Driver line-up for final pre-season F1 test of 2013

2013 F1 season

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Here is the driver line-up for the final four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The first two days of the test are expected to see wet conditions and most teams have chosen to run a different driver on each of those two days.

TeamCar28th February1st March2nd March3rd March
Red BullRB9Mark WebberSebastian VettelMark WebberSebastian Vettel
FerrariF138Felipe MassaFernando AlonsoFelipe MassaFernando Alonso
McLarenMP4-28Sergio PerezJenson ButtonSergio PerezJenson Button
LotusE21Romain GrosjeanRomain GrosjeanKimi RaikkonenKimi Raikkonen
MercedesW04Lewis HamiltonNico RosbergLewis HamiltonNico Rosberg
SauberC32Esteban GutierrezNico HulkenbergEsteban GutierrezNico Hulkenberg
Force IndiaVJM06Paul di RestaAdrian SutilAdrian SutilPaul di Resta
WilliamsFW35Valtteri BottasValtteri BottasPastor MaldonadoPastor Maldonado
Toro RossoSTR8Jean-Eric VergneJean-Eric VergneDaniel RicciardoDaniel Ricciardo
CaterhamCT03Charles PicGiedo van der GardeGiedo van der GardeCharles Pic
MarussiaMR02Max ChiltonMax ChiltonTBCTBC

This article will be updated when further details of the teams’ plans are confirmed.

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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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23 comments on “Driver line-up for final pre-season F1 test of 2013”

  1. I really hope that Marussia’s pre-season isn’t spoiled by uncooperative sponsors. They’ve shown quite a bit of promise of late, but I’d hate to see all of that squandered as their second driver – be it Luiz Razia or someone else – loses track time and gets a slow start to the season.

    1. @prisoner-monkeys Interestingly the list here in the media centre has Razia down to drive today but Marussia’s press officer told me yesterday Chilton would be in the car and they’ve just said the same on Twitter.

      1. @keithcollantine – Something about this has been very odd from the beginning. Razia was quoted as saying that he wasn’t bothered by missing out on track time during testing because he’s never had a problem adapting to a car during testing before. But looking at his career to date, most of his time has been spent in spec series like GP2, where the cars do not change (and when they do, they don’t change by much), so the teams already know a whole lot about the car and only really need to fine-tune it during testing. Now he’s going into Formula 1, where the team has a brand-new car that they need to understand from scratch. His attitude comes across as blase at best, and ignorant of what he’s gotten himself into at worst. I can’t help but feel that Marussia might have made a huge mistake.

        1. That, or he ‘needs’ some mediatraining. I can imagine that you don’t know what to say if your sponsors aren’t paying.

          After all it’s embarassing.

          1. I disagree that he needs media training. The team/sponsors would hardly expect him to say that he thinks that his season will be stuffed by his failure to test. What @prisonor-monkeys says is correct, we know it’s correct and I suspect Razia knows very well that it’s correct but has taken the media friendly line of playing down the impact with a reasoning that the majority of F1 viewers wouldn’t have enough understanding to pick apart.

  2. Hm, no news on Razia then. And noting definite on Sutil (or Bianchi)

    1. @bascb – His place is reported to be in jeopardy.

      1. Nothing new there @prisoner-monkeys, I know it is. And I have already heard about all sorts of other drivers, including Bianchi, working towards securing that Marussia drive.

        But that is not news, its still the same rumors being discussed as last week, only the matter is getting more worrying with each passing day.

        1. I wouldn’t say it’s “nothing new”. It’s certainly more than we had yesterday because it’s confirmation that there is a serious issue with Razia’s sponsors. Yesterday, it was only speculation.

          1. If you want, you can take it like that. To me the fact that there was no confirmation today is not that much different from not having seen any confirmation yesterday afternoon, or for that matter not all that different from what we knew friday evening/saturday morning.

  3. That Force India not officially confirming its second driver is baffling!!

    1. @1abe – Not really. This isn’t the first time that a team has waited until the last minute to make a decision about a driver. And with the team having both Sutil and Bianchi test last week, it’s fairly clear that they were using the whole episode to assess the potential of both drivers.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys
        Considering the fact that the team has been postponing their announcement since December, they should have confirmed atleast by now. I dont think that the idea of assessing drivers in the pre season test was planned at December but its more lilkely to be a bargaining ploy used against the engine suppliers. Even Sutil claimed that it more of a commercial decision rather than the drivers potential that was causing the delay.

    2. @1abe Maybe they’ve learnt from the Marussia/Razzia debacle and are waiting for the sponsors’ money to hit the bank account before announcing anything!

      1. @tdog
        Could be. But with both driver back by rival engine suppliers,i guess its more of a engine deal rather than sponsor money.

    3. Dont worry. If you follow the news and rumours (Sutil tipped for seat, Todt says Bianchi out) you can fill in the blanks easily. I would say, give Sutil the 3 remaining days, he might need them to get into the rhytm.

      My prediction is that DIR will be crushed again this season, which I hope will be his last season. DIR is so overrated!

      1. @sutil2013 Although we disagree on FI’s choice of second driver. I agree with you when you say that diResta’s overrated. After having been beaten 2 seasons out of 2, FI should have kicked him out, that way Bianchi could have got his chance as well.

        1. Absurd!

          Di Resta matched Sutil’s pace in his rookie season! Fact. I could pull out the numbers for you if you want. And he outpaced Hulkenberg (who everyone seems to rate very highly) for the first 2/3rds of last season before negative tyre degradation of last six races went against him. And for that he should be kicked out of the sport?

          I think the problem is that commentators on this site are just generally ignorant of the midfield.

          1. And he outpaced Hulkenberg (who everyone seems to rate very highly) for the first 2/3rds races of last season before negative tyre degradation of last six races went against him Hulkenberg got back into a racing rhytm.

            there, I have corrected some inaccuracies in your comment.

          2. @bascb
            That’s a myth.

            I analysed the 2012 season in detail. You’re right that di Resta was well ahead for the first four races, but he was also GENERALLY FASTER over the first 14 rounds.

            I think this fact is obscured slightly by the rain affected races: rounds 9, 10 and 11 which mixed things up a bit. But in dry conditions di Resta was generally faster: look at 6 (Monaco), 7 (Canada), 12 (Spa), 13 (Monza), 14 (Singapore): all driver circuits? After 14 races di Resta was 44-31 ahead in points, and would have been much further ahead if he didn’t have the KERS failure in Spa.

            Obviously, though, di Resta’s form collapsed over the last six races, which was very strange. Especially strange as di Resta has always been a remarkably consistent performer even during his rookie year. We’ll never know the true reasons but I don’t think it takes a genius to realise this had something to do with Pirrelli going overly conservative with their tyres at this stage of the season.

            But anyway I’m not making an excuse of that. di Resta should have done better over the closing races. But my point is, in totality, di Resta generally compared very favourably to Hulkenberg in 2012.

  4. @keithcollantine According to Toro Rosso’s website, Ricciardo will be in the car on Day 2 (Friday).

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