Mercedes ran a raft of upgrades as the F1 Young Driver Test got underway at Magny-Cours. After Sam Bird completed 95 laps of the French circuit, the Brackley-based team was left feeling highly optimistic about their latest components.
As the cars began running at 9am, it was quickly confirmed that Mercedes was running re-profiled exhausts and the device dubbed as ‘Double DRS’. This is similar to the idea first brought up by Lotus and operates more like an f-duct, without driver operation -- which would make it illegal – and functions regardless of whether DRS is in use.
‘Double DRS’ differs from the ‘Super DRS’ innovated by Mercedes earlier this year, which involves air flowing from the car’s rear wing to the front wing.
“We've had a very productive first day of the test today and were able to complete everything that we had planned on our programme,” Bird confirmed on Tuesday evening. “It felt great to be back in the car again and I enjoyed every minute of it.
“I've driven at Magny-Cours previously, in a Formula 3 car, and it was good to experience it today in a Formula 1 car. The layout here is nice and smooth whilst also being quite challenging. We've collected a lot of data today, which will take some time to sift through this evening, and I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow.”
Bird continues on-track today. Should the full programme be completed on time, the team will allow New Zealander Brendon Hartley an outing on Thursday.
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| Pos. | Driver | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Bianchi | 01:18.070 | 87 |
| 2. | L. Razia | 01:18.535 | 64 |
| 3. | S. Bird | 01:19.094 | 95 |
| Full results | |||
| Sam Bird | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Sam Bird photos | |||
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