http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ebK1njx1IM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDuBIMs-Mv4

http://www.sportlifepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2280&Itemid=286

Kazuki Nakajima continued work behind the wheel of the FW31 in Barcelona today. On a track that started out slightly damp this morning but dried out later in the day, the team carried on a schedule of development work ahead of Melbourne. Included in the day’s itinerary was testing of the Melbourne aero upgrade package, set-up work and reliability checks.

On his last day in Barcelona, Kazuki completed 66 laps and set the second fastest time of the day out of ten runners with a 1:20.907.

Dickie Stanford, Test Team Manager, Williams F1:
“Kazuki carried on further development of the FW31 today. We had some changes to make to the car over the course of the day so a bit of track time was lost in the garage making those revisions, we therefore didn’t get in as many laps as we’d have liked. Nico will take over work tomorrow.”

The Brawn GP team completed a second successful day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today as Rubens Barrichello joined the team to take over the testing responsibilities in the BGP 001 car from Jenson Button.

Stepping back into a Formula One car for the first time since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, Rubens began the day with an installation run to ensure he was comfortable with his position in the new chassis. Once achieved, the team’s focus for the remainder of the day was to complete a series of long runs to enable Rubens to evaluate the balance of the car in race conditions.

Rubens completed 111 laps over the day as he posted the third fastest lap on the timesheets. Team-mate Jenson will continue the programme with the BGP 001 car tomorrow before Rubens brings the test to a conclusion on Thursday.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“First of all I would like to thank everyone at Brackley for what has been achieved. After such a long wait for news on the team and for me to have to sit out the past four months, I am so pleased that we have a reliable and fast car straight out of the box. Secondly I am pleased with my physical condition which has enabled me to complete so many laps – 111 in total – on my first day of running. As we are playing catch-up, obviously the more mileage I can do before the first race the better. I am happy that we have got off to a good start here at our first test and we just need to carry that through to the next test in Jerez and Melbourne.”

Unofficial Tuesday times from Barcelona:
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F60, 1:20.314
2. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams FW31, 1:20.907
3. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn BGP 001, 1:20.966
4. Jarno Trulli, Toyota TF109, 1:21.182
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull RB5, 1:21.347
6. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber F1.09, 1:21.615
7. Adrian Sutil, Force India VJM02, 1:21.834
8. Fernando Alonso, Renault R29, 1:21.937
9. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren MP4-24, 1:21.991
10. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso STR4, 1:23.039
11. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso STR4, no time

Sorry, but no amount of ‘sandbagging’ can account for MCL’s current form and current component list, not this close to race 1. The silver arrows have produced a dud, and with the huge changes in spec this year, they are stuck with it. Guess Ron jumped at the right time.

On an up note though, great to see the BGP 001 fizzing round the track at such a decent pace. Okay yes, we know they will have been running hotlaps in part for the last 2 days, after all, they do have a lot of white paintwork to cover before the 22nd, and are still hyping the ‘launch’ whilst it is still fresh in the hearts and minds of the media. But even so, Rubens and Jenson could yet well find themselves battling with the World Champ this season…

Kubica for WDC this year anyone?

Salty.

A continuation of yesterday’s programme, running the new front wing, floor and top body. The team focused on pitstop practice in the early morning while the track was still damp before continuing the set-up work conducted on Monday.

Lewis joins the test tomorrow and will run a similar programme to today. “We are running through a big programme in Barcelona this week,” said McLaren Racing managing director Jonathan Neale. “Not only have we introduced a new series of aerodynamic components to MP4-24 but we have also been working on the car’s set-up and balance over longer runs as well as rehearsing our pitstop procedures.

It’s been a very productive few days with Heikki in the car and we are hoping for an equally satisfactory conclusion to the week when Lewis takes to the track tomorrow.”

Toro Rosso

Sebastien Bourdais
Chassis: STR4-02
Best time: 1:23.039
Laps: 14
Sebastien Buemi
Chassis: STR4-02
Best time: no flying laps
Laps: 6

The lack of laps tell their own story today. After Bourdais had completed just 14 laps, a problem was identified on the front suspension, which could not be solved completely without the arrival of new parts from the factory back in Faenza.

Therefore, rather than continue with car development testing, it was decided to put Buemi in the car, running just “in” and “out” laps, while carrying out basic systems checks. The reason for the driver switch is that Bourdais had already run in the new car yesterday and on two days last week at the Adria circuit in Italy, therefore it was decided to give Buemi a chance to try his seat position and get a feel for the car for the first time, prior to starting testing proper tomorrow.

Toyota

Panasonic Toyota Racing today continued its week’s testing at Barcelona with another good session of work on the TF109. The day started cloudy and the track was initially damp but the tarmac soon dried out and the sun came out shortly before lunch. Jarno Trulli was in the cockpit for Toyota, working on set-up before long runs in the afternoon. The team also used the chance to do some pit stop practice. Jarno again put in over 100 laps as he brought his winter’s work to a close. Timo Glock will take over for the last two days.

Jarno Trulli – Chassis TF109-04
Position: 4th of 11
Best lap time: 1min 21.182s (+0.868s)
Total laps: 121
“Today was my last day of testing for the winter. We again did a lot of laps including some interesting long runs as we finalised our preparations for Melbourne. It’s clear we will only find out the true picture in Australia but I’m happy with our work in the course of the tests we’ve done. The car has been competitive and consistent so we can head into the first race with confidence. I feel ready.”

Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
“This was another interesting and useful day. We did some long run evaluation and continued finalising our race preparations for Melbourne. Of course this was Jarno’s last test day before then. He seems happy with the car’s balance and we are happy with how it’s going so it’s looking good so far.”

BMW

Weather conditions: Overcast with a damp track early in the morning, sunny for the rest of the day.
Temperature: Air: 11 – 20 °C, Track: 13 – 26 °C
Number of drivers participating: 10 from 10 teams
Fastest lap overall: Kimi Raikkönen (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:20.314 min
Circuit length: 4.655 km

Nick Heidfeld
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-04 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 578 (124 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:21.615 min

Programme:

The BMW Sauber F1 Team started the day with a race simulation. Nick Heidfeld completed a full race distance without any technical problems. To give the mechanics some valuable preseason pit lane testing, the team practiced several pit stops and even simulated a stop-and-go penalty.

After that the team concentrated on the set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09 and tried different aero solutions. At the end of the session Heidfeld did a couple of practice starts on the circuit’s main straight.

Nick Heidfeld said: “The race simulation was an important and valuable part of the final preparations for the Australian Grand Prix, which is in less than three weeks. It was the last test for me, I’m now looking forward to the season opener in Melbourne.”

Red Bull

Driver: Mark Webber
Car: RB5 – 03
Laps: 66
Best time: 1:21.347
Circuit length: 4.655 km
Fastest lap: K. Raikkonen – 1:20.314

Red Bull Racing’s progress on the second day of this test at the Catalunya track was hampered by two factors: a wet track at the start of the day and an electrical gremlin that took a while to find.

Nevertheless, Mark completed 66 laps, which is a race distance at this circuit and worked on final preparations for Melbourne, finalising car set-up and practicing starts.

Sebastian Vettel takes over from Mark tomorrow.