Button Fastest For Brawn GP On Barcelona Day 3

Jenson Button sent a clear message out to the other teams in Barcelona today….that he and Brawn GP were here to fight for the wins, not to just make up the numbers.

The British driver built on earlier success yesterday from Rubens Barrichello who was third fastest (behind Raikkonen and Nakajima).

“It’s been another great day and a very positive test generally,” said Button.

“After the challenges we have faced, to come here and get off to such an encouraging start is just what we all needed and I can’t thank the team enough. All that effort has really paid off and everyone can feel very proud.”

In second place was Felipe Massa for Ferrari, who completed a full race weekend simulation, with a small hydraulic problem leaving him stranded out on track during the afternoon.

Kubica, Glock, Alonso and Vettel all put in respectable performances for their teams, proving that F1 is most certainly not going to be a two horse race this season – it is wide open.

The second horse over the past few years has been McLaren and once again they were clearly struggling. Over 2.5 seconds off Button’s fastest time and with Hamilton behind the wheel, it was disappointment for the British based team.  Someone had clearly spent more time adjusting the MBE logo put on Hamilton’s car than actually sorting out the aerodynamics.  Dennis says they’re sandbagging, everyone else is not so convinced especially consdering Hamilton stuffed it into the barriers – not exactly sandbagging…

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time      Laps
 1.  Button        Brawn-Mercedes       (B)  1:19.127  124
 2.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  1:20.168  109
 3.  Kubica        BMW Sauber           (B)  1:20.217  109
 4.  Glock         Toyota TF109         (B)  1:20.410   99
 5.  Alonso        Renault R29          (B)  1:20.863  107
 6.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:21.165  102
 7.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:21.324   89
 8.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes (B)  1:21.545   97
 9.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:21.569  140
10.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:21.657   82

Jenson was fastest...

...making Mr. Brawn a happy man!

Felipe continues to show Ferrari consistency

Kubica, up there with a shout again

Vettel - Looking on the pace despite a small off

Hamilton & McLaren.......struggling

Vettel Fastest On Final Day of Barca Test

Sebastian Vettel was once again fastest on the final day of testing in Barcelona.

The young German was comfortably quickest ahead of Bourdais and Buemi in the Scuderia Toro Rosso’s.

Gary Paffett was 4th for McLaren, he had a KERS device onboard, as did Christian Klien who was 6th.

Jenson Button was high in 5th for Honda, Senna down in 8th completing his first test of an F1 car.

“Driving a Formula One car is really, really nice. And I was enjoying myself more and more each lap. Pushing harder and harder makes you find the edge and when the laptime comes from your effort that’s pretty good.” Senna commented after his test.

He added: “I’m happy. As I said, there was not a lot of pressure on me being matching Jenson or being super close to Jenson. They wanted to see what kind of information I could provide and if I was consistent and if I was quick on my own. I think I ticked all those boxes. I have to see how highly I have ticked those boxes but that’s all I could do in my first day.”

Badoer was 11th for Ferrari, but he was not speed testing, emerly testing the reliability of new products.

The Force India’s propped up the table.

Pos  Driver      Team                      Time      Laps
 1.  Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:19.295  75
 2.  Bourdais    Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:19.839  122
 3.  Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:20.154  115
 4.  Paffett     McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:21.140  81
 5.  Button      Honda                (B)  1:21.387  94
 6.  Klien       BMW Sauber           (B)  1:21.534  88
 7.  Heidfeld    BMW Sauber           (B)  1:21.592  106
 8.  Senna       Honda                (B)  1:21.676  107
 9.  Piquet      Renault              (B)  1:22.148  94
10.  Hulkenberg  Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:22.410  52
11.  Badoer      Ferrari              (B)  1:22.866  120
12.  Fisichella  Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:23.086  93
13.  de la Rosa  Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:23.103  88

Bruno Senna testing for Honda

Gary Paffett running KERS and Slicks in the 2008 spec McLaren

Giancarlo Fisichella

Honda's 2009 front wing detail

2009 BMW Sauber being driven by Nick Heidfeld

Luca Badoer put new parts through serious mileage in the Ferrari

Vettel Tops Times On Day 2 In Barca

Sebastian Vettel started his Red Bull Racing career in perfect fashion, topping the times at today’s Barcelona test despite a major brake fire earlier in the day.

The young German led a Red Bull lock out in the top 4 spots, with Sato in 2nd, Bourdais 3rd and Buemi 4th.  Those 3 drivers are fighting for the two seats in the Scuderia Toro Rosso team, and it must be said Sato is doing a terrific job.

Ferrari were lower down the times but they mainly focussed on reliability tests today, and are stripping the 2008 cars of aerodynamics for simulation work.

Pedro de La Rosa took to the track in a Force India, and despite being last, rumour is still circulating that he is going to take one of the two seats at the team for 2009.

Pos  Driver         Team                      Time     Laps
 1.  Vettel         Red Bull-Renault     (B)  1:19.751   70
 2.  Sato           Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:20.017   79
 3.  Bourdais       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:20.034   48
 4.  Buemi          Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:20.223   99
 5.  Paffett        McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  1:21.340   31
 6.  Kubica         BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:21.521   76
 7.  Rosberg        Williams-Toyota      (B)  1:21.525  113
 8.  Button         Honda                (B)  1:21.770  110
 9.  Sutil          Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:22.073   58
10.  di Grassi      Honda                (B)  1:22.283  110
11.  Piquet         Renault              (B)  1:22.348   85
12.  Badoer         Ferrari              (B)  1:22.425  127
13.  Gene           Ferrari              (B)  1:22.772   31
14.  Heidfeld       BMW-Sauber           (B)  1:22.945   81
15.  van der Garde  Renault              (B)  1:23.250   37
16.  de la Rosa     Force India-Ferrari  (B)  1:23.499   86

Button with a 2009 Front Wing Honda

Rosberg with a 2009 spec Williams

Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel of a Red Bull

Klien described the 2009 BMW as "The ugliest thing he had ever seen" - we're inclined to agree

Luca Badoer in a 2008 Ferrari, with slicks and a mock-up KERS. See the cooling box on the side here.

Pedro de La Rosa testing for Force India

Barcelona Testing 1st Day – MORNING REPORT

The morning in Barcelona hearalded a new era of Formula One, and BMW Sauber alongside Williams have brought out their 2009 specification cars.  Takuma Sato is testing for Scuderia Toro Rosso,  in an attempt to get his seat.  Luca Badoer is testing 2 different Ferrari’s, one in 09 spec and another in 08 spec with slicks.  McLaren are slick tyre testing.  Red Bull Racing are testing Sebastian Loeb.

FULL REPORT THIS EVENING WITH TIMES.

PHOTOS OF 2009 SPECIFICATION CARS

BMW Sauber

BMW Sauber

BMW Sauber Front Wing Close-Up

Williams

Williams

Photos, timesheets and report to all come tonight.

Badoer Fastest On Day 1 Barcelona Testing

Luca Badoer put Ferrari back in a commanding position in the first day of testing at Barcelona this week.

The test driver set a fastest time of

This was enough to push maiden GP winner in Canada Robert Kubica down into 2nd position on the sheets.

Coulthard and Buemi, who were sharing the same car for Red Bull were 3rd and 4th.

Gary Paffett joined the barrage of test drivers at the event coming 5th, just ahead of Anthony Davidson who returns to F1 as Honda’s test driver.

Nico Hulkenberg was 7th in the Williams completing 112 laps, the most of anyone; with Romain Grosjean, who had problems with his engine in 8th.

“It was a great day and I’m grateful for this opportunity to test the R28 and work with the team,” Grosjean commented.

Kamui Kobayashi was last for Toyota.

Time-Sheet:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	L. Badoer	Ferrari	1.22.412	82
2	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1.22.682	69
3	D. Coulthard	Red Bull	1.22.724	21
4	S. Buemi	Red Bull	1.22.764	79
5	G. Paffett	McLaren	1.22.938	36
6	A. Davidson	Honda	1.23.208	81
7	N. Hulkenberg	Williams	1.23.619	112
8	R. Grosjean	Renault	1.23.899	60
9	K. Kobayashi	Toyota	1.24.442	84

 

Honda Reckon They Have Made Progress During Tests

Honda Racing F1 Team believe that they have made significant progress during the recent tests, and are now hoping that their new parts will transform into some good form and progress on their rivals.

The RA108 has already been significantly more successful than the disastorous RA107 of 2007, and the team hope that some good form can ensue.

New parts include minor aerodyanmic updates on the front wing and around the sidepod/engine box areas.  Honda also began re-testing the “Dumbo Wings” which we saw towards the end of 2007 in test with Christian Klien, although they were not adopted by the race team.  More notably was the running of wheel rim covers, in a similar fashion to those already run by Ferrari, Toyota, BMW Sauber, McLaren and other teams.  What made Honda’s more notable than the rest were the images of the globe displayed.

“This week saw the first in-season test of 2008 where we can only use a single car compared to the two car pre-season tests,” said Honda’s test team manager Steve Clark.

“The development of the RA108 is progressing well and we had many items on the test agenda. Our major development is an aerodynamic update kit which successfully delivered a laptime improvement.

“However we will not know until the Spanish Grand Prix whether this translates into a significant step forward versus our competitors.”

 

Webber Fastest On Damp Day At Barca

Mark Webber took the title of being fastest on what was a rain sodden and almost pointless day of testing in Barcelona.

The Red Bull Racing driver managed to complete just 37 laps on his way to the top of the leader board.

There was a major downpour in the morning, then the track dried before heavy rain once again.

Heikki Kovalainen took 2nd, completing just 34 laps after taking the wheel from Lewis Hamilton.

Kimi Raikkonen hardly did any running in the morning, but still took 3rd place.  Not much development work and time in the car for the world champion who has taken over from Michael Schumacher.

Nakajima caused a single red flag when the Toyota powerplant in the FW30 exploded around turn 1.  Not far back to the pits for the busiest driver of the day (61 laps).

Jarno Trulli was last, but only completed 18 laps.

“We knew that rain was forecast for today so we didn’t expect to be able to make too much progress,” said Trulli.

“When we finally did some running we put in a few laps of wet set-up but with the track changing so much it is always hard to draw too many conclusions.”

Some teams had elected to leave the track in the morning.

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	M. Webber	Red Bull Racing	1.21.953	37
2	H. Kovalainen	McLaren	1.23.589	34
3	K. Raikkonen	Ferrari	1.23.619	34
4	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1.24.715	32
5	J. Button	Honda	1.24.873	41
6	K. Nakajima	Williams	1.24.927	62
7	N. Piquet	Renault	1.26.100	61
8	J. Trulli	Toyota	1.32.150	18

Alonso Fastest On Day 3 In Barcelona

Fernando Alonso shot to the top of the leader boards on the 3rd day of testing in Barcelona.

The Spaniard was continuing development and set-up work for Renault who have been trying a number of new 2008 aerodynamic developments, alongside doing some slick tyre testing.  Alonso put in 100 laps.

“The day has been good and I was happy with the developments to the car,” Alonso said.

“We still need to keep improving because our competitors have also improved. It’s difficult to say how we really compared with them.”

Michael Schumacher was once again testing with Ferrari, and put the F2008 into second place.  He looked at ease with the car as ever is the case.

Adrian Sutil shot into 3rd place, as he looked much more comfortable and on-top of the Force India with an upgraded 2008 aerodynamic package.  The German took to the track mostly in the afternoon on slick Bridgestone’s, after having a clutch problem in the morning.

Hamilton, Webber, Trulli and Bourdais only used grooved Bridgestone’s.

Sebastien Bourdais ruined the new testing of the STR3, after a heavy accident at turn 9 caused irrepairable damage.  They are packing up and going home as Sebastian Vettel will be unable to test the new car tomorrow.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	F. Alonso	Renault	1.18.483	100
2	M. Schumacher	Ferrari	1.19.323	83
3	A. Sutil	Force India	1.19.424	102
4	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1.19.785	112
5	N. Rosberg	Williams	1.19.841	65
6	R. Barrichello	Honda	1.19.920	141
7	L. Hamilton	McLaren	1.20.591	102
8	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1.20.715	71
9	M. Webber	Red Bull Racing	1.20.849	87
10	J. Trulli	Toyota	1.20.867	90

More Woes For Aguri As They Can’t Attend Barca Test

Super Aguri still look in some trouble as they cannot attend the forthcoming 3 day tests at Barcelona because of issues with the deal with Magma Group.

Aguri didn’t attend a lot of preseason testing, and their 2008 car is somewhat off the pace.  They need all of the testing time they can get.

But because the deal with Magma hasnt been signed off yet, they can’t piece everything together and get out to Spain.  The team trucks will have to stay in Leafield while the bosses continue their negotiations with Magma’s bosses.

“The final agreement is not yet finished with the Magma Group, but hopefully it will happen very soon, and then we can press the button to start development.” Aguri driver Takuma Sato said 

“So the next time I will drive will be in Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.” 

McLaren’s On Top In Barcelona

McLaren were once again fastest on the second day of the final testing week in Barcelona.

Lewis Hamilton ledt team mate Heikki Kovalainen ahead of the Ferrari’s for a second day.

Hamilton set a fastest lap time of 1.21.234, Kovalainen just 2 tenths slower.

Felipe Massa was in 3rd place for Ferrari and was around half a second off the pace of the fastest McLaren.

Nico Rosberg continued Williams’ good form and dropped his Williams into 4th place.

That pushed world champion Kimi Raikkonen down into 5th position.

A suprised entry to 6th place was Force India #1 Giancarlo Fisichella.  The Italian Renault reject seemingly getting to grips with the Ferrari powered beast, their 2008 car.  Liuzzi managed to get his Force India up to 10th in the standings.

Jenson Button proved some of the new Honda parts were working, and finally showed progress getting his RA108 into 9th position.  Rubens Barrichello was a little slower and down in 15th place.  Not great, but at least they are not last.

Sebastian Vettel made 10th position, as he drove the Red Bull Racing 4, deputising from Toro Rosso to the works team as Coulthard is injured.

Fernando Alonso had a dismal day, and finished down in 13th position.

In last place was Timo Glock in the Toyota, the Japanese outfit look like they have been left behind by the rest of the field including the privateers.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	L. Hamilton	McLaren	01:21.234	81
2	H. Kovalainen	McLaren	01:21.434	68
3	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	01:21.722	72
4	N. Rosberg	Williams	01:22.309	75
5	F. Massa	Ferrari	01:22.513	102
6	G. Fisichella	Force India F1	01:22.516	102
7	S. Vettel	Red Bull	01:22.588	109
8	R. Kubica	BMW	01:22.625	94
9	J. Button	Honda	01:22.659	67
10	V. Liuzzi	Force India F1	01:22.942	89
11	K. Nakajima	Williams	01:22.977	100
12	J. Trulli	Toyota	01:23.023	98
13	F. Alonso	Renault	01:23.112	77
14	R. Barrichello	Honda	01:23.169	74
15	N. Heidfeld	BMW	01:23.284	77
16	S. Bourdais	Scuderia Toro Rosso	01:23.323	98
17	M. Webber	Red Bull	01:23.458	58
18	N. Piquet jr.	Renault	01:23.467	45
19	T. Glock	Toyota	01:23.561	80