Nico Hulkenberg says a positive final day helped the team recover lost ground after Jules Bianchi's crash brought their day three program to an early close.
The German had been due to get his first taste of the team's 2012 Formula 1 car on Thursday afternoon, but all running was halted when Bianchi went off into the gravel in bitter conditions. Hulkenberg admitted the crash had put back some testing plans, but said a 90-lap run on the final day had limited the damage.
"It wasn't so much about the performance today, it was about getting some laps in, getting some mileage and trying to recover a bit from yesterday," the German explained. "I think we have a good baseline now and we can be pleased with how the day went. The chassis feels good, and we have a pretty good platform on which we can start developing, so its generally pretty positive."
Hulkenberg said he bears no grudges to Bianchi for the crash, even though gaining experience is his key aim before the season's start.
"The first day is about getting me comfortable in the car – it obviously took me some time to get used to it again after two and half months. You never stop learning."
On the crash, he added: "You know, it happens. I did stuff like that as well. It was frustrating certainly, and you never fully recover the time back, but I can understand these things happen. Formula 1 is a tricky sport – you need experience.
"We made the most of today and now we just move on. I think we have a good baseline now, but on the other hand there is still room for improvement and work ahead of us. I haven't compared data to other cars yet, not even Paul, so now we have to analyze that."