Barcelona Test 2014 – Day Two

Driver: Susie Wolff
Chassis/Engine: FW36-03 / PU106 Hybrid
Locations: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Objectives: Aero evaluations and mechanical tests
Weather: Warm and dry
Maximum air & track temps: 22°C / 36°C

Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer: We had a very productive day today, with Susie performing some aero test work and control systems testing and we completed our planned testing programme on schedule this morning. The focus this afternoon was then on giving Susie the time in the car she needs to understand the intricacies of the FW36 and to get a feel for how the new look regulations have changed the car’s behaviour. The improved weather today also helped us gather the data we need, and we will now be analysing this to make further improvements to the car in time for Monaco.

Susie Wolff: This was my first opportunity to drive the FW36 and I learnt a lot about how to drive these new look cars which are very different to previous seasons. With last year’s car the harder you pushed the faster you went, but now you have to manage certain elements a lot more. The cars also have a lot more torque which was a steep learning curve, and this caught me out at the beginning of the session. Overall today was a productive day for the team and we worked very well together to quickly complete our planned aero and mechanical evaluations. I was then able to get some good mileage under my belt to understand the characteristics of the car and how to get the most out of this new style of power unit.

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