Drivers quotes after T2 testing at Montmelò

Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari (Best Time: 1:22.852 — 142 Laps — Supersofts)

"I am happy and I think that even with Kimi we have been successful so far. We were able to do quite a lot of laps, going through our program well, so I think it was a good test. We have to see if this car can be a winner, but I think that the first impression was good and everything we have built is positive. So, overall, I am happy with the feeling in the car. And we are happy with the step we have made. In terms of reliability, though, Mercedes seems to be very strong, irrespective of the issue they had today.

I think "Halo" is ok, even if I believe that this system can be improved in terms of both aesthetic and visibility and I think we will see an evolution of it very soon. In principle, I think it doesn't look very nice but if it can help saving lives, and if thanks to it at least the two drivers who died recently could still be here with us, then I think it can be the ugliest system, but nothing could justify not having it fitted. We try to close the gap to the cars in front, which has been quite big last year.

I think we did a good job during the last season and now I think that the new car can close the gap even more, but we have to be patient a little bit longer, for a couple of weeks at least. In terms of show and sporting rules, I think that Formula1 is doing fine, I also think that it is important that the sport remains a sport so that the fastest driver comes up on top. This has been the DNA of Formula1 since ever."

Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso (Best Time: 1:23.134 — 133 Laps — Ultrasofts)

“I’m very happy and excited! Today was another good day, and the first thing I need to do is congratulate the whole team for the great test we’ve all done. I just cannot wait to get to Melbourne, I think we’ve built up a lot of confidence and it’s all looking good. This morning we tried the softer compounds and it all worked as expected.

This afternoon the conditions were tricky, as the wind picked-up massively, but we were still able to complete our program doing long-runs which went to plan. It was a good way to end what has been a fantastic four days of testing after a tough winter. To be here and complete so many laps each day is just amazing. Next time I get into the car it will be in Australia and I just can’t wait!”

Felipe Massa - Williams Martini Racing (Best Time: 1:23.644 — 129 Laps — Supersofts)

"Today was another good day for us. We managed to do a lot of laps again. I’m really happy with this week, the amount of laps we did, and the work we have done to understand the car. Today was a similarly successful day to yesterday. We will know more about where we are in Australia. I am happy and totally ready to start the season. Not just me but everybody. The mechanics, the engineers, the whole team. We’ve done a good job to prepare the car in the best way, so I hope we start well in the first race."

Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG Petronas (Best Time: 1:24.133 — 69 Laps — Mediums)

"It's been an amazing two weeks for the team. The guys have done an amazing job to get the car to where it is especially given the fact we've done more mileage in pre-season than we've ever done before. I'm kind of glad I broke the car at the end of my final run today because it's better to have found something now than in Melbourne! I'm looking forward to putting the car through its paces at the first race and will be preparing myself mentally over the next few weeks. The car feels good and I'm really excited to go racing in 2016."

Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing (Best Time: 1:24.427 — 123 Laps — Supersofts)

“It’s been pretty good but I’m glad that the next time we’re in the car is race time! I think testing has gone really well. I think on three out of my four days we got over a hundred laps done, so definitely a lot better than the past couple of years. We’ve made some improvements. I think there’s more to come but it’s a positive start to the year. We’ve been very efficient with the time that we’ve had and, for me, I don’t think it took much time to get up to speed. I feel ready to go racing.”

Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda (Best Time: 1:24.714 — 121 Laps — Ultrasofts)

“It’s positive to finish our testing programme on a good note, with 121 laps. It’s meant we’ve been able to look at a number of different aerodynamic configurations, and learn a lot about the car and how it behaves, which is really useful given that there’s only 10 days until we fly to Melbourne.

“It’s great that we’ve been able to complete a lot of mileage over the two tests, which has been really useful to get feedback on the power unit, the aerodynamics and a bit of the set-up work done as well. It’s also allowed us to do a lot more system checks and integration – which gives us a definite advantage in terms of preparation compared to last year.

“We still have a lot of work to do, and the windy conditions have made it quite difficult to really work on the set-up of the car, but it’s something we’ve all had to deal with. This afternoon, as we got more laps under our belt, we started to get to grips with the balance and handling, and evaluate different options for the first race. I still don’t feel like we’re ready – there are still a lot of changes that will be made on the car before it’s in full race trim – and you always seem to need more testing than you have, to find the balance you want for the first race, but we have the experience to do that when we get to Melbourne.

“There are still quite a few areas that we need to work on, but overall during the tests we have made improvements in many areas, and we need to keep focussed and bring new parts to every race to keep pushing our development.”

Jolyon Palmer - Renault F1 Team (Best Time: 1:24.859 — 90 Laps — Supersofts)

“I was happy to complete 90 laps with a variety of different simulations where I sampled the car on different tyres, fuel and set-up combinations. The team is certainly well prepared and I’m confident of being able to show well for the first race and beyond. We didn’t quite manage all we had planned for today, but that’s the nature of testing. We’re definitely in a good place looking to the start of the season.”

Marcus Ericsson - Saber F1 Team (Best Time: 1:25.031 — 132 Laps — Softs)

“It was finally a positive day in the new C35 car – completing 132 laps was exactly what we needed today, because I was aiming, on my last day of pre season testing, for more than 100 laps. Because of this we were able to accumulate a very good mileage on the car, and also do a mix of short runs and a longer type of race simulation in the late afternoon. We were able to take a step forward with the new car, despite technical issues that we have to analyse.”

Romain Grosjean - Haas F1 Team (Best Time: 1:25.255 — 66 Laps — Softs)

“Our final day has been very different from the previous days. It’s been a very positive day for all of us. The guys did an amazing job last night to understand the problem with the brake-by-wire. They got it solved for today. It was a big relief to be able to drive the car and drive it well. There are still a few places where we can improve massively, but we’re working on it. I’m looking forward to getting to the first race now. We can fine tune the car there. Let’s go racing, as Gene (Haas) would say.”

Esteban Gutiérrez - Haas F1 Team (Best Time: 1:25.422 — 25 Laps — Supersofts)

“It was great to be back out on track for the last day of the test. I felt we were able to find some direction, which we were pursuing, as well as finding some solutions to a few issues we’ve had. Overall, it was a great experience to be part of a new team. Now I feel we’re ready to go racing. I’m very grateful to my team. They’ve worked relentlessly over the last few weeks and the results have clearly paid off. After getting to know the car, the next step is to go back to what I love, which is competing and racing. We all share the same passion. I look forward to Melbourne.”

Nico Rosberg - Mercedes AMG Petronas (Best Time: 1:26.140 — 70 Laps — Mediums)

"This afternoon was probably the best the car has felt for me all the way through winter testing, so that was a really positive way to end the week. We have done so many miles in the past two weeks, so we can feel well prepared for Melbourne, and the team has done an incredible job to build such a reliable car. Of course, we haven't seen the full picture yet in terms of performance, and everybody will be excited to find that out in Australia. Before then, I will be in the factory working on more details in the simulator next week. But I feel ready to go for 2016!"