F1 News
Date: 26/February/2011
Sauber, Williams and Force India claimed the top three positions at the end of the Barcelona test, the second of three training sessions before the start of the new world championship season.
Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest time of the four-day test courtesy of ‘qualifying’ run on the final morning, with Pastor Maldonado just 0.079sec slower for Williams. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg was 0.296sec from the top in third.
Sauber’s head of track engineering, Giampaolo Dall’Ara, insisted the team had a genuine need to chase a one-off lap time and was not simply grandstanding.
He said: “Qualifying was actually a weakness of ours in the last two seasons and we have to resolve this. This obviously requires proper practice. Kamui started with the medium compound before he used two sets of soft tyres, and in the end he got his first taste of the 2012 super soft compound.
“He did his fastest lap on the second set of softs. This lap time now stands as the overall fastest for this week, but of course this doesn’t mean much because proper comparisons are never possible during testing with each team running different programmes. In the afternoon we did longer runs for race preparation.”
Williams weren’t so transparent regarding Maldonado’s best time, preferring to talk of “a really productive day's testing to end an excellent couple of weeks”.
Hulkenberg, returning to an F1 race seat from the role of test driver, differed from the leaders in setting his best time on day two of four - track conditions generally improve the longer the cars are on track - before handing over to Scottish team-mate Paul di Resta, who went on to set the sixth fastest time.
Sandwiched between the Force Indias on the final timesheets were Sauber’s Sergio Perez and Red Bull’s reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel - the first of the ‘big hitters’ in fifth.
F1’s main four of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes tend to play their cards close to their chest in testing, each trying to gauge their true race speed relative to the opposition - without revealing their own potential.
Vettel also set his best time on the second day of testing. The German declared it was a case of “so far, so good”, although he laments the loss of downforce caused by the relocation of the exhaust exits, as required by the 2012 technical regulations.
He said: “I think we are on the right road with the car. The first impressions at the last test were fine. The car reacted the way we expected. I keep talking about the loss of downforce compared to last year, as we don’t have the tools we had, but this is the same for everyone, not just us.”
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished the test in seventh, followed by McLaren’s reigning title runner-up Jenson Button, Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.
Button’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton was eleventh, with Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber 13th.
Lotus had set the pace in the first test courtesy of Romain Grosjean, but the team - which has signed former champion Kimi Raikkonen for a 2012 F1 return - was dealt a hefty blow in Barcelona when it was forced to abandon testing early on day one.
The team cited an unspecified “chassis issue”, which subsequent reports have suggested was related to the front suspension mounting points.
Team boss Eric Boullier said: “Not running this week has been a tough decision to take, but we feel that our choice is the right one. We have quickly identified the issue with the chassis and our design office has already devised a solution. We will be present at next week's test in Barcelona. We draw faith from the fact that the E20 was quick out of the box in Jerez and showed its reliability there.”
The third and final pre-season test will be held at Barcelona from March 1-4. The racing season will then begin at Melbourne’s Albert Park on March 16-18.
Shake-up at Caterham F1: Trulli out, Petrov in
F1 News
Date: 17/February/2012
Jarno Trulli has lost his drive with the Caterham F1 team, just one month before the start of the 2012 season.
The Italian veteran - an F1 racer since 1997 and winner of the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix - tested for the newly renamed Caterham squad during the recent Jerez test, but has now been replaced by Lotus-Renault exile Vitaly Petrov.
Trulli, like team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, has been with the Tony Fernandes run team since its 2009 debut, under the Lotus Racing then Team Lotus moniker.
Rumours of his exit have been circling since last season despite the 37-year-old claiming to have a contract in place. So why has Trulli been replaced now? After thanking the Italian for his efforts, Fernandes gave a few clues - but no clear motive:
The Air Asia founder said: "It was not an easy decision to bring Vitaly in to replace Jarno, but it was one we made to ensure that we give fresh impetus across the whole team and with a realistic eye on the global economic market.
“Jarno has an incredible natural talent behind the wheel, and his winning record and longevity in the sport will bear testament to that talent in the Formula 1 annals forever, but now it is time to open a new chapter in our team's story, and Vitaly is the right person to help us do that.”
Trulli, who (like Kovalainen) hasn’t scored a point since 2009, certainly didn’t seem to have any hard feelings.
Trulli said: "I want to take this chance to thank everyone in the team for the two seasons we had together. From zero we built up and established a solid F1 team. I'm really proud to have been part of it. I understand the decision the team has made and I want to wish to the whole team the very best of luck for the season ahead."
Trulli’s exit follows a change of role for Catreham’s Mike Gascoyne, who has moved from being the F1 team chief technical officer to a more broader appointment as CTO for the whole Caterham Group.
Gascoyne has long been a close ally of Trulli, the pair working together at numerous teams.
Petrov will make his Caterham debut during the second pre-season test at Barcelona from February 21-24.
Date: 17/February/2012
Jarno Trulli has lost his drive with the Caterham F1 team, just one month before the start of the 2012 season.
The Italian veteran - an F1 racer since 1997 and winner of the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix - tested for the newly renamed Caterham squad during the recent Jerez test, but has now been replaced by Lotus-Renault exile Vitaly Petrov.
Trulli, like team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, has been with the Tony Fernandes run team since its 2009 debut, under the Lotus Racing then Team Lotus moniker.
Rumours of his exit have been circling since last season despite the 37-year-old claiming to have a contract in place. So why has Trulli been replaced now? After thanking the Italian for his efforts, Fernandes gave a few clues - but no clear motive:
The Air Asia founder said: "It was not an easy decision to bring Vitaly in to replace Jarno, but it was one we made to ensure that we give fresh impetus across the whole team and with a realistic eye on the global economic market.
“Jarno has an incredible natural talent behind the wheel, and his winning record and longevity in the sport will bear testament to that talent in the Formula 1 annals forever, but now it is time to open a new chapter in our team's story, and Vitaly is the right person to help us do that.”
Trulli, who (like Kovalainen) hasn’t scored a point since 2009, certainly didn’t seem to have any hard feelings.
Trulli said: "I want to take this chance to thank everyone in the team for the two seasons we had together. From zero we built up and established a solid F1 team. I'm really proud to have been part of it. I understand the decision the team has made and I want to wish to the whole team the very best of luck for the season ahead."
Trulli’s exit follows a change of role for Catreham’s Mike Gascoyne, who has moved from being the F1 team chief technical officer to a more broader appointment as CTO for the whole Caterham Group.
Gascoyne has long been a close ally of Trulli, the pair working together at numerous teams.
Petrov will make his Caterham debut during the second pre-season test at Barcelona from February 21-24.
Mercedes pins hopes on late 2012 debut
F1 News
Date: 14/February/2012
A quick glance at the Jerez F1 test results might have prompted some to put a quick bet on Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher for the 2012 world championship.
That’s because the pair were listed as first and third, respectively, at the end of the opening test session of the year. But all was not as it seemed, since Mercedes was the only team - other than backmarkers HRT - still using last year’s 2011-spec car, without the new technical restrictions.
Fastest man Rosberg said: “I’m happy with the testing that we have achieved here in Jerez, and we learned a lot about the Pirelli tyres and a few other things for the new car. You can’t really compare the lap times with other teams, but it was interesting to learn a lot with our 2011 car.”
The Ross Brawn-run team has gambled that running last year’s car with the new Pirelli tyres - plus 2012 development parts - will allow them to steal an advantage over the opposition.
The downside is that Mercedes will now have just two (four-day) tests at Barcelona in which to prepare their 2012 racer prior to the March 18 season-opener at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
Brawn believes the extra info will prove ‘very useful’:
“We have had a productive and busy three days in Jerez running the MGP W02 car for the final time. Simultaneously the final preparations have been taking place back at the factory for the first test with our 2012 car in Barcelona.
“Michael and Nico have been able to complete some valuable mileage this week, and enhanced our understanding of the new season’s Pirelli tyres which will prove very useful once the new car in is on track.”
New Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was a surprise quickest of the 2012 machines, the Frenchman finishing second overall with a best lap time 0.8sec from Rosberg and 0.1sec ahead of Schumacher.
After setting his fastest lap on his 2012 debut, during day three of four, Grosjean said:
“I am one of the happiest guys in the world right now. It’s been a really good day for me. We were fastest in the morning then we completed some longer runs in the afternoon. For sure there’s margin for improvement in the tests ahead, but it’s a great start to the year.”
Grosjean was 0.4sec faster than the next-best 2012 car of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was followed on the timesheets by the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The second pre-season test starts at Barcelona on February 21, when Mercedes will aim for a speedy debut with their new car.
Date: 14/February/2012
A quick glance at the Jerez F1 test results might have prompted some to put a quick bet on Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher for the 2012 world championship.
That’s because the pair were listed as first and third, respectively, at the end of the opening test session of the year. But all was not as it seemed, since Mercedes was the only team - other than backmarkers HRT - still using last year’s 2011-spec car, without the new technical restrictions.
Fastest man Rosberg said: “I’m happy with the testing that we have achieved here in Jerez, and we learned a lot about the Pirelli tyres and a few other things for the new car. You can’t really compare the lap times with other teams, but it was interesting to learn a lot with our 2011 car.”
The Ross Brawn-run team has gambled that running last year’s car with the new Pirelli tyres - plus 2012 development parts - will allow them to steal an advantage over the opposition.
The downside is that Mercedes will now have just two (four-day) tests at Barcelona in which to prepare their 2012 racer prior to the March 18 season-opener at Melbourne’s Albert Park.
Brawn believes the extra info will prove ‘very useful’:
“We have had a productive and busy three days in Jerez running the MGP W02 car for the final time. Simultaneously the final preparations have been taking place back at the factory for the first test with our 2012 car in Barcelona.
“Michael and Nico have been able to complete some valuable mileage this week, and enhanced our understanding of the new season’s Pirelli tyres which will prove very useful once the new car in is on track.”
New Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was a surprise quickest of the 2012 machines, the Frenchman finishing second overall with a best lap time 0.8sec from Rosberg and 0.1sec ahead of Schumacher.
After setting his fastest lap on his 2012 debut, during day three of four, Grosjean said:
“I am one of the happiest guys in the world right now. It’s been a really good day for me. We were fastest in the morning then we completed some longer runs in the afternoon. For sure there’s margin for improvement in the tests ahead, but it’s a great start to the year.”
Grosjean was 0.4sec faster than the next-best 2012 car of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was followed on the timesheets by the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The second pre-season test starts at Barcelona on February 21, when Mercedes will aim for a speedy debut with their new car.
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