Charles Pic will enjoy a further morning of Formula 1 testing in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Virgin Racing has announced. The change comes after the Frenchman was delayed with his Wednesday programme, although it is generally expected that he has signed a race deal with the Sheffield-based outfit for 2012.
“This morning I was still getting used to the car and working to optimise my driving,” the 21-year-old Frenchman began. “We made two longer brake evaluation runs and this afternoon we did a test of new Pirelli tyres, but this time only for a few laps; we used four different specifications of tyre and it was very interesting to see the difference and get this information.
“By this afternoon I was happy with the car and all the new things, like using DRS through the lap, I just kept getting better and better at. I am very happy with my second day in the car and once again I have learned a lot. Thanks to the team again for making everything comfortable for me.”
As a result of the team’s change of plan, Robert Wickens will only be in the car for Thursday afternoon and not the full day which was previously planned. Team Principal John Booth explained this afternoon’s situation.
“We worked through the first part of the 2012 Pirelli tyre programme and, due to the fact that we were unable to complete this, we will continue the long run work in the morning with Charles before giving the afternoon to Robert,” said Booth.
“Unlike those around us, we elected to only run the Soft tyre compound today, so we will get our chance with the Super Soft tomorrow. With the work that Charles was able to complete, he has done a good job and worked well with the team.”
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Charles Pic
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| Pos. | Driver | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Vergne | 01:40.188 | 43 |
| 2. | J. Bianchi | 01:40.279 | 91 |
| 3. | G. Paffett | 01:41.756 | 71 |
| 4. | V. Bottas | 01:42.367 | 88 |
| 5. | J. Cecotto Jr. | 01:42.873 | 84 |
| 6. | E. Gutiérrez | 01:43.637 | 96 |
| 7. | S. Bird | 01:43.734 | 94 |
| 8. | K. Korjus | 01:43.776 | 70 |
| 9. | L. Razia | 01:43.944 | 89 |
| 10. | K. Ceccon | 01:44.808 | 97 |
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| Charles Pic | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Charles Pic photos | |||
| John Booth | |||
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| More John Booth photos | |||
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