Team reaction from Wednesday Jerez testing

Given the changeable damp conditions today at Jerez, the relative test times mean little, but it was still an encouraging day for Mercedes as Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets for the Brackley-based squad. For others, it was also significant as they gained valuable test mileage with the new cars...

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg began the test for the Mercedes team. With rain showers predicted throughout the test, the first downpour arrived after only an hour of running this morning and the conditions remained wet throughout the day. Rosberg had time to complete a couple of short runs in the dry before the rain arrived and the test programme was changed accordingly.

Using the wet and intermediate tyres, Rosberg gave the MGP W01 car its first run-out in wet conditions, completing 57 laps over the day. His fastest time of 1:20.927s which was top of the timesheets was set in the dry this morning. Michael Schumacher will take over at the wheel tomorrow.

Nico Rosberg: "The car felt very good today. Compared to Valencia where I was sitting too low which affected my visibility and the set-up wasn’t perfect, today I felt really comfortable and I could push so it was an enjoyable day and a good start to the test for me. Our objective here is to learn as much as possible, put miles on the car and engine to check the reliability and to make progress on our set-up work. The rain is a little frustrating but the car feels good to drive and that’s what’s important."

Toro Rosso Ferrari

As predicted, rain was a constant factor, falling in varying degrees throughout the day, apart from the first half hour or so. Buemi’s best time of the day was set in that dry period and after this, the STR5 had its first taste of running in the wet, so that the day proved to be an effective test of the Intermediates and Extreme wets.

Switching between the two types of tyre, the Swiss driver also evaluated mechanical set-up suited to the wet conditions, as well as carrying out some launch simulations. The car ran reliably all day and the Toro Rosso day ended slightly ahead of the final chequered flag as the entire wet running programme had been completed for the day.

Ferrari

The second test session prior to the start of the season got underway today at Jerez. The session was affected by adverse weather: the track was only completely dry for the first half hour. Then, shortly before 10.00, the rain came and did not stop.

Alonso worked mainly on overall reliability of the F10 and on the performance of the two types of tyre available for these wet conditions. He covered a total of 88 laps, the [fourth] quickest in a time of 1.22.895. Testing continues at this circuit tomorrow, with Alonso again on track.

Fernando Alonso: "The work was influenced by the bad weather, but nevertheless we managed to drive many kilometres and almost did 90 laps. So we’re satisfied, because we could collect lots of data, which is important for the reliability. We hope that the weather is better tomorrow, because it’s important to drive on a dry track, too. The car went very well on the wet track though and it’s easy to drive. The feeling is good, just like on the dry. All in all I had some positive sensations today.”

Sauber Ferrari

Sauber today started its second test of the season in Spain. The venue is the circuit in Jerez, which is faster and more demanding than the Valencia track. However, today’s test was hampered by drizzle and rain after the first hour of running in the morning. Kamui Kobayashi was at the wheel of the C29.

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, head of track engineering: “Sadly the weather conditions were not as we would have liked. Because of this we had to skip some mechanical and aero testing. Most of the time Kamui was running on intermediates. We did some set-up work, system checks and start practice.”

McLaren Mercedes

Today was the first day of testing at Jerez for Jenson Button. The dry start to the day permitted aerodynamic measurements of the car to be taken as planned. This included short runs with instrumentation on the car to gauge flow structures. From mid-morning onwards, the weather turned and drizzle prompted the team to switch to alternative programmes for running in the wet. This opportunity afforded Button time to acclimatise to the MP4-25 in terms of engine mapping, gearbox mapping and general set-up.

Into the afternoon, the team were able to engage in brake material development for Button. Various types of brake materials were tested, allowing him to determine which he preferred in extreme weather conditions. Variable rainfall that continued throughout the day also permitted the team to run the MP4-25 on intermediate to full wet tyres.

Force India Mercedes

The VJM03 made its official testing debut today at Jerez with Tonio Liuzzi on driving duties and, despite the mainly wet conditions, covered more than 300km in a largely trouble-free run. The programme today focussed on system familiarisation in the morning and then balance runs in the afternoon. The team was able to finish the plan and create a solid platform for the rest of the test. Liuzzi will continue in the VJM03 tomorrow.

Tonio Liuzzi: "Today was definitely a good beginning to our testing programme. It was mainly about getting comfortable in the car, running through the systems. We did more than 70 laps and the car was reliable with no big issues, which is a very good starting point. Unfortunately we did just three laps in the dry in the morning before it started to rain. We are however pretty happy with how the day ended and now are looking forward to tomorrow where hopefully the weather will be better."

Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: “We are pleased to have completed just over 300km today in what turned out to be mostly wet conditions. The work consisted of general characterisation of the new car’s systems. Tomorrow we will continue this process and start to find out more about the balance and the 2010 tyres. It’s really good to be back at the track and to see the team working together again in earnest for the first time in 2010."

Renault

A dry start to the day lasted for just over half an hour when heavy rain showers hit the circuit. The track remained damp throughout the day and Vitaly completed some wet weather running in the afternoon.

Vitaly Petrov: “The weather was really poor today with lots of rain so we did limited running. I usually enjoy driving in the wet but it was annoying to lose so my much track time to the weather. Hopefully we will have better conditions later in the week.”

Alan Permane, chief engineer: “The bad weather meant it was a frustrating day for us as we only managed to complete one dry run this morning on scrubbed tyres. We then spent some time doing systems checks in the garage and discovered a small problem with the brake system, which we managed to fix by the end of the day. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Robert [Kubica] will be in the car and fortunately the weather forecast looks a lot better.”

Red Bull Renault

Following its unveiling in the pit lane at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit this morning, the RB6 completed its first day of testing today. Despite continuous rain from around 10.00 onwards, the team made good progress in the morning as it began working through the new car system checks. However, an oil leak late morning led to a precautionary engine change for the RB6 in the afternoon, which lost the team some valuable track time.

Ian Morgan, head of race engineering: “It was great to finally see the car in action after a long winter with no testing. Everything ran very smoothly this morning and the build of the car was very structured. It’s frustrating that a problem with a simple component late morning forced an engine change later in the day, as it cost us quite a lot of time. However, the most disappointing thing today was the weather – it’s good to have a test in the wet, but it’s not ideal when it’s your first. We’re hoping for better conditions tomorrow when we will continue working through the new car system checks.”

Virgin Cosworth

Virgin Racing are up and running in Jerez. The team and car arrived here yesterday, followed closely by some brand new parts which have been developed from last week’s initial shakedown data. To maximise the benefit of these new parts, the team pushed on through the night and into the morning to ensure that the car was fully updated for today. Unfortunately, the downtime meant that the one hour of early dry-running was missed.

Timo Glock eventually took to a wet circuit at 13.10 local time for his opening lap and the team limited his running to a further two very short runs to ensure the car is ready for a full day of testing tomorrow. Lucas waited patiently in the wings, keeping a close eye on the data and a close ear on the radio feedback. He will take over the reins of the VR-01 on Friday for his own two-day programme.

Timo Glock: “It’s great to be back in the car and to have the chance to open it up a bit around a few full laps of the track. It’s early days but I’m encouraged by what I’ve experienced so far and in particular the fact that we haven’t had any reliability issues on the first day of our first proper test."

Nick Wirth, technical director: “We’ve completed some short installation runs today without any car-related issues. A few new parts arrived here quite late yesterday and so the only option was for everyone to work through the night.

"Sadly, that meant we missed the dry-window, and we are not at a point where it is worth risking the car in wet running. As a result, we’ve kept things sensible and worked through the job list to prepare the car for tomorrow. Timo’s early feedback has been as it was at Silverstone and so we all look forward to a solid day of running tomorrow. It’s ironic that the weather was better on Friday in Silverstone than it has been for most of today.”