The 2014
Fórmula 1 season ended this Sunday but for the teams, the work
continued straight away. Following the season finale in Abu Dhabi
they tested for two days at the same venue and invited three Fórmula
3 European Championship young-guns to the tests. In addition to Max
Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam)
who already had covered their first kilometres at the wheel of F1
single-seaters, Richard Goddard (ThreeBond with T-Sport) also made
the trip to Abu Dhabi to make his debut in a Fórmula 1 car.
On day
one, only Max Verstappen was involved in the testing work. The
Dutchman completed 55 laps at the wheel of a Toro Rosso vehicle to
finish ninth on the time sheets. On day two, the 17-year old who
already has been signed as GP driver for the 2015 season by the
Scuderia Toro Rosso was even busier and completed a total of 78 laps.
“Sitting behind the wheel for a total of four hours felt just
great,” he beamed. “In the morning session we succeeded in
completing our scheduled programme and could test several things for
the 2015 season. In the afternoon, we were hampered by some technical
problems but the team solved these problems before the session was
over”. On the second day of testing, Verstappen crossed the line in
1:43s763, thus securing the third position on the time sheets.
Reigning
FIA Fórmula 3 European Champion Esteban Ocon joined the test action
only on day two. The long-term Lotus Fórmula 1 Junior contested the
morning session for Team Lotus F1 and completed 34 laps. With his
personal fastest lap time of 1:47s013, the Frenchman was the
10th-fastest on day two. “The tests ran really well,” he revealed
before hitting the road back to France. “We completed the scheduled
programme and didn’t focus on setting fast lap times. At the same
time, I used the opportunity to keep on familiarising myself even
with the E22 and I’m understanding the car better and better.
Meanwhile, the team also supported me with a great feedback and
that’s something I was particularly delighted with”.
In
addition to Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen who both have had bonds
with Fórmula 1 teams for quite a while, Richard Goddard also was
offered the chance of demonstrating his skills in a Fórmula 1
cockpit, at Abu Dhabi. The Australian covered his first Fórmula
kilometres for Force Índia and did a great job. At the end of the
day he had completed 89 laps and set a personal fastest lap time of
1:44s944, thus making it to sixth position on the time sheets. With
this time, he out-paced - inter alia - his compatriot Daniel
Ricciardo who was the fastest of the drivers not racing for the
Mercedes-Benz works team, in the 2014 Fórmula 1 season, and finished
third in the World Championship. “First of all I had to familiarise
myself with the F1 car,” admitted Goddard, “But afterwards, I
succeeded in improving consistently. I’m really delighted with my
personal fastest lap time and I think that 89 laps represent a solid
distance for the beginning. I’m rather happy about the day and the
way the team worked with me. Now I would love to keep the bond with
Force Índia alive”.
Also
involved in the testing work on day two was Raffaele Marciello. At
the wheel of a Ferrari, the 2013 FIA Fórmula 3 European Champion
finished second behind Mercedes test driver Pascal Wehrlein.
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