Q&A with Kimi Räikkönen - I will try to do as well as I can

“Everybody Wants to Race”

Poles, podiums, wins, a World Title; Kimi Räikkönen has been there, and done it all in Formula 1. Now he’s back for more, and hungrier than ever

What are your objectives on your return to Formula 1 with Lotus F1 Team?

I will try to do as well as I can and see where we end up. For the first race in Australia we want to have a good weekend without any major issues or mistakes. I don’t know where we’re going to be on the grid – nobody knows. If you look at the lap times from testing everybody is very close to each other. We don’t know what everyone was doing with fuel load and that makes a massive difference. We’ll have some idea after practice in Melbourne, then after qualifying everyone will know exactly where we are.

How do you feel with the team now you have been working with them in testing?

I feel very happy with the team. We’re still learning things, but everything is going smoothly and there are no problems at all, so it’s a good position to start the season.

Testing was interrupted, and you’re making a return after two seasons away. How prepared do you feel?

You always wish you had more days to prepare but it’s the situation we have and you just have to deal with it. In the first week in Jerez we had pretty good running and no major reliability issues with the car – which is a good thing. We only had one problem at the second test in Barcelona – and we fixed that and it won’t be an issue again. Now we just have to get everything at a level where we are happy and make sure I press the right buttons at the right times. Maybe a few more days would have done no harm but I’m very confident that we’ll get it right when the time comes.

Is there a lot to learn with a new team, new regulations and a new car?

It’s still racing and more is the same as before than has changed. With the DRS and the KERS they are just buttons to press. In testing, sometimes you press it too late or too early but it’s not going to change an awful lot. Pit stops are a bit shorter than before but nothing really different; you stop the car and then you go.

Do you have any idea where you hope to be on the grid in Australia?

We might be last and we might be first – let’s see when we get there.

What do you think of your teammate Romain Grosjean?

He’s a nice guy. I didn’t know him before, we’d raced against each other a few times but never really spoken. He’s a bit younger than me, but also for him it’s a long time since he raced in Formula 1 so we’ll see. I think he’ll be good and I’m fine with working with him.

How much are you looking forward to racing in Formula 1 again?

Everybody wants to race. If you ask the test drivers: they want to race. Racing is the thing that people like. I don’t think that anyone will tell you that testing is more fun than racing. Of course I think that racing has changed a bit since I was last in it with the overtaking, but it’s not a completely different sport. It will be exciting and whoever gets the best out of the tyres will probably be in a strong position.

Do you have personal goals for the season?

No. We’ll see where we are in the first races and go from there. We’ll do the best we can and the best with the car.

You’ve had some good races in Australia – is it good to be starting the year there?

Australia is a nice place even though it’s a long way from Europe. The circuit itself is not the most difficult on the calendar. It was good to score a point on my first time at Albert Park, and the podiums and race win in 2007 obviously made me happy. The circuit hasn’t changed at all so I’m confident I know where it goes…

Do you think Albert Park could suit the E20?

You need a car with good traction and everything from testing says that the E20 has good traction so that will help us. Strong turn-in and stable braking help too, and those areas also feel good with the car so we are well placed. The track can be a bit slippery at the beginning of the weekend and the Melbourne weather is not always very warm; the Melbourne weather can definitely be a bit tricky. This will be the first race so I don’t know how we’ll compare to the other teams. My engineers have been running simulations and looking at the test data so we have an idea of how the car should work at Albert Park, but we won’t know for sure until we get out on track. It’s very difficult to say before we’ve been out on track, but I think and hope we’ll be reasonably strong.

Source: Nextgen-Auto

Räikkönen the star number one in winter testing

Kimi Räikkönen started and ended this year's F1 -winter tests the same way. On the first day in Jerez he whipped his Lotus to the top time and in the final testing in Barcelona he coughed out the fastest lap time of the whole testing season.

Usually a car that is fast in Barcelona is also fast everywhere else.

– That's how it has been. This is quite a challenging spot, Räikkönen admitted to Turun Sanomat.

Actually they followed the top teams' race simulations during the final day instead of qualification speed. Even there Lotus kept their ground well.

Räikkönen drove first 12 laps with a soft compound, then 24 laps with a harder and in the end 16 laps with a soft compound.

Out of those who drove the race lenght at the same time, Räikkönen could do better than Ferrar's Fernando Alonso. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was a couple of tenths ahead with softer compounds but with hard compounds Lotus was just as fast.

All and all Räikkönen worked almost two GP-lenghts on Sunday because he made 121 laps.

As ready as ready can be

Lotus had to leave one testing week unused. Hence Räikkönen lost two driving days. All and all he had time to drive 1598 km with the new E20-car or 1694 km if you also add the so called filming day.

How ready are you now for the opening race?

– It doesn't get any better no matter how much I would drive. The car gets new parts and of course we could have tried them out. However I don't believe that it would had changed how ready I am for Australia, Räikkönen thought.

Sunday was a really good day for Lotus and Räikkönen. Although the man was tired after the hard working the catch of the day gave him the best feelings.

Everyone in the Lotus-camp had a big contented smile when they shipped the machinery back home to Enstone and from there to the opening race next week.

– It was an all right day because there was no problems. We got everything in place right from the morning and the car is working just as it is supposed to work.

The mandatory visor-reinforcement that has a bit troubled Räikkönen, fell well in place with court painter Uffe Tägtström's new concept.

Turun Sanomat, Barcelona

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Jerez: Flying start to Kimi's comeback

Kimi Räikkönen's return to Formula One was off to the perfect start at Jerez on Tuesday as the Finn posted the fastest lap time of the morning

Behind the wheel of his new Lotus E20 - just one of nine brand new cars in action on the first day of pre-season testing - the 32-year-old clocked a 1:19.670.

It was an impressive start to his comeback as not once during the session did Räikkönen relinquish the P1 slot,

Paul di Resta, who was putting Force India's new VJM05 through its paces, was next in line, 0.102s behind Räikkönen while Nico Rosberg, who was driving a modified version of last year's W02, was third.

Exciting Toro Rosso prospect Daniel Ricciardo was fourth quickest, edging out Mark Webber and Kamui Kobayashi.

Webber, though, had a slow start to his morning as the Aussie only ventured out late as Red Bull had to wait for components to arrive. He managed just eight laps with a best time of 1:21.474.

Jenson Button, the only one riving a new car that did not feature a stepped nose design, finished ahead of Felipe Massa. Button, though, reportedly had a few problems with the floor of his MP4-27 overheating.

Meanwhile, Ferrari were happy with Massa's first few hours as he put in the laps in his flo-painted F2012, finishing just over three seconds adrift of Räikkönen's best.

"The first part of today's job has been completed without any issue on the car," the Italian stable Tweeted.

"Felipe completed a total of 51 laps, the quickest in 1.22.815."

Heikki Kovalainen and Pastor Maldonado also debuted their teams' new cars while Pedro de la Rosa completed the timesheets in last year's HRT.

Unofficial Times
1. Räikkönen 1:19.670 50 laps
2 Di Resta 1:19.772 52
3 Rosberg 1:20.219 56
4 Ricciardo 1:20.694 40
5 Webber 1:21.474 8
6 Kobayashi 1:22.112 29
7 Button 1:22.366 22
8 Massa 1:22.815 51
9 Kovalainen 1:23.178 23
10 Maldonado 1:23.371 16
11 De la Rosa 1:24.209 32

Source: Planet-F1

Testing gets underway in Barcelona

The fourth round of pre-season testing kicked off at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Tuesday morning

Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams and Hispania have all opted to start their testing program on Wednesday, meaning that the focus on day one will be primarily on Red Bull and McLaren.

The first session of testing will run from 08:00 GMT to 12:00 GMT while the afternoon running will take place between 13:00 GMT and 16:00 GMT.

Tuesday's line-up:

Red Bull: Mark Webber
McLaren: Jenson Button
Renault: Nick Heidfeld
Force India: Nico Hülkenberg (morning) and Paul di Resta (afternoon)
Toro Rosso:Sébastien Buemi
Team Lotus: Davide Valsecchi & Luiz Razia (morning), Jarno Trulli (afternoon)
Virgin: Jérôme d'Ambrosio

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel refuses to be drawn on Bull's pace

Sebastian Vettel believes it's "almost impossible" to know where Red Bull stand in the pecking order based on pre-season testing times

After a dominant display last season, which saw Vettel claim the Drivers' title and Red Bull the Constructors' crown, the German and his team are the ones to beat this season. That, though, has not been evident based on a surface look at the pre-season timesheets.

In seven days of testing, Red Bull have set the pace only once and that was on the very first day of testing at Valencia.

Since then, the Milton Keynes-based team has seemingly dropped down the order with Vettel finishing the final day at Jerez in eighth place, 2.390s off the pace.

However, the German isn't fazed, insisting that little can be deduced from the lap times as the teams are running different programmes with different tyres and fuel loads.

"It is almost impossible to know where we stand," he told the official F1 website. "Especially during the day it is almost impossible to learn what programme and what tyres everybody is on so we definitely focus on ourselves.

"In the evening, when the running is over, for sure you look for information from the other teams, but hardly at all during the time when the session is on."

The first two pre-season outings have given the drivers a taste of this year's regulations, which include KERS, moveable rear wings and the new Pirelli tyres.

The Red Bull driver admits it's a bit of an adjustment as the drivers have more to do than ever before.

"It's rather easy to get used to them, but of course this year you are busier than in the previous years and you have to evaluate where and when you use them.

"With degrading tyres the car's behaviour changes, so you have to understand when it's best to use the wing because it doesn't make sense to use it automatically always at the same spot."

Source: Planet-F1

McLaren releases its testing programme

It doesn’t matter how busy you are over the winter, finishing off the new car – without the scream of race engines in the distance it can feel like you’re standing still.

Like all the other Formula 1 teams, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been working flat out since returning from Abu Dhabi back in November. The team has a wealth of new challenges to think about for 2011: new technical regulations, a new tyre supplier and even a new circuit on the calendar.

On track, the silence is about to be broken.

It’s time to validate all the research and planning as McLaren is getting ready to go racing. The four test sessions ahead are vital to the preparations for the 2011 F1 season. The first task is to learn as much as it can about the new Pirelli tyre family using a car McLaren already know plenty about: last year’s MP4-25.

Armed with that knowledge, after the launch of the MP4-26 on February 4, McLaren will start testing the new car at Jerez.

McLaren’s 2011 test programme (with relevant drivers) in full:

VALENCIA (tyre test using MP4-25 chassis)
Feb 1 Gary Paffett
Feb 2 Lewis Hamilton
Feb 3 Jenson Button

JEREZ (first scheduled run for MP4-26)
Feb 10 Lewis Hamilton
Feb 11 Jenson Button
Feb 12 Lewis Hamilton
Feb 13 Jenson Button

BARCELONA
Feb 18-19 Jenson Button
Feb 20-21 Lewis Hamilton

BAHRAIN
Mar 3 Jenson Button
Mar 4 Lewis Hamilton
Mar 5 Jenson Button
Mar 6 Lewis Hamilton

Source: Nextgen

The 2011 Pre-Season Schedule

Although many are counting down to the season-opening Bahrain GP in March, there's plenty going on in the world of F1 before we hit the desert

The 2011 launches kick off on January 28th as Ferrari take the covers off their new challenger in Italy.

The Scuderia will be closely followed by their rivals, the majority of whom will be unveiling their cars on the first day of pre-season testing.

That test starts on February 1st at Valencia in Spain and is the first of four pre-season tests.

Here are the dates for your calendar.

Launch Dates
28 Jan - Ferrari (Maranello, Italy)
31 Jan - Renault (Valencia, Spain)
31 Jan - Sauber (Valencia, Spain)
01 Feb - Mercedes GP (Valencia, Spain)
01 Feb - Red Bull (Valencia, Spain)
01 Feb - Williams (Valencia, Spain)
01 Feb - Toro Rosso (Valencia, Spain)
01 Feb - Team Lotus (Valencia, Spain)
04 Feb - McLaren (Berlin, Germany)
10 Feb - Force India (Jerez, Spain)

Testing Dates
01 Feb - Valencia, Spain
02 Feb - Valencia, Spain
03 Feb - Valencia, Spain
10 Feb - Jerez, Spain
11 Feb - Jerez, Spain
12 Feb - Jerez, Spain
13 Feb - Jerez, Spain
18 Feb - Barcelona, Spain
19 Feb - Barcelona, Spain
20 Feb - Barcelona, Spain
21 Feb - Barcelona, Spain
03 Mar - Bahrain International, Bahrain
04 Mar - Bahrain International, Bahrain
05 Mar - Bahrain International, Bahrain
06 Mar - Bahrain International, Bahrain

Source: Planet-F1

Massa: Pre-season F1 Champion means nothing

Ferrari star Felipe Massa has played down suggestions that the Scuderia is the benchmark approaching the F1 2010 curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir in just under a fortnight's time - insisting that the title of pre-season champion 'means nothing'


Felipe Massa has brushed off suggestions that Ferrari is the benchmark heading into the 2010 F1 World Championship in just under a fortnight's time – insisting that the Scuderia 'never expects' to enter any campaign with an advantage, and stressing that there is no glory in being the champion of pre-season testing.

Many drivers have opined that the F10 is the car to beat off the back of test sessions at Valencia, Jerez de la Frontera and Barcelona over the past month, with both Massa and double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso leading the way on occasion, and generally looking to have the most consistently competitive machine underneath them over short and long runs alike. The Spaniard has even gone so far as to describe his new scarlet contender as 'the best car he's ever had'.

However, whilst acknowledging that preparations have thus far gone according to plan, Massa – set to return to racing action in the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir in mid-March, having been absent from the starting grid since his life-threatening Hungaroring qualifying accident last July – is adamant that neither he nor Ferrari will be taking anything for granted under the desert sun.

“We did what we had planned to do at the beginning of the month of testing,” the Brazilian affirmed. “We're very happy with the work done at all the tests. We wanted a competitive car, and I think we've achieved our goal. We've reached a good level of reliability, which is very important, and the car is consistent – and that is what we want to start the season.

“It's difficult to say who has worked best. [On the final day of testing] the timesheet said [Lewis] Hamilton, but we're all very close together – it's just tenths of a second. I am very satisfied with the car, [both] when we simulated qualifying and when we drove with lots of fuel on-board.

“We never really expect to have an advantage. We never expect to come to the first race and come to the front and win in an easy way, definitely not – but we expect to have a competitive car, and I think we have. It looks like it will be a tough and competitive championship, as I expected, but we are not here to be the champions of the pre-season. We are here to work on the car and fight for the championship.

“I think we're part of the group who did well in these tests – something you could see on the last day of testing, when many simulated qualifying. I don't agree at all with those who say we're the strongest; I would not say we are the best, but I think we're there in the middle of the competitive teams. We are there fighting. I can't say that we're going to Bahrain to win, but I know we'll fight for it.

“We had several aerodynamic updates [in Barcelona], which improved the car's performance. We now have to continue working in this direction. It's important to be ahead at the end of the year, not now. The same thing is true regarding the car; I have been lucky to be able to drive several very strong Ferrari single-seaters, and if the F10 is the best I've ever driven I'll only know after the race in Abu Dhabi!”

One remaining variable is just how the Bridgestone tyres will perform in the heat of Bahrain and Malaysia – two of the opening three grands prix of the forthcoming campaign – following unusually cold and wet conditions for the majority of testing. It is very much, Massa admits, a journey into the unknown.

“The situation might be a little bit different,” the 28-year-old agreed, “but during these sessions we got a good idea of how the tyres are working this year. Maybe a couple of times it was a little too cold for a certain type of tyre, but we could still collect much useful information, which will help us during the championship.

“Their behaviour will also influence the strategies; if there is lots of wear, maybe there will be more stops, but we'll see that race-by-race. This year, because the fuel aspect has been liberalised, the pit-stops will be even more unpredictable and will influence the results much more.”

Source: Crash.net

Photos from final day in Barcelona

...added to our album!

Check them out in our gallery here

Lotus confident with car for season start

Heikki Kovalainen completed another 65 laps in the warm temperatures at Barcelona. After some developmental mechanical and weight balance changes, the team were happy to see yet more improvement in the car’s reliability and pace.

Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne remarked "It was a game of two halves as they say; we had a good morning where we were able to complete all our plans but a problem with the programme change on the gearbox delayed us in the afternoon, which meant we weren't able to do as much running as we wanted. Overall, however, the test has been extremely productive - in general we've had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.

"Considering the length of time we've had to work on the project it's a fantastic effort from the whole team. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard over the two tests and we now have to work on the pace of the car and improve that, but it's been a tremendous effort from the whole team and I'm very proud of them."

The test has confirmed Lotus Racing’s belief that they have a reliable car, ready for its debut in Bahrain. Consistency and completion of races are the key goals for the first few Grand Prix, until further aero developments - scheduled for the Barcelona GP - allow the team to begin to flex their muscles and really utilise their experience and talents in the season ahead.

Source: F1 Technical

More photos from testing in Barcelona

added to our album...

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Photos from Days 1-2 in Barcelona...

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Slippery when wet...

So, every year we trip off down to the sunniest place in Europe to launch and test our cars ahead of the season...

Except this year it hasn’t been quite so simple. It’s rained. Like rained so hard the roads are closed, cars have been left drowning by the side of the road and the police have had to resort to using boats to control the traffic (and this is all true).

Thursday night saw the worst rain in the region since the great Spanish floods of 1642 and the night-shift mechanics had to stay on in the morning to cook breakfast for the team after the catering crew were left stranded in Jerez.

But as our head of race engineering said, every time we turn a wheel we seem to be progressing, and Seb topped the timesheets on Wednesday.

Away from testing, both the drivers have been busy in front of the camera recently – Seb with a hiking trip up a famous volcano in Italy and Mark doing some promo work for an Aussie milk company. Mark’s website www.markwebber.com is also getting a makever and is all set to go live again on March 1.

We’re running a couple of competitions on the Community site next week to celebrate the start of the Season, so check back on Tuesday to see what’s on offer.

And speaking of the Community, the Best Group Of The Week Award goes to the Christian Horner Appreciation Society: “Blatantly the greatest team principal in the paddock, and not just because he's Red Bull's.” Our sentiments exactly.

Stay in touch and let us know what your thoughts are as we finish in Jerez and move north to Barcelona on Wednesday via the Forums.

Adios as they say down Jerez way,

Your Community Crew

…And did we tell you that we had that Michael Schumacher in the test unit for lunch on Thursday? Very polite chap.

Source: Red Bull Newsletter

Friday photos from Jerez...

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Q & A with Mark Webber @ Jerez

Whilst his Red Bull team mate, Sebastian Vettel, spent Wednesday and Thursday dodging rain showers at Jerez, Mark Webber enjoyed a much drier day of work in the RB6 at the Spanish track on Friday. After setting the session's best time, Webber answered questions from the assembled media…

Q: Mark, how was your running on Friday?
Mark Webber: Every dry lap is pretty important these days, and the weather was much better than expected. It also looks as though it will be half decent on Saturday. It’s a good base to prepare for next week in terms of consistent testing.

Q: Has the test programme changed much over the last few days?
MW: Not really. Seb and I wanted to test pretty similar things, because as a team we have highlighted things we need to test. We both do pretty much the same things for the team. After so many days of rainy conditions, we need more track time to evaluate things.

Q: You haven’t done as many long runs as Ferrari…
MW: We did some, but for sure we would have done at least one more. We will make up for it on Saturday.

Q: What tyres have you been running?
MW: Soft and medium.

Q: Have you benefited from working alongside Vettel?
MW: It was very enjoyable last year. It was a healthy rivalry, and made me very determined and very motivated to do well. If you have someone like him as a team mate you have to be at the top of your game. I had some very good races last year, but qualifying was a little bit more demanding for me, particularly going into Q3. All in all, we have the same relationship now, as we did when we weren’t team mates, and that is a very good sign. It's also thanks to how everything is managed from the top in the team. It is a very healthy team and that in turn helps the drivers have a good relationship.

Q: Have you ever had a bad team mate?
MW: Not really. I have had different ones, but not bad ones.

Q: Do you feel that the Adrian Newey-designed RB6 is another aerodynamic miracle?
MW: Adrian, unfortunately, always moves the bar very high for himself. He is such a genius that, as you can see, many here have copied some of his concepts from last year. Adrian is a very competitive guy, whether on the tennis court or on his drawing board. He is always looking for performance, and luckily for him, he is a big part of the performance of the car. He always seems to know which areas you need to focus on. It is good to have him in your corner.

Q: Do you feel that Red Bull is a step ahead again?
MW: Today was very good. We have to keep an eye on things as we progress through the championship, because in Malaysia we will not be talking about the second test in Jerez. Things change fast.

Q: In comparison to the old car, did the RB6 feel better in the dry?
MW: Obviously, when the car is very heavy with fuel it is a completely different ball game. The tyres are also crucial for us - it is like Roger Federer with his tennis racket. So it is very difficult to compare it with last year’s car. The basics are clearly very good. We still have more to learn and there is still more work to do.

Source: Formula1.com

Rosberg: Difficult and frustrating

Despite coming through the day unscathed, Nico Rosberg wasn't all that excited about Merc's progress at Jerez, mainly because it was difficult to make any.

Taking over from team-mate Michael Schumacher on Thursday, Rosberg had to contend with heavy rain showers and strong winds, which caused havoc to Mercedes GP's planned programme.

The German, who finished fourth on the timesheets, managed 71 laps as the weather and five red flags played their part in disrupting proceedings.

"On the positive side, we achieved some good mileage today despite the conditions and completed a lot of our systems work," said Rosberg.

"It was useful for me to practice pit stops and get into the routine for the races.

"However it has been difficult and frustrating with the weather as we're obviously not able to learn as much as we could with a dry track.

"But that's the same for everyone and we will hope for an improvement over the next two days."

Source: Planet F1

Photos from second week in Jerez added to album...

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Jerez: Vettel takes over as the rain comes down

Sebastian Vettel set the pace at Jerez on Thursday morning as the rain came down and the red flag count came up.

With light rain falling and more forecast throughout the day, the second day of testing got underway in Portugal with Felipe Massa taking control of the timesheets with a 1:28.879.

Moments later, though, the Brazilian was forced back into the pits as Jerez experienced its first stoppage of the day. Virgin's Timo Glock, who had completed 15 laps in the opening 40 minutes, put his VR01 in the gravel, bringing out the red flags as the marshals went about returning his car to the pits.

Once underway again, Sebastian Vettel made a bid for Massa's P1 slot but had to settle for second place while Ferrari revealed that their driver would have an enforced rest in the pits.

"We have a technical issue: the stop will not be short... Nothing serious but it will take time to sort it out," the team reported.

With the rain coming down harder the drivers put in the laps but without making any impact on the timesheets. In fact, it was the rain that made the bigger impact, bringing out the second red flag due to standing water on the track.

The weather was so bad halfway through the morning that Williams reported that they were even having problems completing pit stop practices with Rubens Barrichello.

"The team are trying to do pit stop practice with RB but it's too wet - only two done so far. Keep your fingers crossed for some dry weather!" they announced.

Barrichello also suffered a minor off, which resulted in the third stoppage of the morning. However, the Brazilian was able to get his car back on track and return to the pits.

With the rain finally letting up, the drivers headed back out with Heikki Kovalainen completing his first timed lap as a Lotus driver.

The Finn had been out earlier in the day, putting in three installation laps before his rather smokey T127 forced him to park in the team's garage.

But after almost two hours in the pits, Kovalainen came out again to clock a 1:36.7, improving to a 1:34.932 before heading back into the pits.

Another late starter was Renault's Vitaly Petrov. He set his first time an hour before the midday break and it was a rather slow 1:42.527 for the Russian.

Meanwhile, back at the front, Vettel and Rosberg both launched attacks on the P1 slot with Vettel, who put in the morning's longest run of 25 laps, taking second place before Rosberg took the position from him. The German was just 0.085s off Massa's P1 time.

A few laps Vettel finally did it, taking the P1 slot with a 1:28.746.

But it was soon back to the pits as Kovalainen brought out the fourth red flag of the morning. The Finn lost control of his T12 and went off at Turn 3, putting his Lotus, minus its front wing, in the gravel.


Unofficial Times
1. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing RB6 1:28.746 36 laps
2. F. Massa Ferrari F10 1:28.879 +0.133 15 laps
3. N. Rosberg Mercedes GP W01 1:28.964 +0.218 36 laps
4. P. de la Rosa Sauber C29 1:29.691 +0.945 8 laps
5. P. di Resta Force India VJM-03 1:30.344 +1.598 33 laps
6. R. Barrichello Williams FW32 1:31.489 +2.743 47 laps
7. T. Glock Virgin Racing VR-01 1:31.557 +2.811 31 laps
8. S. Buemi Toro Rosso STR5 1:32.678 +3.932 43 laps
9. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-25 1:32.934 +4.188 27 laps
10. H. Kovalainen Lotus F1 T127 1:33.554 +4.808 26 laps
11. V. Petrov Renault R30 1:35.297 +6.551 12 laps

Source: Planet F1

Jerez: A Brazilian battle as the track dries out

Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa tussled for top honours in the morning session at Jerez, where thankfully track conditions improved to allow for plenty of dry running.

A dull and dreary start to the final day of testing saw the Formula One drivers having to contend with the light drizzle at the start of Saturday's Jerez test.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel set the pace in the opening hour, clocking a 1:27.764, before running into problems. The German brought out the red flag when he car ground to a halt and had to be recovered to the pits on the back of a flatbed truck.

The twenty minute break, though, did provide some good news as the rain finally stopped.

With the track drying out just a bit Lewis Hamilton leapt from the bottom of the timesheets into the P1 slot, clocking a 1:26.833, before that was overhauled by Rubens Barrichello.

The Brazilian continued to pile on the pace, extending his advantage before Ferrari's Felipe Massa nipped ahead of him with a 1:27.645.

With conditions improving, Force India reported that it is "dry in Jerez for now. Adrian says it's on the verge of being dry enough to switch to slick tyres."

And that's exactly what he did a short while later. However, Sutil wasn't the only driver to swap to slicks.

Massa also parted ways with his disintegrating intermediate tyres and went quickest by some margin. The Brazilian brought his time down to a 1:23.976.

"Finally we can run on dry tyres..." Ferrari reported on Twitter. "Already 66 laps completed by Felipe who is currently doing a long run."

Massa's ever-improving pace, which eventually saw him drop to a 1:22.641, had the chasing pack swap over to the slicks with Barrichello the next to lead the way with his 1:22.319.

Robert Kubica moved up to third place behind the battling Brazilian's, however, finished the morning 2.054s off the pace while Vettel was fourth.

Pedro de la Rosa and Jaime Alguersuari were next in line, ahead of Hamilton, who completed just 19 laps during the morning session while Sutil was eighth, as Force India opted for an early lunch during which a "planned exhaust change" took place.

Meanwhile, after a brief run in the first hour, during which he set a 1:29.768 and completed seven laps, Schumacher retreated to his Mercedes GP garage where the German waited for conditions to improve.

There was little sign of the seven-time World Champion over the next three hours as he completed only four additional laps, dropping down the order to finish P9.

"Michael will be out again in the not too distant future with the track now looking much improved as thankfully it has stayed dry," his team said.

The final runner of the day, Lucas di Grassi, didn't complete even a single timed lap as he spent all but five minutes of the morning session in the Virgin garage while the team worked on the car.

And working on the car is something Ferrari will have to do as ten minutes before lunch, the Brazilian brought out the red flags when he stopped out on track.


Unofficial Times
1. R. Barrichello Williams FW32 1:22.319 39 laps
2. F. Massa Ferrari F10 1:22.641 +0.322 95 laps
3. R. Kubica Renault R30 1:24.373 +2.054 23 laps
4. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing RB6 1:24.588 +2.269 52 laps
5. P. de la Rosa Sauber C29 1:25.039 +2.720 52 laps
6. J. Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR5 1:25.756 +3.437 67 laps
7. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-25 1:26.023 +3.704 21 laps
8. A. Sutil Force India VJM-03 1:27.606 +5.287 37 laps
9. M. Schumacher Mercedes GP W01 1:29.768 +7.449 11 laps

Source: Planet F1

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