Force India’s Nico Hülkenberg posted the quickest time during a run on Super Soft tyres on the third day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Hülkenberg had been quickest on both the Medium tyres during the morning and the Soft rubber early in the afternoon session, before he improved further on the Super Soft compound. Hülkenberg’s time of 1:23.110 proved to be 2.764s faster than Haas’ Romain Grosjean, whose best time came on the Soft compound on another impressive day for the team. […]

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel continued to set the pace during the second day of testing in Spain, as he sampled Pirelli’s Ultra Soft tyres for the first time. Vettel fitted the Ultra Soft compound shortly before the lunch break and clocked a time of 1:22.810, 0.715s ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo also completed his best time on the Ultra Soft tyres, a few minutes before Vettel lowered the benchmark. Vettel, however, brought running to a premature halt when his SF16-H stopped at the […]

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli says it was able to trial some new materials during the post-race test in Austria, which may be used in 2016. Mercedes, Ferrari and Toro Rosso aided Pirelli's development across the duration of the test as they undertook selected running of front and rear prototype tyres. The tyres included similar characteristics to the current range but had slightly different materials within them. "It was a slightly frustrating beginning to the test in Austria, with rain wiping out the opening morning," […]

DTM Champion Marco Wittmann was left to reflect positively as he received his maiden Formula 1 outing with Toro Rosso on Wednesday. Wittmann was given the prize test from BMW as a reward for winning last year's title in the German series. Wittmann was scheduled to drive for Toro Rosso earlier this year at Imola but wet weather caused the private test to be cancelled. Wittmann's outing was rearranged for the Red Bull Ring, where he completed 158 laps on his way to the fourth […]

Fernando Alonso says he has been encouraged by McLaren's progress across the post-race test in Austria as the squad bids to recover from two dismal races. McLaren suffered two successive double retirements in Canada and Austria, with mechanical issues and penalties affecting both Alonso and Jenson Button, prior to the Spaniard being eliminated in the race by Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren returned to action at the post-race test on Tuesday, with test and development driver Stoffel Vandoorne enjoying a trouble-free day. Alonso took over testing duties […]

Austrian Grand Prix victor Nico Rosberg clocked the quickest time for Mercedes on the final day of 2015 testing at the Red Bull Ring on Wednesday. Rosberg recovered from a gearbox failure and posted a time of 1:09.113 on a largely dry day at the circuit to ensure that Mercedes again ended up on top of the pile. His time was 0.8s quicker than nearest rival, Ferrari’s Esteban Gutiérrez, as the drivers enjoyed a fairly trouble-free day of running. Valtteri Bottas was the only driver […]

Reigning F3 Champion Esteban Ocon expressed his happiness after completing a 'mega' day of testing for Force India in Austria. Mercedes-associated drive Ocon, who races in GP3, conducted his second outing of 2015 with Force India and clocked the second quickest time, behind Mercedes' Pascal Wehrlein. Ocon was able to test some of the updates on Force India's VJM08 and the Frenchman noticed that the car had improved since his run last month in Spain. "It’s been mega and thank you to Force India for […]

Ferrari youngster Antonio Fuoco says he is angry with himself after making a mistake on his test debut with the squad, which led to him crashing out at Turn 1. Fuoco lost the rear end of the SF15-T at Turn 1 and spun into the tyre barriers, causing damage to the right hand side of his car. Despite the crash, Fuoco ended fourth quickest, three-tenths of a second down on pace setter Pascal Wehrlein. "I am very angry with myself for making a mistake, but […]

The final Formula 1 test of 2015 takes place this week at the Red Bull Ring, home of last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. Nine teams will stay on to run on Tuesday and Wednesday, with several teams using the opportunity to run reserve drivers or young racers. Race winner Nico Rosberg will be in action for Mercedes, while Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas are among Formula 1 front runners in action. GP2 championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne will test for McLaren, while Pascal Wehrlein […]

Pascal Wehrlein will receive further outings for both Force India and Mercedes at next week's post-race test in Austria. Wehrlein drove for both squads during pre-season testing and received another day in the Mercedes W06 Hybrid in Spain, though missed out on running for Force India due to illness. Wehrlein will test for Force India on Tuesday before moving to Mercedes on Wednesday, the squads confirmed to F1Zone.net. Nico Rosberg will drive for Mercedes on the opening day of running at the Red Bull Ring. […]

Red Bull young driver Pierre Gasly will receive another outing for the squad at next week's post-race test in Austria. Gasly made his Formula 1 test debut in Spain for Toro Rosso, before moving across to Red Bull on the following day. Gasly will pilot the RB11 next Wednesday, with regular driver Daniel Ricciardo testing the car on the opening day of running on Tuesday.

Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly explained that there is little difference between the Red Bull RB11 and Toro Rosso STR10 after the French driver tested both cars at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Gasly sampled the Toro Rosso on Tuesday - his first experience in a Formula 1 car - before moving to the senior squad for Wednesday's running, during which he posted to third best time. "To be honest, the difference is really small," he said when asked to compare the two Renault-powered outfits. "In […]