Dave Robson, Senior Race Engineer: We completed the 2019 campaign with a very productive day of testing here in Abu Dhabi. Roy began the day collecting important aero data before completing the tyre testing that he began yesterday. Once again, he drove confidently, professionally, and proficiently and provided us with some very valuable feedback on the 2020 tyres.
Nicholas drove for the final six hours of the day to get his first experience of the new tyres on a warm track. He completed a similar programme to the one that George ran yesterday, but this time concentrating on getting the best performance out of the 2020 C4 compound. As he has done in each of the FP1 sessions that he has driven this season, he gave some very good feedback and helped guide our long run programme this afternoon. This was valuable experience for both us and Nicholas and we now head back to the factory with a lot of new information on the tyres, which will help inform our choices of compound for both winter testing and the opening races of next season.
It is nice to have ended this season with a very useful and productive two days of testing. It is testament to the entire team that the car ran reliably and effectively throughout, completing 273 laps. The post-season test is always hard work, but to do this at the end of such a long season is a huge ask of the mechanics who have spent the last ten months on the road. At the end of this season, in particular, they deserve a lot of credit for pushing to the end and ensuring that we completed such a successful test. They are supported throughout the season by a superb garage support group as well as our wonderful marketing, media and catering teams. We thank all of them for their unwavering help, support, good humour and unlimited cups of tea. Without them, the track would be a considerably less enjoyable place to be. We wish them all a well-earned break and a very merry Christmas.
Nicholas Latifi: It was a good day, there were a lot of laps in a short space of time. It was very productive as I got to experience the new 2020 tyres, which will be good experience going into next year. I ran these on low fuel, quali style runs and then, more importantly, full fuel race simulations which I had yet to experience. The afternoon ran pretty smoothly, we had no issues and I am very pleased with my first official day in the new job.
Roy Nissany: Again, it was another great day. We started this morning with some aero rakes and a lot of engineering testing. It was very productive, for myself, and for the team. We did a lot of long runs, and I made some good improvements throughout the session. Overall, I am very happy with my performance in the test and I hope the team feels the same way.
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