2010 Winter Testing

[Roland Ehnström]

Well, with so limited testing they can't afford to spend a full day and 70-100 laps just for systems checks... Baseline setup, yes, but a good car will be easier to set up and will be pretty fast right out of the box.

Last year we saw already on day one that Renault and McLaren were struggeling. Brawn also showed their pace on their very first test-day of 2009.

Yes there are very many unknown factors, but today Kubica was almost 2.5 seconds slower than Massa on a 72-second lap. That's a lot...

[Pandamasque]

groved tyres?

[mx_tifoso]

Too many grooves, so intermediates for basic installation laps.

Here's a slower shot.

[Belatti]

The testing day ended with a track temperatur of 22°C compared to 30°C during the noon session. So Schumacher put half a second on Rosberg in worse conditions. He also had to cope with a red flag. Well done Michael!!

And based on what is that worse condition?

[jddh1]

The testing day ended with a track temperatur of 22°C compared to 30°C during the noon session. So Schumacher put half a second on Rosberg in worse conditions. He also had to cope with a red flag. Well done Michael!!

And based on what is that worse condition?

I assume he means it's worse because the track temperature is lower, so possibly less grip. However, I would say that there would be more grip in the afternoon because the surface is not "green" anymore with some rubber being laid on earlier during the day. Following that logic, I would expect the test times to be even lower by the week's end when there would be even more rubber on the track (unless it rains, but it's Valencia, so doubtful.)

[WhiteBlue]

The testing day ended with a track temperatur of 22°C compared to 30°C during the noon session. So Schumacher put half a second on Rosberg in worse conditions. He also had to cope with a red flag. Well done Michael!!

And based on what is that worse condition?

I assume he means it's worse because the track temperature is lower, so possibly less grip. However, I would say that there would be more grip in the afternoon because the surface is not "green" anymore with some rubber being laid on earlier during the day. Following that logic, I would expect the test times to be even lower by the week's end when there would be even more rubber on the track (unless it rains, but it's Valencia, so doubtful.)

Nico set his fastest time around 2:30 p.m. He had the car from 11:30 a.m. I was figuring that the majority of laps were already done when he stopped. So the rubber was already layed and the laps done in the late afternoon would not profit from much more rubber on track. Track temperature is vital for the cold winter tests. Air was between 11-13°C most of the time while the track temp went up to 31 in the noon sun. My impression was that the track was at its best between 2 and 4 p.m. and went worse as the sun went down. This is supported by the fast times I saw by other teams, but hey we can't be totally scientific about it. In practical terms almost 0.6 s is hard to explain by less rubber on a warmer track. The comments I have seen in the press are all saying the same. Rubens even told Rosberg to get the hell out of Mercedes.

[nipo]

The comments I have seen in the press are all saying the same. Rubens even told Rosberg to get the hell out of Mercedes.

Where do you get that? Sounds like funny news! Mind posting links?

[mx_tifoso]

Q. Is there any advice you can give Nico Rosberg as Michael's team-mate?
RB: Yeah. Get out of there! That is the only thing I can tell him. He needs to drive fast and don't crash: Ross will always tell you that before the race.

Q. So he has a difficult job ahead of him?
RB: I think so, yes. He is a great talent and I wish him all the best, and maybe tomorrow you will see the newspapers saying, 'Rubens tells Nico to get out of there', but I am not being bad about it. Knowing what I know, and seeing how fast Michael went today, it is going to be a tough job. I wish him all the best because I think he is a talented boy who can be world champion. If he has the chances of being world champion in the same team as Michael, then he can be world champion anywhere. Let's put it this way.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81192

[Mr Alcatraz]

The comments I have seen in the press are all saying the same. Rubens even told Rosberg to get the hell out of Mercedes.

Rubens is one cold blooded piece of work

[nipo]

Thanks mx_tifosi for posting. Reading the complete script, I can't tell if he's joking or serious. I understand his statements about if Nico can fight for the WDC with Schumi as teammate, then he can win everywhere. But I can't figure out how that links to the "get out of there" statement, so maybe he's just kidding.

About Renault, I think they are just running heavy fuel for break tests, based on what their race engineer said. That is maybe why Kubica's lap times didn't improve while everybody else did, I guess. That being said, to not set more competitive lap times despite the large number of laps might mean that Renault is not among the top.

For the rest, I suppose Williams might run another uncompetitive season judging from Ruben's comments. Ferrari seems to be on the right track according to Felipe. Sauber, choosing to only mention reliability instead of their #2 spot on the timesheets, could be running low fuel in an attempt to find some stickers to put on their ultra-ugly car. Can't assess any other teams... Anyway bring on Day 2!!!

[FGD]

Q. Is there any advice you can give Nico Rosberg as Michael's team-mate?
RB: Yeah. Get out of there! That is the only thing I can tell him. He needs to drive fast and don't crash: Ross will always tell you that before the race.

Q. So he has a difficult job ahead of him?
RB: I think so, yes. He is a great talent and I wish him all the best, and maybe tomorrow you will see the newspapers saying, 'Rubens tells Nico to get out of there', but I am not being bad about it. Knowing what I know, and seeing how fast Michael went today, it is going to be a tough job. I wish him all the best because I think he is a talented boy who can be world champion. If he has the chances of being world champion in the same team as Michael, then he can be world champion anywhere. Let's put it this way.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81192

I think you can take this one way or another. RB is echoing what many of Schumacher's former teammates have said in the past.

[mx_tifoso]

Thanks mx_tifosi for posting. Reading the complete script, I can't tell if he's joking or serious. I understand his statements about if Nico can fight for the WDC with Schumi as teammate, then he can win everywhere. But I can't figure out how that links to the "get out of there" statement, so maybe he's just kidding.

You're welcome,

I too think it was meant in a humorous way although the "get out of there" part might be an honest view of what he thinks about Rosberg; that he won't be able to handle Schumacher and will easily get beaten. That's what most people think as well to be honest.

The "great talent" part was just to cover up what he had just said, IMO.

Sauber, choosing to only mention reliability instead of their #2 spot on the timesheets, could be running low fuel in an attempt to find some stickers to put on their ultra-ugly car.

IMO being completely reliable and in the top five is better than being in the same place and unreliable. So they're definitely focused on completing races and maintaining their good record as when they had BMW on board. And as you said, they might have been running light and know that everyone else is aware of that so there's no point in bragging about it to the public.

Didn't Heidfeld break some records for race completions or something similar?

An example of my point is Ferrari in the last few seasons; reliability and little mishaps have robbed them of many many points and ultimately at least one position in the CC.

[dedge]

Hi everybody!
Do somebody know a place where we can find ALL the times of the testing days?
I mean, not only the best lap, but every lap the pilots have made?
Thanks!

[raceman]

not a single news from today's test or a picture

what happened?? excitement lost..... [-X

[Clubber]

Yeah, 2010 is so last year already. I'm looking forward to 2011 now