Force India Jerez test roundup
Test programme
The Force India Formula One Team today completed the second test of its winter development programme at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain.
Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde brought the four-day test to a conclusion, rounding off the programme that included Ralf Schumacher and Tonio Liuzzi testing yesterday, Christian Klien and Giancarlo Fisichella on Wednesday and Giancarlo and Franck Montagny on Tuesday.
Over the four days the team covered over 2,600km – more than eight race distances – as it worked through an extensive programme of chassis development, evaluation of the new 2008 standard electronics package and testing the 2009 ‘slick’ development Bridgestone Potenza tyres for the first time.
Throughout, the highly experienced drivers contributed with valuable feedback that will be incorporated back into the ongoing winter development programme. The team will now return to its Silverstone base to focus on next season’s Force India challenger.
Team quotes
Vijay Mallya, Chairman and Managing Director:
“The test has been a very fruitful one for the team. Not only have we demonstrated the strong potential of the team by attracting five highly talented drivers to test for us, it’s also been very motivating for the team to have the benefit of their experience to help develop the car.”
“This week has had a very positive impact on the motivation of the mechanics, engineers and all involved and has shown the sporting community that we are serious about what Force India wants to achieve in Formula 1. Thank you to all the drivers who contributed so much and to the hard work of the team for making it such a productive event. It’s just the start of many interesting projects for this team.”
Final testing data
Drivers:
Tuesday: Giancarlo Fisichella & Franck Montagny
Wednesday: Giancarlo Fisichella & Christian Klien
Thursday: Ralf Schumacher & Vitantonio Liuzzi
Friday: Roldan Rodriguez & Giedo van der Garde
Best lap times:
1:20.187 (Christian, slick tyres)
1:20.470 (Giancarlo, slick tyres)
1:21.194 (Tonio)
1:21.559 (Franck)
1:21.853 (Ralf)
1:22.321 (Giedo)
1:22.508 (Roldan)
Total laps completed: 616
155 (Giancarlo), 86 (Christian), 82 (Roldan), 81 (Giedo), 76 (Tonio), 71 (Ralf), 65 (Franck)
Total kilometres completed: 2,671km
672km (Giancarlo), 373km (Christian), 355km (Roldan), 352km (Giedo), 330km (Tonio), 308km (Ralf), 282km (Franck)
Weather:
Dry, cloudy and mild after cold start
Temperatures:
Air high of 18ºC, track high of 20ºC