SportPesa Racing Formula 1 Ace Perez Shines, Vettel Baffled By Barcelona Clash
27th February 2019
Mexican racing star Perez completed 88 laps with a best time of 1:17.842 with car covering 410km in the circuit to take the second position behind Carlos Sainz of McLaren Renault
- “It was a good day, even though we had a bit of a slow start. We had a couple of small issues here and there and the red flags didn’t help, but in the end we finished the day with plenty of information. We were able to finally try some long runs after being pretty limited on mileage last week- Perez
- At the same time, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel admitted he had no idea why his Ferrari left the track and crashed into the barriers in Formula One testing on Wednesday
- Despite the crash, Vettel still managed the third fastest time of the day of 1min 18.195sec from his 40 laps
BARCELONA, Spain- Sergio Perez finished second in the second day of testing this week in Barcelona on Wednesday as the revamped SportPesa Racing Point Formula 1 team continued to make waves ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Mexican racing star Perez completed 88 laps with a best time of 1:17.842 with car covering 410km in the circuit to take the second position behind Carlos Sainz of McLaren Renault.
“It was a good day, even though we had a bit of a slow start. We had a couple of small issues here and there and the red flags didn’t help, but in the end we finished the day with plenty of information. We were able to finally try some long runs after being pretty limited on mileage last week.
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"We got to try the softer compounds of the Pirelli range and I was happy about the grip they offer. I had a good feeling with them and I hope we get to use them often this season, because they should work well on the majority of tracks.
"I'm looking forward to a good, trouble-free final day on the car on Friday, so that I can then prepare myself well before we head to Melbourne,” Perez remarked.
Speaking after another good workout at the P2 under the Barcelona sun, SportPesa Racing Point Performance Engineering Director, Tom McCullough, hailed the best performance in the Catalunya practice circuit thus far.
“It wasn’t the most straightforward morning: we struggled a bit with the balance of the car and the timing of stoppages on track, so we didn’t quite achieve all our test objectives before lunch. We were much more productive and able to make up lost time in the afternoon, however.
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Softest compounds
"We completed all the items we needed to evaluate and understand, and we focused on some long run data-gathering in preparation for the final two days of testing. Sergio got his first experience of the softest compounds and overall the car ran reliably, which is always a positive.
"We have a lot of information to process and plenty to understand, so there’s still a lot of work to do," McCullough gushed.
At the same time, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel admitted he had no idea why his Ferrari left the track and crashed into the barriers in Formula One testing on Wednesday.
The German's car was covered up and towed away after the accident which delayed the session by 45 minutes.
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"We don't know," said Vettel when asked why his Ferrari came off the circuit at Turn Three at a speed of around 150mph (241km/h).
"There was a problem with the accelerator. I didn't have control of the car anymore so we are trying to understand what happened. It's not ideal.
Sebastian Vettel from Germany with 05 Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow SF90 in action during the Formula 1 2019 Pre-Season Tests at Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya in Montmelo, Spain on February 27. PHOTO/AFP
"After the impact, there was a lot of damage that we must repair."
Vettel's accident and its subsequent investigation meant teammate Charles Leclerc was unable to set a time.
Despite the crash, Vettel still managed the third fastest time of the day of 1min 18.195sec from his 40 laps.
Sainz's teammate Lando Norris had topped the time charts on Tuesday.
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-Additional material from AFP used to compile this report
Formula 1 Testing P2 Times:
Carlos Sainz (ESP/McLaren-Renault) 1:17.166 (130 laps), Sergio Perez (MEX/Racing Point-Mercedes 1:17.962 (88), Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:18.195 (40), Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Alfa-Romeo Racing-Ferrari) 1:18.209 (113), Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas-Ferrari) 1:18.330 (120), Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull-Honda) 1:18.395 (128), Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso-Honda) 1:18.682 (101), Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes): 1:18.941 (74), Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes): 1:18.943 (102), Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault): 1:19.056 (58), Robert Kubica (POL/Williams-Mercedes) 1:19.367 (130), Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Renault): 1:22.597 (72), Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) -- no time set