Silverstone Test (Hamilton & Piquet Jr testing)

[Ed]

A number of teams commenced testing at the Silverstone circuit on Tuesday.

Lewis Hamilton (2006 GP2 Champion) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (2006 GP2 Runner-up) were among those drivers present on the first day.

Lewis Hamilton completed a shakedown programme with McLaren in preparation for 2 intensive days of testing on Wednesday and Thursday.
Pedro de la Rosa will also be testing for the team and this test is seen by many as a head-to-head between de la Rosa and Hamilton for a race seat next year alongside Fernando Alonso.

On his first test, Hamilton said:

What a feeling, I couldn't stop smiling when the team fired up the engine this morning! Although today?s shakedown has just been to familiarise myself with the car, complete radio checks, practice manual launches and that kind of thing, the experience of driving the Team McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 is just fantastic. I cannot wait to put in more mileage and really find the limits of the car tomorrow. It has been a great year for me to date, and alongside winning the GP2 Championship I have worked hard to ensure the team feels I am ready to have this test. It is going to be an intensive couple of days with the test team and I am looking forward to starting the test proper tomorrow morning.

Nelson Piquet Jr had a full first day of testing with Renault and the fastest time set was impressive compared to that for current Renault test driver Heikki Kovalainen. Piquet set a 1:19.723 while Kovalainen set a 1:19.125 (fastest overall).

Piquet Jr said:

It was a good first day of testing. There are some similarities with the GP2 car in terms of the clutch and electronics, but I still have a lot to learn, so the main thing for today was to do as much running as possible, and to take everything on-board. It's important I think to learn a lot straight away and to meet the people I am going to work with. It was a busy and interesting day, and I felt comfortable in the car straight away which is quite positive I think.

Kovalainen replaces Alonso next year while Piquet Jr becomes one of two official test drivers with Renault.

At Toyota, Frank Montagny had his first test with the team setting a fastest time of 1:19.659. The team is currently in discussions about a possible test role for Montagny next season.

Franck Montagny said:

I am quite happy to have driven for Toyota today. Overall, I had a really good feeling - about the car and its handling, the team and everyone who worked with me today. I felt that everyone was very professional and made me feel comfortable. Of course, I will need more time to get to know all the areas of such a large team. For my part, we focused on tyre testing and I am sure there is still a lot to do, but my overall feeling was quite positive. I was glad to be of help to the team and enjoyed driving the car.

[Snowy]

CLEANED UP

Yikes!!! Me smells a spammer

Ed get over here right away and deal with this Tanana he/she/it is already making me nervous!

[Snowy]

A number of teams commenced testing at the Silverstone circuit on Tuesday.

Lewis Hamilton (2006 GP2 Champion) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (2006 GP2 Runner-up) were among those drivers present on the first day.

Lewis Hamilton completed a shakedown programme with McLaren in preparation for 2 intensive days of testing on Wednesday and Thursday.
Pedro de la Rosa will also be testing for the team and this test is seen by many as a head-to-head between de la Rosa and Hamilton for a race seat next year alongside Fernando Alonso.

On his first test, Hamilton said:

What a feeling, I couldn't stop smiling when the team fired up the engine this morning! Although today?s shakedown has just been to familiarise myself with the car, complete radio checks, practice manual launches and that kind of thing, the experience of driving the Team McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 is just fantastic. I cannot wait to put in more mileage and really find the limits of the car tomorrow. It has been a great year for me to date, and alongside winning the GP2 Championship I have worked hard to ensure the team feels I am ready to have this test. It is going to be an intensive couple of days with the test team and I am looking forward to starting the test proper tomorrow morning.

Nelson Piquet Jr had a full first day of testing with Renault and the fastest time set was impressive compared to that for current Renault test driver Heikki Kovalainen. Piquet set a 1:19.723 while Kovalainen set a 1:19.125 (fastest overall).

Piquet Jr said:

It was a good first day of testing. There are some similarities with the GP2 car in terms of the clutch and electronics, but I still have a lot to learn, so the main thing for today was to do as much running as possible, and to take everything on-board. It's important I think to learn a lot straight away and to meet the people I am going to work with. It was a busy and interesting day, and I felt comfortable in the car straight away which is quite positive I think.

Kovalainen replaces Alonso next year while Piquet Jr becomes one of two official test drivers with Renault.

At Toyota, Frank Montagny had his first test with the team setting a fastest time of 1:19.659. The team is currently in discussions about a possible test role for Montagny next season.

Franck Montagny said:

I am quite happy to have driven for Toyota today. Overall, I had a really good feeling - about the car and its handling, the team and everyone who worked with me today. I felt that everyone was very professional and made me feel comfortable. Of course, I will need more time to get to know all the areas of such a large team. For my part, we focused on tyre testing and I am sure there is still a lot to do, but my overall feeling was quite positive. I was glad to be of help to the team and enjoyed driving the car.

Hi Ed any idea where we can get some detailed information on todays test? The fastest lap published late in the day always leaves me wondering what actually happened. I'm sure you feel the same way, surely you have connections with a team member or are friends with a nutcase who goes to every test and race session.

(Or how about you pay me expences and I'll be that nutcase )

[Ed]

Hi Ed any idea where we can get some detailed information on todays test? The fastest lap published late in the day always leaves me wondering what actually happened. I'm sure you feel the same way, surely you have connections with a team member or are friends with a nutcase who goes to every test and race session.

(Or how about you pay me expences and I'll be that nutcase )

Agree! The fastest time on its own doesn't mean much.

If de la Rosa and Hamilton are put head to head, I think lap by lap times will be particularly hard to get. In any case we don't have connections at McLaren

Having said that, I am sure if Hamilton sets the fastest time today you'll be very happy

[Ed]

Ed get over here right away and deal with this Tanana he/she/it is already making me nervous!

Had a strong feeling Tanana was a spammer but it slipped in
Now its GONE

Thanks!

[Snowy]

Hi Ed any idea where we can get some detailed information on todays test? The fastest lap published late in the day always leaves me wondering what actually happened. I'm sure you feel the same way, surely you have connections with a team member or are friends with a nutcase who goes to every test and race session.

(Or how about you pay me expences and I'll be that nutcase )

Agree! The fastest time on its own doesn't mean much.

If de la Rosa and Hamilton are put head to head, I think lap by lap times will be particularly hard to get. In any case we don't have connections at McLaren

Having said that, I am sure if Hamilton sets the fastest time today you'll be very happy

Thanks for your consideration in this matter Ed. Even Barcelona's test data was impossible to get the last couple of tests during the race season. I guess nobody wants to give too much away. If only they knew how their devoted fans suffer when they are fed on crumbs and anecdotes

[Snowy]

Testing times from Silverstone with number of laps completed (care of Mclaren web site)


Nelson Piquet Jr Renault________________1m19.560 ____________74
Heikki Kovalainen Renault_______________1m19.690 ___________120
Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes__1m19.919 ___________116
Franck Montangy Toyota________________1m20.629 ____________ 92
Alex Wurz WilliamsF1___________________1m20.821_____________68
Lewis Hamilton Team McLaren Mercedes___1m20.857_____________64
Ralf Schumacher Toyota________________1m21.131_____________53
Sakon Yamamoto Super Aguri ___________1m21.977_____________67
Alexandre Premat Spyker MF1___________1m23.213_____________85
Narain Karthikayan WilliamsF1___________1m24.912_____________40
Ronnie Quintorely Spyker MF1___________1m36.633______________5


Nelson seems to have adapted well!!!

Lewis just one second off off Pedro also bodes well. My guess is when Lewis sees that Nelson has topped the times he is gonna do everything in his power to top the time sheets tommorrow

[Snowy]

I wouldn't be surprised if they have a race. I'm off to Silverstone

[Ed]

Thanks Snowy for posting the times. Piquet Jr. fastest is impressive indeed. Hamilton under a second from de la Rosa isn't bad keeping in mind de la Rosa will be putting in his best performance.

Montagny quicker than Ralf Schumacher. That is surprising but lets not forget that this is just testing and Ralf's car suffered an engine failure!

Piquet Jr. said:

This was another day of learning and improving for me. The more laps I do, the better things are getting and I feel like I am improving with every run. We did a good variety of long runs and shorter runs today, and the car felt really good as we started making some set-up changes. I am looking forward to another strong day tomorrow.

Lewis Hamilton said:

I am really pleased to have made my full test debut with Team McLaren Mercedes today at Silverstone. It has been a positive session, working through more systems checks with the car during the day, with my focus on this rather than going for times. It is a steep learning curve, and as a result I am making sure I get the most out of my time with the test team and the engineers. It was great to be able to stretch the legs of the MP4-21 round Silverstone, the car is fantastic to drive, even more so as I am doing longer runs than yesterday and you can actually start to build up a proper rhythm.

[JayVee]

Looks like Nelson has potential. Being faster than Heikki is something!

Good signing by Renault I'd say!

[Snowy]

Looks like Nelson has potential. Being faster than Heikki is something!

Good signing by Renault I'd say!

It is actually very scary because he did half the number of laps in that session and has only driven the car twice! Perhaps he should be racing next season and not Fisi!

[GhoGho]

It is actually very scary because he did half the number of laps in that session and has only driven the car twice! Perhaps he should be racing next season and not Fisi!

and then he would show us how overrated FA actually is!

[Snowy]

Times from Final day of testing at Silverstone with number of laps

Nelson Piquet Jr Renault __________________1m19.508 ______79
Heikki Kovalainen Renault ________________1m19.576 _______98
Lewis Hamilton Team McLaren Mercedes _____1m20.158 ______47
Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes ___1m20.283 ______107
Ralf Schumacher Toyota _________________1m21.391 _______49
Olivier Panis Toyota _____________________1m22.216 ______75
Alex Wurz Williams F1 ___________________1m22.942 ______89
Takuma Sato Super Aguri ________________1m23.181 ______81

Both Piquet and Hamilton have beaten their respective teammates by just fractions of seconds! Some people have some difficult decisions to make. Doo Ron Ron what to do Ron Ron

[Julian Mayo]

just a coupla questions guys? Who was carrying what fuel, were the cars in same engine spec., did they have the same aero , were they running the same tyres, and tyre pressures????????

[Snowy]

just a coupla questions guys? Who was carrying what fuel, were the cars in same engine spec., did they have the same aero , were they running the same tyres, and tyre pressures????????

We don't know! Which is typical of F1. I tried to convince Ed to pay for me to go and suss all this out but he was strangely quite on the subject. I asked him if he knew any members of the test teams or anyone at the track he confessed he didn't. I think we should suggest he scout out some marshals for next seasons testing. So that we are never left in this kind of limbo again.

Pedro and Lewis are almost definately involved in competition for a race seat along with DTM's Gary Paffett, and were testing tyres for China and Brazil, it would be a bit uneconomical to have them running different fuel and tyres so that no real decision could be made. Often the fastest guy doesn't get the drive because the other has a better grasp of feedback and shows more potential for development. The decisions would always be mysterious to us mere mortals. However one thing is particularly evident from the lap times Nelson and Lewis have set. They are both very quick and quick at adapting to the pinnacle of motorsport. Which prompted someone at ITV to ask the question 'are modern F1 cars too easy to drive?' Which is a dumb question imho, 'are modern F1 cars too easy to drive quickly?' would be more appropriate yet that is still a pretty daft question. An F1 car will lap a circuit twice in the time it takes a BMW M3 to complete a lap and irrispective of improvements in technology the physical forces and mental agility involved in travelling that fast are still considerable. Breaking distances are substantially shorter than ever and driving on the edge is by it's very definition the edge and if that is easy or easier now than ever then I'm an F1 race car driver.