04/12/2007
NEWS STORY
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BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Honda's Jenson Button set the pace on the first day of testing at Jerez today. However, the 0.670s gap to (third quickest) Pedro de la Rosa doesn't indicate a massive improvement in pace from the RA107 but rather the fact that two drivers were using slick tyres.
The much anticipated return of slick tyres, which will (hopefully) be reintroduced in 2009, didn't see a dramatic improvement in lap times, but this could also be due to the fact that drivers are still getting to grips with 2008-style electrics and the lack of driver aids.
Button, under the watching eye of Ross Brawn (above) who was making his first public appearance with the Brackley outfit, was the first driver to run on slicks, however, his best time was soon beaten by Heidfeld once he switched from grooved tyres.
Other than slick tyres, Heidfeld, who will be driving for three days this week, was concentrating on preparations for 2008. In particular he worked on the 2008 electronics and driving with no traction control.
The German team took this opportunity to give two young F1 hopefuls a test. In the morning, it was 20-year-old Javier Villa, who had his first taste of Formula 1 power. Prior to this the Spanish driver had raced here in Formula 3 and tested in Gp2 for just one day.
In the afternoon, it was 23-year-old Marko Asmer in the same car. The Estonian driver has tested a Formula 1 car before, but this was his first ever visit to Jerez.
Both drivers, who were separated by just 0.541, with Asmer being the quicker, completed their programmes without any problems.
Button continued the evaluation of the 2008 standard electronic controls system, which was tested for the first time by the team at Barcelona last month. This was the English driver's final F1 test commitment this year, with Rubens Barrichello taking over tomorrow.
The Honda Young Driver Programme continues, with Mike Conway, Luca Filippi and Andreas Zuber all having a second opportunity to work with the Japanese team this week.
Conway had his day in the car today and continued his acclimatisation programme from the Barcelona test as he continued to work with the engineers to understand the car's set-up. In the afternoon, he focused on longer runs before finishing the day with short new tyres runs. Andi Zuber will take over the car tomorrow.
Quickest of the non-slick runners was Pedro de la Rosa in the McLaren, who was partnered by Gary Paffett. The Woking team had two chassis at the track, one set-up to focus on aerodynamic development and the other on the proving of chassis components. The Spaniard and the Englishman swapped between the chassis during the day.
Lewis Hamilton will join de la Rosa tomorrow for two days, with Paffett returning for Friday when the team will run with slick tyres.
Just under three weeks after having his World Championship title officially confirmed, Kimi Raikkonen was back in the cockpit at Ferrari, the Finn preparing for the defence of his title in 2008.
The Finn was joined by Marc Gene as the Italian outfit worked on the development of new components for 2008, with special emphasis on electronics.
Following on from the work conducted in Barcelona last month with Heikki Kovalainen, Renault, which has Nelson Piquet on duty this week, is looking to make the most of its final on-track running for over a month.
The Brazilian, who concentrated on acclimatising to the R27 fitted with the 2008-spec standard ECU, and therefore without driver aids, had already driven the car in this configuration earlier in the year, and adapted quickly to the challenge. He ran through a programme of set-up work in order to find a good baseline set-up for the rest of the week.
"It was good to get back to driving today," said Piquet, "particularly as I will be in the car for all three days this week. I was comfortable in the car, and it felt good to be running without driver aids. We found a good set-up for the car today, and that will help us make more progress tomorrow."
"Our aim for the day was to get Nelson comfortable with the car, and it went well," added Christian Silk. "He did a good job on the set-up programme in order to find a baseline set-up for the rest of the week. We could have run more laps, but it was still an encouraging day, and we will be focusing on doing plenty of miles to successfully complete our programme over the next two days."
As in Barcelona last month, Sebastien Bourdais was driving the Toro Rosso with 2008 electronics, while Sebastian Vettel had the 2007 package with the relevant driver aids switched off. The German's programme therefore focussed on development of gearbox and engine control systems, however, his day was cut short due to a technical problem. Prior to that, however, he did manage to complete a brake system evaluation.
Bourdais had a trouble free day, completing the second highest number of laps. He worked on a front flap comparison while also carrying out an evaluation of front suspension solutions. 'French Seb' was quicker than his German teammate by 0.445. Both drivers continue testing tomorrow.
Mark Webber was Red Bull's sole representative, the Australian's first outing in an F1 car since the season finale at Interlagos. Because he didn't participate in the Barcelona test, this was Webber's first taste of driving with 2008 electronics and no driver aids. Most of the day was spent working on set-up items for next season. Tomorrow, the Australian is joined by David Coulthard.
Super Aguri's James Rossiter was another driver to run on slicks, though the Englishman was unable to match the pace of Heidfeld or even Button.
The primary focus of today's programme was to evaluate and continue to understand the MES controls system which was utilised for the first time in Barcelona. Rossiter ran slicks for the first time in the afternoon, and spent time evaluating mechanical and aerodynamic set-ups to suit the tyre configuration.
Today marked Timo Glock's debut with the Toyota team, for whom he will race next season. The German was joined by Kamui Kobayashi, who only recently was confirmed as the team's third driver for 2008.
With both drivers getting their first taste of the TF107, Kobayashi's car featured significant changes with a view to next season, including a revised rear end.
Both drivers got to work understanding their new machinery and making initial set-up changes, with no problems on either car. Kobayashi had a highly productive day and clocked a mammoth 114 laps - more than any other driver - as he got back into the Formula 1 groove with his first full test for the team since December 2006. Glock, using 2007 electronics without traction control or engine braking, soon struck up a strong working relationship with the team and he also steadily improved his lap times as he became more familiar with the TF107.
"It was great to get back in a Formula 1 car again," said the Japanese driver. "Even though I don't officially become third driver until January, it feels like I have already begun my role and today I was able to learn a lot about the car. At the start of the day I was just trying to get comfortable with the car and the track and I was able to do a lot of laps which really helped me. In the afternoon I could work more on set-up and understanding the development parts on the car and I think we made some good progress. I enjoy working with the team and this test is great experience for me before I officially start as third driver next year. Now I can't wait to get back in the car tomorrow."
"It has been a very interesting experience to have two new drivers in the car today," admitted Pascal Vasselon, the team's Senior General Manager Chassis. "We are very pleased to have Timo in the car and he has made a strong first impression. He is very focused and worked hard today to understand the car and make some improvements in set-up. As expected, he did a good job and provided solid feedback, which is very useful for us. He drove without driver aids today but that was no problem for him because of his experience in GP2 driving without traction is natural to him. The team already know Kamui from his tests with us last winter but he is a young driver with not so much Formula 1 experience so he had to acclimatise and get used to a Formula 1 car again. He did a good job, didn't make any mistakes and gave us some data on set-up with the new electronics system and new rear end. He also completed an impressive number of laps which shows how fit he is."
With a whole load of drivers to evaluate this week, today Force India had Giancarlo Fisichella and Franck Montagny on duty, both drivers making their debut with the new outfit.
The duo worked through a schedule of chassis development, general set-up work and continuing evaluation of the new-for-2008 standard ECU package. In the afternoon, Fisichella also tried the slick Bridgestone Potenza development tyres. Although the day went without major drama, it was marred by several red flag periods and some minor mechanical issues and spins from both drivers. However, with three further days of testing, the team is optimistic of completing its overall programme.
Fisichella will remain in the car for a second day's testing tomorrow, while Montagny hands over the wheel to Christian Klien tomorrow
"Today was a slightly frustrating day of testing, with many red flags and a couple of minor mechanical issues on the cars," said Mike Gascoyne, "which meant we didn't get through our whole programme. We did still manage to get some useful information from the two drivers however.
"Giancarlo worked on basic set up and continued electronic systems development and, at the end of the day, was able to do a preliminary run on the 2009 tyres which gave us some good information. Franck was working on electronic development and some set up parameters plus damper work and similarly gave us excellent feedback. Once again it was very useful to have this feedback from two professional drivers with experience of other cars."
"It's my first day back in the car nearly two months after the last race in Brazil," said Fisichella, "plus my first with another car and new engine, and of course without the electronics. Considering this I am quite happy about how the day went though. We did have a couple of issues so I didn't run as much as I would have liked; with new tyres I had a problem with the hydraulic pressure, and when I tried out the slick tyres there was a problem on the diff so we didn't get a proper idea of how the tyres will work. All the same I do think it's been a positive day though and a good basis for tomorrow."
"It's been a good day," added Montagny. "We did have a bit of bad luck with our new tyre runs though - we had two new sets of tyres, and with the first set I stopped and the other there was a red flag. It was good fun and nice to work with the team. It was interesting to see how everyone works and I think we did quite a reasonable job together. Unfortunately the track is quite hard on tyres and we had a lot of degradation, which doesn't help you do all the set up work we wanted to do today, but I enjoyed it all the same and I think the team got some useful information."
Williams had German sensation Nico Hulkenberg and Kazuki Nakajima on duty, with the German, making his F1 debut, out-pacing the 2008 race driver, albeit by a mere 0.015s. Tomorrow, Hulkenberg will be joined by Nico Rosberg.