Pre-season testing, Jerez, 10th - 13th Feb

[52Paddy]

Improved his form? he's actually very concerned about his car's "lack of pace" makes me suggest his times yesterday and today were set on fumes and super softs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/9395888.stm

Yup! You're right about that. That's why it's dangerous to speculate purely from times

[Zico]

Yup! You're right about that. That's why it's dangerous to speculate purely from times

or... he has his excuses already made?


but yeah, you are right, these times obviously dont mean much atall.

[DazzlaF1]

The Jerez test is over and here's the full list for the 4 days (3rd drivers from Day 1 not included)

1. Rubens Barrichello - Williams ................ 1m 19.832 (202 laps)
2. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes ................ + 0.520 (226 laps)
3. Nick Heidfeld - Renault ................ + 0.529 (86 laps)
4. Felipe Massa - Ferrari ................ + 0.581 (217 laps)
5. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari ................ + 0.661 (246 laps)
6. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber ................ + 0.769 (170 laps)
7. Jenson Button - McLaren ................ + 1.177 (139 laps)
8. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren ................ + 1.267 (94 laps)
9. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso ................ + 1.381 (182 laps)
10. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso ................ + 1.382 (114 laps)
11. Bruno Senna - Renault ................ + 1.568 (68 laps)
12. Sergio Perez - Sauber ................ + 1.651 (150 laps)
13. Mark Webber - Red Bull ................ + 1.690 (207 laps)
14. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull ................ + 1.742 (188 laps)
15. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus ................ + 1.800 (104 laps)
16. Adrian Sutil - Force India ................ + 1.948 (101 laps)
17. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes ................ + 2.271 (112 laps)
18. Timo Glock - Virgin ................ + 2.376 (99 laps)
19. Vitaly Petrov - Renault ................ + 2.661 (122 laps)
20. Pastor Maldonado - Williams ................ + 2.759 (51 laps)
21. Paul di Resta - Force India ................ + 3.113 (163 laps)
22. Jerome d'Ambrosio - Virgin ................ + 3.153 (117 laps)
23. Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus ................ + 3.384 (94 laps)

[Sonic]

Finally! Williams have a trouble free day. The headline grabbing times can be viewed however you want but there was a great long run on heavy fuel with consistent times and decent pace.

[CaptainRaiden]

Barrichello's chart topping time is certainly impressive. The only man to go below the 1:20 mark. But we'd never really know how much of that was real pace.

So far Ferrari looks comfortable, so does Red Bull, and Mclaren is consistently around the top as well, with Mercedes and Williams springing some surprise at the end. However, with Schumacher's concern about the lack of pace, I wouldn't read too much into their times.

Roll on Catalunya!

[Tazio]

I think the top teams are holding their cards close to their vests'. Last winter Ferrari worked really hard collecting tire wear data, running more laps than anyone else, and a lot of long stints with heavy fuel. I think Redbull and McLaren are doing the same. I don't believe any of the top three are going to run anything close to a quail simulation until the last 2 days of practice! I also think NH was running a little light when he set his fast time. It's just a guess, but I think Renault has to let nick drive the car to it/his limits to make an evaluation of him as a replacement driver. I could be totally wrong on that, (and Renault are not showing their complete package for race one yet anyway) it would figure since they are auditioning him.

[Sonic]

^^^ I think you are spot on. We've not seen the full banana from anyone - including those who have topped the timing sheets. Rubens set that lap on an 8 lap run (as did the shoe in his best effort of the week) so neither were on fumes, and I'm also reading that Williams ran with KERS disconnected for the final day so you can take 0.3 off that time straight away.

As for the big boys, as you say, it's all been about working through their programs and no one has taken their car anywhere near the limit.

[SGWilko]

Certainly, the big boys seem to be optimising their cars to minimise tyre wear. WIth KERS and the adjustable rear wing, plus the heavy fuel loads and the fagile Pirellis, longevity in the first part of the races is absolutely going to be key.......

[AndyL]

The two Ferraris are right next to each other on the overall timesheet, as are the two McLarens and the two Red Bulls. And in all three cases the driver who was behind in last year's championship is ahead of his team-mate on the test times. Just an odd coincidence no doubt!

In James Allen's blog he's saying the feeling in the paddock is that when Red Bull do decide to go all-out, they're going to show something pretty special.