Bahrain Test Day Two: Raikkonen Returns Ferrari To Top
Kimi Raikkonen set the benchmark during today’s test at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit. The Finnish driver topped the tables in the new F60, leading Jarno Trulli by 0.128s. The day wasn’t entirely perfect for the 2007 world champion though, as a cooling problem with the new KERS device meant Raikkonen had to spend three hours in the garage while the mechanics tried to find and resolve the problem. However, Kimi did manage 103 laps which was an afternoon well spent.
Jarno Trulli once again completed the most laps, adding a further 149 to his tally of 141 from yesterday. BMW fielded Nick Heidfeld, who spent most of his day working on set ups for the new F1.09. Although Heidfeld finished the day at the bottom of the tables, the German was only 0.483s shy of the Ferrari’s pace. The three teams testing at Bahrain appear to be pretty close in terms of lap times set, although the real pace of each of the cars won’t truly be known until the first race in Australia in March.
This has been a very good test for us. I’ve covered well over 2000km in three days and I feel happy with the car. It seems competitive and reliable so a start like this gives us a solid base for the season ahead. Jarno Trulli.
Today I drove the new BMW Sauber F1.09 in warm weather conditions for the first time, so the most important thing for me was to learn more about the general balance of the car. Overall it was a good day because I tried a lot of different set-up solutions. I already feel happy about how the car reacts to changes. Nick Heidfeld.
Bahrain Test
|
Lap Time
|
Laps Set
|
|
| 1. |  Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari |
1m32.102s | 103 Laps |
| 2. |  Jarno Trulli Toyota |
1m32.230s | 149 Laps |
| 3. |  Nick Heidfeld BMW |
1m32.585s | 104 Laps |
Christine
February 17th, 2009 - 8:48pm
I wonder how many laps Kimi would have done if he hadn’t been sat in the garage for three hours.
The three teams certainly are making up for lost time, aren’t they?
Oliver White
February 17th, 2009 - 9:57pm
Definitely. The weather in Bahrain was quite hot today and the teams are really trying to understand how the cars and tyres handle on a hot track. With the overhaul in technical regulations combined with the ban on in-season testing, I’m surprised more teams haven’t joined the trio in Bahrain for testing this week. Especially as the weather in Europe is still a bit hit-and-miss at the moment.