Nicolas Prost is one of only two cars out on track since that brief, albeit mystery, red-flag period and the Frenchman has just moved into the top four, having improved on his earlier best by a large 1.8s margin.
Latest news - Kimi won't be taking part on YDT at all. Apparently after Lotus got the description of what they can and what they can't do when current pilot driving, they decided that it would actually harm their progress.
I assume any current driver won't be allowed to try new parts (while young drivers can), so this is a reason why Alonso is not going and Kimi is off as well.
Latest news - Kimi won't be taking part on YDT at all. Apparently after Lotus got the description of what they can and what they can't do when current pilot driving, they decided that it would actually harm their progress.
I assume any current driver won't be allowed to try new parts (while young drivers can), so this is a reason why Alonso is not going and Kimi is off as well.
I am not surprised at all I was expecting this news. I think the race drivers wouldn't be able to do proper setup work and perhaps Lotus wouldn't even be able to test the PDRS and the slimline bodywork with Kimi. Perhaps Pirelli will dictate a lot of the terms.
"It was like Christmas Day when I was driving the car today" - That's one happy @nico_prost -> http://bit.ly/12VAnzn pic.twitter.com/PQmhiZCfxf
ZitatChristmas Comes Early for Nico Prost[/size]
The first day of the Silverstone Young Driver Test saw Nico Prost take the wheel of the E21, running through a busy programme including bolting rather strange things to the car… Christmas Comes Early for Nico Prost
How was your day at Silverstone?
It was a very good day today. It’s a great track to drive and we had perfect weather too. We had quite a big programme with a lot of different things to work through, including new parts and different aerodynamic assessments, so it’s been pretty busy! We saw some strange appendages added to the car; how is it driving with large aero-logging rakes and such like?
Funnily enough, you don’t really notice the rake on the side of the car, but you do notice some of the associated wiring near the cockpit. You soon get used to it, but it’s not the kind of thing you’d want to use in a race! Does P8 on the board at the end of the day mean anything?
Our aim was not for performance today, but performance when the team gets to Budapest. This meant that we were conducting comparison and aero tests where you keep the car setup consistent so the data has fewer variables. We also only ran with the hard tyres today. Hopefully, if we get through the programme well on Friday, there will be the opportunity to work on faster runs. What’s next for you?
[size=150] It was like Christmas Day when I was driving the car today
Tomorrow I’ll be working in the simulator, then back here on Friday for more time on track which I’m looking forward to tremendously. It was like Christmas Day when I was driving the car today, then got told that I would be back in it again on Friday. It’s a great feeling.
1. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:33.513, 32 laps 2. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:34.392, 6 laps 3. Davide Rigon, Ferrari, 1:34.812, 26 laps 4. Davide Valsecchi, Lotus, 1:34.971, 19 laps 5. Antonio Felix da Costa, Red Bull, 1:34.982, 7 laps 6. James Calado, Force India, 1:35.508, 21 laps 7. Oliver Turvey, McLaren, 1:36.060, 14 laps 8. Rodolfo Gonzalez, Marussia, 1:38:431, 27 laps 9. Will Stevens, Caterham, 1:50.648, 15 laps 10. Robin Frijns, Sauber, No time, 10 laps
It could just be the way the light is falling, and it properly is. But it almost looks as if an airbox or something has been added on to the PDRS ears.