Jerez test day 2

Inclement weather conditions again played a starring role in testing at the Circuito de Jerez, Spain, today. With the heavy rain showers and high winds that have so far characterised the testing showing no signs of abating, Force India was obliged to modify its testing schedule slightly to allow the race drivers the best chance of the forecasted better weather later this week, with Paul di Resta getting another half day testing in the VJM03 before Tonio took over in the afternoon. He was able to 24 laps and set a fastest lap time of 1:30.666, 3.521 seconds slower than Barrichello in his Williams. Force India made the most of the amended programme to run through further set-up evaluation, plus race preparation and fuel and hydraulic systems checks.

Tonio commented: “The weather was so difficult today with the constantly changing conditions. It seemed to rain every hour and then dry, but it never reached a stable level: it was either too dry for wets or too wet for dry tyres so you couldn’t get a consistent indicator of the performance. We did a few pit stop simulations and runs to get a bit more information and the car still seems to be responding well to changes. In these conditions though it’s very difficult to get a good understanding of what’s going on but everyone has the same weather, we just have to do what we can.”