Pedro de la Rosa was at the wheel of an MP4-21 today, as the Team McLaren Mercedes test team continued the squad’s intensive programme in the build-up to the start of the season in 12 days time in Bahrain.
The emphasis of the Spaniard’s work was long runs at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo for both engine and tyre work, as he completed over 580km in the MP4-21. During the morning the track was damp, which provided the opportunity to run intermediate tyres and conduct development work with Michelin.
Pedro switched to dry tyres as the circuit conditions improved and continued putting in a number of stints over the 20 lap mark. Pedro’s quickest time of the day, a 1m11.229, put him in second position on the timesheets.
Fellow Team McLaren Mercedes test driver Gary Paffett was also in attendance today. Gary, who was driving an MP4-20, continued the Michelin tyre testing, which has been his main focus of the winter testing. As a result of the damp track in the morning, Gary only covered 10 laps, with the majority of his 71 laps taking place during the afternoon as his programme required a dry track. The British driver covered 280km and set a fastest time of 1m13.053.
Today was Gary’s only day at the test, with Kimi Raikkonen joining Pedro on track tomorrow. Kimi will continue the programme with the MP4-21, which is one of the chassis’s that will go to Bahrain, with Pedro switching to the MP4-20.
Press release
McLaren Mercedes
