F1 Fanatic

Michael Schumacher drives the Mercedes W01 for the first time

F1 finally bursts back into life today as more than half of the 2010 F1 teams send their new cars out on track.

Michael Schumacher will get his first test of the first Mercedes F1 car since 1955. Williams and Toro Rosso will also be showing off their 2010 machines in public for the first time.

Join us and follow the first official test session at Valencia as it happens below.

Testing results

Testing notes

The greatest point of interest today is the first official appearance of three new cars – the Mercedes W01, Williams FW32 and Toro Rosso STR5. The latter is especially interesting as it’s the first car the team have built without the assistance of sister team Red Bull (although certain common parts are allowed).

There’s lots more to look out for at the first test. Besides the first appearances of drivers at new teams (see below) we’ll also see the first Cosworth-powered F1 car since 2006 and BMW Sauber’s return to Ferrari power.

For all the anticipation, today will probably be a low-key day in terms of actual running. Expect lots of installation laps and settings checks. Reading too much into testing is a mug’s game at the best of times – especially on day one.

As tests go on we’ll build up data on which drivers and teams have done the most laps and had the most time in their cars.

Testing starts today at 9am British time (10am CET).

Update: the new cars have begun to appear:

• Mercedes W01 debuts (Pictures)
• Toro Rosso STR5 breaks cover (Pictures)
• Williams FW32 has test debut (Pictures)

Today’s testing line-up

The following drivers are expected to participate today:

McLaren MP4-25 – Gary Paffett
Mercedes W01 – Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg (Shared)
Ferrari F10 – Felipe Massa
Williams-Cosworth FW32 – Rubens Barrichello
BMW Sauber C29 – Pedro de la Rosa
Renault R30 – Robert Kubica
Toro Rosso STR5 – Sebastien Buemi

The track

Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit is the venue for the first of this year’s tests, just a few miles away from the street circuit where the European Grand Prix is held:

View Larger Map

Last year BMW were the only team to test at the track and they did not release any lap times.

Weather at the track today is expected to be dry and sunny with temperatures around 12-14C.

Timing and other resources

The following sites often have live timing information:

Motor 21
F1 Today
Live GP

If you know of any others, please post details in the comments.

Another good source of live information from the tests is drivers’ and team’s Twitter pages. You can find them in the F1 Twitter directory

You can find details of future F1 tests in the F1 Fanatic Google Calendar

Pictures from today’s test

Pictures from today’s test:

Video from today’s test

Images (C) Red Bull/Getty images, Williams/LAT, Ferrari spa, Renault/LAT