Renault rushed to fix a problem with their new Formula One power unit yesterday after Red Bull’s world champion Sebastian Vettel wrapped up his first pre-season test early with barely any laps completed.
While the three Renault-powered teams testing in Jerez struggled to put laps on the board, German driver Nico Rosberg completed an impressive 97 in his Mercedes, including one unbroken 24-lap stint.
Ferrari also appeared to be making progress, with 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen getting 47 laps under his belt in the new F14 T car.
Champions Red Bull called time on the second day with hours remaining so Renault could fix a problem with the energy store on their RB10 car.
Sister team Toro Rosso did not appear on track at all.
“Obviously we are facing problems,” Renault Sport F1 track operations head Remi Taffin told reporters crowding around his motorhome in the Jerez paddock at the end of the session.
“We know what the problem is, we’ve got the parts to solve the problem... we are confident that tomorrow (today) we will have all three cars on track.”
The power unit incorporates complex energy recovery systems and V6 turbo engine, replacing last year’s much more straightforward V8s.
Vettel, who managed only 11 laps in total over two days, left the circuit early after a technical debrief.
New Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo is due to be in the car for the remaining two days of the test.
“Obviously we’ve not had a lot of running and have a few problems to sort out, but with such big rule changes it is usual to have some teething problems,” said the German, who is chasing a fifth successive title this year.
“That’s what tests are for, to sort those issues out.
“The next two days will be important to get some track time to prepare for the next tests in Bahrain.”
Mercedes and Ferrari reported no major problems, with their teams building up useful banks of data on a day that was declared officially wet to test Pirelli compounds but ended up dry.
McLaren, who had been sidelined for all of Tuesday’s first day with set-up problems, ended the day fastest overall with Jenson Button completing 43 laps and a largely irrelevant best time of one minute 24.165 seconds.