Bracelona : Nico Hulkenberg was back in the VJM05 for the start of Sahara Force India’s second winter test in Bracelona on Wednesday, and the programme included tyre comparison work, aero sweeps and long runs.

Hulkenberg completed 97 laps and his fastest lap was 1:23.440.

“Once gain it’s good to do so many laps and I’m pleased with how things went on Wednesday. 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.

“We started with some aero runs and more data gathering Wednesday 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 Thursday,” Hulkenberg said.

Chief engineer, Jakob Andreason, felt the car has performed well.

Another busy day with a lot of mileage for Nico as he continues to build up his feel for the VJM05. 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,” Andreason said.

Another Sahara Force India driver Paul Di Resta is scheduled to test Thursday and day after.