Author Topic: 2012 Grand Prix season (Read 88321 times)

TBWG · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2012, 02:35:11 PM »

Day 2 testing

Michael Schumacher led the way with the "old" while Mark Webber shone for the "new" brigade on day two of the pre-season test at Jerez.

Whereas the returning Kimi Raikkonen and the stepped noses dominated the headlines on the opening day, it was Schumacher and his 2011 W02 that produced the goods on Wednesday.

With Mercedes opting to only introduce their new challenger at the Barcelona test, Schumacher and team-mate Nico Rosberg are putting a developed 2011 chassis through its paces in the south of Spain.

According to the BBC's Lee McKenzie, the Brackley squad are running the old car as "they are trying to hide a clever new front wing they have developed - they don't want their rivals to see it too early".

Schumacher, who was the second busiest man on the track having completed 132 laps, had no problems topping the timesheets as he was the only driver to dip under the 1:18 mark.

Webber, though, proved that there is once again plenty of pace in the new Red Bull as he was only 0.623 off Schumacher's best effort of 1:18.561.

The RB8 was the most impressive of the "new" cars, but Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo kept his Australian compatriot honest most of the time and was a further 0.403 off his pace.

Jules Bianchi, driving for Force India in the morning session before handing over to Paul di Resta in the afternoon, put in a decent shift and his 1:20.221 earned him fourth place with Lotus' Raikkonen completing the top five.

Raikkonen was limited to a handful of laps in the morning after he hit a bump at the end of a kerb and some debris went flying off his car.

Ferrari and McLaren were once again well down the timesheets with Felipe Massa in seventh place with a 1:20.454 and Jenson Button a further 0.234s behind in eighth spot.

"The thing to remember about Ferrari is that this is a revolutionary car for them," Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz reported.

"It's taken them in a direction away from the direction they'd taken in the last few years and with such aggressive concepts as the pullrod suspension and the very tight aero packaging, the team say they have a lot to learn and understand about the new car."

He added: "The team tell us they're not even looking at Webber's 1:19.1s and at present they don't know if they can match it, because that's not the focus of their work. That's reassuring for Ferrari fans, but I'm sure the drivers will be anxious to know where they stand in terms of pace as soon as possible."

McLaren also insisted at the close that it's all about learning.

"Another productive day: 85 laps and a 1m20.688s best. Lots learned today - despite the cold. Lewis already here and raring to go tomorrow!" McLaren's twitter feed read.

Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen was the busiest man, having completed 139 laps, while HRT's Pedro de la Rosa, who is driving a 2011 car, was more than four seconds off the pace with a 1:22.628.

Times
1. M Schumacher Mercedes GP W02 1:18.561 132
2. M Webber Red Bull RB8 1:19.184 +0.623 97
3. D Ricciardo Toro Rosso STR7 1:19.587 +1.026 100
4. J Bianchi Force India VJM-05 1:20.221 +1.660 46
5. K Raikkonen Lotus E20 1:20.239 +1.678 116
6. P di Resta Force India VJM-05 1:20.272 +1.711 67
7. F Massa Ferrari F2012 1:20.454 +1.893 93
8. J Button McLaren MP4-27 1:20.688 +2.127 83
9. S Perez Sauber C31 1:20.711 +2.150 66
10. P Maldonado Williams FW34 1:21.197 +2.636 95
11. H Kovalainen Caterham CT01 1:21.518 +2.957 139
12. P de la Rosa HRT F111 1:22.128 +

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #16 on:** February 10, 2012, 09:38:52 AM »

Day 3

Nico Rosberg goes quickest for Mercedes on third day of F1 testing at Jerez
By Sam Tremayne Thursday, February 9th 2012,

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Jerez testing 2012Nico Rosberg ensured Mercedes ended day three of pre-season testing at Jerez on top, while Romain Grosjean's Lotus was the fastest of the 2012-spec cars.

Times fell little in the afternoon of day three, which was as notable for driver changes as it was for on-track action - Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso among those getting their first taste of their new machines.

Grosjean too made his first appearance in the Lotus E20, but needed little time for adjustment as he got down to a 1m18.419s - the fastest time from a 2012 car thus far in testing – before the midway stage.

That left him a healthy eight tenths clear of his 2012 competition, which was headed by Vettel in the RB8 and Hamilton in the MP4-27.

The Briton had the advantage over Vettel as the unofficial lunch break loomed, but the German found time in what was generally a slower afternoon to jump back in front, ending the day 0.167s ahead of Hamilton.

They were all left trailing by Rosberg however, with the German comfortably fastest on what was Mercedes's final day of testing at Jerez – and the final day for their 2011 car, with this year's challenger set to be introduced at the next test in Barcelona.

Jean-Eric Vergne ended the day fifth fastest for Toro Rosso, just 36 thousandths ahead of Sergio Perez, whose day was interrupted by an oil transmission issue. The Mexican's fastest time was set on medium compounds and in the cold conditions of the early morning.

Those conditions caught out Jules Bianchi, who assumed driving duties in the morning for Force India.

The Frenchman lost the rear end and skipped across the gravel at Sito Pons, bringing out the first of the day's three red flags – the second coming after Giedo van Der Garde beached his car in the gravel and the third just before the chequered flag as Grosjean stopped out on circuit.

Force India was unable to repair the damage, with Nico Hulkenberg therefore unable to take over in the afternoon. He will hope to get his first taste of the car tomorrow as the team scrambles to get parts out from the UK.

A throng of Spanish fans didn't have too much to cheer as home favourite Fernando Alonso could only finish seventh, the Spaniard completing 67 laps in another low-key day for Ferrari.

Bruno Senna in contrast completed 125 laps – the most of any driver – for Williams, ending the day in eighth.

Van der Garde, who was able to rejoin once his car had been recovered, was ninth, with Bianchi – unable to register a time – in tenth.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.613s 118
2. Grosjean Lotus 1m18.419s +0.806 117
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.297s +1.684 96
4. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.464s +1.851 80
5. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.734s +2.121 79
6. Perez Sauber 1m19.770s +2.157 48
7. Alonso Ferrari 1m20.412s +2.799 67
8. Senna Williams 1m21.293s +3.680 125
9. Van der Garde Caterham 1m23.324s +5.711 74

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #17 on:** February 10, 2012, 09:27:25 PM »

Secret Diary of Adrian Newey Aged 53¾: Launch Control

Well, trusty tome, we're almost due to launch the car and there is a palpable air of excitement in the building. The RB8 is about to step out of the shadows. It'll be time to show the world the new fun-loving side of Adrian Newey.

I have to be quite frank with you, diary, people often get the wrong impression about me. They think I'm some soup-obsessive, Carole Vordeman-worshipping, boffin-type technocrat who in spare moments likes nothing better than strapping on a quality double-stitched kagoule, a pair of woolly socks and stout walking boots and rambling on the North York Moors with nothing but an O.S. map and my dear wife.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm only mildly interested in Carole Vorderman and as we'll see in the next few weeks - a bit of a joker.

The fun will all start on February 6th when we launch the new car prior to a carefully structured test programme prepared by our computer 'Deep Thought'. Or as it's known at Milton Keynes - Adrian II. In recent years I have to confess I have been more than a tad cheesed off to see my carefully designed and beautifully executed technical ideas stolen by 'Bob - the Trendy Vicar'* and the Italian mob. So one afternoon I had a little word with Christian.

*Jana called Martin Whitmarsh this once and I'm afraid the nickname has stuck. You could certainly imagine him driving the youth group minibus.

This inestimably cunning plan calls for deception on a grand scale. What we have decided to do is design some god-awful looking car and a similarly useless exhaust system for the first test in 2012. We'll run the car considerably underweight and put rocket fuel on board. The minute it heads to the top of the timesheets we know that the C.A.D. design umpa lumpas back in Woking and Maranello will start copying it and integrate in into their cars while we reveal the real RB8 at Test No.2. Hoot hoot. Most rib-tickling.

Jana heard me chortling into the phone and wanted to know what was so funny. I pointed to the new wall-sized notice board - a little like the old Top Gear Cool Wall - which we have erected in my office. To this we will attach photos of other cars on the grid, highlighting parts of the fake and then the real RB8 that get copied through the season. At one end, the really good rip-offs, and at the other, the shoddy attempts.

Jana studied it with very little emotion then looked at me and said: "Is nice to see new things - are you also going to get soft play area for little boy who drives?"
Now, you know me well by now, faithful paper repository of my thoughts, I'm not easily moved to stern words and thundering rebukes. But I decided I had to take a very hard line with Jana and establish some boundaries.
"I think that... erm...might be a little out of order," I possibly said, "he IS a double World Champion."
"Oh?" she said, the way she does when she knows she has a winning argument. "If he is such grown-up, why does he call car 'Kinky Kylie'?
At this she smiled her 'you have no answer' smile and returned to her desk. No doubt to terrorise someone. I might have to warn Sebastian about that before he comes in next time.

Sebastian has decided he'd like to see how brake disks and pads are constructed and we arranged a trip for him to visit the Brembo factory in Italy. I thought that would be that - the brake box ticked - but now he's quite keen to see how Carbon Industries put theirs together as well, to see if he can find out if there is an advantage he can apply somewhere down the line.

To make it absolutely clear to Mark that we are giving him the same opportunities as Sebastian I rang up the Wild Australian Boy and asked him if he'd like a tour round the Brembo factory to see brake discs being made. I got a reassuring chuckle then; "No, mate."
However there was a pause on the line, when for a second I thought he might be about to change his mind. Then he asked: "Prof, which is our furthest flung supplier?"
I answered that we got some of the ignition technology from a supplier in Japan.
"Great," he said, "I'll tell Sebastian that I'm visiting them on the way out to Melbourne."

In the canteen at lunchtime on Friday and a delicious, overwhelmingly noodly, noodle-based Ka Tieu soup, with shrimp, meatballs and lashings of fried green onions. Though technically it's a broth not a soup. Christian arrived with his usual panini and iPad and grinned at me.
"What's that, shark's fin soup?" he said.
"Good gracious no," I replied, "I would never have shark's fin, even though it is considered by the Chinese as one of the eight treasured foods from the sea."

He tapped on his iPad and looked at me slightly more seriously.
"You know the Ferrari launch?"
"Yes," I chortled, "in the snow. The new Ferrari bobsleigh. Have they decided to combine it with their Wroom event next year?"
"Yes, but you know we had this plan to launch a complete ****brick of a car."
"Yes..."
"They've only gone and beaten us to it. Have a look at this..."
At this he showed me the new F2012 launch pictures. At first glance it looked very square. Like it had been designed by the technicians at Playmobil. We looked at the pictures for some while. At the front, at the side, at the back. But we kept on coming back to the ugly stepped nose.
"Not so much Maranello as Manilow," I mused and got panini spluttered back at me for my troubles.
It will be very interesting to see what Stefano (and Barry) think of our efforts on Monday...

TBWG

John the Traveller · « **Reply #18 on:** February 11, 2012, 01:23:57 PM »

"Jana studied it with very little emotion then looked at me and said: "Is nice to see new things - are you also going to get soft play area for little boy who drives?"

Love it, absolutely spot on!

Cheers,
John

TBWG · « **Reply #19 on:** February 11, 2012, 04:34:03 PM »

Fernando Alonso is fastest for Ferrari as Jerez F1 test comes to an end
By Sam Tremayne Friday, February 10th 2012

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari Fernando Alonso set the fastest time of the day - and the second best by a 2012 car across all four days - as Ferrari ended the pre-season test at Jerez on a positive note.

The Scuderia had struggled to get on top of the radical F2012 during the first three days but, with Alonso at the helm, it rose to the top of the timesheets early on in day four and was never displaced.

Alonso ended with a best of 1m18.877s, set at the start of a six-lap run which also included laps in the 1m19s and 1m20s. It was enough to put him seven tenths clear of the day four field, with only Romain Grosjean on the previous day able to go faster in this year's new breed of cars.

Alonso was, however, only able to set two timed laps after 11.00 CET as Ferrari grappled with a hydraulic issue that restricted its afternoon programme.

Jean-Eric Vergne hung on to second despite a late rally from Sebastian Vettel in the RB8, which had been beset by electrical issues in the morning.

Vergne finished his second day for Toro Rosso with a 1m19.597s, nine thousandths quicker than Vettel's benchmark, set in the afternoon when conditions were not at their prime.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, just 34 thousandths of a second down the road in McLaren's MP4-27.

Romain Grosjean did not get down to his day three benchmark, but did enough to end the day in fifth with a 1m19.729s.

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, taking over from Sergio Perez for the final day, sealed sixth with a 1m19.834s. A hydraulic leak on the C31 brought about one of several short red flag periods, although the team was able to repair the car and return to the track before the day's end.

Nico Hulkenberg, Bruno Senna and Jarno Trulli rounded out the day's running order.

Hulkenberg, getting his first taste of the new Force India after a planned run on Thursday afternoon was scuppered by Jules Bianchi's crash, completed 90 laps and was the last driver to break the 1m20s barrier.

Senna managed an impressive 124 laps on his way to eighth fastest. The Brazilian's day included 25 and 37-lap stints, and also featured a stoppage on track from which he and the car were quickly recovered.

Trulli, the day's other newcomer over at Caterham, completed 117 laps and finished with a best of 1m22.198s, just over three seconds down on Alonso.

TODAY'S TIMES

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s 39
2. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +0.720 80
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.606s +0.729 50
4. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.640s +0.763 86
5. Grosjean Lotus 1m19.729s +0.852 95
6. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +0.957 76
7. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +1.100 90
8. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +1.255 125
9. Trulli Caterham 1m22.198s +3.321 117

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #20 on:** February 11, 2012, 09:42:58 PM »

Jerez Formula 1 test round-up
By Sam Tremayne Saturday, February 11th 2012,

Great anticipation surrounds the start of pre-season Formula 1 testing. With teams working from a blank canvas over the winter, there is no form book or established order. Instead there is unpredictability and expectation, great assets in any sport.

Everything must, of course, be measured against the well-beaten truism that testing can be misleading at best, and impossible to decipher at worst. Here's how the four days at Jerez panned out...

Day One

Raikkonen quickly won over his new colleaguesAs a number of teams officially unveiled their 2012 challengers, it was a returning champion who proved the revelation on day one. Kimi Raikkonen, fresh from a two-year spell in the World Rally Championship, was in good form away from the track and looked even better on it. Four fast stints in the morning put him top and he was never displaced, his 1m19.670s lap the early benchmark at Jerez.

Paul di Resta was the only man able to join Raikkonen in the sub 1m20s bracket in his Force India, although Nico Rosberg - in the 2011-spec Mercedes, blown diffuser and all – came close.

After a morning spent waiting for parts - the plane they were being transported on couldn't land at Jerez due to fog - Mark Webber enjoyed a more fruitful afternoon, putting the new RB8 fourth fastest ahead of his fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso. McLaren and Ferrari meanwhile made low-key starts – Jenson Button finishing eighth and Felipe Massa ninth. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham), Pastor Maldonado (Williams) and Pedro de la Rosa in the 2011 HRT rounded out the running order.

Day Two

Michael Schumacher, MercedesMichael Schumacher set the outright pace for Mercedes on the second day, but the more significant performance came from Mark Webber, whose Red Bull was the fastest of the 2012 machines. Webber also managed 97 laps on what was a promising day for the squad. Ricciardo, on his second day for Toro Rosso, was the only driver to get within a second of Webber's benchmark.

Force India reserve driver Jules Bianchi - driving in the morning only - wound up fourth fastest ahead of day one pace-setter Raikkonen – the Finn losing much of the morning after running through the gravel at Curva Dry Sac. Di Resta then took the reins of the VJM05 and ended the day sixth ahead of Massa and Button. Sergio Perez took over Sauber duties from Kamui Kobayashi and was ninth, ahead of Maldonado. Kovalainen meanwhile got to use KERS on the Caterham for the first time, ending 11th ahead of de la Rosa.

Day Three

Nico Rosberg, MercedesThe third day was as notable for driver changes as it was for on-track action, with Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso among those getting their first taste of the 2012 machines. Nico Rosberg kept Mercedes on top, meaning that - for once - second place was of more significance. The spot was claimed in emphatic fashion by Romain Grosjean, who lapped in 1m18.419s on his first day in the Lotus. The time would stand as the fastest any 2012 car achieved across the four days.

Vettel was the only driver to get within a second of Grosjean, with Hamilton's MP4-27 less than 0.2s down the road in fourth. Jean-Eric Vergne - another newcomer - was fifth for Toro Rosso ahead of Perez's Sauber, which was afflicted by an oil transmission issue. A partisan crowd watched as Alonso continued Ferrari's low-key start by ending up seventh, ahead of the day's final newcomers Bruno Senna (Williams) and (reserve) Caterham driver Giedo van der Garde. Bitter morning conditions meanwhile proved the undoing of Force India: Bianchi's gravelly excursion at Curva Sito Pons bringing the team's day to a premature and frustrating end.

Day Four

Alonso says Ferrrai only understands 20% of the new F2012Alonso turned the tables on a difficult start to pre-season testing for Ferrari by topping the timesheets on the fourth and final day at Jerez. The Spaniard set the second fastest time by a 2012 car early in the morning, and while his running was disrupted in the afternoon he was never displaced.

His 0.7s advantage was all the more impressive given the condensed order behind him. Vergne hung on to second despite pressure from Vettel, who responded to electrical issues in the morning with a 1m19.606s in afternoon conditions less conducive to quick times.Hamilton, Grosjean and Kobayashi all got within a second of Alonso, with the Sauber a culprit of one of several short red flag periods when it sprang a hydraulic leak. Nico Hulkenberg was seventh fastest on his first day in the Force India, with Senna and Jarno Trulli completing the order as the sun set on the first pre-season test.

COMBINED JEREZ TIMES

Pos Driver Team Best time Total laps
1. Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.613s 174
2. Grosjean Lotus 1m18.419s +0.806 212
3. Schumacher Mercedes 1m18.561s +0.948 174
4. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s +1.264 106
5. Webber Red Bull 1m19.184s +1.571 151
6. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.297s +1.684 146
7. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.464s +1.851 166
8. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m19.587s +1.974 157
9. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +1.984 159
10. Raikkonen Lotus 1m19.670s +2.057 192
11. Perez Sauber 1m19.770s +2.157 116
12. Di Resta Force India 1m19.772s +2.159 170
13. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +2.221 182
14. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +2.364 90
15. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +2.519 250
16. Bianchi Force India 1m20.221s +2.608 46
17. Massa Ferrari 1m20.454s +2.841 164
18. Button McLaren 1m20.688s +3.075 147
19. Maldonado Williams 1m21.197s +3.584 122
20. Kovalainen Caterham 1m21.518s +3.905 167
21. De la Rosa HRT 1m22.128s +4.515 108
22. Trulli Caterham 1m22.198s +4.585 117
23. Van der Garde Caterham 1m23.324s +5.711 74

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #21 on:** February 18, 2012, 02:49:43 PM »

The 2012 grid according to TBWG

Well thats the final part of the puzzle in place ~~~ Russian in Eyetie out! So no Italians on the grid for 2012!

As I suspected Trulli was past his sell by date and has been replaced by a Russian with a wheelbarrow full of roubles. To be fair Petrov put in a few decent drives last year so deserves to be on the grid, let's hope he justifies his place in the Caterham team.

Red Bull Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber

McLaren Jenson Button Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari Fernando Alonso Phillipe Massa

Mercedes Nico Rosberg Micheal Schumacher

Lotus Renault Kimi Raikkonen Romain Grosjean

Force India Paul DiResta Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber Kamui Koybayashi Sergio Perez

Scuderia Lollo Rosso Daniel Ricciardo Jean-Eric Vergne

Williams Bruno Senna Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1 Heikki Kovalainen Vitaly Petrov

HRT Pedro De La Rosa Narain Karthikeyan

Maurussia Timo Glock Charles Pic

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #22 on:** February 22, 2012, 09:13:29 AM »

Vettel leads the way
by Joe Saward

Sebastian Vettel set the pace on the first day of the second official winter test, which takes place this week in Barcelona. The German lapped the circuit in 1m23.265s, completing a total of 79 laps. This was nearly two-tenths of a second ahead of the Force India of Nico Hülkenberg, who did 97 laps and was just a tenth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the new McLaren. The British driver did 114 laps in the course of the day. His time was just faster than the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo, who completed 76 laps. The team worked on evaluating several set-up configurations with various fuel loads. The day was cut short with a technical problem that stopped the car out on track and with only one hour of the day remaining.

There was then a gap back to Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, which clocked a 1m24.100s in the course of 75 laps. The team said that the Spaniard was continuing with "the tasks of development and data acquisition relating to the behaviour of the new car". This was a tenth faster than Michael Schumacher in the new Mercedes, which completed just 51 laps.

"My initial feelings with our new car are certainly good," said Schumacher. "I'm happy with the different evaluations that we have done over the last week, but obviously with the rule changes, we won't know more until later. It's certainly an improvement and we have worked hard on the areas we had defined last year. The aerodynamics figures look good so I'm not worried about the shape of the nose! Even though we had the hydraulic problem today, I'm pleased with all the mileage we have achieved so far with the new car."

Seventh fastest was Sauber's Sergio Perez, who did only 66 laps and set a best of 1m24.219s. The team was rather vague about the problems in the morning, but had a broken rear anti-roll bar in the afternoon

There was then a big gap back to Bruno Senna, who did 97 laps but recorded only a 1m25.711s. The team said that it was "working successfully through a detailed aero correlation test programme in the morning before moving on to car set-up optimisation". Valtteri Bottas takes over tomorrow.

Senna's time was three-tenths ahead of Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham, which had a troubled time and did just 31 laps,

“That obviously wasn’t how we wanted day one here to go, but that’s what testing is for – pushing everything to the limit to make sure we get rid of the problems before we get to the first race," said The Finn. "It’s hard to learn a lot from limited laps, but I’m back in the car on Friday and I’m sure we’ll be able to push on with the program between now and then and make sure we get as much as we can out of the next three days on track.”

The problem was a rear track rod failure.

Lotus F1 Team had a bad day with Romain Grosjean stopping after just seven laps in a brand new chassis. The team concluded that there was a serious problem and the cra was sent back to the UK. The original E20 will now be flown out to Jerez for the test tomorrow.

“We completed a few aero runs and then started timed runs, but I was very quickly aware that the car wasn’t responding as it should," said Grosjean. "It’s not ideal to lose track time, but fortunately we will have the chassis which ran perfectly in Jerez so I should get some good track time tomorrow.

Charles Pic rounded off the runners with 121 laps in the 2011 Marussia Virgin, setting a best lap of 1m28.026s, but getting plenty of mileage under his belt.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #23 on:** February 23, 2012, 08:24:58 AM »

Nico Hulkenberg puts Force India on top on day two of F1 testing at Barcelona
By Sam Tremayne Wednesday, February 22nd 2012,

Nico Hulkenberg's morning efforts were enough to ensure Force India topped the second day of pre-season testing.

With the sun at its zenith in the afternoon, teams opted to pursue long-run programmes rather than chase outright times, and there was therefore little change to the morning's order.

Fernando Alonso in the F2012 was one of the rare movers, as a late 1m23.180s - set in the final 30 minutes - moved Ferrari up to fourth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso.

The Australian was not able to register a lap until the final minutes of the afternoon, when he banged in two mid-1m25s.

Valtteri Bottas and Charles Pic were the only other drivers to ostensibly improve – the Finn registering a 1m25.738s and the Frenchman a 1m27.343s. Neither improved in the order however, staying eighth and tenth respectively.

There was still plenty to be learned though, not least from the fact that Red Bull and McLaren were both able to complete almost full race simulations runs - a useful indicator that they are fairly comfortable with their 2012 challengers.

Red Bull's performance was in stark contrast to the morning, where it managed just 31 laps, the least of any team. In the afternoon it completed a 67-lap run broken only by pitstops, with Vettel switching between tyre compounds throughout.

His run coincided with Hamilton's, with the pair at one point the only two on track and separated by less than a second – Vettel eventually working his way past after spending several laps tucked up behind the MP4-27.

Hamilton ended the day with 121 laps completed, one of five drivers – Vettel, Nico Hulkenberg, Bottas and Pic the other four – to break into triple figures.

It was Hulkenberg who ended the day on top however courtesy of a late lap in the morning session, set on Pirelli's super soft compounds.

Sergio Perez, who finished just four hundredths of a second down the road, and Ricciardo also set their best times on the red-painted rubber.

Vettel's afternoon runs married with strong pace in the morning, with the German setting the pace until Hulkenberg and Perez's late runs.

He ended the day third fastest, ahead of Alonso, Ricciardo and Hamilton.

Nico Rosberg was the last driver to get within two seconds of Hulkenberg as he got to grips with Mercedes W03 for the first time in public.

Bottas, Petrov and Pic rounded out the day's order, with Lotus deciding to abandon the test after discovering chassis problems on the opening day.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.608s 112
2. Perez Sauber 1m22.648s +0.040 85
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m22.891s +0.283 104
4. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.180s +0.572 87
5. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.639s +1.031 48
6. Hamilton McLaren 1m23.806s +1.198 121
7. Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.555s +1.947 82
8. Bottas Williams 1m25.738s +3.130 117
9. Petrov Caterham 1m26.605s +3.997 69
10. Pic Marussia 1m27.343s +4.735 108

TBWG · « **Reply #24 on:** February 24, 2012, 08:52:13 AM »

Pastor Maldonado quickest for Williams on day three of Barcelona F1 testing
By Sam Tremayne Thursday, February 23rd 2012,
Pastor Maldonado's late morning run was enough to keep Williams at the top of the timesheets as the third and penultimate day of pre-season testing in Barcelona drew to a close.

Long runs were once again the order of the day in the afternoon, with Michael Schumacher delivering the most extensive - a 59-lap stint on only the third public day of testing for Mercedes's W03.

Vitaly Petrov was the only driver to improve upon is morning benchmark, as a switch to Pirelli's super soft rubber yielded a 1m26.448s in the final 15 minutes. He stayed tenth however, just over four seconds down on Maldonado.

The Venezuelan likewise set his best time - the fastest seen so far in Barcelona – on the red super soft compound, lapping the circuit in 1m22.391s in the more advantageous morning conditions.

Schumacher's afternoon work took him to 127 laps for the day, the most by any driver. He ended second fastest as a result of his morning pace, just over nine tenths down on Maldonado.

Kamui Kobayashi was next up for Sauber, completing 99 laps in the C31.

Jenson Button was the last driver to dip under the 1m24s bracket in the morning, while in the afternoon he managed a total of 74 laps – often in individual stints of around ten laps, punctuated by short stops in the garage.

Jean-Eric Vergne finished fifth for Toro Rosso, ahead of Mark Webber in the Red Bull and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari – the latter pair sharing the exact same time of 1m24.771s.

Massa brought the day to a slightly premature halt when he stopped on the exit of the pitlane two minutes from the end. Mark Webber had earlier stopped out on track at Turn 8, one of several short red flag interludes.

Paul di Resta, taking over from yesterday's pacesetter Nico Hulkenberg at Force India, set the eighth fastest time, ahead of Timo Glock in the 2011-spec Marussia.

Despite his afternoon improvement Vitaly Petrov rounded out the day's runners in the Caterham CT 01.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Maldonado Williams 1m22.391s 106
2. Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.384s +0.993 127
3. Kobayashi Sauber 1m23.582s +1.191 99
4. Button McLaren 1m23.918s +1.527 114
5. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m24.433s +2.042 78
6. Webber Red Bull 1m24.771s +2.380 97
7. Massa Ferrari 1m24.771s +2.380 84
8. Di Resta Force India 1m25.646s +3.255 83
9. Glock Marussia 1m26.173s +3.782 108
10. Petrov Caterham 1m26.448s +4.057 70

TBWG · « **Reply #25 on:** February 25, 2012, 12:35:24 PM »

Kamui Kobayashi fastest as first Barcelona F1 test ends
By Sam Tremayne Friday, February 24th 2012,

Kamui Kobayashi put Sauber at the top of the timesheets as Formula 1's second pre-season test closed.

The Japanese driver managed a 1m22.312s on Pirelli's soft compound in the final hour of the morning, the fastest time set over all four days in Barcelona.

Having ended the morning fastest, Kobayashi's time came under little threat in the afternoon as teams followed the established pattern of focusing on long runs.

The same was true of Pastor Maldonado, who got within a quarter of a second of Kobayashi in the morning before focusing purely on long runs in the afternoon - in the process racking up 131 laps over the course of the day.

Paul di Resta was the only driver to move up the order in the final session, as a switch to supersoft rubber produced a 1m23.119s - enough to demote Jenson Button and claim third.

Di Resta brought about one of the day's three red flags when he went off into the gravel on the outside of Campsa during the morning. The second and third came in the final 15 minutes, as a result of 'out of fuel' runs for Sauber and McLaren respectively.

McLaren driver Button was the last driver to get within a second of Kobayashi, although the Briton set his fastest time relatively early on in the morning on hard tyres.

Like Button and the three drivers ahead in the timesheets, Felipe Massa's lap chart also broke into triple figures. The Brazilian ended the day fifth fastest in the F2012, and completed several runs of around 13 laps each in the afternoon.

Mark Webber and Jean-Eric Vergne both added to their lap counts in the afternoon, but with neither improving their times, stayed sixth and seventh, separated by just 0.018s.

Nico Rosberg achieved 139 laps during the day, second only to Kobayashi, after completing a full race simulation in the morning and several shorter runs in the afternoon.

The German ended the day eighth fastest, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen in the Caterham CT 01.

The Finn's day was interrupted by an electrical problem that forced the team to make an engine change, but he was eventually able to complete 70 laps. His best time came late in the afternoon.

A suspension problem meant Marussia was unable to complete a lap on the final day of testing for its 2011 car; the new MR 01 set to be unveiled in time for the third and final pre-season test.

Friday's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.312s 145
2. Maldonado Williams 1m22.561s +0.249 134
3. Di Resta Force India 1m23.119s +0.807 101
4. Button McLaren 1m23.200s +0.888 115
5. Massa Ferrari 1m23.563s +1.251 103
6. Webber Red Bull 1m23.774s +1.462 85
7. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m23.792s +1.480 92
8. Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.843s +1.531 139
9. Kovalainen Caterham 1m26.968s +4.656 70

TBWG · « **Reply #26 on:** March 02, 2012, 08:51:01 AM »

Romain Grosjean quickest for Lotus on day one of F1 testing at Barcelona
By Andrew van Leeuwen Thursday, March 1st 2012,

Romain Grosjean made sure Lotus' return to testing was a positive one by going fastest on day one of the final pre-season Formula 1 test in Barcelona.

The Frenchman waited until there was less than 30 minutes remaining for the day before he set the benchmark time of 1m23.252s, using a set of Pirelli's soft tyres to eclipse Jenson Button's fastest time from the morning's session.

Faster times were a rarity in the afternoon sessions, with teams opting to use the stable track conditions to go for longer runs. Grosjean was one of only two drivers to improve after lunch, the other being Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber.

However, Webber was only able to shave a tenth off his best morning time, leaving him behind Button and Perez - both with morning times – in fourth for the day.

Behind Webber it was Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes driver the busiest of the day with 128 laps for the day, mostly completed over long stints. Jean-Eric Vergne was sixth fastest, with Toro Rosso dedicating much of the last hour to pitstop practice.

Felipe Massa had a busy afternoon, eventually completing 105 laps for the day, despite a lengthy stay in the pits after lunch. However, his best time was only good enough for eighth.

Vitaly Petrov, subbing for the ill Heikki Kovalainen, was the second busiest man of the day, putting the new Caterham through 123 laps.

His reward was avoiding the bottom of the time sheets, with Petrov ending the day 0.711s clear of Pastor Maldonado, the Williams driver completing the least number of laps for the day with just 58.

Testing resumes tomorrow at Barcelona.

Today's times

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Grosjean Lotus 1m23.252s 73
2. Button McLaren 1m23.510s +0.258 64
3. Perez Sauber 1m23.820s +0.568 118
4. Webber Red Bull 1m23.830s +0.578 102
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.992s +0.740 128
6. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m24.216s +0.964 113
7. Di Resta Force India 1m24.305s +1.053 98
8. Massa Ferrari 1m24.318s +1.066 105
9. Petrov Caterham 1m24.876s +1.624 123
10. Maldonado Williams 1m25.587s +2.335 58

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #27 on:** March 03, 2012, 10:32:16 AM »

$

Romain Grosjean fastest again on second day of F1 testing at Barcelona
By Andrew van Leeuwen Friday, March 2nd 2012,

Romain Grosjean has become the first driver to go fastest on two separate days in pre-season Formula 1 testing, topping the times on the second day in Barcelona.

Having been third fastest in the morning session, Grosjean was busy after lunch, completing a full 60-lap race simulation in the Lotus, using Pirelli's soft and hard compounds.

He backed that up with a series of fast laps, setting the benchmark time of 1m22.614s with just minutes remaining, on a set of soft tyres.

Jean-Eric Vergne ended the day second, despite not completing a flying lap following the lunch break. The Toro Rosso stopped and briefly caught fire with an engine problem right before lunch in Barcelona, bringing out the red flag.

While a full race simulation was planned for the afternoon session, the STR7 didn't appear again until within half an hour of the session's end, and was restricted to pitstop practice.

Neither Vergne nor Grosjean will be back in their respective cars for the rest of the test, with Daniel Ricciardo set to take over for Toro Rosso tomorrow, and Kimi Raikkonen jumping into the Lotus.

Sebastian Vettel was one of the big movers of the afternoon session, improving to a 1m23.361s to jump from fourth to third.

Behind Vettel it was Fernando Alonso, who didn't improve on his morning time, focussing instead on a full race simulation using soft and medium compound tyres.

Heikki Kovalainen was fifth thanks to a run on the supersofts, while Kamui Kobayashi improved to sixth before spending most of the afternoon in the pits, the Sauber sidelined by a hydraulic leak.

It was a similar story for seventh-placed Nico Hulkenberg, his Force India stopping with a drive-line problem just minutes after lunch and never reappearing.

Michael Schumacher improved his time slightly, but still finished the day eighth, while Lewis Hamilton failed to improve, finishing ahead of the Williams pair of Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Grosjean Lotus 1m22.614s 123
2. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m23.126s +0.512 31
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m23.361s +0.747 85
4. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.447s +0.833 124
5. Kovalainen Caterham 1m23.828s +1.214 104
6. Kobayashi Sauber 1m23.836s +1.222 77
7. Hulkenberg Force India 1m23.893s +1.279 33
8. Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.978s +1.364 79
9. Hamilton McLaren 1m24.111s +1.497 65
10. Senna Williams 1m24.925s +2.311 48
11. Maldonado Williams 1m25.801s +3.187 20

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #28 on:** March 04, 2012, 08:38:54 PM »

Jeez this testing goes on a bit!!

Sergio Perez on top for Sauber at end of third day of final winter Formula 1 test
By Jamie O'Leary Saturday, March 3rd 2012,

Sergio Perez remained on top of the timesheets for Sauber on day three of the final pre-season Formula 1 test at Barcelona on Saturday, despite not improving on his morning mark.

The Mexican, who had reached the lunchbreak on top thanks to his 1m22.094s lap on soft Pirelli rubber, joined most of the rest of the field in concentrating on race simulations with heavy fuel loads during the afternoon.

Jenson Button was one of the few drivers not to undertake a long run in the afternoon. The McLaren driver made the most of medium compound tyres and a lower fuel load to climb to second place, only 0.009 seconds adrift of Perez.

Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) completed the most laps of anybody - 130 - and this included an impressive 35-lap stint on a succession of sets of soft tyres. A further run of a similar distance was shortened by the onset of mid-afternoon rain. The track did not dry enough to enable anybody to switch back to slicks before the end of the day.

Felipe Massa was fourth fastest in the Ferrari and was, like Ricciardo, one of the few to take to the track on intermediate rubber during the height of the rain. Paul di Resta was next up for Force India, the British driver just managing to finish his 52-lap race simulation as the rain began to fall.

There was only one flag during the afternoon, caused when Bruno Senna stopped on the approach to the La Caixa hairpin. The Williams driver was sixth fastest.

Behind him were Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham and the Red Bull of Mark Webber - which completed just a single run of more than five laps during the entire day.

Propping up the timesheets were Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg and Lotus man Kimi Raikkonen. The 2007 world champion lost over an hour during the morning while an issue with his steering was rectified and only completed 43 laps during the day.

TODAY'S TIMES

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Perez Sauber 1m22.094s 114
2. Button McLaren 1m22.103s +0.009 44
3. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m22.155s +0.061 131
4. Massa Ferrari 1m22.413s +0.319 122
5. Di Resta Force India 1m22.446s +0.352 108
6. Senna Williams 1m22.480s +0.386 111
7. Kovalainen Caterham 1m22.630s +0.536 64
8. Webber Red Bull 1m22.662s +0.568 70
9. Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.932s +0.838 129
10. Raikkonen Lotus 1m25.379s +3.285 43

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #29 on:** March 05, 2012, 08:28:28 PM »

Well thats your lot final day blurb!

Kimi Raikkonen quickest as F1 winter testing comes to an end at Barcelona
By Jamie O'Leary Sunday, March 4th 2012,

Kimi Raikkonen ensured that Lotus finished pre-season Formula 1 testing on top as nobody was able to beat his morning time on the final afternoon at Barcelona.

Most of the field spent the afternoon focusing on race simulations, meaning that Raikkonen's 1m22.030s lap, set inside the final 20 minutes of the morning, was unlikely to come under fire.

The Lotus driver's race simulation was among the most impressive of the day as he completed a 65-lap run on four sets of Pirelli tyres; three soft, one hard. During these stints he suffered performance drop-off of no more than 1.8s on any given set of tyres.

While his drop-off figures were the best of the race simulations, his overall pace was still shy of Lewis Hamilton's McLaren, which seemed to have a 0.2s advantage on any given lap of a stint.

With nobody improving, Fernando Alonso retained second spot in the times - 0.220s down on Raikkonen.

The Ferrari driver's race run was affected by a couple of red flags caused by Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber - which suffered an engine problem and stopped between Turns 4 and 5 – and Vitaly Petrov's Caterham, which took a trip through the gravel at Turn 4 with half an hour to go.

Bruno Senna remained third overall, despite the Brazilian being replaced by his team-mate Pastor Maldonado for the afternoon. Maldonado completed 48 laps – which included two stints on supersofts – putting him ninth.

Nico Hulkenberg's Force India and Kobayashi were next up, ahead of Hamilton, Petrov and Michael Schumacher's Mercedes, which focused on a succession of 10-lap runs on soft tyres.

Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel brought up the tail of the field. Vettel completed just six laps right at the end of the day; his RB8 having to be cured of gearbox problems that had also restricted his morning running.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Lotus 1m22.030s 121
2. Alonso Ferrari 1m22.250s +0.220 115
3. Senna Williams 1m22.296s +0.266 53
4. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.312s +0.282 101
5. Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.386s +0.356 72
6. Hamilton McLaren 1m22.430s +0.400 115
7. Petrov Caterham 1m22.795s +0.765 101
8. Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.939s +0.909 100
9. Maldonado Williams 1m23.347s +1.317 48
10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.393s +1.363 100
11. Vettel Red Bull 1m23.608s +1.578 23

Well the next appearance is Melbourne when the Bu***hit stops

TBWG

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