Williams Martini Jerez Test 03:02:2015 Day Three

Driver: Felipe Massa
Chassis / Engine: FW37-01 / PU106B Hybrid
Location: Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives: Aero work, systems and reliability checks
Weather: Damp in the morning, overcast and mild
Air & track temps: 11 - 15ºC / 11 - 16ºC

On a day that saw the track damp from overnight rain it would be Felipe Massa who would take over the testing duties for the Williams Martini team. With the start of the session Felipe would take to the track but would only set a slow 1m:45.928 prior to pitting. With forty five minutes of the session completed Felipe would head back out along with Raikkonen who was having his first run in the Ferrari. Felipe would
return to the pit lane but only to attempt a practice start. Quickest so far was Rosberg who set a 1m:33.059 running on intermediate tyres. Several teams were out conduction aero evaluations including Sauber and Ferrari. With the track continuing to dry the session would be red flagged when the Sauber of Nasr went off the track.

With three hours of the session completed Felipe had only been able to complete a handful of laps as Rosberg and Raikkonen swapped fastest times. Raikkonen would be quickest with a 1m:26.418. Felipe would reappear after a considerable break. Rosberg would move to the top of the times with a 1m:26.064. On a new set of medium tyres Rosberg would lower his best with a 1m:24.770. Raikkonen would also improve with a 1m:24.357. Rosberg would stop out on the track bringing out a red flag. With the green flag coming out Raikkonen would come back out and set a 1m:24.197 followed by a 1m:24.074, while for Williams Felipe would set a 1m:25.365.

Felipe was trying to make up for lost time and would continue to put in laps. Rosberg would eventually return to the track and would immediately set a 1m:22.810 to go quickest. Felipe had been able to improve his lap time setting a 1m:24.896 to be fourth. As the afternoon progressed Felipe would improve setting a 1m:22.276, seven tenths off the pace. The top three times were all in the 1m:21s. With around an hour remaining Felipe had completed fifty eight laps with the Williams team having completed a total of 205 laps overall.

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: It's been another good day and good to have Felipe get his first drive of the FW37 today. We have started to do a little more chassis work as we continue to work through our plan. Felipe gave us very much the same feedback as Valtteri did, so it's pleasing that they share the same views and characteristics as each other on the FW37. Overall it’s been a positive day.

Felipe Massa: I am happy after a good first day in the car. The FW37 is another step forward from where we left the FW36, which is promising. I am also confident in the car set-up. The feeling in the car was good even for a first impression and it's well balanced. We lost a bit of time in the morning due to the wet weather so hopefully tomorrow we can continue to get the miles in and head to Barcelona well prepared.

Driver 		 Team 		  Best Time 	Best / 
						Total Laps
1. F. Nasr 	Sauber 		 1:21.545 	67 / 109
2. K. Raikkonen Ferrari 	 1:21.750 	61 / 94
3. N. Rosberg 	Mercedes 	 1:21.982 	128 / 151
4. F. Massa 	WILLIAMS MARTINI 1:22.276 	57 / 71
5. P. Maldonado Lotus 		 1:22.713 	73 / 96
6. C. Sainz 	Toro Rosso 	 1:23.187 	105 / 137
7. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 	 1:23.901 	20 / 49
8. F. Alonso 	McLaren 	 1:35.553 	21 / 32