Live from Jerez
F1 testing resumes on Wednesday as ten teams head to Jerez for the second session of the year.
This is the first F1 test I’m going to this year and I intend to post live updates from the event here and on Twitter.
This will be the first time I’ve visited an F1 event like this in an official media capacity. I’ll have a lot of “learning the ropes” to do so I don’t want to promise I’ll be able to do lots of things which later turn out to be impossible.
But at the same time I want to make sure I get as much useful information from the test as possible to share with the rest of you.
Testing has had a lot more coverage this year than usual, thanks to the combination of Michael Schumacher’s return, the all-British line-up at McLaren and Fernando Alonso’s switch to Ferrari.
There are some who feel the amount of attention being given to testing is excessive and not helpful. Certainly some people seem to be fixating on early lap times in a manner which we know from past experience is not a reliable way of judging performance.
So, to help me decide how to prioritise my time at the track, I’d like to know what you’re interested in seeing from the tests. Lap times? Lots of pictures? Interviews with drivers and team members?
Leave a comment below and look out for the live testing coverage starting on Wednesday.
And yes, I have packed a raincoat…
HounslowBusGarage said on 8th February 2010, 23:41
No pressure Keith, but just bear in mind that 300,000 viewers of your site are reading every word . . .
Enjoy, and keep us in the flow, when you can.
SeattleChris said on 9th February 2010, 0:20
Whatever you do, don’t ask about the current year – cars, teams, drivers or anything technical about this year. I’ve never heard anyone say anything EVER! Just skip that line of questioning altogether and let other, dumber, journalists get stonewalled when they ask about fuel loads and such.
Ask about last year or ask drivers about their experience in the farm leagues, get better pictures! Most pictures are too far off to see any of the details of the car. Test video’s posted online seem to be pretty unremarkable but if you could get quality video of the cars entering and exiting some key turns that would be fantastic!
Just have fun I’d say though because if it were easy to get what we all want to see and hear then it would be done; just plan on doing the same as everyone else and focus on the fact that you get to be there whilst others have to go sell paper down at the slough.
Cheers
Fer no.65 said on 9th February 2010, 0:45
nice you’re going!
i’d like loads of pictures and interviews, rather than analysis of the test itself…
the tests are rather pointless (it’s all about amount of fuel, etc…), so are the times… but good pictures (the diffusers maybe? or the drivers’ helmets?) and interviews are much more interesting IMO!
goodluck Keith!
Anon said on 9th February 2010, 0:58
Interviews please, Keith!
Comments from the drivers and prominent team members are great, but the less obvious stories of the unsung heroes can be even better!
And a daily round-up of anything I need to know means I don’t need to go anywhere else.
Thanks for all the hard work and this great site.
Enjoy!
:-)
MikeinBeijing said on 9th February 2010, 1:47
What do you mean by “1st time in official capacity”?…Wow, there seems to be a trend that online media are finally allowed into the paddock huh?
Would you kindly remind that reserve driver of Renault to (re)start using his twitter, if he’s ever there at Jerez?
If you get a chance, can you ask this driver from China how much support he’s getting from his motherland, if any?
Have some fun. Please do enjoy lunch in team motorhomes. Let me know if Virgin’s any good.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 9th February 2010, 7:24
I’ve been to a couple of tests at Silverstone before, but never been media accredited before.
three4three said on 9th February 2010, 14:11
Well done to you sir, hope your brave decision to go full time on F1F rewards you well. I’m sure many of the established F1 journos already acknowledge that your site is the best F1 site and will respect you accordingly. Enjoy! :)
S Hughes said on 9th February 2010, 1:51
An interview with the Man (Lewis Hamilton) would be nice.
Have fun. Try and persuade some engineers to give you the fuel loads of the cars so that you can assess their true speed.
wasiF1 said on 9th February 2010, 2:01
All the best for the trip.
I want some lap times with interview with the drivers & team personals.& whatever you write there we will be following you here in F1F.
sato113 said on 9th February 2010, 2:19
good luck keith! i’m sure you’ll be fine getting info. please get interviews with bosses and team principles. drivers tend to have scripted responses! specific questions of course!
Bentschke said on 9th February 2010, 2:21
Hi Keith,
How about some interviews from the non-prominent figures from F1. What the tyre changers go through on a race day – what sort (and how much) practise do they do to make sure they do a good job (especially this year with a ban on refuelling and the tyre changer will be a much ‘larger’ member of the team).
I think we are all sick of people drawing comparisons from the test times – they mean not much in the real scheme of things.
I think it would also be good to chat with the development chiefs – what sort of updates they might be planning – when they think teams will introduce the updates over the course of the year etc.
RK said on 9th February 2010, 5:07
A mix of track commentary, some pictures, and any interesting news/ interviews with drivers, team members or journos you happen to bump into
Speedy Gonzalezzzz said on 9th February 2010, 5:08
Interview´s with the drivers as i am off to Jerez tonight, to see the tests myself, 5 hours driving from here i live in Portugal.
CovertGiblets said on 9th February 2010, 8:55
First of all, and this is important, just make sure you have a good time.
Lap times are interesting, but only if you know how much fuel is on board.
If you can get an educated guess on that you’ll be doing a superb job. Keep an eye on ride heights, or more specifically the mechanics changing ride heights before a run. If they are raising it considerably they may be on higher fuel levels. Couple that with the number of laps completed and you may just have a better idea of speed.
Now that’s a big ask I know… the gauntlet is down :)
Peter said on 9th February 2010, 8:57
Please, no interviews. They all say the same over and over again. We’re confident, you can’t tell anything form the laptimes (but they really do you bet). I’m really pleased with the car, we know what to do, it’s a lot work but we will get there.
So it would be nice if you could focus on the details of the tests. How many runs, how many laps.
If a car does 50 laps we know at least something on the fuel level at the start and the end of the stint. Compare that to the lap times. Make the lap times work for us.
Vikas said on 9th February 2010, 9:00
Good luck Keith… have fun!!:-) Try and give us information and insight which other F1 websites do not.
Vikas said on 9th February 2010, 9:05
Keith….and also…at the end of each day of the test…create an article giving your opinion of different teams’ performances…if you know what i mean….like…how they fared…in your view