Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Chassis / Engine: FW37-01 / PU106B Hybrid
Location: Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives: New component, systems and reliability checks
Weather: Dry and sunny
Air & track temps: 7 – 14ºC / 9 – 20ºC
Valtteri Bottas: 1:23.906 (+1.286) 5th
Quickest Time: Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari: 1:22.620
Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: We have gone through our normal winter test programmes today and have solved any issues that have arisen. We lost a bit of time this morning but once on track, Valtteri clocked up 73 laps. We have new hardware on the car and there is a new power unit, and all of these have to be checked and tested whilst we are running before we can start looking at performance. Jerez isn’t too representative as a circuit as the surface is so abrasive, this limits the amount of useful performance work we can carry out. We are very satisfied with the first day and are looking forward to tomorrow.
Valtteri Bottas: The day started off a bit slow, but it ended turned out to be a really good one. After that initial set-back we didn’t have a single issue with the FW37, which is impressive for the first day with a new car. We started off on shorter runs before longer runs later this afternoon, including one run that was significant considering again that it’s only the first day. The car was consistent, so it’s a really good start to the week and we are pleased that it’s still a step up from the car we had at the end of last season. We know we have a lot to learn and improve, but we also know where these gains can come from, and have work to do with the car performance and the power unit. There are a lot of strengths in this car and we’ve made good progress in just one day, so I am very pleased.
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