Wickens quickest in Paul Ricard test
Robert Wickens topped the times in the opening day of Formula Renault 3.5 testing at the Paul Ricard circuit on Tuesday
The Canadian Carlin driver was quickest both in the morning and in the afternoon sessions, posting a 1m50.843s to outpace Epsilon's Albert Costa by less than a tenth.
Despite grey and overcast conditions, the track remained dry throughout the day.
"Today's test was really good for us," said Wickens. "We were really strong this morning, and it was a bit of a surprise to be half a second quicker as we weren't really going for a quick laptime as we were concentrating hard on our test programme.
"I didn't feel like I got the most out of the tyres this afternoon but it was still good enough to go quickest. The car just felt really good today, but I think there's still room for more improvements tomorrow."
Jean-Eric Vergne completed a strong day for Carlin, the Frenchman posting the third quickest time ahead of Fortec duo Cesar Ramos and Alexander Rossi.
Filip Salaquarda joined the ISR squad to replace Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian on reserve driver duties for Red Bull in Melbourne.
Other drivers joining FR3.5 testing were Sten Pentus, who drove for Epsilon Euskadi, and Dominic Storey, at the wheel of a Mofaz Racing car.
The test continues today.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Robert Wickens Carlin 1m50.843s 2. Albert Costa Epsilon Euskadi 1m50.892s + 0.049s 3. Jean Eric Vergne Carlin 1m51.016s + 0.173s 4. Cesar Ramos Fortec 1m51.093s + 0.250s 5. Alexander Rossi Fortec 1m51.108s + 0.265s 6. Stephane Richelmi Draco 1m51.371s + 0.528s 7. Arthur Pic Tech 1 1m51.487s + 0.644s 8. Filip Salaquarda ISR 1m51.569s + 0.726s 9. Sten Pentus Epsilon Euskadi 1m51.646s + 0.803s 10. Sergio Canamasas BVM Target 1m51.665s + 0.822s 11. Daniel Zampieri BVM Target 1m51.760s + 0.917s 12. Daniil Move P1 1m51.766s + 0.923s 13. Kevin Korjus Tech 1 1m51.862s + 1.019s 14. Jake Rosenzweig Mofaz 1m51.886s + 1.043s 15. Andre Negrao Draco 1m51.887s + 1.044s 16. Daniel Mckenzie Comtec 1m52.007s + 1.164s 17. Nelson Panciatici KMP 1m52.126s + 1.283s 18. Oliver Webb Pons 1m52.262s + 1.419s 19. Brendon Hartley Gravity-Charouz 1m52.275s + 1.432s 20. Jan Charouz Gravity-Charouz 1m52.416s + 1.573s 21. Dominic Storey Mofaz 1m52.605s + 1.762s 22. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m52.867s + 2.024s 23. Anton Nebylitskiy KMP 1m53.022s + 2.179s 24. Daniel De Jong Comtec 1m53.619s + 2.776s 25. Nathanael Berthon ISR 1m53.804s + 2.961s
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