F1: Young Driver Test Kicks Off At Magny-Cours

Formula 1

F1: Young Driver Test Kicks Off At Magny-Cours

The focus is on new developments rather than just giving rookies mileage in the Young Driver test at Magny-Cours...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted September 11, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Jules Bianchi topped the first day of Young Driver testing in a Ferrari. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Formula One returned to Magny-Cours Tuesday for the first time since the 2008 French GP as a three-day Young Driver test kicked off.

Some teams ran at Silverstone in July and others have chosen to wait until Abu Dhabi later in the year, but Ferrari, Mercedes and Force India have all opted to run this week.

Given the lack of normal in-season testing, the emphasis is very much on new developments rather than just giving rookies some mileage.

Having run on Fridays for Force India this year, Jules Bianchi returned to his ‘day job’ with Ferrari and duly topped the times after trying aero updates. The Frenchman, who stopped on track at one point, will drive the Force India later in the week.

“Today we tried various aerodynamic components, which are not big evolutions for the car," said Bianchi, "but things already tried on Fridays at the races and brought here to confirm some of the data. It’s the first time I’ve driven this year’s car, and it was good opportunity for me to get some experience of it.

"I immediately felt comfortable, with a good pace, but right near the end of the session when I wanted to go for a time, we had a small electrical problem. Apart from that, it was a completely positive day: I really like driving this track, and its characteristics are particularly well-suited to testing.”

Meanwhile, GP2 frontrunner Luiz Razia, who has driven for Caterham/Lotus in the past, had his first run for Force India, and finished the day in second place.

Regular Mercedes test driver Sam Bird had a lot to test at Mercedes as the team ran its new exhaust system, although the team said little about what it was experimenting with.

“We've had a very productive first day of the test today and were able to complete everything that we had planned on our program,” said Bird. “It felt great to be back in the car again, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I've driven at Magny Cours previously in a Formula 3 car, and it was good to experience it today in a Formula One car.

“The layout here is nice and smooth, whilst also being quite challenging. We've collected a lot of data today which will take some time to sift through this evening, and I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow."

Unofficial Tuesday test times from Magny-Cours:
1. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1m 18.070, 87 Laps
2. Luiz Razia, Force India, 1m 18.535, 65 Laps
3. Sam Bird, Mercedes, 1m 19.094, 95 Laps

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.