Nico Hulkenberg says he is feeling more comfortable in the new Force India after being second fastest on day one at Barcelona.
Force India driver gaining experience in new car
Nico Hulkenberg says he is beginning to feel more comfortable in the new Force India after setting the second fastest time on the first day of the Barcelona test.
The 24-year-old was second only to double world champion Sebastian Vettel after completing a total of 97 laps around the Spanish circuit.
It was Hulkenberg's test day following his solitary day of running at the first pre-season test at Jerez and he says that he is beginning to feel comfortable in the VJM05.
"Once again it's good to do so many laps and I'm pleased with how things went today," the German driver said.
"It was only my second day in the car and I'm still bedding in and getting used to things, but after each run I felt a bit more comfortable.
Data
"We started with some aero runs and more data gathering this morning, and then moved to longer runs in the afternoon. The car feels consistent and the drivability is good so I feel positive heading into tomorrow (Wednesday)."
Force India chief engineer Jakob Andreason was also pleased to complete the planned programme for the day, which allowed Hulkenberg to become more familiar with the car and tyres.
He added: "We began the programme with aero sweeps and also evaluated some mechanical components to address some improvements we felt could be made to the car following the Jerez test.
"The car has performed well throughout the day with good reliability, which allowed us to focus on adding performance.
"We completed the majority of the programme and got through our long runs in the afternoon, which helped build up Nico's knowledge of the hard and medium compound tyres."
