The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. Nov
6th
Stay connected Subscribe to our RSS feed
On Tuesday, Kevin Magnussen, son of former Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen, set the best time of Day 1 at the final three-day young driver test at Abu Dhabi.
Kevin Magnussen spent the morning's session acclimatising to his first run in a McLaren F1 car.
That meant a focus on a host of gradual set-up changes, firstly to introduce him to the behaviour of a grand prix car under different mechanical influences, but also to fine-tune the car's set-up to his personal preference. The team declared they were impressed with the Dane's progress and aptitude.
Red Bull Junior driver, António Félix da Costa, was at the wheel of the Red Bull RB8 and emerged second quickest.
The Red Bull team split the allotted time between mechanical work in the morning and aero-mapping during the afternoon.
Gary Paffett undertook the afternoon's running at McLaren, undertaking a program primarily focused on evaluating a wide number of aerodynamic and suspension developments. He ranked third.
The team revealed that Paffett's workload also required a consistent baseline, meaning he drove without the benefit of DRS and quite below the limit in order to eliminate unwanted variables.
Fourth overall was Robin Frinjs, the newly crowned 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 World Series champion.
Frinjs started the day with hard tires and did some aero work in the morning before actually working on his lap time. Towards the end of the day, the Sauber team gave his a taste of different tire compounds and went with a set of medium and a set of soft.
Nicolas Prost was fifth in the Lotus-Renault. The son of Alain Prost completed a full engineering and aerodynamic programme. Pressure logging and aerodynamic testing were performed in the morning, while evaluation of rear drum configuration and further aerodynamic testing were done in the afternoon.
Luiz Razia was at the wheel of the Toro Rosso STR7, chassis No. 3, last raced in the Italian Grand Prix, back in September. He was sixth quickest, followed by Giedo van der Garde in the Caterham-Renault.
Young driver test, Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi, Day 1:
Pos Driver Constructor Best time* Laps
1 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1m42.651s 40
2 Antonio Felix da Costa Red Bull Racing 1m42.717s 79
3 Gary Paffett McLaren 1m43.407s 44
4 Robin Frijns Sauber 1m43.775s 78
5 Nicolas Prost Lotus-Renault 1m44.194s 55
6 Luiz Razia Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m44.691s 67
7 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1m45.936s 57
*Unofficial timing
Kevin Magnussen spent the morning's session acclimatising to his first run in a McLaren F1 car.
 |
| Kevin Magnussen, McLaren MP4-27. (Photo: WRi2) |
That meant a focus on a host of gradual set-up changes, firstly to introduce him to the behaviour of a grand prix car under different mechanical influences, but also to fine-tune the car's set-up to his personal preference. The team declared they were impressed with the Dane's progress and aptitude.
Red Bull Junior driver, António Félix da Costa, was at the wheel of the Red Bull RB8 and emerged second quickest.
 |
| Antonio Felix da Costa, Red Bull RB8. (Photo: Red Bull Racing) |
The Red Bull team split the allotted time between mechanical work in the morning and aero-mapping during the afternoon.
Gary Paffett undertook the afternoon's running at McLaren, undertaking a program primarily focused on evaluating a wide number of aerodynamic and suspension developments. He ranked third.
The team revealed that Paffett's workload also required a consistent baseline, meaning he drove without the benefit of DRS and quite below the limit in order to eliminate unwanted variables.
Fourth overall was Robin Frinjs, the newly crowned 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 World Series champion.
 |
| Robin Frijns, Sauber C31. (Photo: Sauber F1 Team) |
Frinjs started the day with hard tires and did some aero work in the morning before actually working on his lap time. Towards the end of the day, the Sauber team gave his a taste of different tire compounds and went with a set of medium and a set of soft.
Nicolas Prost was fifth in the Lotus-Renault. The son of Alain Prost completed a full engineering and aerodynamic programme. Pressure logging and aerodynamic testing were performed in the morning, while evaluation of rear drum configuration and further aerodynamic testing were done in the afternoon.
 |
| Nicolas Prost, Lotus E20. (Photo: Lotus F1 Team) |
Luiz Razia was at the wheel of the Toro Rosso STR7, chassis No. 3, last raced in the Italian Grand Prix, back in September. He was sixth quickest, followed by Giedo van der Garde in the Caterham-Renault.
Young driver test, Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi, Day 1:
Pos Driver Constructor Best time* Laps
1 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1m42.651s 40
2 Antonio Felix da Costa Red Bull Racing 1m42.717s 79
3 Gary Paffett McLaren 1m43.407s 44
4 Robin Frijns Sauber 1m43.775s 78
5 Nicolas Prost Lotus-Renault 1m44.194s 55
6 Luiz Razia Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m44.691s 67
7 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1m45.936s 57
*Unofficial timing
 |
| Looks familiar? Nicolas Prost in the Lotus E20. (Photo: Lotus F1 Team) |