Kimi Raikkonen sets pace on final day at Jerez

Lotus topped the Jerez timesheets for the second time this week as Kimi Räikkönen claimed top spot on the last day of the first pre-season test.

Team-mate Romain Grosjean went quickest on day two of the four-day programme and not to be outdone Räikkönen claimed Friday’s quickest time with a lap of 1:18.148. Yesterday Felipe Massa had set the day’s best time during a short run on soft tyres and it was a similar tale for Räikkönen as he tested the limits of the E21 in the afternoon.

“We’re at the top of the timing monitors, but that means nothing in testing,” said Räikkönen. ”Our focus has been testing parts on the car, but I’ve been able to get the set-up more to my liking. For sure there’s more work to be done in this area, but that’s what we’re here for. The car feels strong and we seem to have a good idea of where we’re going with improvements.”

The Finn’s lap meant that Jules Bianchi, the Ferrari academy driver and Force India reserve bidding for the still vacant second seat at the Silverstone team, was narrowly pipped for first place. The Frenchman had run quickest in the morning and his time of 1:18.175, set just after the track re-opened following a stoppage for repairs, was good enough for second place.

“It’s clearly an improvement over last year’s car,” said Bianchi. “I spent most of the time on the medium tyres, but I got a chance to run the softs as well and they offered a lot of grip so I enjoyed that. It was also nice to do some long runs, so I’ve felt the car on heavy fuel, which is good for my experience. I’m pleased the team asked me to help out this week and I’m happy with how things went.”

Sebastian Vettel completed his running for Red Bull Racing with 96 laps in the RB9 and the day’s third-fastest time of 1:18.565.

"I think for the whole team it’s been quite a good test," said Vettel, who completed 198 laps over the course of two days at Jerez. "No problems in terms of reliability and we did a lot of laps, so I’m quite pleased with the results. I feel a bit better than last year. I think we had some issues with reliability then, so it seems we have done our homework well.

Looking ahead to the teams’ next test, at Circuit de Catalunya later this month, Vettel said the performance picture should become clearer at the Barcelona track.

"I think the Barcelona test will maybe reveal a bit more, but just because people are running more and teams will play around a bit more there," he added. "However, as I’ve said before, we just focus on what we do. In Barcelona we’ll learn more about ourselves and maybe a little bit about our rivals. It should be interesting."

Sauber’s new recruit Esteban Gutierrez was again in action today and set the fourth-best time with a lap of 1:18.669, just ahead of Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne, who moved up the order thanks to some lower fuel short runs on the soft tyre. Those laps put him ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who clocked the day’s biggest lap total, with 145, the Mercedes W04 running without problem for a second day after early-week technical problems.

Ferrari’s new development driver Pedro de la Rosa made his debut for the team today. A gearbox problem sidelined the Spaniard for part of the day but he logged 50 laps to finish the day in ninth position behind Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and seventh-placed Sergio Pérez. Behind de la Rosa were Charles Pic, Luiz Razia and Paul Di Resta.

Caterham Renault

Charles Pic: "A good day and 109 laps today is a good way to finish the first test. The track was colder this morning than the first three days so it was tricky getting the tyres to work, but we completed all the programs we’d set for the day and we have some very useful information to work on, and some interesting options to look at for the next test.

"One key part of this test was to work on getting the most out of KERS and we’ve definitely made good progress on that. There’s still more to come from that, especially maximising its performance under braking, but I’m really happy with what we’ve worked through and can’t wait to get back in the car in Barcelona."

Force India Mercedes

Sahara Force India completed its fourth and final day of testing in Jerez as Jules Bianchi shared driving duties with Paul Di Resta.

Jules Bianchi: “My first experience of the new car was very positive and it’s clearly an improvement over last year’s car. I spent most of the time on the medium tyres, but I got a chance to run the softs as well and they offered a lot of grip so I enjoyed that. It was also nice to do some long runs, so I’ve felt the car on heavy fuel, which is good for my experience. I’m pleased the team asked me to help out this week and I’m happy with how things went today.”

Paul Di Resta: “Overall it’s been a positive test. We’ve worked our way through the programme set by the factory, done some aero mapping, explored the set-up and gathered lots of data. We covered a lot of laps and I’m feeling comfortable with the car. The main challenge at the moment is learning about the tyres, but we have lots of information to help us move in the right direction before the Barcelona test.”

Jakob Andreasen, Chief Race Engineer: “We leave Jerez feeling pretty satisfied with the work we have completed and what we have learned about the VJM06. We’ve completed a lot of aero mapping and carried out a big tyre evaluation programme, so reviewing all that data will be our focus in the build-up to the Barcelona test. It’s good that we have a ten-day break because that should give us enough time to evaluate our performance and really understand where we stand. As always, the trackside guys have worked incredibly hard this week, supported by the factory, and that has allowed us to maximise the time on track with the new car.”

Toro Rosso Ferrari

The first of the three pre-season test sessions came to an end in southern Spain today, with Jean-Eric Vergne completing his second day at the wheel of the STR8. Scuderia Toro Rosso and the other ten Formula 1 teams will be back on track for a further four days of testing, this time at the Catalunya circuit, on the outskirts of Barcelona, starting on Tuesday 19 February.

Jean-Eric Vergne: “We have made progress throughout the four days and in terms of pure mechanical understanding of the car, we’ve made a significant step forward compared to last year and, specifically today, we got through all our planned work programme. I am much more confident about the new car than I was before the test and it gives me a good feeling from behind the wheel. One of the aims of the design team was to give us drivers a car with a broader operating range in terms of set-up options and I can already say they have succeeded in that point. There is still a lot to do, so I’m looking forward to my next session in Barcelona.”

Franz Tost: “We can be satisfied with these first four days of testing. The car showed reasonable potential and reliability was not too bad, which meant we completed a respectable number of laps, first with Daniel and then with Jean-Eric. In contrast to this test last year, when they were rookies, both of them knew what to do and what to expect. However, the two of them had to get used to working with new race engineers and that part of the test also progressed well. There is absolutely no point in talking about car performance at this stage. The most important task we face now is to analyse everything we have done over the past four days in Jerez, so as to decide what our priorities will be in Barcelona in eleven days’ time, when we start the second test session.”

Sauber Ferrari

Today, the Sauber F1 Team completed the four day test in Jerez de la Frontera with Esteban Gutiérrez at the wheel of the C32. It was another very successful day with 142 laps completed. Esteban tested brakes and had time to familiarise himself with the different tyre compounds. In total drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez completed 430 laps (1904 kilometers) over four days in the new Sauber C32-Ferrari that proved to be extremely reliable right from the beginning. The team is very happy with what it has achieved so far and is looking forward to the test in Barcelona.

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering: "Another very productive day with 142 laps for Esteban. In the morning we concentrated on set-up work and tyre testing, so that was able to become familiar with all compounds. In the afternoon he did long-runs with pit stops so the team could work on procedures, allowing Esteban to have experience of how the tyres degrade during the long runs. He did an excellent job during the two days. As a team we can be very happy with the four day test. We had a lot of test items to work on which, with excellent car reliability, we were able to get through. Both drivers are giving very good feedback, and are integrating very well with their engineers. For us as a team it was a very encouraging first test. We have a lot of valid data as a basis to make further progress, and we are all looking forward to the next test in Barcelona."

Esteban Gutiérrez: "It was a very positive day, because we managed to do a lot of laps. We did some new tyre runs at mid-day, and then we did some long runs with high fuel in the afternoon, which gave me the chance to try the car in all different circumstances. It was very interesting for me, because I was able to feel very different things, and I learnt how to adapt my driving style to different situations. It was great to do this at a test, because now I have time to analyse it all and then go to Barcelona on a stronger basis. I’m really happy how things went.“

This was the final day of testing in Jerez. The next test will take place on 19th February in Barcelona with Esteban Gutiérrez at the wheel of the Sauber C32 on days one and four, and Nico Hülkenberg on duty on days two and three.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton completed the final day of the first winter test in Jerez, Spain for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS today. After running on his first day in the car was limited to just 15 laps, Lewis today completed a total of 145 laps as he familiarised himself with the new F1 W04.

— Lewis’ running this morning concentrated on set-up changes as he familiarised himself with the car
— Following a delay to repair the track surface at Turn 5, Lewis focused on completing a race distance
— This was successfully completed during the afternoon with further valuable miles put on the new car
— Lewis and Nico completed a combined total of 1426 km over the four days of testing in Jerez

MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS will resume testing on Tuesday 19 February in Barcelona.

Lewis Hamilton: Today we managed the kind of mileage that the car is capable of and I think we have a good platform to start working from. Now we need to understand the F1 W04 even more: personally, I am learning something with every lap I do and every change I make to the set-up. Overall, I think we are probably at the level we would have hoped to be. The team has done a great job to add downforce to the car over the winter and they now need Nico and me to tell them where we can improve and the direction we need to go. Everybody has been incredibly supportive and I am really building a good bond with the team; they feel energised, ready to go and everybody is working flat out to move us forward.

Ross Brawn: After a difficult first half of the test, the last two days have really been as good as we could have hoped for. Nico is probably best placed to compare between last year’s car and the new W04 and he seems pretty enthusiastic, but it is hard to have any reliable feeling of where we stand relative to the competition. Lewis had a very constructive day today as he settled in to the car; he has been very straightforward in telling us what he thinks, is interested in everything about the car and has a very good eye for detail. Overall, the step we have to make from where we were at the end of last year is substantial and it is also, of course, a moving target. But looking at the team as a whole, I can see very encouraging signs of progress.

Ferrari

Fourth and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, in southern Spain, with Pedro De la Rosa making his first official track appearance for the team at the wheel of the F138.

After work on getting him comfortable in the car was completed, Pedro then began driving on what would be a day of contrasting fortunes: on only his second installation lap, the Spaniard had to stop the car with a technical problem on the gearbox. The team then worked for the rest of the morning to put it right. The afternoon however was more productive, especially as the end of testing was put back by half an hour to make up for time lost when the track itself required some maintenance work. Pedro was thus able to complete his programme, which had been revised as a result of the long stop in the garage and which focused mainly on testing various aerodynamic configurations.

The total number of laps completed was 51, with a best time of 1.20.316. Pre-season testing will resume at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, from 19 to 22 February.

Williams Renault

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director: We have had a very good four days in Jerez running the FW34. We have gone through a complete programme testing various parts that will be used on the FW35. This compliments our current philosophy of using rigs to pass off systems before running them on the car. The drivers have enjoyed themselves running through tyre comparisons and set-up changes that you would be reluctant to do at a race meeting due to time constraints. Although these results have been a little compromised by the very aggressive nature of the track surface here, we have acquired some useful data to carry forward. We now look forward to the next test in Barcelona and the launch of the FW35.

Valtteri Bottas: It’s been a good four days of testing for us and I’ve really enjoyed the last two days in particular when I’ve been driving the car. We have achieved everything we planned this week without any issues, and I’ve really liked how the new technical team have been working. We collected some valuable data regarding some parts for the new car and now I’m excited to go to Barcelona to drive the FW35 for the first time.

The Williams F1 Team will present its 2013 car, the Williams Renault FW35, on Tuesday 19 February at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona in Spain.

Lotus Renault

Kimi Räikkönen completed his second day at the wheel of the E21 by setting the fastest time to conclude an encouraging week for Lotus F1 Team at the first pre-season test in Jerez.

The Finn ran through a continued programme of aerodynamic assessments as the fine Jerez weather continued. Proceedings today were interrupted by red flag periods including a lengthy pause for track run-off repairs, meaning track running concluded 30 minutes later than billed.

The team returns to Enstone. Testing resumes in Barcelona on February 19.

Kimi Räikkönen: “We continued our work from yesterday and made some good progress. We’re at the top of the timing monitors, but that means nothing in testing. Our focus has been testing parts on the car, but I’ve been able to get the set-up more to my liking. For sure there’s more work to be done in this area, but that’s what we’re here for. The car feels strong and we seem to have a good idea of where we’re going with improvements. Let’s see what happens in Barcelona.”

James Allison, Technical Director: “After the orgy of work at the factory to prepare the car over the winter months it is always a welcome relief once the testing campaign finally kicks off; not because the pressure backs off, but because we get a chance - finally - to see what we have been working on. It is tremendously exciting for the whole team, but very nerve wracking as well. We desperately want the performance to be good, but we are all aware of the thousands of potential traps in bringing a complex car to the track for the first time. We have had a good first test. The car seems competitive, and while there is always a background hubbub of problems to be solved, we are delighted with the basic reliability of the E21. With Jerez now behind us, our thoughts have already turned to Barcelona in ten days’ time. There is a mountain of work ahead, but we are looking forward to our next opportunity to run the car.”

Red Bull Renault

Sebastian Vettel today closed out the first pre-season test in Jerez with another 96 laps and 425km in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing RB9. He left the circuit saying that the new car’s good reliability across the four-day programme had been the key to a successful week.

Sebastian Vettel: “I think for the whole team it’s been quite a good test. No problems in terms of reliability and we did a lot of laps, so I’m quite pleased with the results. I feel a bit better than last year. I think we had some issues with reliability then, so it seems we have done our homework well.

“Regarding the stoppage today, I don’t know why the track started to break up but I guess everyone is on the limit here, running wide, using the maximum amount of track and the kerbs and unfortunately it started to break up. But the circuit did a very good job over lunch to get everything sorted and gave us an extra half hour at the end, so no real problem.

“Looking ahead, I think the Barcelona test will maybe reveal a bit more, but just because people are running more and teams will play around a bit more there. So if you keep your eyes open you might spot some stuff. However, as I’ve said before, we just focus on what we do. In Barcelona we’ll learn more about ourselves and maybe a little bit about our rivals. It should be interesting.”

Race Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum said: “Our final day here in Jerez has again been a good one, even if there were a few interruptions. Obviously we had the stoppage for the track repair and then late in the day we ended our work early when we had a small problem with one of the test items we were evaluating. Nothing serious but after that we felt that it was a good time to bring the shutters down on the week’s work. On the whole we’ve had a very good first test. I think both drivers would say they’re happy. We put another 425km on the car today, which means we’ve logged a total of 1,652km this week, which is very satisfying. Next week we’ll pour through all the data, learn from it and then head to Barcelona for the second test.”

McLaren Mercedes

Sergio returned to the cockpit for his second day of testing, putting a useful 434km under his belt as he continued to acquaint himself with his new team and car.

Following a similar pattern to the past three days, the day began with some aero correlation work, conducted over a number of shorter runs, before the team turned its attention to mechanical set-up work.

As yesterday, the afternoon was spent carrying out a series of longer runs – with live pitstops – to more fully understand the set-up changes.

Our first test with MP4-28 has been extremely productive: despite a few reliability issues on the opening days, running has largely been trouble-free. Jenson has expressed his initial confidence with the new car, and Checo has played himself in quickly, completing nearly 800km in his first week. He already feels comfortable behind the wheel of a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

The Jerez test was a good baseline for the rest of our winter work.

Marussia Cosworth

Today was the fourth and final day of the opening pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez, where Luiz Razia brought the Marussia F1 Team programme to a close with his second outing in the new MR02.

Further race distance mileage was the order of the day, during which the Team would also gather essential aero test and tyre data to feed back into the development cycle.

The programme was not without its frustrations as the Team got to grips with some areas for development then, testament to the fact that anything can happen in pre-season testing, the progress of the whole field was interrupted when a hole surfaced out on track at mid-day and the Circuit needed to effect some hasty repairs.

Once the Team were able to get up and running again, Luiz completed the race distance before heading into performance evaluation work. Although he was posting improved lap times, his runs were somewhat stilted which prevented him gathering any real momentum.

Luiz Razia: “It is unfortunate that we didn’t get the smooth day of running we hoped for, but we have to be happy to have completed most of our programme with the MR02 this week. Testing is the place to work through our problems, so we don’t have to find them during the season, and resolving these is in itself good progress. I got the chance to do some of the planned performance work later on, but I didn’t get a clear shot at it so I don’t feel like I ended the day where I could have been in terms of lap time. What is good is that there is a lot of potential and we can see this very clearly. I’m very excited about the next two tests and I expect to see us making good steps forward. For now, I will reflect on a busy but exciting first week as a Formula 1 driver and what I myself can do to keep developing. I would like to thank the Team for welcoming me back so enthusiastically and I am happy that we have established a good working relationship already. All good things from here, I’m sure.”

John Booth, Team Principal, Marussia F1 Team: “We leave Jerez today feeling very encouraged with the understanding we have achieved of the MR02 and the progress we have made gathering data to feed back into the development cycle. The week has not been without its frustrations, but that’s all part and parcel of pre-season testing and we are naturally keen to find any issues with the package early so we can iron them out for the next two tests and the season. In the free air we have achieved out on track, we have taken great encouragement from the baseline performance of the car and the obvious potential for development as the season progresses.

“We’ve had a very busy week with our new drivers, bringing them further into the fold - particularly Luiz, who hasn’t had the benefit of driving our 2012 package. Both he and Max have performed very well and even at this early stage we can see that we are in for an exciting season as they reveal even more of their own potential. Importantly, they are working well ‘together’ which will be key to extracting the maximum from team and car this season.

“Perhaps the most satisfying thing about this week’s test is the fact that we are in completely different shape to how we were this time last year. Heading into Australia we had just 100kms of mileage to our name, whereas we leave Jerez tonight having achieved almost 1000kms of running and a good deal of data for the engineers to pore over next week. All in all, a very good start for us and our partners Cosworth and Williams Advanced Engineering.”