'07-'08 Formula 1 Testing Thread.................

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nexstarneil
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Silverstone testing

Post by nexstarneil » Tue Dec 11, 2007 3:56 am

Please can anyone tell me if teams still test at Silverstone? I've been out of the loop for several seasons but when I used to travel down from Leics there was a dedicated number to call with pre-recorded dates and times. I'm sure with IT things have moved on so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Re: Silverstone testing

Post by mlittle » Tue Dec 11, 2007 4:32 am

nexstarneil wrote:Please can anyone tell me if teams still test at Silverstone? I've been out of the loop for several seasons but when I used to travel down from Leics there was a dedicated number to call with pre-recorded dates and times. I'm sure with IT things have moved on so any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
:welcome: Welcome to the forums, nexstarneil. Check out the different sections when you get the chance. As to when they last tested at Silverstone....... :shock: :shock:

Looking at the archives, IIRC they tested, last I remember, at Silverstone mid-2005(I could be wrong on that, but that's the last time I know of that they tested there.... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
The Sci-Fi Station Come by and visit when you get the chance. :)
The Wayward Tarheel I'm even in the blogosphere.... :shock:

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Post by Ed » Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:40 am

The McLaren Formula 1 team commenced a 3 day private test session at Jerez today.

Two MP4-23 (2008 spec) F1 cars where available to Pedo de la Rosa and Heikki Kovalainen.

Both cars ran a total fo 69 laps with Pedro de la Rosa setting a fastest time of 1:19.655 while Heikki Kovalainen set a fastest time of 1:20.559

Driver quotes:

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
It was really great to get on track today with the MP4-23. It was my first session as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. I always really enjoy the first day a new car runs, there is always a very unique atmosphere, you know a little bit tense, a little bit excited. The first impressions of the new car are good. We have a comprehensive development schedule to work through over the next couple of months. The car’s performance today is definitely an encouraging starting point. Today was also my first real opportunity to meet the test team, which was good because we will be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks!


PEDRO DE LA ROSA
We covered 69 laps in total today between Heikki and me, which is a good start. The car felt positive and it has been an encouraging day. This is the second time I have had the opportunity to make the track debut with our new car, it is also the eighth car I have driven for the team. It is great for me to be in the car from the very beginning, as I am able to instantly build up an understanding of the car and how it works, and then start to put this knowledge into the testing programme. This time of the season, from when a new car is launched until the first race, is probably the busiest time of the year for the test team. We have 18 track days scheduled, including today, before the MP4-23s leave for Australia and a lot of work to complete in that time, but the motivation is huge with all the guys here.



Hamilton and Kovalainen will be testing for the next 2 days.

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Post by Ed » Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:49 am

2nd day of prviate testing for the McLaren team at Jerez. Lewis Hamilton joined Heikki Kovalainen today.

Hamilton covered 103 laps with a best time of 1:19.132 while Kovalainen covered 101 laps with a best time of 1:19.462

Driver Quotes:

LEWIS HAMILTON
It was fantastic to get my hands on the MP4-23 this morning in Jerez. I saw the completed car for the first time on Monday at the team's launch in Stuttgart and I have been pretty impatient since then! My first run was at 09:10 and my first impressions are encouraging. I covered over 103 laps, which is 456kms, today. Considering this is only the second day the car has been on track, I am pretty happy with that. We have a lot of work to do, but now we have a real understanding of where we are starting from. I will be back in the MP4-23 with Heikki tomorrow and I am looking forward to continuing the programme and moving forward.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
Today was my second day with the MP4-23 and I have now been able to complete over 447kms in total. We are all still spending time learning about the car and starting to get used to it. That we were on track for 204 laps in total today is definitely helping us to learn and progress with the car. For me in particular the car is very different from last year, and I have been focusing on that side of things. Settling into the team has been very easy, and I am looking forward to continuing our preparations for Melbourne next Tuesday.
Both drivers continue testing tomorrow

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Post by Ed » Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:13 am

The McLaren F1 team concluded their private test session at Jerez with Hamilton and Kovalainen on duty.

Lewis Hamilton covered 86 laps with a best time of 1:19.691 while Heikki Kovalainen covered 93 laps with a best time of 1:19.752.

Testing at Jerez resumes on Monday the 14th with many of the Formula 1 teams taking part.

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Post by Ed » Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:37 am

1st day of testing at Jerez this week saw Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest lap of the day in the F2008.

Following a wet start to the day, the track dried out in the afternoon and the teams were able to set competitive lap times.

14 drivers from 8 teams were present today


Order Driver Team Best Time Number of Laps
1 RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1'19.845 59 (08 Car)
2 MASSA Ferrari 1'20.123 43 (08 Car)
3 DE LA ROSA McLaren 1'20.548 54 (08 Car)
4 VETTEL Toro Rosso 1'20.732 40
5 KOVALAINEN McLaren 1'20.936 49 (08 Car)
6 BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1'20.997 47
7 ROSBERG Williams 1'21.143 47
8 TRULLI Toyota 1'21.344 86 (08 Car)
9 PIQUET Renault 1'21.595 41
10 COULTHARD Red Bull Racing 1'21.745 51
11 LIUZZI Force India 1'23.035 44
12 NAKAJIMA Williams 1'23.134 42
13 GLOCK Toyota 1'24.351 58 (08 Car)
14 ROSSITER Super Aguri 1'34.852 10

Fernando Alonso tests with Renault for the first time tomorrow while Lewis Hamilton takes the wheel of the MP4-23
Last edited by Ed on Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Ed » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:38 am

2nd day of testing at Jerez and Fernando Alonso in the Renault (07 car without driver aids) set the fastest time of the day ahead of Pedro de la Rosa (08 car) and Kimi Raikkonen (08 car).

Giancarlo Fisichella had his first official test today with the Force India team setting the 12th fastest time of the day.

13 drivers from 8 teams were present today

Order Driver Team Best Time Number of Laps
1 ALONSO Renault 1'19.503 70
2 DE LA ROSA McLaren 1'19.650 111 (08 Car)
3 RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1'19.708 90 (08 Car)
4 ROSBERG Williams 1'19.755 81
5 MASSA Ferrari 1'19.772 86 (08 Car)
6 KOVALAINEN McLaren 1'19.780 130 (08 Car)
7 VETTEL Toro Rosso 1'20.305 86
8 BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1'20.346 76
9 WEBBER Red Bull Racing 1'20.392 80
10 NAKAJIMA Williams 1'20.525 68
11 GLOCK Toyota 1'20.598 109 (08 Car)
12 FISICHELLA Force India 1'20.764 76
13 KOBAYASHI Toyota 1'22.060 56

Lewis Hamilton didn't drive the car today but is expected to drive it tomorrow
Last edited by Ed on Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Ed » Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:23 am

Final day of testing at Jerez saw Toyota's new driver Timo Glock set the fastest time of the day in the TF108. Hamilton in the new McLaren was second fastest while Alonso in last year's Renault was 3rd.

14 drivers from 8 teams were present.

Order Driver Team Best Time Number of Laps
1 GLOCK Toyota 1'19.779 96 (08 Car)
2 HAMILTON McLaren 1'20.099 73 (08 Car)
3 ALONSO Renault 1'20.363 49
4 BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1'20.407 61
5 MASSA Ferrari 1'20.500 85 (08 Car)
6 KOVALAINEN McLaren 1'20.535 79 (08 Car)
7 KOBAYASHI Toyota 1'20.577 53
8 RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1'20.646 88 (08 Car)
9 NAKAJIMA Williams 1'20.758 57
10 SUTIL Force India 1'21.705 71
11 WEBBER Red Bull Racing 1'22.275 53
12 COULTHARD Red Bull Racing 1'22.581 54 (08 Car)
13 HULKENBERG Williams 1'24.023 65
14 VETTEL Toro Rosso 1'24.873 50

Vettel had an off ending his running early.

Testing moves to Valencia from the 22nd of January. Most teams will be attending

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Post by Ed » Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:33 am

At Valencia, the BMW Sauber team conducted a 4 day private test with both their new car (the F1.08 ) and the F1.07.

Robert Kubica drove the new car on the first 2 days with Nick Heidfeld driving on the final 2 days. He lost some time on the final day due to a power steering problem.

Technical Director Willy Rampf commented on the first test saying:
Apart from this morning we had no noteworthy reliability problems during the four days. We were able to complete many laps with the new car and managed to collect a lot of valuable data. We have a base line for determining the programme for next week’s test. We are only just starting out and have a fair amount of work to do to find the ideal settings for the new car.
The team did not release any lap times for this test.

The team will take part in next week's multi-team test at Valencia.

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Post by Ed » Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:22 am

Testing at the Valencia track commenced today (Monday) with both the Renault and Williams teams shaking down their new cars.

Fernando Alonso drove the new R28 for the first time and covered 39 laps while Nico Hulkenberg (Williams Test driver) drove the new FW30 for the first time and covered 20 laps.

Alonso's best time was a 1:13.027 while Hulkenberg's best time was a 1:14.559.

10 of the 11 F1 teams join the test tomorow (Tuesday)

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Post by Ed » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:04 am

Second day of testing at Valencia (the first for most teams) saw Felipe Massa top the timesheets ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Roseberg.

Massa's fastest time was a 1:12.182, the fastest so far at Valencia in an '08 spec car.

Pedro de la Rosa completed the most number of laps with 114.

16 drivers from 10 teams took part in the test

1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1.12.182 97 laps (08 car)
2. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1.12.721 105 laps (08 car)
3. Nico Rosberg Williams 1.12.838 84 laps (08 car)
4. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1.13.026 104 laps (08 car)
5. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren 1.13.163 114 laps (08 car)
6. Fernando Alonso Renault 1.13.315 93 laps (08 car)
7. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1.13.473 94 laps
8. Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso 1.13.627 86 laps
9. Marko Asmer BMW Sauber 1.13.669 44 laps
10. Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 1.13.675 80 laps
11. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1.13.779 80 laps (08 car)
12. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1.13.820 69 laps (08 car)
13. David Coulthard Red Bull 1.13.944 82 laps (08 car)
14. Timo Glock Toyota 1.14.096 80 laps (08 car)
15. Vitantoni Liuzzi Force India 1.15.095 64 laps
16. Alex Wurz Honda 1.15.440 49 laps

*Times according to the Valencia circuit

A record 38,000 spectators attended this test day!

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Post by Ed » Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:04 pm

Third day of testing at Valencia and Heikki Kovalainen set the fastest time of the day ahead of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.

Heikki Kovalainen's time was not only the fastest for an '08 spec car at this track but also the fastest since the V8 engines were introduced.

Honda shookdown their 2008 challenger (the RA108) at the track today with Rubens Barrichello at the wheel

17 drivers from 10 teams were present at the test.

1. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1.11.000 92 laps (08 car)
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1.11.662 81 laps (08 car)
3. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1.11.850 108 laps (08 car)
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1.12.076 115 laps (08 car)
5. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1.12.255 93 laps
6. Fernando Alonso Renault 1.12.360 111 laps (08 car)
7. Nico Rosberg Williams 1.12.493 117 laps (08 car)
8. Mark Webber Red Bull 1.12.594 87 laps (08 car)
9. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1.12.976 51 laps (08 car)
10. Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso 1.13.015 63 laps
11. Timo Glock Toyota 1.13.129 95 laps (08 car)
12. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1.13.230 121 laps (08 car)
13. Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 1.13.307 118 laps
14. Adrian Sutil Force India 1.13.409 98 laps
15. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1.13.547 96 laps (08 car)
16. Rubens Barrichello Honda 1.14.588 36 laps (08 car)
17. Takashi Kogure Honda 1.16.761 50 laps

Testing concludes tomorrow

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Post by Ed » Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:25 am

Third and final day of testing at Valencia saw Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of the day ahead of Heikki Kovalainen and Felipe Massa.

Raikkonen's time was just under 2 tenths off the fastest time set by Kovalainen yesterday.

1. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1.11.189 88 laps (08 car)
2. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1.11.206 89 laps (08 car)
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1.11.831 96 laps (08 car)
4. Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1.11.971 116 laps (08 car)
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1.11.994 84 laps (08 car)
6. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1.12.095 86 laps (08 car)
7. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1.12.109 96 laps (08 car)
8. Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso 1.12.526 113 laps
9. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1.12.600 39 laps
10. Timo Glock Toyota 1.12.705 68 laps (08 car)
11. Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1.12.949 93 laps
12. Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1.12.973 89 laps (08 car)
13. Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 1.13.060 95 laps
14. Mark Webber Red Bull 1.13.133 15 laps (08 car)
15. Nico Hulkenberg Williams 1.13.306 74 laps
16. Jenson Button Honda 1.13.689 80 laps (08 car)
17. Takashi Kogure Honda 1.15.703 25 laps


Most teams now move to Barcelona to commence testing from the 1st of February.

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Post by Ed » Sat Jan 26, 2008 7:34 am

With all the major teams having a new car now, it is interesting to try an do some analysis on what is happening so far.

It seems that McLaren and Ferrari are close, both appear reliable and fast. Both teams had their new cars ready earlier this month.

BMW Sauber who are expected to start challenging those two appear to have gone backwards slightly. Of course they could be testing with heavy loads and trying to disguise their speed.

Renault appear to be closer to the top teams than last year but it doesn't look like they are very close.

Williams appear to be the surprise of testing so far. They have been setting some very good times. So unless they are after some sponsor attention, they could be the surprise of the season.

Toyota appear to be pretty much around where they were last season!

Red Bull don't appear to have improved much and they still have some reliability issues.

Honda, lets hope Ross Brawn does some magic!!

And lets see if the situation remains next week in Barcelona

Share your thoughts ....

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 02, 2008 7:14 am

First day of testing at Barcelona saw Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap time ahead of Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica.

15 drivers from 8 teams were present

Position Driver Team Best Time Total laps
1 HAMILTON McLaren 1'22 :263 84
2 ALONSO Renault 1'22 :889 61
3 KUBICA BMW 1'22 :983 66
4 FISICHELLA Force India 1'23 :015 100
5 HEIDFELD BMW 1'23 :270 53
6 PAFFETT McLaren 1'23 :349 47
7 PIQUET Renault 1'23 :367 46
8 VETTEL Toro Rosso 1'23 :387 90
9 ROSBERG Williams 1'23 :453 12
10 COULTHARD Red Bull Racing 1'23 :491 60
11 WEBBER Red Bull Racing 1'23 :547 63
12 BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1'23 :836 65
13 NAKAJIMA Williams 1'23 :955 35
14 BARRICHELLO Honda 1'24 :125 55
15 WURZ Honda 1'26 :975 26

Testing continues tomorrow

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