Day two of pre-season testing has come to a close, and fans across the globe are delighted to see early signs of more competition at the front of the grid this season.
Let’s take a look at what some of the drivers have to say following a busy day on track.
Antonio Giovinazzi #99, Alfa Romeo:
“I am really happy with the work we did: it was a long day, with a lot of laps, but I think we ticked all the boxes on our list. We did long runs and qualifying runs and we managed to achieve all we set out to do.
“It was my last day in the car before the first race and I feel confident about the season. We worked very hard during the winter and we are ready for the first round: it’s hard to say where we expect to stand, I think we have a good baseline but we won’t know for certain until the first qualifying of the year.”
Fernando Alonso #14, Alpine:
“We completed a lot of laps today and followed the programme that was planned so that is good, but we need to sit down now and analyse everything.
“The car did feel good today, but I think we still need to understand the characteristics of the new aero package a bit better.
“We ran with the harder compounds today and we have more running to do tomorrow, so between myself and Esteban we will aim to collect even more data and fine-tune the overall package.”
Pierre Gasly #10, AlphaTauri:
“It’s been another really positive day for me, with a lot of laps done this afternoon. We managed to complete all the high-fuel running that we wanted to at the start of the session and then some performance runs towards the end, with the softer compound.
“I feel really good in the car, especially compared to this time last year, so it’s really positive for me. There are obviously places we still need to improve upon, but I think we’re in a good place with one day left of running at this test.
“The Honda Power Unit is working really well so far and we haven’t had any reliability issues which is great – I’m excited to get it out on track for the race.
“With only three days of testing – split between two drivers – I knew it would be difficult but considering how many laps we’ve been able to complete so far I’m feeling quite comfortable with the car ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.”
Yuki Tsunoda #22, AlphaTauri:
“I think for me on the driving side things are definitely improving each time I go out. The weather again today has been an issue, particularly with the changes in wind direction, so it’s definitely been a big learning curve.
“I’m really starting to understand the car and how it reacts with different tyre compounds now – my performance isn’t perfect yet but I’m happy with how the test is going from my side.
“I’m also getting more confident in high-speed corners, as I continue to understand the downforce levels of the car more with each run we do. It’s good learning for the team, and also for myself, so hopefully we can put it all together tomorrow.”
Nicholas Latifi #6, Williams:
“It was great to get some proper running back behind the wheel. It was nice to push the car in the dry and knock the dust off from the winter.
“It was a tricky day with the wind, but it was good to get some running in these conditions as there was lots to learn. As is normal in pre-season testing, there were a few half-spins as I was pushing to see what the limits were.
“I think we can be happy with the number of laps we completed today, and we now have a lot of data to analyse to be as prepared as possible for the first race of the season.”
The final day of testing will kick off on Sunday morning (March 14) at 6:50 am Irish time.
