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56 comments on 2009 F1 testing: March 4th (Update: pictures added)

1. 

   Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 4th March 2009, 19:40

   Press releases:

   Red Bull

   Driver: Mark Webber
   Car: RB5 – 02
   Laps: 107
   Best time: 1:20.894
   Circuit length: 4.423 km
   Fastest lap: F. Alonso – 1:19.945

   The weather seems determined to have its say at this test in southern Spain and while there was only a small amount of drizzle today, the winds picked up to such an extent that it affected the cars out on track.

   Despite this, Mark Webber completed a good number of laps with RB5 running reliably throughout. On the agenda, a general pre-Melbourne development programme, with lots of items ticked off the job sheet come the end of the day.

   Mark continues driving tomorrow when, on the final day of this five day test, the team will evaluate some Bridgestone tyres aimed at the 2010 season.

   BMW

   Nick Heidfeld
   Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-03 / BMW 86/9
   Test kilometres today: 439 (99 laps)
   Fastest lap: 1:20.520 min

   Programme:

   Today’s work for Nick Heidfeld started with the mechanical set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09. He also did a so-called ‘run-out of fuel run’ which resulted in him stopping out on the track. This standard procedure allows the engineers to compare telemetry readings with the car’s actual fuel level. After the lunch break Heidfeld’s main focus switched to tyres and brakes. He also did a couple of race start simulations completing a total of 99 laps.

   “The strong wind affected today’s work a little bit”, Heidfeld said. “Nevertheless I was able to work with various tyre compounds and try a lot of different solutions for the car’s set-up. That gives me a good base to work on tomorrow.”

   Williams

   Kazuki Nakajima joined the AT&T Williams team in Jerez, southern Spain, today for day four of this week’s five day test. Overcast conditions dominated the weather today, and were met by some fairly strong winds this afternoon.

   Despite the less than ideal conditions, Kazuki enjoyed a productive first day out on track. Taking over where Nico left off, Nakajima continued preparing the car for Australia, working through set-up options and mechanical and aero component checks.

   Kazuki set a time of 1:21.948 and registered 83 laps of the Spanish track, a total of 367kms.

   Sam Michael, Technical Director, Williams F1:
   “We spent all day working on set-up, combined with aero and mechanical part testing. In addition, we also carried out some starts testing. Overall, it was a productive day during which we gathered a lot of data. Kazuki was driving today and will finish the week off for us tomorrow.”

   Renault

   Fernando Alonso, R29-03, 130 laps, 576 km, fastest lap 1:19.945

   The ING Renault F1 Team wrapped up its final day of testing at the Jerez circuit today as Fernando Alonso completed 130 laps and set the fastest time of the day to round off a productive week for the team.

   Again the team made the most of the dry conditions to add mileage to the car and evaluate various new developments. Fernando also completed set-up work, although the windy conditions in the afternoon made for tricky track conditions.

   The team now travels to Barcelona for the test next week where both Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso will be on driving duty.

   Fernando Alonso: “I’m very happy with the result from this test as we had two trouble-free days, a very consistent car and the work we have done has been very useful. It was really windy today, especially from mid-morning onwards, which made it difficult to understand some of the set-up changes, but all the teams were in the same position and we were still able to learn some important things about the car. I would like to thank the team for all their hard work this week as I know they have worked very hard to make sure we could do everything we needed to.”

   Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “We had a good day and it was a really positive way to end the test. It’s been a tough week for the mechanics who have had to work really hard, just as the guys back at the factory have done to get everything out here for this test. We’ve shown excellent reliability, got good miles on the car and done some good set-up work, which has set us up nicely for our test next week in Barcelona.”

   Also see their blog post here with more pictures: http://my.ing-renaultf1.com/en/blog/948-Jerez-Testing-Day-4-04-03-2009.html

   Reply
   • 

     Bloo said on 4th March 2009, 20:16

     You’ve got Red Bull’s fastest lap attributed to Fernando Alonso

     Reply
   • 

     Becken said on 4th March 2009, 20:25

     McLaren release:

     Lewis returned to the cockpit to continue the development and set-up programme that had been successfully started at the previous Jerez test. A delay to fit new parts to the rear suspension caused Lewis to miss out on most of the morning’s running – when the track was at its fastest – but he resumed after lunch.

     The presence of a blustery wind and a sudden shower prompted a brief spin in the afternoon but Lewis stayed on-track and later declared himself pleased with the team’s progress. WITH FOCUS NOW SHIFTING TOWARDS MP4-24’S MECHANICAL SET-UP, THE CAR PROVED ONE OF THE FASTEST OVER A LONG RUN and has given the team plenty of useful information as it works to prepare for the first race of the season later this month.

     Reply
   • 

     Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 4th March 2009, 20:31

     Bloo – that’s Red Bull’s press release (I didn’t write it) and it refers to the fastest time of the day, which was set by Alonso.

     Reply
   • 

     EGC said on 4th March 2009, 21:19

     Beckem:
     “Lewis returned to the cockpit to continue the development and set-up programme that had been successfully started at the previous Jerez test. A delay to fit new parts to the rear suspension caused Lewis to miss out on most of the morning’s running – when the track was at its fastest – but he resumed after lunch.”
     Succesful?????
     “Delay to fit new parts”???? ahhhh, yes, the 2009 rear wing?????
     C’mon…open your eyes…

     Reply
2. 

   Striay said on 4th March 2009, 19:42

   I was there!!! More tomorrow guys sorry!! pics and that..

   Reply
3. 

   Ponzonha said on 4th March 2009, 19:59

   Don’t you think that it is a little bit risky to sandbag during all the tests only to apply full power in the first GP?

   Reply
4. 

   BaKano said on 4th March 2009, 20:45

   One thing’s certain. McLaren are keeping very quiet regarding all these different usages of rear-wings. One friend told me that they are using the 2008 wing so that they can focus on the mechanical grip, because they know everything there is to know about the 2008 wing, so they can know for sure the imapct of mechanical changes.
   But for me something is odd here. Having just a handfull of laps with the 2009 complete aero-package, and with slow times when they do, hoe can they be sure that when they reach the first race, they have a good rear-wing? The less time they test it, the less they know about it, so something’s odd here…

   Reply
5. 

   EGC said on 4th March 2009, 21:20

   Beckem:
   “Lewis returned to the cockpit to continue the development and set-up programme that had been successfully started at the previous Jerez test. A delay to fit new parts to the rear suspension caused Lewis to miss out on most of the morning’s running – when the track was at its fastest – but he resumed after lunch.”
   Succesful?????
   “Delay to fit new parts”???? ahhhh, yes, the 2009 rear wing?????
   C’mon…open your eyes…

   Reply
   • 

     EGC said on 4th March 2009, 21:20

     upsss…sorry, duplicated :-(

     Reply
   • 

     Becken said on 4th March 2009, 22:36

     Hey, hey… easy, mate! I´m not trying to convince none, but let some aware that a team which shaped the 2009 aero regulations concepts on his QG, with their own resources, wouldn’t do a poor job in a rear wing.

     Those guys made a car be 0.25 tenths faster between Brazil and China. I´m convinced that they will fight for the win at Melbourne.

     Anyway, anybody knows how McLaren, or any other team, proceed with their development program?

     Reply
6. 

   Robert said on 4th March 2009, 21:35

   Well this is all very fun deciding what mclaren are doing!

   Reply
7. 

   Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 4th March 2009, 21:53

   Force India press release:

   Adrian Sutil brought the Force India Formula One Team’s debut VJM02 test to a close today in Jerez, Spain. Adrian completed 79 laps over the course of the day to bring the car’s total mileage to date to just over 1,000km.

   Clear conditions prevailed over Jerez and, despite gusty wind conditions in the afternoon, the team was able to run through the majority of its scheduled programme, which included set-up evaluations, tyre comparisons and a number of test items. Adrian’s best time was a 1:21.411. The team will now continue its pre-season testing preparations at the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona during a four day test from 9 – 12 March. Giancarlo Fisichella will be on duty on the first two days, with Adrian taking over for the final two.

   Adrian Sutil:

   This morning we had some good running with a lot of laps. We improved the balance of the car from yesterday and I was much happier. Right now we are just checking how the car reacts to different set-up changes. In the afternoon we then did quite a lot of tests with the tyres. We tried the soft, supersoft and medium compounds. On the long runs they behaved quite differently and the biggest problem was with the graining. It happens very quickly, then gets worse and the grip never comes back. We are talking big differences in lap times – I have never had such a big graining issue, but I can see nearly everyone is struggling with a similar problem. On the whole I am pleased with today though, we got a lot of very good information and can take this forward to Barcelona.

   James Key, technical director

   We had a good end to the test today. Fortunately it stayed dry again so we were able to get a lot more information. We tried some different tyre compounds today, saw how they behaved and tried some set-up changes where we spotted some encouraging trends. Thanks to all the team for working so hard over the past few weeks to get the car together and have such a productive test. It has set us up well for the final test next week in Barcelona, where we hope to continue our strong

   Reply
8. 

   Tirante said on 4th March 2009, 22:53

   The official explanation:

   “A delay to fit new parts to the rear suspension caused Lewis to miss out on most of the morning’s running – when the track was at its fastest – but he resumed after lunch.”

   The Mclaren people fitting new parts to the rear suspension by means of a fire extinguisher (Weird, isn`t it?):

   http://www.lasextanoticias.com/galerias/reproductor/400333/401147

   Reply
9. 

   Joe said on 4th March 2009, 23:39

   no McLaren pics?

   Reply
   • 

     Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 4th March 2009, 23:53

     Afraid not :-(

     Reply
10. 

    Adrian said on 5th March 2009, 10:20

    You know what, a part of me hopes they are struggling, because I’d love to see how Lewis copes in a less than race-winning car – he might have chance to prove some of his detractors wrong – and also I’d love to see how McLaren claw their way back to the front…

    Reply
11. 

    BaKano said on 5th March 2009, 13:13

    There is something very misterious surrounding McLaren now. Hamilton’s car yesterday caught fire and returned to the pits where the mecanics used the fire extinguisher, but the team oficcially denied the car caught fire, and they say the time Hamilton was waiting for the car (repairs in journalists opinion) was for putting new suspension parts!

    One thing for sure, they may win the first race, and go on to dominate the championship, but this situation will always be strange to say the least!

    Reply
12. 

    Mig said on 5th March 2009, 14:07

    Hi there,

    Great info, great site – I’m hoocked – the best Formula One information source online!

    Just one question – there no McLaren pics from any test day in Jerez ?

    Thx and again, congrats on a great source of info to us all… Formula One… Fanatics… That’s right! :)

    Reply
13. 

    kallan said on 9th March 2009, 13:59

    I apologise for posting something so irelevant but seriously look how much Nick Heidfeld looks like Josh Pyke, the australian musician: http://www.mysecretplaylist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/josh-pyke.jpg
    http://g8.undercoverhd.com/imgsresized/article/081116JoshPyke-6515_1.jpg

    Reply

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