F1: Ferrari tops Wednesday test as Bianchi subs for injured Raikkonen
Jules Bianchi was fastest on the second and final day of testing at Silverstone as the Ferrari-contracted driver moved over from his regular Marussia seat to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who was taking a rest after his big crash at Silverstone.
Apart from Bianchi, there were a few other changes with test drivers getting mileage at Lotus (Charles Pic), Force India (Daniel Juncadella), Sauber (Giedo van der Garde) and Caterham (Julian Leal).
The day was interrupted by several red flags, and indeed proceedings were brought to a premature conclusion when Van der Garde crashed, and it was decided that the barrier needed to be repaired.
“By the end of the day I got a really good feeling in the car,” said Bianchi. “Even if at the start, it was not so easy adapting to a car that’s very different to the one I race. The parameters are completely different and I spent the first runs getting used to it.
“Today we worked on race setup, trying various settings, both old and new, aimed at producing improvements in the coming races. Putting on a Ferrari race suit is always a special feeling and I hope one day I can wear it as a race driver, even if I have a lot to learn.”
Daniil Kvyat was second fastest, ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Van der Garde. Lewis Hamilton lost a lot of time after an off, and was fifth fastest.
“It wasn't an easy day today,” said Hamilton. “We had great weather but unfortunately had some problems at the start of the day which meant we lost some track time. The guys did a fantastic job to get the car ready again and we were able to put together a few successful runs. At the end of the day, we were going to do more important runs but the red flag came out. It could have been a lot worse as it could have been raining or we could have even done no laps, but some of the things we've tried in the car feel really positive.”
Sebastian Vettel was only ninth fastest as Red Bull took its turn to devote a day to Pirelli testing: “We did all the work we could for Pirelli. It was a shame we had to change the engine but the boys did a great job and we got in a solid two hours of track time at the end. We tried a lot of tires for next year, which was interesting.”
Formula 1 Silverstone test results - day two:
