07/02/2012
NEWS STORY
Back in F1 after two years away, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen dominated the first day of testing at Jerez today.
All but Marussia were in action as preparations for the 2012 season, which begins in Melbourne in just over five weeks, finally got underway.
Though Mercedes and HRT ran their 2011 cars, their nine rivals had their 2012 contenders in action, Ferrari, in particular, making good use of the 'nose bump' that is a feature of this year's car.
Raikkonen posted his best time of 1:19.670 quite early in the session, the Finn completing 75 trouble free laps. Though the Enstone-based outfit was keen to play down the significance of lap times at this early stage, it is an encouraging start, especially for its Finnish driver.
"It was a positive first day of testing and everything went almost to plan," said Raikkonen. "We had no major issues and I got a good feel for the car and the tyres. The tyres were more of a challenge in the afternoon when we ran with a scrubbed set, but overall it was a positive day. The lap times don't matter today. I'm happy with the balance of the car, which feels good, and the fact that we didn't have any major issues. Also, I did more than a race distance today and did not have any physical problems at all, which is good. I'm looking forward to making further progress with the car tomorrow."
"It was a flawless morning with a slightly interrupted afternoon as we changed the second of the KERS batteries which we ran today," said technical director, James Allison. "Overall it was a very promising day in terms of reliability and it gives us a good springboard for the rest of the test. So far Kimi's feedback on the car has been complimentary in terms of the balance, the braking and other features. The steering is slightly heavy for his liking at the moment, but we already have a different steering rack being completed which he will use in Barcelona."
"We enjoyed a strong first day with the E20 in both performance and reliability," added Alan Permane, the team's trackside operations director, "and this is a testament to all the hard work done by everyone at Enstone over the winter. It's always nice to be top of the timesheets, but the main encouraging factor from today is the car's reliability; apart from a small KERS problem this afternoon it was faultless. We ran on the medium compound Pirelli tyre all day and it seemed to hold up pretty well, showing similar degradation to that we saw last year, so I think there'll be exciting racing once more in 2012."
Paul Di Resta was behind the wheel for Force India as the team started systems checks, data collection and set-up work. The Scot was the second busiest driver out there, completing 101 laps on his way to posting the second best time.
"A good start to our winter test programme with 101 laps completed, which allowed us to get through all our objectives and a bit more," said the Scot. "The baseline balance felt pretty good and the car performed consistently over the longer runs, which was useful for collecting the data we need. So I think we can be positive heading into tomorrow and the next three days will be interesting as we have more test items to evaluate. On a personal level it's also nice to spend such a busy day in the car to shake off the rust and assess my fitness level."
"To complete over 100 laps on the first day of testing is the ideal way to begin our week in Jerez," added technical director, Andrew Green. "We made good progress with the job list and managed to complete all the objectives set for the day. We ran on the new 2012-spec hard and medium Pirelli tyre compounds throughout, which will help give us some consistency when analysing the data tonight. As usual, Paul's feedback was excellent and we're starting to get a good idea of the set-up direction we should take for the coming days.
"Jules will be in the car tomorrow morning so the priority is to get him comfortable and up to speed quickly. We will also continue with more of the work we started today and try to get as many miles on the car as possible."
Mercedes ran Nico Rosberg in the morning and teammate Michael Schumacher in the afternoon. Between them the German duo posted 98 laps, Rosberg's best time an encouraging 0.575s quicker than his teammate.
Both drivers completed a set-up programme which focused on learning about the behaviour of the 2012 Pirelli tyres, the highly reliable 2011 car also allowed the team to accumulate valuable mileage on a number of test items for the 2012 season. Schumacher will continue the programme tomorrow, with Rosberg in action again on Thursday.
"We made a very good start to our programme today and completed 56 laps this morning," said Rosberg. "I was driving the 2011 car, so it felt comfortable straightaway. We tested some different things in perfect weather conditions and started learning about the 2012 Pirelli tyres and how they work. I was really happy to be out on track in my Mercedes and I know that, back at the factory, our development of the new car is running according to our plan."
"After a long break, it feels terrific being back in the car and hitting the circuit again," added Schumacher. "Our main job was to get a first impression of the tyres for 2012 and to start understanding them. They feel like a step forward, more consistent and comfortable to drive, and the biggest difference is with the rear tyre. Thanks to everybody at Pirelli for their good job this winter. Let's see what we can learn tomorrow."
After spending most of the morning in the garage once Mark Webber came out to play the Australian was soon on the pace, the RB8 gradually working its way up the timesheets until it finished fourth best, albeit 0.826s off the pace of the Lotus.
"It was good," said the Australian. "I felt quite comfortable in the car quite quickly. It's very early days, but so far so good. We had a small delay this morning with a part due to fog at the airport. It's never part of the plan to give up running time, but you can't control mother nature. However, we made a good recovery, got 54 laps done this afternoon and we'll aim for a better day tomorrow."
Head of Race Engineering Ian Morgan said that although the late start was unexpected, it didn't cause any major issues in terms of getting through the day's programme.
"The delay meant we didn't get running until midday, which is a little bit frustrating, but otherwise I think this has been the best car build we've ever had," he said. "Fortunately the delay wasn't too severe, as it was very cold early this morning and for the first hour and a half I don't think the track was in great condition anyway. So we probably only lost an hour or so of proper running. When Mark did get going, it was pretty smooth and we didn't see anything unexpected. We have done a lot of simulation work and today pretty much confirmed what we are getting from that. It's nice to repeat it on track and we're happy with how things went.
"We're set to do some tyre evaluation tomorrow. It's a tight testing schedule and tomorrow is Mark's last day in the car here, before Sebastian takes over, so we have a lot to get through."
Daniel Ricciardo was one of three drivers making their debut with a new team, the Australian soon getting to grips with the Toro Rosso STR7, though an oil pressure problem brought his day to an end around seventy minutes earlier than expected.
"It was really nice to be back in the cockpit for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix and being the first person to drive the STR7 was a little bonus," said the Australian. "It was great to experience taking a completely new car out of the garage. We had a very productive morning, doing over 40 laps and we made good progress with our programme. Then in the afternoon, we did a couple of longer runs, but had to cut it short, although we only lost an hour. I was using the Medium tyre on that last run, having used Hard tyres for the rest of the day. So, overall, a good start and I'm looking forward to another productive day tomorrow, because this car is very enjoyable to drive. It was a good feeling going fast again. It's too early to give a true assessment of the car, but out of the box this morning, it seemed balanced and quite stable. It gave me a good feeling when I put the power down."
"We completed 57 laps today, so we are quite pleased with the first outing of the new car which seems to have a good base from which we can move forward," added Franz Tost. "Daniel felt confident in the car and we ran trouble free until we lost some oil pressure, at which point the engine protector did its job and stopped the car. We are now investigating this loss of oil pressure, but we are confident we can have another good day tomorrow. As the failure happened at four o'clock, we only lost one hour's track time which we expect to make up for tomorrow.
"The car looks nice," he added, "but the important thing is that it should be fast. My first impression, having enjoyed the rare experience of going out onto the track to watch it in action through some corners this morning, is that the basis of the car is quite good and healthy."
Kamui Kobayashi was at the wheel of the new Sauber C31-Ferrari, the Japanese driver completing 106 laps on his way to posting the seventh best time of the day.
"I'm happy," declared the Japanese driver. "The new car feels fine. We managed good mileage today despite a small problem in the morning session. Running today wasn't about performance but focused on checking systems and reliability. Nevertheless I got the impression the new Pirelli tyres might be good for us. I am looking forward to the next tests and to further work on the car."
"We had a productive first day of testing," added Giampaolo Dall'Ara, the Swiss outfit's Head of Track Engineering, "the car proved to be reliable which is always a good start and enabled us to do some long runs. The systems' checks were positive and the temperatures are alright as well. For evaluation we worked on tyres and set-up and were running different fuel loads.
"We also carried out some mechanical work and did intense pit stop practice with new procedures in place. At the end of the test programme we finally checked the fuel system."
Finishing 1.860s off the pace, the usual sceptics are sure to wonder whether McLaren is in for a repeat of last year's pre-season misery. 2011 world championship runner-up Jenson Button completing 62 laps in what many regard as the best looking car out there.
The Englishman began his day with a number of short runs, before completing a thorough systems check to ensure the car was running reliably. Before lunchtime, he was back on track as the team began a number of longer runs lasting for the remainder of the day. These were useful in helping it to begin measuring tyre-wear on Pirelli's new-spec rubber and assessing the MP4-27's fundamental handling characteristics over the course of a stint.
"It's been a good day," said Button, "this morning, we ran through our installation and systems checks and the running was good. We've been gathering data on aerodynamics, downforce levels, temperatures and the feeling inside the cockpit.
"We did a 15-lap timed run this afternoon, which is a good starting point for us - and the consistency was okay. It's been a positive day: there are no niggly areas with the car, which is nice. Overall, today was just a starting point, and was all about putting miles on the car. There are some promising signs, so I'm happy.
"It's now important for us to get a clean day of running tomorrow, put some miles on the car and find a direction that we like. Today's a very good basis for the next few days."
With the weather having thwarted Ferrari's plans to run the new F2012 at Maranello last week, it was Felipe Massa who was first to get his hands on the new beast, as the Italian team worked almost exclusively on data acquisition relating to the handling of the new car.
The Brazilian, who continues here tomorrow, completed 69 laps, his best time being over 3s off Raikkonen's pace.
After the brace of moody pics issued last week, it was good to see the Caterham in daylight, though Heikki Kovalainen only completed 28 laps before succumbing to a damaged starter shaft.
"It is always a good feeling to see the new car out on track for the first time," said Mike Gascoyne. "We had to bring day one to an early end after damage to the starter shaft meant we were unable to start the engine which is a shame because it was an unusual issue and we had enjoyed a positive morning, working through the usual day one system checks and running without any reliability issues on the car until that point. Heikki's early feedback on the car is good and there is plenty to come from this car so we are looking forward to a positive next three days in Jerez."
"It's good to be back at work after the winter break," added Kovalainen, "and great to see how up for the season ahead the whole team are. We were first out on track this morning and the early feeling I had from the car was good. It's far too early to tell how much we've progressed but it already feels like we're going in the right direction.
"We obviously didn't want to end early today but we couldn't sort out the starter shaft issue in time to get back on track, but I'm reasonably pleased with what we have achieved today and I know the team will put in the work tonight to get us back out on track tomorrow and pick up where we left off today."
Unveiled just a few hours earlier, Williams day came to an early end as a result of "teething problems", Pastor Maldonado completing just 25 laps.
"We performed a number of systems checks on the car today, including testing our new engine installation and some aerodynamic correlation runs," said Mark Gillan. "Unfortunately testing was cut short with a couple of initial teething problems which we are currently investigating. We intend to get these fixed this evening in time for a full test programme with Pastor tomorrow."
"It feels great to be back with the team and to start putting some mileage on the FW34," said Maldonado. "The car felt good and the systems were all working well this morning. I like the feel of the new Renault engine as well. It's still too early to make any predictions, but we are pushing hard and working to understand the car better."
HRT admits that the test is an opportunity to give its technical team, which has been heavily revised over the winter, an opportunity to work together.
Spanish veteran Pedro de la Rosa was on duty, completing 44 laps and posting a best time not too far short of the Caterham and Williams.
"I really enjoyed myself today to be honest," said de la Rosa. "I have to admit that I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the day, because I barely knew anyone in the team or the car itself, but I'm very satisfied with how it went. Today the main thing was to do some mileage, not try things out, simply to get to know each other and I think the team did a great job. I felt very well surrounded, both by the mechanics and the engineers who worked with me. They all did a fantastic job. I want to insist on the work everyone did today because we were all new to the team. I think the sensations were positive for everyone."
"We've gone through a couple of months of intense work and it was very important for everyone to be here and get things going on the track," added team principal, Luis Perez-Sala. "I must say that I am very proud of the job done by everybody to achieve this. A large amount of the team and the materials are new so we needed to put these into practice. Everything went well, with no relevant problems, and we've taken another step, albeit a small one, in the right direction which is what matters right now."
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