Jerez, Day 3

A very quiet morning so far here in Jerez. The session is currently red flagged after Rubens Barrichelo came off the track in his Williams.
It has been threatening to rain heavily all morning, but so far we have only had a few light sprinkles. This has however made the track quite slippy as it’s nowhere near warm enough to evaporate (12.8c track temperature).
We are unlikely to see the Virgin Racing VR-01 until mid afteroon as they are still waiting for the parts needed to fix the front wing to arrive from the UK, with the flight due to land at 1pm.
The highlight of the morning, apart from the coffee and danish in the Red Bull energy Station was the power going off briefly in parts of the media centre, oh and Alguersuari doing a glory lap in his Torro Rosso.

Jerez day 2

Day 2 of the F1 test in Jerez and unlike yesterday the sun is out. The track is drying even though sunrise was only 42 minutes ago. So we should see lots of running today to make up for the lost time yesterday. One of the biggest differences between here and Valencia last week is the numbers of people. The media centre in Valencia was almost full with almost 150 members of the press. Here there are barely 50. The crowds are also much smaller, barely 2000 compared to Valencias 100 thousand plus.

Anyway the cars have been fired up, so i’d better go and see what’s happening and take some photos.

The rain in Spain….

_65B0476, originally uploaded by f1photos.org.

obviously falls mainly in Jerez on day 1 of the second testing week. With just over an hour to go the running order is: Rosberg, Buemi, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Kobayashi, Button, Liuzzi, Petrov, Webber and Glock.

Bridgestone Motorsport Jerez Test Summary

Motor sport’s finest up and coming drivers sampled Bridgestone’s Potenza Formula One tyres in the final group test of 2009 at the Jerez racing circuit in southern Spain on December 1-3.
All four compounds of 2009 specification dry tyres were available and used at the test. Twenty drivers drove 2602 laps over the course of the three days for the nine attending teams. Bridgestone’s intermediate and wet tyres were also used.
Bridgestone’s Potenza Formula One tyres are next scheduled to be used at a group test at the beginning of February next year at Valencia, Spain where the 2010 specification tyres will be in use.

Q&A with Jun Matsuzaki – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport:

What was learnt from this test? “This was an interesting test as we had many different drivers, most of whom had little or no experience of Formula One cars. The teams all had different programmes, and all four 2009 dry compounds were available to them. There was a lot of running with heavy cars to simulate the heavier fuel loads of next season so we gained useful data from this.”
How was the feedback from the young drivers? “It was good to see so many young drivers here at the same test, and there were more experienced F1 test drivers in action too, so we had a good benchmark. We could see some of these names again in the future and our current F1 drivers will always need to keep looking over their shoulders because of these youngsters.”
What will be the changes to the tyres for the next test? “Our 2010 tyres are designed for the requirements of the heavier fuel loads in next year’s cars and also for the potential different pit stop strategies we could see without refuelling. The construction is more durable, and the compounds have also been modified. A narrower front tyre will also be introduced to adjust the basic balance of the cars. As tyre characteristics will be changed due to the modifications, we are now working very hard with all teams to enhance their understanding of this. We are very looking forward to seeing how quickly the teams maximise tyre performance within the new regulations of 2010.”

Jerez new driver test – Day 3

		Driver	team	car	time	gap	laps
1.		D. Ricciardo	Red Bull	RB5	1:17.418		77	pit
2.		P. di Resta	Force India	VJM-02	1:18.736	+1.318	53	pit
3.		G. Paffett	McLaren	MP4-24	1:18.746	+1.328	59	pit
4.		M. Conway	Brawn GP	BGP001	1:19.096	+1.678	77	pit
5.		N. Hülkenberg	Williams	FW31	1:19.226	+1.808	106	pit
6.		B. Baguette	BMW Sauber	F1.09	1:19.356	+1.938	70	pit
7.		O. Turvey	McLaren	MP4-24	1:19.358	+1.940	32	pit
8.		M. Ericsson	Brawn GP	BGP001	1:19.382	+1.964	49	pit
9.		L. Di Grassi	Renault	R29	1:19.602	+2.184	123	pit
10.		J. Hildebrand	Force India	VJM-02	1:19.873	+2.455	41	pit
11.		P. Sánchez López	Ferrari	F60	1:21.147	+3.729	39	pit
12.		D. Zampieri	Ferrari	F60	1:21.279	+3.861	42	pit
13.		M. Zipoli	Ferrari	F60	1:21.725	+4.307	41	pit
14.		B. Hartley	Toro Rosso	STR4	1:22.493	+5.075	50	pit
15.		M. Bortolotti	Toro Rosso	STR4	1:23.271	+5.853	34	pit
16.		H. Tung	Renault	R29	1:32.477	+15.059	4	pit

Jerez new driver test – Day 2 timing

		driver	team	car	time	gap	#
1.		G. Paffett	McLaren	MP4-24	1:18.718		80	pit
2.		N. Hülkenberg	Williams	FW31	1:19.184	+0.466	94	pit
3.		D. Ricciardo	Red Bull	RB5	1:19.243	+0.525	93	pit
4.		P. di Resta	Force India	VJM-02	1:19.411	+0.693	58	pit
5.		E. Gutierrez	BMW Sauber	F1.09	1:20.190	+1.472	68	pit
6.		M. Conway	Brawn GP	BGP001	1:20.222	+1.504	83	pit
7.		M. Ericsson	Brawn GP	BGP001	1:20.440	+1.722	37	pit
8.		J. Hildebrand	Force India	VJM-02	1:20.517	+1.799	50	pit
9.		J. Bianchi	Ferrari	F60	1:20.585	+1.867	113	pit
10.		L. Di Grassi	Renault	R29	1:20.898	+2.180	55	pit
11.		H. Tung	Renault	R29	1:21.492	+2.774	67	pit
12.		M. Bortolotti	Toro Rosso	STR4	1:21.761	+3.043	69	pit

Young Drivers test – day 2 – BMW

Day two – Wednesday

Weather conditions: dry in the morning, some light drizzle in the afternoon

Temperature Air: 13 – 19 °C, Track: 13 – 22 °C

Number of drivers participating: 12 from 9 teams

Fastest lap overall: Gary Paffett (McLaren Mercedes) 1:18.718 min

Circuit length: 4.428 km

Esteban Gutierrez (MX)

Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-07 / BMW 86/9

Test kilometres today: 301 (68 laps)

Fastest lap: 1:20.190 min

Programme:

To ensure a fair comparison, the BMW Sauber F1 Team today started with the same programme for Esteban Gutierrez as it did yesterday with Alexander Rossi. In the morning Esteban familiarized himself with the car and the track. After the lunch break the team made set-up changes for Esteban to evaluate. The focus was on mechanical set-up changes and the engineers were very happy with the feedback from the 18-year-old driver from Mexico. Due to some light drizzle the afternoon’s programme had to be adapted several times, but the track conditions never allowed intermediates or wet tyres to be run as it remained far too dry. The team also stuck to its rule not to send out one of the youngsters with an extra-low fuel load. Unfortunately Esteban had to stop an hour early because of a hydraulic leak.

Esteban Gutierrez said: “It was a very positive day for me. The main idea was to live that experience, to enjoy the day and to learn. This very high professional level means you have to be very calm and use your intelligence. Due to the hydraulic problem in the afternoon I was unable to make use of two more sets of fresh tyres, but on the other hand I had five sets, which of course is more than I ever had before on one day! I really thank the team for this much appreciated opportunity. I learned a lot for the day when I can hopefully jump into a Formula One car again. In the end, with the grip level getting higher, my neck was a bit stiff and it was good to evaluate my own physical condition. The extra training I did paid off.”

What comes next:

Thursday will be the third and final day of Formula One’s joint junior tests. After two youngsters from Formula BMW have been at the wheel of the BMW Sauber F1.09 for the third day, it is the turn of crowned Formula Renault 3.5 series champion Bertrand Baguette from Belgium. As a reward for his 2009 success (5 wins) he already had his first taste of Formula One on Tuesday in Jerez, where he was driving for the Renault F1 Team. Bertrand Baguette was born on 23 February 1986 in Verviers (BE).

Renault F1 Team begins young driver test in Jerez

The Renault F1 Team returned to action this week for the first of three days of young driver testing in Jerez in the south of Spain. Belgian driver, Bertrand Baguette, began the team’s programme with a full day in the car as his prize for winning the World Series by Renault 3.5 category earlier this season.

The programme today focussed mainly on evaluating Bertrand, but the team also tried some new development items in preparation for 2010. The 23-year-old covered 105 laps behind the wheel of the R29 as he completed a trouble-free first day in an F1 car.

For tomorrow morning young Chinese driver, Ho-Pin Tung, will take over driving duties before handing the R29 over to the team’s third driver, Lucas di Grassi, for the afternoon.

Bertrand Baguette: “This was my first time in an F1 car and I really enjoyed it. There’s a huge difference between the F1 car and a World Series car, especially the efficiency of the brakes, which is incredible, and the speed you can carry through the quick corners. Also, it’s a completely different world and I’ve been getting used to working with five or six engineers instead of just one. We started the day with a long run so that I could get used to the car and then we started the technical programme as I worked on improving the set-up of the car. It was an amazing experience for me and I hope to do this again in the future.”

Alan Permane, Chief Race Engineer: “It was a good day for Bertrand and he quickly got used to the car and the systems. To begin with we spent a bit of time adjusting the set-up to make him more comfortable in the car, but he suffered a bit with understeer throughout the day. However, he was very focussed, sensible and didn’t make any mistakes as he steadily improved his lap times. He reacted well to the changes we made to the car and worked well with the engineers by giving good feedback. Overall it has been a positive day for us and of course for Bertrand who had his first experience of driving an F1 car.”

BMW Sauber F1 Team – Young Driver Day – Day 1

Weather conditions: sunny and dry
Temperature Air: 4 – 19 °C, Track: 8 – 25 °C
Number of drivers participating: 12 from 9 teams
Fastest lap overall: Andy Soucek (Williams) 1:19.158 min
Circuit length: 4.428 km

Alexander Rossi (US)
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-07 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 363 (82 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:20.227 min

Programme:

Alexander Rossi and the BMW Sauber F1 Team both enjoyed a smooth test day in Jerez with ideal track conditions. In the morning the 18-year-old from Nevada City, California (USA), focused on familiarising himself with the track and the car. After each stint the driver and engineers exchanged information and talked about their respective impressions. In the afternoon the team made several changes to the car’s set-up – both aero and mechanical – in order to give Alexander the opportunity to evaluate the changes and get a better feeling for the car. The team was very happy with Alexander’s feedback and how he coped physically with driving an Formula One car. Also the team decided not to send him out with an extra low fuel load.

Alexander Rossi said: “I very much enjoyed this day. It is impressive what the car does, how predictable and precise its reactions are, and how high the overall grip level is. But I have to admit I am also a little bit disappointed because being a racing driver you always want to be the fastest! I think in the afternoon we didn’t manage to find the perfect balance. Physically I have to say it was as demanding as I expected it would be. The power steering is a great help compared to GP2, but the g forces obviously are higher.”

What comes next: Tomorrow, Wednesday, it will be 18 year old Mexican Esteban Gutierrez who will be enjoying his first taste of driving a Formula One car.

Jerez new driver test – Day 1 timing

		Driver	team	car	time	gap	#	status
1.		A. Soucek	Williams	FW31	1:19.168		87	pit
2.		P. di Resta	Force India	VJM-02	1:19.369	+0.201	46	pit
3.		G. Paffett	McLaren	MP4-24	1:19.426	+0.258	54	pit
4.		D. Ricciardo	Red Bull	RB5	1:19.534	+0.366	113	pit
5.		J. Bianchi	Ferrari	F60	1:19.626	+0.458	91	pit
6.		M. Conway	Brawn GP	BGP001	1:19.920	+0.752	58	pit
7.		A. Rossi	BMW Sauber	F1.09	1:20.227	+1.059	82	pit
8.		M. Ericsson	Brawn GP	BGP001	1:20.333	+1.165	50	pit
9.		B. Baguette	Renault	R29	1:20.511	+1.343	105	pit
10.		J. Hildebrand	Force India	VJM-02	1:20.537	+1.369	49	pit
11.		O. Turvey	McLaren	MP4-24	1:20.856	+1.688	27	pit
12.		B. Hartley	Toro Rosso	STR4	1:21.325	+2.157	69	pit