16/01/2008
NEWS STORY
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While high winds and rain were disrupting BMW's test at Valencia, almost continual light rain was causing problems at Jerez, where the first major test of 2008 was brought to a close.
Topping the timesheets at the end of the day was GP2 Series Champion Timo Glock, who was getting his first taste of the TF108.
The German's task was to gain as much track time as possible with the new car while also comparing set-up changes and mechanical settings. Kamui Kobayashi was in the TF107 for its final planned official test but rain in the morning led him to sit out the first two hours.
With a new car to test, Glock was immediately down to work on the wet track and he made good progress on a lengthy programme before a spin into the gravel just before lunch. No damage was done and after the TF108 was cleaned and checked he resumed, with Kobayashi now on track looking into set-up and fine-tuning the new gearbox and ECU.
Another trouble-free run from TF108 saw Glock end the day on 96 laps, meaning the new car has clocked up an impressive total of over 1,500km over four days. The team will be in action again in Valencia next week when two TF108s are expected to be tested.
"I am pleased with our progress today," said Glock, "and I believe we have made some significant improvements to the new car. It is encouraging to see us end the day with the fastest lap and I think we made a step forward. Once again the car was extremely reliable and that allowed us to complete a lot of laps and gather plenty of information. This is a completely different car compared to the TF107 but it is a good step forward and we know what we need to work on to improve. I made a small mistake in the morning on the damp track when the rear wheels locked and I spun but it didn't cost us much time. The team worked really hard this week to improve the car and I am happy."
"The rain in the morning meant there was not much point in me going out, because it is not possible to make accurate set-up judgements in such conditions," said Kobayashi. "So I waited and when the track began to dry I was able to start my programme. Overall it went well and we have had a positive test. I think we have learned some things during my two days and now I am looking forward to getting the chance to drive the TF108 in the coming tests. Both Timo and Jarno have been pretty positive about it so I can't wait."
"We have had a very productive four days here with the new car," added Test Team Manager, Gerd Pfeiffe, "including the roll-out. It has been a promising start to the year and we have made good progress understanding the TF108. But this is only the first step and we know we have more work to do in the next five pre-season tests to improve the car's performance. Today was another busy day for Timo with the new car and he has conducted some important set-up work, including an impressive lap in the afternoon. Kamui did fewer laps because of the damp conditions but he completed the programme we had planned for him."
Despite two offs, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, Lewis Hamilton finished the day second quickest. The conditions meant that, on top of the continuing development programme, the team took the opportunity to look into improving engine drivability and car handling with wet settings. In addition the MP4-23 has been running with the new FIA ECU codes and development of this was also a focus. Hamilton was partnered by Heikki Kovalainen, who ended the day sixth quickest.
"We have now completed six full track days with two MP4-23's," said Martin Whitmarsh, "and already clocked up approximately 4193km's on our 2008 challenger, 1,000kms of which were covered yesterday alone, and we are only halfway through the third week in January. It has been an immensely productive start to our pre-season test programme and is a strong motivation for the team to keep pushing. Although it is far too early in the development stage of the car to be predicting how competitive it will be, initial feedback from the drivers and the team has been positive and we have a huge amount of data on which to base the continuing development programme around."
Fernando Alonso was at the wheel of the R27 again today for his second day of work. Despite the heavy rain at the start of the session, Alonso completed several runs. The team then decided to wait until the track conditions had improved before continuing with their programme, which allowed the Spaniard to find his feet with the new 2008 regulations that deprive the drivers of various electronic aids. The two-time World Champion also worked on the aerodynamic balance of the car and the engine mapping.
The changeable weather certainly delayed the team's programme, but according to the team the information gathered from the day was "interesting". More importantly, Alonso was pleased to have the opportunity to get back behind the wheel before his next test with the team in Valencia next week with the new car.
"I feel more than happy with today," said the Spaniard. "We have worked well and made good progress. Today I was able to feel the changes that were gradually made to the car and the overall result is encouraging. I was expecting to have more difficulties with the new regulations, but everything has gone smoothly which is positive. I am well aware that there is much more to do but it is a good start and I'm happy."
"This has been a productive day," added Christian Silk, "we have made progress despite the poor track conditions and we made the most of the rain to complete some laps on a wet track. Fernando has now completed two days work and it has been a good return for him. The car ran without any problems and so we have been able to maximise the first days of running with Fernando and prepare for the arrival of the new car next week."
The French team will be on-track again tomorrow with Alvaro Parente at the wheel of the R27. The young Portuguese driver has been invited to take part at this test after winning the World Series by Renault 2007 title.
Once again, Toro Rosso had Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel on duty, however, the German's final day ended prematurely, when he went off the track with about an hour remaining.
"Overall, this has been a positive test with the main work focusing on our new gearbox, this being the first time we ran the ' four race' version," explained Chief Engineer, Laurent Mekies. "We concentrated on getting it functioning correctly and, so far, we seem to be going in the right direction.
"Because of the difficult weather conditions, with the track taking a long time to dry on the first and last day, both our driver had the opportunity to run for the first time on both the wet and extreme wet tyres, without the assistance of engine braking and traction control. We also validated some new aero parts with encouraging results."
Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa continued for Ferrari as the Italian outfit concluded the development programme planned for this week. The programme centred mainly on learning about the new car, the electronics, the quest for reliability and some initial set-up evaluation. The Brazilian, who completed 85 laps, finished fifth quickest, while Raikkonen (88) was eighth overall.
For Williams, Kazuki Nakajima was joined by Nico Hulkenberg. The Grove outfit focussed on the reliability of the 2008 transmission, together with work on electronic set-up for the standard ECU. Next week sees the debut of the team's 2008 contender.
"This week's testing was quite badly affected by the weather conditions," said Nakajima. "It was wet for most of day one and then for half of the session today as well. Apart from that, it's been a productive three days for us. I've tried out many new things on the interim car which will be transferred over to the FW30, but I still need to do some work to get everything right. We're running the new car next week and I'm really looking forward to driving it for the first time."
Adrian Sutil brought Force India's first test of 2008 to a close. The German, who turned 25 last Friday, completed the team's planned programme of evaluating the 2008 standard electronic control unit and a range of set-up options. He also conducted several fuel cell tests.
With the frequent red flag periods, Sutil's running was limited to just 71 laps. With the track staying damp until mid afternoon, times were also slower than the previous days and Adrian's time (1:21.705) was not representative of the progress made today.
"With the rain it was not the best conditions at the start," said Sutil, "but at least this morning we did a lot of running in the wet, which was helpful as we tried some different settings. We still have quite a lot of work to do, but in the end I was quite happy, particularly as towards the mid afternoon we could do some dry running, which I needed as it's a new circuit for me - I had just a few laps three or four years ago in Formula 3! It's not that difficult to learn but there are still some tricky sections and even when it dried there were some damp parts, but I was happy to be back in the car."
"Obviously a fairly disruptive day for Adrian and the team due to the weather," added Mike Gascoyne. "The rain showers meant that the conditions on the track were fairly changeable until the last hour or so when we were able to do some dry running, but nevertheless it's good for Adrian to get back in the car after a reasonably long lay off over the Christmas period. Despite the stoppages over the three days, it was still a productive test with our new driving combination.'
Following its (extremely) low key launch this morning, David Coulthard was at the wheel of Red Bull 's challenger for 2008, the RB4, giving the new car its first ever run.
According to the team, the day can be described as successful, given that DC completed a total of 54 laps, putting in some long runs in dry conditions this afternoon, having completed a couple of installation laps on a damp track in the morning. Webber, who was running the RB3, completed 53 laps, out-pacing his teammate by 0.306.
It was another lousy day for Super Aguri, with Anthony Davidson left kicking his heels as the team's attempts to bring in spare parts were thwarted by various 'act of god'.
Testing resumes at Valencia next Tuesday (22).
To check out our updated Jerez picture gallery, with over 130 pictures, click here