Sauber Barcelona testing - Day 3 report

Sauber press release

Test in Barcelona – Day three

Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber F1 Team

Photo by: xpb.cc

Barcelona, 23rd February 2012 – Kamui Kobayashi was back at the wheel of the Sauber C31-Ferrari today. It was a straightforward test day – no noteworthy problems but a programme that excites engineers rather than fans. Kamui did set-up and aero work, including a comparison between two different rear wings. Ninety nine laps produced a lot of recorded data and information to now go through.

Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya / 4.655 km

Driver: Kamui Kobayashi (JP)

Weather: Sunny all day, air 6-21°C, track 9-26°C

Chassis / engine: C31.02 / Ferrari 056

Mileage today: 99 laps

Fastest lap: 1:23,582 min (before lunch, soft tyres)

Giampaolo Dall’Ara (Head of Track Engineering):

“We have had a straightforward test day. Kamui did almost a hundred laps. His programme was mainly about improving and confirming what we understand about the car. For example we were looking for improvements in the front tyre warm-up, evaluating different aero parts and ran different suspension configurations. The programme required a lot of five to ten lap runs. It was a productive day for Kamui and the team. Tomorrow’s test programme tends to become a bit more exciting, and that is also for the outside world.”

Kamui Kobayashi:

“It was my first day of driving the new car here in Barcelona, and it was a good one. We had no noteworthy problems all day and went through a lot of test items. I can feel we have made some progress compared to the test in Jerez. But, of course, we have a lot more work to do and there is room for improvement.”

What comes next: Kamui Kobayashi will continue driving on Friday, the final day of this test.