2010 F1 testing live: 11th February

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Virgin have cut their second test day short after front wing failure

It’s day two of F1 testing at Jerez. Join us as we follow the session below.

Testing times and laps

Best times from today’s test

DriverCarBest timeLapsDifference
Kamui KobayashiBMW Sauber-Ferrari C2979.951030
Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari STR580.0261210.076
Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes MP4-2580.618830.668
Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth FW3280.629670.679
Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes VJM0380.754800.804
Michael SchumacherMercedes W0181.0831241.133
Fernando AlonsoFerrari F1081.4241291.474
Robert KubicaRenault R3082.0031032.053
Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault RB682.043992.093
Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth VR-0189.9641110.014

Distance covered so far (all tests)

DriverTotal lapsTotal distance (km)
Fernando Alonso3441469.511
Sebastien Buemi3301408.365
Nico Hulkenberg3111323.81
Robert Kubica2911209.024
Kamui Kobayashi2541084.104
Michael Schumacher2461037.682
Jenson Button233997.038
Felipe Massa226905.13
Nico Rosberg215885.186
Rubens Barrichello177708.885
Vitantonio Liuzzi151668.628
Mark Webber149659.772
Pedro de la Rosa154616.77
Lewis Hamilton108432.54
Vitaly Petrov102419.931
Jaime Alguersuari97388.485
Gary Paffett86344.43
Timo Glock1670.848
ModelTotal lapsTotal distance (km)
F105702374.641
FW324882032.695
W014611922.868
STR54271796.85
MP4-254271774.008
C294081700.874
R303931628.955
VJM03151668.628
RB6149659.772
VR-011670.848
EngineTotal lapsTotal distance (km)
Ferrari14055872.365
Mercedes10394365.504
Cosworth5042103.543
Renault5422288.727

Testing notes

It’s day two of the four-day F1 test at Jerez. Yesterday’s running was disrupted by rain and it looks like we could have more of the same today, although it isn’t raining at the track as I write this, about half an hour before the session is due to start.

The driver line-up is the same as yesterday’s with two dfferences: Michael Schumacher takes over from to replace Nico Rosberg and Renault have decided to put Robert Kubica in the car instead of Vitaly Petrov.

Today we will see whether Virgin can get some solid running done after problems restricted them to just five laps so far.

We’ll also see if Mark Webber has a trouble free-day in the new RB6, which broke down yesterday and was sidelined for several hours for repairs.

See here for best times and laps completed so far: 2010 F1 testing live: 10th February.

Today’s testing line-up

McLaren MP4-25Jenson Button
Mercedes W01Michael Schumacher
Red Bull RB6Mark Webber
Ferrari F10Fernando Alonso
Williams FW32Nico Hulkenberg
BMW Sauber C29Kamui Kobayashi
Renault R30Robert Kubica
Force India VJM03Vitantonio Liuzzi
Toro Rosso STR5Sebastien Buemi
Virgin VR-01Timo Glock

Live timing

Williams are showing live timing from the track on their website.

The track: Circuito de Jerez

The teams are testing at the Circuito de Jerez, formerly the home of the Spanish (1986-1990) and European Grands Prix (1994 and 1997):


View Larger Map

Eight of this year’s pre-season test days will take place at this circuit. The teams last tested here during the young driver training days in December. On that occasion Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest time for Red Bull with a 1’17.418.

Tweets from the test

Here’s the ten latest Tweets from people at the track, including me:

If you would like to suggest a Twitter feed to add to the list, please suggest one in the comments. The list only updates when this page is refreshed.

2010 F1 testing

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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209 comments on “2010 F1 testing live: 11th February”

  1. Good morning Keith.. Have a good day…:)

    We may see campos as Volkswagen from next year… http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=357158&FS=F1

    Comment first posted by jose here https://www.racefans.net/2010/02/10/f1-testing-pictures-10th-february/#comment-330804

    1. How realiable is that source??

      1. AS are known to be a thoroughly unbiased non-sensationalist publication who only ever report facts…

        Oh no hang on I mean the opposite.

    2. If that’s true, Stefan GP can kiss goodbye to racing at Bahrain.

    3. Video of catastrophic front wing failure of Virgin VR01 (at 0:20)

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3n4ga35fSg

      1. Doesn’t look like front mounting brackets to me.. it clearly snaps in half at 0:15

  2. Rain rain go away…

  3. Hey Keith… hope you have another amazing day.. :) the forecast is for decent weather… are they right??… :)

    1. Looks OK so far – here’s a couple of pictures I just posted on Twitter:

      http://twitpic.com/12jpyb

      http://twitpic.com/12jpuk

  4. Before I came here I was hoping to be able to post updates from the track side but there isn’t a wireless connection for the media as far as I can tell. Using my regular service provider is prohibitively expensive.

    So it looks like I’ll only be able to post updates when I’m in the media centre, so apologies if there’s occasional radio silence from me.

    Alternatively, if anyone can suggest an alternative way of getting a wireless connection out here please do!

    1. Well, if I may speak for myself. Im already happy that you give us the updates needed to fulfill our Formula 1 hungry heart with new info’s ;-)

      Have fun today mate!

      1. You speak for me too Beri, no point in Keith getting into debt with Vodafone just because I wanna see some information that is invalid.

  5. I agree.. your work is amazing…
    the only real option could be a new smart phone with good cellular service.. or if you had a cellular card in your lapper..
    you might need some donations for that… lol :)

    1. I can do pics and video from my phone no problem, it’s the cost of carriage that’s holding me back – I can’t afford £3 per meg.

      1. Any unlimited Data plans in the UK?
        Can the plan be subsidized through your website?

        1. @ccolanto – It’s the roaming charges that are the problem. Mobile data within the UK is fine; take your laptop abroad and you get totally screwed on costs!

  6. oh how i wish i was there, have fun :)

  7. I’m thinking of you there waiting… hearing the engines start up… and it makes me think of what it’ll be like in Montreal when I get to go to my first GP… stellar… my son said when he went to the Italian GP last year… he was walking towards the track and from a kilometer away he could hear the engines echoing through the hillside… man I can’t wait!!

    1. Bwells, what kind of tickets were you able to get your hands on for Montreal?

  8. Buemi, Glock, Alonso, Liuzzi and Hülkenberg all get straight down to work as the session begins.

    1. The session started at 9am CET+1? I thought it would start at 10am.
      Well anyway, we can have a quick working day again as we check on live timing and twitter!

  9. Jarred Walmsley
    11th February 2010, 8:06

    Keith, I’m assuming that the 3pounds(dont have a pound symbol on my keyboard) per meg is due to you being on a british carrier overseas, as the costs escalate in NZ when we go overseas as well so could I suggest you buy a Spanish sim card and therefore have cheaper internet access?

    1. I’ve had a look at that but haven’t found any cost-effective solutions. If anyone out there has a knowledge of the Spanish mobile market and can recommend a package please let me know.

      1. Hell, you could just get a BlackBerry from AT&T in the US, sign up for the unlimited international data roaming plan at something like a hundred and fifty bucks a month, and tether it to your laptop… :)

        It’s possible that BlackBerries in the UK have better roaming data plans as well. You can’t get a similar plan here without a BB, as far as I know…

  10. sounds like a great idea… :) lets get some laps in!!

  11. It would Be nice to see VW on the grid, but they have left it too late to salvage campos meta, I feel campos might have a below par challanger this year – being the first time that have designed an f1 car and all that. Maybe the first season as vw, then once they are sorted out change to Audi or dare I say it Lamborghini!!! however let’s not get carried away, I sort of don’t trust manufacturers anymore, afterall if vw did enter all it would do is provide stability for a few seasons and then they would leave, just like honda (4 years?) BMW (3 years?) and toyota (7 years). These manufacturer teams come in and employ so many people that when the team leaves and is baught over, there has to be cut backs , sacrafices and job losses – alla brawn 2009.

    1. “Maybe the first season as vw, then once they are sorted out change to Audi or dare I say it Lamborghini!!!”

      Maybe Skoda? ;-)

      1. Or SEAT, which would make much more sense given the enduring F1-obsession.
        Get De La Rosa to drive, and Roberto’s your madre’s hermano.

        1. Or Bugatti???

  12. Darn Hulkenburg was tweeting while driving and caused a red flag!!… lol

  13. Bad news. Rain again.
    Keith, hope you got the umbrella in your suitcase.

  14. Lets hope they get some laps in before it really starts to rain..

  15. Where is the Lotus?

    1. It’s launched tomorrow and expected to be at Jerez next week. They have got a hospitality van here already.

      1. oh man ~ make sure you grab a memento from that Lotus van Keith! :)

    2. Still back in Blighty…they’re officially launching it tomorrow and then heading out to the next Jerez test.

  16. There coming next test… Webber is flying so far..

  17. Nearly an hour has gone by but nobody have done any time.

    1. 1Webber Red Bull 1m26.341s
      2Buemi Toro Rosso 1m26.361s +0.020
      3Kobayashi Sauber 1m27.689s +1.348
      4Alonso Ferrari 1m29.584s +3.243

      1. Latest update

        1 Webber Red Bull 1m26.341s
        2 Buemi Toro Rosso 1m26.361s +0.020
        3 Kobayashi Sauber 1m27.689s +1.348
        4 Alons Ferrari 1m29.584s +3.243
        5 Schumacher Mercedes 1m33.105s +6.764
        6 Button McLaren 1m33.555s +7.214

  18. Pilotes Equipes Temps Ecarts Trs
    1 M.Webber Red Bull 1:26.341 +-.— 12
    2 S.Buemi Toro Rosso 1:26.361 +-.— 6
    3 K.Kobayashi Sauber 1:27.694 +-.— 13
    4 F.Alonso Ferrari 1:28:584 +-.— 6
    6 J.Button McLaren 1:33.555 — 5
    5 T.Glock Virgin 1.36.045 +-.— 4
    7 M.Schumacher Mercedes -.–.— +-.— —
    8 N.Hulkenberg Williams -.–.—

  19. Schumacher just did 1.27.645 which is 3rd.

    1. But Webber just did 1.25.591,which is the fastest of the day.

      1. Schumacher beat it 1.25.116

  20. I said it last year, and I’ll say it again…

    The rain
    In Spain
    Falls mainly on
    F1 test days

    1. haha hilarious

    2. Lol ajokay!
      I suppose you could therefore say:
      The Rain
      In Spain is
      A Pain in
      the a&&!

  21. Do you now someone, what time, does the today´s testing day start?

  22. Bumei top with a 1.24

    1. But he just did 1.22.041

  23. sorry i spelt Buemi wrong he did a 1.24

  24. He is flying now in the really low 1.22

  25. Has Button done a flying lap yet he is 11 seconds down?

  26. Alonso 1:24.681

  27. It’s weird to see Schumacher not in a Ferrari suit. Hopefully Toyota will return and Michael will drive for them!

  28. Mclaren cant be slower than Virgin… Button must be running quite heavy

    1. Not running at all as far as I can tell. He’s only done 5 laps, don’t worry

  29. 1:23.911 pour Alonso

  30. What happened to the Force India?

  31. they have being on track but no time has being set.

  32. Ok I’m not really an official but quite regularily updating live timings.My twitter account is @jayeshhulani

  33. Have taken the first of my pictures today – you can find them here:

    F1 testing pictures: 11th February

  34. Do Mclaren have a technical problem today? They don’t seem to be managing to do many laps.

    Does the Mclaren have on any pressure measuring equipment or green aero paint today Keith?

  35. Anyone have an idea what is happening at Mclaren, well more the lack of?

    1. snap!

    2. Keith, is it still raining?

      It’s possible that they already ran through their wet weather program and so are conserving car, engine and tyres for when it dries out a bit…

      Either that or they’re fitting new parts to the car.

      I think if they had any big problems then they would have the car out on track as much as they could.

      1. Buemi has done a 1:21.8 so it isn’t wet and if they were fitting new parts they would have done it overnight or early this morning. They have limited running so I would have thought they would want to maximise it.

    3. Mclaren themselves dont know whats happening with “Mclaren”, how would Keith know ?

      1. dunno. but he’s on the ground. no doubt he has brought binoculars with him. maybe he is able to peer into their garage and see something. …maybe he can see red faced people coming out of their garage. :-)

        1. All seems good, maybe they were waiting until the track temps rose. Who cares.

  36. Laps so far

    Laps so far:
    Buemi 20,
    Schumacher 25,
    Kubica 19,
    Webber 30,
    Alonso 18,
    Liuzzi 21,
    Kobayashi 18,
    Glock 9,
    Button 8

    1. 1.Buemi Toro Rosso 1m21.866s
      2Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.344s +0.478
      3Kubica Renault 1m23.046s +1.180
      4Webber Red Bul 1m23.164s +1.298
      5Alonso Ferrari 1m23.823s +1.957
      6Kobayashi Sauber 1m24.406s +2.540
      7Liuzzi Force India 1m27.017s +5.151
      8Glock Virgin 1m29.964s +8.098
      9Button McLaren 1m33.555s +11.689

  37. Keith just said that Glock lost his wing… does that mean he’s not a virgin anymore??… lol
    Let’s get the cars back on track!
    :)

    1. that cracked me up…. ^^

    2. That’s a disaster for them I would imagine if they are limited on parts.

      Button just went 2nd 1:21.5.

      1. ….With one of the virgins!!!!

        1. /\ Just ignore my comment, it’s been written in the wrong place /\

  38. Fernando’s going out… :)

    1. where ? on track ?

      1. to get a shave.

        1. wow!!!!!!!!!!!!

          1. lol… no to work on heavy fuel loads by his times…

    2. …. With one of the virgins!!!

  39. BUEMI 1:20.504

  40. 10kgs = 2 to 3 tenths

  41. the Williams site is down… that sucks I was tracking Alonzo’s, Shummi’s, Webber’s and Buttons times… hopefully it’ll be back up soon… :)

  42. any idea how glock lost his front wing?

    1. to answer my own question: “problem with the front wing mounting”

      Does that mean it just ‘came off’. worrying if it did…

      1. Bad form having a virtual conversation with myself, but BBC have some more detail on the Virgin front wing: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8510697.stm

  43. Do they use the same car during all the test days. Or does each driver drive his own car. Meaning they have to copy all the setup to the other car when they swap

    1. Every driver uses his car only because the seat fitting of each driver is different.

      U can see Alonso driving car # 8 and Massa cr # 7.

      The basic setup would be copied but when in the race, the cars used by team mates could be altogether different.

  44. 12:00 Alonso completes his long run – over 40 laps – with a best time of 1:21.928. He is fifth fastest

  45. That was a great run.. too bad the Williams site was down I would of had all his times.. but when it came back on at 3:45 it was low 23’s ending at 3:56 with the 121’928.. very consistent…

    1. Can you post the times you did get bwells?

      1. you bet… this might have been teh same run while the site was down..

        1:23.853
        1:23.629
        1:23.265
        1:23.916
        timing down@3:00 up@3:45
        1:23.265
        1:23.152
        1:23.185
        1:22.564
        1:22.562
        1:22.843
        1:22.888
        1:29.591
        1:22.178
        1:21.928

        1. hmmm… “consistent”?

  46. At around the halfway point we’ve seen Alonso do a very long stint, over 40 laps, with a best time around 1.9s off the pace.

    Buemi is quickest overall, he set his best time of 1’20.026 in a stint around a dozen laps long.

    Button is second, he’s only done 29 laps at the moment and is 0.6s off Buemi’s best. McLaren had part of the engine air intake blocked off during his run (see this picture).

    Hülkenberg is third and has just pitted after a short stint in which his best time was 1’22.343. His best time overall is 1’21.565.

    Schumacher is fourth and has just left the pits.

    1. Interesting. I wonder if they were trying to find out the cooling limits of the engine??

      1. I doubt it – the airbox above the driver’s head is designed to feed air into the engine for the purposes of combustion, not engine cooling.

        The radiators are located in the sidepods.

        1. More likely to be something to do with fuel consumption / mixes… but I know nothing :-)

        2. The picture shows that the intake they had (partly) blocked off is the smaller oil-cooling one. I’d guess that the air temps are a bit chilly and the oil wasn’t getting up to temp, so they’re imparingin the cooling to protect the engine.

  47. Well, that’s it for Virgin. No more running today. Shame.

  48. Here comes Shummi’s long run… starting out at 1:25’s… :)

  49. Timo Glock won’t be adding to his 11 laps today. This from Virgin:

    This morning we experienced a front wing mounting problem which caused the wing to come off the car at the beginning of a run. The cause has already been identified. Unfortunately, we’re missing one or two spare parts which will hopefully arrive this evening, so we won’t be able to run for the rest of the day. In the short amount of running that we’ve achieved so far, we are very encouraged by what we’ve seen and we have gathered some vital aero data which is very much in the range of what we were predicting.

  50. 12:25 Virgin’s Nick Wirth says he has been very encouraged by the early performance of the car despite the lack of running. Story on AUTOSPORT soon

    12:21 The team had a problem with the front wing mounting. The issue has been identified, but it is missing spare parts so it will be unable to return to the track today…

    Many doubts on that. I’m afraid won’t be on top at Bahrhein…at least!

    1. When was the last time a genuinely new team turned up at the 1st GP and put their car on the front row?

      1. South Africa, 1970, Chris Amon qualified second in the works March-Cosworth in the first GP for March as a constructor and as a works team. Jackie Stewart was on pole in a Tyrrell-run March.

        There may well have been others but my memory fails at the moment.

  51. How are Virgin looking? Very interested to see how their CFD car shapes up. Are they doing proper laps?

  52. My opinion is they still have to run to let us understand how quick is their new car.

  53. Hi gyus, can’t find a general chat section sorry!

    Does anyone have a complete collection of the 2008 season on DVD? (Lewis wins title)

    By complete collection I mean full practices, qualifying and races with podium celebrations.

    So it should be about 6.5-7.5 hrs of coverage per race.

    If anyone can help, let me know through here and I’ll give you my email address so we can talk.

    Thanks,

    Nathan

  54. Well it’s a pity Virgin won’t be running any more today but at least they got some dry laps in, fingers crossed for them that a new (improved) nose will arrive by tomorrow morning.
    Best case scenario, I reckon (a pure guess) they’ll be at least two or three seconds off the pace come Bahrain. But at least they’ll be there, kudos to them!

  55. It seems live timing is down again at Williams… you were saying that they were having timing issues at the track earlier Keith? oh and Button’s fast time was on a 3 lap run…
    1:22.652
    1:21.528
    1:26.413
    pit…

    1. Thanks for that bwells.

  56. Further testing device on the MP4-25 (from F1Lite on twitter):
    http://twitpic.com/12kra1
    http://twitpic.com/12krck
    Never seen one of these before… McLaren are certainly being thorough and making the most of these limited test sessions.

    1. Yes your right there 343. With limited testing all this data they are acquiring now would prove invaluable during the season. I just can’t understand how people “Conclude” that using of these Data acquisition system means McLaren are in trouble? People please realize that F1 is a technical, not an emotional sport like football. I honestly think McLaren are the most disciplined team of all. Also think that Ferrari are missing a trick over here.

    2. It’s a cluster of air pressure indicators. Each of the spikes is a hollow tube with a pressure sensor at the base. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitot_probe )

      Looks like they’re using them to determine how clean the air. Their complex front wing may be causing trouble :(

      1. Is it causing trouble or are they OPTIMIZING the air flow? You’ll never know unless you work for them.

        And their spokesperson clearly put up a statement yesterday saying that all this was a part to enhance their simulator data.

        cheer up mclaren fans, I think they are extremely fast :)

        1. I agree with their spokesperson in that they are only gathering data to better their simulator. Simulator data is only as good as the programming. Always good to compare real life results with that of the simulator.

          But lets not forget that last year the car worked on the simulator and in the scale wind tunnel test but not in real life.

          1. Last year the car did work in the latter half of the season. They only problem was Red Bull & Honda were far far advanced in terms of car development. Its just that last years car was underdeveloped than anything else.

            The real point here is that using of these gizmos in itself doesn’t mean that mclaren are in trouble. Infact I am highly surprised that other teams are not doing the same, given the limited amount of testing.

          2. The car did work second half of the season. The problem during the first half of the season was that there was an aerodynamic airflow problem that only occurred on the actual car and did not appear on the simulator or the scale wind tunnel test (hence the tests with the 08 parts). By the time they had resolved this they found themselves lagging behind in development. They did catch up, but it was too late.

            I’m not trying to say that the new car has issues, just that history has shown that what works on the simulator and wind tunnel does not necessarily work on the track. Whether the gizmo is purely for data collaboration or if there actually is an unknown airflow problem, only McLaren knows.

            Personally I reckon there is absolutely nothing aerodynamically wrong with the car.

      2. Thanks Insert_Name (nice name!) I guessed as much but didn’t want to come across all amateur when I don’t even know what the thing’s called. I genuinely believe McLaren are simply gathering as much data as possible -ie. it’s perfectly understandable for teams to want to take as accurate real-world readings as possible to feed into their systems when the emphasis in aero is shifting towards CFD.
        As for whether McLaren are in any sort of ‘trouble’ that’s all just pure speculation in conjecture IMHO.

        1. It might not even be validating CFD data….

          Predicting what the airflow will do after hitting a spinning tyre would be an amazingly difficult thing to do.

          Much easier, is to actually measure what happens behind the tyre, then work on improvements to the middle and rear of the car with the confidence that the expected airflow over these parts is correct.

          If this year’s main development area is the diffuser, then one obvious difficulty is errors being carried over from the front of the car. If you’ve modelled the front of your car wrongly then all your assumptions for the following parts will be wrong.

          I’m really surprised every team doesn’t carry out these tests

          1. Where were you people yesterday!
            I got into some werid fight with a closet tifosi basically insisting the McLaren must be in trouble because they attatch things to their car. McLaren check thing thrice well know fact.

            Most paddocky people with a likkle bit of know how say the McLaren looks quick.

  57. That first picture looked like a bike pedal.. I was thinking there really in trouble!! lol
    night all… 5am here… it’s been fun..

  58. Mclaren definitely got a very complex diffuser and other aero devices maybe that’s why we are seeing these unusual and ‘never seen before’ devices being attached to the car. I hope they are fine but now things are looking not too good at Mclaren.

    1. JUGNU read my reply to 343.

    2. Wha?

      I don’t get it. How comes people are so down on McLaren using new methods of data acquisition?

      Their times look decent enough and the car looks fast on track. I’ve seen nothing t suggest they’re in any kind of trouble.

      1. If anything McLaren are showing confidence at the moment. They aren’t doing nearly as many laps as anybody else. They’d be hurtling that thing round the track if they were in trouble!

        My take on things is that they are checking the numbers on the aero for development over the season. Surely theres no point putting “appendages” anywhere until they know how much airflow they have there. If one aero device cuts airflow to a certain area they want to develop they might want to undevelop the offending area to affect things like balance etc on different track.

        I’m no expert but that is my suspicion.

        Early prediction (and hope) for me is that both McLarens will be on the podium in Sakhir!

        1. Exactly my thoughts djdaveyp. Also Alonso putting in all those laps doesn’t suggest they are in trouble either.

          1. The only reason these devices are put on the car are to better understand the airflow. Surely no more conclusions can be drawn other than that.

        2. Anyone remember 2008 testing. McLaren ran with these appendages then too…

          …if I recall correctly they didn’t do too bad that year…

          1. Thats the thing isn’t it. McLaren are probably though most thourough team on the grid at the mo. That they’re performing their usual regimental regime really isn’t that odd to me.

            Also because this place is a bit less mickey mouse than Valencia there using full airflow devices instead of flowviz paint.

  59. Like Albert Einstein said : “Keep it simple”

    I believe the Mclaren team is doing exactly the opposite.

    1. Clearly you have been educated by einstein and are a very clever person.

      I learn something everytime you post.

      1. Are you a butthurt Mclaren fan ?

        1. It stings!

    2. Haha what a funny quote :) Einstein didn’t keep it simple either. You must know the e=mc2 derivation which involves triple gaussian integrals.

      If Newton had said that I’d have probably agreed :)

      1. If you judge einstein by his hair, he definitly didn’t keep it simple.

        On the point though, FLuid is obviously a Ferrari fan, why the chip on his shoulder?

        I’m a McLaren fan yes correct but there really isn’t any need to make negative comments about your competitions car, especially when it is speculation!

        All that says to me is you feel threatened by McLaren, so actually I shouldn’t be insulted I should be complimented.

        How are you to know Ferrari’s times last week weren’t all set on low fuel and Macca’s on full fuel?

        For all you know Jenson could have set the 2nd fastest lap so far today on 3/4 of a tank and Teflonso did his long run and set his fastest time at the end on fumes?

        Keep up with the entertainment though, only Bahrain will tell!

        1. Even though i have no moral status to defend over the internet , I am a Bmw-Sauber fan…

          1. BMW Sauber – —–> Ferrari <——

          2. @Fluidd, your quite something,
            we had a very simular set of comments from you yesterday an everything you say just demonstrates an ignorance of F1, testing an common curtesy.

            Seriously buck up, the McLaren most complicated feature is it’s diffuser, which was expected, infact it pushing it to the extent that Ferrari want it banned, their belligerant “new diffuser war” comments say as much.

        2. You guys are absolutely right in the fact that by using technology to better understand air flow is not a sign that a team’s in trouble.. if there in the back of the field come Bahrain.. then there in trouble… :)

      2. The real quote from Einstein was something like “try to keep everything as simple as possible, BUT NOT SIMPLER than that”

  60. Alonso sets his best time of the day with a lap of 1:21.839. He is now fourth

    1. Oh no….. Ferrari 4th, they were fastest last week! They must be behind in the development race!

      1. This is terrible news for Ferrari, and Button is second, so that McLaren must be really, really, really, really fast. Or maybe they are all just ‘testing’.

        1. lol, looks like torro rosso are going to win the Constructors Championship this year, who will be the winner of the Drivers, Algersuari or Buemi?

          1. You guys have it all wrong. All this development is only going to lead to one possible outcome.

            -> over-development by major teams -> cars stop working aerodynamically -> Force India’s simple, yet effective, car wins championship :p

          2. “OVER DEVELOPMENT” Can a Formula One car ever be over developed?

          3. Hopefully Paul Di Resta will get a seat then! Then we can have 3 different British Champions, 3 years in a row!

            Then next year with 3 car teams allowed, lol, We’ll have an even bigger all brit team at McLaren!

          4. I like this thread.

  61. This CFD’s Virgin is so slow…

    1. early days my friend.

    2. BMW Sauber – —–> Ferrari <——

      You are obviously a troll. Ignore procedure engaged. ^^

    3. Looks that way at the moment doesnt it? I think they are a little faster than they have shown. They haven’t really had a run yet.

      They could be as much as 6 secinds off the pace in reality i think.

      Which means alot of laps behind at the end of the race!

  62. Schumi_the_greatest
    11th February 2010, 14:10

    whoooaa, the new red bull only 7th they must be in trouble,

    looks like a torro rosso 1-2 in bahrain then…….probably lap everyone up to 3rd place being that much quicker..

  63. Schumacher on track with, apparently, a lot of fuel onboard. It could be the start of the long run

  64. Apart from ironic considerations…I feel really excited for the new season. And the uncertainty in these tests lap times or car conditions is increasing my expectations a lot!!!

    1. 1 Buemi Toro Rosso 1m20.026s
      2 Button McLaren 1m20.618s +0.592
      3 Hulkenberg Williams 1m20.637s +0.611
      4 Liuzzi Force India 1m21.380s +1.354
      5 Alonso Ferrari 1m21.571s +1.545
      6 Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.907s +1.881
      7 Kubic Renault 1m22.003s +1.977
      8 Webber Red Bull 1m22.043s +2.017
      9 Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.444s +2.418
      10 Glock Virgin 1m29.964s +9.938

      Glock won’t take part today

      1. Virgin= 1997 Lola? :0

        1. ouch, I think they will last more than one race :)

          1. I hope so,they have gone for CDF which no other team has gone for according to my knowledge.

          2. CDF?

          3. Computational Fluid Dynamics.

      2. Schumacher did 27 laps run.

        1. And he’s still going..

          1. Schumacher has finished a 35-lap run.

          2. @ Counterstrike
            It’s something to do with fluid dynamics .

  65. Can’t wait until Bahrain! Testing is driving me mad, they should have a fake race at each test event, one last week, one this week. Test Under race conditions to see who is best. Televise it on BBC 2 or red button!

    1. Good idea at first thought, but Glock’s front wing failure tells us why we don’t have it.

  66. I’ve got an idea.

    At the end of every day of testing they should have to send every driver out for a flying lap on soft tyres and low fuel just to see how fast they are!

    1. …in Formula 1 it is hard to make them go slow, even harder to force them to go fast!

      1. It really isnt hard to amke them go slow, they just turn the revs down and decrease the fuel mix to favour mpg.

        1. I meant in tech regulation terms…

    2. Haha I don’t think the teams will agree to that. All the’re doing now is gathering information on the car so they can make improvements on every area. It’s not beneficial for the teams to show how fast they really are. For the fans it would be cool though! But we’re just gonna have to wait untill the 14th of March :(

  67. I see what you are saying, but if mclaren had a world beater the could easily say “right jense, half throtle on straits and break early, mate!” maybe if it was over race or halfrace distance it would be better.

  68. In Moto GP actually it works.
    They have a test session in Barcelona, and the best one wins a car, or something like that. But I don’t think it is because of the car that they run on low fuel and soft tyres the last ten minutes. And it is spectacular. In Italy they broadcast on TV, also.

  69. Button stopped on the track.

    Apparantly he has fallen asleep due to not being allowed to drive at full speed :-D

    1. McLaren pit radioed him that Schumi was on a Hot Lap :-)

  70. KK is fastest!

    1. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.950s

      FIRST !

      1. Good on him and Sauber! Now I hope they get some sponsors on board. :P

        1. Well done. I hope they manage to survive. They’ve always been good underdogs!

  71. Ferrari don’t seem to be allmighty like last week, however the’ve been making a LOT of mileage, same with the Mercedes. With Schumacher and Alonso being the best drivers when it comes to car set-up it makes you wonder.. Sauber seems quick all the time though!

  72. Is Sauber putting on a show in hopes of gaining more sponsors? I think so.

    But Kobayashi can drive can’t he. Very impressive young man so far.

    1. I was thinking the same thing… I hate when I get my hopes high.

    2. Remember last year at testing when everyone said the same thing about the new BrawnGP.. “Oh there only fast because they’re on low fuel trying to attract sponsors…”… they were genuinely fast.. :)

  73. We haven’t had an official list of times from the circuit yet because of a technical problem.

    1. Got one a little while ago, times added above.

  74. I’m sorry but to me, the Red Bull and the Toro Rosso are still the same car, or nearly the same
    http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/photolarge.php?photoID=145482&catID=4643
    http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/photolarge.php?photoID=145479&catID=4643

    1. and the red bull livery is still ugly. goooooo toro rosso!

    2. I’ve flipped back and forth between those two pictures for a few minutes and the only difference I can see is the top of the nose. To me STR are just a bunch of freeloaders.

      1. I did just the same thing, that’s why I’m making the comment

  75. Another great pic from F1Lite:
    http://twitpic.com/12lz0c
    Michael is a scary looking guy and Nick badly needs a haircut and a shave. The best of luck Nico!

  76. Have just been in the ‘media scrums’ with Schumacher and Button. Here’s the Schumacher write-up:

    Schumacher doubts strategy advantage

    The Button one will be up later, I’m off to see Williams now.

  77. Keith,

    Just want to say thanks for all your updates, news and info. This site and your twitter feeds have made the usual out of season F1 draught a dim and distant memory.

    Especially the updates from the launches and subsequent test days.

    Many many thanks.

    1. You’re welcome Marks!

      I’m here at Jerez for the next two days but I’m not sure whether I’m going to be able to go to either of the remaining tests. It’s a question of cost, which is partly a question of how well the site is doing, so please spread the word and help other F1 fans get their fix here!

      If I can make it to the remaining tests, I certainly will, because there’s no substitute for being here.

      1. I also want to thank you Keith.. this has been an amazing year… Twitter seems to be invaluable when I always thought it was silly! The live updates and news feeds coming as they are uploaded keeps you on top of everything!

        I wonder if FOM are watching… The traffic must be more intense this year as sites are crashing all over the place and that proves to me that there’s a market out there.. I’m so jealous of you UK’ers as I would love to have access to Red Button and the sorts… I feel that if it was offered over seas they would get a great response!!

        Let’s hope there watching.. :)

      2. HounslowBusGarage
        12th February 2010, 21:28

        Keith have you thought any more on the idea of a ‘members subscription’ type of idea for the blog? Thousands would support.

  78. So, so far, Alonso has driven the distance from London to Rome. Or, if you go a different direction, he has driven past Valencia and is 100 miles away from Jerez.

  79. Is it too early to think Virgin will be a disaster?
    Do they have time to improve and be on the pace for Bahrain?
    Do they have time and money to improve as the season goes on?
    If they don’t, It’ll be a shame for Di Grassi… not exactly the debut of his dreams… at least it seems to be better than Bruno Senna’s…
    (Well, I think that If someone could answer this, Virgin would have hired him/her :))

    1. Let’s put it this way: they’ve done 70km more than Lotus, Campos, US F1 and Stefan GP put together (at the group tests, anyway).

  80. good run so far.

  81. Finished the write-ups from this evening’s media activity. Sorry I’ve not got any more for you from Virgin:

    Button glad to concentrate on setup
    Drivers report high wear on intermediates
    Hülkenberg happy with Cosworth power
    Schumacher doubts strategy advantage

  82. I think the only way you can really tell if someones got a fast time is if they go faster than Ricardo did last year.

    He did a 1.17 so if anyone gets into at least the 1.15’s you know their fairly quick.

  83. Hello Keith,

    Add me to your list of grateful fans. As a US resident I have become a hugh fan in the last year of F1. My cousin in Ireland recommended your site and I have been hooked ever since.

    I admire your hard work, and your site has helped fuel my growing knowledge of this great sport. Although I don’t post much, I am on here every day.

    Good luck and keep up the great work!

  84. Beautiful day due to perfect coverage.
    Nice political battle afterwards to claim fastest lap time. Who said lap times are not important?
    Kamui on top! Fantastic.

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