Lewis Hamilton claims Toro Rosso drivers hindered him at Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton has accused Toro Rosso – Red Bull's sister team of slowing him down as he pursued Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps of last Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Both Toro Rosso drivers, Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi, deliberately held up Hamilton, according to the McLaren driver, who said: "They let him [Vettel] past and then they held me up for the next couple of corners. That wasn't cool. I'm surprised it happened. I have mentioned it to my team so it is for them to approach the FIA to make sure the stewards are aware of it.

"That kind of thing shouldn't happen because they are not really supposed to be a sister team are they? Often some of these backmarkers, in particular Toro Rosso, would assist with increasing the gap between us, which is interesting."

Hamilton, who had to make do with second place as he watched Vettel extend his lead in the world championship to 41 points, added: "Definitely in the last race there was some of that, all of a sudden moving in my way, causing a bigger gap.

"But it was a perfect situation for Sebastian to make sure he was let through and I wasn't. If that continues to happen then some penalties should be handed out. I just hope the stewards are wary of it, and I'm sure they'll do a great job."

Toro Rosso, which is Italian for "Red Bull", is regarded as a feeder team, developing promising young drivers for the senior outfit. As with Red Bull, they are backed by the billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz.

But Hamilton's complaint was dismissed by Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, who said: "Believe me, Toro Rosso drivers have often had that complaint from our own drivers as well. You only have to look at last year's race in Abu Dhabi to see what happened with Mark Webber, so absolutely not, there's no discussion between the teams.

"They operate totally independently. There are no tactics to help one or the other."

Horner was backed up by a spokesman from Toro Rosso, who said: "When it became the rule, prior to last season, that you weren't allowed to share any technical knowledge, all co-operation ceased.

"So the suggestion we would have held up any other car to favour a Red Bull is preposterous, and would never have happened."

Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's commercial rights holder, is still hopeful that the Bahrain Grand Prix, which should have opened the season in March, can be rescheduled at the end of the year.

The World Motor Sport Council is due to give its decision on the Bahrain race on 3 June, two days after a state of emergency is lifted around the Gulf kingdom.

Ecclestone met the teams in the paddock here and said: "The Crown Prince hopes everything will be fine. You know he is supportive. They are nice people there. I don't think we will have any problem.

"It's just a case of if somebody wants to get a bit of attention that would probably be a good way to do it. But I don't think from a safety point of view there is anything to worry about."

Fernando Alonso finished fastest in Thursday afternoon's practice session, ahead of Hamilton. Vettel was quickest in the slower morning run, ahead of Alonso.

Source: The Guardian

Hamilton: Bulls are unbeatable

Such is Red Bull's pace that Lewis Hamilton says the only chance he has of beating them is if he can use the older faster part of the Barcelona circuit

Hamilton qualified in third place for the Spanish Grand Prix but found himself a second off the pace of the leading Red Bull of Mark Webber.

And although he expects that the gap will be less in race-pace, the McLaren driver concedes that beating the Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon may be a step too far.

"The old circuit is still there at the last two corners, I could use the (old, faster) last two corners to match their pace if I don't take the chicane... otherwise, no!" he joked.

"They have one second in qualifying, probably a second and a bit. But we will push as hard as we can, and push to save tyres in the run.

"We've been closer in previous races. I think we will be closer than one second (in race pace), but whether it is within a tenth or so we will see."

The Brit, though, is not letting Red Bull's clear advantage get him down.

"F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, nothing comes easy. They have just done a better job. We are second quickest, we can't complain too much.

"I hope at some stage we have a significant improvement with the car so we have a proper race with these guys."

As for concerns that the flat-spot he suffered during qualifying when he made a mistake at the entry to Turn 10, Hamilton is confident it won't bother him.

"I don't think it will," he said when asked if the flat-spot would cause him problems.

"I mean I do have a flat spot but fortunately I can start on those tyres and we can rebalance the wheels, so it shouldn't be a problem for the race."

Source: Planet-F1

Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Marc Gené inaugurate the first Ferrari Store in Spain

Barcelona, 19 May – The first Ferrari Store on Spanish soil was officially opened today at number 44 Paseo de Gracia in the heart of Barcelona. Watched by a large crowd of Ferrari enthusiasts, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Marc Gené cut the ribbon on the new Store. Also present at the opening was Lorenzo Bassetti, the General Manager of ARP, already partner of Ferrari with numerous other stores.

Alonso and Massa’s arrival in the new FF received a rapturous welcome from the tifosi and enthusiasts gathered outside the Store. At the end of the ceremony, the drivers posed for the dozens of photographers and TV cameras covering the event. However, before leaving for the circuit, they also met with the media and a select number of Ferrari clients inside the Store, but stopped off to sign autographs and greet the delighted fans that had been waiting for them since the early hours of the morning.

The Barcelona Ferrari Store, with its around 300 square metres on two floors, embraces the Ferrari spirit with its dual heart in competition and luxury. Its four great windows are facing one of the most important shopping streets in Barcelona. Inside, the new Store’s different areas have been planned like unique and special spaces: the Fan line, dedicated to the fans of the Scuderia, is presented on the ground floor. The luxury and lifestyle lines, stylish men’s, women’s and kid’s clothing - reflecting the values of craftsmanship and quality of the world of Ferrari, interpreted in a contemporary way - can be found on the upper floor. A selection of different items topped off with accessories, technology and memorabilia, original components, unique and certified by Ferrari GT and F1.

Graphic works and images accompany the clients on their way through the Store, narrating the history of the Prancing Horse. The interior design picks up the dynamic and sinuous forms of the road cars, while the important aspect of energy conservation has been implemented by using LEDs of the latest generation for the Store’s lighting.

The shop in Barcelona is the 46th point of sale Ferrari in the world, and joins others in prestigious locations such as Rome, New York, London, Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi. The Store is managed by ARP, Advanced Retail Project, operating in the retail sector in Italy and all over the world.


Source: Ferrari.com

Massa's Blog: Yet another step forward in performance terms

I have had a busy few days since the Turkish Grand Prix, so time has gone by quickly and now I’m heading off to Barcelona for the fifth race of the season, which I hope will show more signs of the progress we had clearly made in Turkey. After a couple of days at home in Monaco, I headed for Rome where I attended a function for our partner Shell, after which I stayed in Italy spending three days at Maranello.

I had the usual race preparation meetings with the engineers, although much of the time was in the simulator, with it set up to replicate the Catalunya circuit where we will be racing this weekend. To be honest, from a driver’s point of view, the simulator is most valuable when you are using it to learn a new circuit, like we did last year for Korea and will do again for India, this year’s new venue. The work I was involved in this week was more for the benefit of the car, the 150° Italia, as I was testing the new updates we plan to use starting from Friday.

A session in the simulator is very much like a normal test at a race track: we start running at 9 in the morning until around 1, when we have a break for lunch, which we take in the simulator area itself and then we start again running from around 2.30 to 5 in the afternoon. After that, just like at the racetrack, I have a debrief with my engineers. Usually with the simulator, you start doing a run just to get acclimatised to it and then you start doing runs that last five or six timed laps. You can immediately see the results of what you are doing so, based on that, you decide what changes to make to the car and go out again. In one day in the simulator, you can try many more things than you could do at the track, because in the “virtual” environment, it is much quicker changing things on the car than at the track. Also, you don’t waste time in the simulator with “in” laps and “out” laps: for example at the Catalunya track on the simulator, you start the lap coming out of Turn 11 and then you can immediately begin your timed lap. When you press the button to finish, it’s like being back in the garage again. You talk to the engineers and anything you want changing on the car they can do almost immediately, or they can configure the car to test new updates or experiment with set-ups. The simulator is therefore much more time saving than testing for real.

Physically, a simulator session is much less tiring than driving the real car, because the G forces are less, but you are still driving, moving and working hard, but the physical effort required is far less. The best thing about the simulator? When you crash, nothing happens, absolutely nothing! Okay, you can feel something through the steering wheel but then the platform just stops and it’s over. When you first start using a simulator, you can find yourself going off line and even crashing but there is no harm done to you or the car.

Back in the real world, we have new parts we plan to use on the car in Spain and we are expecting to make yet another step forward in performance terms. We know how tough a time we had in the early part of the season, but hard work has seen us reduce the gap to the quickest cars and we plan to continue that way, especially in qualifying trim. If we make the car better for Saturday, we should also end up with an even more competitive car in the race on Sunday. I hope we are on the right road, because we now have Spain and Monaco just a few days apart and after that, we will have already completed six Grands Prix, or almost one third of the season. So it is a very important time for us and I have every confidence in the team that we can have a good Spanish weekend. The Spanish Grand Prix will be another interesting test of the effect of the new rules, with KERS and the DRS, although overtaking might not be quite as straightforward as in Turkey, as the main straight in Barcelona is not as long as the one at the Istanbul track. Of course, we have seen that tyre performance is possibly an even bigger feature than the KERS and DRS and from a driver’s point of view, it makes the racing quite interesting psychologically, as you have to deal with having a car that is really competitive for some laps and then finding your lap times dropping off and you are struggling to fight off the cars behind you. Then you fit new tyres and the whole situation changes again. It’s interesting for us and more importantly, very exciting for the race fans. Obviously, my team-mate will be the focus of most of the attention for his home race in Spain and Fernando’s arrival at Ferrari has made the Scuderia very popular with the Spanish race fans, so I hope we can both deliver a good result for them on Sunday.

Source: Ferrari.com

Alonso's Blog: We’ll see who’s been the cleverest in the development championship

Here we are with the Spanish Grand Prix just round the corner, a race that has a special feel about it for me. I will arrive in Barcelona tonight, because right from tomorrow morning I’ve got an appointment in my diary: attending the launch of the first ever Ferrari Store to be opened in Spain, in the heart of the Catalan capital, on one of the most important streets in the city, Paseo de Gracia. Felipe will be there, as will Marc who will be very much the main man given he is from Barcelona. Then it will be time to head off to the track for the usual Thursday jobs, most of them dealing with media work.

It’s always nice to race in Spain. I love the feeling of warmth one gets from the fans right from the very first free practice sessions. Day after day, you can see the grandstands fill with flags – the red of Ferrari and the azure blue of my compatriots from Asturias – and that is a special feeling for me. My win here in 2006 is still one of the best moments of my career and it would be a dream come true to do it again with Ferrari sooner or later.

I know that you all want to know if that might happen already this weekend, but I am not able to give you an answer to that. On paper, we do not yet have the potential to be in a straight fight for the win, with one team clearly the favourite in this regard. However, we know things can change quickly in our sport and, in Turkey, finally we managed to bring home a podium finish. The road is still long, but I believe we have at least started down it going in the right direction.

These past few days, the team has worked so hard in Maranello on developing the 150° Italia and in order to be as well prepared as possible for these two back to back races, given that next week will be back on track in Monaco. During the days I spent in the factory I could feel that everyone there really wants to fight back: the feeling is so strong you can almost touch it, whether you are speaking with people in meetings or as you walk around the Gestione Sportiva. Both Felipe and I have done so many kilometres in the simulator and we feel that the updates being introduced will see us make progress in terms of performance. Whether or not this will be enough to close the gap to the best, we will only find out over the weekend, because we cannot ignore the fact that the others have not been twiddling their thumbs. We will see who has been the cleverest in the development championship.

The Catalunya Circuit is one of the ones we know best because traditionally it is a favourite venue for winter testing. This year, we have already had two sessions there, one at the end of February and the other in early March.

This means we will all arrive there with a pretty good idea of what settings we will use as a baseline on the car to start the weekend, even if the conditions we will encounter will be very different, especially in terms of temperature.

It will be very important to run continuously in Friday’s two free practice sessions to fine tune the car and check out the behaviour of the new technical components. It will also be vital to study the performance and wear of the tyres. In the race simulations we did during testing we saw significant degradation, especially on the front left tyre, which is put under major stress: we will see if, with different temperatures, that situation changes. Compared to previous races at this track I think we will see more overtaking, especially down to the difference in tyre performance that could be a factor during the race: further reason to come to the track to watch the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. It would be nice to jump on the podium again and be able to salute all our fans from there: as far as me and the team are concerned, as usual, we will be giving it our very best shot.

Source: Ferrari.com

Rosberg quickest at a very wet Barcelona

The final day of pre-season testing at Barcelona was a washout as only three of the five drivers set lap times due to the heavy rain

The action began on time at the Spanish circuit with Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Pastor Maldonado braving the conditions.

However, both Alonso and Schumacher only completed five laps each with neither setting a time as they went in and out of the pits.

Lewis Hamilton joined the action for McLaren and was the pace-setter at the lunch break with a 1:50.280.

It should be noted, though, that the 2008 World Champion was also the only driver to set a time in the morning session, which saw a total of just 28 laps completed.

Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, replaced Schumacher just before lunch and continued through into the afternoon.

And with the rain continuing throughout the day, the German proved to the quickest in the wet, taking advantage of a slight let-up late in the day.

Rosberg, who covered 35 laps, clocked a 1:43.814 to edge Maldonado by 0.519s.

And although Hamilton improved to a 1:44.560, he had to settle for third place.

Ferrari opted to pack up early with Alonso not running at all in the afternoon.

Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:43.814 35 laps
02. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:44.333 + 0.519 23 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:44.560 + 0.746 33 laps
04. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 5 laps
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 5 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Hamilton: Not normal Spanish weather

Lewis Hamilton concedes it was not a very productive final day at Barcelona as heavy rain led to severe aquaplaning

With constant heavy downpour, the Brit was the sole driver to set a time during the morning session while by the end of Saturday's play, only two others names had been added to the timesheets.

It was a disappointing end to the final day of pre-season testing, which McLaren focus on a handful of lower-speed runs to evaluate engine maps.

However, it did give the teams an opportunity to see how their new Pirelli tyres handle in extreme wet conditions.

"We tested a couple of things during some shorter runs, but it was very dangerous out there: very slippery and lots of aquaplaning. This definitely isn't normal Spanish weather!" said Hamilton.

"We learnt a bit about the Pirelli intermediates and extremes, but there was so much aquaplaning that it was a bit too risky to do longer runs.

"As for the World Championship, I'm excited - we've got a long season ahead of us. We've got a lot of work to do, but we have more updates coming for Melbourne.

"The Championship is open, and we don't know what to expect. Our whole team will be pushing very, very hard."

Source: Planet-F1

Schumi: P1 W02 will be our Aus car

Michael Schumacher had no complaints with his upgraded W02, setting the fastest lap time in Friday's Barcelona test

The seven-time World Champion clocked a 1:21.249 at the Spanish circuit, which was the fastest time seen at the track this year.

It was an encouraging performance from Schumacher, who confirmed that the W02 in action at Barcelona on Friday will be the W02 that his team takes to the season-opening Australian GP.

"We have been developing the car step-by-step this week with new parts arriving each day," the German revealed.

"So our focus today has been on understanding how to get the best from the car now that it is pretty much in its final configuration for the first time.

"The car has behaved as we expected and it's been a very productive day.

"We completed our programme and I should also be able to get some experience of the expected wet conditions tomorrow."

With the rain expected on Saturday, Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg put in a few hours in the dry on Friday.

And the younger German was not that far off his team-mate's pace, finishing 0.539s down, taking third place behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

"First of all, it's super that I was able to do some laps today, given the forecast for tomorrow," said Rosberg.

"It was a good few laps, and obviously now that we have most of the developments for the car, it was handling much better and I had a good feeling.

"So I'm pretty pleased with the situation and would like to thank the whole team for getting everything onto the car that we wanted. We've made good progress over the winter."

Source: Planet-F1

Alonso: “Today, my thoughts are with the victims of the earthquake in Japan”

Montmelò, 11 March – “Confronted with a tragedy like the one that has struck Japan today, Formula 1 and all its problems to do with tyres, wings and engines is way down the list of priorities and today, my thoughts go first and foremost to the victims and their families.” Fernando Alonso was shocked at the reports of the tragedy which hit northern Japan and therefore wanted to give his personal message of support to all those hit by the cataclysm through www.ferrari.com.

Later, once the debriefing was over, it was time to add an evaluation of how the day’s testing had gone. To get a realistic idea of how competitive we are, we will have to wait until Saturday 26 March and qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, but what is now a certainty is that the Ferrari 150° Italia is a strong car. After the 614 kilometres that Felipe Massa racked up yesterday, today Fernando Alonso overtook his team-mate’s total, hitting the 656 mark, bringing the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro total for these first three days at the Catalunya circuit to 1714 kilometres.

“Once again, the car has proved to be very reliable, which is always good news,” commented Fernando at the end of the day. “The updates that the team prepared for this last test have improved the handling of the car and today we managed to do a good simulation of a Grand Prix weekend, with reasonable lap times. Where are we compared to the others? Today, we are all together here in Barcelona…But joking apart, we will only discover the truth in Melbourne. Tyres used, fuel loads, test programmes: there are too many parameters in play and they can make a big difference in terms of outright performance. Right from the start of these tests, we have always concentrated on our own work, trying to improve the car and be reliable: how clever we have been, we will see in two weeks time.”

Source: Ferrari.com

Merc upgrade shows pace at Barcelona

All through pre-season testing, Mercedes GP have promised their upgraded package will have pace - and that's exactly what it had at Barcelona on Friday

New parts arrived for Mercedes GP's W02 late Thursday at the Circuit de Catalunya and Michael Schumacher had the opportunity to test the revised car on Day Four of the final pre-season test.

The German, using the revised front wing and new turning vanes, clocked a 1:21.249 to set the pace ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Schumacher's lap time was also the fastest witnessed at Barcelona this year.

Alonso, meanwhile, spent his morning on qualifying style runs, which was when his set his 1:21.614, before switching to a race simulation in the afternoon. And once again, the Ferrari demonstrated both its pace and reliability with Spaniard amassing 141 laps.

Nico Rosberg was next in line as he took over for Schumacher in the afternoon. Although Rosberg was only expected to run on Saturday, the German was given a few hours late in the day as rain is expected at the Spanish circuit tomorrow.

Nick Heidfeld was fourth for Lotus Renault, although his running was cut short in the afternoon due to an undisclosed problem, while Rubens Barrichello was the final driver to get within a second of Schumacher's P1 time.

Kamui Kobayashi and Jaime Alguersuari were sixth and seventh with the latter saying "pre-season testing as reasonably positive for our team.

"We have learned a lot about the new parameters we have from this year's rules and obviously understanding the new Pirelli tyres has been an important element of these tests.

"It has been very different to the previous year, so now we start a new Championship in Melbourne, with a new philosophy. I think we have a good car, which shows potential. However, we still need to improve a lot and that will involve plenty of hard work in the coming weeks."

Sebastian Vettel completed the top eight but managed just 63 laps and brought out the red flags late in the day when he stopped at the exit of the pit lane.

Once again it was not a good day for McLaren with Jenson Button finishing down in 13th place, 4.588s off the pace. He amassed just 57 laps due to an engine change.

Five teams, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams and Hispania Racing, will continue at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday in what will be the final day of pre-season testing.

Times
01. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.249 67 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.614 + 0.365 141 laps
03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m21.788 + 0.539 22 laps
04. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m22.073 + 0.824 67 laps
05. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m22.233 + 0.984 89 laps
06. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.315 + 1.066 98 laps
07. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1m22.675 + 1.426 72 laps
08. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m22.933 + 1.684 64 laps
09. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1m23.437 + 2.188 138 laps
10. Paul di Resta Force India 1m23.653 + 2.404 42 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m23.921 + 2.672 26 laps
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m24.108 + 2.859 11 laps
13. Jenson Button McLaren 1m25.837 + 4.588 57 laps
14. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1m27.375 + 6.126 46 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Massa: Barcelona upgrade a step forward

Although Felipe Massa finished ahead of Red Bull at Barcelona on Thursday, the Brazilian reckons the latter is still the team to beat

For Ferrari's second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Massa put his upgraded 150° Italia through 132 laps as he tested the team's new upgraded package.

The package includes aerodynamic modifications as well as a new exhaust design, with the 29-year-old revealing that this is the car Ferrari will take to the Australian GP.

"It's better, just more downforce on the car, and the more downforce you have, the better, especially with these tyres that degrade quite a lot," was Massa's verdict.

"It was a big package. It works well. I think it will be more or less the package for the race.

"So now we're working hard for the next improvement, as we know how important that is during the Championship.

"But what we brought here was an improvement and the car is just better - better grip, better downforce."

And although he edged Red Bull's Mark Webber on Thursday, Massa says the reigning World Champions are the favourites to take this year's titles.

"First of all it's the team who won last year. And second, they are very quick here. Yesterday Sebastian did a very quick time. So I point to Red Bull."

Last season, Red Bull dominated qualifying and while Massa reckons the Scuderia have improved their pace over short-distance runs, he feels it race-pace where Ferrari can really match the Bulls.

"That was the case last year, but last year they had a very quick car so even if we improved more in qualifying compared to the race it was not easy to beat them.

"This year it's a little bit more difficult to know, because I saw some long runs from them - degrading as well, but it was quick even at the end.

"So I think it's very difficult to say now. We need to wait until we have everybody together at the same time with the same fuel, the same tyres."

Source: Planet-F1

Perez surprises at the top in Spain

While many were expecting a Red Bull or even a Ferrari to top the timesheets at Barcelona on Thursday, it was in fact rookie Sauber driver Sergio Perez who proved to be quickest of all

Perez, who is gearing up for his debut season in Formula One, topped the timesheets with a 1:21.761, the fastest lap time seen at the Spanish circuit in the opening three days of the final pre-season test.

However, the Mexican driver's time was set on a single lap flying runs - and his day was also not without problems, although through no fault of his own.

Having set his blistering lap time while focused on qualifying style runs, Sauber switched Perez to a race simulation in the afternoon. However, it was cut short when his C30 stopped out on track.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who amassed a massive 132 laps as the Scuderia's 150° Italia, demonstrated once again both the pace and reliability of his 2011 challenger. The Brazilian finished the day 0.331s off the pace.

But, perhaps more importantly for Ferrari, he was ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber by 0.374s in what was an interesting tussle between the two title hopefuls, who went head-to-head during the morning session in qualifying short distance runs.

Rubens Barrichello claimed fourth place for Williams, but once again the FW33 ran into problems, with Barrichello bringing out the red flags on two occasions.

Michael Schumacher was next in line as Mercedes GP continued to introduce various upgrades to their W02. While the German ran the new exhaust in the morning session, further upgrades were added to his car in the afternoon.

"We've had a very productive day and completed a reasonable amount of mileage. We were able to check and confirm a lot of

things on the set-up of the car with the new upgrade package, and my initial impressions are certainly positive," said the seven-time World Champion.

"We've worked hard on reliability at the previous tests and our priority now is to develop and fine-tune the car which we have done quite successfully today."

Renault's Nick Heidfeld was the last driver to get within two seconds of Perez's P1 time, although he only completed 32 laps as his team-mate Vitaly Petrov was in action during the morning session. Petrov finished eighth with the Renault duo separated by Team Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen.

The Finn was another who just ran once session as his team-mate Jarno Trulli was in action first. However, the Italian had a miserable time of things as his T128 suffered a gearbox problem followed by a water leak.

Adrian Sutil was ninth for Force India, ahead of Jaime Alguersuari, Jerome D'Ambrosio and Trulli.

Times
01. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:21.761 95 laps
02. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.092 + 0.331 132 laps
03. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:22.466 + 0.705 97 laps
04. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1:22.637 + 0.876 105 laps
05. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:22.892 + 1.131 89 laps
06. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:23.541 + 1.780 32 laps
07. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1:23.990 + 2.229 40 laps
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:24.233 + 2.472 24 laps
09. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:24.334 + 2.573 108 laps
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:24.779 + 3.018 107 laps
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1:27.336 + 5.575 96 laps
12. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:34.485 + 12.724 6 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Another day, another Red Bull fastest lap

Red Bull maintained their dominance in pre-season testing in Barcelona on Wednesday with Sebastien Vettel clocking the fastest lap

After Mark Webber posted a 1:22.544 to claim the best time on Tuesday, Vettel kept the defending Champions atop the timesheets with a 1:21.865 - the quickest time in pre-season testing so far.

The 2010 World Champ posted his time inside the first two hours of testing under cloudy skies at the Circuit de Catalunya and no one was able to knock him off his perch for the rest of the session and he spent the bulk of the afternoon doing long runs.

Red Bull's sister car, Toro Rosso, was second fastest with Sebastien Buemi 0.531 off Vettel's pace. It was a big improvement for Buemi after he found himself more than three seconds off the pace on Tuesday after mechanical problems.

Vitaly Petrov, who was second on day one, had another encouraging display with a 1:22.670.

The big story of the day though was McLaren's problems. Although Lewis Hamilton managed to post a 1:22.888 late in the day, his morning was session was blighted with problems. Most of the other drivers completed more than 100 laps, but Hamilton could only manage 57 laps due to a hydraulics leak and an exhaust failure.

Felipe Massa, whose Ferrari sported a new aerodynamic package that included a new layout of the exhausts, completed the top five with a 1:23.324. He was followed by Force India's Paul di Resta and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi who were both more than two seconds off Vettel's pace.

Mercedes also tested a new exhaust system and Nico Rosberg was eighth with a 1:25.807. Birthday boy Pastor Maldonado could only manage 29 laps on Wednesday following a problem with his KERS early in the session.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:21.865 112 laps
02. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:22.396 + 0.531 120 laps
03. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.670 + 0.805 116 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:22.888 + 1.023 57 laps
05. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:23.324 + 1.459 101 laps
06. Paul di Resta Force India 1:24.334 + 2.469 118 laps
07. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:24.436 2.571 107 laps
08. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.807 + 3.942 100 laps
09. Jarno Trulli Lotus 1:26.090 + 4.225 98 laps
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:26.989 + 5.124 29 laps
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1:28.982 + 7.117 64 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Webber tops the times in Barcelona

With Ferrari and Mercedes GP opting to begin their testing for the week on Wednesday, Red Bull and McLaren where always going to be the focus of day one's running and it came as no surprise that Mark Webber and Jenson Button topped the timesheets at the end of the day

The teams were forced to contend with overcast conditions and the occasional splattering of rain during the morning session. However, the weather could not be blamed for the first red flag of the day, with Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso coming to halt at the end of the home straight. The technical problem that caused the incident would prevent Buemi from posting a time during the morning session.

Webber held the fastest time at the interval and didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the day, with the Australian putting the RB7 through its paces on 97 laps. Webber's top time was recorded during a qualifying-type stint which saw he post two very hot laps. What will perhaps be most pleasing for Red Bull is that they achieved both pace and mileage on the first of four days.

McLaren had tongues wagging early in the day as they began the action with a radical bulge on the nose of the car, which proved to be simply a measurement device rather than a technical innovation. Button was able to put the MP4-26 second in the standings, with a gap of + 0.366 viewed by some as a disappointing lack of pace but at the same time an improvement on previous showings.

Renault's progress was hampered by Nick Heidfeld struggling with the flu. The German completed 20 laps in the morning session, with his fastest being + 2.191 of the pace of Webber, but was forced to hand over the R31 to Vitaly Petrov for the afternoon. The Russian made the most of the opportunity; finishing third in the day's running.

GP2 driver Davide Valsecchi enjoyed his first outing with Lotus, and the Italian did himself proud with a competitive time of 1:25.406, although he will look to forget bringing the session to a halt when he found himself stuck in a gravel tap. Valsecchi's GP2 team-mate, Luiz Razia, was also given a run with team, and like Valsecchi marked his arrival by bringing out the red flag when he stopped out on track with just minutes left in the day.

Just moments earlier, as the curtain was about to be drawn on day one, Sauber's Sergio Perez appeared to have pulled somewhat of a miracle out of the bag when he registered a 1:21.176 but the time was later ruled out when the Mexican was found to have cut a chicane. Regardless, a final time of 1:24.117 can be seen as a promising effort.

Force India ran their KERS system for the first time on Tuesday, and afforded Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta the opportunity to try it out. Of the two, di Resta was quickest with a time of 1:25.039 while Hulkenberg had to settle for a best of 1:26.030.

Unofficial times:

01. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:22.544 38 laps
02. Jenson Button McLaren + 0.366 20 laps
03. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.937 50 laps
04. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:24.117 + 1.573 90 laps
05. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:24.735 20 laps
06. Paul Di Resta Force India 1:25.039 44 laps
07. Davide Valsecchi Lotus 1:35.406 20 laps
08. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:26.004 48 laps
09. Nico Hülkenburg Force India 1:26.030 31 laps
10. Luiz Razia Lotus 1:26.723 29 laps
11. Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin 1:32.060 57 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Testing gets underway in Barcelona

The fourth round of pre-season testing kicked off at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Tuesday morning

Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams and Hispania have all opted to start their testing program on Wednesday, meaning that the focus on day one will be primarily on Red Bull and McLaren.

The first session of testing will run from 08:00 GMT to 12:00 GMT while the afternoon running will take place between 13:00 GMT and 16:00 GMT.

Tuesday's line-up:

Red Bull: Mark Webber
McLaren: Jenson Button
Renault: Nick Heidfeld
Force India: Nico Hülkenberg (morning) and Paul di Resta (afternoon)
Toro Rosso:Sébastien Buemi
Team Lotus: Davide Valsecchi & Luiz Razia (morning), Jarno Trulli (afternoon)
Virgin: Jérôme d'Ambrosio

Source: Planet-F1

Barcelona to replace Bahrain for final test

In the wake of the postponement of the season opening Bahrain Garnd Prix, Formula 1 teams have agreed to return to Barcelona for the final test sessions on 8 to11 March.

Bahrain was set to host the final F1 test a week before the Grand Prix in the country but political unrest has put an end to these plans.

In a statement released by AT&T Williams the British team supported the Bahrain crown prince’s decision to postpone the race and also mentioned, “the team will now undertake the final winter test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya between 8 and 11 March 2011.”

Earlier it was reported that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was adamant that the teams had agreed to return to Circuit de Catalunya for the final test.

The Australian Grand Prix weekend, staring on March 25 in Melbourne, will mark the de facto start to the 2011 F1 season.

Source: YallaF1

Barcelona: Massa reigns supreme

Felipe Massa concluded the Barcelona test by setting the fastest lap time seen at the Circuit de Catalunya over the four days

The Brazilian, who put aside Sunday's slips and slides to amass 121 laps, clocked a 1:22.625, half a second up on the previous best set by Nico Rosberg on Sunday. Massa's time was posted over a two-lap qualifying-style run.

He wasn't the only driver to move to the front with a short burst as Mark Webber claimed second place with the exact same run. The Aussie, though, was 0.817s slower on his flying lap than his Ferrari rival.

Sebastien Buemi continued Toro Rosso's fine form in the STR6 as he finished the day in third place, less than a second behind Massa's Ferrari.

The Swiss driver also had the joys of another problem-free day, putting in 90 laps as the third of four pre-season tests reached its conclusion.

"Today went well and I am happy with what we achieved. We got through the entire programme we had planned and did enough laps to improve our understanding of the various types of Pirelli tyre," said Buemi.

"Along with the two other drivers, we gathered a lot of data over the past four days here in Barcelona and it will be important to analyse everything very carefully to find the right way to move forward in terms of reliability and performance, when we tackle the final pre-season test session."

Nick Heidfeld, despite not having Renault's KERS unit on board, was fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The latter covered in 107 laps as McLaren put some much-needed mileage on their MP4-26.

Sixth place went to Williams rookie Pastor Maldonado, although it was by not means an easy day for the Venezuelan. He again found himself spending time in the team's garage when he came to a halt out on track in the afternoon, bringing out the red flags.

Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez were next in line ahead of Jerome D'Ambrosio, Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli - the latter three all responsible for red flags.

Trulli caused the day's first stoppage when he crashed at Turn Nine. It also resulted in Team Lotus stopping their test as the team did not have all the parts needed to rebuild the car.

Trulli has already been cleared of all blame with tech boss Mike Gascoyne saying the crash was caused by a malfunction of the T128.

D'Ambrosio was responsible for the second red, stopping out on track in the morning while Schumacher caused the day's final stoppage in the last half-an-hour of testing.

It was a sharp and sudden fall back down to earth for the Mercedes GP team, who had set the pace on Sunday with Rosberg and had completed three days without any problems.

Times
01. Massa Ferrari 1:22.625 121 laps
02. Webber Red Bull 1:23.442 + 0.817 69 laps
03. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:23.550 + 0.925 90 laps
04. Heidfeld Lotus Renault 1:23.657 + 1.032 95 laps
05. Hamilton McLaren 1:24.003 + 1.378 107 laps
06. Maldonado Williams 1:24.057 + 1.432 121 laps
07. Sutil Force India 1:24.177 + 1.552 64 laps
08. Perez Sauber 1:24.515 + 1.890 74 laps
09. D'Ambrosio Virgin 1:26.501 + 3.876 50 laps
10. Schumacher Mercedes 1:27.079 + 4.454 114 laps
11. Trulli Team Lotus 1:29.992 + 7.367 18 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Hamilton: 90 plus laps a big positive

With the third of the four pre-season tests almost over, Lewis Hamilton admits it was a "big positive" to get more than 90 laps to his name at Barcelona

The McLaren driver replaced his team-mate Jenson Button at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday and led the charge on the Pirelli intermediate tyres when the track was wet in the morning.

With the track drying out as the day progressed, Hamilton dropped to third place on the timesheets, finishing 0.690s behind pace-setter Nico Rosberg.

But for the McLaren driver it was mileage that was more important as his team have fallen behind their rivals after a late launch and then being hit with reliability issues.

The 2008 World Champ managed to cover 93 laps on Day Three despite a few technical problems during the morning session.

"This was a positive day: we've been focusing on our programme, trying to complete as many laps as possible, improve reliability and understand the Pirelli tyres. We're learning more and more about them every day," said Hamilton.

"We've had a few technical issues with this car, but the guys have been working incredibly to rectify them.

"To get more than 90 laps under my belt today was a big positive, and I'm looking forward to a trouble-free day tomorrow."

Source: Planet-F1

Massa: "Race simulation went well: no surprises"

There was little chance of Felipe Massa getting bored during his first day of testing at the Catalunya Circuit. After working in the wet in the morning, the Brazilian driver tackled a true race simulation in the afternoon, when the track was finally completely dry. “It was a really busy day, during which we managed to do a lot of kilometres in very different conditions,” explained Felipe, talking to www.ferrari.com.

“It was important to be able to complete a simulation of a Grand Prix, which we did while trying to make the tyres last as long as possible: it’s fair to say that it went off without any real surprises.”

Felipe will be back in the cockpit of the Ferrari F150th Italia tomorrow morning for the start of the final day of testing at this circuit. After that, it will be a case of finding out if the test programme will continue as originally planned, or if there will be changes because of the changing situation in Bahrain.

Source: Ferrari.com

Barcelona: Rosberg's turn to shine

With the rain abating on Sunday afternoon, Nico Rosberg put in the fastest lap time seen at Barcelona this week

It was a gloomy start to Day Three at the Circuit de Catalunya with rain falling as the drivers ventured out.

The wet track gave the drivers valuable time on the Pirelli wet and intermediate tyres, however, it also claimed a few cars.

Pastor Maldonado was the first off in the wet, spinning his Williams FW33 into the gravel at Turn Five, while an hour later his fellow rookie Sergio Perez crashed his Sauber C30 at Turn Four.

But it wasn't just the rookies who were having a tough time of things as Felipe Massa brought out the red flags twice in less than half an hour. The Ferrari driver spun his F150th Italia at Turn Four and again at Turn Seven.

Massa and Toro Rosso test driver Daniel Ricciardo were the early pace-setters in the wet while Lewis Hamilton took over as the track began to dry out, leading the way at the lunchbreak.

But, by the close of play with the track completely dry, it was Rosberg who stormed to the front of the pack with his 1:23.168, which was 0.147s quicker than the week's previous best, which had been set by Sebastian Vettel on Friday.

The Mercedes GP driver's best was on a short qualifying style run while he had been down in the 1:29s when putting his car through a 15-lap stint.

Renault's Vitaly Petrov took second, 0.295 seconds slower than Rosberg, while Hamilton finished up in third, 0.690s off the pace.

Hamilton's day, though, was not without problems as reliability gremlins during the morning session repeatedly resulted in him having to return to the pits after just one or two laps.

Maldonado was next in line, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber. The latter was the final driver to bring out the red flags when he stopped out on track at Turn One in the final minute of the day's play. Webber was 1.827s off the pace.

Despite a water leak problem, Jarno Trulli put his Lotus T128 up into sixth place, finishing ahead of Perez and Force India's Adrian Sutil.

Sebastien Buemi, who only ran in the afternoon after replacing Toro Rosso test driver Ricciardo, and Massa completed the top ten.

Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:23.168 92 laps
02. Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault 1:23.463 + 0.295 93 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:23.858 + 0.690 93 laps
04. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:24.815 + 1.647 60 laps
05. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:24.995 + 1.827 139 laps
06. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:25.454 + 2.286 48 laps
07. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:25.557 + 2.389 115 laps
08. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:25.720 + 2.552 102 laps
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:26.155 + 2.987 31 laps
10. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26.508 + 3.340 123 laps
11. Timo Glock Virgin 1:26.598 + 3.430 97 laps
12. Giorgio Mondini Hispania 1:28.178 + 5.010 39 laps
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:28.329 + 5.161 42 laps
14. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania 1:30.722 + 7.554 32 laps

Source: Planet-F1