Driver: Pastor Maldonado / Valtteri Bottas
Chassis / engine: FW35-01 / RS27-5409/3
Location: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona 4.655km
Objectives: Aero evaluations and set-up work
Weather: Dry and sunny
Air & track temps: 2-17ºC / 3-28ºC
Mike Coughlan, Technical Director: We’ve concluded a very successful couple of tests with the FW35, without any major problems to stop us running. We completed the tests with one set of car parts, including using the same gearbox, so we have a good reliability record. We brought an upgrade package here and in race trim the car looks competitive. We’ll now analyse all the data we have and then will go to Melbourne with the best package for the elevated temperatures we expect to find.
Pastor Maldonado: Winter testing has been good for us. The FW35 has been very reliable but we are still learning how the car behaves. The FW35 is completely different to drive compared to the FW34, mainly because of the new Coanda exhaust. It has given us greater overall downforce but we still have a way to go to make sure we get the maximum benefit. We have a good base to work from though so now we just need to unlock the full potential of the car. We have some great data to compare from this year and last, so it’s all to do back at the factory now.
Valtteri Bottas: We were focussing on shorter runs today and I now feel ready for a qualifying session. We did a high fuel run at the end of the day but we are still working hard to get the most out of the package we have. Overall, it has been a productive winter test and I’ve achieved what I wanted to from it. The car has been really reliable and now I feel fully prepared for the start of the season.
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