MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Young Driver Test - Day Three

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Young Driver Test - Day Three Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, Thursday 17 November 2011 The third and final day of the Young Driver Test took place in Abu Dhabi today, with Sam Bird rounding off the test programme for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS at the Yas Marina Circuit.

- The team ran a 2012 exhaust position this morning and collected data to help develop our package for the new regulations - This afternoon, we returned to a standard car specification and focused on developing the set-up of the car on the soft Pirelli tyre - The three day programme has been extremely productive and enabled Sam to complete over 1394 kms of running Sam Bird “We again had a very good day today and were able to cover a lot of mileage with 104 laps in total. We were focusing on further development work for 2012 which went well and the team are very positive about the results gained. I would like to say thank you to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS for trusting me with the driving responsibilities for this three-day test. It’s been a very positive and enjoyable experience for me, and I’ve greatly enjoyed working with the team.” Ross Brawn “We have had a very good test in Abu Dhabi this week, and my compliments to Sam and the team at the Yas Marina Circuit for their efforts over the three days. The test has enabled us to make a good start to our 2012 preparations, and provided a wealth of data for our engineers to study. Sam has performed extremely well this week, providing consistency and accuracy in both his driving and feedback, and our engineers in Abu Dhabi have been very impressed with his contribution.” Pos Driver Car Time Laps 1. Jean-Eric Vergne Red Bull 1:38.917 46 2. Sam Bird MERCEDES GP PETRONAS 1:40.897 104 3. Jules Bianchi Ferrari 1:41.347 106 4. Oliver Turvey McLaren 1:41.513 89 5. Max Chilton Force India 1:41.575 79 6. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:42.049 77 7. Mirko Bortolotti Williams 1:43.277 74 8. Kevin Ceccon Toro Rosso 1:43.686 35 9. Alexander Rossi Team Lotus 1:44.283 74 10. Jan Charouz Lotus Renault 1:44.470 82 11. Stefano Coletti Toro Rosso 1:44.545 48 12. Nathanael Berthon HRT 1:45.839 51 13. Robert Wickens Marussia Virgin 1:45.934 34 14. Charles Pic Marussia Virgin 1:46.348 49