over in Paris, Romain returned to take over for the afternoon; completing 46 laps and ending the day with the tenth fastest time.
Fast Facts:
[list] [*] Track: Barcelona, Spain, 5.9km [/*:m][*] Chassis: E21-02[/*:m] [*] Weather: Sunny, dry, ambient 9-17°C, track 11-24°C [/*:m][*] Programme: System checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, assessment of the performance of the car with its initial aerodynamic package, new rear suspension set-up evaluation, new rear wing evaluation, driver orientation. [/*:m][*] Laps Completed: Romain: 46. Davide: 16. Total: 62 [/*:m][*] Classification: Romain: P10, 1:23.380. Davide: P11, 1:23.448 [/*:m][*] Interruptions: Red flags, altering car set-up for driver changes[/*:m][/list:u]
What’s Next?
Provided he is fit to return to the cockpit, Kimi will take the wheel tomorrow for the final day of pre-season testing.
Davide Valsecchi: “This morning was quite a rush to get everything ready as the call only came late, but the team were fantastic getting the car prepared for me. I only completed short runs today so I have a limited impression of the E21, however it’s clear that it’s a very good racing car. For me to be able to get immediately on the pace means that the car is certainly fast and competitive. It was a fantastic opportunity; I sat in the seat of a former World Champion so I knew that I’d be fast for sure.”
Romain Grosjean: “I certainly didn’t expect to be in the E21 again today so it was an interruption to a day off, but as interruptions go it was a pretty good one! The weather was definitely an improvement from what I’ve experienced so far and I was able to assess the new rear front wings; both of which feel improved over the initial versions. We ran with high fuel today so it wasn’t about lap times in the afternoon, but it’s all valuable data we’re getting for the car. I hope that Kimi is feeling better for tomorrow, but I don’t mind driving again if I have to.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Obviously, our day was rather compromised because of Kimi being ill. We changed the car for Davide to gain valuable experience in the morning, then changed it over lunchtime to Romain’s settings. Despite the disrupted running, we still completed a Grand Prix distance worth of laps and were able to put valuable miles on our latest rear wing concept as well as evaluating a new front wing. Both look to be a step in the right direction so it’s likely we’ll use them in Australia. Davide did a great job at short notice and we know we can rely on him if he’s called upon again. If Kimi is well enough tomorrow, we will run him in the car, otherwise it will be Romain in action once more.”
ZitatRaikkonen expected to drive on Sunday after missing Saturday's test By Jonathan Noble Saturday, March 2nd 2013, 18:08 GMT
Lotus expects Kimi Raikkonen to return to action for the final day of the Barcelona test, after being unable to run on Saturday because of food poisoning.
The Enstone-based outfit was forced to fly Romain Grosjean in from Paris to try and complete its test programme after Raikkonen was struck down overnight with illness.
Although a final decision about Raikkonen's fitness will be made on Sunday morning, team principal Eric Boullier said that the indication was that everything would be okay.
"He is feeling better," said Boullier, when asked by AUTOSPORT about Raikkonen's condition.
"I think he is missing driving obviously. He has confirmed he wants to drive tomorrow. He feels ready to drive tomorrow, so I am going to wait for the final assessment from our doctor. But I think he is going to be okay."
Grosjean, who will remain in Barcelona until tomorrow just in case Raikkonen is not fit enough to drive on Sunday, revealed that he only found out that he needed to return to the track when he woke up in Paris.
"I was a bit lazy this morning," explained the Frenchman. "I was supposed to wake up between 9.30am and 10am to do personal stuff in Paris, but I woke up earlier at 8.30am.
"I switched on the mobile phone and I had a message from Alan [Permane, Lotus director of race engineering], and he said, 'can you call me back because Kimi is not well? We would appreciate it if you could make it to Barcelona.'
"I called him back and said, 'we will try the easiest solution to bring me here'. It wasn't easy because basically it is Saturday and there are not thousands of flights. So I am happy to be here. I got here at 1.50pm and jumped in car and had a few laps."
Zitat "I was a [b]bit lazy this morning," explained the Frenchman. "I was supposed to wake up between 9.30am and 10am to do personal stuff in Paris, but I woke up earlier at 8.30am.
How is waking up an hour earlier than what he was originally planning too "lazy"?
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Also, Kimi's nephew on the left of Ja monsters picture looks as if he's going to " title="sad" />
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Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:40 pm
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" title="hmm" /> also we was using everything from Kimi, seat and so on so maybe that was also a problem 
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