02/02/2011
NEWS STORY
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Ferrari's Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at Valencia, his 1:13.307 eclipsing the best time posted yesterday by Sebastian Vettel.
The Spaniard continued with development of the F150, concentrating mainly on acquiring data which will be used to analyse the aerodynamic behaviour of the car, as well as gaining a further understanding of the Pirelli tyres. He covered 108 laps on his way to posting a best time of 1.13.307.
"I am happy with the work we did today," said Alonso. "Yesterday we concentrated mainly on the systems on the car, on checking that everything was okay, while on this second day we were able to go deeper into our understanding of its behaviour, even with different fuel loads, making the first changes to the set-up. For example, we tried to deal with the oversteer and to find ways of dealing with tyre degradation over a long distance."
A few minor hitches linked to carrying out some set-up changes on the car slowed the work programme in the morning, but it did not upset the planned programme which was fully completed. "This is totally normal when you start developing a brand new car," explained Alonso. "From the reliability point of view, this is definitely a good start. The F150 proved to be very strong and we can be happy about that. As to whether we will be competitive, we won't really know for sure until Bahrain."
Felipe Massa was a keen observer and tomorrow, it is his turn to get behind the wheel of the F150. In the morning, his team-mate is heading off for Maranello where, the next day, he will be working on the simulator.
At Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber split the driving duties, with the German driving in the morning, before the Australian took over for the afternoon. The team continued with further system checks, as well as focusing on aerodynamic development work.
"I didn't get so long in the car today," said Webber, "so we will start the real work tomorrow. There was a bit of a problem with the installation, something with the pedals, so it took a bit longer than we expected. It wasn't the smoothest day, but we're back tomorrow - it's great that the guys have got the car here for the first test and I'm looking forward to driving it more."
"Sebastian pretty much ran to schedule this morning," added Head of Race Engineering, Ian Morgan, "there were a few minor delays, but nothing significant. Unfortunately we lost some time changing drivers this afternoon due to some driver installation issues. Once Mark's testing session got underway, he was able to complete two runs and begin acclimatising to the new car."
Paul di Resta continued Force India's programme , completing more than 100 laps of the 3.92km Spanish track. The Scot, driving the 2010 car, contributed to an extremely productive day as he gathered more information on the performance of the three Pirelli tyre compounds available this week. His fastest lap, a 1:13.844, was the third quickest of the day.
"Another good day of testing for the team," said the Scot, "gathering lots of information for the guys to work on as we prepare for the debut of the VJM04 next week. We're now understanding a lot more about the performance of the Pirellis and the differences between the compounds, particularly with regards to long and shorter runs and different fuel loads. At this stage we're not going for times, just trying to get representative data to work on. I'm feeling good and well integrated into the team and my new role, there's a really positive atmosphere, which will set us up extremely well for next week when the new car testing programme starts."
"Today's programme was intended to compare the various tyre compounds' performance with yesterday's as the track improved," added Dominic Harlow, the team's circuit engineering director. "During the course of the session the circuit should have reached something approaching race conditions in terms of the laps run on it, so it's interesting data. It was a productive day and we also worked on some systems development for the VJM04. Adrian will be in the car tomorrow for the final day here."
At McLaren, today saw a continuation of the programme begun yesterday by Gary Paffett, namely, gathering data and feedback on Pirelli's rubber using a modified MP4-25.
"It felt great to be back in the car," said Lewis Hamilton, who posted the fourth fastest time of the day. "I haven't been driving for a while, so it felt good to brush away the cobwebs, and I felt at home straight away.
"Even though we were using the 2010 car, we had quite a productive day. We were trying to replicate 2011 downforce levels on the old car - so it wasn't 100 per cent accurate - but we still got a good understanding of the new Pirellis and covered quite a lot of ground.
"The new tyres are easy to get a feel for; there's not as much grip on the Pirellis as we had last year; they drop off quite a bit, too, and they're a little bit harder to control over a longer stint - but it's the same for everybody."
Jenson Button winds up the programme tomorrow before focus shifts to Friday's launch of the MP4-26 and next week's Jerez test.
Robert Kubica took over the cockpit of the Lotus Renault GP R31 today, the Pole completing 104 laps on his way to posting the fifth best time of the day.
He ran with a new steering wheel design and felt happy with the new button layout, which makes it easier to manage the heavy workload associated with KERS and the adjustable rear wing. Flow Viz paint was used on the car in the morning allowing the team to confirm the new aero package was working as expected. The team ran with supersoft, soft and medium compounds in order to gather preliminary data on the new rubber.
"It's always difficult to judge things after just one day in the car," said the Pole, "especially with so many changes compared to last year. The main factor is definitely the new tyres, which have a big influence on how the car behaves and we ran on some of the different compounds to start getting a feeling for them. We did have a couple of mechanical issues with the car and we couldn't complete the entire programme, but we still did lots of laps. This is very important because we managed to complete a lot of the usual system and reliability checks needed with a new car and made sure there were no overheating issues."
"A much more satisfying day than yesterday," added James Allison. "Over a hundred laps today with no significant problems. The KERS system and the DRS wing worked flawlessly and the car spent enough time on the track for us to do some set-up work alongside the routine task list of pre-season checks."
The focus of the programme was to accumulate mileage on the R31 and that went very well with Robert covering 104 laps," said Alan Permane. "This was important because we lost a lot of track time yesterday and we've now completed a good amount of our system checks.
"Already we have been able to play with the set-up of the car and work on tuning the balance to Robert's liking," he continued. "He completed both short and long runs throughout the day, which gives us some useful data to evaluate this evening so that we can maximise our final day of testing tomorrow."
Narain Karthikeyan was back on duty for Hispania, the Indian completing 80 laps, 33 more than yesterday, and improving on the time posted yesterday. Therefore, as far as the Spanish outfit is concerned, it was a positive day since all the planned programmes were completed.
"We did 80 laps, which is good," said the Indian. "Obviously the times are not so important, we were not going for times today, what it is ok, just building up to it nicely. Besides, I have tried several Pirelli compounds, therefore I feel really satisfied. Hopefully we will do some more work tomorrow in the same direction".
"Times are not now important," added Colin Kolles, "we pay attention to the data we are collecting. Narain has completed 80 laps, what is almost the double of what he did yesterday. I am very happy with his progress and I am sure he will keep on improving".
Nico Rosberg was back at the wheel of the W02, running with the Mercedes KERS system which was operational for the first time. The German had a productive day, completing 69 laps as he conducted the team's programme of systems and reliability checks with the new car. Michael Schumacher will take over for the third and final day tomorrow.
"It was an interesting day," said Rosberg, "and important that we completed a lot of laps. We ran with part of the KERS system for the first time, so much of the focus was on learning how to handle the system. It is challenging but just a matter of getting used to the buttons and how the car feels under braking out on track. Today's running confirmed my initial good feelings about the car. We had a few issues which is normal with a new car but fixed them quickly."
"Today was important for us to get some good mileage on the car," added Ross Brawn, "and I'm pleased with what we have been able to achieve. It has been a learning experience for us all to use KERS for the first time and inevitably we faced some teething problems with the system which should be ironed out quickly enough with further testing. A more positive day in terms of reliability and we completed a number of the key system checks with the new car."
At Virgin, Timo Glock was back in the 2010 VR-01, the German carrying on with testing the new Pirelli tyres and working through the programme of 2011 systems evaluation.
Glock, having completed his first 34 laps of the season, will be back at the wheel of the car during the third and final day of the test tomorrow. It will also be the last day with the VR-01 car, as the new MVR-02 car will be presented on Monday in London and will be ready for next week's test in Jerez.
"It was good to be in the car again after a winter preparing myself for a new season which I am really looking forward to," said Glock. "These first tests are going to be useful as we continue getting to grips with the new Pirelli tyres. Despite not being able to complete as many laps as we would have liked, it has been a very interesting day for me and the team and I can't wait to jump in the car again tomorrow and carry on working hard in preparation for the new season ahead."
"It has been another interesting day for the team," added team principal, John Booth, "we are getting very useful information. It's good to see Timo back in the car again. We had some minor hydraulic problems, but the team is working very hard and is ready for tomorrow's last day of tests in Valencia."
It was another frustrating day for Williams, Rubens Barrichello completing just 50 laps in the morning before handing over to new teammate Pastor Maldonado.
"We had a problem in the morning session with an ignition coil wiring loom shorting out against a testing sensor which cost us two hours with Rubens," said Sam Michael. "We therefore extended his programme slightly to do some set-up work in the morning and gain more understanding of the FW33. Pastor then took over in the afternoon and acclimatised himself to the car and the electronics, he didn't do any real set-up work as we will get into that tomorrow. Overall it was another good day in terms of mileage."
"We have improved the car from yesterday," added Barrichello. "We had an electrical problem in the morning and the boys did a great job to sort everything out. We then had to do some quick work as I had to hand the car over to Pastor this afternoon. The work done last night on set-up has improved the car a little. We are still not there with the balance but we are going in the right direction."
"It was great to adapt myself to the new car," said Maldonado. "It was my first time in the FW33 so I am really happy to get started. Tomorrow I will get more experience and keep working to understand the car."
Sauber also experienced a difficult day, covering just 42 laps. Despite this, the team's new rookie driver, Sergio Perez, had his first driving experience at the wheel of the new C30. Some technical issues have to be resolved overnight, and the team faces a busy programme tomorrow, the third and final day of testing here.
"It was a difficult day with not much running," said Perez, "and we obviously could not complete our programme. But for me it was still good to get my first laps in the new car, and I am beginning to feel confident with it. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hope we can do a lot of running with proper set up work."
"In the morning Sergio started off for his first time in the car," added James Key. "The first seven runs were devoted to aerodynamic checks and consistent speed running. We then had some issues with the rear bodywork of the car, which needed time to be fixed. Then unfortunately we suffered a power train issue early in the afternoon, the reason for which we are trying to trace. It was a difficult day compared to yesterday, and it is a shame Sergio wasn't able to get in more laps. We didn't do any performance or set up running. But it is only day two of the first test, and that is how winter testing can be. That is simply the nature of early testing. We will work hard tonight to resolve the issues and plan a full programme for tomorrow."
For the second day of the test and indeed the second ever day of track running for the STR6, Jaime Alguersuari was back in the cockpit this morning for Toro Rosso, while Sebastien Buemi took over in the afternoon for his first encounter with the new car. As the car had never turned a wheel before coming to Spain, Tuesday was spent carrying out system checks, while today, both drivers were able to move on, completing a decent number of laps.
All the running was aimed at developing a good understanding of the car and specifically, both drivers were able to have their first taste of running KERS. This morning Jaime was able to try three Pirelli compounds, the Medium, Soft and Super-Soft, while Sebastien tried just the first two.
"A much better day than yesterday," said the Spaniard, "as we managed to complete many more laps this morning, getting a lot of useful data. There is much we have to learn at this stage, especially regarding the elements that are new in the regulations. It was particularly interesting using the KERS and I am beginning to understand how to use it, especially in the power recovery phase. I'm looking forward to getting back in the car next week in Jerez and moving the development along still further."
"This afternoon was my first time in the car," added Buemi, "and it felt good to be driving again after the winter break. I ran for about three hours managing 46 laps which is quite encouraging for a first day. It is going to be an interesting evening studying all the data as so much is new to us and we need to understand as well and as soon as possible how the car behaves. So tomorrow, will be a case of carrying on down this route."
Propping up the timesheets was Heikki Kovalainen in the new Lotus, the Norfolk-based team suffering a number of issues and therfore only completing 15 laps.
"Firstly it was great to get the car out on track on time," said Mike Gascoyne, "and I want to thank the whole team for pushing hard to get us to this point. However, it was a bit of a frustrating day as we had a problem with the power steering that brought the session to an earlier end than we would have liked.
"On stripdown we have been able to identify the problem and it is a very straightforward fix," he continued, "so we will get the parts and spares here for tomorrow and should be able to run through the whole program. On the positive side we did all the systems and temperature checks and everything appears to be running fine so with the power steering issue fixed overnight I am sure we will have two full days of testing to come."
"Despite the limited running today the car felt fantastic," said Kovalainen. "It immediately felt like it was much better balanced than last year's car and the grip level felt ok, but it's a bit hard to make any real judgements as we weren't going for performance. Today was basically our shakedown and we managed to get through most of the checks we'd aimed to - it wasn't about pushing today, it was about checking the systems and making sure the new engine, gearbox and hydraulics are all working as we want them to.
"The whole team has had a very busy winter," he continued, "and everybody has been working flat out to make sure we could be at the first test of the season which wasn't the case last year. This morning we were the first car out on track and that's been the story all winter - we've hit all our targets and it was the same today."
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