2009 Formula 1 Pre-season testing

Discuss Formula 1 Testing

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Ed
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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:47 pm

Testing continued at Jerez on Thursday but remained suspended in Bahrain.

At Jerez, Sebastien Bourdais set the fastest time of the day (in an 08 spec car) ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

It was Hamilton's first test of the MP4-24 in dry conditions. He said:
Today's test gave me the first opportunity to drive the MP4-24 in warm, dry conditions and I’m very encouraged by what I felt. The car feels strong, very similar to last year's car, in fact. It doesn't take long to get used to the new buttons in the cockpit [KERS & front-wing flaps] but the real test for everyone now is to understand the slick tyres ahead of the first race in Melbourne next month.
Full Results
Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:18.493 126
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1:20.737 93
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:20.738 92
4 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1:20.898 92
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:21.307 133

At the Bahrain International Circuit testing was suspended due to sandstorms making visibility too low and grounding the medical helicopter. The three teams did one installation lap each in the hope that the weather improves but that didn't eventuate.

Testing continues on Friday

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:27 pm

F1 Testing concluded at Jerez and Bahrain for the week.

At Jerez, Sebastien Bourdais set the fastest time of the day in the 2008 spec Toro Rosso. Lewis Hamilton was second in the MP4-24 running a modified 2008 spec rear wing while Fernando Alonso was 3rd fastest in the R29.
Testing returns to Jerez in early March

Full Results
Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:17.472 117
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1:19.632 94
3 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:19.846 109
4 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:21.217 71
5 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:21.313 62
6 Kazuki Nakajima Williams (pitstop practice) 34

Toro Rosso:
"ADDIO STR 3"

So farewell then to STR3, which completed its final test session today, having served us well this winter and since making its race debut in Monaco last year.

In good weather, with track temperature reaching a useful 30 degrees, Sebastien Bourdais had the honour of driving the car for the last time, working on a Qualifying simulation programme with three different compounds of Bridgestone tyre, while also carrying out an evaluation of the front and rear suspension. A reliability validation of the Ferrari 056 engine was also completed, with the unit doing even more laps than expected. A minor mechanical problem meant the day ended an hour ahead of schedule, but nevertheless, the day's full programme was completed.


McLaren's programme:
While the opening day was briefly marred by a midday rainshower, the remainder of the programme was carried out under clear blue skies and warm sunshine, allowing the team to put some serious mileage on the new car. The majority of the four days was spent finessing the new car’s balance and set-up on slick tyres while also putting background miles on the KERS device - which proved largely trouble-free during all four days. The team carried out the majority of its running using a hybrid-spec 2008 rear wing in order to more effectively simulate expected downforce loads and will bring a raft of new components to next month’s test, back in Jerez.

Christian Silk, Renault Chief Test Engineer
A very good day's testing. We've continued to make progress with the car and it ran well today which allowed us to get more mileage and check our reliability. We're continuing to make changes and the car is responding very well to those and so we've already found a good balance. Overall it's a positive end to the test for us.

Ian Morgan, Red Bull Head of Race Engineering
Apart from a few minor niggles, which are to be expected with a brand new car, this first test has produced pleasing results, RB5 proved to be generally reliable and its performance seems encouraging straight out of the box.
Sam Michael, Technical Director, Williams F1:
This week we had all three drivers working on aerodynamic and mechanical set-up optimisation while also evaluating tyres for Bridgestone. The main target at the moment is to improve the balance on slick tyres, something we are all learning about as quickly as possible. We completed all of the systems, reliability and aero checks that we set out to at the beginning of the week. We finished off the test with some pitstop practice work with the race team so they could get used to all of the new equipment, and to give the drivers an opportunity to get used to pitting on slicks. It's been a productive week and we are looking forward to the next test back here in Jerez in the first week of March.

At Bahrain, Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time ahead of Jarno Trulli and Christian Klien.
Testing resumes at Bahrain next Monday.

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:33.350 105
2 Christian Klien BMW Sauber 1:33.429 127
3 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:33.666 125

Dieter Gass, Toyota Chief Engineer Race and Test said:
That was finally the kind of day that you expect when you go for winter testing in Bahrain. After the interruptions of the last two days, we enjoyed fine weather with perfect sunshine throughout the sessions. There was still some wind which made the comparisons harder, but we were able to get through a lot of laps. We looked at different tyres and some set-up development directions. It is not often that we get through two race distances in a day so that bodes well for our reliability.Overall it has been a positive end to the week.

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Post by Ed » Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:52 pm

Testing resumed at Bahrain on Monday again with Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Toyota present.

Christian Klien testing for the BMW Sauber team set the fastest time of the day ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Jarno Trulli.

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Christian Klien BMW Sauber 1:32.544 131
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:32.804 116
3 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:33.064 141

Testing continues on Tuesday.

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Post by Ed » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:02 am

Testing continued on Tuesday at the Bahrain International Circuit. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of the day ahead of Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld.

Ferrari's test was interrupted for nearly 3 hours due to a problem with the cooling element of their KERS device. Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber stopped on the track when the kill switch accidently cut off the main ECU and engaged the automatic fire extinguishing system!

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:32.102 107
2 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:32.230 149
3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:32.585 104

Testing continues on Wednesday

Julian Mayo
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Post by Julian Mayo » Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:37 am

More problems for Ferrari, The gearbox let go. :shock:
The Mountain is a savage Mistress.

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Post by Ed » Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:58 am

Thanks Julian,

Ferrari did indeed have a gearbox problem in the morning as well as an electrical problem in the afternoon which left the car stranded on the track.
The BMW Sauber also stopped on the track twice in the afternoon with mechanical problems.
So it maybe a bit of a surprise to see that Toyota has been the most reliable of the 3 teams in Bahrain and they are quick!

Timo Glock was fastest on Wednesday ahead of Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld. Glock also covered the most number of laps with 132

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Timo Glock Toyota 1:32.492 132
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:32.917 105
3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:32.993 82

Testing concludes on Thursday

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:44 am

Just when it seemed that Toyota have been the most reliable at this test in Bahrain, the final day was a bad one for them with a hydraulic problem that disrupted most of their day. Ferrari also had problems on the final day with a faulty cable that stopped Massa on the track. It wasn't a major disruption though.

Felipe Massa was fastest ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock. Nick Heidfeld covered the most number of laps with 122

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:32.162 113
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:32.225 122
3 Timo Glock Toyota 1:32.445 65

The next major F1 test session is at Jerez from the 1st of March.

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Post by Ed » Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:20 pm

A major pre-season F1 test commenced on Sunday with all the Formula 1 teams present with the exception of Toro Rosso.

Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull Racing car set the fastest time of the day ahead of Felipe Massa in the Ferrari and Kamui Kobayashi in the Toyota. The McLaren driven by Pedro de la Rosa and the Renault driven by Nelson Piquet were 7th and 8th respectively.

de la Rosa covered the most number of laps with 94

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:19.055 87
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:20.330 63
3 Kamui Kobayashi Toyota 1:20.699 80
4 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:21.171 71
5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:21.292 47
6 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 1:21.584 31
7 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes 1:21.831 94
8 Nelson Piquet Renault 1:22.011 54

Testing continues on Monday

Julian Mayo
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Post by Julian Mayo » Tue Mar 03, 2009 5:14 am

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.................................................? 8)
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Post by Ed » Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:14 am

2nd day of testing at Jerez was a wet session with no dry running at all. Ironically for the British based teams, it was sunny at Silverstone!

Timo Glock topped the timesheets ahead of Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg covered the most number of laps with 114.

Ferrari didn't take part in the session.

Full results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Timo Glock Toyota 1:30.979 89
2 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:31.327 70
3 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:31.451 114
4 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India F1 1:31.547 54
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:32.220 102
6 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 1:33.371 91
8 Nelson Piquet Renault 1:33.476 66

Testing continues on Tuesday with more rain forecast!

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Post by Julian Mayo » Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:48 am

Fisi is still quick in the wet............... :D
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Post by Ed » Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:45 am

Julian Mayo wrote:Fisi is still quick in the wet............... :D
He sure is!

Looking at the times from the tests, they are all over the place. It is really hard to pick who is on form this season and with all the weather disruptions it is making it worse!

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Post by Ed » Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:53 am

3rd day of testing at Jerez was dry or at least from mid morning onwards giving the teams valuable track time.

Timo Glock set the fastest time of the day (admittedly on a qualifying run) ahead of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

Heikki Kovalainen was 4th fastest driving the McLaren MP4-24 fitted with 2009 spec front and rear wings for the first time.

Fernando Alonso covered the most number of laps with 152

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Timo Glock Toyota 1:19.814 142
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:20.238 135
3 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:20.296 152
4 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 1:20.535 85
5 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 1:20.621 63
6 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:21.021 98
7 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:21.069 98
8 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:21.412 125

Testing continues on Wednesday

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Post by Julian Mayo » Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:56 am

RB concentrated on a race weekend simulation, tho I reckon thay had to smack MW around the 'earole to stop him from putting the welly in!! He says it is the most comfortable F1 car he has ever driven...................... 8)
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Post by Jim Watt » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:56 am

:D Sure hope you're right, Julian! I want Webber on the podium at every race this year and I hope they let him race!! :roll: Did you see what old Nige had to say about Lewis. Heh Heh Heh; he still knows how to stick in the old knife and make people wiggle, stirring up trouble and always with that grin on his kisser that, if it were in a pub, you'd know better than to follow him out into the street! betcha all the Hambone fans will rise to the bait, too! 8) 8)

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My Racing Gods: Fangio, Vukovich; Senna & Mears --all racers all the time; graceful winners & generous in defeat, but never giving up!!

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