Many Massa Returns

A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Massa steers the Ferrari around Bahrain during Free Practice. Felipe made his F1 weekend return after sitting out the sport since his accident in Hungary 2009. His performance in testing showed no significant issues, and despite running with a temperature today, he says he’s ready for the first race to begin.

Credit: Bridgestone Corporation

Renault – Barcelona Test Session, Day 4

The Renault F1 Team completed its final day of winter testing in Barcelona with Robert Kubica.

Circuit: Barcelona

Length: 4.6 km

Driver: Robert Kubica

Chassis: R30-03

Total Laps: 107 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:23.175

Summary of the day: Dry and sunny weather in Barcelona gave good testing conditions. The team lost some track time in the morning with a technical problem, but covered good mileage in the afternoon.

Robert Kubica: “In the morning we lost a lot of track time with a technical problem. In the afternoon we tried to do a race distance, which was interrupted, but we did cover a lot of laps. Afterwards we just did a couple more runs for set-up work to try and improve the car a bit more.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “Our final day of testing was a mixed one as we suffered a problem with the gearbox on the installation lap, which limited our running. We managed to get back out at the end of the morning to evaluate some new aero parts and also worked on improving the set-up of the car. For the afternoon we tried to cover a race distance, and although it was interrupted, we did cover the desired number of laps. To end the day we returned to our set-up programme.”

First Grand Prix of 2010
Bahrain 12-14 March

Mercedes GP – Michael Concludes Testing in Barcelona

Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of the MGP W01 car today to conclude this week’s four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and complete his own on-track preparations for the new season.

Michael spent the morning focusing on qualifying simulations and developing the set-up of the car before working on race procedures throughout the afternoon. Michael completed 123 laps with a quickest time of 1:20.745.

Today’s action brings the pre-season test programme to a conclusion after fifteen days of track action in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona during February. With the 2010 Formula One season getting underway in less than two weeks, Michael and Nico Rosberg will next be in action on Friday 12 March for the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher: “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. 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.”

Ross Brawn: “Today brings our pre-season testing programme to its conclusion and overall we are very pleased with the progress made with the MGP W01 and the integration of Michael and Nico into our team. In performance terms, we are not quite where we want to be yet but then again we are not far off. In testing, it is always difficult to be precise about your position relative to the competition, and we have our complete upgrade package due for the first race in Bahrain which should bring further improvements. Michael and Nico have both looked very good during the tests and they are working well together to improve the car.”

Virgin Racing – Barcelona Test – Day 4

Virgin Racing today concluded its three-test, pre-season programme at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, the team’s final day of running ahead of the season curtain-raiser in Bahrain in two weeks’ time.

In consistently warm and dry conditions, Lucas di Grassi completed 49 laps and set a best time of 1:26.160.

The past three weeks have witnessed a monumental effort by the whole team to ensure Virgin Racing arrives in Bahrain in the best possible shape. Despite a few mechanical trials and tribulations along the way, the team takes away many positives from the programme, particularly in the areas of aerodynamic performance and validation.

Nick Wirth, Technical Director for Virgin Racing, commented: “Once again, our running today has been heavily compromised by the reoccurrence of the hydraulic leak. We have new components designed to fix this issue on their way for the Bahrain race and we’re looking forward to putting that particular story behind us. Lucas did manage to conduct some productive race work but we leave Barcelona having never run a qualifying simulation or the super soft tyres that all our competitors are likely to have set their times on. Now both Virgin Racing and Wirth Research have a busy two weeks preparing both race cars and spares for our debut in Bahrain.”

Force India testing concludes in Barcelona

Adrian Sutil brought the Force India F1 Team’s 2010 winter testing programme to a close at the Circuit de Catalunya today. The German ended the testing on a high with the fourth quickest time of the day, 0.139secs behind Lewis Hamilton.

Adrian worked through a full race programme today in anticipation of the start of the 2010 championship in just two weeks’ time. He conducted a race simulation and qualifying runs, in addition to aero and brake work.

With a combined total of approximately 4,000km and 12 days of testing under its belt, the team will now head back to Silverstone to finalise preparations for the Bahrain Grand Prix on 14 March.

Adrian Sutil
I feel like this was the first proper test day for me. We did our long race simulation and I think we can be quite happy and confident. The pace was good, the tyre life was very good, and I was able to run a lot of laps on both the soft and the hard tyres without any problems so both compounds seem to be working really well for us. Also the qualifying sim went well. Speed-wise the car is competitive and we have to show it in Bahrain now.

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
This morning was very windy, and it was affecting the balance of the car quite a lot. We changed our programme because of this, completing some long run evaluations either side of lunch and some performance outings in the afternoon with Adrian. He also tested some different brake materials and some developments for the brake cooling. It was a good day to complete our 2010 winter testing programme, covering 100 laps and signing off our pre-season test objectives. The team has worked extremely hard these past four days and they deserve credit for a very intensive February of running.

Testing data
Driver:   Adrian Sutil
Track:   Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Best lap time:  1:20.611
Laps completed: 100
Kilometres completed: 467km
Air temperature:  High of 19 C
Track temperature: High of 23 C
Weather:  Overcast but no rain

BMW Sauber – Barcelona Test – Day four

On the final day of pre-season testing Kamui Kobayashi was again on duty for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. A gear box problem cost about two hours of track time before lunch. In the afternoon the team tried to catch up with the programme, but had to contend with an early stop to its running. Nevertheless, Technical Director, Willy Rampf, has drawn a positive conclusion after a total of 16 test days.

Weather
Dry track, partly overcast, air 15 – 18 °C, track 15 – 25 °C

Circuit length
4.655 km

Driver
Kamui Kobayashi (JP)

Chassis / engine
BMW Sauber C29-01 / Ferrari

Kilometres today
311.885 km (67 laps)

Fastest lap
1:20.911 min

Kamui Kobayashi:
“We didn’t manage to achieve the expected mileage today because of technical issues. However, for me it was still a good day because we ran through several procedures for the first race weekend. As I said yesterday, these things are very important for me and I can see I’m improving. I feel ready for Bahrain.”

Willy Rampf (Technical Director):
“After the car ran smoothly during the earlier tests, unfortunately our final day of testing was hampered by reliability problems. In the morning it was a shifting problem, which needs to be analysed, and at the end it was a problem in the fuel system. Certainly both can be solved before Bahrain. In Barcelona we have been testing new aero parts, which confirmed the performance we expected after the wind tunnel tests. We also concentrated further on getting the best out of the mechanical set-ups. We have defined the Bahrain package now and feel ready for the season to kick off. The team has four very busy weeks behind it and we are very much looking forward to finally going racing. We are happy with the overall performance of the car, considering the conditions under which the lap times were achieved.”

What comes next
The next time the team will be out on track will be for the first race weekend in Bahrain (12th to 14th March).

Lotus Racing Barcelona Test Day 4 Report

Hot weather in Barcelona provided the backdrop for the final day of testing on track for the Lotus Racing team before the 2010 Formula 1^TM season kicks off in earnest. Heikki Kovalainen took the Lotus Cosworth T127 for its final session as the test season drew to a close and completed a total of 65 laps in the five month old challenger. After some developmental mechanical and weight balance changes, the team were happy to see yet more improvement in the car’s reliability and pace.

Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne remarked “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. 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.”

The test has confirmed Lotus Racing’s belief that they have a reliable car, ready for its debut in Bahrain. Consistency and completion of races are the key goals for the first few Grand Prix, until further aero developments – scheduled for the Barcelona GP – allow the team to begin to flex their muscles and really utilise their experience and talents in the season ahead.

Quotes Roundup – Week Ending 28th February

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

Final Test in Barcelona

The cars get set for their second week of testing…

• “If they did that time with 150 kilos then they were quick. But this time is not the benchmark. It’s early days, and I would not say that any team has made any serious qualifying efforts so far.” Norbert Haug on Red Bull
  
• “I really don’t know where we are, compared to all the other teams. There is such a scatter of lap times and long runs, it is very difficult for me to judge. I think we are quite competitive, but let’s wait.” Pedro de la Rosa
  
• “We are trying to do the best that we can, and then we will find out in Bahrain whether it is enough or not. But to be honest it is never enough, so we are pushing very hard and trying to work as hard as possible in these tests, which are quite crucial for the first few races, and we hope to be ready in Bahrain.” Robert Kubica
  

All About Virgin

The team prepare for the season…

• “Unfortunately when we were running some experimental control settings on the car, which were adversely affecting its handling, this caught Lucas out on the entry to turn nine resulting in a spin and contact with the barrier. We’re going to need to spend the time before tomorrow replacing some broken suspension and wings. We should be back on track tomorrow morning when we hope to really start building up our mileage.” Nick Wirth
  
• “I am thrilled to be joining Virgin Racing. This role offers me a great opportunity to prepare myself for the Formula 1 environment, which is naturally where my longer-term ambitions lie. I look forward to learning from Timo and Lucas as well as soaking up as much information as possible from engineering meetings and time on the simulator.” Andy Soucek
  
• “The way of operating with CFD is just a bit quicker than windtunnel time. A lot of stuff in the windtunnel takes quite a lot of time to make the model and test in the tunnel. That goes much quicker with CFD, but we still have to show people that it is definitely working.” Timo Glock
  

Return of the Michael

Schumacher is ready to race…

• “I cannot make judgements specifically to other teams. At the moment we are not perfectly in the position we would like, to be competitive to win the first races straight away. 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, what is the real picture.” Michael Schumacher
  
• “For me the age doesn’t matter. I don’t feel like what it says on my passport. The guys I am around with, with most of them I still feel like it’s the good old days. It’s no different for me. It’s the challenge of driving the car, fighting with the other guys and going wheel-to-wheel. It’s a specific thing, it’s difficult to put in words.” Michael Schumacher
  
• “We are working very well together. It has taken very little time to work with the team and get on with everybody, they are very good guys. It’s very professional and a good atmosphere. But we have to prove ourselves on track, testing is one thing racing is another thing.” Michael Schumacher
  

Tweets of the Week – 28th February 2010

Pre-season testing concluded this week in Barcelona, allowing teams and drivers to attempt to draw conclusions from their work. Preparations for Bahrai get underway, oh, and Mark Webber joined Twitter!

• On my way to the airport in a taxi, playing golf on my ipod, scored 54 on pebble beach! Wicked eagles all the time, I wish it was real… Heikki Kovalainen
• lot’s of questions about car:I quite like it…also the engine seems strong.Still very dificult to draw a conclusion about the others… Rubens Barrichello
• Good days work still learning loads about new wagon,team performing well,I have the feeling it going to be tight in the middle east!! Mark Webber
• Been note-making all night…my own version of pre-season training. Beats using medicine balls and running up hills!! Nightx Jake Humphrey
• Morning twts ! Today we have breakfast with Sir Richard and he will follow the tests after that. He might have a go on the car later! Hehe Lucas di Grassi
• Right… I am off in search of food and StefanGP’s containers full of spare parts which haven’t been made for cars that haven’t been built. Will Buxton
• Rubens is brilliant. After a full day of track running, he still did an hour & a half of media work for me (and let his supper go cold)! Claire Williams
• I had to dash to hear what Felipe Massa had to say. He says the 2010 Ferrari is consistent and reliable but rules out the team’s advantage Sarah Holt
• The Killers on high volume as Lotus Racing pack down after a very productive test session in Barcelona – bring on Bahrain! Lotus F1 Racing
• Test conclusions: Tyres working well, within predictions. Pretty close between teams. Bahrain is going to be very interesting. Andy Stobart

27-Feb-10: Rosberg Fastest on Day Three of Testing

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Listen to this episode

This is a special F1 Minute for the 27th February 2010 – catching up on the third day of testing in Barcelona.

The rain has held off since Jerez, but it returned to Barcelona today for a couple of hours. Nico Rosberg posted the fastest time of the day in the morning, and the damp track ensured that no one could beat it. Rosberg also completed the most laps with 128, whilst Massa completed 115 back in fifth place. Is it even worth me saying that Virgin Racing completed the least number of laps and Timo Glock was the slowest of the day? Well, that happened, but Vettel also completed a relatively low number of laps with 51. He ended up 8th but most of the Red Bull running was done after the rain came down.

Elsewhere, Michael Schumacher has done some rapid backtracking after proclaiming that Mercedes weren’t ready to be winning any races yet. He said: “”Yesterday I was a little bit pessimistic before I studied the data. I mentioned it after not having studied the data, afterwards it looks much more reasonable than I thought.” Does anyone else think he got told off?

That’s all for today, I’ll be back with another F1 Minute testing special tomorrow.

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