Toro Rosso young driver test report day 1

Circuit: Yas Marina Circuit -- 5.554 km Driver: Jean-Eric Vergne Chassis: STR5 - 03 Best time: 1:42.489, 93 laps After a one day break from track action, the Formula 1 teams were back at work for a final week of testing in 2010. Today and tomorrow ...

Circuit: Yas Marina Circuit -- 5.554 km
Driver: Jean-Eric Vergne
Chassis: STR5 - 03
Best time: 1:42.489, 93 laps

After a one day break from track action, the Formula 1 teams were back at work for a final week of testing in 2010. Today and tomorrow are officially designated as a Young Driver test, included on the calendar to deal with the fact that the in-season test ban makes it hard to give drivers from the lower formulae a chance to experience a Formula 1 car.

In the cockpit for Scuderia Toro Rosso was Jean-Eric Vergne, the Frenchman who has won this year's British Formula 3 International Championship, as part of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme. With testing being such a valuable commodity, apart from giving the driver time in the car, the team also used the day to work on elements for next season so the STR 5 was run with various aerodynamic configurations. Vergne then also had the opportunity to try the car in race trim, which made for a very different car in terms of mass and balance and the Frenchman also did his first tyre comparison, using the medium and super soft Bridgestones, which the teams had used over the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.

"We completed a very busy schedule today, split between an evaluation of the driver and working on elements for next year's car," said Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. "Jean-Eric performed consistently throughout the day and it was good that he was fit enough to complete 93 laps without any problem."