Team reaction after day four in Jerez tests

Heikki Kovalainen: "The combination of a number of small issues throughout the day and different weather conditions than the last three days meant we had a bit of a disrupted day but we did manage to take another step forward with the setup options and that lap at the end proves there is good pace in the car. We spent quite a lot of time looking at how to find the best balance settings with the tyres and it looks like we keep moving forward in that area. It’s a little unfortunate that we had a stop / start day but this is what testing is about. We have a few days now to work on ironing out the issues and look to Barcelona to start working on long runs so I leave Jerez in a positive frame of mind and am already looking to get back in the car next week."

Dieter Grass, Sporting Director: "Firstly I think we’re all pleased to see Heikki put in such a good lap at the end of the day in tricky weather conditions. Both he and Jarno have performed really well over the last few days and I want to thank them for their efforts. Today was affected by a few issues on the car and the obvious change in the weather but the team has worked extremely hard over the whole test to give both Jarno and Heikki a chance to show what the car can do and our thanks go to them and everyone back in the factory for working so hard. Even with these problems the car does look quick and we have a very good platform to work on in Barcelona and at the final test in Bahrain."

The second test of the season, at the Circuito de Velocidad in Jerez, came to a successful conclusion today after four positive days for Marussia Virgin Racing, during which Timo Glock and Jérôme D’Ambrosio got their first taste of the new MVR-02 car.

Jérôme was in the car again today and completed 45 laps. After a good start this morning, the team experienced an engine problem which confined him to the garage for the middle part of the day. The problem was solved and in the afternoon the car was back out on track for a race simulation. The long run was useful in understanding the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres and for putting more mileage on the car. At the same time the team was able to continue testing the new moveable rear wing.

During the course of the last four days in Jerez, the team has completed a total of 216 laps, demonstrating promising reliability straight out of the box with only a few minor issues affecting the programme. The team has collected valuable information and will now turn its attentions to next week’s test in Barcelona, which will provide the opportunity for more meaningful evaluation in readiness for the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain.

Jérôme D’Ambrosio: “My two first days driving the new MVR-02 have been very interesting and useful for me and the team. We are all still getting to know the new car and it was a shame that I couldn’t have more time in the car today. But I am happy with the work we have done here in Jerez and now I can’t wait to get back in the car in Barcelona and continue improving.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We are already half way through the pre-season tests and I’m very pleased with what we have achieved so far. The last four days here in Jerez have been extremely productive. We have been able to recover well from small setbacks and we are making excellent progress as we count down towards the first race. Both Timo and Jérôme have done a fantastic job here and we just have to keep pushing hard now to maintain the momentum in Barcelona next week.”

Nick Wirth, Technical Director: “Overall, I am delighted with this positive first test for the MVR-02. Many of the systems that caused us problems last year have performed faultlessly and we’ve learned a lot. The team has gathered lots of basic aero data, pressures and loads, and conducted tests with the blown diffuser and moving rear wing and the data correlates well with our aero predictions. As with every new car, the test has revealed a number of small issues which we’ll address quickly, but the main thing is that the basic package seems reliable, which was our first priority. We’re still missing some parts, which has limited our basic set-up and a bit of performance, but we’ll have these for Barcelona. The car is a good step forward from last year, which is what we wanted.”

This four day test, the second of four before the opening race of the season, came to an end today. So did the good weather, with clouds, wind and a quick rain shower when there were just a few minutes remaining, replacing the warm sunshine which characterised the first three days. Sebastien was again in the cockpit today. In the morning the focus was on aero evaluation and general set-up work, as well as running the Super Soft Pirelli tyres for the first time this week. In the afternoon, the main aim was to look at reliability with Sebastien doing a couple of very long runs in race configuration. When rain came with 15 minutes remaining, the Swiss driver also managed a short run on Intermediate rain tyres.

Sebastien Buemi: “We got through the entire programme we had planned for today, so I have to congratulate the team for ensuring the car worked all day. I did 90 laps today and more than that yesterday, so we can be quite pleased. I had my first taste of Super Soft and Intermediate rain tyres just at the end, which is better than nothing, as I don’t suppose we are likely to get much rain between now and the first race. Therefore, I am satisfied with the past two days, even if we know there is a long way to go in terms of developing the car. Reliability improved throughout the test and since Valencia, so we must continue working in this direction while also beginning to think more about performance.”

Laurent Mekies, Chief Engineer: “Overall, this was a good test for us, during which we completed a respectable number of laps and learned a lot about the new car in terms of reliability and performance. We have to keep improving now, working on getting all the potential out of the car, which is the most important target over the next few weeks. Hopefully we can achieve even more in next week’s test in Barcelona.”

“Today we had to stop early because of a power train related problem, but still we have covered a reasonable mileage. We started in the morning with runs of about eight laps each on the hard Pirelli tyre compound to test mechanical set-up options. After 11am we did one single run on super soft tyres, and then worked again on the car’s set-up on harder tyres. After lunch we did long runs with medium and hard tyres, the longest distance being 18 laps. Kamui also had an off today and got stuck in gravel, but without damaging the car. Because we had to finish early we had no running in the wet at the end. Overall we had very good track conditions in Jerez and did a lot of tyre evaluation, worked on systems and set-up. While it was also good for Kamui to work with the new systems, it was even more important and a really positive experience for the team to do some proper work with our new driver, Sergio, here in Jerez. More mileage in total would have been appreciated, but there are more tests to come.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “For me these two days have been very interesting. Although we lost track time today, we still covered some good mileage and I have learnt a lot more about the character of the new tyres. We still have to work hard but to me it was a positive test.”

What comes next: The driver line-up for next week’s test in Barcelona is as follows: 18th/19th Kamui Kobayashi, 20th/21th Sergio Pérez.

Red Bull Racing completed the final day of the Jerez test today, with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel of the RB7. Temperatures were a little cooler than during the previous test days with overcast skies and some rain towards the end of the session.
Continuing its evaluation of the new Pirelli tyres, the team completed some longer runs during the day to test their durability, as well as looking at the best car set-up to suit them. The team also tested some aerodynamic components and development suspension parts.

Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering: “It’s been a pretty solid test overall.
We’ve got some good mileage and the car has been reliable. Our main focus during the test has been on understanding the tyres and how to get the best from them and I think we’ve made some good progress with that.”

The next test session starts in Barcelona on Friday, 18 February 2011.

A frustrating day of running, with windy conditions compromising our data gathering programme and affecting efforts to find a satisfactory set-up for the MP4-26.

Jenson was unable to find a suitable balance with the car, and the team’s progress was brought to an early end in the middle of the afternoon following the failure of an internal component.

Ferrari

Fourth and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari and ten other Formula 1 teams all working at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain.

Once again today, Fernando Alonso was at the wheel of the F150th Italia. The Spanish driver worked on a comparison of various set-up options to suit the Pirelli tyres. Today, as over the past days, the car was able to run pretty much constantly: once again there were over 100 laps completed (115 to be precise) with a best time of 1.21.074. It was not until the very last minutes of the day that a rain shower hit the track, which meant the wet weather tyres could be used for the very first time.

With this second test session over, preparations for the start of the 2011 World Championship resume on Friday 18 February at the Catalunya circuit, on the outskirts of Barcelona. The first to take to the track for Scuderia Ferrari will be Fernando Alonso, running on the opening two days, with Felipe Massa taking over for the final two.

Paul di Resta brought the debut test of the Force India F1 Team’s VJM04 to a close at the Circuito de Jerez today. The 24-year-old Scot, who makes his F1 race debut in Bahrain next month, worked constructively through a programme designed to gather further set-up and tyre data to determine the direction for the second VJM04 test in Barcelona later this week. During the installation laps the team also made preliminary checks on the new drag reduction system, or moveable rear wing, before its full introduction at the next test.

On course with the test plan, Paul put in a further 400km to bring the car’s total mileage so far to more than 1,100km, although the day’s running ended earlier than expected when Paul suffered a front left suspension failure on his planned penultimate run of the day.

The team will be back in action from 18 - 21 February at the Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona. Paul will be out on days one and two, with Adrian Sutil taking over on days three and four.

Paul di Resta: Another productive day with a lot more miles on the car. At the moment that’s what it’s all about - giving ourselves a clear direction and getting as much data as we can on the performance of the new car on different fuel loads. We’re not going for times, rather fine-tuning the balance and set-up, plus getting to grips with a few development items we will use at the next test, including the DRS [drag reduction system]. Towards the end of the day we found a good path for the next test and have something positive to build on next week. Unfortunately we couldn’t do our final run of the day when something broke on the front of the car and I skidded into the gravel. It was a shame and the team will look at it now, but until that point we were improving with each run.

Dominic Harlow, circuit engineering director: Today’s objective was increasing the mileage on the VJM04 by carrying out some race run simulations. The weather was slightly blustery and so performance running was difficult, and we also ran through a variety of systems tests as well as using the DRS wing for the first time, which appears to be working well. The session was cut short with a mechanical failure. Fortunately the car finished up in the gravel without too much damage, but obviously we will make sure we understand the problem and implement a fix as soon as possible.

Nico Rosberg was on duty in Jerez today for the fourth and final day to conclude the team’s second pre-season test.

Nico’s programme was to continue the set-up and development work from the previous three days, alongside further acclimatisation to the KERS system. A precautionary engine change interrupted the programme with good work from the team enabling Nico to go back out on track by mid-afternoon for a series of aerodynamic development evaluations. Nico completed 45 laps today.

The next track action will be the four-day test which starts at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Friday 18 February.

Nico Rosberg: “Every lap is beneficial in pre-season testing and the work that we achieved today was good, however the long stoppage was unfortunate. It’s a steep learning curve and there is a lot of hard work ahead, but with the developments that we have to come, I am confident that we will continue to progress.”

Ross Brawn: “The four days in Jerez have proved to be extremely useful for the team, although the test has not been without its challenges. We had good reliability for the middle two days which allowed us to accumulate a lot of mileage, however there are issues to be resolved so that we can maximise our track time for the remaining two tests. Both Michael and Nico continue to feel comfortable in the car and our priorities remain on reliability, developing our understanding of the tyres and the KERS, whilst simultaneously pushing on with the developments still to come.”

Williams Cosworth

Sam Michael, Technical Director: "Nothing was going to stop us from doing over 100 laps today! After limited running up to now, we concentrated on setup and long runs. Rubens was trying various things to learn about the Pirelli tyres - some worked, some didn’t. Now we’ve also gathered some data on the Pirelli wet tyre after a small shower at the end of the session. At the next test we will also have KERS back on the car as we ran without it today.

"We did suffer from a hydraulic leak during the middle of the day but overall, it’s encouraging that we’ve had no major fundamental failures on the car – especially considering how tight the package is. All of the faults that have been causing our downtime in the recent days are small things that systems will quickly put right."

Rubens Barrichello: "We completed some long runs today and looked at trying some different things on the car. This morning was also the first time we could run a few new sets of tyres and get some momentum. The car performed as it should do so I am happy with that. The day went with minor problems, but we have some good direction and it is great to get some more mileage on the car."

Williams will be back on track later this week from 18 – 21 February at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona. Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado will both be on track on day one of the test.

Lotus Renault GP

Bruno Senna enjoyed his first experience of the R31 today as the team gave the Brazilian mileage on the final day of testing in Jerez.

The R31 featured a new specification of gearbox cooler, which the team evaluated with no major concerns. It was a day of firsts for Bruno, who tried Pirelli tyres, KERS and the adjustable rear wing for the first time. Incidentally, it was only his second ever F1 test session.

Bruno Senna: “It was an awesome day - my first chance to drive the R31 and I’m pleased with how things went. It was very much a learning day for me. I had never used the adjustable wing or the KERS before, so I had to adapt to these. It’s not easy at first, because there is a big workload and you are operating two factors that change the balance of the car, but by the end of the day it became more like second nature. I started the day pretty relaxed; gradually built up my confidence, and then by lunchtime I was feeling pretty comfortable with things. I was looking forward to doing some hard laps at the end of the day, but with the red flags and the weather, there wasn’t enough time.”

Alan Permane: "Bruno took a sensible approach to the day, slowly building up his pace and giving good feedback to the team, and showing good speed on new tyres at the end of the morning. The planned programme was similar to Nick’s yesterday – some set-up work, new tyre runs and long runs in the afternoon. Unfortunately the afternoon was disrupted with red flags so we didn’t complete the long runs. We also continued with aero mapping, which has been one of the main priorities of the week, along with the tyre evaluation."