Massa: “Shame about the time lost”

Felipe Massa was not happy, nor did he want to hide his disappointment at the end of his troubled debut at the wheel of the F150. The third and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro began with a technical problem this morning, when a pipe broke leading to a heavy loss of oil during the first run of the day, which meant the Brazilian had to endure a long period of inactivity in the garage. Felipe got back in the car at 14.30 and did not stop until he took the chequered flag at 17.00. He thus managed to fit in 80 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.14.017. “We had a problem right at the start of the morning, when I was out on very old tyres,” explained Felipe. “It was not nice having to stop pretty much before I’d started the real work, but then, it was a relief to find out it was nothing that serious. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time and, in the afternoon I tried to make up for it and get a feeling for the new car.”

Obviously, the main focus of questioning from the media centred on the tyres. “I am pleased with how they behaved,” continued the Brazilian. “I think that the fact there is a definite level of degradation is a positive thing in terms of the spectacle. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to do more laps, but the feeling I had was similar to the one from Abu Dhabi, even if that was at the wheel of a very different car. In my opinion, there is not that much that needs changing and I think Pirelli is working in the right direction. We did not try the hardest tyre here, because this track is not best suited to them: when we have done that, then it will be possible to give a more complete evaluation of them.”

Source: Ferrari.com

Valencia day three: Kubica Is The Fastest Man In Spain

After three days of pre-season testing a third constructor top the timesheets, with Robert Kubica's Renault seeing off Adrian Sutil's Force India for the honours on Thursday

Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull ended the opening day on top before Fernando Alonso piped the German to the post on Wednesday, but it was Kubica who recorded the fastest time of the week, beating his more fancied competitors to the first 'win' of the season.

Felipe Massa stole the headlines during the morning session, albeit for the wrong reasons. Just half an hour and 12 laps into his first day of pre-season testing, the spun at turn five, and while he was able to collect the car, spoke billowed out the back of his Ferrari followed by flames. The Brazilian then entered into another spin after which the car came to a halt, Massa promptly exited the vehicle and the marshals will called to extinguish the blaze.

The patched up F150 did make an appearance later in the day, and having failed to impress for much of the afternoon, Massa posted a 1:14.073 late in the session to end the day fifth fastest.

After two days fraught with problems, matters look to be improving for Mercedes GP, with Schumacher posting the third fastest time of the morning session with a 1:14.537, 0.108 faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg's quickest lap yesterday.

Despite a long run in the afternoon, the German was unable to better his time, finishing the day as the in a disappointing ninth spot.

Kubica and Sutil were joined by Jenson Button and Mark Webber in breaking the 1:14 mark, with the later pair both putting in more than 100 laps. Webber endured a medicore start to the day in which he was unable to replicate the pass produced by Sebastian Vettel on the first two days at Valencia. However, with a reduced fuel load, the Australia improved in the afternoon to post a fastest lap of 1:13.936.

Button was there or thereabouts throughout the day, and will be happy to have recorded a 1:13.553 during his lengthy spell out on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Sutil was the fastest man on track after the morning's running, following the lead set by Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta on previous days by showing there is plenty of life left in the VJM03.

But while Sutil impressed in a 2010 model, Robert Kubica and his R31 served notice that Renault may well be on their way to narrowing the gap to the top teams.

While one can never read too much into pre-season times, the Pole appeared to spend the morning gathering data (his quickest time at the interval was four seconds off the pace) before proceeding to knock Sutil off the top of the timesheets with a 1:13.144.

On the other end of the spectrum, there were again problems for Lotus, with the power steering problem that ended their day prematurely on Wednesday again an issue, with Jarno Trulli only able to complete 38 laps all of which were without power steering.

While the Italian was unable to post a lap time, chief engineer Mike Gascoyne reported that the team was able to get all their "background tests done".

Having seemingly produced a shock result on Wednesday when he registered a 1:14.472, there were no timing errors or for that matter times of substance for Narain Karthikeyan, with his HRT more than three seconds off the pace.

There was some late improvement for Timo Glock and his VR-01, with the German finishing with a 1:14.207 to beat off the Williams of Pastor Maldonado (1:14.299) and the Sauber of Sergio Perez (1:14.458) for sixth spot. Schumacher and Sebastien Buemi (1:14.801) were still further behind.

Unofficial times:
01. Robert Kubica Renault 1:13.144 96 laps
02. Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes 1:13.201 +0.057 117 laps
03. Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes 1:13.553 0.409 105 laps
04. Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 1:13.936 +0.792 105 laps
05. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:14.017 +0.873 80 laps
06. Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth 1:14.207 +1.063 114 laps
07. Pastor Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1:14.299 + 1.155 101 laps
08. Sergio Perez Sauber Ferrari 1:14.458 +1.314 104 laps
09. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:14.537 +1.393 110 laps
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:14.801 + 1.657 73 laps
11. Narain Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth 1:16.535 +3.391 63 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Valencia: Sutil on top, fiery start for Massa

Adrian Sutil notched up the fastest time yet in this year's pre-season tests, while Felipe Massa's year got off to the worst possible start

Having taken over testing duties from Fernando Alonso for the final day of racing in Valencia, Massa was only able to get 12 laps under his belt before a gas leak caused a fire to breakout in the engine of his F150.

Just half an hour into the session, the Brazilian spun at turn five, and while he was able to collect the car, spoke billowed out the back of his Ferrari followed by flames. The Brazilian then entered into another spin after which the car came to a halt, Massa promptly exited the vehicle and the marshals will called to extinguish the blaze.

Needless to say, that was the last that was seen of Ferrari for the morning.

Mark Webber, Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher all began their first full day of testing in rather less dramatic fashion, with Button and Schumacher impressing.

After two days fraught with problems, matters look to be improving for Mercedes GP, with Schumacher posting the third fastest time of the morning session with a 1:14.537, 0.108 faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg's quickest lap yesterday.

Beaten out by only Sutil and Button, Schumacher's time was the fastest by a team racing their 2011 challenger.

Schumacher's compatriot in the Force India was the quickest throughout the day, following the lead set by Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta on previous days by showing there is plenty of life left in the VJM03.

Sutil (1:13.201) and Button (1:13.553) were by some way the fastest on track, with Button in second nearly a second faster than Schumacher in third.

One man who will be slightly disappointed with his early running is Mark Webber, with the Australian notching up a 1:14.701, nowhere near as pacey as team-mate Sebastian Vettel was on Tuesday. Webber will certainly be hoping for more in the afternoon session.

There was more furstration for Team Lotus, with the steering problem that put a premature end to their day yesterday, preventing Jarno Trulli from posting a lap time.

Unofficial Times:
01. Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes 1:13.201 43 laps
02. Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes 1:13.553 0.352 34 laps
03. Micahel Schumacher Mercedes 1:14.537 + 1.336 35 laps
04. Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 1:14.584 + 1.383 44 laps
05. Pastor Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1:14.860 1.659 47 laps
06. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:15.107 1.906 31 laps
07. Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth 1:15.613 + 2.412 67 laps
08. Felipe Massa Ferrari1:15.650 + 2.449 12 laps
09. Sergio Perez Sauber Ferrari 1:16.198 + 2.997 33 laps
10. Narain Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth1:16.997 + 3.796 35 laps
11. Robert Kubica Renault 1:27.813 + 14.612 13 laps

Source: Planet-F1

A Fiery Start To Massa's First F150 Run

Felipe Massa's pre-season testing got off to a blisteringly hot start when his F150 caught fire at Valencia on Thursday morning

Massa, who replaced team-mate Fernando Alonso for the third and final day of testing, spun at Turn Five just over half an hour after the session began.

The Brazilian came to a halt on the outside kerb, facing the wrong way and with smoke pouring out of the back of his new Ferrari.

Massa jumped out and waved over the marshals, who came armed with extinguishers, quickly putting out the fire before his car was taken back to the pits on a flatbed truck.

"It was an hot start for Felipe," Ferrari Tweeted. "His car had a small fire due to an oil leak so it will be necessary to work at length to repair it."

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel answer excites Italian reporter

Whether a genuine hint about his future or a mischievous reference to recent speculation, Sebastian Vettel caught the attention of Italian reporters with a single comment on Wednesday.

After the reigning world champion answered a question asked by Italian television RAI at the Valencia test, the reporter urged the 23-year-old to repeat his answer in Italy’s native tongue.

"I’ll speak Italian when I go to Ferrari," the Red Bull driver quipped.

Vettel had earlier met at the Spanish circuit with the energy drink Red Bull’s boss and owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

Source: Motorsport.com

Hamilton says new McLaren looks different to rivals

Lewis Hamilton had a sharp-eyed return to formula one on Wednesday after a long winter break.

The McLaren driver was in action at the Valencia test at the wheel of the team’s 2010 car, with the MP4-26 only to be unveiled in Berlin on Friday.

As well as adapting to the new Pirelli tyres, Briton Hamilton admitted to casting an eye over his rivals’ new cars at the Ricardo Tormo track.

"Our car looks different to others and I hope it reflects on its performance," he is quoted by BBC Sport. "Ferrari and Red Bull look more like an evolution of last year’s car."

Another change for the 2008 world champion this year is that his father will be back in the grand prix paddocks.

Hamilton, 26, dumped his dad as manager last year but Anthony Hamilton will this season be in the Force India garage with his new charge Paul di Resta.

"He (Anthony) has done a fantastic job to get Paul in and clearly he’s very gifted at getting drivers to formula one," admitted Lewis.

At the same time, he said he is close to appointing a new manager to work on his image and brand, particularly in new markets like the US.

"Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to let you know what’s going on," Hamilton told reporters.

It is believed that 19 Entertainment, IMG and Creative Artists Agency are the frontrunners to represent Hamilton.

Source: YallaF1

Alonso: “Happy with the F150”. Tomorrow it’s Massa’s turn

Fernando Alonso was smiling as he left the “Ricardo Tormo” circuit after the debrief that ended the second day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at this track. Indeed, a figure of 800 kilometres completed over the first two days of development for the F150 constitutes a good basis on which to build, in terms of the work over the coming weeks. It shows that things have got off on the right foot, at least in terms of reliability. As for performance, it is obviously much too early to draw any conclusions: Fernando’s 1.13.307 might have been the fastest time of the day, but that does not tell us much given that it is impossible to know what fuel loads and tyres the other drivers were using out on track, as Alonso himself pointed out. “We had three types of tyre available here and there is a significant performance difference between them, in the region of between six and seven tenths on the clock. This means it is too hard to make comparisons between the performance of the various cars.”

“I am happy with the work we did today,” said the Spaniard. “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 this 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 Fernando. “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 at the test 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.

Source: Ferrari.com

Alonso Leads The Way Again In Valencia

Fernando Alonso staved off the challenger of Sebastian Vettel to finish the morning session of day two of pre-season testing with the fastest time

Having started strongly on Tuesday, Alonso finished behind Vettel at the close of day one, but the Spaniard was again out in front at the second time of asking.

Heikki Kovalainen got day two going as he put the T128 through its paces for the first time in the form of an instillation lap. The initial feedback from the Lotus garage was one positive, with technical director Mike Gascoyne reporting that both team and driver were happy with its first run.

Having made adjustments to the car during the morning, the Norfolk-based outfit will be hoping to get some mileage on the car in the afternoon.

It wasn't long before the red flag made its first appearance of the day as Ruben Barrichello's Williams came to a halt out on track. The stoppage was a result of an electrical problem which caused a loss of power and it did not prevent the Brazilian from getting further laps under his belt later in the session.

Driving Force India's 2010 model, Paul di Resta notched up a time of 1:15.314, the fastest in the early running, before promptly going off at turn two and bringing out the red flag once again. The Scot's time was enough to end the session third, an impressive performance from the newcomer.

Lewis Hamilton made his first appearance in the old MP-25, producing a string of mid-range laps the best of which was a 1:14.701.

Having topped the time sheets on day one, Vettel again performed strongly on day two, producing a lap of 1:13.614, which remained the number to beat for the majority of the session.

However, it was Alonso who posted the fastest time of Wednesday's opening session with a 1:13.307. The Spaniard was there are thereabouts throughout the session before knocking Vettel off the top of the leaderboard with a 1:13.469 before improving on it just before the break.

Alonso will at least be glad not to have endured the drama that followed his countryman, Jaime Alguersuari.

The youngster first spun into the gravel before only narrowly avoiding a collision with Sauber's Sergio Perez as the former exited the pit lane. In between all the drama, Alguersuari managed to put in more laps than any other driver and to nip round in a time of 1:16.474, the seventh fastest of the day.

Aside from a near miss with Alguersuari, Perez enjoyed an uneventful start to life in F1, finishing ahead of TImo Glock's Virgin (1:17.228), Barrichello's Williams (1:17.344) and Narain Karthikeyan's Hispania (1:17.823) with a 1:17.019.

Renault and Mercedes may have been the two teams fighting it out behind the frontrunners last season, but the two teams are having vastly different fortunes thus far in 2011.

Kubica improved on yesterday's performance from Vitaly Petrov by some distance, notching up a 1:14.412, the fourth fastest time of the session, and the third quickest by a team using a 2011 model.

Conversely, Merc GP's struggles continued on Wednesday. Having been hindered by a hydraulics problem on day one, Rosberg brought out his second red flag in two days when he came to a standstill at turn eleven. The only silver lining for the team will be that when Rosberg was running he managed to go over a second quicker than the team's fastest lap yesterday, set by Michael Schumacher.

Unofficial Times:
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:13.469 56 laps
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:13.614 + 0.145 43 laps
03. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:13.844 + 0.375 43 laps
04. Robert Kubica Renault 1:14.412 + 0.943 44 laps
05. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.701 + 1.232 35 laps
06. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.383 + 1.914 36 laps
07. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.474 + 3.005 64 laps
08. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:17.019 + 3.550 39 laps
09. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:17.288 + 3.819 32 laps
10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:17.344 + 3.875 48 laps
11. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania-Cosworth 1:17.823 + 4.354 50 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Alonso: “A good start for the F150”

To finish first, first you have to finish. It’s a rule of sport, in particular motor sport where mechanical reliability is behind every result. So if a new car takes its first steps on the track without encountering problems it’s already a good start. Certainly you need performance but before looking for that it’s important to begin to understand the car’s behaviour – all the more so if the new creation is wearing new boots. This was the main objective of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro technicians who today began development work on the F150: to go through lots of miles and to begin to understand the behaviour of the new Pirelli tyres.

There was satisfaction both for the engineers and the driver: “After so many weeks of waiting I had a great desire to return to the car,” said Fernando Alonso at the end of the day. “It’s always a great feeling to be the first to drive a new car and I’m honoured that this was my job. I’m satisfied with how this first day has gone, in particular regarding reliability. We haven’t had any kind of problem – just as we haven’t had any in the factory before arriving here.”

As for the tyres, it’s clear that there is still a lot of work to do. “We don’t have a huge amount of sets of tyres available and there is significant tyre wear,” added the Spanish driver. “That probably also stems from the track conditions that were not at their best after the rain of recent days. But we are all in the same situation and we just have to work to adapt in the best way.”

Fernando continued: “It’s impossible to have an idea of how the different teams line up after just a few hundred kilometres and I don’t think that we will have a clear picture before the Bahrain Grand Prix. I remember that last year at the last test in Barcelona we were sixth fastest with Sauber and Force India ahead of us. At Sakhir we lapped them. I think that this question mark will remain right up to the first race.”

Source: Ferrari.com

Valencia Day One: Vettel takes charge

Sebastian Vettel not only set the fastest lap time at Valencia on the opening day of pre-season testing but also demonstrated the RB7's consistent pace

Out on track immediately after Red Bull Racing launched their 2011 challenger at the Spanish circuit, Vettel's pace improved throughout the day, resulting in the reigning World Champion finishing the day at the top of the timesheets.

The German crossed the line with a 1:13.769, however, also demonstrated a more consistent pace over longer runs, lapping in the 1:15.8s to 1:15.9s.

Another German was right behind him on the timesheets with Nico Hulkenberg impressing his Force India team bosses.

Hulkenberg, who joined the team just days ago as their official test and reserve driver, was in action in last year's VJM-03. He finished the day 0.169s behind Vettel.

Gary Paffett, another driver using last year's car in order for his McLaren team to focus on Pirelli tyre testing, was third quickest ahead of Paul di Resta - Force India's new 2011 driver.

Fernando Alonso had a mixed day. Although he started at the top of the timesheets, the Spaniard dropped to fifth by the close of play, 0.784s behind Vettel.

The Ferrari driver also encountered a minor problem with his new F150 in the morning's session while his day ended with him stopping out on track on the final corner of the day's final lap.

Kamui Kobayashi made a solid start to Sauber's C30's preparations, claiming sixth place ahead of new Virgin signing Jerome D'Ambrosio. The latter was driving a modified version of last year's VR01.

Vitaly Petrov was another putting his team's new car through its pace. However, he amassed just 28 laps in Renault's R31.

Michael Schumacher had his first taste of the Merc GP W02 in the last hour of testing, completing 15 laps on his way to a 1:16.450.

The German, who was down to test in the afternoon, had his running cut short after team-mate Nico Rosberg, who was in action during the morning session, stopped out on track, bringing out the day's - and year's - first red flag. Rosberg, who had suffered a hydraulic problem, finished P13, 4.5s down on team-mate.

Toro Rosso and Williams also debuted their 2011 cars on Tuesday with Jaime Alguersuari 10th quickest ahead of Rubens Barrichello. The latter, though, reportedly had a few problems with his KERS unit.

Unofficial Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:13.769 93 laps
02. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:13.938 + 0.169s 71 laps
03. Gary Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.292 + 0.523s 91 laps
04. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:14.461 + 0.692s 28 laps
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:14.553 + 0.784s 97 laps
06. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.621 + 1.852s 68 laps
07. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:16.003 + 2.234s 71 laps
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:16.351 + 2.582s 28 laps
09. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.450 + 2.681s 15 laps
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:17.214 + 3.445s 19 laps
11. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:17.335 + 3.566s 77 laps
12. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:18.020 + 4.251s 45 laps
13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:19.930 + 6.161s 9 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Valencia midday: Alonso holds the advantage

Just a mere 78 days after F1 bid farewell to the 2010 season, testing for the 2011 campaign got underway at Valencia

With blue skies overhead, heralding a perfect day for testing, new Force India test driver Nico Hulkenberg was the first out on track followed by McLaren's Gary Paffett.

Both drivers were using last year's cars as their team's new challengers won't be launched until later in the morning.

Fernando Alonso therefore had the honour of being the first to display his team's new car as he took the track in Ferrari's F150.

His run was short-lived as the Spaniard suffered an apparent technical problem within the first hour. Alonso, though, was able to get his car, which had the rear covered in flow-paint, back to the garage.

Soon back on track, the double World Champion climbed to the top of the timesheets with a 1:15.371.

Defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi both hit the track in their 2011 challengers while Vitaly Petrov debuted Renault's new R31 before Rubens Barrichello ventured out in his FW33.

Jaime Alguersuari put Toro Rosso's STR6 through its first test while Narain Karthikeyan made his Formula One return with Hispania Racing - but in last year's machine.

The morning saw most of the teams focusing on short runs, barely more than installation laps as the drivers got a feel for their new cars.

One man, though, who wasn't left with a good feeling was Nico Rosberg.

The Mercedes GP driver was behind the wheel of Merc's new W02 for its maiden voyage when he became the first to bring out the red flags as he stopped out on track.

With the action back underway, Vettel improved from a 1:18 to a 1:15.559, slotting in behind Alonso as last year's antagonists went at it again.

Alonso responded by dropping his time to a 1:14.718 and extending his advantage over the reigning World Champ to 0.841s. He also completed the most number of laps during the morning, amassing 44.

Hulkenberg was third fastest on his Force India debut while Kobayashi had a promising start in his Sauber C30, finishing with the fourth best time ahead of Paffett and Jerome D'Ambrosio, who was using a modified version of last year's Virgin Racing car.

Unofficial Times
01. Alonso Ferrari F150 1:14.718 44 laps
02. Vettel Red Bull Racing RB7 1:14.962 + 0.244 15 laps
03. Hulkenberg Force India VJM-03 1:15.615 + 0.897 29 laps
04. Kobayashi Sauber C30 1:15.831 + 1.113 38 laps
05. Paffett McLaren MP4-25 1:16.256 + 1.538 45 laps
06. D'Ambrosio Virgin Racing MVR-02 1:16.398 + 1.680 32 laps
07. Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR6 1:18.260 + 3.542 8 laps
08. Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team F111 1:18.650 + 3.932 22 laps
09. Barrichello Williams FW33 1:18.714 + 3.996 11 laps
10. Rosberg Mercedes GP W02 1:19.930 + 5.212 9 laps
11. Petrov Lotus Renault GP R31 1:20.633 + 5.915 6 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Valencia: Problems and pace for Alonso

Just a mere 78 days after F1 bid farewell to the 2010 season, testing for the 2011 campaign got underway at Valencia

New Force India test driver Nico Hulkenberg was the first out on track followed by McLaren's Gary Paffett. Both drivers, though, were using last year's cars as their team's new challengers won't be launched until later in the morning.

Fernando Alonso therefore had the honour of being the first to display his team's new car as he took the track in Ferrari's F150.

His run was, according to reports, short-lived as the Spaniard suffered an apparent technical problem within the first hour. Alonso, though, was able to get his car, which had the rear covered in flow-paint, back to the garage.

Soon back on track, the double World Champion climbed to the top of the timesheets with a 1:15.371.

Defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi both hit the track in their 2011 challengers while Vitaly Petrov debuted Renault's new R31 before Rubens Barrichello ventured out in his FW33.

Unofficial Times
1. Alonso Ferrari F15 01:15.371 8 laps
2. Hulkenberg Force India VJM-03 1:15.948 + 0.577 12 laps
3. D'Ambrosio Virgin MVR-01 1:17.991 + 2.62 14 laps
4. Barrichello Williams FW33 1:24.424 + 9.053 4 laps
5. Paffett McLaren MP4-25 1:30.471 + 15.100 4 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Scuderia Toro Rosso launches in Valencia

Shortly after 9 o’clock this morning, in the pit lane at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit, Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi pulled the wraps off the STR 6, the car with which Scuderia Toro Rosso will tackle the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship.

While the livery featuring the famous red bull remains pretty much the same, underneath the paintwork, the STR6 is radically different to its predecessor.

This year’s design is possibly less conservative than in 2010 and naturally takes into account the requirements set out in the technical regulation changes, such as the banning of double diffusers, blown rear wings and adjustable front wings, to be replaced with the arrival of adjustable rear wings and the return, after a one year break, of KERS.

The Joy of Six

This will be the sixth year that Scuderia Toro Rosso competes in the Formula 1 World Championship, since the team was created with a view to finding two extra cockpits for the stars of the future coming through the ranks of the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme. Six years down the road, that is very much the team’s raison d’etre, with Sebastien Buemi still among the youngest men on the grid, while his team-mate, Jaime Alguersuari only turns 21 a few days before the second Grand Prix of this season. Still on the school front, the team will be squeezing a third driver into the cockpit at most of the races, as Red Bull junior, Daniel Ricciardo will be taking on the role of “Friday driver,” standing in for one of our drivers in turn for Free Practice 1. Why are we so keen on this teaching role? Maybe the words Sebastian Vettel, World Champion are explanation enough.

On the commercial front, we can look forward to a second year of support from Money Service Group, while on the technical front, 2011 is the second year that Scuderia Toro Rosso will have designed its car totally in-house, in Faenza and in our Bicester (UK) wind tunnel facility. This year’s design is possibly less conservative than in 2010 and naturally takes into account the requirements set out in the technical regulation changes, such as the banning of double diffusers, blown rear wings and adjustable front wings, to be replaced with the arrival of adjustable rear wings and the return, after a one year break, of KERS.

Toro Rosso did not use the Kinetic Energy Recovery System in 2009 and this year we hope to enjoy the advantage of using the one evolved by our engine supplier Ferrari, who made good use of the power boosting system two years ago. It will of course be linked to the very same specification 056 V8 engine as used by the other F1 entrant that calls itself a “Scuderia,” albeit with a prancing horse in its livery, rather than a toro. So there are plenty of unknown factors going into 2011, including a new tyre supplier, Pirelli. So that’s an Italian tyre supplier, a car designed and built in Italy, under the supervision of an Italian technical director, running an Italian engine with three drivers who can speak Italian. “Non può che essere un buon segno, che ne dici,” as they say in Faenza.

Source: NextgenAuto

Photos: Mercedes GP W02 launch 2011

Mercedes GP W02 launch today!

...

New silver arrow debuted at Valencia

The debut of the MGP W02, the new Silver Arrow for the 2011 Formula One World Championship, took place this morning at the Valencia Circuit in Spain with the new challenger unveiled in front of the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team garage by Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

The result of twelve months intense design and development work, the MGP W02 is the second Silver Arrows car to be launched by MERCEDES GP PETRONAS since the team became the first Mercedes-Benz works outfit since 1955.

The car’s livery is an evolution from its predecessor with a striking high-gloss airbrush effect highlighting the shape of the car. The interaction between the Silver Arrows heritage and the green shading representing the team’s title partner PETRONAS evokes memories of the first Silver Arrow car of 1934 with a modern touch added by 3D partner logos.

The technical specification of the MGP W02 includes the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery) system which returns to the sport after a one-year absence. The Mercedes KERS system was the first to win a Grand Prix during the 2009 season when KERS made its debut in Formula One. Also new on the car for this season is the adjustable rear wing, operated by the driver to aid overtaking, and Pirelli tyres as the Italian manufacturer becomes the sport’s official tyre supplier.

The team’s driver line-up remains unchanged with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, who achieved the team’s three podiums in 2010, forming one of the most exciting and talented pairings on the grid.

Michael Schumacher: “Finally the waiting is over and things get started. For us drivers, the break every year is hard to take because the gap between the last race and the first time out on track seems to be never-ending. Even if I have been involved and updated all winter on the developments, and even if I know the improvements are significant, it is still different to see the new car literally for the first time in front of you. You automatically build up this nice pre-start tension. I very much look forward to the new season. We have said it several times already but again, we are really to building up something big together. I am very confident that this season we will be standing on the podium much more regularly; ideally in the middle!”

Nico Rosberg: “It is always a very exciting time of year to drive the new car for the first time and feel how it performs out on track. This year we have the added challenge of not having an immediate reference due to the change in tyre manufacturer to the new Pirelli tyres, which felt good during our first try-out at the Abu Dhabi test last year. I am very much looking forward to having a much stronger season than last year and as always, our targets are aggressive. We want to be competing at the front and challenging for race wins. Everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth has worked extremely hard on the new Silver Arrow and we are all looking forward to seeing how it performs.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: “It is always a thrill to see a new car ready to take the track for the first time and this year is no exception. After our first year as the Mercedes-Benz works team, we are now seeing the benefits of our chassis group and our engine group working well together. With a good technical structure and a strengthened race engineering organisation, both at the factory and the race track, I am confident that we have done and will continue to do a better job this year in all key areas.

“The concept development for the MGP W02 started early and we have set challenging targets for the design, combined with a robust plan to ensure that the pace of development can continue throughout the long 2011 season. We have two excellent drivers in Michael and Nico, both of whom capable of winning races in a good car, and we look forward to seeing them push each other and the development of the new Silver Arrow during the season. We want to be setting the standard right from the start but if we are not, we will respond very strongly to get ourselves into the game. Everyone is excitedly waiting to see what the new season will reveal.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President - Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “The new Silver Arrow for the 2011 season has little in common with its immediate predecessor. Our chassis engineers have taken a fairly ruthless approach and were determined to shave off every superfluous gram and millimetre. What emerged from this process is a compact and exquisitely shaped vehicle that introduces a host of sophisticated solutions and truly reflects the enormous dedication of its constructors. We have given it a brand new coat of paint, and we aim to see a smile on the faces of our hard-working drivers and team members that is as bright as our new silver livery.

“Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher are top drivers who can win races for us, provided we build them the right car. At the same time, our team, like all the other teams, has to deal with complex new tasks. The new generation of tyres from Pirelli, and the extent to which the cars and drivers adapt to them, will play a vital role in deciding wins and defeats.

“The rear wing flap, which can be adjusted under specified conditions, will boost top speed and facilitate overtaking which should open up a new and interesting chapter for Formula One. And there is the return of KERS following a one-year absence at the end of the 2009 season when our Mercedes system recorded a historic first race win. This will play a massive role amongst all of the performance-related components, both for the additional power and for the strategic options it makes available. As in 2009, it is our ambition that Mercedes-Benz builds and runs the best hybrid system and that all three teams which use it benefit significantly from this.

“After I have spoken at length here on the many new issues, our target can be described in one short sentence: The new Silver Arrow should not only look first class, but should also be developed to be at the top step-by-step.”

Source: Nextgen

Williams unveils FW33 interim colours

In a recent interview, Rubens Barrichello described this year’s Williams-Cosworth FW33 as “aggressive”. It’s a sentiment shared by technical director Sam Michael, who talks today about the team’s 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship entry, the Williams Cosworth FW33, as it makes its track debut in Valencia this morning.

“Until you start testing,” says Sam, “you’re never sure how you’re going to stack up against the opposition, but we’re optimistic. We think this is a good car, but we’ll have a better overall picture in a few weeks time.”

New rules, which were only confirmed by the FIA’s World Motorsport Council in June 2010, compelled Williams F1’s technical team to take an innovative approach to its new car. The ban on double diffusers and the F-duct forced the aerodynamicists to seek new downforce solutions; KERS had to be incorporated into the layout and the team had to prepare for the arrival of a new tyre supplier, Pirelli, for the first time in five years.

“The design of this year’s car has been pretty smooth,” continues Sam. “We’ve improved our way of working by increasing the communication between the mechanical and aerodynamic departments, and that improved our decision making processes. It allowed us to increase the optimisation time spent on each part of the car.”

The car seen at today’s Valencia test is the first iteration of the FW33. This ‘launch spec’ will be replaced by an aero upgrade at the first race in Bahrain and there will be many others during the course of the year.

Sam Michael and his technical team expect aerodynamic performance to reach the same levels as 2010, despite there being less aero freedom in the rules.

Source: Nextgen

Photos: Red Bull RB7 launch 2011

Red Bull RB7 launch launch today!

more pics here at Gallery

Vettel is ready to defend his title

The story of 2010 is still fresh in the memory and after a rollercoaster season defined by both troubles and triumphs, including outstanding wins in Sepang and Valencia, Vettel’s mesmerising march to the title with three wins from the final four races gave the world a season showdown to cherish.

Now though, the 2011 season beckons, and while Sebastian is still basking in the glow of his title glory, he knows an exciting new challenge awaits.

“It feels at least as good now as it did when I crossed the line in Abu Dhabi,” he says of the final-day title win. “Back then it was quite difficult to really realise what had just happened. But around Christmas I got a couple of days to myself and then I could come to terms with it.”

“As a sportsman, though, you’re always looking forward,” he adds. “That process happens quite quickly when you race week to week. With the Championship it took a little bit longer, but it was a very nice process. Now though, 2010 is behind us. It’s a very proud memory, but now it’s 2011 and there’s another job to do, so we move to the next challenge, which is trying to do the same again.”

This year that means contending with some new technologies and Sebastian is quick to point out that the impact of KERS on the whole grid and the new moveable wing is hard to gauge.

“KERS we know about already, we have seen the effect on the track in 2009, but the moveable rear wing is a bit of an unknown. No one has ever driven the car with that type of wing and it’s difficult to know how it will work: will overtaking be just about possible, which I think is the idea, or will overtaking become very easy and therefore artificial, which is what no one wants to happen.”

“With KERS, the question is how good and how efficient your system is,” he continues. “Not just in terms of performance but in how quickly it recharges the batteries under braking and how much it upsets your car when you do apply it. Obviously, the teams that had it in 2009 have a little bit of an advantage, but we will just have to work hard on that.”

“In the end, though, it is just one variable and there are always variables. We have different tyres to work with this season and we have to see how we deal with that. You just have to adapt and try to make your driving style suit the car. It happens every year and we will deal with it. It’s good, it definitely keeps you on your toes.”

All of which points to a reinvigorated champion taking to the grid for the 2011 season.

“At the end of last year I was feeling very tired and needed a rest, but I’ve had that rest now and I’m really looking forward to it again. You know, I found out that the trophy I got in Monaco last year… I thought everyone got their own one,” he says with a wry smile. “But it’s not that way, you have to give it back. So for this year I need to push really hard to keep it in my house!”

Source: NextgenAuto

Red Bull reveals 2011 car at Valencia

Red Bull on Tuesday revealed its new car for the 2011 season featuring the number 1 for reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Photographs of the RB7, which is an evolution of the dominant title-winning car of 2010, were published on the team’s official website shortly before a blue sheet was pulled off in the Valencia pitlane by Vettel - who will drive the car on Tuesday - and Mark Webber.

Mercedes will also reveal its 2011 car at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on Tuesday, as will Toro Rosso, while the new Williams will make its test debut with an interim livery.

No rain and mild temperatures are forecast for the first day of pre-season testing in Cheste, which is 25 kilometres from the Spanish port city Valencia.

Source: Nextgen

Everything set for the F150’s track debut

Cheste, 31 January – In just a few hours time, the lights will go green to officially get the 2011 season underway. 10 o’clock tomorrow morning sees the start of the first of four test sessions, this one at the “Ricardo Tormo” circuit, at Cheste, on the outskirts of Valencia, prior to the opening round of the Formula 1 World Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix.

All the teams are here in Cheste, however not all of them have their new car ready. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro was first to lift the veil on its latest creation, running the F150, which has already tasted track action with a few dozen kilometres at Fiorano, in a session aimed at acquiring film footage for promotional use. The car which will be entrusted to Fernando Alonso tomorrow and Wednesday will be in the same configuration seen last Friday in Maranello at the launch presentation.

The work schedule for this first session will focus mainly on the overall reliability of the F150 and on increasing understanding of the new Pirelli tyres. There was some rain today, but the weather is due to improve over the next few days.

Source:Ferrari.com