Nico Hulkenberg advanced to the racing seat and got on to the driving side of the VJM05, Force India’s newest vehicle, on the fourth day of the pre-season testing. He also gathered information regarding the Pirelli tyres used in the vehicle. In the past three days, the VJM05 was being driven by Paul di Resta and Jules Bianchi, the reserve driver. On Friday, Nico Hulkenberg managed to complete 90 laps and also set the record for the fastest lap at 1 minute and 19.977 seconds.
Hulkenberg said “It was my first time in the new car so I concentrated on getting comfortable and up to speed. The long runs were useful for that and it also allowed me to start understanding the new tyres.” He said that the team had tremendous amount of data to sift through and enough to learn with this new car. According to him, the team has a good baseline to start working from.
Andrew Green, Technical Director of the team said that Hulkenberg was in VJM05 for the very first time and hence the target was boosting his confidence levels and ensuring that he was comfortable inside the car. The morning was spent in setting up items and going through the aero programme. He further added “The afternoon gave us a chance to let Nico get a better feel for the 2012 tyres as we ran both the soft and the medium compounds.”
Second pre-season test is all set to begin from 21st February in Barcelona. Hulkenberg will be the driver on 21st and 22nd February, whereas Paul di Resta will be on the driving seat in the next two days.
