Lewis Hamilton rounded off his pre-season preparations with a strong performance on the final day of testing at Barcelona in Spain on Sunday - setting the quickest time and delivering an impressive race distance simulation run.
Getting his first taste of the raft of aerodynamic updates that McLaren brought to the MP4-25 on Saturday, Hamilton spent the morning focusing on qualifying simulation work.
His best time of 1m20.472 came while most of his potential title rivals were working on qualifying simulations too - and showed how competitive the field will be this year at least in terms of single lap pace.
In the afternoon, Hamilton switched to a race distance simulation run - completing it with two stops and without any dramas. More importantly, it was consistently fast and showed that McLaren appears to be in good shape for the first race of the season.
Behind Hamilton, Mark Webber ended the day just 0.024 seconds behind on the timesheets - having taken over the RB6 from team-mate Sebastian Vettel after the lunch break.
Red Bull Racing's problems on Saturday had forced the team to change its original programme, and Vettel had tried out some low fuel simulations in the morning to set what would ultimately be the fifth fastest time. Webber undertook a varied programme in the afternoon – running through both qualifying simulations and longer runs to round off his team's preparations for the season.
Felipe Massa ended the day third overall on the timesheets – just 0.067 seconds behind Hamilton's best effort, as he too spent the day working on qualifying in the morning and an attempted race distance run in the afternoon.
His race distance run did not go as smoothly as Hamilton's – being broken up into four separate stints. Nevertheless, Ferrari will have been pleased with how the F10's winter testing programme has gone – with many in the paddock still believing that the Italian outfit is the favourite for the start of the season.
Adrian Sutil continued to show evidence that Force India has made progress with its new car as he set the fourth quickest time during an afternoon qualifying simulation. Although track conditions were slightly better in the afternoon – with wind and dust in the morning having left the circuit low on grip – his strong day was encouraging for the German.
Behind Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher was sixth fastest – albeit just 0.273 seconds behind Hamilton's best effort as he too conducted a race simulation run in the afternoon.
"The four testing days here in Barcelona have helped us to make significant progress with the MGP W01 and I am feeling quite confident for the start of the season," Schumacher said.
"It is always difficult to read too much into testing but knowing our programme, it is fair to say that the times did not always reflect the true picture. We have worked through many set-up and development evaluations this week and gained valuable information to study before Bahrain.
"We are heading the first race with a good feeling and we know that we will have our upgrades there. But most of all we know that our prospects for even the first races are looking very reasonable now."
Rubens Barrichello ended the day seventh overall on the timesheets, having run through some qualifying simulations in the afternoon. His day was far from incident free, however, after he spun off in the gravel in the morning and then stopped out on track late in the afternoon.
Kamui Kobayashi was eighth fastest for Sauber, having spent the day working through a series of short runs in his C29. Sebastien Buemi was another driver playing around with set-ups and mechanical tweaks as he ended up ninth overall.
Robert Kubica got his first taste of the updates that his Renault team had brought to the car for this week's Barcelona test as he ended up 10th overall – but he focused on a race run and never bothered with an all-out qualifying run when the track was at its best.
Formula 1's newest teams ended the day at the bottom of the timesheets, but both had an encouraging day in terms of reliability. Heikki Kovalainen was 11th fastest for Lotus with at time of 1m25.251s, while Lucas di Grassi was 12th quickest with a best of 1m26.160s.
"It was a game of two halves as they say; we had a good morning where we were able to complete all our plans but a problem with the programme change on the gearbox delayed us in the afternoon, which meant we weren't able to do as much running as we wanted," said Lotus's tech boss Mike Gascoyne.
"Overall, however, the test has been extremely productive - in general we've had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.
"Considering the length of time we've had to work on the project it's a fantastic effort from the whole team. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard over the two tests and we now have to work on the pace of the car and improve that, but it's been a tremendous effort from the whole team and I'm very proud of them."
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.472 134
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.496 59
3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.539 113
4. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:20.611 99
5. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.667 76
6. M.Schumacher Mercedes GP (B) 1:20.745 122
7. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth (B) 1:20.870 83
8. Kobayashi BMW-Sauber (B) 1:20.911 67
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.135 87
10. Kubica Renault (B) 1:23.175 106
11. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth (B) 1:25.251 65
12. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth (B) 1:26.160 47
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Sunday 28 February 2010
Lewis Hamilton shows pace on final morning
Lewis Hamilton delivered the perfect evidence of the step forward McLaren has made at Barcelona as he set the quickest time of the week on an exciting final morning of pre-season testing on Sunday.
With the leading teams all spending their morning running through some low-fuel qualifying simulations, it offered a proper glimpse of the current competitive order - and it was Hamilton who eventually emerged on top shortly before the lunch break.
Getting his first experience of the raft of updates that McLaren had brought onto its MP4-25 for this week's test, Hamilton's best effort of 1m20.472 seconds was just six hundredths of a second quicker than Felipe Massa in the Ferrari.
Hamilton's time came on the fourth lap of a run and it offered the first hint of the week that McLaren may have the pace to take the fight to Ferrari at the start of the season.
Massa completed his own qualifying simulations, setting his benchmark 1m20.539s on the second flying lap of a run before switching his programme over to race simulation work.
Red Bull Racing had handed Sebastian Vettel another morning of running in the RB6 following the frustrations of Saturday - when a technical issue and bad weather hampered his day's work - as he set the third quickest time of the day on the second lap of a four lap run.
Vettel, whose best lap of 1m20.667s was just 0.128 seconds behind Massa, then switched over to some race preparation work before the lunch break – when the car will be readied for Mark Webber to finish his pre-season running.
Michael Schumacher was another driver spending most of the morning working through low fuel runs to set his best time of 1m20.745s – leaving himself 0.273s off Hamilton's best effort.
Rubens Barrichello continued to show that Williams was ready to mix with the four pre-season favourites as his own qualifying simulation work left him less than two tenths behind Schumacher with a best lap of 1m20.925s.
The Brazilian did cause one of the two red flags of the morning, however, when he spun off at Turn 4 early on.
Behind Barrichello, the other teams spent their mornings focusing on more race-type set-up work, with more than a one second gap back to Sebastien Buemi in the Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Seventh fastest Kamui Kobayashi caused a red flag shortly after 11am when he stopped on track at Turn 9, while behind him Adrian Sutil carried out race simulation work for Force India.
In the battle of the new teams, Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen ended up 1.5s quicker than Lucas di Grassi – who completed 35 laps during an encouraging morning of improved reliability for Virgin Racing.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m20.472s 53
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.539s + 0.067s 55
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m20.667s + 0.195s 76
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m20.745s + 0.273s 55
5. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m20.925s + 0.453s 40
6. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1m22.135s + 1.663s 46
7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.713s + 2.241s 32
8. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m23.079s + 2.607s 60
9. Robert Kubica Renault 1m24.293s + 3.821s 35
10. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1m25.251s + 4.779s 58
11. Lucas di Grassi Virgin 1m26.790s + 6.318s 35
With the leading teams all spending their morning running through some low-fuel qualifying simulations, it offered a proper glimpse of the current competitive order - and it was Hamilton who eventually emerged on top shortly before the lunch break.
Getting his first experience of the raft of updates that McLaren had brought onto its MP4-25 for this week's test, Hamilton's best effort of 1m20.472 seconds was just six hundredths of a second quicker than Felipe Massa in the Ferrari.
Hamilton's time came on the fourth lap of a run and it offered the first hint of the week that McLaren may have the pace to take the fight to Ferrari at the start of the season.
Massa completed his own qualifying simulations, setting his benchmark 1m20.539s on the second flying lap of a run before switching his programme over to race simulation work.
Red Bull Racing had handed Sebastian Vettel another morning of running in the RB6 following the frustrations of Saturday - when a technical issue and bad weather hampered his day's work - as he set the third quickest time of the day on the second lap of a four lap run.
Vettel, whose best lap of 1m20.667s was just 0.128 seconds behind Massa, then switched over to some race preparation work before the lunch break – when the car will be readied for Mark Webber to finish his pre-season running.
Michael Schumacher was another driver spending most of the morning working through low fuel runs to set his best time of 1m20.745s – leaving himself 0.273s off Hamilton's best effort.
Rubens Barrichello continued to show that Williams was ready to mix with the four pre-season favourites as his own qualifying simulation work left him less than two tenths behind Schumacher with a best lap of 1m20.925s.
The Brazilian did cause one of the two red flags of the morning, however, when he spun off at Turn 4 early on.
Behind Barrichello, the other teams spent their mornings focusing on more race-type set-up work, with more than a one second gap back to Sebastien Buemi in the Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Seventh fastest Kamui Kobayashi caused a red flag shortly after 11am when he stopped on track at Turn 9, while behind him Adrian Sutil carried out race simulation work for Force India.
In the battle of the new teams, Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen ended up 1.5s quicker than Lucas di Grassi – who completed 35 laps during an encouraging morning of improved reliability for Virgin Racing.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m20.472s 53
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.539s + 0.067s 55
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m20.667s + 0.195s 76
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m20.745s + 0.273s 55
5. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m20.925s + 0.453s 40
6. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1m22.135s + 1.663s 46
7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.713s + 2.241s 32
8. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m23.079s + 2.607s 60
9. Robert Kubica Renault 1m24.293s + 3.821s 35
10. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1m25.251s + 4.779s 58
11. Lucas di Grassi Virgin 1m26.790s + 6.318s 35
Barrichello tips Williams to surprise
Rubens Barrichello is optimistic that his Williams team will prove to be one of the surprises of the year after encouraging times in recent tests.
Williams has spent much of the winter doing long runs and proving its reliability, but Nico Hulkenberg was quickest on Friday at Barcelona - and Barrichello thinks that performance has changed perceptions of their team.
"I think Nico's time on Friday was the very first time we tried low fuel in the car, and we surprised a few people, so all of a sudden Williams is being talked about in the paddock," he said.
"This winter it was very, very easy to become the hero of the winter test. If I took fuel out at every test I would've been first at every test, but would that have taught me what I now know from the car? I don't think so."
Thought reluctant to predict where Williams would be in the pecking order, Barrichello is confident that the team has gained ground during testing.
"We have improved - we can only say for ourselves - but we have improved a good second from Valencia," he said.
"We feel competitive, but I think Williams-Cosworth can be one of the teams to surprise people this year. But like I said it's really, really difficult and I'm just keeping myself very clear, my feet on the ground, and just working as hard as I can. But I feel the car is on a competitive level."
He is also certain that Williams is in great shape reliability-wise.
"The main topic of the first three tests, at Valencia, Jerez and Jerez, was to absolutely nail reliability - and we have done that very, very, very well," Barrichello said.
Williams has spent much of the winter doing long runs and proving its reliability, but Nico Hulkenberg was quickest on Friday at Barcelona - and Barrichello thinks that performance has changed perceptions of their team.
"I think Nico's time on Friday was the very first time we tried low fuel in the car, and we surprised a few people, so all of a sudden Williams is being talked about in the paddock," he said.
"This winter it was very, very easy to become the hero of the winter test. If I took fuel out at every test I would've been first at every test, but would that have taught me what I now know from the car? I don't think so."
Thought reluctant to predict where Williams would be in the pecking order, Barrichello is confident that the team has gained ground during testing.
"We have improved - we can only say for ourselves - but we have improved a good second from Valencia," he said.
"We feel competitive, but I think Williams-Cosworth can be one of the teams to surprise people this year. But like I said it's really, really difficult and I'm just keeping myself very clear, my feet on the ground, and just working as hard as I can. But I feel the car is on a competitive level."
He is also certain that Williams is in great shape reliability-wise.
"The main topic of the first three tests, at Valencia, Jerez and Jerez, was to absolutely nail reliability - and we have done that very, very, very well," Barrichello said.
Button delighted with final preparations
Jenson Button is confident of McLaren's potential to fight for victory in Bahrain having declared himself happy with the MP4-25's aero update on his final day of testing prior to the season opener.
Though the world champion ended the third day of the Barcelona test third fastest, 0.7s away from Nico Rosberg's ultimate pace, he was delighted by his McLaren's long-run pace in a full race simulation despite tricky weather conditions.
"Our race run was great," he said. "We didn't get any red flags until the last couple of laps of the last stint, so the boys did a great job with reliability, but also with pit stops.
"We went from having high fuel in the car to going out and doing some low fuel runs, and it is very difficult because you haven't done any set-up work. The day was too short for me really. I would rather have another day of testing.
"I know what I would do to the car to improve it, and hopefully Lewis [Hamilton] will be testing a few things that will be useful tomorrow.
"Because out of the box, with a new package, to be as consistent as we are and the pace we have, I am happy. I don't think we are at our maximum yet, but we will do our best tomorrow to get the maximum out of the car."
Button also expressed his conviction that there is much more to come from the 2010 package.
"This is all still very new, the actual car that we are driving now," he said. "We will see tomorrow, with a few set-up changes. I think the set-up changes that the team are thinking about could help us quite a bit tomorrow - and help the balance of the car.
"Our long run pace - I am happy with. There is still room for improvement. We are not getting the best out of the package we have and that is what we have to do tomorrow.
"I think it is just more time with this car - with this update on the car. More mileage, because it is a good update. It is a good amount. But it is just getting the best out of it, and we are not yet. We haven't done enough laps and enough set-up work."
Button added that he believed it was still difficult to predict the form ahead of the season opener, but said he expected some surprises given how close the field looks in testing.
"I think that if you look at the times today, the long runs, the Ferrari is competitive but we all knew that," he said. "Others, I don't really know about. It is difficult. I think the Sauber is going to surprise a few people, I think it is quicker than most people think and I think they will be up there at the first race.
"So, there could be five or six teams who are competitive and it is still all a bit of a guessing game at the moment and it will be until we qualify on Saturday in Bahrain.
"That is exciting I think. It is great for the sport, and I think it is exciting for the fans of F1 and all of us involved, because we don't really know what is going to happen."
Though the world champion ended the third day of the Barcelona test third fastest, 0.7s away from Nico Rosberg's ultimate pace, he was delighted by his McLaren's long-run pace in a full race simulation despite tricky weather conditions.
"Our race run was great," he said. "We didn't get any red flags until the last couple of laps of the last stint, so the boys did a great job with reliability, but also with pit stops.
"We went from having high fuel in the car to going out and doing some low fuel runs, and it is very difficult because you haven't done any set-up work. The day was too short for me really. I would rather have another day of testing.
"I know what I would do to the car to improve it, and hopefully Lewis [Hamilton] will be testing a few things that will be useful tomorrow.
"Because out of the box, with a new package, to be as consistent as we are and the pace we have, I am happy. I don't think we are at our maximum yet, but we will do our best tomorrow to get the maximum out of the car."
Button also expressed his conviction that there is much more to come from the 2010 package.
"This is all still very new, the actual car that we are driving now," he said. "We will see tomorrow, with a few set-up changes. I think the set-up changes that the team are thinking about could help us quite a bit tomorrow - and help the balance of the car.
"Our long run pace - I am happy with. There is still room for improvement. We are not getting the best out of the package we have and that is what we have to do tomorrow.
"I think it is just more time with this car - with this update on the car. More mileage, because it is a good update. It is a good amount. But it is just getting the best out of it, and we are not yet. We haven't done enough laps and enough set-up work."
Button added that he believed it was still difficult to predict the form ahead of the season opener, but said he expected some surprises given how close the field looks in testing.
"I think that if you look at the times today, the long runs, the Ferrari is competitive but we all knew that," he said. "Others, I don't really know about. It is difficult. I think the Sauber is going to surprise a few people, I think it is quicker than most people think and I think they will be up there at the first race.
"So, there could be five or six teams who are competitive and it is still all a bit of a guessing game at the moment and it will be until we qualify on Saturday in Bahrain.
"That is exciting I think. It is great for the sport, and I think it is exciting for the fans of F1 and all of us involved, because we don't really know what is going to happen."
Saturday 27 February 2010
Barca Day Three: No stopping Rosberg
Nico Rosberg was the man to beat on the penultimate day of pre-season testing as the Merc GP's driver qualy style lap times put him 0.7s up on his closest rival.
With the threat of rain looming over the circuit, the drivers were quickly into action with Nico Rosberg taking the lead.
The Mercedes GP driver put in four short qualifying style runs, which consisted of an out-lap, two flying laps, and an in-lap, to post a 1:21.193. He then lowered that to a 1:20.891, a 1:20.824 and finally a 1:20.686, which was just 0.072s shy of the week's best time, which was set by Nico Hulkenberg on Friday.
Others, though, did not have as much luck - or track time - during the opening hour and a half as Jenson Button brought out the day's first red flag when his MP4-25 stopped at Turn 11 on his very first lap out of the pits.
And with the rain coming down midway through the morning, many of the drivers initially retreated to the pits before venturing out to conduct race simulations.
One drivers putting in a race sim in the wet was Rubens Barrichello. However, his run ended with his Williams beached in the gravel at Turn 5.
The hour-long lunch break gave the track some time to dry and Button, who had been slowest of all after missing the dry period in the morning, soon started working his way up the leaderboard.
The dry track also prompted Red Bull Racing to finally release Sebastian Vettel, who like Button was also quick to make his mark on the timesheets, slotting in behind the Brit in seventh place.
Felipe Massa moved up to third place in his Ferrari F10 while Vitaly Petrov took fourth place for Renault ahead of Adrian Sutil. Force India said of their driver: "Seems quite happy, says the car feels 'consistent."
Meanwhile, many of the teams turned their attention to long distance runs, which saw Button producing high 1:25s to Massa's early-1:26s. Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi was in the late 1:26s during his race sim while Kamui Kobayashi was in the early 1:27s.
However, once Massa had pitted for new tyres before continuing his run, the Ferrari driver dropped to the 1:22s, a similar pace to Rosberg's after he too stopped for fresh rubber.
With an hour left on the clock, Timo Glock finally completed a lap, posting a 1:31.976, which he soon whittled down to a 1:30.814. The German's lack of running on Saturday was due firstly to the weather and the team's decision to focus on pit stops in the morning and then a "leaking fuel o-ring."
Glock's first outing, though, came to an end when Rosberg came to a halt out on track. No sooner had the action resumed than Buemi stopped at the final corner.
The session restarted with 18 minutes on the clock and flurry of activity. Barrichello improved to third place while Button took fourth and then third.
And then came the day's fifth red flag, another belonging to Barrichello, which brought testing to a close for the day.
Unofficial Times
1. N. Rosberg Mercedes GP W01 1:20.686 128 laps
2. S. Buemi Toro Rosso STR5 1:21.413 +0.727 106 laps
3. J. Button McLaren MP4-25 1:21.450 +0.764 105 laps
4. R. Barrichello Williams FW32 1:21.975 +1.289 100 laps
5. F. Massa Ferrari F10 1:22.344 +1.658 115 laps
6. V. Petrov Renault R30 1:22.523 +1.837 68 laps
7. A. Sutil Force India VJM-03 1:22.606 +1.920 61 laps
8. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing RB6 1:23.123 +2.437 51 laps
9. J. Trulli Lotus F1 T127 1:25.059 +4.373 102 laps
10. K. Kobayashi Sauber C29 1:26.216 +5.530 105 laps
11. T. Glock Virgin Racing VR-01 1:26.305 +5.619 31 laps
With the threat of rain looming over the circuit, the drivers were quickly into action with Nico Rosberg taking the lead.
The Mercedes GP driver put in four short qualifying style runs, which consisted of an out-lap, two flying laps, and an in-lap, to post a 1:21.193. He then lowered that to a 1:20.891, a 1:20.824 and finally a 1:20.686, which was just 0.072s shy of the week's best time, which was set by Nico Hulkenberg on Friday.
Others, though, did not have as much luck - or track time - during the opening hour and a half as Jenson Button brought out the day's first red flag when his MP4-25 stopped at Turn 11 on his very first lap out of the pits.
And with the rain coming down midway through the morning, many of the drivers initially retreated to the pits before venturing out to conduct race simulations.
One drivers putting in a race sim in the wet was Rubens Barrichello. However, his run ended with his Williams beached in the gravel at Turn 5.
The hour-long lunch break gave the track some time to dry and Button, who had been slowest of all after missing the dry period in the morning, soon started working his way up the leaderboard.
The dry track also prompted Red Bull Racing to finally release Sebastian Vettel, who like Button was also quick to make his mark on the timesheets, slotting in behind the Brit in seventh place.
Felipe Massa moved up to third place in his Ferrari F10 while Vitaly Petrov took fourth place for Renault ahead of Adrian Sutil. Force India said of their driver: "Seems quite happy, says the car feels 'consistent."
Meanwhile, many of the teams turned their attention to long distance runs, which saw Button producing high 1:25s to Massa's early-1:26s. Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi was in the late 1:26s during his race sim while Kamui Kobayashi was in the early 1:27s.
However, once Massa had pitted for new tyres before continuing his run, the Ferrari driver dropped to the 1:22s, a similar pace to Rosberg's after he too stopped for fresh rubber.
With an hour left on the clock, Timo Glock finally completed a lap, posting a 1:31.976, which he soon whittled down to a 1:30.814. The German's lack of running on Saturday was due firstly to the weather and the team's decision to focus on pit stops in the morning and then a "leaking fuel o-ring."
Glock's first outing, though, came to an end when Rosberg came to a halt out on track. No sooner had the action resumed than Buemi stopped at the final corner.
The session restarted with 18 minutes on the clock and flurry of activity. Barrichello improved to third place while Button took fourth and then third.
And then came the day's fifth red flag, another belonging to Barrichello, which brought testing to a close for the day.
Unofficial Times
1. N. Rosberg Mercedes GP W01 1:20.686 128 laps
2. S. Buemi Toro Rosso STR5 1:21.413 +0.727 106 laps
3. J. Button McLaren MP4-25 1:21.450 +0.764 105 laps
4. R. Barrichello Williams FW32 1:21.975 +1.289 100 laps
5. F. Massa Ferrari F10 1:22.344 +1.658 115 laps
6. V. Petrov Renault R30 1:22.523 +1.837 68 laps
7. A. Sutil Force India VJM-03 1:22.606 +1.920 61 laps
8. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing RB6 1:23.123 +2.437 51 laps
9. J. Trulli Lotus F1 T127 1:25.059 +4.373 102 laps
10. K. Kobayashi Sauber C29 1:26.216 +5.530 105 laps
11. T. Glock Virgin Racing VR-01 1:26.305 +5.619 31 laps
Villeneuve set for Stefan seat fitting
Jacques Villeneuve is set to have a seat fitting in Stefan GP's car in Cologne on Monday, AUTOSPORT has learned.
Team boss Zoran Stefanovic has said that the 1997 world champion is close to a deal with the Serbian squad, which continues to push for a place in the 2010 Formula 1 field.
Stefan has already announced Kazuki Nakajima as its first driver, and is also believed to be poised to sign GP2 race winner Pastor Maldonado as its reserve.
The team's second car is scheduled for completion on Tuesday, and it is understood to be planning a media launch on Wednesday in a location close to its Cologne facility. Although Bridgestone has so far declined to release tyres to Stefan, forcing it to abandon plans to test at Portimao this week, the team is thought to have decided that Avon tyres would be suitable for the launch and a shakedown.
Stefanovic has also revealed that he had discussed a merger with US F1 - which has a 2010 entry but has asked to miss the first four races as its programme is a long way behind schedule. He said these talks had now collapsed despite positive approaches from US F1 investor Chad Hurley.
"Yes, it is true we had some discussions stretching over many days, but these broke down completely on Thursday afternoon European time due to the inflexibility of certain players," Stefanovic said.
"I stress it was not Chad Hurley, who was open to discussions with us, but some of the other stakeholders who sabotaged the talks."
Team boss Zoran Stefanovic has said that the 1997 world champion is close to a deal with the Serbian squad, which continues to push for a place in the 2010 Formula 1 field.
Stefan has already announced Kazuki Nakajima as its first driver, and is also believed to be poised to sign GP2 race winner Pastor Maldonado as its reserve.
The team's second car is scheduled for completion on Tuesday, and it is understood to be planning a media launch on Wednesday in a location close to its Cologne facility. Although Bridgestone has so far declined to release tyres to Stefan, forcing it to abandon plans to test at Portimao this week, the team is thought to have decided that Avon tyres would be suitable for the launch and a shakedown.
Stefanovic has also revealed that he had discussed a merger with US F1 - which has a 2010 entry but has asked to miss the first four races as its programme is a long way behind schedule. He said these talks had now collapsed despite positive approaches from US F1 investor Chad Hurley.
"Yes, it is true we had some discussions stretching over many days, but these broke down completely on Thursday afternoon European time due to the inflexibility of certain players," Stefanovic said.
"I stress it was not Chad Hurley, who was open to discussions with us, but some of the other stakeholders who sabotaged the talks."
Branson: Ferrari will one day regret their criticism
Virgin Racing's Richard Branson believes the day will come when Ferrari regret their recent criticism of Formula One's newcomers.
Ferrari have been vocal in their condemnation of the FIA's choices for this year's four new teams. At the time of the announcement, the Scuderia accused motorsport's governing body of dumbing down the sport, saying: "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call it Formula GP3?"
And they didn't stop there.
Earlier this week, in a column called 'the Horse Whisperer' on their website, the Italian marque summed up their opinion of the four new outfits: "Two teams will limp into the start of the Championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand - you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith - and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it."
However, Branson, whose Virgin team is one of the four new entries, has warned Ferrari that the day will come when they are made to regret their words.
"I think that it is a bit sad to see Ferrari carrying on with those kinds of words. F1 needs new teams, and Ferrari won the battle of making sure the new teams were shackled," said the billionaire.
"For testing, we built a new car and we are going to have to have exactly the same amount of practice time as Brawn or Ferrari or the others, who have had years and years and years to get their cars to a certain stage.
"We are not complaining about it, and we are happy to go on with it, but Ferrari should be welcoming new teams because they make the sport much more exciting.
"And we will make them look better for a year or two until we catch them up. Ultimately, I think the new teams will give Ferrari a run for their money and I think will make the sport more exciting - particularly as the budgets come down to more realistic levels."
Ferrari have been vocal in their condemnation of the FIA's choices for this year's four new teams. At the time of the announcement, the Scuderia accused motorsport's governing body of dumbing down the sport, saying: "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call it Formula GP3?"
And they didn't stop there.
Earlier this week, in a column called 'the Horse Whisperer' on their website, the Italian marque summed up their opinion of the four new outfits: "Two teams will limp into the start of the Championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand - you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith - and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it."
However, Branson, whose Virgin team is one of the four new entries, has warned Ferrari that the day will come when they are made to regret their words.
"I think that it is a bit sad to see Ferrari carrying on with those kinds of words. F1 needs new teams, and Ferrari won the battle of making sure the new teams were shackled," said the billionaire.
"For testing, we built a new car and we are going to have to have exactly the same amount of practice time as Brawn or Ferrari or the others, who have had years and years and years to get their cars to a certain stage.
"We are not complaining about it, and we are happy to go on with it, but Ferrari should be welcoming new teams because they make the sport much more exciting.
"And we will make them look better for a year or two until we catch them up. Ultimately, I think the new teams will give Ferrari a run for their money and I think will make the sport more exciting - particularly as the budgets come down to more realistic levels."
Jerez testing week two review
After another wet-dry week of testing at Jerez, itv.com/f1 summarises each team's position heading towards the final few days of pre-season running.
We've also compiled the full stats from the winter so far to show which teams are looking swift and which are struggling after three weeks of 2010 preparations.
McLaren
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Hamilton, Fri/Sat - Button
Best time: Button, 1m18.871s, Sat
Day by day results: (Weds to Sat) 2nd, 9th, 3rd, 1st
Total laps: 338
Jenson Button had the best of the weather this week, with Lewis Hamilton unable to get much done during his two days on a soggy track.
Last year's world champion thoroughly enjoyed Friday and Saturday, though, getting ever more comfortable in the McLaren and setting the best time of the winter at Jerez during a short run on Saturday morning.
Mercedes GP
Driver schedule: Weds/Fri - Schumacher, Thurs/Sat - Rosberg
Best time: Rosberg, 1m20.061s, Sat
Day by day results: 6th, 4th, 5th, 5th
Total laps: 391
Longer runs were the plan for Mercedes this week, at least once the rain cleared.
Both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg left Jerez satisfied, having covered plenty of mileage, set promising times throughout their stints, and encountered no problems.
Red Bull
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Vettel, Fri/Sat - Webber
Best time: Webber, 1m19.299s, Fri
Day by day results: 1st, 3rd, 1st, 8th
Total laps: 371
After its quiet start in the first Jerez test, Red Bull showed its hand this week and topped two of the four days.
Sebastian Vettel was stuck with a wet track for his two days, while Mark Webber enjoyed all the dry running.
Reliability remains a slight concern - both Webber's days were interrupted by problems, including an engine change on Saturday.
Ferrari
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Massa, Fri/Sat - Alonso
Best time: 1m20.115s, Alonso, Fri
Day by day results: 3rd, 5th, 2nd, 6th
Total laps: 433
Week three of testing was all about long runs and gaining maximum mileage for Ferrari.
The team was thrilled with its reliability, and after once again setting relentlessly quick times on some very long runs, Fernando Alonso confidently declared the F10 the greatest car he had ever driven.
Williams
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Barrichello, Fri/Sat - Hulkenberg
Best time: Hulkenberg, 1m21.432s, Fri
Day by day results: 10th, 1st, 4th, 9th
Total laps: 482
Lots and lots of laps for Williams, which focused on race simulations - including pit stop practice - for much of the week.
Times were reasonable rather than headline-grabbing, although Rubens Barrichello was quickest in the wet on Thursday, but both drivers also lost some time to gremlins.
Renault
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Petrov, Fri/Sat - Kubica
Best time: Kubica, 1m19.114s, Sat
Day by day results: 9th, 2nd, 6th, 2nd
Total laps: 328
Vitaly Petrov was stuck with the wet weather again, but he did manage to complete a good number of laps - and impressed by going second quickest on Thursday.
Robert Kubica was also satisfied when he took over for the final two days, and was encouraged by both the car's pace and the obvious progress Renault was making.
Force India
Driver schedule: Weds - di Resta and Sutil, Thurs - di Resta and Liuzzi, Fri - Sutil, Sat - Liuzzi
Best time: Liuzzi, 1m19.650s, Sat
Day by day results: 7th/8th, 7th/9th, 7th, 4th
Total laps: 285
Test driver Paul di Resta joined Tonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil for the second test, and although all the Scot's mileage was on wet days, he still felt that was good experience for the future.
Force India again showed promising pace when it dried, but the two race drivers were keen to get more dry mileage in the final test to try and better understand this year's tyres after some graining issues.
Toro Rosso
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Buemi, Fri/Sat - Alguersuari
Best time: Alguersuari, 1m21.053s, Sat
Day by day results: 4th, 11th, 8th, 7th
Total laps: 395
At Toro Rosso it was Sebastien Buemi who got all the wet weather, while Jaime Alguersuari enjoyed the dry days.
There were few spectacular times, but the team completed plenty of race practice and reliability work, and feels in good shape heading to the final test.
Virgin
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs/Sat - Glock, Fri - di Grassi
Best time: Glock, 1m22.433s, Sat
Day by day results: 12th, 8th, 10th, 10th
Total laps: 144
Niggling hydraulic problems, and also a few excursions from the drivers, limited Virgin's running again in its second test.
The hydraulic issue could not be resolved at the circuit, so the team just had to press on and do what it could in the few laps it could manage - and despite its difficulties, it was respectably close to the pace.
Lotus
Driver schedule: Weds - Fauzy, Thurs/Fri - Kovalainen, Sat - Trulli
Best time: Trulli, 1m23.470s, Sat
Day by day results: 11th, 12th, 11th, 11th
Total laps: 315
Although Lotus did not set the timesheets alight on its first test, it completed a large number of laps - despite Heikki Kovalainen losing time with a few technical problems and a crash on his days.
The team wasn't trying to push for times this week either, instead focusing on acclimatisation work on heavy fuel and long stints, and is confident it has a great basis for progress when it does start showing its true potential.
Sauber
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - de la Rosa, Fri/Sat - Kobayashi
Best time: Kobayashi, 1m19.881s, Sat
Day by day results: 5th, 6th, 8th, 3rd
Total laps: 229
Pedro de la Rosa was desperate for some dry running after another wet day as testing began, and when Thursday dawned wet again, Sauber decided there was little point running at all, and spent most of the day in the pits.
A fuel system problem on Friday meant Kamui Kobayashi had a quiet day too, but he was still pleased with what he achieved when he did hit the track, and he underlined Sauber's form with a strong third place on Saturday.
Combined testing times from Jerez week 2
1 BUTTON McLaren 1m18.871s
2 KUBICA Renault 1m19.114s
3 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m19.188s
4 WEBBER Red Bull 1m19.299s
5 LIUZZI Force India 1m19.650s
6 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m20.061s
7 ALONSO Ferrari 1m20.115s
8 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m21.053s
9 HULKENBERG Williams 1m21.432s
10 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m21.437s
11 SUTIL Force India 1m21.939s
12 GLOCK Virgin 1m22.433s
13 VETTEL Red Bull 1m22.593s
14 HAMILTON McLaren 1m23.017s
15 MASSA Ferrari 1m23.204s
16 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m23.322s
17 DE LA ROSA Sauber 1m23.367s
18 TRULLI Lotus 1m23.470s
19 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m23.504s
20 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m23.521s
21 DI RESTA Force India 1m25.088s
22 PETROV Renault 1m26.237s
23 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m27.145s
24 FAUZY Lotus 1m31.848s
COMBINED TIMES FROM ALL 8 DAYS AT JEREZ
1 BUTTON McLaren 1m18.871s
2 KUBICA Renault 1m19.114s
3 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m19.188s
4 WEBBER Red Bull 1m19.299s
5 HAMILTON McLaren 1m19.583s
6 LIUZZI Force India 1m19.650s
7 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m19.919s
8 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m20.026s
9 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m20.061s
10 ALONSO Ferrari 1m20.115s
11 SUTIL Force India 1m20.180s
12 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m20.341s
13 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m20.613s
14 HULKENBERG Williams 1m20.629s
15 DE LA ROSA Sauber 1m20.736s
16 VETTEL Red Bull 1m21.203s
17 MASSA Ferrari 1m21.485s
18 PETROV Renault 1m22.000s
19 GLOCK Virgin 1m22.433s
20 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m22.912s
21 TRULLI Lotus 1m23.470s
22 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m23.521s
23 DI RESTA Force India 1m25.088s
24 FAUZY Lotus 1m31.848s
TEAMS' TOTAL MILEAGE AT JEREZ WEEK 2 TEST
1 Williams 1,326 miles
2 Ferrari 1,192 miles
3 Toro Rosso 1,087 miles
4 Mercedes 1,076 miles
5 Red Bull 1,021 miles
6 McLaren 930 miles
7 Renault 903 miles
8 Lotus 867 miles
9 Force India 784 miles
10 Sauber 630 miles
11 Virgin 396 miles
DRIVERS' TOTAL MILEAGE FROM ALL 3 TESTS
1 Felipe Massa 1,659 miles
2 Rubens Barrichello 1,593 miles
3 Robert Kubica 1,588 miles
4 Nico Hulkenberg 1,583 miles
5 Jaime Alguersuari 1,436 miles
6 Fernando Alonso 1,415 miles
7 Michael Schumacher 1,400 miles
8 Nico Rosberg 1,254 miles
9 Sebastien Buemi 1,253 miles
10 Jenson Button 1,197 miles
11 Lewis Hamilton 1,125 miles
12 Kamui Kobayashi 1,075 miles
13 Pedro de la Rosa 1,067 miles
14 Mark Webber 966 miles
15 Sebastian Vettel 872 miles
16 Vitaly Petrov 756 miles
17 Tonio Liuzzi 702 miles
18 Adrian Sutil 627 miles
19 Jarno Trulli 388 miles
20 Timo Glock 347 miles
21 Paul di Resta 294 miles
22 Lucas di Grassi 289 miles
23 Heikki Kovalainen 270 miles
24 Gary Paffett 216 miles
25 Fairuz Fauzy 209 miles
TEAMS' TOTAL MILEAGE FROM ALL 3 TESTS
1 Williams 3,176 miles
2 Ferrari 3,074 miles
3 Toro Rosso 2,689 miles
4 Mercedes 2,653 miles
5 McLaren 2,539 miles
6 Sauber 2,143 miles
7 Red Bull 1,838 miles
8 Renault 1,804 miles
9 Force India 1,624 miles
10 Lotus 867 miles
11 Virgin 636 miles
We've also compiled the full stats from the winter so far to show which teams are looking swift and which are struggling after three weeks of 2010 preparations.
McLaren
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Hamilton, Fri/Sat - Button
Best time: Button, 1m18.871s, Sat
Day by day results: (Weds to Sat) 2nd, 9th, 3rd, 1st
Total laps: 338
Jenson Button had the best of the weather this week, with Lewis Hamilton unable to get much done during his two days on a soggy track.
Last year's world champion thoroughly enjoyed Friday and Saturday, though, getting ever more comfortable in the McLaren and setting the best time of the winter at Jerez during a short run on Saturday morning.
Mercedes GP
Driver schedule: Weds/Fri - Schumacher, Thurs/Sat - Rosberg
Best time: Rosberg, 1m20.061s, Sat
Day by day results: 6th, 4th, 5th, 5th
Total laps: 391
Longer runs were the plan for Mercedes this week, at least once the rain cleared.
Both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg left Jerez satisfied, having covered plenty of mileage, set promising times throughout their stints, and encountered no problems.
Red Bull
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Vettel, Fri/Sat - Webber
Best time: Webber, 1m19.299s, Fri
Day by day results: 1st, 3rd, 1st, 8th
Total laps: 371
After its quiet start in the first Jerez test, Red Bull showed its hand this week and topped two of the four days.
Sebastian Vettel was stuck with a wet track for his two days, while Mark Webber enjoyed all the dry running.
Reliability remains a slight concern - both Webber's days were interrupted by problems, including an engine change on Saturday.
Ferrari
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Massa, Fri/Sat - Alonso
Best time: 1m20.115s, Alonso, Fri
Day by day results: 3rd, 5th, 2nd, 6th
Total laps: 433
Week three of testing was all about long runs and gaining maximum mileage for Ferrari.
The team was thrilled with its reliability, and after once again setting relentlessly quick times on some very long runs, Fernando Alonso confidently declared the F10 the greatest car he had ever driven.
Williams
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Barrichello, Fri/Sat - Hulkenberg
Best time: Hulkenberg, 1m21.432s, Fri
Day by day results: 10th, 1st, 4th, 9th
Total laps: 482
Lots and lots of laps for Williams, which focused on race simulations - including pit stop practice - for much of the week.
Times were reasonable rather than headline-grabbing, although Rubens Barrichello was quickest in the wet on Thursday, but both drivers also lost some time to gremlins.
Renault
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Petrov, Fri/Sat - Kubica
Best time: Kubica, 1m19.114s, Sat
Day by day results: 9th, 2nd, 6th, 2nd
Total laps: 328
Vitaly Petrov was stuck with the wet weather again, but he did manage to complete a good number of laps - and impressed by going second quickest on Thursday.
Robert Kubica was also satisfied when he took over for the final two days, and was encouraged by both the car's pace and the obvious progress Renault was making.
Force India
Driver schedule: Weds - di Resta and Sutil, Thurs - di Resta and Liuzzi, Fri - Sutil, Sat - Liuzzi
Best time: Liuzzi, 1m19.650s, Sat
Day by day results: 7th/8th, 7th/9th, 7th, 4th
Total laps: 285
Test driver Paul di Resta joined Tonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil for the second test, and although all the Scot's mileage was on wet days, he still felt that was good experience for the future.
Force India again showed promising pace when it dried, but the two race drivers were keen to get more dry mileage in the final test to try and better understand this year's tyres after some graining issues.
Toro Rosso
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - Buemi, Fri/Sat - Alguersuari
Best time: Alguersuari, 1m21.053s, Sat
Day by day results: 4th, 11th, 8th, 7th
Total laps: 395
At Toro Rosso it was Sebastien Buemi who got all the wet weather, while Jaime Alguersuari enjoyed the dry days.
There were few spectacular times, but the team completed plenty of race practice and reliability work, and feels in good shape heading to the final test.
Virgin
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs/Sat - Glock, Fri - di Grassi
Best time: Glock, 1m22.433s, Sat
Day by day results: 12th, 8th, 10th, 10th
Total laps: 144
Niggling hydraulic problems, and also a few excursions from the drivers, limited Virgin's running again in its second test.
The hydraulic issue could not be resolved at the circuit, so the team just had to press on and do what it could in the few laps it could manage - and despite its difficulties, it was respectably close to the pace.
Lotus
Driver schedule: Weds - Fauzy, Thurs/Fri - Kovalainen, Sat - Trulli
Best time: Trulli, 1m23.470s, Sat
Day by day results: 11th, 12th, 11th, 11th
Total laps: 315
Although Lotus did not set the timesheets alight on its first test, it completed a large number of laps - despite Heikki Kovalainen losing time with a few technical problems and a crash on his days.
The team wasn't trying to push for times this week either, instead focusing on acclimatisation work on heavy fuel and long stints, and is confident it has a great basis for progress when it does start showing its true potential.
Sauber
Driver schedule: Weds/Thurs - de la Rosa, Fri/Sat - Kobayashi
Best time: Kobayashi, 1m19.881s, Sat
Day by day results: 5th, 6th, 8th, 3rd
Total laps: 229
Pedro de la Rosa was desperate for some dry running after another wet day as testing began, and when Thursday dawned wet again, Sauber decided there was little point running at all, and spent most of the day in the pits.
A fuel system problem on Friday meant Kamui Kobayashi had a quiet day too, but he was still pleased with what he achieved when he did hit the track, and he underlined Sauber's form with a strong third place on Saturday.
Combined testing times from Jerez week 2
1 BUTTON McLaren 1m18.871s
2 KUBICA Renault 1m19.114s
3 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m19.188s
4 WEBBER Red Bull 1m19.299s
5 LIUZZI Force India 1m19.650s
6 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m20.061s
7 ALONSO Ferrari 1m20.115s
8 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m21.053s
9 HULKENBERG Williams 1m21.432s
10 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m21.437s
11 SUTIL Force India 1m21.939s
12 GLOCK Virgin 1m22.433s
13 VETTEL Red Bull 1m22.593s
14 HAMILTON McLaren 1m23.017s
15 MASSA Ferrari 1m23.204s
16 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m23.322s
17 DE LA ROSA Sauber 1m23.367s
18 TRULLI Lotus 1m23.470s
19 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m23.504s
20 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m23.521s
21 DI RESTA Force India 1m25.088s
22 PETROV Renault 1m26.237s
23 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m27.145s
24 FAUZY Lotus 1m31.848s
COMBINED TIMES FROM ALL 8 DAYS AT JEREZ
1 BUTTON McLaren 1m18.871s
2 KUBICA Renault 1m19.114s
3 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m19.188s
4 WEBBER Red Bull 1m19.299s
5 HAMILTON McLaren 1m19.583s
6 LIUZZI Force India 1m19.650s
7 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m19.919s
8 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m20.026s
9 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m20.061s
10 ALONSO Ferrari 1m20.115s
11 SUTIL Force India 1m20.180s
12 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m20.341s
13 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m20.613s
14 HULKENBERG Williams 1m20.629s
15 DE LA ROSA Sauber 1m20.736s
16 VETTEL Red Bull 1m21.203s
17 MASSA Ferrari 1m21.485s
18 PETROV Renault 1m22.000s
19 GLOCK Virgin 1m22.433s
20 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m22.912s
21 TRULLI Lotus 1m23.470s
22 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m23.521s
23 DI RESTA Force India 1m25.088s
24 FAUZY Lotus 1m31.848s
TEAMS' TOTAL MILEAGE AT JEREZ WEEK 2 TEST
1 Williams 1,326 miles
2 Ferrari 1,192 miles
3 Toro Rosso 1,087 miles
4 Mercedes 1,076 miles
5 Red Bull 1,021 miles
6 McLaren 930 miles
7 Renault 903 miles
8 Lotus 867 miles
9 Force India 784 miles
10 Sauber 630 miles
11 Virgin 396 miles
DRIVERS' TOTAL MILEAGE FROM ALL 3 TESTS
1 Felipe Massa 1,659 miles
2 Rubens Barrichello 1,593 miles
3 Robert Kubica 1,588 miles
4 Nico Hulkenberg 1,583 miles
5 Jaime Alguersuari 1,436 miles
6 Fernando Alonso 1,415 miles
7 Michael Schumacher 1,400 miles
8 Nico Rosberg 1,254 miles
9 Sebastien Buemi 1,253 miles
10 Jenson Button 1,197 miles
11 Lewis Hamilton 1,125 miles
12 Kamui Kobayashi 1,075 miles
13 Pedro de la Rosa 1,067 miles
14 Mark Webber 966 miles
15 Sebastian Vettel 872 miles
16 Vitaly Petrov 756 miles
17 Tonio Liuzzi 702 miles
18 Adrian Sutil 627 miles
19 Jarno Trulli 388 miles
20 Timo Glock 347 miles
21 Paul di Resta 294 miles
22 Lucas di Grassi 289 miles
23 Heikki Kovalainen 270 miles
24 Gary Paffett 216 miles
25 Fairuz Fauzy 209 miles
TEAMS' TOTAL MILEAGE FROM ALL 3 TESTS
1 Williams 3,176 miles
2 Ferrari 3,074 miles
3 Toro Rosso 2,689 miles
4 Mercedes 2,653 miles
5 McLaren 2,539 miles
6 Sauber 2,143 miles
7 Red Bull 1,838 miles
8 Renault 1,804 miles
9 Force India 1,624 miles
10 Lotus 867 miles
11 Virgin 636 miles
Hulkenberg takes Williams to the top
Nico Hulkenberg gave Williams a boost by topping the times on the second day of testing at Barcelona on Friday – pipping Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari by 0.023s.
Alonso set a blistering pace in the morning and remained on top until mid-afternoon, when Hulkenberg uncorked a 1m20.614s on the second flying lap of a two-lap qualifying-style run.
It was an encouraging sign for the Grove-based squad, even if the huge unknown factor of how much fuel other teams were running continues to prevent a meaningful comparison of relative pace at the front of the field.
“We’ve had a good test here,” said Hulkenberg.
“P1 today is nice but means nothing, to be honest. We’re not in Bahrain yet!
“It’s positive for the team, and for me, to know what the car can do though.
“We did a lot of set-up work today and have found some interesting things so I feel ready and confident to go to Bahrain now.”
After an electrical problem delayed him on Thursday, Alonso wasted no time in showing Ferrari’s hand with a sequence of quick laps this morning while trying out a host of new aerodynamic components on the F10, including a shark fin engine cover.
The Spaniard switched his focus to a race simulation in the afternoon and finished with the day’s highest lap tally (133) despite causing a red flag moments before the scheduled end of the session.
Sauber continued to impress, Pedro de la Rosa posting a best time just 0.3s slower than Alonso’s shortly before the lunch break and finishing the day third fastest.
Tonio Liuzzi followed a similar schedule (short runs in the morning followed by a race simulation after lunch) and wound up fourth quickest in the Force India, leaving the Italian cautiously optimistic about the VJM02’s form.
“We can be quite happy about today's programme,” he said.
“We completed everything without any issues and the car showed very good reliability, even when we did the race simulation.
“Again it is responding very well and we are improving day by day so everything is looking positive.
“We still don't know where we are relative to the others, and we will only see in Bahrain, but overall we can be really happy.”
Sebastian Vettel virtually mirrored Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber’s Thursday programme and slightly improved on the Australian’s time (set on a dirtier track).
Vettel’s running was briefly interrupted when the RB6 developed an undisclosed technical problem in the afternoon and he stopped the car as a precaution, but he subsequently completed his race simulation successfully.
“It was good today – we didn’t have any major problems,” he reported.
“We had to stop in the afternoon for a minor issue, but it’s quite normal in testing.
“When you’re testing, you don’t want to risk any damage so it’s best to switch the car off and stop if you don’t have to push when there’s an alert in the background.
“We had a lot of rain in Jerez so we still have a lot to do over the last two days here, such as finding out more about the tyres and doing some set-up work.”
Jaime Alguersuari was sixth quickest for Toro Rosso on his final day of pre-season testing, mixing short runs with pit stop practice in the morning before moving on to a trouble-free race simulation.
Michael Schumacher kept a low profile as he focused on developing the set-up and balance of the W01 over long runs and did not indulge in any qualifying-style forays.
“We had a positive day but it was quite stop-start with some changes on the car and then the red flags towards the end of the day,” he said.
“We are working hard and, even if the programme doesn't run as smoothly as we would have liked, there is much more to come from the team both here and in Bahrain.
“We are working very well together and there is a good atmosphere within the team.”
Another former world champion, Lewis Hamilton, was a similarly low-key eighth in the McLaren ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica, whose track time was severely curtailed by a suspension problem in the afternoon.
“It’s frustrating to lose track time this afternoon because of a problem with the suspension, but I’m sure the team will get on top of the issue so that we can have a good weekend,” said the Pole, who completed 53 laps.
“We have some new aero parts coming on Saturday and Sunday, which will help improve the pace of the car.”
At the foot of the timesheet, Lotus got the better of its rival new team Virgin and also completed more laps – even though problems with the T127 (including a power steering failure) twice brought Jarno Trulli to a halt and caused red flags.
For Virgin it was a relief to get 52 laps in after Lucas di Grassi’s Thursday crash at Campsa had forced the mechanics to rebuild the chassis overnight and into the morning session.
Timo Glock finished 0.4s adrift of Trulli and 5.3s shy of Hulkenberg’s benchmark.
Testing times from Barcelona (Friday 26 February)
1 HULKENBERG Williams 1m20.614s (99)
2 ALONSO Ferrari 1m20.637s (133)
3 DE LA ROSA Sauber 1m20.973s (114)
4 LIUZZI Force India 1m21.056s (90)
5 VETTEL Red Bull 1m21.258s (125)
6 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m21.571s (104)
7 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m21.689s (85)
8 HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.152s (93)
9 KUBICA Renault 1m24.912s (53)
10 TRULLI Lotus 1m25.524s (70)
11 GLOCK Virgin 1m25.942s (52)
Alonso set a blistering pace in the morning and remained on top until mid-afternoon, when Hulkenberg uncorked a 1m20.614s on the second flying lap of a two-lap qualifying-style run.
It was an encouraging sign for the Grove-based squad, even if the huge unknown factor of how much fuel other teams were running continues to prevent a meaningful comparison of relative pace at the front of the field.
“We’ve had a good test here,” said Hulkenberg.
“P1 today is nice but means nothing, to be honest. We’re not in Bahrain yet!
“It’s positive for the team, and for me, to know what the car can do though.
“We did a lot of set-up work today and have found some interesting things so I feel ready and confident to go to Bahrain now.”
After an electrical problem delayed him on Thursday, Alonso wasted no time in showing Ferrari’s hand with a sequence of quick laps this morning while trying out a host of new aerodynamic components on the F10, including a shark fin engine cover.
The Spaniard switched his focus to a race simulation in the afternoon and finished with the day’s highest lap tally (133) despite causing a red flag moments before the scheduled end of the session.
Sauber continued to impress, Pedro de la Rosa posting a best time just 0.3s slower than Alonso’s shortly before the lunch break and finishing the day third fastest.
Tonio Liuzzi followed a similar schedule (short runs in the morning followed by a race simulation after lunch) and wound up fourth quickest in the Force India, leaving the Italian cautiously optimistic about the VJM02’s form.
“We can be quite happy about today's programme,” he said.
“We completed everything without any issues and the car showed very good reliability, even when we did the race simulation.
“Again it is responding very well and we are improving day by day so everything is looking positive.
“We still don't know where we are relative to the others, and we will only see in Bahrain, but overall we can be really happy.”
Sebastian Vettel virtually mirrored Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber’s Thursday programme and slightly improved on the Australian’s time (set on a dirtier track).
Vettel’s running was briefly interrupted when the RB6 developed an undisclosed technical problem in the afternoon and he stopped the car as a precaution, but he subsequently completed his race simulation successfully.
“It was good today – we didn’t have any major problems,” he reported.
“We had to stop in the afternoon for a minor issue, but it’s quite normal in testing.
“When you’re testing, you don’t want to risk any damage so it’s best to switch the car off and stop if you don’t have to push when there’s an alert in the background.
“We had a lot of rain in Jerez so we still have a lot to do over the last two days here, such as finding out more about the tyres and doing some set-up work.”
Jaime Alguersuari was sixth quickest for Toro Rosso on his final day of pre-season testing, mixing short runs with pit stop practice in the morning before moving on to a trouble-free race simulation.
Michael Schumacher kept a low profile as he focused on developing the set-up and balance of the W01 over long runs and did not indulge in any qualifying-style forays.
“We had a positive day but it was quite stop-start with some changes on the car and then the red flags towards the end of the day,” he said.
“We are working hard and, even if the programme doesn't run as smoothly as we would have liked, there is much more to come from the team both here and in Bahrain.
“We are working very well together and there is a good atmosphere within the team.”
Another former world champion, Lewis Hamilton, was a similarly low-key eighth in the McLaren ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica, whose track time was severely curtailed by a suspension problem in the afternoon.
“It’s frustrating to lose track time this afternoon because of a problem with the suspension, but I’m sure the team will get on top of the issue so that we can have a good weekend,” said the Pole, who completed 53 laps.
“We have some new aero parts coming on Saturday and Sunday, which will help improve the pace of the car.”
At the foot of the timesheet, Lotus got the better of its rival new team Virgin and also completed more laps – even though problems with the T127 (including a power steering failure) twice brought Jarno Trulli to a halt and caused red flags.
For Virgin it was a relief to get 52 laps in after Lucas di Grassi’s Thursday crash at Campsa had forced the mechanics to rebuild the chassis overnight and into the morning session.
Timo Glock finished 0.4s adrift of Trulli and 5.3s shy of Hulkenberg’s benchmark.
Testing times from Barcelona (Friday 26 February)
1 HULKENBERG Williams 1m20.614s (99)
2 ALONSO Ferrari 1m20.637s (133)
3 DE LA ROSA Sauber 1m20.973s (114)
4 LIUZZI Force India 1m21.056s (90)
5 VETTEL Red Bull 1m21.258s (125)
6 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m21.571s (104)
7 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m21.689s (85)
8 HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.152s (93)
9 KUBICA Renault 1m24.912s (53)
10 TRULLI Lotus 1m25.524s (70)
11 GLOCK Virgin 1m25.942s (52)
Alonso sets dominant Barcelona pace
Fernando Alonso delivered the perfect response to Red Bull Racing's early pace-setting form in the final pre-season test, when he dominated the second morning's running at Barcelona on Friday.
After a frustrating opening day to the test, where he had lost track time through an electrical problem, Alonso spent the second morning working on qualifying simulations to better Webber's time by a considerable margin.
With his F10 fitted with a raft of aerodynamic upgrades for this week's test, Alonso made good use of a more-rubbered in track to pull off a sequence of quick laps early on - despite one brief trip across a gravel trap at Turn 10.
His best effort of 1m20.637s came on the first lap of his fifth short run, before his programme switched to a longer stint before the lunch break. He is expected to focus on a race simulation in the afternoon.
Alonso's fastest time compares with Webber's best effort from the opening day of 1m21.487 - when the track was still very dirty – although it is not clear how the fuel loads of the Ferrari or Red Bull Racing car compare.
Behind Alonso, several other drivers worked through qualifying simulations as they make their final preparations for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
And it was BMW Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa who emerged as Alonso's nearest challenger, with the C29 maintaining the impressive form it has shown in early testing.
The Spaniard set his best effort of 1m20.973s shortly before the lunch break, to just edge out Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India.
Sebastian Vettel managed to better team-mate Webber's best time from the first day of the test with a lap of 1m21.258s as his morning's programme seemed to mirror what Red Bull Racing did on Thursday.
He completed a series of short qualifying-type runs, with his best lap coming in the final effort before the lunch break.
Jaime Alguersuari was fifth fastest, with Toro Rosso completing a series of short runs in the morning – prior to a bit of pitstop practice before the lunch break. The Spaniard is set for a race simulation run in the afternoon.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton ended the morning session in sixth and seventh place on the timesheets, as they worked through various programmes – which included pitstop work and some long runs.
The busiest man of the morning was Nico Hulkenberg, who completed a total of 82 laps in his Williams. The German did some short runs early on before moving on to a race simulation run. He ran a 19 lap stint before a pit-stop for new tyres, and then added a further 27 laps before the chequered flag brought a halt to proceedings.
Hulkenberg's fastest lap of 1m23.513 came right at the end of that second long stint.
Behind ninth fastest Robert Kubica, Timo Glock completed 14 laps for Virgin Racing as the team returned to the track for the first time since Lucas di Grassi's crash on Thursday.
Jarno Trulli was the slowest driver, having lost time in the morning with a seat problem before completing 35 laps for Lotus.
Morning times:
After a frustrating opening day to the test, where he had lost track time through an electrical problem, Alonso spent the second morning working on qualifying simulations to better Webber's time by a considerable margin.
With his F10 fitted with a raft of aerodynamic upgrades for this week's test, Alonso made good use of a more-rubbered in track to pull off a sequence of quick laps early on - despite one brief trip across a gravel trap at Turn 10.
His best effort of 1m20.637s came on the first lap of his fifth short run, before his programme switched to a longer stint before the lunch break. He is expected to focus on a race simulation in the afternoon.
Alonso's fastest time compares with Webber's best effort from the opening day of 1m21.487 - when the track was still very dirty – although it is not clear how the fuel loads of the Ferrari or Red Bull Racing car compare.
Behind Alonso, several other drivers worked through qualifying simulations as they make their final preparations for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
And it was BMW Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa who emerged as Alonso's nearest challenger, with the C29 maintaining the impressive form it has shown in early testing.
The Spaniard set his best effort of 1m20.973s shortly before the lunch break, to just edge out Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India.
Sebastian Vettel managed to better team-mate Webber's best time from the first day of the test with a lap of 1m21.258s as his morning's programme seemed to mirror what Red Bull Racing did on Thursday.
He completed a series of short qualifying-type runs, with his best lap coming in the final effort before the lunch break.
Jaime Alguersuari was fifth fastest, with Toro Rosso completing a series of short runs in the morning – prior to a bit of pitstop practice before the lunch break. The Spaniard is set for a race simulation run in the afternoon.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton ended the morning session in sixth and seventh place on the timesheets, as they worked through various programmes – which included pitstop work and some long runs.
The busiest man of the morning was Nico Hulkenberg, who completed a total of 82 laps in his Williams. The German did some short runs early on before moving on to a race simulation run. He ran a 19 lap stint before a pit-stop for new tyres, and then added a further 27 laps before the chequered flag brought a halt to proceedings.
Hulkenberg's fastest lap of 1m23.513 came right at the end of that second long stint.
Behind ninth fastest Robert Kubica, Timo Glock completed 14 laps for Virgin Racing as the team returned to the track for the first time since Lucas di Grassi's crash on Thursday.
Jarno Trulli was the slowest driver, having lost time in the morning with a seat problem before completing 35 laps for Lotus.
Morning times:
Schumacher rules out early victories
Michael Schumacher says that Mercedes GP's performance is still not where the team wants it to be after his first day on track at the final pre-season test.
The seven-time world champion finished the day seventh fastest at Barcelona, and while he admitted that the team had not tried any low-fuel running, he repeated his claim from the first test at Valencia that Mercedes will not be able to win races early in the season.
"At the moment we are not perfectly in the position we would like, probably to be competitive enough to win the first races," Schumacher told reporters on Friday.
"But we are working hard, the season is long, and the main issue is not to be too far off. This is very difficult to judge right now, the real picture."
Despite the apparent lack of pace from his car, Schumacher added that he had settled in well with the team that won both world championships as Brawn last year.
"We are working very well together, it has taken very little time to get on with everybody," he said. "They are very good guys, it's very professional and a good atmosphere.
"But we have to prove ourselves on the track. Testing is one thing, racing is another thing."
The seven-time world champion finished the day seventh fastest at Barcelona, and while he admitted that the team had not tried any low-fuel running, he repeated his claim from the first test at Valencia that Mercedes will not be able to win races early in the season.
"At the moment we are not perfectly in the position we would like, probably to be competitive enough to win the first races," Schumacher told reporters on Friday.
"But we are working hard, the season is long, and the main issue is not to be too far off. This is very difficult to judge right now, the real picture."
Despite the apparent lack of pace from his car, Schumacher added that he had settled in well with the team that won both world championships as Brawn last year.
"We are working very well together, it has taken very little time to get on with everybody," he said. "They are very good guys, it's very professional and a good atmosphere.
"But we have to prove ourselves on the track. Testing is one thing, racing is another thing."
Wednesday 24 February 2010
Ferrari slams FIA's new team 'holy war'
Ferrari has attacked the FIA's push to bring new teams into Formula 1, in the wake of the problems currently surrounding Team US F1 and Campos Meta.
With neither outfit yet having a car ready to run, and US F1 hoping to miss the first few races of the season, the sport is facing up to the fact that it will probably not have as full a grid as it had hoped to have for 2010.
And in a column published on Ferrari's official website on Tuesday, the team has openly attacked the FIA's policy of encouraging new teams - labelling it as a 'holy war' - and suggests the sport may have been better off looking after manufacturers like Toyota and BMW, who walked away.
"Of the thirteen teams who signed up, or were induced to sign up, for this year's Championship, to date only eleven of them have heeded the call, turning up on track, some later than others, and while some have managed just a few hundred kilometres, others have done more, but at a much reduced pace," the Ferrari column titled 'the Horse Whisperer' claimed.
"As for the twelfth team, Campos Meta, its shareholder and management structure has been transformed, according to rumours which have reached the Horse Whisperer through the paddock telegraph, with a sudden cash injection from a munificent white knight, well used to this sort of last minute rescue deal.
"However, the beneficiaries of this generosity might find the knight in question expects them to fulfil the role of loyal vassal. All this means, it is hard to imagine the Dallara-designed car showing its face at the Catalunya Circuit, with Sakhir a more likely venue to witness the return of the Senna name to a Formula 1 session.
"The thirteenth team, US F1, appears to have gone into hiding in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the dismay of those like the Argentinian, Lopez, who thought he had found his way into the Formula 1 paddock, (albeit with help from chairwoman Kirchner, according to the rumours) and now has to start all over again.
"Amazingly, they still have the impudence to claim that everything is hunky-dory under the starry stripy sky."
Ferrari also makes it clear it is unimpressed by the situation surrounding Stefan Grand Prix, which is still hoping to secure an entry for this year's championship.
"Next, we have the Serbian vultures," continued the column. "Firstly, they launched themselves into a quixotic legal battle with the FIA, then they picked the bones of Toyota on its death bed.
"Having got some people on board, around whom there was still a whiff of past scandals, they are now hovering around waiting to replace whoever is first to drop out of the game, possibly with backing from that very same knight in shining armour whom we mentioned earlier."
And Ferrari clearly lays the blame for the situation at the door of former FIA president Max Mosley, who clashed with the manufacturers last year in his bid to encourage new teams in.
"This [situation] is the legacy of the holy war waged by the former FIA president," he explained. "The cause in question was to allow smaller teams to get into Formula 1.
"This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand – you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith – and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it.
"In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there's not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?"
Ferrari's criticism of the new teams situation is not new, with the Italian outfit having claimed back in May last year that F1 would perhaps be better off rebranding itself as 'Formula GP3' if the grid became full of the new outfits who had originally lodged entries early last year.
With neither outfit yet having a car ready to run, and US F1 hoping to miss the first few races of the season, the sport is facing up to the fact that it will probably not have as full a grid as it had hoped to have for 2010.
And in a column published on Ferrari's official website on Tuesday, the team has openly attacked the FIA's policy of encouraging new teams - labelling it as a 'holy war' - and suggests the sport may have been better off looking after manufacturers like Toyota and BMW, who walked away.
"Of the thirteen teams who signed up, or were induced to sign up, for this year's Championship, to date only eleven of them have heeded the call, turning up on track, some later than others, and while some have managed just a few hundred kilometres, others have done more, but at a much reduced pace," the Ferrari column titled 'the Horse Whisperer' claimed.
"As for the twelfth team, Campos Meta, its shareholder and management structure has been transformed, according to rumours which have reached the Horse Whisperer through the paddock telegraph, with a sudden cash injection from a munificent white knight, well used to this sort of last minute rescue deal.
"However, the beneficiaries of this generosity might find the knight in question expects them to fulfil the role of loyal vassal. All this means, it is hard to imagine the Dallara-designed car showing its face at the Catalunya Circuit, with Sakhir a more likely venue to witness the return of the Senna name to a Formula 1 session.
"The thirteenth team, US F1, appears to have gone into hiding in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the dismay of those like the Argentinian, Lopez, who thought he had found his way into the Formula 1 paddock, (albeit with help from chairwoman Kirchner, according to the rumours) and now has to start all over again.
"Amazingly, they still have the impudence to claim that everything is hunky-dory under the starry stripy sky."
Ferrari also makes it clear it is unimpressed by the situation surrounding Stefan Grand Prix, which is still hoping to secure an entry for this year's championship.
"Next, we have the Serbian vultures," continued the column. "Firstly, they launched themselves into a quixotic legal battle with the FIA, then they picked the bones of Toyota on its death bed.
"Having got some people on board, around whom there was still a whiff of past scandals, they are now hovering around waiting to replace whoever is first to drop out of the game, possibly with backing from that very same knight in shining armour whom we mentioned earlier."
And Ferrari clearly lays the blame for the situation at the door of former FIA president Max Mosley, who clashed with the manufacturers last year in his bid to encourage new teams in.
"This [situation] is the legacy of the holy war waged by the former FIA president," he explained. "The cause in question was to allow smaller teams to get into Formula 1.
"This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand – you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith – and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it.
"In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there's not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?"
Ferrari's criticism of the new teams situation is not new, with the Italian outfit having claimed back in May last year that F1 would perhaps be better off rebranding itself as 'Formula GP3' if the grid became full of the new outfits who had originally lodged entries early last year.
Key takes over as Sauber technical boss
Former Force India technical director James Key is to replace Willy Rampf as head of Sauber's technical team.
Key announced yesterday that he had decided to leave Force India - having been with the team since its Jordan days in 1998. Sauber has now revealed that Rampf is to step down as head of its technical team at the end of April, with Key joining shortly beforehand to take his place.
The 38-year-old Englishman said he had been convinced by the facilities available at Sauber, which substantially increased its technical resources during its four years under BMW ownership.
"The first time I saw the facilities in Hinwil, I knew straightaway the kind of opportunities open to me there," said 38-year-old Key. "The wind tunnel, the supercomputer, the machine park and the expertise of the team were extremely persuasive.
"There is significant potential at Sauber, and with the ever-changing world of F1 I think the team is very well placed at present.
"I am grateful to my old team for the past 12 years I spent with them, but now I very much look forward to starting my new job. I would like to thank Peter Sauber and the team for this great opportunity."
Team owner Peter Sauber said he had been impressed by the achievements of Key's Force India squad in 2009, when it rose from the back of the grid to fight for victories and podium finishes on fast tracks.
"Despite his young age, James looks back on more than a decade of experience in Formula 1 - and the 2009 car in particular proved quite a revelation," said Sauber.
"James comes from a private team and knows how to work around a limited budget. With us he will enjoy high-level technical opportunities."
Rampf clarified that it was his own decision to step down from the team.
"When you're technical director of a Formula 1 team, the job comes first and everything else is subordinate to it," he explained. "I have done my job with a passion for ten years, but now it's time to hand over the baton.
"Peter Sauber gave me the chance to enter this league of motorsport and I greatly value all my years spent working with the team."
Sauber thanked Rampf for his contribution to the squad, and expects a smooth transition when Key arrives.
"Willy and James will be devoting April to the handover," Sauber explained. "I have known about Willy's plans for some time, of course, and fully understand his decision. He has achieved great things for our team.
"I had managed to get him on board as race engineer for season 1994. Then in 1998 he temporarily left the team to pursue his Paris-Dakar Rallye dream and ran BMW's motorcycle involvement - a successful interlude, as we know.
"In 1999 he returned to the fold with the clear aim of becoming technical director. It was practically his first Formula 1 car that was out on the grid in 2001, and we finished fourth in the constructors' championship as a privately-run team. We have Willy to thank for a great deal."
Key announced yesterday that he had decided to leave Force India - having been with the team since its Jordan days in 1998. Sauber has now revealed that Rampf is to step down as head of its technical team at the end of April, with Key joining shortly beforehand to take his place.
The 38-year-old Englishman said he had been convinced by the facilities available at Sauber, which substantially increased its technical resources during its four years under BMW ownership.
"The first time I saw the facilities in Hinwil, I knew straightaway the kind of opportunities open to me there," said 38-year-old Key. "The wind tunnel, the supercomputer, the machine park and the expertise of the team were extremely persuasive.
"There is significant potential at Sauber, and with the ever-changing world of F1 I think the team is very well placed at present.
"I am grateful to my old team for the past 12 years I spent with them, but now I very much look forward to starting my new job. I would like to thank Peter Sauber and the team for this great opportunity."
Team owner Peter Sauber said he had been impressed by the achievements of Key's Force India squad in 2009, when it rose from the back of the grid to fight for victories and podium finishes on fast tracks.
"Despite his young age, James looks back on more than a decade of experience in Formula 1 - and the 2009 car in particular proved quite a revelation," said Sauber.
"James comes from a private team and knows how to work around a limited budget. With us he will enjoy high-level technical opportunities."
Rampf clarified that it was his own decision to step down from the team.
"When you're technical director of a Formula 1 team, the job comes first and everything else is subordinate to it," he explained. "I have done my job with a passion for ten years, but now it's time to hand over the baton.
"Peter Sauber gave me the chance to enter this league of motorsport and I greatly value all my years spent working with the team."
Sauber thanked Rampf for his contribution to the squad, and expects a smooth transition when Key arrives.
"Willy and James will be devoting April to the handover," Sauber explained. "I have known about Willy's plans for some time, of course, and fully understand his decision. He has achieved great things for our team.
"I had managed to get him on board as race engineer for season 1994. Then in 1998 he temporarily left the team to pursue his Paris-Dakar Rallye dream and ran BMW's motorcycle involvement - a successful interlude, as we know.
"In 1999 he returned to the fold with the clear aim of becoming technical director. It was practically his first Formula 1 car that was out on the grid in 2001, and we finished fourth in the constructors' championship as a privately-run team. We have Willy to thank for a great deal."
Lopez manager admits Campos talks
Jose Maria Lopez's manager Felipe McGough says talks are underway between Campos owner Jose Ramon Carabante and US F1 investor Chad Hurley to secure a deal that will ensure Lopez can race in Formula 1 this year.
With uncertainty surrounding US F1's plans, the American team's already-signed driver Lopez has been linked to a switch to Campos. McGough confirmed that Carabante, who took sole control of Campos last week, and entrepreneur Hurley were trying to find a solution for Lopez.
"The two groups that talked today will do everything possible so that 'Pechito' can be in Formula 1," McGough told Argentina's Diario Hoy.
"Both Chad Hurley and Jose Carabante talked for several hours to find a solution for the budget issues both teams have. For us this merger is very important as it works in favour of Lopez racing this year.
"We have been doing everything possible and we haven't taken any false steps. The financial difficulties, and the trust we had put after the recognition from the FIA have made things complicated and we must accept that [US F1's] cars will not be ready for Bahrain.
"Right now things are in the hands of the two investing groups. They have the final word. We have hopeful we will reach a resolution to come back to Argentina with good news about Lopez."
Financial services group Locstein, which had been in talks with US F1 about a sponsorship deal, has also announced that it will not pursue a relationship with the team due to its current difficulties.
"As a matter of course, Locstein evaluates a variety of business opportunities around the globe, including sponsorship in Formula 1 racing," said a Locstein statement.
"Locstein did engage US F1 Team regarding sponsorship, but when it was apparent that the team was not able to participate in the entire 2010 season, Locstein elected to withdraw from further involvement with US F1.
"Locstein wishes the US F1 organisation the best of luck in their endeavours."
With uncertainty surrounding US F1's plans, the American team's already-signed driver Lopez has been linked to a switch to Campos. McGough confirmed that Carabante, who took sole control of Campos last week, and entrepreneur Hurley were trying to find a solution for Lopez.
"The two groups that talked today will do everything possible so that 'Pechito' can be in Formula 1," McGough told Argentina's Diario Hoy.
"Both Chad Hurley and Jose Carabante talked for several hours to find a solution for the budget issues both teams have. For us this merger is very important as it works in favour of Lopez racing this year.
"We have been doing everything possible and we haven't taken any false steps. The financial difficulties, and the trust we had put after the recognition from the FIA have made things complicated and we must accept that [US F1's] cars will not be ready for Bahrain.
"Right now things are in the hands of the two investing groups. They have the final word. We have hopeful we will reach a resolution to come back to Argentina with good news about Lopez."
Financial services group Locstein, which had been in talks with US F1 about a sponsorship deal, has also announced that it will not pursue a relationship with the team due to its current difficulties.
"As a matter of course, Locstein evaluates a variety of business opportunities around the globe, including sponsorship in Formula 1 racing," said a Locstein statement.
"Locstein did engage US F1 Team regarding sponsorship, but when it was apparent that the team was not able to participate in the entire 2010 season, Locstein elected to withdraw from further involvement with US F1.
"Locstein wishes the US F1 organisation the best of luck in their endeavours."
Monday 22 February 2010
Wirth admits Virgin behind schedule
Virgin Racing technical director Nick Wirth has admitted that the persistent hydraulic problems his team suffered at Jerez this week have delayed its test programme.
Wirth said the intention had been to bring aerodynamic developments to Barcelona next week, but with Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock only able to complete 144 laps between them over the past four days at Jerez, Virgin will now have to keep focusing on reliability work in the final test.
"It has been a character-building week, that's for sure," said Wirth. "Despite our best efforts to cure the hydraulic problem which has beset our entire test, this was simply not achievable with the components that we had available in the field.
"The specific problem is that we have been losing hydraulic oil at a rate which has limited the number of laps we can achieve on each run and so we look forward to receiving updated parts for the Barcelona test, which we expect to fully resolve the problem.
"Having said that, we will now need to continue focusing on reliability work when we would have liked to introduce our Bahrain-specification aerodynamic updates. The revised programme means we will be reserving our full set of aero warpaint for the first race."
But Wirth added that while the test delays were a blow, he was very optimistic about the VR-01's pace.
"On a positive note, despite these issues, we have actually completed a lot of good race preparation work and it is satisfying to see the car's potential with minimum set-up changes or development, bearing in mind that we have consistently run with a healthy amount of fuel," he said.
"Indeed, none of our lap times have been achieved with anything close to qualifying fuel and therefore we are not letting the frustrations in one specific area overshadow what has generally been an encouraging start to our development programme."
Wirth said the intention had been to bring aerodynamic developments to Barcelona next week, but with Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock only able to complete 144 laps between them over the past four days at Jerez, Virgin will now have to keep focusing on reliability work in the final test.
"It has been a character-building week, that's for sure," said Wirth. "Despite our best efforts to cure the hydraulic problem which has beset our entire test, this was simply not achievable with the components that we had available in the field.
"The specific problem is that we have been losing hydraulic oil at a rate which has limited the number of laps we can achieve on each run and so we look forward to receiving updated parts for the Barcelona test, which we expect to fully resolve the problem.
"Having said that, we will now need to continue focusing on reliability work when we would have liked to introduce our Bahrain-specification aerodynamic updates. The revised programme means we will be reserving our full set of aero warpaint for the first race."
But Wirth added that while the test delays were a blow, he was very optimistic about the VR-01's pace.
"On a positive note, despite these issues, we have actually completed a lot of good race preparation work and it is satisfying to see the car's potential with minimum set-up changes or development, bearing in mind that we have consistently run with a healthy amount of fuel," he said.
"Indeed, none of our lap times have been achieved with anything close to qualifying fuel and therefore we are not letting the frustrations in one specific area overshadow what has generally been an encouraging start to our development programme."
US F1 seeks permission to miss races
US F1 co-founder Ken Anderson has admitted that he is in discussion with the FIA to reach an agreement that will allow for the new team to miss the first four races of the 2010 Formula 1 season.
While rival Campos now looks likely to make the start of the season after Jose Ramon Carabante took control of the project and installed Colin Kolles as team boss, speculation that US F1 has fallen behind in preparations and is struggling to secure the necessary funding has intensified in recent weeks.
In an interview with the New York Times yesterday, Anderson revealed that US F1 was unlikely to make it to Bahrain on March 14, and was seeking to miss the Australian, Malaysian and Chinese Grands Prix as well.
"We're working with the FIA to clarify how many races we can miss," Anderson told the newspaper. "In an ideal world, we can miss the first four races and show up in Barcelona."
Despite recent revelations that the Concorde Agreement includes a clause allowing teams to miss up to three races before officially being deemed to have failed to participate, the FIA made it clear earlier this month that new teams would breach the regulations if they missed any event.
Anderson indicated however that he believed the governing body sympathetic to USF1's predicament and wanted to assist him in ensuring it made the grid.
"I guess anything's possible," he said when asked about incurring fines for missing races. "But what would be the point of that? Why would they give us a franchise and just, the first time there's a bump in the road, yank it and put it out of business?
"That's definitely not the message that I'm getting from them. They want to help us, not shut us down."
Anderson insisted that both co-founder Peter Windsor and investor Chad Hurley, who co-founded YouTube, are still involved with the project. Windsor told AUTOSPORT's Grapevine column earlier this week: "I am still with the team", while the latter responded with: "Peter is still here at the moment, not sure what he is up to, stay tuned."
But the American revealed to the NYT that the project's progress was dependant on sponsorship falling in to place soon: "We have a timeline in place that if we get a decision quickly, that triggers funding and we're good to go.
"If it takes another week or two to make a decision, it keeps backing up," he added.
While rival Campos now looks likely to make the start of the season after Jose Ramon Carabante took control of the project and installed Colin Kolles as team boss, speculation that US F1 has fallen behind in preparations and is struggling to secure the necessary funding has intensified in recent weeks.
In an interview with the New York Times yesterday, Anderson revealed that US F1 was unlikely to make it to Bahrain on March 14, and was seeking to miss the Australian, Malaysian and Chinese Grands Prix as well.
"We're working with the FIA to clarify how many races we can miss," Anderson told the newspaper. "In an ideal world, we can miss the first four races and show up in Barcelona."
Despite recent revelations that the Concorde Agreement includes a clause allowing teams to miss up to three races before officially being deemed to have failed to participate, the FIA made it clear earlier this month that new teams would breach the regulations if they missed any event.
Anderson indicated however that he believed the governing body sympathetic to USF1's predicament and wanted to assist him in ensuring it made the grid.
"I guess anything's possible," he said when asked about incurring fines for missing races. "But what would be the point of that? Why would they give us a franchise and just, the first time there's a bump in the road, yank it and put it out of business?
"That's definitely not the message that I'm getting from them. They want to help us, not shut us down."
Anderson insisted that both co-founder Peter Windsor and investor Chad Hurley, who co-founded YouTube, are still involved with the project. Windsor told AUTOSPORT's Grapevine column earlier this week: "I am still with the team", while the latter responded with: "Peter is still here at the moment, not sure what he is up to, stay tuned."
But the American revealed to the NYT that the project's progress was dependant on sponsorship falling in to place soon: "We have a timeline in place that if we get a decision quickly, that triggers funding and we're good to go.
"If it takes another week or two to make a decision, it keeps backing up," he added.
Carabante takes over Campos team
The Campos Meta team has confirmed that Jose Ramon Carabante has taken full control of the Spanish outfit, with former Midland, Spyker and Force India boss Colin Kolles being appointed as team principal instead of team founder Adrian Campos.
After weeks of speculation about the future of the team, it was announced on Friday that a deal had been reached with Campos to make Carabante, who was already a shareholder in the team, the new majority owner.
Carabante said he has secured a deal that will see the team competing in the 2010 championship.
"I would like to thank Bernie Ecclestone, who worked tremendously to support our efforts to keep the team viable," said Carabante.
"The whole rescue operation has been a race against time with the goal of always having the team run two competitive cars at the first Grand Prix of the F1 season in Bahrain.
"We have a lot of hard work still ahead of us but we are excited about making our F1 debut and looking forward to a competitive season."
Carabante said the team's base will remain in Spain and that Kolles will also act as managing director to ensure the team is fully operational and ready to make its Bahrain debut next month.
Kolles added, however, that the team needed to find 'extra funding' to guarantee its presence in Bahrain.
"I could not resist this tremendous challenge and am very excited to join forces in this new team," said Kolles.
"Over the next ten days we will review the entire operation, find the extra funding to ensure the team will make the first race in Bahrain, announce the line-up for 2010 in due time and make the operation viable under Jose Ramon Carabante's new ownership."
The team has a contract with Brazilian Bruno Senna, with rumours having linked Jose Maria Lopez with the second seat, despite the Argentinean having a contract with the US F1 squad.
After weeks of speculation about the future of the team, it was announced on Friday that a deal had been reached with Campos to make Carabante, who was already a shareholder in the team, the new majority owner.
Carabante said he has secured a deal that will see the team competing in the 2010 championship.
"I would like to thank Bernie Ecclestone, who worked tremendously to support our efforts to keep the team viable," said Carabante.
"The whole rescue operation has been a race against time with the goal of always having the team run two competitive cars at the first Grand Prix of the F1 season in Bahrain.
"We have a lot of hard work still ahead of us but we are excited about making our F1 debut and looking forward to a competitive season."
Carabante said the team's base will remain in Spain and that Kolles will also act as managing director to ensure the team is fully operational and ready to make its Bahrain debut next month.
Kolles added, however, that the team needed to find 'extra funding' to guarantee its presence in Bahrain.
"I could not resist this tremendous challenge and am very excited to join forces in this new team," said Kolles.
"Over the next ten days we will review the entire operation, find the extra funding to ensure the team will make the first race in Bahrain, announce the line-up for 2010 in due time and make the operation viable under Jose Ramon Carabante's new ownership."
The team has a contract with Brazilian Bruno Senna, with rumours having linked Jose Maria Lopez with the second seat, despite the Argentinean having a contract with the US F1 squad.
Virgin: Reliability problems are solved
Virgin Racing has overcome the reliability issues that hampered its running early in the Jerez test, according to the team's technical director Nick Wirth.
Timo Glock had only done 26 laps in the car before today, due to last week's front wing mounting issue and the hydraulics glitch which limited the German to just 10 laps yesterday.
But with the car running well today, Glock managed 72 laps and set the eighth fastest time, albeit in changeable conditions he was quicker than Vitantonio Liuzzi, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Buemi and Heikki Kovalainen.
When asked about the mileage clocked up today, Wirth told AUTOSPORT: "We needed it. Yesterday was a real challenge, the problems we had were tricky, not ones we had experienced before and it just required a lot of thinking.
"We eventually found the problem, but too late to get going. There was a lot of work last night to fix that problem and get everything ready for today - try and regroup and have a good day today.
"Timo had a very frustrating week last week, so it was nice to finally get him in. He seems to enjoy driving the car; he's got a big smile on his face today. The whole team, everybody put in a continuous effort and it's nice to finally see that rewarded. I just wish the poor guy could get some dry laps."
Although hoping for some dry running, Wirth is not concerned that the amount of wet testing will leave Virgin unprepared for the opening race in Bahrain.
"We are finding and fixing problems, we're not stopping because of the weather," he said. "We had another issue today and pretty much every issue we've had has fallen into the category of 'happy issues', which are problems that are not fundamental, but are new problems that we did not understand when we got into this project. It's just about fault-fixing, and we're all in the same boat."
Timo Glock had only done 26 laps in the car before today, due to last week's front wing mounting issue and the hydraulics glitch which limited the German to just 10 laps yesterday.
But with the car running well today, Glock managed 72 laps and set the eighth fastest time, albeit in changeable conditions he was quicker than Vitantonio Liuzzi, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Buemi and Heikki Kovalainen.
When asked about the mileage clocked up today, Wirth told AUTOSPORT: "We needed it. Yesterday was a real challenge, the problems we had were tricky, not ones we had experienced before and it just required a lot of thinking.
"We eventually found the problem, but too late to get going. There was a lot of work last night to fix that problem and get everything ready for today - try and regroup and have a good day today.
"Timo had a very frustrating week last week, so it was nice to finally get him in. He seems to enjoy driving the car; he's got a big smile on his face today. The whole team, everybody put in a continuous effort and it's nice to finally see that rewarded. I just wish the poor guy could get some dry laps."
Although hoping for some dry running, Wirth is not concerned that the amount of wet testing will leave Virgin unprepared for the opening race in Bahrain.
"We are finding and fixing problems, we're not stopping because of the weather," he said. "We had another issue today and pretty much every issue we've had has fallen into the category of 'happy issues', which are problems that are not fundamental, but are new problems that we did not understand when we got into this project. It's just about fault-fixing, and we're all in the same boat."
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Aldar sells Yas Marina circuit
The developer of the Yas Marina circuit has sold the track to the Abu Dhabi government, according to local media.
Aldar, the developer of the circuit that made its debut on the F1 calendar last year, announced earlier this month a 79 per cent drop in earnings in 2009.
The company has sold a number of key assets which include the state-of-the-art grand prix circuit.
"This [the assets sale] includes roads, utilities on the Yas Island, Yas Marina Circuit which is home to the Formula 1 race track, Yas Marina and the Yas Yacht Club," CFO Shafqat Malek told the Gulf News.
The sale of the assets is expected to allow Aldar to meet its debt commitments, according to the newspaper.
Aldar, the developer of the circuit that made its debut on the F1 calendar last year, announced earlier this month a 79 per cent drop in earnings in 2009.
The company has sold a number of key assets which include the state-of-the-art grand prix circuit.
"This [the assets sale] includes roads, utilities on the Yas Island, Yas Marina Circuit which is home to the Formula 1 race track, Yas Marina and the Yas Yacht Club," CFO Shafqat Malek told the Gulf News.
The sale of the assets is expected to allow Aldar to meet its debt commitments, according to the newspaper.
Mercedes conclude the first testing session at Jerez
13th February 2010
The final day of this week’s test in Jerez saw Michael Schumacher back at the wheel of the MGP W01.
The day started slowly with early morning rain leaving the track still very wet for the start of the session. Michael completed a few exploratory laps before returning to the garage to wait for a dry line to emerge.
Michael went back out once the track had dried sufficiently to run on slick tyres and made full use of the remaining track time to further develop the set-up of the car. Michael completed 84 laps over the course of the day setting a quickest time of 1:20.613.
The next test for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will start in Jerez on Wednesday 17 February.
Michael Schumacher: “We had a good day today to end this week’s test programme. The weather affected us a little in the early part of the day but we were able to use our time very effectively once we could run on dry tyres. We completed everything that we wanted and were able to increase our understanding of the car a step further so overall it’s been positive. It’s very tough to understand the order of the teams just yet as everyone can play so much with the fuel loads. So there is a lot of speculation going on but it’s very interesting!”
Ross Brawn: “It’s been a difficult week weather-wise for all of the teams out in Jerez however we have achieved a significant amount of mileage in both the wet and dry conditions and completed some important test items on our pre-season testing programme. This week has enabled us to increase our understanding of both the car and the tyres and our focus for the final two tests will be to continue to develop the performance of the MGP W01 and ensure the team and our drivers are fully prepared for the first race.”
The final day of this week’s test in Jerez saw Michael Schumacher back at the wheel of the MGP W01.
The day started slowly with early morning rain leaving the track still very wet for the start of the session. Michael completed a few exploratory laps before returning to the garage to wait for a dry line to emerge.
Michael went back out once the track had dried sufficiently to run on slick tyres and made full use of the remaining track time to further develop the set-up of the car. Michael completed 84 laps over the course of the day setting a quickest time of 1:20.613.
The next test for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will start in Jerez on Wednesday 17 February.
Michael Schumacher: “We had a good day today to end this week’s test programme. The weather affected us a little in the early part of the day but we were able to use our time very effectively once we could run on dry tyres. We completed everything that we wanted and were able to increase our understanding of the car a step further so overall it’s been positive. It’s very tough to understand the order of the teams just yet as everyone can play so much with the fuel loads. So there is a lot of speculation going on but it’s very interesting!”
Ross Brawn: “It’s been a difficult week weather-wise for all of the teams out in Jerez however we have achieved a significant amount of mileage in both the wet and dry conditions and completed some important test items on our pre-season testing programme. This week has enabled us to increase our understanding of both the car and the tyres and our focus for the final two tests will be to continue to develop the performance of the MGP W01 and ensure the team and our drivers are fully prepared for the first race.”
New chassis for Massa in Jerez
Jerez de la Frontera, 17 February 2010 – At 9am the third test session with the Formula 1 Championship in sight, with the first GP held on 14 March in Bahrain, was started this morning in Jerez.
The seven teams, which took part in the tests in Valencia turned into ten last week, while today there are eleven, including also Lotus. Now there are only two teams missing: Campos Meta and USF1 – while there are pessimistic rumours about their near future.
Felipe Massa is the driver on the track today for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. The Brazilian driver went out for the installation lap at 9:02am, while the track was still wet from the rain last night.
The bad weather might stay the main protagonist here during the tests in Jerez and also today’s forecast is not really encouraging. Therefore Felipe’s programme for today has to be adjusted to the track conditions. For this third test session the team set up the F10’s second chassis with the number 282. The car doesn’t sport any major updates compared to last week: just some minor aerodynamic and mechanical updates for these days, while the main novelties will be used next week during the tests in Barcelona.
The seven teams, which took part in the tests in Valencia turned into ten last week, while today there are eleven, including also Lotus. Now there are only two teams missing: Campos Meta and USF1 – while there are pessimistic rumours about their near future.
Felipe Massa is the driver on the track today for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. The Brazilian driver went out for the installation lap at 9:02am, while the track was still wet from the rain last night.
The bad weather might stay the main protagonist here during the tests in Jerez and also today’s forecast is not really encouraging. Therefore Felipe’s programme for today has to be adjusted to the track conditions. For this third test session the team set up the F10’s second chassis with the number 282. The car doesn’t sport any major updates compared to last week: just some minor aerodynamic and mechanical updates for these days, while the main novelties will be used next week during the tests in Barcelona.
Virgin delighted after breakthrough day
Virgin Racing team boss John Booth said his crew were feeling 'buoyant' after his fledgling squad finally managed some extended running on the final day of testing at Jerez yesterday (Saturday).
Rain, late components and a front wing problem that forced a rapid redesign had all conspired to keep Virgin's VR-01 in the garage for much of the first three days of testing, but yesterday Lucas di Grassi was able to complete 63 laps in the car.
"This is a great reward for the team," Booth said.
"They have all worked so hard over the past few days to achieve such positive running on our final day here.
"Everyone is extremely buoyant and looking forward to being back here in Jerez next week."
Di Grassi was thrilled to put some laps on the new car, and encouraged to be within 3.3s of the pace despite Virgin's tough week and lack of experience.
"After three days of very little running, in the space of one day we have completed lots of mileage in the dry and we were able to work through lots of important items on our programme," he said.
"The car was behaving much better after the work we did since yesterday and I think what we have achieved today is a very good start for our team."
The Brazilian added that he felt the Virgin team had proved its strength in adversity during the test.
"I would like to thank the guys for working some unbelievable hours this week," he said.
"The way they have come together is fantastic and generally I am very happy with where we are."
Designer Nick Wirth said his team had kept its head down and kept working, and was delighted with yesterday's breakthrough.
"It is very pleasing to end our first test on such a positive note, having finally achieved some solid running in dry conditions," he said.
"We have remained focused on the job list in hand and given that we have been working with a representative fuel load to evaluate various set-ups, our lap time and rate of progress is encouraging at this very early stage."
Rain, late components and a front wing problem that forced a rapid redesign had all conspired to keep Virgin's VR-01 in the garage for much of the first three days of testing, but yesterday Lucas di Grassi was able to complete 63 laps in the car.
"This is a great reward for the team," Booth said.
"They have all worked so hard over the past few days to achieve such positive running on our final day here.
"Everyone is extremely buoyant and looking forward to being back here in Jerez next week."
Di Grassi was thrilled to put some laps on the new car, and encouraged to be within 3.3s of the pace despite Virgin's tough week and lack of experience.
"After three days of very little running, in the space of one day we have completed lots of mileage in the dry and we were able to work through lots of important items on our programme," he said.
"The car was behaving much better after the work we did since yesterday and I think what we have achieved today is a very good start for our team."
The Brazilian added that he felt the Virgin team had proved its strength in adversity during the test.
"I would like to thank the guys for working some unbelievable hours this week," he said.
"The way they have come together is fantastic and generally I am very happy with where we are."
Designer Nick Wirth said his team had kept its head down and kept working, and was delighted with yesterday's breakthrough.
"It is very pleasing to end our first test on such a positive note, having finally achieved some solid running in dry conditions," he said.
"We have remained focused on the job list in hand and given that we have been working with a representative fuel load to evaluate various set-ups, our lap time and rate of progress is encouraging at this very early stage."
Testing underway once more at Jerez
The third of four pre-season tests began on Wednesday morning at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. After wet weather limited everyone’s running at the same track last week, the teams are no doubt hoping for a little sunny respite, but the forecast looks just as bleak and rainy for this week’s four-day session.
One bright spot will be provided by Lotus, who will test for the first time amongst their rivals following the T127’s launch in London last week. Test driver Fairuz Fauzy is scheduled to take the green and yellow-liveried car out on Wednesday, before handing it over to team mate Heikki Kovalainen for two days. Jarno Trulli will then get his first chance behind the wheel on Saturday.
And there should be much else to take note of during the test. Force India’s new reserve driver Paul di Resta is expected to enjoy his first outing in the VJM03, before team mates Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi take over for the rest of the test. After struggling to chalk up much mileage last week, Virgin will also be back in action testing the VR01.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton will be eager to carry on where he left off, after clocking the quickest time of last week’s test with a best lap of 1m 19.583s, as he takes charge of the MP4-25 over the opening two days of the session. Team mate Jenson Button will drive from Friday. Ferrari incumbent Felipe Massa will also take charge of his team’s programme during the opening two days before handing the F10 over to new team mate Fernando Alonso on Friday.
Pedro de la Rosa will test for two days in BMW Sauber’s C29, before team mate Kamui Kobayashi steps in, whilst Renault’s Vitaly Petrov will drive the R30 on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of team mate Robert Kubica’s time in the car. Red Bull and Toro Rosso’s programmes are similar, with Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Buemi set to test the RB6 and the STR5 respectively on the first two days, before their stable mates Mark Webber and Jaime Alguersuari take the wheel.
Williams too plan to field Rubens Barrichello for two days, and Nico Hulkenberg for two days. Mercedes, however, are understood to have opted to let their drivers take to the track on alternate days. Michael Schumacher will be in the MGP W01 on Wednesday and Friday, whilst his team mate Nico Rosberg will test on Thursday and Saturday.
One bright spot will be provided by Lotus, who will test for the first time amongst their rivals following the T127’s launch in London last week. Test driver Fairuz Fauzy is scheduled to take the green and yellow-liveried car out on Wednesday, before handing it over to team mate Heikki Kovalainen for two days. Jarno Trulli will then get his first chance behind the wheel on Saturday.
And there should be much else to take note of during the test. Force India’s new reserve driver Paul di Resta is expected to enjoy his first outing in the VJM03, before team mates Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi take over for the rest of the test. After struggling to chalk up much mileage last week, Virgin will also be back in action testing the VR01.
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton will be eager to carry on where he left off, after clocking the quickest time of last week’s test with a best lap of 1m 19.583s, as he takes charge of the MP4-25 over the opening two days of the session. Team mate Jenson Button will drive from Friday. Ferrari incumbent Felipe Massa will also take charge of his team’s programme during the opening two days before handing the F10 over to new team mate Fernando Alonso on Friday.
Pedro de la Rosa will test for two days in BMW Sauber’s C29, before team mate Kamui Kobayashi steps in, whilst Renault’s Vitaly Petrov will drive the R30 on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of team mate Robert Kubica’s time in the car. Red Bull and Toro Rosso’s programmes are similar, with Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Buemi set to test the RB6 and the STR5 respectively on the first two days, before their stable mates Mark Webber and Jaime Alguersuari take the wheel.
Williams too plan to field Rubens Barrichello for two days, and Nico Hulkenberg for two days. Mercedes, however, are understood to have opted to let their drivers take to the track on alternate days. Michael Schumacher will be in the MGP W01 on Wednesday and Friday, whilst his team mate Nico Rosberg will test on Thursday and Saturday.
Lotus makes track debut at Jerez
Lotus has completed its first run alongside the rest of the Formula 1 field as this week's Jerez test got underway this morning.
The team has entrusted the T127 to test driver Fairuz Fauzy for its first day, and the Malaysian joined the rest of the pack for an installation lap shortly after the start of the session at 9am local time. He then briefly returned to the pits before embarking on a longer run.
Lotus had previously completed a shakedown run at Silverstone before its launch event last week, but today marks the start of the team's fully-fledged testing programme.
Fauzy will remain in the car for the rest of the day before handing over to Heikki Kovalainen for the next two days. Jarno Trulli then has his first run for Lotus on Saturday.
The team has entrusted the T127 to test driver Fairuz Fauzy for its first day, and the Malaysian joined the rest of the pack for an installation lap shortly after the start of the session at 9am local time. He then briefly returned to the pits before embarking on a longer run.
Lotus had previously completed a shakedown run at Silverstone before its launch event last week, but today marks the start of the team's fully-fledged testing programme.
Fauzy will remain in the car for the rest of the day before handing over to Heikki Kovalainen for the next two days. Jarno Trulli then has his first run for Lotus on Saturday.
Lopez would welcome Valles at US F1
Jose Maria Lopez says he would welcome Adrian Valles as his team-mate at the US F1 team, the Spaniard having been linked with the drive earlier this month.
Argentinean Lopez is the only driver confirmed at the American squad, who is facing a race against time to make it to the first race in Bahrain next month.
Lopez reckons Valles, who won the Superleague championship with Liverpool last year, would be a strong team-mate.
"I would very much like to have Adrian as a team-mate for a lot of reasons," Lopez told Spanish daily Marca.
"First, he is young, talented and with a lot of experience. Second, because I know him from the time when we were together in the Renault development programme."
He added: "It's hard to talk about another driver. A lot of times they have to be judged by the car they are driving or by the team with which they have been, but Adrian has done well in all the categories he has been in, and that shows he is a talented driver."
Although US F1 looks set to miss all the European pre-season tests, Lopez believes joining a new team was still a good decision.
"Of course it's worth it," he said. "I've fought a lot to achieve this and I've been through a lot of things. It's a chance to return to the top category in motorsport.
"I'm going to give 100 per cent to stay in Formula 1."
Argentinean Lopez is the only driver confirmed at the American squad, who is facing a race against time to make it to the first race in Bahrain next month.
Lopez reckons Valles, who won the Superleague championship with Liverpool last year, would be a strong team-mate.
"I would very much like to have Adrian as a team-mate for a lot of reasons," Lopez told Spanish daily Marca.
"First, he is young, talented and with a lot of experience. Second, because I know him from the time when we were together in the Renault development programme."
He added: "It's hard to talk about another driver. A lot of times they have to be judged by the car they are driving or by the team with which they have been, but Adrian has done well in all the categories he has been in, and that shows he is a talented driver."
Although US F1 looks set to miss all the European pre-season tests, Lopez believes joining a new team was still a good decision.
"Of course it's worth it," he said. "I've fought a lot to achieve this and I've been through a lot of things. It's a chance to return to the top category in motorsport.
"I'm going to give 100 per cent to stay in Formula 1."
Force India targets fifth place
Force India believes that fifth place in the constructors' championship is a realistic goal for the 2010 season.
The team had a breakout year in 2009, taking its first pole position and podium at Spa with Giancarlo Fisichella, and Adrian Sutil qualifying second at Monza and third at Interlagos.
But its pace was inconsistent and it was only ninth in the teams' standings. The VJM03 has made a strong start to pre-season testing and the team is confident that it can challenge more regularly this year.
With Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes expected to set the pace at the front of the grid, the battle for fifth is likely to be between Sauber, Williams, Renault, Toro Rosso and Force India.
"In the world championship, if we're fifth or six - above the median - that would be a successful season," said Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer.
"We finished ninth last year, if we can move up another three or four positions, we're on the right track.
"We'll try to continue on the same path where we finished [last] season, so at the start of this season we should be much stronger than we were at the start of last season. With that should come regular points finishes and the occasional podium."
The team has worked hard to improve its high downforce performance this year, an area in which it struggled in 2009. Szafnauer is hopeful this can be achieved without sacficing its performance in low downforce trim.
"We tried over the winter to enhance the places where we were deficient last year without losing the places we were very good," he said. "Can we repeat it? That's very much dependent on what our competition does.
"However, we did focus on not losing the aero efficiency that we had so there is every possibility that we will be strong on those circuits."
The team had a breakout year in 2009, taking its first pole position and podium at Spa with Giancarlo Fisichella, and Adrian Sutil qualifying second at Monza and third at Interlagos.
But its pace was inconsistent and it was only ninth in the teams' standings. The VJM03 has made a strong start to pre-season testing and the team is confident that it can challenge more regularly this year.
With Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes expected to set the pace at the front of the grid, the battle for fifth is likely to be between Sauber, Williams, Renault, Toro Rosso and Force India.
"In the world championship, if we're fifth or six - above the median - that would be a successful season," said Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer.
"We finished ninth last year, if we can move up another three or four positions, we're on the right track.
"We'll try to continue on the same path where we finished [last] season, so at the start of this season we should be much stronger than we were at the start of last season. With that should come regular points finishes and the occasional podium."
The team has worked hard to improve its high downforce performance this year, an area in which it struggled in 2009. Szafnauer is hopeful this can be achieved without sacficing its performance in low downforce trim.
"We tried over the winter to enhance the places where we were deficient last year without losing the places we were very good," he said. "Can we repeat it? That's very much dependent on what our competition does.
"However, we did focus on not losing the aero efficiency that we had so there is every possibility that we will be strong on those circuits."
Saturday 13 February 2010
Computer Design in F1
Gascoyne doubts all-CFD design
Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne says he is sceptical about the chances of a team being successful in Formula 1 using only computer simulations to design its car.
On the back of a big focus on Virgin Racing's difficult start to testing at Jerez in Spain this week, Gascoyne has joined design genius Adrian Newey in claiming that the use of wind tunnels remains vital in F1.
Virgin Racing's new VR-01 is the first modern era F1 car to have been designed without the use of wind tunnel - with technical head Nick Wirth having just used Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Speaking about the CFD tactic, Gascoyne said: "I think it is an integral part, but it is not a complete part."
When asked about his reaction to Newey's comments, Gascoyne said: "Well, I think he is one of the best aerodynamicists in F1. I used to be an aerodynamicist, and my PhD was in CFD, and I think I would kind of agree with him.
"You look at BMW when Albert II was announced as one of the world's biggest supercomputers dedicated just to their CFD. If you look at Enstone, they built their environmentally-friendly CFD centre with a huge computing resource. I don't think these guys are idiots, and they also have wind tunnels.
"I know Bob Bell at Renault very well, he is a clever guy who gave me my first job in F1 and he is a trained aerodynamicist - and I think he thinks you need a wind tunnel. I think CFD is a very exciting technology and it is advancing, but is it an absolute? I don't think there are many people who think it is."
Lotus technical chief Mike Gascoyne says he is sceptical about the chances of a team being successful in Formula 1 using only computer simulations to design its car.
On the back of a big focus on Virgin Racing's difficult start to testing at Jerez in Spain this week, Gascoyne has joined design genius Adrian Newey in claiming that the use of wind tunnels remains vital in F1.
Virgin Racing's new VR-01 is the first modern era F1 car to have been designed without the use of wind tunnel - with technical head Nick Wirth having just used Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Speaking about the CFD tactic, Gascoyne said: "I think it is an integral part, but it is not a complete part."
When asked about his reaction to Newey's comments, Gascoyne said: "Well, I think he is one of the best aerodynamicists in F1. I used to be an aerodynamicist, and my PhD was in CFD, and I think I would kind of agree with him.
"You look at BMW when Albert II was announced as one of the world's biggest supercomputers dedicated just to their CFD. If you look at Enstone, they built their environmentally-friendly CFD centre with a huge computing resource. I don't think these guys are idiots, and they also have wind tunnels.
"I know Bob Bell at Renault very well, he is a clever guy who gave me my first job in F1 and he is a trained aerodynamicist - and I think he thinks you need a wind tunnel. I think CFD is a very exciting technology and it is advancing, but is it an absolute? I don't think there are many people who think it is."
Q and A with Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil only had a handful of laps with the new Force India in the dry yesterday morning before rain hit Jerez - but that was enough to convince him that the VJM03 is the car he's been waiting for.
AUTOSPORT heard from the upbeat German afterwards.
Q. Have you been able to get much of a feeling for the new Force India in the little dry running and the wet laps you've had?
Adrian Sutil: A little bit, yes. It was nice to drive and I think the car is really good. I had a very good feeling straight out of the garage. We did one hour in the dry and did three runs and it gave me a good idea of where we are.
We went through some programmes for the wet, nothing in particular, usually in and out doing aerodynamic testing and things like that and in the end we finished quite early. I stopped on the circuit as I had a bit of an electronic problem, but we have fixed it already. I didn't do too many laps for the day, but it ended up being very wet.
Q. Would you have done much more running without the electronic problem?
AS: We wanted to do some runs in the wet, but it's not so important.
Q. Does the car feel like a nice step forward from last year?
AS: Yes. It looked really good during the winter, the numbers we got were very good and I'm pleased it showed the same performance on the circuit because it's always something else when it runs. It's early days, but I've never had such a good feeling before the season. That's why I'm looking forward to the race.
Q. Tonio Liuzzi said that from what he could tell there is no-one way out front and everyone is reasonable close - would you agree with his assessment?
AS: I think so. It is pretty close. You always see a few cars in testing that are a second faster than anyone else, but normally you know they are a bit lighter. It's nothing to be worried about at this test or in the test at Valencia. There will be a lot of teams at the same level fighting against each other.
Q. What were the wet conditions like for the middle part of the day?
AS: For two or three hours it was a little bit greasy, a bit wet, and you destroyed your normal rain tyres, but it was also too wet for slick tyres. So you just had to wait in the pits for more clear conditions. Later on, it was a clear wet set-up so you could check a full wet set-up. But you need dry running to check the temperatures in the car and you want to see how the tyres are behaving in the long runs.
Q. How different does it feel going into the season with the car on track this early rather than recent years when the car was late and perhaps things were changing in the team?
AS: It feels very good to be well prepared. It's a much better feeling and if you release a car and it works then you start the season very differently. Last year was already a step. We knew we were late and needed to update our car pretty quick, so we were aware that the first few races weren't that strong. But this year could be different. We want to have consistent performance throughout the season from beginning to end and I think we can achieve it.
AUTOSPORT heard from the upbeat German afterwards.
Q. Have you been able to get much of a feeling for the new Force India in the little dry running and the wet laps you've had?
Adrian Sutil: A little bit, yes. It was nice to drive and I think the car is really good. I had a very good feeling straight out of the garage. We did one hour in the dry and did three runs and it gave me a good idea of where we are.
We went through some programmes for the wet, nothing in particular, usually in and out doing aerodynamic testing and things like that and in the end we finished quite early. I stopped on the circuit as I had a bit of an electronic problem, but we have fixed it already. I didn't do too many laps for the day, but it ended up being very wet.
Q. Would you have done much more running without the electronic problem?
AS: We wanted to do some runs in the wet, but it's not so important.
Q. Does the car feel like a nice step forward from last year?
AS: Yes. It looked really good during the winter, the numbers we got were very good and I'm pleased it showed the same performance on the circuit because it's always something else when it runs. It's early days, but I've never had such a good feeling before the season. That's why I'm looking forward to the race.
Q. Tonio Liuzzi said that from what he could tell there is no-one way out front and everyone is reasonable close - would you agree with his assessment?
AS: I think so. It is pretty close. You always see a few cars in testing that are a second faster than anyone else, but normally you know they are a bit lighter. It's nothing to be worried about at this test or in the test at Valencia. There will be a lot of teams at the same level fighting against each other.
Q. What were the wet conditions like for the middle part of the day?
AS: For two or three hours it was a little bit greasy, a bit wet, and you destroyed your normal rain tyres, but it was also too wet for slick tyres. So you just had to wait in the pits for more clear conditions. Later on, it was a clear wet set-up so you could check a full wet set-up. But you need dry running to check the temperatures in the car and you want to see how the tyres are behaving in the long runs.
Q. How different does it feel going into the season with the car on track this early rather than recent years when the car was late and perhaps things were changing in the team?
AS: It feels very good to be well prepared. It's a much better feeling and if you release a car and it works then you start the season very differently. Last year was already a step. We knew we were late and needed to update our car pretty quick, so we were aware that the first few races weren't that strong. But this year could be different. We want to have consistent performance throughout the season from beginning to end and I think we can achieve it.
Friday 12 February 2010
Formula One Circuits 2010
With the expansion of two races since last year; a long overdue return of the Canadian and introduction of Korea to the Grand Prix calendar, provided it is finished to FIA regulations, an important season is in store for 2010. Old teams have folded, old drivers have been encouraged to return, some teams have changed allegiances and some seem as though they will struggle to make the first grid.
In six decades of Formula One racing the number of races contested in a season has varied from 7 to 19 races. The selection of suitable grand prix for the World Championship is dependent on a number of factors which include racetrack safety, television scheduling and crowd attendance.
In recent years Formula One has ventured into the Asian market, leading to several more traditional grand prix events being cancelled in favour of new, innovative races targeted in the Asian market. The rapid expansion of the sport has also led to an expanded racing schedule, with the season extended to incorporate new races.
The 2010 Formula One World Championship includes:
•The Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. 14th March 2010
•The Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. 28th March 2010
•The Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. 4th April 2010
•The Chinese Grand Prix, International circuit in Shanghai. 18th April 2010
•The Spanish Grand Prix, Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. 9th May 2010
•The Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo port district. 16th May 2010
•The Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul Park in Istanbul. 30th May 2010
•The Canadian Grand Prix, Gilles Villeneuve Circuit near Montreal. 13th June 2010
•The European Grand Prix, Valencia port district in Spain. 27th June 2010
•The British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit in England. 11th July 2010
•The German Grand Prix, shared with Hockenheimring and Nürburgring. 25th July 2010
•The Hungarian Grand Prix, Hungaroring circuit in Budapest. 1st August 2010
•The Belgian Grand Prix, Circuit Spa-Francorchamps in Spa. 29th August 2010
•The Italian Grand Prix, Monza circuit in Italy. 12th September 2010
•The Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay circuit in Singapore. 26th September 2010
•The Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka circuit in Suzuka. 10th October 2010
•The Korean Grand Prix, International Circuit at Yeongam. 24th October 2010
•The Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos at Sao Paolo. 7th November 2010
•The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,Yas marina circuit. 14th November 2010
The circuits used to host grand prix play as big a role in the outcome of Formula One races as car performance and driver skill. While track safety has been emphasised in recent years, the addition of street races and night races has managed to keep Formula One racing as exciting as before.
In six decades of Formula One racing the number of races contested in a season has varied from 7 to 19 races. The selection of suitable grand prix for the World Championship is dependent on a number of factors which include racetrack safety, television scheduling and crowd attendance.
In recent years Formula One has ventured into the Asian market, leading to several more traditional grand prix events being cancelled in favour of new, innovative races targeted in the Asian market. The rapid expansion of the sport has also led to an expanded racing schedule, with the season extended to incorporate new races.
The 2010 Formula One World Championship includes:
•The Bahrain Grand Prix, Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. 14th March 2010
•The Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. 28th March 2010
•The Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. 4th April 2010
•The Chinese Grand Prix, International circuit in Shanghai. 18th April 2010
•The Spanish Grand Prix, Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. 9th May 2010
•The Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo port district. 16th May 2010
•The Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul Park in Istanbul. 30th May 2010
•The Canadian Grand Prix, Gilles Villeneuve Circuit near Montreal. 13th June 2010
•The European Grand Prix, Valencia port district in Spain. 27th June 2010
•The British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit in England. 11th July 2010
•The German Grand Prix, shared with Hockenheimring and Nürburgring. 25th July 2010
•The Hungarian Grand Prix, Hungaroring circuit in Budapest. 1st August 2010
•The Belgian Grand Prix, Circuit Spa-Francorchamps in Spa. 29th August 2010
•The Italian Grand Prix, Monza circuit in Italy. 12th September 2010
•The Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay circuit in Singapore. 26th September 2010
•The Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka circuit in Suzuka. 10th October 2010
•The Korean Grand Prix, International Circuit at Yeongam. 24th October 2010
•The Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos at Sao Paolo. 7th November 2010
•The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix,Yas marina circuit. 14th November 2010
The circuits used to host grand prix play as big a role in the outcome of Formula One races as car performance and driver skill. While track safety has been emphasised in recent years, the addition of street races and night races has managed to keep Formula One racing as exciting as before.
Kobayashi hopes podiums are possible
Kamui Kobayashi believes podium finishes could be on the cards in 2010 - but said he could still not be sure exactly where Sauber stood despite its impressive testing times so far.
The Swiss team was second only to Ferrari at Valencia last week, and Kobayashi then jumped to the top of the times with his final lap at Jerez today.
When asked if he felt Sauber could be quick enough to win in 2010, the Japanese driver reckoned his inexperience ruled that out - but said he wants to be in a position to snatch podiums if the big teams falter.
"I'm still a rookie. There are many tracks I don't know in Formula 1 so this makes quite a big difference," said Kobayashi. "Even after three or four hours' practice and qualifying it's still not easy.
"But possibly we have chance for me to have some podiums, but otherwise it's very important to always score points. Not tenth or ninth, always stay like fourth to eighth - this is really important for us. Then maybe if some cars crash or if there is some action, I can have a podium."
Kobayashi was pleased with his time today, especially as he described his fuel load at the time as "not super-light", but was unsure whether his pace was truly representative.
"It's very difficult to say, track conditions are always changing, and with different fuel loads..." Kobayashi said. "Just at the end I had a good time but it's still difficult to say where we are."
"Definitely we have a good position at the moment, but it's still difficult to say where we are. We have to be optimistic and we have to work really hard, focus on improving our car and communicating with the team - and just wait until Bahrain."
The Swiss team was second only to Ferrari at Valencia last week, and Kobayashi then jumped to the top of the times with his final lap at Jerez today.
When asked if he felt Sauber could be quick enough to win in 2010, the Japanese driver reckoned his inexperience ruled that out - but said he wants to be in a position to snatch podiums if the big teams falter.
"I'm still a rookie. There are many tracks I don't know in Formula 1 so this makes quite a big difference," said Kobayashi. "Even after three or four hours' practice and qualifying it's still not easy.
"But possibly we have chance for me to have some podiums, but otherwise it's very important to always score points. Not tenth or ninth, always stay like fourth to eighth - this is really important for us. Then maybe if some cars crash or if there is some action, I can have a podium."
Kobayashi was pleased with his time today, especially as he described his fuel load at the time as "not super-light", but was unsure whether his pace was truly representative.
"It's very difficult to say, track conditions are always changing, and with different fuel loads..." Kobayashi said. "Just at the end I had a good time but it's still difficult to say where we are."
"Definitely we have a good position at the moment, but it's still difficult to say where we are. We have to be optimistic and we have to work really hard, focus on improving our car and communicating with the team - and just wait until Bahrain."
Alonso thrilled with Ferrari reliability
Fernando Alonso thinks that the new Ferrari is a 'very strong' car, judging by its solid start to testing.
Although poor weather at Jerez in Spain this week has made it difficult to read much into the testing times, the good reliability the F10 has shown has left Alonso upbeat about what Ferrari has delivered for this season.
"We keep concentrating on the laps - and the number of laps in these days makes the car very strong," said Alonso. "We've pushed some parts of the car to the limit in terms of mileage.
"So we're happy with the car. We did a lot of laps in the wet on Wednesday and also in the dry so we're happy with that aspect and we'll continue working."
Alonso feels that car is providing good consistency over long stints, which was an area that he was focusing on this week.
Speaking about the different feel of the car over a stint, Alonso said: "It was different, but to be honest with the degradation of the tyres, the balance of the fuel - because every lap you have less and less - at the end of the day the car feels very similar every lap.
"You lose a bit of grip with the tyres, but you gain a little bit with the fuel.
"It was a good test. We put the tyres to the limit. We've been working very closely with Bridgestone to discover the limits of the tyres for this year with heavy cars. It's very useful information.
"As always with tests the priority is to have valid information for the races and I think today we had very good answers on some important things."
He added: "I think the car is feeling quite good, as we felt in Valencia. No big problems. For sure there are some set-up possibilities to find a couple of tenths, but there will be time for that."
Although poor weather at Jerez in Spain this week has made it difficult to read much into the testing times, the good reliability the F10 has shown has left Alonso upbeat about what Ferrari has delivered for this season.
"We keep concentrating on the laps - and the number of laps in these days makes the car very strong," said Alonso. "We've pushed some parts of the car to the limit in terms of mileage.
"So we're happy with the car. We did a lot of laps in the wet on Wednesday and also in the dry so we're happy with that aspect and we'll continue working."
Alonso feels that car is providing good consistency over long stints, which was an area that he was focusing on this week.
Speaking about the different feel of the car over a stint, Alonso said: "It was different, but to be honest with the degradation of the tyres, the balance of the fuel - because every lap you have less and less - at the end of the day the car feels very similar every lap.
"You lose a bit of grip with the tyres, but you gain a little bit with the fuel.
"It was a good test. We put the tyres to the limit. We've been working very closely with Bridgestone to discover the limits of the tyres for this year with heavy cars. It's very useful information.
"As always with tests the priority is to have valid information for the races and I think today we had very good answers on some important things."
He added: "I think the car is feeling quite good, as we felt in Valencia. No big problems. For sure there are some set-up possibilities to find a couple of tenths, but there will be time for that."
FIA to keep fuel weights secret in 2010
The FIA has confirmed there are no plans to publish the starting weights of cars this year, meaning fans will not get an instant glimpse as to which engines are the most fuel-efficient.
Last year, the FIA revealed the weights of cars after qualifying - which showed the different fuel strategies that drivers would be running in the grands prix.
Although there is a ban on refuelling this year, there were some suggestions over the winter that the publication of fuel weights would remain anyway. Had that been the case, then it would have delivered an automatic reference point as to which cars were the most fuel-efficient - as they would carry less fuel than their rivals.
However, in the final version of the 2010 Formula 1 sporting regulations, the FIA has removed the rule that meant the fuel weights were published.
The ban on refuelling will put a greater emphasis on tyre change times this year, and the FIA has moved to stamp out teams using exotic pit machinery to help improve times.
Regulation 23.1 c) states: "Powered devices which assist in lifting any part of a car are forbidden in the pit lane during a race."
The FIA regulations also approve the new points structure (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1), and the fact that those drivers who make it through to Q3 will have to start the race on the same tyres they used to set their best qualifying lap.
There have also been clarifications about the rules relating to the extra test day that teams can have access to in the event of needing a replacement driver in the middle of the season.
The test will only be allowed if the substitute driver has not raced in F1 in the previous two calendar years - and can only take place on a circuit not hosting an F1 race. The test must take place within a period 14 days before and 14 days after the substitution.
Also, if the test takes place and the replacement driver is not needed then the team will have a day of pre-season testing docked from the following year.
There has also been a further tweak of the engine change regulations, relating to what happens if a driver exceeds the maximum eight engines allowed during the season.
The revised 28.4 a) regulation stats: "Should a driver use more than eight engines he will drop ten places on the starting grid at the first Event during which each additional engine is used. If two such additional engines are used during a single Event the driver concerned will drop ten places on the starting grid at that Event and at the following Event."
A new rule has also been imposed stating that if a driver is slow away on the formation lap and loses places, unless he gets back into his original start position by the first safety car line, he will have to start from the pitlane.
In addition, the FIA has confirmed the parts that must be homologated before the start of the 2010 season, and cannot be replaced unless there are proper reliability or safety reasons. They are the survival cell, the principal and second roll structures, front, rear and side impact structures, the front wheel, and the rear wheel.
Last year, the FIA revealed the weights of cars after qualifying - which showed the different fuel strategies that drivers would be running in the grands prix.
Although there is a ban on refuelling this year, there were some suggestions over the winter that the publication of fuel weights would remain anyway. Had that been the case, then it would have delivered an automatic reference point as to which cars were the most fuel-efficient - as they would carry less fuel than their rivals.
However, in the final version of the 2010 Formula 1 sporting regulations, the FIA has removed the rule that meant the fuel weights were published.
The ban on refuelling will put a greater emphasis on tyre change times this year, and the FIA has moved to stamp out teams using exotic pit machinery to help improve times.
Regulation 23.1 c) states: "Powered devices which assist in lifting any part of a car are forbidden in the pit lane during a race."
The FIA regulations also approve the new points structure (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1), and the fact that those drivers who make it through to Q3 will have to start the race on the same tyres they used to set their best qualifying lap.
There have also been clarifications about the rules relating to the extra test day that teams can have access to in the event of needing a replacement driver in the middle of the season.
The test will only be allowed if the substitute driver has not raced in F1 in the previous two calendar years - and can only take place on a circuit not hosting an F1 race. The test must take place within a period 14 days before and 14 days after the substitution.
Also, if the test takes place and the replacement driver is not needed then the team will have a day of pre-season testing docked from the following year.
There has also been a further tweak of the engine change regulations, relating to what happens if a driver exceeds the maximum eight engines allowed during the season.
The revised 28.4 a) regulation stats: "Should a driver use more than eight engines he will drop ten places on the starting grid at the first Event during which each additional engine is used. If two such additional engines are used during a single Event the driver concerned will drop ten places on the starting grid at that Event and at the following Event."
A new rule has also been imposed stating that if a driver is slow away on the formation lap and loses places, unless he gets back into his original start position by the first safety car line, he will have to start from the pitlane.
In addition, the FIA has confirmed the parts that must be homologated before the start of the 2010 season, and cannot be replaced unless there are proper reliability or safety reasons. They are the survival cell, the principal and second roll structures, front, rear and side impact structures, the front wheel, and the rear wheel.
Thursday 11 February 2010
Interview with Sebastien Buemi
Sebastien Buemi set the second fastest time on the wet first day of testing at Jerez on Wednesday, just a tenth of a second shy of the pace-setting Williams of Nico Rosberg.
The Toro Rosso driver played down the significance of the laptimes, but was pleased with the performance of his car on rain tyres.
Buemi shared his thoughts on the first day's running with AUTOSPORT.com.
Q. Were you still able to do any useful testing even with the wet weather?
Sebastien Buemi: We knew that it was going to be like that so we decided to go out as soon as possible in order to have a little bit of dry running. We just had a stint and we were still able to see some small things that were positive for us.
We then went to the wet settings and did most of the day in the wet. We used the extreme and the inters and everything that we wanted to test so we are quite happy with the day.
Q. Obviously the times are meaningless, but is it a nice boost to be second fastest?
SB: We don't really care. What was good was that we were competitive in the rain as well.
Q. Are there many developments on the car since the Valencia test last week?
SB: There are some very small things here and there. I cannot say what. The main thing is that we were able to analyse the data. We had some small issues in Valencia that we were able to solve for this test and we just put everything together from what we have learned in Valencia.
Here, we tested the things we need and on Thursday we will put some new stuff on the car. But the most important thing was to use the maximum out of what we had in Valencia because if you don't know what you had in Valencia because you had some problems and you put new things on straightaway you don't understand well.
Q. Is the fact that you have had no major reliability problems a big source of confidence?
SB: Everybody is improving and this year the changes of regulations are not so big so you still start from the car that you had last year and improve it. It's an evolution, so you don't change everything, and that can explain maybe why reliability is not an issue.
Q. Has developing everything in-house changed the way you test?
SB: Yes, it's quite a big change because before we were just waiting for the updates then making them. Now we have to do everything and it takes a bit of time. Everybody needs to work together and we are quite happy. There is a bit more stress in the briefings, but it's going smoothly at the moment.
Q. Thursday is going to be critical with the dry weather?
SB: We expect it to be dry all day and we will be pushing very hard.
Q. What is the programme for day two if it's dry all day?
SB: We want to test the new things that we brought here and the things that we couldn't test in Valencia because of our first day problem. We also need to understand more about the tyres because we will have the hard and the medium tyres here while we had the soft and the super soft in Valencia.
The Toro Rosso driver played down the significance of the laptimes, but was pleased with the performance of his car on rain tyres.
Buemi shared his thoughts on the first day's running with AUTOSPORT.com.
Q. Were you still able to do any useful testing even with the wet weather?
Sebastien Buemi: We knew that it was going to be like that so we decided to go out as soon as possible in order to have a little bit of dry running. We just had a stint and we were still able to see some small things that were positive for us.
We then went to the wet settings and did most of the day in the wet. We used the extreme and the inters and everything that we wanted to test so we are quite happy with the day.
Q. Obviously the times are meaningless, but is it a nice boost to be second fastest?
SB: We don't really care. What was good was that we were competitive in the rain as well.
Q. Are there many developments on the car since the Valencia test last week?
SB: There are some very small things here and there. I cannot say what. The main thing is that we were able to analyse the data. We had some small issues in Valencia that we were able to solve for this test and we just put everything together from what we have learned in Valencia.
Here, we tested the things we need and on Thursday we will put some new stuff on the car. But the most important thing was to use the maximum out of what we had in Valencia because if you don't know what you had in Valencia because you had some problems and you put new things on straightaway you don't understand well.
Q. Is the fact that you have had no major reliability problems a big source of confidence?
SB: Everybody is improving and this year the changes of regulations are not so big so you still start from the car that you had last year and improve it. It's an evolution, so you don't change everything, and that can explain maybe why reliability is not an issue.
Q. Has developing everything in-house changed the way you test?
SB: Yes, it's quite a big change because before we were just waiting for the updates then making them. Now we have to do everything and it takes a bit of time. Everybody needs to work together and we are quite happy. There is a bit more stress in the briefings, but it's going smoothly at the moment.
Q. Thursday is going to be critical with the dry weather?
SB: We expect it to be dry all day and we will be pushing very hard.
Q. What is the programme for day two if it's dry all day?
SB: We want to test the new things that we brought here and the things that we couldn't test in Valencia because of our first day problem. We also need to understand more about the tyres because we will have the hard and the medium tyres here while we had the soft and the super soft in Valencia.
rules clarification for F1 championship
FIA Formula One World Championship 10/02/2010
Following recent reports on the interpretation of clauses in the Concorde Agreement concerning the concept of a Team's ‘participation’ in the FIA Formula One World Championship, the FIA wishes to make the following clarification:
From a sporting and regulatory point of view, each Team that has registered for the Championship is obliged to take part in every event of the season. Any failure to take part, even for just one Championship event, would constitute an infringement both of the Concorde Agreement and the FIA Regulations.
Following recent reports on the interpretation of clauses in the Concorde Agreement concerning the concept of a Team's ‘participation’ in the FIA Formula One World Championship, the FIA wishes to make the following clarification:
From a sporting and regulatory point of view, each Team that has registered for the Championship is obliged to take part in every event of the season. Any failure to take part, even for just one Championship event, would constitute an infringement both of the Concorde Agreement and the FIA Regulations.
Bridgestone Motorsport announces 2010 F1 tyre specifications
2010 Formula One Tyre Specifications
Bridgestone, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, is pleased to announce the compound allocations of Potenza tyres for the first three rounds of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
This season will be the second with slick tyres which made a return to Formula One last year after eleven years absence from the sport. Changes for 2010 include a narrower front tyre and new constructions front and rear. All four dry compounds are modified from those used last year.
Tyres have two distinct temperature working ranges
Just as in 2009, non consecutive allocations of tyres will occur at many circuits. Despite the changes to the compounds themselves, the compound names remain the same, with the range consisting of hard, medium, soft and super soft. There are two distinct temperature working ranges of tyres. The hard and medium have a higher temperature working range than the soft and super soft.
In a change to the regulations, the number of sets of dry tyres available for each driver at a grand prix changes from seven of each compound to six of the harder ‘prime’ compound and five of the softer ‘option’ compound.
Width the only change to wet and intermediate tyres
The wet and intermediate tyres have no significant changes apart from the width of the front intermediate tyre, which will now be the same as the new dry front tyre.
The means of distinguishing between the two compounds on event will be through means of green bands painted on the edges of the tyre sidewalls of the softer tyres at a race. The wet tyre also has a green line at the bottom of the central groove. These markings allow the compounds to be visually distinguishable by fans at the circuit and those watching on television. The green colour shows Bridgestone’s continued support of the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign.
New importance placed on tyre strategy
“Tyre strategy will be very important in 2010 as there is no longer refuelling which was previously a big factor in determining when pit stops would occur. We have changed all our dry compounds for this season, as the cars will be heavier and the stint lengths could be longer. We have also made changes to enable quicker warm-up times. We will bring harder tyres to Australia than we did last season, but the compound allocation positions for Bahrain and Malaysia are the same as they were in 2009. There will be a big challenge for teams this season on how they use their tyres as they have fewer sets of dry tyres available than before, particularly with the softer tyre at each race. We are happy to continue to show our support of the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign with the green markings on our tyres and we look forward to what should be a very exciting start to the season in Bahrain.”
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Head of Motorsport Tyre Development
Bridgestone, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, is pleased to announce the compound allocations of Potenza tyres for the first three rounds of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
This season will be the second with slick tyres which made a return to Formula One last year after eleven years absence from the sport. Changes for 2010 include a narrower front tyre and new constructions front and rear. All four dry compounds are modified from those used last year.
Tyres have two distinct temperature working ranges
Just as in 2009, non consecutive allocations of tyres will occur at many circuits. Despite the changes to the compounds themselves, the compound names remain the same, with the range consisting of hard, medium, soft and super soft. There are two distinct temperature working ranges of tyres. The hard and medium have a higher temperature working range than the soft and super soft.
In a change to the regulations, the number of sets of dry tyres available for each driver at a grand prix changes from seven of each compound to six of the harder ‘prime’ compound and five of the softer ‘option’ compound.
Width the only change to wet and intermediate tyres
The wet and intermediate tyres have no significant changes apart from the width of the front intermediate tyre, which will now be the same as the new dry front tyre.
The means of distinguishing between the two compounds on event will be through means of green bands painted on the edges of the tyre sidewalls of the softer tyres at a race. The wet tyre also has a green line at the bottom of the central groove. These markings allow the compounds to be visually distinguishable by fans at the circuit and those watching on television. The green colour shows Bridgestone’s continued support of the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign.
New importance placed on tyre strategy
“Tyre strategy will be very important in 2010 as there is no longer refuelling which was previously a big factor in determining when pit stops would occur. We have changed all our dry compounds for this season, as the cars will be heavier and the stint lengths could be longer. We have also made changes to enable quicker warm-up times. We will bring harder tyres to Australia than we did last season, but the compound allocation positions for Bahrain and Malaysia are the same as they were in 2009. There will be a big challenge for teams this season on how they use their tyres as they have fewer sets of dry tyres available than before, particularly with the softer tyre at each race. We are happy to continue to show our support of the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign with the green markings on our tyres and we look forward to what should be a very exciting start to the season in Bahrain.”
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Head of Motorsport Tyre Development
Jerez Test – Day 1 - Toro Rosso
Circuit: Circuito de Jerez – 4.428kms; Driver: Sebastien Buemi; Chassis: STR5-02; Best time: 1:21.031, 84 laps
Formula One’s tour of Southern Spain continues, with the second pre-season test getting underway at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit.
As predicted, rain was a constant factor, falling in varying degrees throughout the day, apart from the first half hour or so.
Sebastien’s best time of the day was set in that dry period and after this, the STR5 had its first taste of running in the wet, so that the day proved to be an effective test of the Bridgestone Intermediates and Extreme Wets.
It’s worth noting that the Intermediates are a new tyre, with the front sharing the same narrow width as the dry tyres. As for the Extremes, these are the same tyres as in 2009, however they are mounted on narrower rims for 2010.
Switching between the two types of tyre, our Swiss driver also evaluated mechanical set-up suited to the wet conditions, as well as carrying out some launch simulations. The car ran reliably all day and the Toro Rosso day ended slightly ahead of the final chequered flag as the entire wet running programme had been completed for the day.
Buemi continues driving tomorrow.
Formula One’s tour of Southern Spain continues, with the second pre-season test getting underway at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit.
As predicted, rain was a constant factor, falling in varying degrees throughout the day, apart from the first half hour or so.
Sebastien’s best time of the day was set in that dry period and after this, the STR5 had its first taste of running in the wet, so that the day proved to be an effective test of the Bridgestone Intermediates and Extreme Wets.
It’s worth noting that the Intermediates are a new tyre, with the front sharing the same narrow width as the dry tyres. As for the Extremes, these are the same tyres as in 2009, however they are mounted on narrower rims for 2010.
Switching between the two types of tyre, our Swiss driver also evaluated mechanical set-up suited to the wet conditions, as well as carrying out some launch simulations. The car ran reliably all day and the Toro Rosso day ended slightly ahead of the final chequered flag as the entire wet running programme had been completed for the day.
Buemi continues driving tomorrow.
Red Bull in action
Mark Webber made steady progress on the first day of Formula 1 testing at Jerez even as the rain set in and threatened to wash out proceedings.
After 50 laps in RB6-01, Webber's best time on the 4.423km Spanihs circuit was 1m 26.502s. Fastest lap honours went to Mercedes' Nico Rosberg with a mark of 1m 20.927s, set before the rain started.
Following its unveiling in the pit lane at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit this morning, the RB6 completed its first day of testing today. Despite continuous rain from around 10am, the team made good progress in the morning as they began working through the new car system checks.
However, an oil leak before lunch led to a precautionary engine change for the RB6 in the afternoon.
“It was great to finally see the car in action after a long winter with no testing,” said Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering. “Everything ran very smoothly this morning and the build of the car was very structured.
"It’s frustrating that a problem with a simple component late morning forced an engine change later in the day, as it cost us quite a lot of time. However, the most disappointing thing today was the weather – it’s good to have a test in the wet, but it’s not ideal when it’s your first.
"We’re hoping for better conditions tomorrow when we will continue working through the new car system checks.”
After 50 laps in RB6-01, Webber's best time on the 4.423km Spanihs circuit was 1m 26.502s. Fastest lap honours went to Mercedes' Nico Rosberg with a mark of 1m 20.927s, set before the rain started.
Following its unveiling in the pit lane at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit this morning, the RB6 completed its first day of testing today. Despite continuous rain from around 10am, the team made good progress in the morning as they began working through the new car system checks.
However, an oil leak before lunch led to a precautionary engine change for the RB6 in the afternoon.
“It was great to finally see the car in action after a long winter with no testing,” said Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering. “Everything ran very smoothly this morning and the build of the car was very structured.
"It’s frustrating that a problem with a simple component late morning forced an engine change later in the day, as it cost us quite a lot of time. However, the most disappointing thing today was the weather – it’s good to have a test in the wet, but it’s not ideal when it’s your first.
"We’re hoping for better conditions tomorrow when we will continue working through the new car system checks.”
Renault F1 Team completed the first of four days testing in Jerez today.
Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera
Length: 4.4 km
Driver Day 1: Vitaly Petrov
Chassis: R30 02
Total Laps: 27
Fastest Lap: 1:25.440
Summary of the day: A dry start to the day lasted for just over half an hour when heavy rain showers hit the circuit. The track remained damp throughout the day and Vitaly completed some wet weather running in the afternoon.
Vitaly Petrov: “The weather was really poor today with lots of rain so we did limited running. I usually enjoy driving in the wet but it was annoying to loose so my much track time to the weather. Hopefully we will have better conditions later in the week.”
Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “The bad weather meant it was a frustrating day for us as we only managed to complete one dry run this morning on scrubbed tyres. We then spent some time doing systems checks in the garage and discovered a small problem with the brake system, which we managed to fix by the end of the day. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Robert [Kubica] will be in the car and fortunately the weather forecast looks a lot better.”
Jerez Test Schedule:
Thursday 11 February: Robert Kubica
Friday 12 February: TBC
Saturday 13 February: TBC
Length: 4.4 km
Driver Day 1: Vitaly Petrov
Chassis: R30 02
Total Laps: 27
Fastest Lap: 1:25.440
Summary of the day: A dry start to the day lasted for just over half an hour when heavy rain showers hit the circuit. The track remained damp throughout the day and Vitaly completed some wet weather running in the afternoon.
Vitaly Petrov: “The weather was really poor today with lots of rain so we did limited running. I usually enjoy driving in the wet but it was annoying to loose so my much track time to the weather. Hopefully we will have better conditions later in the week.”
Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “The bad weather meant it was a frustrating day for us as we only managed to complete one dry run this morning on scrubbed tyres. We then spent some time doing systems checks in the garage and discovered a small problem with the brake system, which we managed to fix by the end of the day. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Robert [Kubica] will be in the car and fortunately the weather forecast looks a lot better.”
Jerez Test Schedule:
Thursday 11 February: Robert Kubica
Friday 12 February: TBC
Saturday 13 February: TBC
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