The 25-year-old Russian completed 75 laps as the team focussed on getting him acquainted with the car as he experienced F1 power for the first time. The day went smoothly and Vitaly successfully completed the technical programme to round off a productive week.

The team will remain in Spain and travel to Jerez next week to continue its winter testing programme.

Vitaly Petrov: “I really enjoyed my first day in the car and everything went well. The car is very impressive compared with a GP2 car and I enjoyed experiencing the power and braking performance. After about 30 laps I was starting to feel comfortable and understanding the limits of the car. It was also my first chance to work with my engineers and so far everything is going really well so I’m happy with the day.”

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: “This was Vitaly’s first day in the R30 and we concentrated on getting him comfortable and familiar with the car. There’s a lot for him to get used to in terms of the brakes, power and the extra downforce, but he adapted well and did a good job. Overall our first week with the car has been successful and we’ve come away with a lot of valuable knowledge about the car. We’re now looking forward to building on this work in Jerez next week.”

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