Many of the drivers were running race simulations, and although he topped the timing sheet, Rosberg’s day wasn’t without incident. The German pilot stopped on track towards the end of his run with a fault. Impressing with a second-fastest lap of the day was Sebastien Buemi, although he too suffered problems and stopped on track after running out of fuel immediately after completing a race simulation of his own.

Renault allowed rookie Vitaly Petrov to pilot the R30, the Russian managing the sixth quickest lap just behind Felipe Massa who took over from Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button hauled himself into third after a final push at the end of the afternoon while Sebastian Vettel only completed 51 laps and set the eighth fast lap, choosing not to go out until after lunch.

Lotus continued their programme and once looked very reliable, albeit not very quick. Jarno Trulli notched up another 100 laps in a trouble-free day while Virgin Racing suffered more issues with the VR-01, Timo Glock only managing 31 laps. The busiest driver of the day was Nico Rosberg, who completed 128 laps.

Barcelona Test Day Three		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Completed
1.	Nico Rosberg Mercedes	1m20.686s	128 Laps
2.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.413s	106 Laps
3.	Jenson Button McLaren	1m21.450s	105 Laps
4.	Rubens Barrichello Williams	1m21.975	101 Laps
5.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m22.344s	115 Laps
6.	Vitaly Petrov Renault	1m22.523s	68 Laps
7.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m22.606s	61 Laps
8.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m23.123	51 Laps
9.	Jarno Trulli Lotus	1m25.059s	102 Laps
10.	Kamui Kobayashi Sauber	1m26.216s	105 Laps
11.	Timo Glock Virgin Racing	1m26.305s	31 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test: Day Three

Hulkenberg had completed some longer runs in the morning before changing to short runs after lunch. Most other drivers chose to run their programme the other way around, completing their race distance runs after the break. Alonso completed a race distance in the afternoon without major drama, although his day did come to a slightly early end after the Ferrari stopped on track with just minutes left to go on the clock.

Pedro De La Rosa and Vitantonio Liuzzi enjoyed good runs their respective Sauber C29 and Force India VJM03. De La Rosa managed the third best time of the day, again set on short runs in the morning. Liuzzi made a similar effort and was just behind his Spanish rival. Sebastian Vettel had a mixed afternoon, and although the German managed to topple team mate Mark Webber’s best time from yesterday, the RB6 did stop on track with a mechanical fault partway through a simulated race.

World champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton kept themselves to themselves for much of the day and did not run particularly low-fuel levels, instead choosing to run their cars with more weight and over longer distance stints. Schumacher finished his day in P7 while Hamilton was 0.463s behind in P8. Timo Glock was able to drive the Virgin VR-01 today after spare parts were flown in to repair the damage caused by Lucas Di Grassi yesterday. Glock managed to complete 52 laps but unfortunately did make any impression on the timing sheet. Jarno Trulli, driving the Lotus T127, ended his afternoon ahead of Glock in tenth and 0.418s the better.

Fernando Alonso was the busiest driver of the day, completing 134 laps while trying out a raft of new parts on the F10, including a shark-fin engine cover. Schumacher too was testing a variety of new components on the MGP-W01, while the quietest driver of the day was Glock.

Testing continues tomorrow for the third of four days, where Felipe Massa will takeover the Ferrari from Alonso, Adrian Sutil will be in the Force India, Jenson Button will return to the McLaren, Rosberg will return to the Mercedes, Kamui Kobayashi will pilot the Sauber, Sebastien Buemi will take control of the Scuderia Toro Rosso and Rubens Barrichello will be hoping to make it two fastest laps for Williams when he drives the FW32 for the remainder of the test.

Barcelona Test Day Two		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Completed
1.	Nico Hulkenberg Williams	1m20.614s	99 Laps
2.	Fernando Alonso Ferrari	1m20.637s	134 Laps
3.	Pedro De La Rosa Sauber	1m20.973s	114 Laps
4.	Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India	1m21.056s	90 Laps
5.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m21.258s	125 Laps
6.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.571s	104 Laps
7.	Michael Schumacher Mercedes	1m21.689s	85 Laps
8.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m22.152s	93 Laps
9.	Robert Kubica Renault	1m24.912s	53 Laps
10.	Jarno Trulli Lotus	1m25.524s	70 Laps
11.	Timo Glock Virgin Racing	1m25.942s	52 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test: Day Two

The RB6 showed its real potential today, with Webber’s long runs also proving the car has good, consistent pace. No other team could match the time set by the Red Bull and although Rosberg was the closest of the expected real rivals to Red Bull, Nico Hulkenberg in fact finished the day in P2, just squeezing ahead of his fellow countryman in the final few minutes of the afternoon, simulating qualifying runs in the Williams FW32.

Fernando Alonso had a troubled day in the Ferrari F10, with the Spaniard bringing out the red flag after the car stopped on track in the morning with an electrical fault. Alonso wasn’t able to rejoin the circuit until just prior to the lunch break, and in total was only able to complete 74 laps. Despite this though, Alonso did not set low-fuel times and therefore his P7 in the tables is perhaps a little false of the true pace of the machine.

Jenson Button was also attempting longer runs in the MP4-25, only setting his fastest lap of the day in the afternoon and in the middle of a 14-lap run. The reigning world champion also caused a red flag, his run coming to an abrupt end just before the session was about to be closed.

Virgin Racing continued their woes, with Lucas Di Grassi spinning off at lunchtime and backing the VR-01 into the barriers. The resulting damage ended the team’s running early but the squad are hoping to be able to continue tomorrow after replacement parts are flown out to the Spanish circuit from the team’s base in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. This incident meant that Di Grassi only completed 31 laps, and Virgin need to end the issues they have been facing with the car being damaged and start racking up the mileage.

The busiest driver of the day was Jaime Alguersuari, who toured Circuit de Catalunya 111 times in the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR5. Alguersuari ended his day in P9, 0.7s behind rookie Renault driver Vitaly Petrov. Of the other drivers running, Pedro De La Rosa ended his afternoon in P4 in the Sauber and showing promising signs of improvement. Vitantonio Liuzzi finished in P6, just about maintaining his position ahead of Alonso’s Ferrari.

Testing continues in Barcelona tomorrow where it is expected for Michael Schumacher to take over from Rosberg in the Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton will take over from Button in the McLaren, Jarno Trulli will drive the Lotus and Sebastian Vettel will resume duties in the Red Bull.

Barcelona Test Day One		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Completed
1.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m21.487s	109 Laps
2.	Nico Hulkenberg Williams	1m22.407s	81 Laps
3.	Nico Rosberg Mercedes	1m22.514s	107 Laps
4.	Pedro De La Rosa Sauber	1m23.144s	73 Laps
5.	Jenson Button McLaren	1m23.452s	100 Laps
6.	Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India	1m24.064s	64 Laps
7.	Fernando Alonso Ferrari	1m24.170s	74 Laps
8.	Vitaly Petrov Renault	1m24.173s	73 Laps
9.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m24.869s	111 Laps
10.	Lucas Di Grassi Virgin Racing	1m27.057s	31 Laps
11.	Fairuz Fauzy Lotus	1m28.002s	76 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test: Day One

Robert Kubica followed a similar tactic to Button and completed short runs in the morning before switching to longer, fuel-laden runs after lunch. Kubica’s fastest lap in the Renault was just 0.2s shy of Button’s and 0.074s ahead of third placed driver Kamui Kobayashi. The Sauber pilot was experiencing a better day than yesterday and Kobayashi was able to complete 117 laps before the chequered flag fell. The Japanese driver didn’t leave the circuit with an unblemished record though, the Sauber C29 stopping on track earlier in the morning and causing a red flag.

In contrast, Mark Webber spent much of his day in the garage looking at the new RB6 in pieces as the team made a precautionary engine change. When Webber was able to join the circuit, he managed to get 87 laps in, but was only in eighth by the end of the day. Also enduring a difficult day was Timo Glock, the Virgin VR-01 suffering from hydraulics problems yet again. Glock could only squeeze 28 laps out of the car and also caused the session’s final red flag, stopping on track with just a minute left on the clock.

Jarno Trulli put in some hard work in the Lotus, the Italian pilot completing an impressive 141 tours of Jerez while concentrating on acclimatisation and set up. Although Trulli languishes at the very bottom of the timing sheet and is a full second down on Glock, the Lotus ran trouble-free all day. Credit where it is due, the T127 is proving reliable which will pay dividends during the season (with the new points structure), assuming the car and rules stays that way.

Vitantonio Liuzzi took over from Adrian Sutil in the Force India for the final day, the Italian setting a fairly fast fourth best time of the day. Also returning to their car was Nico Rosberg, who like Michael Schumacher yesterday, posted the fifth quickest time. Of course it is very tempting to compare lap times between the pair, but Saturday’s track was in a far superior condition to Friday’s, making any comparison meaningless.

Testing will recommence on 25th February at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish Grand Prix. This four-day session will be the final before the cars and equipment are shipped to Bahrain in preparation for the first race of the season two weeks later.

Jerez Test Week Two Day Four		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Jenson Button McLaren	1m18.871s	108 Laps
2.	Robert Kubica Renault	1m19.114s	117 Laps
3.	Kamui Kobayashi Sauber	1m19.188s	117 Laps
4.	Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India	1m19.650s	80 Laps
5.	Nico Rosberg Mercedes	1m20.061s	130 Laps
6.	Fernando Alonso Ferrari	1m20.436s	137 Laps
7.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.053s	139 Laps
8.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m21.194s	87 Laps
9.	Nico Hulkenberg Williams	1m21.919s	137 Laps
10.	Timo Glock Virgin Racing	1m22.433s	28 Laps
11.	Jarno Trulli Lotus	1m23.470s	141 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test: Week Two Day Four

Not only was Webber the fastest driver of the day yesterday, but his lap time was also the fastest of the year, the Australian beating the previous benchmark set by Lewis Hamilton last week. Fernando Alonso was the second-busiest driver of the day, touring the circuit 132 times and able to learn more about the F10 car. Jenson Button was running in the McLaren MP4-25 and the Briton managed a third-fastest time, just under 0.3s shy of the Ferrari.

Kamui Kobayashi, who took over duties at Sauber from Pedro De La Rosa, endured a miserable day and stopped on track just a couple of hours into the morning’s run. The C29 suffered a fuel system problem which took five hours to correct. When Kobayashi returned he could only manage 28 laps, his fastest placing him eighth on the timing sheet.

Jaime Alguersuari took control of the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR5 and completed 120 laps of the circuit, although his best time was only good enough for P9. Alguersuari failed to emulate the pretty competitive times set by team mate Sebastien Buemi on Wednesday, although given the improvement in weather, probably more indicative of where the STR5 is in comparison to others

Force India decided to concentrate on just one driver for the day, running Adrian Sutil exclusively in the VJM03. Sutil completed 69 laps and was placed in a fairly comfortable P7 by the end of the afternoon, just 0.23s shy of Robert Kubica in the Renault. Michael Schumacher returned to the Mercedes, the German’s best time being just 0.005s behind the busiest driver of the day, Williams pilot Nico Hulkenberg.

The day saw a total of six red flags, two from Lucas Di Grassi in the Virgin who finished the test in tenth, one from Mark Webber who stopped just before lunch, one from Nico Hulkenberg who stopped five minutes from the end causing the whole session to end a little early, another came from Heikki Kovalainen who finished his day in eleventh and the final red flag was caused by Kobayashi in his faulty Sauber.

Jerez Test Week Two Day Three		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m19.299s	115 Laps
2.	Fernando Alonso Ferrari	1m20.115s	132 Laps
3.	Jenson Button McLaren	1m20.394s	101 Laps
4.	Nico Hulkenberg Williams	1m21.432s	138 Laps
5.	Michael Schumacher Mercedes	1m21.437s	79 Laps
6.	Robert Kubica Renault	1m21.916s	100 Laps
7.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m21.939s	69 Laps
8.	Kamui Kobayashi Sauber	1m22.228s	28 Laps
9.	Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m22.564s	120 Laps
10.	Lucas Di Grassi Virgin Racing	1m23.504s	34 Laps
11.	Heikki Kovalainen Lotus	1m23.521s	68 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test: Week Two Day Three

After a great debut for Lotus yesterday, when test driver Fairuz Fauzy completed 76 trouble-free laps at the control of the T127 without power steering, today Heikki Kovalainen managed to find himself stuck in the gravel after just 30 laps. The Finn admitted the error was his and damage to the front wing meant the team had to call it a day, spare parts being a premium at the moment as the car is so new. Kovalainen had been updating his Twitter account fairly regularly over the past two days, confirming the T127 now had power steering fitted and allowing followers a look at his new helmet design, but went quiet after owning up for his mistake.

Had a crash and damaged front wing, session over for us. S..t! My mistake, tomorrow we go again… Heikki Kovalainen.

Technical Director Mike Gascoyne confirmed that the team have no spare front wings available, although a part is on it’s way from the team’s base in Norfolk and should arrive at the Jerez track at 2am, ready for the third day of testing tomorrow. Gascoyne also said that progress had been made on the hydraulic issue which caused the team some time earlier today.

With the weather hampering efforts, only two drivers appeared to make the most of the drier conditions, with Rubens Barrichello and Vitaly Petrov setting their fastest laps at around lunchtime, just prior to the rain returning once again.

Elsewhere, Virgin had a much better day and Timo Glock managed to complete 98 laps to go eighth quickest, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Buemi. Force India too were enjoying their running today, with the car once again being shared, although this time between Paul Di Resta and Vitantonio Liuzzi. Di Resta improved again, this time getting as high as seventh. Liuzzi settled for ninth as the chequered flag fell.

Pedro De La Rosa wasn’t haven’t such a productive day though, the Spaniard only managing to complete 8 laps. Sauber are yet to comment on why De La Rosa remained in the garage. The busiest driver of the day was Glock, closely followed by third quickest driver Sebastian Vettel, who continues to underline the potential in the new RB6 chassis.

Jerez Test Week Two Day Two		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Rubens Barrichello Williams	1m27.145s	70 Laps
2.	Vitaly Petrov Renault	1m27.828s	57 Laps
3.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m28.162s	92 Laps
4.	Nico Rosberg Mercedes	1m28.515s	57 Laps
5.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m28.879s	8 Laps
6.	Pedro De La Rosa Sauber	1m29.691s	33 Laps
7.	Paul Di Resta Force India	1m30.344s	56 Laps
8.	Timo Glock Virgin Racing	1m30.476s	98 Laps
9.	Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India	1m30.666s	71 Laps
10.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m31.633s	72 Laps
11.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m32.678s	24 Laps
12.	Heikki Kovalainen Lotus	1m33.554s	30 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test: Week Two Day Two

As mentioned, Red Bull Racing fielded Vettel for today and the Lotus went to Fauzy, while McLaren allowed Lewis Hamilton to pilot the MP4-25. Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of the Mercedes, Felipe Massa for Ferrari, Vitaly Petrov for Renault, Pedro De La Rosa for Sauber, Timo Glock in the Virgin, Sebastien Buemi for Scuderia Toro Rosso, Rubens Barrichello for Williams and Force India ran with two drivers, Paul Di Resta in the morning and Adrian Sutil in the afternoon.

Although the track was damp in the morning, a dry line soon emerged and the weather was looking to be okay for a productive day of testing. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way as intermittent showers soon plagued the Spanish circuit. All the drivers went out early with the sole exception of Glock, while Petrov only completed two installation laps in the Renault during the first two hours. The Russian pilot was soon allowed to get some mileage under his belt as the team began its programme just before lunch, but a rain shower soon halted proceedings and all the drivers scurried back to the pits. Ferrari took the opportunity to cover the rear end of the F10 every time they could

Timo Glock finally ventured out onto the wet track at 11am, and as the rain eased, he was joined by most others. During the course of the day, five red flags were thrown, two of which went to Barrichello. Hamilton, Massa and Di Resta caused the other three, with the Force India driver spinning early on.

In the afternoon and on a drying circuit, Sebastian Vettel squeezed in the fastest lap of the day, and in the dying minutes Lewis Hamilton improved his McLaren up to second. Felipe Massa and similarly-powered Sebastien Buemi slotted into third and fourth places, while Pedro De La Rosa pipped Michael Schumacher for fifth towards the end of the day. Paul Di Resta steadily improved during the morning, and Adrian Sutil improved to seventh just before the chequered flag was shown.

Vitaly Petrov finally got some laps in and Rubens Barrichello did not have an enjoyable afternoon in the FW32, although the Brazilian was simulating a race distance and completed 109 laps. Fauzy managed the Lotus well and ended his afternoon ahead of Timo Glock in the Virgin VR-01, the former completing 76 laps while the latter only managing 10. Fauzy’s time was made even more impressive by the fact the Malaysian driver was running without power steering, the team blaming the problem on a supplier issue.

Michael Schumacher was the busiest driver of the day, completing 111 laps, while Sebastien Buemi impressed with the fourth best time of the day in the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR5. Timo Glock and Vitaly Petrov failed to complete many laps. Testing resumes tomorrow where the teams will be hoping for a dry day throughout.

Jerez Test Week Two Day One		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m22.593s	99 Laps
2.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m23.017s	72 Laps
3.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m23.204s	72 Laps
4.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m23.322s	79 Laps
5.	Pedro De La Rosa Sauber	1m23.367s	76 Laps
6.	Michael Schumacher Mercedes	1m23.803s	111 Laps
7.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m24.272s	28 Laps
8.	Paul Di Resta Force India	1m25.088s	74 Laps
9.	Vitaly Petrov Renault	1m26.237s	55 Laps
10.	Rubens Barrichello Williams	1m27.320s	109 Laps
11.	Fairuz Fauzy Lotus	1m31.848s	76 Laps
12.	Timo Glock Virgin Racing	1m32.417s	10 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test: Week Two Day One

Testing is strictly controlled these days, which explains the lack of track action since the 2009 season closed in Abu Dhabi. However, the teams are set to descend on Spain’s Valencia circuit in February to iron out the kinks in their new cars. The rules are largely staying the same for the upcoming season, so the cars should just be an evolution of those we saw last year.

Furthermore, because of the restrictions on testing, it is expected that the squads will run their race drivers during testing as opposed to the test drivers, who would appear to have taken on a more reserve driver role. As a quick catch-up, here are the runners and riders for 2010:

McLaren – Continuing with the Mercedes-Benz engine, and fielding Briton’s Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes – Re-branded from Brawn, the 2009 constructor’s champions, Mercedes will run Germany’s Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.
Red Bull Racing – Sticking with the Renault engine, Red Bull will also continue with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Ferrari – The decision to replace Kimi Raikkonen with Fernando Alonso will prove interesting, and the team will enjoy the return of Felipe Massa to the cockpit.
Williams – Having been forced to replace their Toyota engine with Cosworth, this enabled the team to drop Kazuki Nakajima in favour of Rubens Barrichello. The departing Nico Rosberg sees test driver and GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg get a promotion.
Renault – Although on the verge of being sold, apparently, the team have confirmed Robert Kubica for one of the seats. The second remains unannounced at this time.
Force India – Having a technical alliance with McLaren, the team will continue with Mercedes-Benz engines and the partnership of Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Scuderia Toro Rosso – For the first time, the Red Bull juniors are having to build their own chassis around the Ferrari engine, but have retained Sebastien Buemi. Jaime Alguersuari is expected to be in the second car.
Lotus – Like all new teams, Lotus will run the Cosworth engine, and have announced Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen as the drivers.
Virgin – Have signed Toyota-refugee Timo Glock and partnered him with rookie Lucas Di Grassi.
Campos – So far have only announced nephew of Ayrton, Bruno Senna.
USF1 – Are yet to announce any drivers.

As for testing, the show has been widely reported as kicking off on February 1st in Valencia, with running expected to continue until the close-of-day on the 3rd. The Valencia circuit is often used for testing, much like the neighbouring Jerez and Barcelona tracks. The mix of corners at these facilities provide the teams with ample opportunity to gather as much data as possible. For new fans, it should be noted the Valencia track used for testing is not the same as the Valencia circuit used in the championship. The testing venue is a purpose built facility, whereas the championship track is a street circuit that winds its way around the docks of the city.

After Valencia, testing continues at Jerez from the 10th to 13th February, and then again from the 17th to 20th. The circus will then move to Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya from the 25th to 28th February. After which, the cars will be transported to Bahrain for the first race of the year. There may be some straight-line testing taking place at airfields around England, straight-line running not being considered a part of the testing restrictions because of the limited amount of data that can be obtained.

In the meantime, the teams are expected to roll-out their new cars in low-key ceremonies. There had been talks of a group launch involving all squads, the idea being that this would save money. However, the logistics of getting all the teams to agree on a date, and then to ensure they actually had a car ready by this time, proved too much. In years gone by, the squads would often put on lavish ceremonies to unveil the new cars, but as we saw in 2009, the luxuries have been replaced with more simple and straight forward shows.

Original article by BlogF1.

Testing Dates Set: Formula One Prepares For 2010

The lack of experience in a Formula One car wasn’t the fault of Jaime himself though. It was the fact that Scuderia Toro Rosso wanted the Spaniard in the car, and the fact that in-season testing has been banned for this year. Many current drivers voiced their concern over this, and Felipe Massa called the FIA to task, suggesting that they should allow rookies to test a car should they be called upon to substitute another driver. Likewise, McLaren’s experienced test driver and former racer Pedro De La Rosa believes that it would be very demanding even for himself to suddenly step up to the plate and race should the need arise.

And so we now come to the present day, where one of the sport’s most experienced drivers has been called upon to substitute the recovering Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher has nigh-on sixteen years experience of racing a wide variety of Formula One cars, but the recent rule changes have made the 2009 cars very different to the last he raced in 2006, and the last he tested in 2008.

Ferrari have written to the FIA and their fellow competitors and asked for permission to allow Schumacher to test for one day in a F60. While this makes sense and is by-and-large completely understandable, it does put both the FIA and the other teams in a bit of a bind.

If the FIA agree, they have set a precedent. On top of that, Michael Schumacher is no Jaime Alguersuari. Schumacher is experienced, and wil undoubtedly give feedback on the car straight away. This takes it from a simple familiarisation exercise to a proper test. On top of that, will Ferrari’s rivals want this? The other drivers will not have the same fear of Schumacher driving as they did Alguersuari (who by the way, actually drove quite well in his debut). There is no fear of Schumacher throwing his car into another due to inexperience. In fact, the other 19 drivers are probably more fearful of the seven-time champion doing just that on purpose!

It will be interesting to see how the other nine squad’s respond to this. I would imagine the FIA might say something along the lines of it being acceptable as long as there is unanimous agreement among the other teams, but getting that agreement may prove harder than they think.

Do you think Schumacher should be given a day’s testing in a 2009 F60, or do you think he should just get on with it, much like how Jaime Alguersuari did?

Recommended Reading

• F1 Clienti Lend Schumacher F2007 For Fitness Testing
• Michael Schumacher Applies For A Super License: He’s Coming Back
• Jaime Alguersuari Confirmed At Scuderia Toro Rosso
• Massa Praises Algeursuari & Criticises FIA

Original article by BlogF1.

Ferrari Ask FIA For Permission To Allow Schumacher To Test F60

Michael Schumacher claimed five titles while driving for Ferrari and has been asked to step in to replace Felipe Massa while he recovers from his accident sustained at the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend. Wanting to ensure he is in tip-top condition, Schumacher has requested to get in as much driving as possible. He will have spent some time on the simulator, but this still doesn’t compare to the real-life effects of driving an actual car.

Formula One drivers are allowed to drive racing cars between races, of course, and most of the times the pilots climb inside such a vehicle it is for some event, like the Red Bull Roadshows, of Goodwood’s Festival of Speed. In each of these cases, older cars are used, even if they are sometimes liveried up to match their younger relatives. However, the drivers gain nothing by running these cars other than promotion for the team and a chance to meet the fans.

For Michael Schumacher though, he is gaining and therefore he is arguably testing. Although not improving the car, he is improving himself.

Now I am sure the Ferrari Formula One team must have an old F2008 or F2007 kicking around somewhere, and the mechanics and engineers will know these machines as they would have worked on them less than a year ago (in the case of the F2008). But instead of siding with the Formula One side of the company, Schumacher has spoken with a subsidiary company – F1 Clienti – to help him out.

Today I was in Maranello in the afternoon to check the functionality of the steering wheel at the static simulator.

Of course I was also taking the opportunity to again discuss with the engineers how to proceed further. There is this test ban in Formula One, therefore I contacted some of the guys from F1 Clienti if they could give me a car. Although those cars are not current or last year’s ones, I simply like to drive as much as possible, so this is a good option. The next weeks will be totally on preparation then. Michael Schumacher.

F1 Clienti was set up (in collaboration with Ferrari) by rich businessmen who wanted to the chance to drive all manner of Ferrari racing cars that otherwise would have ended up in museums or worse still, they would have been destroyed. The company maintains these cars and often sells them to other rich businessmen who would like the thrill of driving a Formula One car. At meetings, the cars are prepared by mechanics, many of whom will have worked on the actual race team at some point in their career.

And so Schumacher has borrowed a F2007 to thrash around Mugello, but it strikes me odd as to why he went with F1 Clienti rather than Ferrari themselves. While they are almost one-and-the-same, I cannot help but feel the team want to ensure there is absolutely no question of rule-breaking. Of course, it could also be that any and every old Ferrari ends up at F1 Clienti, but the careful and measured approach by the team is the more interesting speculation.

Recommended Reading

• Michael Schumacher Applies For A Super License: He’s Coming Back.

Original article by BlogF1.

F1 Clienti Lend Schumacher F2007 For Fitness Testing

Despite not setting the track alight on the first day of his final test, Heikki Kovalainen was buoyed by the improvements made to the McLaren MP4-24. Previously, team mate Lewis Hamilton appeared to struggle in the 79s bracket, encouraging the wagging of tongues up and down the pitlane as well as in the media. The problems that are apparently facing McLaren so late in the build up to the season is certainly the talking point of the moment.

By Thursday though, the squad had found something that worked on the modifications made to the car and the young Finn finally looked to be on top of the machine. Kovalainen lapped the Jerez circuit 85 times on Wednesday, and 84 times earlier today.

Kazuki Nakajima followed suit almost identically to his rival. Wednesday saw little in the way of pace, but by Thursday the Japanese driver was on top of his car, the Williams FW31, and Kazuki finished the day ahead of Kovalainen.

Without other teams on track it is still very hard to judge the pace of these two machines, and the improvement in times that both drivers saw may be very easily put down to improvements in track conditions more than anything else. They could both be lapping in the midfield, they could both be up there with Ferrari having found something great in the final two days. To put it simply, we just don’t know. At times, Williams and McLaren have looked strong, although in recent group tests, they have looked mediocre at best.

Jerez Test Day Four Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m18.202s	85 Laps
2.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m20.023s	103 Laps
Jerez Test Day Five Results Table
1.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m17.494s	102 Laps
2.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m17.946s	84 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Days Four & Five: Kovalainen & Nakajima Share Fastest Laps

Nelson Piquet Jr. took over from team mate Fernando Alonso and posted a time similar to the Spaniard’s efforts on Monday. Piquet was the busiest driver of the day, completing 128 tours of Jerez and ending his off-season reasonably well. The true pace of the Renault is hard to judge as the team have been up and down all winter. However, the Brazilian was pleased with his and the team’s efforts.

My final day of testing went really well and I’m pleased that we were able to do so many laps. We were looking at the car’s aero performance today as well as doing some set-up work in preparation for the first race and overall we found a good balance with the car.

It was pretty windy, but the track conditions were good so we were able to get a lot done. I’m now ready for the season to start next week and I think as a team we can be happy with the work we’ve done over the winter. Nelson Piquet Jr.

The final position of the day went to Lewis Hamilton, who once again looked to be struggling with the MP4-24. Although the times set above Hamilton are pretty close together, the Briton was 0.8s slower than Piquet. The position isn’t the worry, it’s the difference to those ahead.

Jerez Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Jenson Button Brawn GP	1m17.844s	114 Laps
2.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m18.071s	66 Laps
3.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m18.382s	128 Laps
4.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m19.121s	118 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Three: Button Puts Brawn Back On Top

I’m happy with the day as we did more than a 100 laps which was our target for my final day of winter testing. This has been the first time we have run on a really hot track and the information we have from today will be very useful for the first few races, which are usually very hot. Fernando Alonso.

Alonso’s comment of running on a hot track mirrors that of Barrichello’s from yesterday. It seems the warm weather is helping the teams gain further insight into the behaviour of their cars, and one has to wonder if those who aren’t taking part in Jerez are missing out on valuable data. After all, Australia will be hot and Malaysia will likely be very hot and very humid.

Just because the Brawns weren’t on top today doesn’t meant they didn’t look competitive. Rubens Barrichello narrowly missed out on the top spot, and when Jenson Button took over the car in the afternoon, the Briton immediately looked fast, posting a third quickest time that was just 0.5s shy of his team mate’s. Fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton kicked off McLaren’s last test session, and posted a time 0.6s shy of Button’s. The final position went to Nico Rosberg of Williams, who was a further 0.25s down, although did manage an impressive 123 laps.

Jerez Test Day Two Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m18.343s	103 Laps
2.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP	1m18.398s	62 Laps
3.	Jenson Button Brawn GP	1m18.892s	12 Laps
4.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m19.513s	85 Laps
5.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m19.783s	123 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Two: Fernando Alonso Goes Ahead Of Brawn

We had a good day today, completing over a hundred laps. It is hotter than it was in Barcelona last week and therefore more representative of the temperatures that we can expect for the first few races, so it is good preparation for myself and the car.

The car ran very well once again and we are increasing our understanding of its characteristics every day. Rubens Barrichello.

Rubens is expected to continue tomorrow morning before Jenson Button takes over for the afternoon and the remainder of the test.

Williams sent Nico Hulkenberg out to evaluate the set up of the FW31, and was the only driver not to dip into the 79 second benchmark set by both Rubens and Fernando. It wasn’t the greatest of days for Alonso though, as a crash at Turn 8 after just a handful of laps sidelined the Spaniard for much of the session. The car was only repaired in time for Fernando to complete another 30-odd laps before the circuit was closed for the day.

Unfortunately I made a mistake this morning which was a shame as we lost a lot of track time, but sometimes this happens in testing when you are looking for the limits of the car. Fernando Alonso.

Notably, McLaren were present at Jerez, but the Woking-based team decided to keep to their original schedule and run the MP4-24 from Monday to Thursday, instead of Sunday to Wednesday like their rivals. Lewis Hamilton is expected to take to the track on Monday and Tuesday while Heikki Kovalainen will take over for Wednesday and Thursday.

Also of note are those teams that have actually decided to run during this extra test. McLaren and Renault are said to have issues with their car, McLaren admitting as much last week. Williams are probably looking for as much track time as well, the team not looking overly down on pace, but equally so, they’re not looking like Ferrari either. And of course, Brawn were present as they need all the running they can get, having only completed four-to-five full days previously.

Jerez Test Day One Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP	1m19.236s	107 Laps
2.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m19.819s	40 Laps
3.	Nico Hulkenberg Williams	1m20.015s	69 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day One: Barrichello Continues To Lead

Below are the fastest times set by each of the teams at Circuit de Catalunya during the test session held there between 25th and 27th February, 2008. Also listed are the times set by each of the teams during the more recent test at Barcelona, held between 9th and 12th March, 2009, and the difference in fastest lap is shown.

Barcelona Tests February 2008 vs. March 2009		2008 Fastest Time	2009 Fastest Time	Diff. ‘08 – ‘09
1.	Honda RA108 Brawn BGP 001	1m22.659s Jenson Button	1m18.926s Rubens Barrichello	-3.733s
2.	BMW F1.08/F1.09	1m22.299s Robert Kubica	1m20.214s Robert Kubica	-2.085s
3.	Ferrari F2008/F60	1m21.722s Kimi Raikkonen	1m20.168s Felipe Massa	-1.554s
4.	Williams FW30/FW31	1m21.293s Nico Rosberg	1m19.774s Nico Rosberg	-1.519s
5.	Scuderia Toro Rosso STR2/STR4	1m22.465s Sebastien Bourdais	1m21.013s Sebastien Buemi	-1.452s
6.	Force India VJM01/VJM02	1m22.233s Giancarlo Fisichella	1m21.045s Giancarlo Fisichella	-1.188s
7.	Renault R28/R29	1m21.443s Nelson Piquet Jr.	1m20.664s Fernando Alonso	-0.779s
8.	Toyota TF108/TF109	1m20.801s Jarno Trulli	1m20.091s Timo Glock	-0.710s
9.	Red Bull Racing RB4/RB5	1m21.258s David Coulthard	1m20.576s Sebastian Vettel	-0.682s
10.	McLaren MP4-23/MP4-24	1m21.309s Heikki Kovalainen	1m20.869s Lewis Hamilton	-0.440s

A few interesting points from the comparison…

• In the testing trim that resulted in the fastest laps during both sessions, the new 2009 cars are faster at this point of the year than the 2008 cars were twelve months ago. Everyone has made time and are now lapping quicker.
• The biggest gainers are Brawn, who over their previous pace as Honda, have improved by a whopping 3.733s.
• The smallest gain by any of the teams goes to McLaren, who have only improved by 0.440s.

Recommended Reading

• Post-Season Tests Comparison: 2007 vs. 2008
• 2008 Barcelona Testing Day One
• 2008 Barcelona Testing Day Two
• 2008 Barcelona Testing Day Three
• 2009 Barcelona Testing Day One
• 2009 Barcelona Testing Day Two
• 2009 Barcelona Testing Day Three
• 2009 Barcelona Testing Day Four

Original article by BlogF1.

Pre-Season Testing Comparison: 2008 vs. 2009

The car only made its first public appearance last weekend, but already the former-Honda looks fairly fast. While the times set by Button and Barrichello may have been on low fuel, observers at the circuit say the Brawn car is looking very fast and consistent over longer runs as well. Rubens’s time eclipses Nico Rosberg’s best effort by 0.9s.

Timo Glock ended his day in third, the German being pleased with the way his winter testing has gone. The Toyota TF109 looks strong and the team have added another 128 laps to their already impressive tally. Glock was 0.3s shy of Rosberg at the end of the day. Sebastian Vettel put in some good work for Red Bull Racing, completing 83 tours of the Catalan track and finishing 0.1s up on Fernando Alonso.

Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica and Lewis Hamilton completed the top-eight, the McLaren pilot only covering 70 laps in comparison to Kubica’s 134. Sebastiens Buemi and Bourdais shared the Scuderia Toro Rosso once again, the Swiss driver completing 62 laps on his way to ninth while Bourdais only covered 27 on his way to the bottom of the timing sheet. The pair sandwiched the busiest man of the day, Giancarlo Fisichella, who rested in tenth and 0.03s slower than Buemi.

Barcelona Test Day Four Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP	1m18.926s	110 Laps
2.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m19.774s	120 Laps
3.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m20.091s	128 Laps
4.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m20.576s	83 Laps
5.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m20.664s	64 Laps
6.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m20.677s	92 Laps
7.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m20.740s	134 Laps
8.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m20.869s	70 Laps
9.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.013s	62 Laps
10.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m21.045s	141 Laps
11.	Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.629	27 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Testing Day Four: Barrichello Continues Button’s Lead

McLaren have offered an explanation for the apparent lack of pace though, Ron Dennis stating that the squad are leaving it as late as possible before using their Australian Grand Prix aero package. This has led to other challenges, but the former team boss is confident his car will be among the fastest at the end of the month.

We had a strategy for this year to leave it to the last possible moment to produce our aerodynamic package for the Australian Grand Prix.

That in itself gave us some production challenges and we have really only started to run the car in the last day with the Australian aero package. Ron Dennis.

The day however was all about the surprising form of the BGP 001, although Ross Brawn himself said it was expected after the hard work that had gone into the car back at the Brackley factory. It is likely that Button was on a low fuel load to have produced a time so far ahead of the others, but the car hasn’t looked too bad in the previous two days of testing.

It’s been another great day and a very positive test generally. After the challenges we have faced, to come here and get off to such an encouraging start is just what we all needed and I can’t thank the team enough. All that effort has really paid off and everyone can feel very proud. Jenson Button.

Elsewhere on the timing sheet, the usual suspects continued to show their form, with Robert Kubica driving well for BMW, and Timo Glock ensuring his Toyota TF109 remained in the mix. Fernando Alonso took to the track in the new Renault R29 and managed a fifth fastest lap. Sebastian Vettel was piloting the Red Bull RB5 while Sebastien Buemi took the controls of the Scuderia Toro Rosso. In an effort to make up for the lost time from yesterday, Buemi was the busiest man of the day today, completing 140 laps on his way to ninth.

The laps times set all seem fairly close, once again indicating that the field could be tightly packed this year. Aside from Button’s fastest lap, the spread from Massa to Hamilton is only 1.5s.

Barcelona Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Jenson Button Brawn GP	1m19.127s	124 Laps
2.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m20.168s	109 Laps
3.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m20.217s	109 Laps
4.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m20.410s	99 Laps
5.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m20.863s	107 Laps
6.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m21.165s	102 Laps
7.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m21.324s	89 Laps
8.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m21.545s	97 Laps
9.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m21.569s	140 Laps
10.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m21.657s	82 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test Day Three: Button Tops, Hamilton Bottoms

The Finnish world champion didn’t have an error free day though and the F60 was garage-bound for much of the afternoon after a cooling system on the KERS device gave the team some troubles. Kimi only completed 55 laps, but his fastest time was 0.5s clear of Nakajima in the Williams FW31.

Rubens Barrichello took over from the jubilant Jenson Button for the second day of running in the new Brawn GP car. The Brazilian driver completed 111 laps and was just 0.061s shy of Kazuki’s pace. Another solid run for Jarno Trulli in the Toyota TF109 saw the Italian driver finish in fourth place.

Mark Webber continued in the Red Bull and managed to improve over this previous form from yesterday, the Australian managing to see a second off his lap time. Nick Heidfeld slipped down the tables after finishing on top on Monday. The German pilot was the busiest of the day though, completing 127 tours of the Catalan circuit.

Adrian Sutil improved to seventh ahead of Fernando Alonso who returned to drive the Renault R29. Heikki Kovalainen continued in the McLaren and once again found himself towards the bottom of the timing sheet. Many websites have speculated that the Woking-team could be either in trouble or sandbagging. However, it would appear that squad were simply trying out a few new parts as well as rehearsing pit stop procedures. This could very easily account for the apparent slow times, although from a drivers point of view, it would have been good for the confidence to pop in a quick time at some point during the day.

We are running through a big programme in Barcelona this week. Not only have we introduced a new series of aerodynamic components to MP4-24 but we have also been working on the car’s set-up and balance over longer runs as well as rehearsing our pitstop procedures.

It’s been a very productive few days with Heikki in the car and we are hoping for an equally satisfactory conclusion to the week when Lewis takes to the track tomorrow. Jonathan Neale.

The Scuderia Toro Rosso team hogged the bottom of the timing sheet, with Sebastien Bourdais taking the car out in the morning and only completing fourteen laps before an issue with the front suspension kept the STR4 in the garage. The team attempted to send Sebastien Buemi out after lunch, but the problem persisted and can only be resolved with parts being sent over from Faenza. All in all, the day was very unproductive for the new car.

Barcelona Test Day Two Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m20.314s	55 Laps
2.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m20.907s	66 Laps
3.	Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP	1m20.966s	111 Laps
4.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m21.182s	121 Laps
5.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m21.347s	66 Laps
6.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m21.615s	127 Laps
7.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m21.834s	82 Laps
8.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m21.937s	111 Laps
9.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m21.991s	88 Laps
10.	Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m23.039s	14 Laps
11.	Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso	No Time	6 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test Day Two: Raikkonen Rules, Rubens Rocks

There was drizzle in the morning but this didn’t hamper the teams too much and by lunchtime the circuit had dried and the times began to tumble. Nick Heidfeld ended Monday’s running a comfortable 0.6s ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, completing 12 more laps than the Finn and suddenly making himself known after a relatively anonymous winter so far.

Jarno Trulli continued Toyota’s impressive off-season with a third quickest time of the day, just 0.029s shy of Raikkonen. The TF109 completed 118 laps and so far the Cologne-based team are looking quite strong for the 2009 campaign. Jenson Button also impressed in the Brawn BGP 001. Despite having not completed many miles, Ross Brawn’s team looked good and comfortable. Button completed 82 laps in the Mercedes powered car, and much attention was focused on the design of the diffuser.

Also debuting in public for the first time was the STR4, having been launched earlier in the morning. Sebastien Bourdais had the honours of the first drive at Circuit de Catalunya and the Frenchmen ended the afternoon in sixth; an impressive start for the new car, although Bourdais was 0.5s slower than Nelson Piquet Jr in the Renault R29.

Mark Webber continued to drive the Red Bull RB5, but couldn’t manage a time faster than junior team Scuderia Toro Rosso. Adrian Sutil showed good pace in the Force India, lapping just 0.2s shy of Webber in eighth. Sutil said he managed a race distance as well as simulating some qualifying runs. Kazuki Nakajima was sent out for Williams while Heikki Kovalainen paced the Catalan track for McLaren. surprisingly, Kovalainen ended Monday at the bottom of the timing sheets.

Barcelona Test Day One Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m20.339s	92 Laps
2.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m20.908s	80 Laps
3.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m20.937s	118 Laps
4.	Jenson Button Brawn GP	1m21.140s	82 Laps
5.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m21.662s	124 Laps
6.	Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso	1m22.158s	96 Laps
7.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m22.246s	115 Laps
8.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m22.452s	129 Laps
9.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m22.813s	111 Laps
10.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m22.948s	87 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Barcelona Test Day One: Heidfeld Quick & Brawn Debuts

The photo, owned by LAT Photographic and exclusively shown on Autosport (in higher res) depicts the BGP 001 in a predominantly white livery, with black and yellow detailing. No sponsors can be seen on the car other than the mandatory Bridgestone logo on the tip of the nose. Like all other 2009 cars, the rear wing in high and narrow while the front wing is low and wide. Interestingly, Button was driving on 2008 style grooved tyres, but this may have been because of the last minute nature of the shakedown.

The test was completed behind closed doors and very few people allowed within the confines of the Silverstone track. However, the team are expected to be testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya next week, and also in Jerez the following week.

Image © LAT Photographic/Autosport.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jenson Button Shakes Down The BGP 001

The track was wet during the morning and remained windy for most of the day, playing havoc with the cars and sending Hamilton into the barriers. The accident was minor although the team covered the MP4-24 for its journey back to the pitlane on the back of a flatbed. Once arriving outside the McLaren garage, team members surrounded the vehicle with barriers to avoid eyes landing on the details of Woking’s newest title contender.

The incident didn’t dissuade Hamilton too much though and at the end of the day the reigning champion was third fastest, resting behind Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and ahead of Mark Webber’s Red Bull. Webber only completed 47 laps and just about kept his nose ahead of Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams, the difference in lap time being a mere 0.007s. Toyota propped up the timing sheet, with Jarno Trulli touring the circuit just 38 times. The Italian suffered damage to the front of the car after running over the kerbs.

We lost the morning to the weather but in the afternoon we had a chance to try out the 2010 Bridgestone slick tyres. The conditions remained difficult because the wind was still strong.

On one run I picked up some damage to the front wing after running over kerbs. Still, we made it through a number of runs and collected data for the future. As for this season, this test shows that things are going well for us so we can be confident. Jarno Trulli.

The next test will be Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, due to commence on this coming Monday.

Jerez Test Day Five Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m20.052s	123 Laps
2.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m20.404s	112 Laps
3.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m21.272s	58 Laps
4.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m22.219s	47 Laps
5.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m22.226s	54 Laps
6.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m23.119s	38 Laps

Image © BMW AG.

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Five: The Test Day That Almost Never Happened

Fernando Alonso was pleased with his day though and his efforts put team mate Nelson Piquet Jr in the shadows. Although it should be noted that it is unclear what the pair have been concentrating on during their two days each of running, and Alonso may have been running significantly lighter than Piquet.

Kimi Raikkonen posted the second fastest lap of the day, just 0.3s shy of Alonso, while Nick Heidfeld slotted his BMW into third, less than 0.2s further back. Jarno Trulli completed another hefty load of miles for Toyota and was placed fourth as the circuit closed. The strong and reliable runs from the TF109 indicate, funnily enough, a strong and reliable car. Compared to previous seasons, Toyota actually look to be quite good thus far. The real test will come in Australia at the end of the month, but the Japanese team could be sitting on a very handy car.

Mark Webber continued testing the Red Bull RB5 and completed 107 laps on his way to fifth, the Australian finishing 0.1s ahead of Williams pilot Kazuki Nakajima. Lewis Hamilton could only manage seventh in the MP4-24. Once again it looked as though the Woking team were running a 2008 style rear wing, and Hamilton lost a fair amount of track time while the mechanics worked on the rear suspension.

Adrian Sutil wrapped up the Force India VJM02’s first test, completing 79 laps and returning to the garage 0.1s shy of Hamilton, and 1.5s slower than Alonso’s fastest lap. Although the test has gone very well for the Force India team, Sutil complained of tyre graining, which may also explain why the FIA have asked Bridgestone to change the tyre configuration for 2010. It is likely too late for 2009, but after receiving feedback from the drivers, it would appear that the rear tyres are struggling.

We tried the soft, supersoft and medium compounds. On the long runs they behaved quite differently and the biggest problem was with the graining. It happens very quickly, then gets worse and the grip never comes back.

We are talking big differences in lap times – I have never had such a big graining issue, but I can see nearly everyone is struggling with a similar problem. Adrian Sutil.

Although Lewis Hamilton is yet to speak of the tyres, he might be one driver to watch closely in Australia, the Briton well-known for burning through his rubber like it was going out of fashion.

Today marks the end of the Jerez test, and the teams are now packing everything away and heading up the coast to Barcelona and Circuit de Catalunya. The final group test of the pre-season will commence on Monday 9th March.

Jerez Test Day Four Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m19.945s	129 Laps
2.	Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari	1m20.250s	104 Laps
3.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m20.250s	98 Laps
4.	Jarno Trulli Toyota	1m20.540s	131 Laps
5.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m20.894s	107 Laps
6.	Kazuki Nakajima Williams	1m20.948s	83 Laps
7.	Lewis Hamilton McLaren	1m21.302s	70 Laps
8.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m21.411s	79 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Four: Alonso Puts The R29 On The Top Spot

This morning we were again a bit unlucky with the conditions, which made the race simulation quite tough. But it was useful to find out when to change to slick tyres and our pace wasn’t bad.

Then we got some dry running for the rest of the day. We did a lot of set-up work and late on we did some shorter runs to make it through the programme. We’ve made it through a lot of miles over these two days and we’re making useful progress. Timo Glock.

The Toyota team have managed to complete a lot of mileage during the off-season, unlike many of their rivals who have stayed away from the track when it has been wet, or just had the luck of the draw and had the poor weather follow them around. Ferrari as an example, have not enjoyed a particularly productive off-season.

However, perhaps the Scuderia’s fortunes are changing as Felipe Massa completed a fine 134 laps today, albeit 0.4s shy of Glock’s ultimate pace. Michael Schumacher was present in Ferrari attire today, observing Massa from the pitwall and advising as the day went on.

Impressively, Fernando Alonso managed to show just what the Renault R29 can do, the Spaniard setting the third quickest time of the day, just 0.058s slower than the Ferrari pilot. Alonso was the busiest driver of the day and managed 152 tours of Jerez, approximately two full race distances.

Heikki Kovalainen was present for McLaren and finished the day in fourth, less than 0.3s behind Alonso and 0.1s ahead of Force India pilot Adrian Sutil. Sutil has taken over from Giancarlo Fisichella for the final two days of testing, and the German’s pace was pretty good in the new VJM02.

Also taking over from his team mate was Mark Webber, powering the RB5 to sixth on the timing sheet, 0.4s shy of Sutil and 0.04s ahead of Robert Kubica’s BMW. The Polish driver was concentrating on fine tuning set ups on the F1.09. Nico Rosberg ended the day at the bottom of the timing sheets.

Testing continues at Jerez tomorrow, where once again rain is forecast.

Jerez Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m19.814s	141 Laps
2.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m20.238s	134 Laps
3.	Fernando Alonso Renault	1m20.296s	152 Laps
4.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m20.535s	85 Laps
5.	Adrian Sutil Force India	1m20.621s	63 Laps
6.	Mark Webber Red Bull Racing	1m21.021s	98 Laps
7.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m21.069s	98 Laps
8.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m21.412s	125 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Three: Glock Continues To Lead

Although Timo Glock was only able to complete 89 tours of Jerez – in Bahrain the team racked up many hundreds of laps – the German was pleased with how the day was spent on wet weather tyres and was thankful the weather was consistent enough for some set up work to be completed.

Robert Kubica finished the day in second although the Pole was forced to stop on track with a false electrical alarm caused by the wet weather. Nico Rosberg (the busiest driver of the day with 114 laps) in the Williams posted a promising third fastest lap and Giancarlo Fisichella managed fourth in the new Force India VJM02, although the Italian was only able to complete 54 laps.

Nico Rosberg continued preparation work with the FW31 today. Despite the wet conditions and a red flag temporarily halting proceedings this morning, Nico still managed to complete a race distance. We then spent the afternoon on general wet-weather setup work. We’ve had a good day and haven’t come across any problems with the car. Dickie Stanford.

Sebastian Vettel and Heikki Kovalainen were down in the rankings, the pair 1.2s and 2.3s off the leaders pace respectively. Vettel concentrated on pitstop work with the new crew who will be present for the first race in Australia. Nelson Piquet Jr. finished at the bottom and Ferrari chose not to run, instead keeping cover in the garage and motorhome. One can only presume the Scuderia have completed enough wet weather running to know exactly how the F60 handles in these conditions.

Testing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, but forecasts also predict the rain will continue as well. Adrian Sutil, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso are all expected to run tomorrow, weather permitting.

Jerez Test Day Two Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m30.979s	89 Laps
2.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m31.327s	70 Laps
3.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m31.451s	114 Laps
4.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m31.547s	54 Laps
5.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m32.220s	102 Laps
6.	Heikki Kovalainen McLaren	1m33.371s	31 Laps
7.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m33.476s	66 Laps
8.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	No Time	0 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day Two: The Rain In Spain…

The in-season testing ban is going to have many consequences this year as a major shakeup in the technical regulations is forcing the teams to radically rethink their cars. And with poor weather hampering what running the teams can get in, the Australian Grand Prix in March is going to be very interesting. However, with the lack of testing available, most teams are trying to field their race drivers as much as possible in order for them to better understand the new cars and tyres.

Should a reserve driver have to step in though and cover one of the full-time drivers, Pedro De La Rosa feels that the lack of running could have safety implications.

Arriving in Melbourne with very little mileage done or not having a single day of testing during the season just makes the test driver rusty in case we have to climb into the car. And we could be a problem in the safety aspect if you haven’t driven enough.

When I raced in Bahrain [in 2005] I had done a lot of [testing] miles. The only thing I was not used to was to take a start, but this year the situation would be very different if I have to replace a driver mid-season, because I will have been four or five months without having driven an F1 car, with the problems that brings to the rest. Pedro De La Rosa.

De La Rosa states that not driving for four or five months would make his job very difficult. However, he failed to note that Giancarlo Fisichella climbed into the cockpit of his brand new Force India VJM02 yesterday and drove for the first time since he pulled in to the Interlagos pitlane at the Brazilian Grand Prix last year, almost 4 months ago. Looking at the times, Fisichella appeared to be doing okay and wasn’t massively, or dangerously off the pace.

Perhaps Pedro De La Rosa is getting a little bored sitting on the pitwall, but I fail to fully see his point. The bigger problem with the ban on testing, aside from the troubles it will cause with developing new components, is that younger drivers will have less of a chance to prove themselves to Formula One team bosses. There are allowances for new drivers, but with every testing opportunity likely to be given to the race drivers, developing talent will have a harder time getting the track time in.

Original article by BlogF1.

Pedro De La Rosa Bemoans Lack Of Testing

Team owner Vijay Mallya believes the squad have no excuses not to score points in 2009, pointing out that the squad are much stronger now they have a technical affiliation with the world championship winning McLaren team. Along with support, Force India also have Mercedes engines as well as gear boxes and KERS, which will give them a definite boost. Although, for 2008 the team were using the mighty Ferrari power unit and still failed to score any points. With a more complete package though, Force India may be able to haul themselves forward.

To be brutally honest, I would not be happy if we didn’t show some much improved, and much needed, performance.

What we really set out to do over the winter was to put in place structures, procedures and partnerships that would give improvement, but crucially, no excuses.

I would like to see a strong start, rising to points mid-season and a definite improvement in qualifying. Regular points finishes should be the aim.

This is the year we have to deliver. We are not here to make up the numbers, I want to be pushing all the way Vijay Mallya.

However, looking at some testing times, with a handful of salt it must be said, the lap times look fairly close, implying that 2009 could be another closely fought and tightly packed grid. With cars running only a few tenths apart, more emphasis is placed on reliability, strategies and drivers. Losing a tenth or two in qualifying could mean, as it did more than once last year, a difference of up to six places on the grid. Those positions can make the difference between getting into the following phases of qualifying.

If the team does manage to improve during 2009, the drivers will no doubt be analysed more closely by the team and pundits alike. Adrian Sutil is at the beginning of his career and got his drive partly because of a good relationship with then Spyker boss Colin Kolles. Since then though, Kolles has left the Force India team as part of Mallya’s management restructure, and although Sutil is said to have a long term contract with the squad, nobody is entirely safe in their jobs in Formula One.

Giancarlo Fisichella is perhaps the driver with most question marks over, having been soundly beaten by Fernando Alonso at Renault, and then having a less-than-great year with Force India in 2008. Previously, Fisichella had been hailed as a great racer who nearly always demoralised his team mates. Jenson Button, Jarno Trulli and Alex Wurz have all felt the Italian’s wrath back in the Benetton days, but more recently, Giancarlo appears to have struggled.

Last year was difficult, but this year is much more encouraging. If I have a good season and I have the chance, I will stay in F1 for more. Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella believes the VJM02 will become a regular points scorer in 2009 and expects the squad to introduce the KERS device when the circus heads for Europe and the Spanish Grand Prix. Although it should be noted that Fisichella is very much against the idea, having said that KERS is a waste of money and time and still not entirely safe. In an interview at Jerez, Giancarlo had the following to say…

We’re not going to use the KERS until Barcelona so I just need to concentrate on driving the car as quick as possible. Most of the teams I think are going to run with it from the European races, so not for three or four races.

I never drove with it, and I am against it because the teams are spending a lot of time and especially money to develop it. It’s still not safe. Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella completed 31 laps today at Jerez as he put the VJM02 through its paces. At the end of the afternoon the Italian was pleased with the car and his initial impressions were good. There were a few gremlins that needed ironing out, but all in all the car appears to have enjoyed a good debut.

It is a bit frustrating as we could only do 31 laps today, especially as it is very important to try and get as many as possible as we are already late compared to the other teams. I am however quite surprised and happy about what I felt with the behaviour of the car today. It’s very promising and I felt much more consistency, even under braking, and more stability in the high speed corners.

We need to improve the traction a bit and also the oversteering after a few laps, but this is a problem others have had as well. The lap time is good and I am quite pleased as we did it with one set of new tyres and I know I can do much better than this. Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella will continue testing tomorrow before handing the car over to team mate Adrian Sutil on Tuesday.

Original article by BlogF1.

Force India Have High Expectations For 2009

Felipe Massa was working hard with the Ferrari F60, trying out some set ups with the car to see how it handles in different situations. The Brazilian completed 63 laps on his way to second in the tables, although the Ferrari did have a small off after lunch.

Toyota test driver Kamui Kobayashi brought the Japanese team back to European soil after they spent a lot of time in Bahrain completing hundreds and hundreds of laps. Kobayashi spent most of the day evaluating the aerodynamics on the TF109 and noted that the car was much easier to set up than TF108 was last season.

From the first run the car felt easy to drive so we were able to get straight into our programme of aero work. It certainly feels like a step forward from last year. Kamui Kobayashi.

Giancarlo Fisichella debuted the new Force India VJM02 to the public after it was privately tested earlier in the week. Fisichella was sixth at the end of the day and only 0.4s behind Robert Kubica in the BMW.

Pedro De La Rosa was on track for McLaren and finished seventh after 94 tours of Jerez. De La Rosa was concentrating on the slick tyres, trying to learn as much as possible about them. At the very bottom of the tables sat Nelson Piquet Jr., the Brazilian suffering a few problems with his new Renault R29.

We had a few issues with the car today which limited our mileage, but we still managed to evaluate some of the new parts we brought to this test,” said the Brazilian. “The track was improving throughout the day as we had a lot of cars running and so it should get better and better throughout the week. Nelson Piquet Jr.

Testing continues at Jerez on Monday.

Jerez Test Day One Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing	1m19.055s	87 Laps
2.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m20.330s	63 Laps
3.	Kamui Kobayashi Toyota	1m20.699s	79 Laps
4.	Nico Rosberg Williams	1m21.171s	71 Laps
5.	Robert Kubica BMW	1m21.292s	47 Laps
6.	Giancarlo Fisichella Force India	1m21.584	31 Laps
7.	Pedro De La Rosa McLaren	1m21.831s	94 Laps
8.	Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault	1m22.011s	52 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Jerez Test Day One: Vettel Tops The Tables

Although we lost some time due to a sandstorm last week, the long test in Bahrain was very productive. We could work with the cars in temperatures we would not have encountered in Europe at this time of the year, making it good preparation for the first races of the upcoming season.

We worked mainly on the general set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09, trying numerous solutions on the mechanical and aero side of the car as well as gaining experience with the three available tyre compounds.

We also made good progress with KERS. Overall we reached our target of collecting as much data as possible about the car’s reactions to changes in the set-up. Willy Rampf.

Today the track conditions were the best they have been all week. We could already try a couple of improvements. The car reacts to changes as planned, so I’m confident we are working in the right direction. Nick Heidfeld.

Despite putting in the lion’s share of laps this week, Toyota ended the test on a slight low, having lost track time today due to a hydraulics issue. However, the team has gathered a lot of information since Tuesday when this week’s test began and Timo Glock was suitably upbeat.

Today we missed much of the day’s action due to a hydraulics problem so it was a shame to lose running time. But the mechanics did a good job and when we made it onto the track we put in some useful work.

Overall we have put a lot of miles on the TF109 this week. We’ve made good progress with set-up and I’m confident that this can continue. Timo Glock.

As the test in Barcelona didn’t happen this week, the next time the cars are expected to be in action is at the Jerez circuit in Spain between the 1st and 5th March.

Bahrain Test Day Four Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m32.126s	113 Laps
2.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m32.225s	122 Laps
3.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m32.445s	65 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Bahrain Test Day Four: Massa Ends Test On Top

While the Toyota appears to be developing well, Ferrari were faced with further troubles in the morning when after just a handful of laps, Felipe Massa was forced to wait in the garage while the mechanics stripped the gearbox down. The Brazilian was able to return to the track although at the end of his running in the afternoon, an electrical problem brought his day to slightly premature end. Nick Heidfeld also had two stoppages on track, although the German was upbeat about the progress the team are making with the F1.09 car.

But despite [the stoppages] I managed to run for 444 kilometres and we made good progress with the development of the car. Nick Heidfeld.

We didn’t have any major problems and we again made it through a lot of work. We concentrated on set-up and went through our programme smoothly. It has been a bit tricky to drive today because there was a lot of wind, which was also blowing from a different direction to yesterday when Jarno [Trulli] was driving. But in the end I’m happy that we did so much work and it’s positive that we found some useful directions to work with. Timo Glock.

Meanwhile, McLaren visited Kemble Airfield to complete some straight-line testing with Pedro De La Rosa. Sidepodcast were once again there and noted that the MP4-24 was carrying some kind of scaffold structure on the left sidepod. Pedro De La Rosa didn’t manage to complete much running, but presumably the Woking-team got what they needed from the morning’s run.

Bahrain Test Day Three Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m32.492s	132 Laps
2.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m32.917s	105 Laps
3.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m32.993s	82 Laps

Original article by BlogF1.

Bahrain Test Day Three: Glock, Massa & Heidfeld

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 Day Two Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number 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

Original article by BlogF1.

Bahrain Test Day Two: Raikkonen Returns Ferrari To Top