Pain for Mark Webber, joy for Toyota - Bahrain GP qualifying in pictures

It all went wrong for Mark Webber but Jarno Trulli and Toyota celebrated their first pole position in four years. Here’s a selection of pictures from qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

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Images (C) Ferrari spa, Renault/LAT, Williams/LAT, Bridgestone, www.mclaren.com, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India F1 Team, Toyota F1 World, BMW ag

Jarno Trulli scored his fourth career pole position in Bahrain

Jarno Trulli leads the first ever one-two for Toyota with Timo Glock in second place.

Chinese Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel edged Jenson Button for third by 0.03s.

But Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber will start on the last row of the grid after being held up by Adrian Sutil.

Q1

Giancarlo Fisichella was first to set a time, his Force India running a new front wing and a revised diffuser. But his first lap on super-soft tyres, a 1’35.931, was quickly beaten as many more cars rushed out onto the track.

Several of the fastest cars went out on the medium rubber including Sebastian Vettel, who abandoned his Shanghai tactics of waiting until the last minute, and set the second quickest time behind Jarno Trulli.

Kimi Raikkonen leapt to the top of the times with a 1’33.648 on super-soft tyres – then improved to a 1’33.524 on his second run. But in the meantime team mate Felipe Massa had deposed him with a 1’33.512.

Next Lewis Hamilton, also on the super-soft tyres, moved the benchmark further with a 1’33.290.

Heading into the final stages of the session Nelson Piquet Jnr leapt out of the bottom five to take fourth, leaving Bourdais, Webber, Kovalainen, Glock and Fisichella in the drop zone – but the five were separated by just a few tenths.

Kovalainen improved to second behind his team mate. Both Toyotas began pumping in fastest sector times – Glock moving up to first with a 1’33.165, then Trulli setting a 1’32.779.

In Malaysia it was Massa, in China it was Kubica – and in Bahrain Mark Webber provided the surprise of the session by being eliminated in Q1. He came across Sutil at the end of a flying lap, and the Force India driver took rather too long moving out of the way.

Sutil didn’t make it through to the final part of qualifying either, but a penalty could be waiting for him after the session.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

16. Adrian Sutil 1’33.722
17. Sebastien Buemi 1’33.753
18. Giancarlo Fisichella 1’33.910
19. Mark Webber 1’34.038
20. Sebastien Bourdais 1’34.159

Q2

Sebastian Vettel was quickest after the first round of laps – over 0.3s ahead of Raikkonen. Alonso found more pace from the R29 (he’d also complained of traffic in Q1), going third, 1.1s faster than team mate Piquet.

Hamilton’s first attempt wasn’t good enough for the top ten, leaving him in the drop zone along with both BMWs, Piquet and Massa.

Kovalainen made a tiny improvement of 0.03s on his final effort – putting him eighth – but Hamilton needed much more. He found 0.4s over his team mate with a 1’32.877, which proved the difference between Hamilton staying in and Kovalainen dropping out.

Vettel was comfortably quickest at the end of the session but several drivers who’d gone out to do final laps aborted them after it became clear many drivers in the chasing pack weren’t improving. Along with Kovalainen that included Nakajima, Piquet (who went off on his final effort) and the BMWs.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11. Heikki Kovalainen 1’33.242
12. Kazuki Nakajima 1’33.348
13. Robert Kubica 1’33.487
14. Nick Heidfeld 1’33.562
15. Nelson Piquet Jnr 1’33.941

Q3

Brawn, Ferrari and Toyota each got both their drivers into Q3, while Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg and Vettel were the sole representatives of their teams.

The Toyotas set the fastest times to begin with, Vettel half a second slower, suggesting he had a decent level of fuel on board. He was fourth between the two Brawns, Button in third.

Button was one of the first drivers to start his final lap – he went quickest with a 1’34.044. Vettel edged that by 0.03s but the Toyotas were vastly quicker – Jarno Trulli claiming pole position with a 0.6s advantage over Vettel in third, and Timo Glock between the pair of them.

Toyota’s John Howett said he didn’t think the cars were “excessively” light, indicating they are a little bit light, but we’ll find out the full fuel weights in a few hours.

Update: Sebastian Vettel carrying more fuel than Toyotas (Bahrain GP fuel and pit stops)

Top ten drivers in Q3

1. Jarno Trulli 1′33.431
2. Timo Glock 1′33.712
3. Sebastian Vettel 1′34.015
4. Jenson Button 1′34.044
5. Lewis Hamilton 1′34.196
6. Rubens Barrichello 1′34.239
7. Fernando Alonso 1′34.578
8. Felipe Massa 1′34.818
9. Nico Rosberg 1′35.134
10. Kimi Raikkonen 1′35.380

F1 first raced at Bahrain in 2004

F1 Fanatic guest writer Journeyer looks back on the brief history of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Like the previous round in China, Bahrain joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2004. Thanks to the efforts of Crown Prince Sheikh al Khalifa, Bernie Ecclestone, and even Sir Jackie Stewart, the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir hosted the first ever Middle Eastern round of the Formula 1 World Championship.

In the last in this series of Grand Prix histories, we take a look back at five years of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

2004 The initial race was dominated by Ferrari. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello dashed off at the start, never to be seen again until the checkered flag. That left the rest to squabble over third. Juan Pablo Montoya looked to have it, until his gearbox decided to stay in fourth gear. Enter Jenson Button, who took his second podium in a row.

Takuma Sato also had an eventful race, surviving a botched overtake by Ralf Schumacher, an off onto the outside kerbs and a peeling Gurney flap to finish sixth.

2005 A season after dominating the field, Ferrari were now struggling. They decided to gamble by bringing in their new F2005 earlier than planned. They hoped that it would give them more pace. It certainly worked for Schumacher, who qualified it second on the grid.

But bringing the car early cost them reliability. Barrichello suffered from a car glitch in qualifying, sending him to the back of the grid and costing him at least a points finish. Schumacher, on the other hand, had a hydraulics problem and was forced to retire just as he was challenging Fernando Alonso for the lead.

That allowed Alonso to cruise to a second straight win, from Jarno Trulli’s second straight podium finish and Kimi Raikkonen in third.

2006 This was the first and so only time Bahrain hosted the season-opener. It saw the return of V8 power, as well as the debut of knockout qualifying. It also saw Michael Schumacher’s return to form, grabbing pole and nearly winning, but having to concede the race to Alonso in the end.

One rookie who made his debut here was Nico Rosberg. And it was quite a debut, scoring two points and setting the fastest lap of the race.

2007 Alonso was curiously off the pace this year. Having won the previous two years, he couldn’t keep up with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was challenging eventual race winner Felipe Massa.

Alonso got jumped by Raikkonen at the pitstops. To make things worse, Nick Heidfeld passed him round the outside in the BMW. Alonso ended up a distant fifth.

2008 Once again, a McLaren was not in contention, but this time it was Hamilton who was suffering. Part of that would be down to hitting the rear of Alonso’s Renault twice in two laps.

It was a better weekend for Robert Kubica, who finally allowed the journalists to use the “Pole on pole” headline. He eventually finished 3rd behind a Ferrari one-two, which was once again led by Massa.

The win began to remove doubts people had about Felipe, who had zero points from the first two races. Little did we know then that he would almost win the championship.

Bahrain will probably be the first “normal” race we’ll have this season. Will Massa complete a hat-trick to match the one he achieved in Istanbul? Or will Brawn and Red Bull continue their F1 revolution? We should be in for a treat of a race.

They were stunning in the wet but can Red Bull challenge Brawn in a dry race?

Four races in five weeks – the 2009 F1 season is off to a hectic start.

Bahrain is the last of the opening series of ‘flyaway’ races and, after two rain-affected Grands Prix, we’re likely to see a much more normal race at the desert circuit.

Can Red Bull repeat their form from Shanghai in the dry? And can Ferrari finally get their season started?

Brawn vs Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel might have been 40 seconds ahead of Jenson Button at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix, but in dry conditions this weekend Brawn will surely be the team to beat once again.

Last Saturday they were only out-qualified by three cars running with substantially less fuel. The BGP001s hadn’t seen a drop of rain until the Sepang deluge, so it’s not a surprise they lacked the edge in wet weather that they have in the dry.

However the race also pointed to another potential weakness in the team’s armour – or, at least, Button’s – tyre temperature. Button complained about the difficulty of getting heat into his tyres at Shanghai and also struggled with it at Melbourne.

Bahrain, of course, is one venue where you can pretty much rely on it being hot and dry – more good news for Brawn there.

With the diffuser rules now ‘clarified’ Brawn have to make hay while the sun shines – some teams have already brought revised rear undertrays (McLaren, Renault) and others are readying them for the Spanish Grand Prix (Ferrari).

Red Bull achieved their maiden one-two without superstar designer Adrian Newey present in Shanghai. He had been left in Milton Keynes, beavering away on a revised rear end design to. How much quicker will the RB5 be once he’s done?

Teams abandon KERS

One of the surprises of China was how few drivers use KERS: Renault and Ferrari ditched it, and Robert Kubica discarded the device after running it in testing. Only Lewis Hamilton, Heikki Kovalainen and Nick Heidfeld used it during the race.

The trade-off for the six-second 80bhp boost it provides is less than optimal weight distribution, which makes tyre management especially difficult. Therefore Bridgestone’s decision to bring a greater variation in tyre performance this year may be inadvertently making teams less keen to use KERS.

The other downside to KERS is greater instability under braking – and Bahrain is one of the most punishing tracks for the brakes. How many teams will accept these performance penalties in order to gain those useful extra power boosts down Bahrain’s many straights?

Tyres

The teams will be using the super-soft tyre again this weekend, as at Shanghai where several drivers had grave concerns over its performance throughout a stint.

We may see a repeat of drivers running ultra-light first stints in a bid to get the super-soft tyre out of the way as the Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso planned to on Sunday, before the rain intervened.

Drivers to keep an eye on

Felipe Massa – Drove an excellent race in China until his car let him down. Wants KERS back for Bahrain, a track where the team tested during the winter. Due a result.

Fernando Alonso – Second on the grid in China was largely fuel-assisted but was also aided by Renault’s diffuser tweaks. We’ll find out how quick they really are this weekend.

Nico Rosberg – Strong in practice but not delivering in the races. Needs to re-capture the form of his swashbuckling debut here in 2006.

Timo Glock – Has picked up ten points so far despite starting from the pits in the first race and breaking his front wing in the past two.

More on the Bahrain Grand Prix

• 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix
• Bahrain International Circuit – track information

Which F1 race do you most want to see?

With the 2009 F1 season almost upon us fans will be sorting out their plans to go to a Grand Prix.

So how do you go about picking which race to go to? Here are ten ways to help make up your mind.

Geography

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Where you live can seriously restrict your choice of races. Europeans are spoiled for choice, but North American fans face a major expedition if they want to see live F1 action.

Also remember that some tracks are easier to get to than others. Valencia, Monte-Carlo and Singapore are all in urban areas. But Istanbul Park is two hours’ drive outside of the city it’s named after.

Spectacle

Some F1 races are more about the spectacle of the event than the quality of the racing.

If glitz and glamour is your thing, then Monte-Carlo should be your destination. For the unique thrill of night racing, head for Singapore.

Or if you want to soak up the atmosphere of a classic F1 race at a venue steeped in history, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps are the best places to head for. I’ve been to both, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.

Racing

If what draws you to F1 is the prospect of seeing wheel-to-wheel racing, some tracks are more likely to offer that than others.

Bahrain, for example, may not be the most inspiring venue, but you can usually expect a good race.

Weather

Hard to believe, but Silverstone in the wet isn't everyone's cup of tea

If you’ve got kids in tow, or you’ve cajoled a non-fan in coming along with you, they might not appreciate standing on the outside of Eau Rouge while their shoes fill up with water.

Statistically, your best bets if you’re looking for a dry race are Monza (last year was its only significantly wet race in 58 Grands Prix), the Hungaroring (one wet race out of 23) and Bahrain (erm, it’s in a desert).

On the other hand, hard-bitten F1 Fanatics know wet races equal maximum excitement. So pack your anorak and head for Spa-Francorchamps or Shanghai to increase your chance of seeing wet weather action.

Cost

If money’s a concern it’s worth knowing which races cost more to attend than others – and what can push prices up the most.

Some races are dearer to start with: Monaco for example. Travel distance is a big consideration when it comes to budgets, and if you’re heading abroad for a Grand Prix keep an eye on the exchange rates,

Once you’ve done your sums you may find it works out cheaper to head abroad to watch a race than stay at home. Historically Spa has been a good alternative to Silverstone for British fans, particularly those in the south, though the weakening pound may have changed that.

Another cost factor is whether you plan to watch all three days’ action or not. With this year’s engine rules there might not be much F1 running on Fridays, particularly at the races early on in the season. The good thing about Fridays is that, as they tend to be quieter, you have more time and space to have a walk around the track and see the action from all angles.

If you are thinking of doing all three days it’s also worth checking what other races are on during the weekend.

Support races

GP2 provides the wheel-to-wheel action F1 often lacks

One of the curses of modern F1 for the track side spectator is the large amount of unused track time built into the race weekend’s schedule. This is to prevent F1’s precious television broadcasts being delayed because of a pile-up in a support race.

Support races at Grands Prix are a bit of a mixed bag. GP2 offers fabulous entertainment, often providing the best of the weekend’s action, and most Grands Prix include two GP2 races. On the other hand, I usually go for a walk when the Porsche Supercup is on.

Formula BMW Europe joined the schedule at some F1 races last year, offering a chance to see the stars of tomorrow crashing into each other. This year Formula Masters and the new Formula Two championship will appear at some races.

For details of support races at each of this year’s Grands Prix, check the race information links at the bottom of the page.

Crowd size

A packed crowd means a good atmosphere, and you’re guaranteed one if you head to the likes of Monza, Interlagos or Silverstone. Both Spanish races these days get huge audiences too. But that also means you’ve got to act fast to get your tickets booked.

How much can you see?

There are two sides to this. First, how much of the track is visible from the grandstands? At Fuji you can see much of the circuit from the spectators’ stands along the main straight. But at Monaco you’ll probably only be able to see the corner in front of you – unless you know someone with a penthouse…

Then there’s the question of how many times the cars are going to come past. Spa’s 7km long lap means you’ll only see them 44 times in a race, but at Interlagos they’ll come by 70 times.

Video

Wherever you end up sitting at a Grand Prix it’s hard to avoid the risk of missing some crucial action. And if you’re not within sight of the pit lane, keeping track of who’s pitted can be difficult.

There are two solutions: either find a grandstand near to a video wall, or hire a Kangaroo TV screen for the weekend which shows the same pictures. You can pre-book Kangaroos before the race on their website.

Transport and accommodation

Finally, a word of caution. Tedious though it might be, if you don’t figure out the logistics of your Grand Prix expedition you could give yourself a real headache. The last thing you want is to be running towards the circuit gates while the cars are on their formation lap.

Figure out where you’re staying, how you’re getting there, and how you’re going to commute to the track. I can tell you from experience that staying at Thessaloniki in Greece is not the best way to take in the Turkish Grand Prix…

If you’re going for all three days of the weekend (remember Monaco is Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), striking a balance between finding somewhere near to the track and not getting ripped off can be tricky. Have a look at the information posted by F1 fans on the different circuits, and post questions if you’re looking for specific information:

Albert Park, Mebourne – spectators’ experiences
Sepang International Circuit – spectators’ experiences
Shanghai International Circuit – spectators’ experiences
Bahrain International Circuit – spectators’ experiences
Circuit de Catalunya – spectators’ experiences
Monte-Carlo – spectators’ experiences
Istanbul Park – spectators’ experiences
Silverstone – spectators’ experiences
Nürburgring (new, 1984-present)
Hungaroring – spectators’ experiences
Circuito Urbano Valencia – spectators’ experiences
Spa-Francorchamps – spectators’ experiences
Autodromo Nazionale Monza – spectators’ experiences
Singapore street track – spectators’ experiences
Fuji Speedway – spectators’ experiences
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Sao Paulo – spectators’ experiences

How do you pick which F1 race to go to? Are you going to a Grand Prix for the first time this year? Have your say in the comments.

Silverstone 2009 Meet & Greet

Heading to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix this year? Head over to the forum for details of the 2009 British Grand Prix F1 Fanatic Meet & Greet.

Enjoyed this post? You can vote for it on Digg, submit it to Stumbleupon, or share it with the rest of the world using the social sites below.

Images (C) Red Bull / GEPA, Ferrari spa, GP2 Media Service / Alastair Staley

Felipe Massa at the wheel of the Ferrari F60 today

Ferrari, BMW and Toyota bring eight days of testing at Bahrain to an end today. The last few days have seen some of the teams hit by reliability problems.

But the other defining feature of this test has been how close the laptimes are between the trio. Will today see one of them suddenly pull a hot lap out of the bag?

Today’s testing line-up

Ferrari – Felipe Massa
Toyota – Timo Glock
BMW – Nick Heidfeld

Here are the best times set by each of the teams over the last three days:

Sites with live laptime updates

http://f1today.nl/
http://www.sportlifepress.com/index.php?option=com_moderatedchat&chatid=8

If you find any more good sites for following testing lap times, please post details below.

If you’ve got images or video to share you can upload them to the F1 Fanatic drop.io.

Pictures from today’s test

2009 F1 testing

• 2009 F1 testing: February 18th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 17th (Updated: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 16th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 11th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 10th (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 24th
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 23rd (Update: Pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 22nd (Update: new video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 21st (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 20th (pictures and video)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 19th (pictures)

Timo Glock testing for Toyota at Bahrain

Ferrari, Toyota and BMW head into their penultimate day of testing at Bahrain. There wasn’t much to choose between them yesterday, with the trio covered by just 0.4s. Felipe Massa takes over from Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari today.

Meanwhile back in Europe the remaining teams seem to have dropped their plans to test at Barcelona and instead use their remaining test days closer to the start of the season.

Today’s testing line-up

Ferrari – Felipe Massa
Toyota – Timo Glock
BMW – Nick Heidfeld

Sites with live laptime updates

http://f1today.nl/
http://www.sportlifepress.com/index.php?option=com_moderatedchat&chatid=8

If you find any more good sites for following testing lap times, please post details below.

If you’ve got images or video to share you can upload them to the F1 Fanatic drop.io.

Pictures from today’s test

2009 F1 testing

• 2009 F1 testing: February 17th (Updated: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 16th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 11th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 10th (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 24th
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 23rd (Update: Pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 22nd (Update: new video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 21st (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 20th (pictures and video)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 19th (pictures)

F1 cars exceed 350kph on Monza's long straights

After looking at the 2009 F1 cars from various angles many people have remarked on how different many of the designs are.

But if we take a look at the circuits alongside one another it seems F1 tracks are becoming increasingly similar.

2009 F1 tracks – top speeds

Venue – Top speed (kph/mph)
Monza – 351/218
Istanbul – 315/195
Interlagos – 314/195
Suzuka – 313/194
Spa-Francorchamps – 310/192
Shanghai – 310/192
Bahrain – 309/192
Catalunya – 308/191
Valencia – 306/190
Melbourne – 303/188
Nürburgring – 300/186
Sepang – 297/184
Singapore – 297/184
Silverstone – 294/182
Hungaroring – 291/180
Monte-Carlo – 286/177

A few years ago the Hockenheimring would have been up there with Monza as one of two tracks where F1 cars are trimmed out for maximum speed.

But, besides the fact it is not on the calendar this year, it’s 2002 re-modelling by Hermann Tilke has drastically changed its character, and it’s no longer the flat-out forest blast it used to be.

2009 F1 tracks – lap length

Venue – Lap length (km)
Spa – 7.004
Suzuka – 5.807
Abu Dhabi – 5.8*
Monza – 5.793
Sepang – 5.543
Shanghai – 5.451
Valencia – 5.44
Bahrain – 5.412
Istanbul – 5.338
Melbourne – 5.303
Nürburgring – 5.148
Silverstone – 5.141
Singapore – 5.067
Catalunya – 4.655
Hungaroring – 4.381
Interlagos – 4.309
Monte-Carlo – 3.34

For proof that F1 circuits are becoming increasingly similar, look no further than this graph. In terms of length F1′s newest circuits are a homogeneous bunch, most measuring between 5-5.5km.

On the face of it this may not seem like too big a deal, but it seems like a requirement of the regulations that stifles creativity.

There are plenty of arguments for having a greater variety of circuit lengths in Formula 1. Longer tracks with more corners are more challenging to master, require more of a compromise in setup and, as drivers have fewer chances to reach the pits, can be more demanding in terms of strategy. On shorter tracks traffic is more of a problem.

But the bottom line is this: variety is good and by this measure F1 tracks are becoming much less varied.

*Construction not complete. See here for pictures of the Abu Dhabi circuit plans: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix launch pictures

2009 F1 tracks – longest flat-out section

Venue – Longest flat-out section (m)
Spa – 1,865
Shanghai – 1,370
Monza – 1,320
Suzuka – 1,230
Interlagos – 1,220
Istanbul – 1,200
Catalunya – 1,140
Bahrain – 1,050
Valencia – 930
Silverstone – 890
Sepang – 830
Nürburgring – 800
Hungaroring – 750
Melbourne – 735
Singapore – 650
Monte-Carlo – 510

Thanks to increased downforce on F1 cars and resurfacing at Spa-Francorchamps, corners such as Eau Rouge which once required a lift of the throttle are now comfortably flat. Though with downforce reduced this year, perhaps drivers will have to think twice about tackling them without lifting?

That could undermine Spa’s claim to have the longest flat-out blast in F1, just over 1.8km long. That’s slightly longer than half a lap of Monte-Carlo, by the way, another reason why greater variation between tracks is A Good Thing,

What is also curious here is that Shanghai, the venue with the second-longest flat-out section, has the third lowest proportion of the lap spent flat out.

2009 F1 tracks – full throttle

Venue – % of lap spent at full throttle
Spa – 70%
Monza – 70%
Suzuka – 67%
Melbourne – 65%
Sepang – 65%
Interlagos – 65%
Silverstone – 64%
Bahrain – 63%
Istanbul – 63%
Nürburgring – 62%
Valencia – 59%
Hungaroring – 58%
Catalunya – 57%
Shanghai – 55%
Singapore – 44%
Monte-Carlo – 42%

It would be fascinating to see how this data compares from F1 in the 1960s and 1970s, when laps of tracks like Monza, Silverstone and the Osterreichring were tackled with little deceleration at all.

Similarly, what about the superspeedway ovals of America like those used in the Indy Racing League? The percent of a spent at full throttle at track like Michigan must be in the high 90s.

Some might think this is heresy, but I’d love to see F1 take in a couple of oval tracks during a season, to bring more variety and a whole different discipline of racing to the sport.

2009 F1 tracks – tyre wear

Lewis Hamilton has had tyre trouble on both his visits to Istanbul Park

Venue – Tyre wear
Suzuka – high
Istanbul – high
Silverstone – medium/high
Hungaroring – medium/high
Spa – medium
Shanghai – medium
Interlagos – medium
Catalunya – medium
Bahrain – medium
Valencia – medium
Sepang – medium
Nürburgring – medium
Singapore – medium
Monte-Carlo – medium
Melbourne – medium/low
Monza – low

Tyre wear is likely to change dramatically in 2009 as F1 makes its long-awaited switch back to slicks from grooved tyres.

Early tests on Bridgestone’s slick rubber suggest drivers will struggle with high wear particularly on the rear tyres. But much of the off-season testing has taken place at lower temperatures than those usually seen at Grand Prix weekends, so it remains to be seen exactly how the tyres will work.

That said, a high tyre wear track will still be a high tyre wear track, just as there will always be some drivers who dish out more punishment to their equipment than others. Step forward Lewis Haimilton, who’s borne the brunt of tyre wear trouble at Istanbul for the last two years. This year Suzuka, another high tyre wear track, returns to the F1 calendar for the first time since Hamilton arrived in the sport – so make a note to keep an eye on the state of Hamilton’s Bridgestones there.

2009 F1 tracks – brake wear

Venue – Brake wear
Singapore – very high
Melbourne – high
Hungaroring – high
Bahrain – high
Nürburgring – high
Monte-Carlo – high
Monza – high
Suzuka – high
Shanghai – medium
Valencia – medium
Silverstone – low
Spa – low
Interlagos – low
Catalunya – low
Sepang – low
Istanbul – low

For years Montreal was renowned as the most punishing track for brakes. Sadly, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is not on the 2009 F1 calendar.

Taking its place as the most tortuous track for brake discs in Singapore. Each 5km lap has 23 corners, most of them quite slow, and high ambient temperatures won’t help. The track is being mildly revised for the 2009 race, but expects its brake-munching tendencies to remain.

2009 F1 tracks – downforce level

Venue – Downforce level
Singapore – very high
Hungaroring – very high
Monte-Carlo – very high
Valencia – high
Silverstone – high
Catalunya – high
Sepang – high
Melbourne – high
Shanghai – medium/high
Interlagos – medium
Istanbul – medium
Bahrain – medium
Nürburgring – medium
Spa – low
Suzuka – low
Monza – very low

Singapore joins the Hungaroring and Monte-Carlo in the maximum downforce club, where top speed is sacrificed for maximum cornering grip.

One of the talking points of the off-season has been whether the new aerodynamic regulations will actually reduce downforce. If they have been successful, differences in the performance of the cars at high downforce tracks versus low downforce tracks should be visible.

2009 F1 tracks – gear changes

Venue – Gear changes per lap
Singapore – 76
Valencia – 74
Sepang – 60
Melbourne – 60
Bahrain – 58
Nürburgring – 58
Monte-Carlo – 54
Shanghai – 52
Spa – 52
Hungaroring – 50
Monza – 46
Catalunya – 44
Istanbul – 42
Suzuka – 42
Interlagos – 40
Silverstone – 40

Before semi-automatic gearboxes arrived the number of gear changes per lap was especially crucial. A mis-timed gearchange could let a chasing driver slip by or, worse, over-rev an engine causing a DNF. This was a particularly worry at Monte-Carlo in the days when the race was 100 laps long, and some drivers would reach the chequered flag with the skin missing from their right hand.

Data: BMW, 2006-8

What do you think of the 2009 F1 tracks? Does the F1 calendar need more variety? Leave a comment below.

Read about every track used in Formula 1:

• F1 circuits history part 1: 1950
• F1 circuits history part 2: 1951-53
• F1 circuits history part 3: 1954-57
• F1 circuits history part 4: 1958-60
• F1 circuits history part 5: 1961-66
• F1 circuits history part 6: 1967-70
• F1 circuits history part 7: 1971-74
• F1 circuits history part 8: 1975-78
• F1 circuits history part 9: 1979-84
• F1 circuits history part 10: 1985-89
• F1 circuits history part 11: 1990-93
• F1 circuits history part 12: 1994
• F1 circuits history part 13: 1995-98
• F1 circuits history part 14: 1999-2002
• F1 circuits history part 15: 2003-07
• F1 circuits history part 16: 2008 and beyond

2009 F1 calendar

Images (C) Ferrari spa, Daimler

Jarno Trulli testing a Toyota TF109 with an anvil wing at Bahrain

Ferrari, BMW and Toyota continue testing at Bahrain today and we’ll be following their progress below.

Today’s testing line-up

Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen
Toyota – Jarno Trulli
BMW – Nick Heidfeld

Sites with live laptime updates

http://f1today.nl/
http://www.sportlifepress.com/index.php?option=com_moderatedchat&chatid=8
http://www.msfree.gr/4675/2009-02-10/Live-dokimes-F1:-10-febrouariou

If you find any more good sites for following testing lap times, please post details below.

If you’ve got images or video to share you can upload them to the F1 Fanatic drop.io.

Pictures from today’s test

2009 F1 testing

• 2009 F1 testing: February 16th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 11th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 10th (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 24th
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 23rd (Update: Pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 22nd (Update: new video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 21st (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 20th (pictures and video)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 19th (pictures)

Images (C) Ferrari spa, Toyota F1 World

More laps in the F60 for Raikkonen

Ferrari, Toyota and BMW remain in Bahrain this week, continuing their preparations for the 2009 F1 season and no doubt hoping to avoid any more sandstorms.

Follow the developments in today’s F1 testing below.

Today Kimi Raikkonen is testing for Ferrari at Bahrain, Christian Klien for BMW and Jarno Trulli for Toyota.

These are some of the sites we having been using to follow lap times:

http://f1today.nl/
http://www.sportlifepress.com/index.php?option=com_moderatedchat&chatid=8
http://www.msfree.gr/4675/2009-02-10/Live-dokimes-F1:-10-febrouariou

If you’ve got images or video to share you can upload them to the F1 Fanatic drop.io.

Pictures from today’s test

2009 F1 testing

• 2009 F1 testing: February 11th (Update: pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing: February 10th (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 24th
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 23rd (Update: Pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 22nd (Update: new video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 21st (Update: video and pictures added)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 20th (pictures and video)
• 2009 F1 testing notes: January 19th (pictures)

Images (C) Ferrari spa