F1: Force India wraps up winter testing in Barcelona

Barcelona: Sahara Force India wrapped up its winter test programme with Nico Hulkenberg covering 101 laps in the VJM05 on the final day as the team finalised its preparations for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Hulkenberg’s fastest lap came at 1:22.312 while covering a distance of 470kms. “We managed to fit a lot and hopefully when we have been through all the data we will have learned a lot, too. The race weekend simulation was useful, but unfortunately my race distance was cut short, so we will rely more on the data from Paul’s run yesterday. [caption id=“attachment_234340” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Hulkenberg’s fastest lap came at 1:22.312 while covering a distance of 470kms. Reuters”]  [/caption] “We were also busy trying all the tyre compounds to learn more about tyre management and how to get the most from them. You always want more time in the car, but I think we can be pleased with how our three tests have gone. We still need to find some more performance because the whole grid looks very close and competitive, and I expect the grid in Melbourne to be extremely tight,” the German driver said. Chief Engineer Jakob Andreasen said,“We started the day by addressing some of the issues we spotted during yesterday’s running and experimented with a few set-up solutions to try and ensure we develop a car that performs consistently across a wide operating window. The race distance we had planned for the afternoon was interrupted by red flags, so we didn’t hit our mileage targets, but it did give Nico a chance to do some extended running.” The opening race of the 2012 season will be held on 18 March in Melbourne. PTI