Hungaroring - Collective testing

While Jean-Eric Vergne's (Carlin) rivals Daniel Ricciardo (ISR) and Robert Wickens (Carlin) were talking Formula One, with Ricciardo having signed to drive for Hispania Racing Team at Silverstone and Wickens having driven a Lotus Renault GP for the first time today, the Frenchman was attracting attention on the track as he produced the best time in both collective testing sessions.The second half of the season begins at the Hungaroring, and there are several changes to the lineup. First, the 2010 champion, Mikhail Aleshin, makes his return to Formula Renault 3.5 Series to help KMP Racing move forward. After racing at the Nürburgring, Fairuz Fauzy, the 2009 championship runner-up, is once again behind the wheel of one of the Mofaz Racing cars. Marcos Martínez, the winner of four races in 2009, is returning for Pons Racing, while Adam Carroll (P1 Motorsport) is replacing Walter Grubmüller as he recovers from his accident in Germany.Carlin drivers Wickens and Vergne shot immediately to the top of the timesheet, but were soon joined by Albert Costa (Epic Racing), Alexander Rossi (Fortec Motorsports) and Daniel Ricciardo. After a few exploratory laps, Wickens firmly established himself in first place with a time of 1:35.768, ahead of Alexander Rossi and Jean-Eric Vergne.Nelson Panciatici and Daniel Ricciardo changed things. The Frenchman took the lead with a 1:35.294, with the Australian in second place, while Wickens was forced to withdraw before the end of the session to change his engine. Jan Charouz (Charouz-Gravity) sparked the final wave of improved times in the morning session when he put on a fresh set of tyres and produced the fastest time so far (1:35.166). But Jean-Eric Vergne wanted more and set the fastest time of all right at the end of the session with a 1:35.016. He finished ahead of Daniil Move (P1 Motorsport) and Sergio Canamasas (BVM-Target) in a session where 19 drivers were separated by just one second.In the afternoon, all drivers had to switch to the light aerodynamic configuration. The session began with the drivers producing qualifying pace and the lead changed hands constantly. Wickens, having just debuted in a Lotus Renault R30 Formula One car, produced a time of 1:35.680 to eclipse his rivals. Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo and Brendon Harltey (Gravity-Charouz) were fighting with Wickens for the lead. Initially, the Canadian was able to hold them off. But Jean-Eric Vergne gatecrashed the party at the end of the afternoon to record the fastest lap of the session in 1:34.673, with Rossi and Wickens second and third fastest respectively.Drivers' comments: Daniel Ricciardo: "There's a lot going on right now and it's important to stay focused on the job at hand. It's great that yesterday HRT and Red Bull Junior Team confirmed I'll race at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, as it means I can approach this Formula Renault 3.5 Series weekend without it on my mind. I am 100% focused on the job at hand. But I'll spend a bit of time with my family tonight celebrating my 22nd birthday."

Jean-Eric Vergne: "It's a track I like, requiring lots of pace. I've always raced well here. The track has changed and the grip was better in the second half of the session, which is why we were faster with the light aerodynamic configuration."

Mikhail Aleshin: "I'm mainly here to help KMP Racing improve. It's a good, ambitious team. The car is working well. There are things we need to test, so we have a busy schedule. Everything can change so quickly, but for now I'm only interested in this race."

Adam Carroll: "I've hardly driven since I won the A1 GP title in 2009. I'd already done some testing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, but these will be my first two races in the category. I know P1 Motorsport well and I immediately agreed to substitute Walter Grubmüller as it's a chance to get behind the wheel."