Nine of the ten teams took part in the final winter test, each with their 2015 cars. Mercedes finally got the yellow-striped soft compound Pirelli tyre out for some blistering times, but they still appeared to be holding back. This test saw the first appearance of Force India’s VJM08, meaning that except for Marussia Manor’s revised 2014 car, we have seen each of the cars expected to arrive at Melbourne in two weeks. Be sure to check out my reports on the Jerez test and the first Barcelona test also.
Barcelona Winter Test 2 Day 1
Felipe Massa set a rather strong time on the first day of the second test at Barcelona, which brought the benchmark well into the one minute 23 range. We got the first indication that the Mercedes W06 was not a completely invincible machine as they were halted after ‘just’ 48 laps. Force India did not take part during the first day whilst they waited for the arrival of their car. Toro Rosso arrived with a revised STR10 which looked significantly different to the original model, whilst McLaren completed a meagre seven laps.
- Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes FW37, 1:23.500, 103 laps, Soft tyre
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari C34, +0.776, 122, Super Soft
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W06, +1.381, 48, Medium
- Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull-Renault RB11, +2.447, 75, Medium
- Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Mercedes E23, +2.677, 75, Soft
- Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari SF15-T, +2.827, 80, Medium
- Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso-Renault STR10, +3.462, 86, Medium
- Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda MP4-30, +7.979, 7, Medium
Barcelona Winter Test 2 Day 2
Rejoice for McLaren fans as the car finally achieved one hundred laps! The car broke down immediately after however, but the mileage was by far the most that McLaren had achieved in a single day so far. However, at the top of the timesheets, Mercedes set some alarming speed, going over seven tenths quicker than Felipe Massa’s best effort on the same tyre compound the day previous. The Force India VJM08 finally made an appearance, and completed a healthy amount of laps in the hands of Nico Hülkenberg.
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W06, 1:22.792, 106, Soft
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes FW37, +1.203, 90, Soft
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari C34, +1.279, 141, Soft
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF15-T, +2.547, 143, Soft
- Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda MP4-30, +2.798, 101, Soft
- Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes E23, +3.913, 140, Soft
- Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso-Renault STR10, +3.974, 139, Medium
- Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull-Renault RB11, +4.173, 84, Medium
- Nico Hülkenberg, Force India-Mercedes VJM08, +5.620, 77, Medium
Barcelona Winter Test 2 Day 3
Lewis Hamilton kept the soft tyre-equipped Mercedes at the top of the timing screens whilst many teams opted to try out the super soft tyre. Nico Hülkenberg achieved a magnificent 158 laps (the most mileage of anybody in any test to that point) whilst an oil leak side-lined McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen who substituted for the absent Fernando Alonso. The fact that even on the super soft tyre no team could beat Mercedes should send shockwaves through to the field. It all sounds very ominous at this stage.
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W06, 1:23.022, 76, Soft
- Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes FW37, +0.240, 102, Super Soft
- Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari SF15-T, +0.254, 136, Super Soft
- Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso-Renault STR10, +1.169, 132, Super Soft
- Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Mercedes E23, +1.178, 116, Super Soft
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari C34, +1.455, 123, Super Soft
- Nico Hülkenberg, Force India-Mercedes VJM08, +1.917, 158, Super Soft
- Kevin Magnussen, McLaren-Honda MP4-30, +2.203, 39, Soft
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault RB11, +2.720, 128, Medium
Barcelona Winter Test 2 Day 4
Sunday came and the teams had one last chance to see what their cars could do before packing up for Melbourne. Pastor Maldonado crashed his Lotus, whilst the likes of Felipe Nasr and Nico Rosberg did some serious mileage, with Nasr exceeding Hülkenberg’s effort the day previous. Sergio Perez got his one and only chance in the Force India VJM08, and put it to good use, knocking in well over one hundred tours of the Catalunya circuit.
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes FW37, 1:23.063, 89, Super Soft
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF15-T, +0.406, 127, Super Soft
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari C34, +0.960, 159, Super Soft
- Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso-Renault STR10, +1.204, 84, Super Soft
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault RB11, +1.575, 70, Soft
- Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes VJM08, +2.050, 127, Super Soft
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W06, +2.123, 146, Medium
- Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda MP4-30, +2.224, 30, Super Soft
- Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes E23, +5.209, 36, Soft
Complete Barcelona Winter Test 2 Times
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W06, 1:22.792, 252, Soft
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W06, 1:23.022, 124, Soft
- Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes FW37, 1:23.063, 179, Super Soft
- Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes FW37, 1:23.262, 205, Super Soft
- Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari SF15-T, 1:23.276, 216, Super Soft
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF15-T, 1:23.469, 270, Super Soft
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari C34, 1:24.023, 300, Super Soft
- Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso-Renault STR10, 1:24.191, 218, Super Soft
- Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Mercedes E23, 1:24.200, 191, Super Soft
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari C34, 1:24.477, 245, Super Soft
- Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso-Renault STR10, 1:24.527, 223, Super Soft
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault RB11, 1:24.638, 198, Soft
- Nico Hülkenberg, Force India-Mercedes VJM08, 1:24.939, 235, Super Soft
- Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes VJM08, 1:25.113, 130, Super Soft
- Kevin Magnussen, McLaren-Honda MP4-30, 1:25.225, 39, Soft
- Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda MP4-30, 1:25.327, 138, Soft
- Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes E23, 1:26.705, 176, Soft
- Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull-Renault RB11, 1:26.965, 159, Medium
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