Barcelona: Day Two, Three & Four

Pre-season testing is nearing a very sudden end, it's then only two weeks away until the lights go out in Melbourne, it still seems a lifetime away! It hasn't gotten any drier for the teams, something which is really hampering development of the 2013 models. 

Day Two Final Standings

1. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1:22.716s
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1:23.181s
3. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1:23.628s
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1:23.743s
5. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 1:23.744s
6. Adrian Sutil (Force India) – 1:24.215s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – 1:25.483s
8. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1:25.598s
9. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1:26.316s
10. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1:26.655s
11. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1:27.878s

As a Lotus fan, the words 'THANK CHRIST' have never came out of my mouth accompanied by much needed relief. Although set on a drying track it's not much to take away, but it's a bloody start! Romain Grosjean was followed by another let down of testing in the form of McLaren's Jenson Button but really, it doesn't really matter beyond this point. If testing pace is no relation to race pace during the season, then wet testing is just a waste of time. It would be a lot more cost effective for the teams  just to pack up for the day and go home, but then I'm not sure if the spectators pay to watch testing or not so it wouldn't exactly be fair. 

I haven't a terrible lot to say on the matter, there's nothing that can be taken away from wet running other than seeing how the cars react under the conditions. However one would think that after one session the teams would have all they need. No point in chancing a collision or crash. The forecast for the next two days is set to improve, let's up the action does too.

Day Three Final Standings

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:20.558s
2. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 1:21.266s
3. Adrian Sutil (Force India) – 1:21.627s
4. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1:22.305s
5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 1:22.468s
6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) – 1:22.553s
7. Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 1:22.658s
8. Sergio Perez (McLaren) – 1:22.694s
9. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) – 1:23.223s
10. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1:23.380s
11. Davide Valsecchi (Lotus) – 1:23.448s
12. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) – 1:24.028s
13. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1:24.235s

I'd like to start this post off by wishing my favourite superstar Kimi Raikkonen a very speedy recovery. The Flying Finn was due to begin his test today but has succumbed to food poisoning... Or is just really, really hungover.

On a completely dry day, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time over any of the Barcelona days. The Brit put in blinding laps to top the time sheets and will be hoping that his form carry's over into Melbourne. One thing to note about every team is how close the grid was. Liittle under 4s seperates 13 drivers which is an encouraging display, very delighted to see.

Bianchi's Second Chance

Jules Bianchi who suffered a recent career defeat when he lost out to Adrian Sutil (opinion coming VERY SOON) for the Force India seat got a second chance when Marussia offered him a race seat. This was following the immediate dismissal of Luiz Razia after his sponsors failed to provide the team with the funds that were promised. The team had no hesitation in cutting their loses and signing up this ever impressive young man to partner fellow rookie Max Chilton. 

Bianchi also represents the sports 4th French driver, If there was ever a case to pull out of those tragic desert/Asian races and return to Europe, it is this very statement. Imagine the riots there would be if Britain didn't run a Grand Prix this year. There wouldn't be any, because anybody in Formula 1 rolls over and simply buries their dignity because Bernie says so. It's a joke he couldn't be bothered to lower his prices to accommodate a 20th GP this season. 

Bernie needs to be reminded that it's not his 'yes men' who pay to see races, it is us. The real fans.

Day Four

This is it. The final day to make a mark and stand your ground. Another day of drying running means the teams will simply be trying to showcase their speed. Personally, the results of today will be the closest in terms of race pace. Not exact readings, but very closely related.

Final Standings

  1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1:20.130s

  2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1:20.494s

  3. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1:21.444s

  4. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 1:21.541s

  5. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) – 1:21.658s

  6. Paul di Resta (Force India) – 1:21.664s

  7. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1:22.415s

  8. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1:22.514s

  9. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 1:22.524s

10. Charles Pic (Caterham) – 1:23.115s

11. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) – 1:23.167s

12. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – 1:23.628s

13. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1:24.103s

I have to say, this was probably my favourite day of any test. What a grid! Everybody thought Lewis Hamilton had pulled off a wonder feat yesterday by stunning everyone with the fastest time set, and then his dark horse of a team mate Nico Rosberg breaks his team mates 2013 record by 0.5s! 

The end result certainly looks like it should come the first race, except from Red Bull cause they would have to be special and look like they're struggling (idiots). Great to see Kimi back in action and set some more consistent laps, he even done far fewer laps than anybody above him, he is certainly looking to be a contender for a podium down under.

Nico Hulkenberg finishes off Sauber's pre season campaign in style after grabbing himself a top 5 finish. Today also marks the first time that Caterham have got the better of their closest rival Marussia in any of the Barcelona days. Charles Pic set a faster time that either of the Marussia drivers who each had a go out on track.

Daniel Ricciardo and Valterri Bottas were among the disappointments, both have shown that they have quicker pace than their rivals but each failed to make any relevant impact on today's proceedings. Bottas's team mate Pastor Maldonado couldn't break into the top 5.

It has been a terrific few weeks of testing, and I have really enjoyed writing up about them even if my posts have been ridiculously late. Expect more frequent blog posts and a lot more from me in the future. 

Thank you very much for reading!

Barcelona: Day One

Here we are. One step closer to the beginning of something very beautiful, the 2013 Formula 1 season. Barcelona hosts yet again another four days of testing, raising a couple of issues; will the rain play havoc once again? And will we see pace closer to the race pace we'll see in Australia? Fan favourites like Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa are all in action today. Rookies Valtteri Bottas and Max Chilton were also piloting their Williams and Marussia's respectively. Chilton looks to be in the car for the whole four days unless Luiz Razia can get his sponsorship issue sorted.

Final Standings

  1. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:22.693s

  2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:24.348s

  3. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1:25.017s

  4. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:26.458s

  5. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1:26.538s

  6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:26.574s

  7. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1:27.107s

  8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.541s

  9. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1:28.166s

10. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1:28.644s

11. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1:34.928s

Well... What can I really say? Other than, it looks as if we're in for another 2011. If you're unsure what that means, essentially it boils down to puppet boy getting controlled by the wonderful mind that is Adrian Newey. If you're unsure what THAT means, Sebastian Vettel will fly away to another title that someone has won for him. Red Bull's Mark Webber dominated the session by going 1.6s quicker than Lewis Hamilton in second place. That is an insane pace made on a drying track after rain hit the circuit all morning.

The Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne and Williams of Valtteri Bottas enjoyed quick pace as did Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez who at one point had the quickest time. Max Chilton also continued Marussia's quicker pace over their rivals Caterham.

Felipe Massa had to end his day early after his Ferrari ran out of fuel on track. Reports are that this was deliberate and part of a data programme designed to read how the car reacts under dangerous amounts of low fuel. Going by earlier pace, Massa could have been closer to Webber if he had continued the session, this could contribute to the difference in speed. Another factor that reciprocates throughout every single session is that no one knows just how much fuel anybody has on board at one time, thus affecting the time sheets.

Lotus's misery continues for another day as Romain Grosjean drifted off the racing track. The E21's brilliance from Jerez seems nothing but a distant memory at this point for the fans.

Barcelona: Day Four

It's hard to think that in three weeks time we get the 2013 season started in Melbourne. It's been a long winter testing, and Formula 1's first of three visits (two tests and the Spanish Grand Prix) to Barcelona for testing concludes having provided us with some terrific lap times. Unfortunately, most of the day was dominated by rain.

Final Standings

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1m23.282s
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1m23.633s
3. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) – 1m24.071s
4. Jules Bianchi (Force India) – 1m25.732s
5. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) – 1m26.239s
6. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1m27.429s
7. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 1m27.563s
8. Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 1m27.616s
9. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1m29.902s
10. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1m34.800s
11. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – no time
12. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – no time

Red flag waving was common practice today as the rain made the track wet and slippery. It wouldn't be right to read too much into today's session, but at least we had a small indication of how the 2013 models handle in the wet. All quick laps were done in the morning with Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton setting the quickest, 0.3s off former McLaren team mate Jenson Button. Jean-Eric Vergne seems to have gotten Toro Rosso's great testing form back on track as he said he had "another productive day, even with the rain."

Williams had no time set due to practising pit-stops and other pit protocols.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez and Jean-Eric Vergne all ended up in the gravel after sliding off which incurred red flags. Romain Grosjean finished Lotus's poor Barcelona form off with a resounding 10th place finish. Hopefully by the time of the second test here, the Enstone team will have everything looked and and fixed as they really need to hit the ground running down under.

Barcelona: Day One & Two

Testing resumes again this time at the beautiful Circuit de Catalunya in sunny Barcelona. The 2.8 mile circuit plays host to the Spanish Grand Prix, an event that could soon be shared with the Valencia Street circuit. This test will be a more representable picture of race pace for the beginning of the season, unlike Jerez which was mainly used for sorting out reliability issues.

One of the key figures missing from the Jerez test was 2012 runner up Fernando Alonso who was not featured at all. Day one marked the first time that he has been in the F138. Positive performers such as Lotus, Red Bull and Force India will be looking to build on their current foundations while under performers like Mercedes and Williams who were in their brand new FW35 for the first time will be seeking ways of improving.

Day One Final Standings

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1m.22.616s
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) – 1m.22.623
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1m.22.952
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1m.22.965
5. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1m.23.733
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – 1m.23.884
7. Sergio Perez (McLaren) – 1m.24.124
8. Paul di Resta (Force India) – 1m.24.144
9. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) – 1m.25.124
10. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1m.26.747
11. Charles Pic (Caterham) – 1m.27.534

The top spot was in constant change throughout the day with numerous drivers setting quick laps, some even went on to beat themselves. In the end, it was Nico Rosberg who put his Mercedes on top at the end of the day, finally putting behind all of the mechanical issues of Jerez. Ross Brawn's team look as though they have finally put their demons to rest. Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen also continued to show their unbelievably quick and consistent pace setting the overall second quickest, he was follwed by Fernando Alonso who was the early pace setter. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel also continued a theme of consistency keeping his RB9 within mere tenths of the top spot.

Sergio Perez and McLaren finished a disappointing 7th overall, some have argued that their lack of pace is not a good showing for their 2013 title ambitions. 

On a positive note, the back marker teams of Marussia and Caterham (driven by Max Chilton and Charles Pic respectively) were not too far off the midfield teams. Don't read too much into it though, odds are they'll still cause havoc again this season.

Day Two

A few drivers changed around, Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to emulate his team mate Nico Rosberg's success in day one and the young Flying Finn Valtteri Bottas hops in for his first full taste of the new FW35.

Final Standings

1. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1m.21.848s
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m.22.197s
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 1m.22.697s
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m.22.726s
5. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1m.23.247s
6. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1m.23.561s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 1m.23.718s
8. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m.23.971s
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m.24.205s
10. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m.25.115s
11. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1m.26.243s

Day two marked an event with very little red flags. In fact there were only two towards the very end of the session. Therefore all the simulation work the teams carried out will have collected very rich data, very beneficial as the start of the season looms. The man on top today could not have contrasted any further from his performance yesterday, Sergio Perez drove his McLaren to the top of the time sheet putting a considerable amount of daylight between himself and second placed Sebastian Vettel who was at the top for a considerable portion of the day.

Disappointment and even less laps for Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus today as the E29 suffered it's worst bout of reliability issues yet after suffering a gearbox problem. Not enough to stop him from setting the  third fastest time, but still a cause for concern as Kimi set an unprecedented record last season for completing every single lap in the year. Lotus were not alone, Red Bull and Ferrari both had reliability concerns. Hamilton completed a series of laps to put his crash nightmare of Jerez behind him, moving forwards in good strides.

I must say, the one team who have continued to impress me throughout every single test session this  year is Toro Rosso. They are doing an excellent job and I hope it brings them good fortune this year. I need someone at Red Bull whom I actually like instead of a German 'yes man.'

Check back here tomorrow where I will have a run down of day three!

Note

There will be no review of the Williams FW35. The car is very much unaltered and I am not particularly fond of the idea of Pastor Maldonado still retaining his seat. I think Valtteri Bottas will surprise quite a lot of people this year, I have my eye on him. I will say though that despite my previous Renault engine theories, Williams have decided to go with the vanity cover, a move I am very pleased to see.

Force India will not be receiving any further coverage from me on my blog. I am totally appalled by their decision not to announce a second driver. It is terrible management and they will be putting someone in the car with little laps under their belt. It doesn't matter if they run every lap of the third test, they will still be at a disadvantage and therefore a risk to drivers around them plus a potential threat to our viewing pleasure.