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Formula 1
F1: Raikkonen Fastest As Testing Concludes In Barcelona
Lotus driver ran 121 laps during final Barcelona test..
Lotus was consistently strong in winter testing. (Photo: Getty Images)
Kimi Raikkonen was on top for Lotus as testing came to an end in Barcelona on Sunday. The next time the cars run will be in Friday free practice in Australia on March 16.
The big story was what appeared to be an unproductive session for Red Bull on its second day with its massive aero updates. Sebastian Vettel ran a total of only 23 laps after gearbox and other issues kept the RBR in the garage for much of the day. Vettel actually ended up bottom of the times (see separate story).
Eleven drivers were in action today, with Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado sharing the Williams and big guns Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso all returning after a day off. There was no sign of the HRT, although the team is hoping to do a filming day tomorrow.
Raikkonen set an impressive pace over the course of a race run, and his best time of the day was 0.2s up on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. It was also the fastest time set on any of the eight days of running at Barcelona.
“I was happy with today’s running," said Raikkonen. "We didn’t have any major issues so it was certainly better than yesterday. Everything worked, we tried a lot of set-ups on the car and it all came together well. It was a long time in the car today but I feel fine. It was cooler today so the tires didn’t work as well as otherwise but everything was okay.
"Of course, the fastest time at the end of the day looks good but no-one will know how fast any of the cars are until we get to qualifying at Albert Park. All the changes we have made over testing have been improving the car, so we’ll have to see what happens in Melbourne in a couple of weeks’ time. I’m feeling positive.”
Ferrari reported that Alonso was working on set-ups and tire comparisons. Behind the Spaniard Bruno Senna was third overall after running only in the morning for Williams. While his team mate Pastor Maldonado was just over a second faster when he ran in the afternoon.
“We had a productive morning completing a number of tire tests and aero runs,” said Senna. “It has been interesting to see the car developing. Overall we’ve had a good few days of running here in Barcelona. We are still improving, but I feel we are in a solid position to go to Australia.”
Nico Hulkenberg was fourth for Force India and was satisfied with a race simulation.
“We managed to fit a lot in today and hopefully when we have been through all the data we will have learned a lot, too,” said the German. “The race weekend simulation was useful, but unfortunately my race distance was cut short, so we will rely more on the data from Paul’s run yesterday.
“We were also busy trying all the tire compounds to learn more about tire management and how to get the most from them. You always want more time in the car, but I think we can be pleased with how our three tests have gone. We still need to find some more performance because the whole grid looks very close and competitive, and I expect the grid in Melbourne to be extremely tight.”
Kamui Kobayashi lost some time with a Ferrari engine failure at the end of the day, the Japanese driver setting the fifth best time for Sauber.
“My test program for today had foreseen several longer breaks for changes to the car but of course not the early end because of the engine,” said Kobayashi. “These things happen, but I am still happy with our achievements. We did a lot of work to learn about the huge variety of set-up and aero options the new car offers.
“We made progress and of course there is still room for improvement. Personally I have not found the perfect set-up for me yet, at least not for Barcelona; Melbourne might be a different story anyway. I think performance wise we are looking fine and our simulation work for racing was really good. I feel confident, well and fit – and I think we could race tomorrow if we had to.”
Sixth on the day – and only 0.2s off Alonso – Lewis Hamilton had his first experience of the new McLaren update package, A hydraulic problem cost him some track time near the end of the day, but in any case that coincided with the rain.
Caterham again put in a solid performance as Vitaly Petrov set the seventh best time of the day.
“I am more than happy with how we went today,” said Petrov. “The team has done a fantastic job all day and we’ve been improving in every area each time we went out. I had my new seat today so I’m really starting to get comfortable in the car and the lap times are coming down, the setup is improving and everything is working really well.
“The last lap before lunch was close to perfect for me, with the conditions and the way the car behaved, but we know there is still more to come so that is good news, it keeps us pushing.
“This afternoon we were looking at a race simulation and despite the slightly early end to the day it all went to plan. The degradation levels were manageable and we didn’t have any issues at all with any of the systems – KERS, engine, gearbox or anything mechanical. We do have work to do, that’s the same for everyone, but I think we have prepared as well as we can for Melbourne so for me this has been a really good first couple of weeks with the team.”
Michael Schumacher was eighth for Mercedes as the silver car continued to run reliably.
“We are very happy with all the work we have been able to achieve,” said Schumacher. “Covering a lot of kilometers and learning a lot about our car which gives us a good basis to work from. The car felt good from the very beginning, and we have managed to improve it over the test days, so I think we can say that we are very well prepared.
“Again, what this means compared to our competitors is something I want only to go into after some races, as we all know that testing does not show everything. What we can say though is that the field is tighter than it has been, so we are looking forward to an exciting season."
For once Toro Rosso was near the bottom of the order with Daniel Ricciardo in 10th. However the Australian was very pleased with his day as he prepares for his first home Grand Prix.
“Another day with a lot of laps to add to the high-mileage day yesterday,” said Ricciardo. “I have done more running this week than at the previous two tests and we have learned a lot about our new car, enough to have a basis for the start of the season. Personally, I found it very useful and I’ve got a clear understanding of the changes we have made these past few weeks and how the car reacts.”
Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:22.030 121
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:22.250 116
3. Bruno Senna Williams 1:22.296 53
4. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:22.312 101
5. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:22.386 72
6. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:22.430 115
7. Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:22.795 101
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:22.939 100
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:23.347 48
10. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:23.393 100
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:23.608 23
Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
The big story was what appeared to be an unproductive session for Red Bull on its second day with its massive aero updates. Sebastian Vettel ran a total of only 23 laps after gearbox and other issues kept the RBR in the garage for much of the day. Vettel actually ended up bottom of the times (see separate story).
Eleven drivers were in action today, with Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado sharing the Williams and big guns Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso all returning after a day off. There was no sign of the HRT, although the team is hoping to do a filming day tomorrow.
Raikkonen set an impressive pace over the course of a race run, and his best time of the day was 0.2s up on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. It was also the fastest time set on any of the eight days of running at Barcelona.
“I was happy with today’s running," said Raikkonen. "We didn’t have any major issues so it was certainly better than yesterday. Everything worked, we tried a lot of set-ups on the car and it all came together well. It was a long time in the car today but I feel fine. It was cooler today so the tires didn’t work as well as otherwise but everything was okay.
"Of course, the fastest time at the end of the day looks good but no-one will know how fast any of the cars are until we get to qualifying at Albert Park. All the changes we have made over testing have been improving the car, so we’ll have to see what happens in Melbourne in a couple of weeks’ time. I’m feeling positive.”
Ferrari reported that Alonso was working on set-ups and tire comparisons. Behind the Spaniard Bruno Senna was third overall after running only in the morning for Williams. While his team mate Pastor Maldonado was just over a second faster when he ran in the afternoon.
“We had a productive morning completing a number of tire tests and aero runs,” said Senna. “It has been interesting to see the car developing. Overall we’ve had a good few days of running here in Barcelona. We are still improving, but I feel we are in a solid position to go to Australia.”
Nico Hulkenberg was fourth for Force India and was satisfied with a race simulation.
“We managed to fit a lot in today and hopefully when we have been through all the data we will have learned a lot, too,” said the German. “The race weekend simulation was useful, but unfortunately my race distance was cut short, so we will rely more on the data from Paul’s run yesterday.
“We were also busy trying all the tire compounds to learn more about tire management and how to get the most from them. You always want more time in the car, but I think we can be pleased with how our three tests have gone. We still need to find some more performance because the whole grid looks very close and competitive, and I expect the grid in Melbourne to be extremely tight.”
Kamui Kobayashi lost some time with a Ferrari engine failure at the end of the day, the Japanese driver setting the fifth best time for Sauber.
“My test program for today had foreseen several longer breaks for changes to the car but of course not the early end because of the engine,” said Kobayashi. “These things happen, but I am still happy with our achievements. We did a lot of work to learn about the huge variety of set-up and aero options the new car offers.
“We made progress and of course there is still room for improvement. Personally I have not found the perfect set-up for me yet, at least not for Barcelona; Melbourne might be a different story anyway. I think performance wise we are looking fine and our simulation work for racing was really good. I feel confident, well and fit – and I think we could race tomorrow if we had to.”
Sixth on the day – and only 0.2s off Alonso – Lewis Hamilton had his first experience of the new McLaren update package, A hydraulic problem cost him some track time near the end of the day, but in any case that coincided with the rain.
Caterham again put in a solid performance as Vitaly Petrov set the seventh best time of the day.
“I am more than happy with how we went today,” said Petrov. “The team has done a fantastic job all day and we’ve been improving in every area each time we went out. I had my new seat today so I’m really starting to get comfortable in the car and the lap times are coming down, the setup is improving and everything is working really well.
“The last lap before lunch was close to perfect for me, with the conditions and the way the car behaved, but we know there is still more to come so that is good news, it keeps us pushing.
“This afternoon we were looking at a race simulation and despite the slightly early end to the day it all went to plan. The degradation levels were manageable and we didn’t have any issues at all with any of the systems – KERS, engine, gearbox or anything mechanical. We do have work to do, that’s the same for everyone, but I think we have prepared as well as we can for Melbourne so for me this has been a really good first couple of weeks with the team.”
Michael Schumacher was eighth for Mercedes as the silver car continued to run reliably.
“We are very happy with all the work we have been able to achieve,” said Schumacher. “Covering a lot of kilometers and learning a lot about our car which gives us a good basis to work from. The car felt good from the very beginning, and we have managed to improve it over the test days, so I think we can say that we are very well prepared.
“Again, what this means compared to our competitors is something I want only to go into after some races, as we all know that testing does not show everything. What we can say though is that the field is tighter than it has been, so we are looking forward to an exciting season."
For once Toro Rosso was near the bottom of the order with Daniel Ricciardo in 10th. However the Australian was very pleased with his day as he prepares for his first home Grand Prix.
“Another day with a lot of laps to add to the high-mileage day yesterday,” said Ricciardo. “I have done more running this week than at the previous two tests and we have learned a lot about our new car, enough to have a basis for the start of the season. Personally, I found it very useful and I’ve got a clear understanding of the changes we have made these past few weeks and how the car reacts.”
Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:22.030 121
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:22.250 116
3. Bruno Senna Williams 1:22.296 53
4. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:22.312 101
5. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:22.386 72
6. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:22.430 115
7. Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:22.795 101
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:22.939 100
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:23.347 48
10. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:23.393 100
11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:23.608 23
Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
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