2009 Formula 1 Pre-season testing

Discuss Formula 1 Testing

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Ed
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Post by Ed » Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:15 pm

Julian Mayo wrote::shock: :shock: Ferrari???.....Illegal?????? :shock: :shock:
Given that the exhaust length governs horsepower quite significantly what are Ferrari doing testing something which does not conform?? Why waste the time????? :?
Both Norbert Haug (Mercedes) and Mario Theissen (BMW) are reported to have claimed that the Ferrari at the launch had illegal exhausts ... more

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Post by Ed » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:07 am

Third day of testing at Algarve test facility in Portugal and once again Sebastien Beumi set the fastest time of the day ahead of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Lap Total Laps
1 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:27.987 128
2 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:29.729 143
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1:30.242 81
4 Timo Glock Toyota 1:30.878 64
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:31.743 85

At Mugello, Ferrari continued testing at the track with Felipe Massa behind the wheel. While conditions remained wet, Felipe Massa managed to complete 104 laps and setting a best time of 1:33.353

At Valencia, BMW continued their private test with Robert Kubica at the wheel. Kubica covered a total of 99 laps. The team did not report the best time set.

Selected quotes:

Lewis Hamilton:
This first test was all about just getting used to the new car and the new regulations and about giving my feedback to the engineers; it wasn’t about setting a fast time. I’m pleased to report that the car feels good, we’ve made lots of progress over the winter and I’m looking forward to developing the car ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso:
It is very early days with the new car and so we keep discovering things and improving our understanding with every lap. There are so many things to learn in a short time and we need to maximise our time on track, so to do so many laps today was a good effort. The programme for tomorrow will be more of the same and hopefully the weather will remain dry
Timo Glock:
My first impression of the new car is good; I am happy with it. In the morning, on a wet track, I felt pretty comfortable and it was easy to drive; there were no real problems. Then we had the issue with the oil pipe which cost us some time but the guys worked really hard to repair the car and we got some laps at the end in dry conditions. Those first laps on a dry track felt pretty good and gave me a positive feeling but we didn't have time to really set the car up properly. It would be nice to do a lot more laps tomorrow but the weather forecast isn't very good

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Post by Julian Mayo » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:04 am

Ed wrote:
Julian Mayo wrote::shock: :shock: Ferrari???.....Illegal?????? :shock: :shock:
Given that the exhaust length governs horsepower quite significantly what are Ferrari doing testing something which does not conform?? Why waste the time????? :?
Both Norbert Haug (Mercedes) and Mario Theissen (BMW) are reported to have claimed that the Ferrari at the launch had illegal exhausts ... more

Yup, and the Ferrari dude said the car will appear visually different in Melbourne.......................my point is, that if as little as 1cm of exhaust length can affect horsepower significantly, why are they running a system that is not,..............cannot,............be run in the race car, ???????? :shock:
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Post by Ed » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:17 pm

Julian Mayo wrote:
Ed wrote:
Julian Mayo wrote::shock: :shock: Ferrari???.....Illegal?????? :shock: :shock:
Given that the exhaust length governs horsepower quite significantly what are Ferrari doing testing something which does not conform?? Why waste the time????? :?
Both Norbert Haug (Mercedes) and Mario Theissen (BMW) are reported to have claimed that the Ferrari at the launch had illegal exhausts ... more

Yup, and the Ferrari dude said the car will appear visually different in Melbourne.......................my point is, that if as little as 1cm of exhaust length can affect horsepower significantly, why are they running a system that is not,..............cannot,............be run in the race car, ???????? :shock:
Would this be similar to the reason why McLaren opt for a 2008 rear wing when testing in the wet ??

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Post by Ed » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:30 pm

Final day of testing at Algarve was halted due to heavy rain. 3 drivers did installation laps in the morning hoping that conditions would improve however the conditions worsened and remained that way!

At Mugello, Ferrari concluded their 4 day test program with some dry running. Felipe Massa was at the wheel and he covered 103 laps with a best time of 1:23.981.

At Valencia, the BMW Sauber team continued their private test. Robert Kubica was at the wheel and he covered 116 laps.

BMW Sauber remains in Valencia for two more days.

The next major test will be in Jerez starting on the 10th of February. Toyota will be testing once again at the Bahrain International Circuit.

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Post by Julian Mayo » Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:11 am

Ed wrote:
Julian Mayo wrote:
Ed wrote:
Both Norbert Haug (Mercedes) and Mario Theissen (BMW) are reported to have claimed that the Ferrari at the launch had illegal exhausts ... more

Yup, and the Ferrari dude said the car will appear visually different in Melbourne.......................my point is, that if as little as 1cm of exhaust length can affect horsepower significantly, why are they running a system that is not,..............cannot,............be run in the race car, ???????? :shock:
Would this be similar to the reason why McLaren opt for a 2008 rear wing when testing in the wet ??
Noooo................they are doing similarity testing of the effects of giving Hambone an extra large breakfast on forecast wet race days. That combined with the extra large helmet he will have stuck out in the windstream this year, is best replicated by the '08 wing. 8)
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Post by Snowy » Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:31 am

With the restrictions on testing during the season there is going to be a lot of benefit to be had from having a good simulator. I've got bad news for you. . . Not only is McLaren's simulator in a league of its own, it was also instrumental in the conception and execution of the new aerodynamic regulations! These two articles make very interesting reading:

Applying science and commonsense to overtaking
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20831.html

and

Formula 1's virtual reality
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft21102.html

:drive:
Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button World Champions :)

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Post by Julian Mayo » Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:45 am

But why the '08 rear wing, Snowy....why,why,why???????? :?
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Post by Snowy » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:43 am

Because there is not a lot of benefit to be gained from testing in the wet they used the 2008 wing to give extra stability and a greater degree of safety. So that they could make full use of what track time they did have, was the official line McLaren gave. . . :roll:
Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button World Champions :)

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Post by Julian Mayo » Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:20 am

Snowy wrote:Because there is not a lot of benefit to be gained from testing in the wet they used the 2008 wing to give extra stability and a greater degree of safety. So that they could make full use of what track time they did have, was the official line McLaren gave. . . :roll:
Are they not expecting any wet races this season, then....................... :shock:
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Post by Ed » Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:38 pm

The BMW Sauber team completed their testing at Valencia. Nick Heidfeld took over from Robert Kubica for the last two days. Heidfeld covered 92 laps on Friday and 91 laps on Saturday.

Nick Heidfeld said:
Finally I could drive the F1.09 for the very first time, we still have a lot of work to do, but we are making progress with each kilometre and the reliability is already there. Overall the F1.09 handles quite differently to last year’s car. The most important result after my first day of testing is that the car reacts as intended to set-up changes
BMW Sauber’s Managing Director Walter Riedl said:
After Tuesday’s shakedown in Valencia we went on to complete four days of testing. Covering a total of 1,887 km, the new BMW Sauber F1.09 was running without any noteworthy problems, which meant we were able to carry out a comprehensive test programme on each day. At first it was a matter of testing the individual systems, after which we focused on set-up work. We managed to collect a great deal of data and have already made initial progress. Although the strong winds made testing difficult during the last two days, we benefited from the fact that the track was dry throughout and outdoor temperatures were higher than during our tests in December, which meant we were able to glean some valuable insights concerning the tyres as well. We have already used the 2009 version of the V8 engine with its rev limit of 18,000 rpm, as well as employing KERS. Overall we are very happy with the testing, particularly with regard to the high reliability of the new car. Now we are naturally very keen to see where we stand in terms of the competition, but we will have to wait for the next test to gain a first impression.
This was a private test for the BMW Sauber team and no lap times were released.

BMW Sauber next goes to Bahrain from the 10th of February

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Post by Ed » Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:42 pm

Snowy wrote:Because there is not a lot of benefit to be gained from testing in the wet they used the 2008 wing to give extra stability and a greater degree of safety. So that they could make full use of what track time they did have, was the official line McLaren gave. . . :roll:
It sounds as if McLaren are aware of a problem with the 09 rear wing in the wet. I guess they just want to put enough mileage on the car to verify other parts of the car however they will have to re-verify all their 'wet' testing at a later stage using the 09 wing.

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Post by Julian Mayo » Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:19 pm

Ed wrote:
Snowy wrote:Because there is not a lot of benefit to be gained from testing in the wet they used the 2008 wing to give extra stability and a greater degree of safety. So that they could make full use of what track time they did have, was the official line McLaren gave. . . :roll:
It sounds as if McLaren are aware of a problem with the 09 rear wing in the wet. I guess they just want to put enough mileage on the car to verify other parts of the car however they will have to re-verify all their 'wet' testing at a later stage using the 09 wing.
yup :lol:
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Post by Ed » Wed Feb 11, 2009 1:24 pm

The second major test sessions for 2009 got underway on Tuesday at Jerez in Spain and Bahrain.

At Jerez 5 teams were present with McLaren, Renault, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Williams.

Sebastien Buemi in the 2008 Toro Rosso set the fastest time of the day with a 1:19.660 ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Nico Hulkenberg.

Full Results:

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.660 104
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:22.177 63
3 Nico Hulkenberg Williams 1:22.443 82
4 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 1:22.634 60
5 Nelson Piquet Renault 1:23.313 35

At Bahrain 3 teams were present with Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Toyota.
Timo Glock set the fastest time of the day with a 1:33.501 ahead of Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica

Full results:

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Timo Glock Toyota 1:33.501 82
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:33.615 98
3 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:33.702 95

Testing continues tomorrow on both tracks

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Post by Ed » Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:04 am

Testing continued at Jerez and Bahrain on Wednesday.

At Jerez, Sebastian Buemi was again fastest in the 2008 Toro Rosso ahead of Heikki Kovalainen who was running in the 2009 McLaren but with a 2008 rear wing. Mark Webber was 3rd and the fastest of the 2009 spec cars.

It was Mark Webber's first time back in a Formula 1 car since he broke his leg in an accident during his Tasmanian Challange. Webber said :
There were a lot of questions going into today and I answered them. From my point of view, it all went better than expected and to do over a race distance on my first day back in the cockpit, with several weeks to go to Melbourne is a good thing
Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:17.591 143
2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 1:20.799 110
3 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:21.321 83
4 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1:21.451 125
5 Nelson Piquet Renault 1:21.908 49

At Bahrain, testing was suspended mid morning when a sandstorm developed which grounded the medical helicopter. Until then, Massa had set the fastest time of the day ahead of Robert Kubica and Timo Glock

Full Results

Rank Driver Team Best Laptime Total Laps
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:33.639 17
2 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:34.398 22
3 Timo Glock Toyota 1:34.902 14

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