The testing season starts tomorrow in Jerez!

Finally the 2015 season is starting! Well at least the testing season is. It's still over a month till the first race in Melbourne.

The testing season is important not only for the drivers and teams but us fans as well. This is the time of the year when we will see how fast the new cars are. Usually they give a pretty good picture of it.

Last year I remember that Kevin Magnussen was pretty fast with McLaren in testing and when the first race came he was on the podium (3rd and later 2nd when Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified). Everybody also saw that Mercedes was super fast! The only team that really surprised me was Red Bull because in testing they were just awful and when the season started Daniel Ricciardo was 2nd. Some said that Red Bull would be one of the worst teams.

Some other years the testing season has shown that even though you are fast in testing it doesn't mean anything. I remember that in 2006 Honda was very fast in testing and when the season started Ferrari was the team that had made most progress. McLaren had gotten worse and Renault was pretty much the same but still the team to beat.

This year I believe that Mercedes and Williams will have the best cars and Ferrari will be much better than last year. Some say that even though Fernando Alonso is a great racer he is not good at developing the car. Sebastian Vettel is much better which might bring the team forward. This helps also Kimi Räikkönen who does not only have more experience than Vettel but has also a similar driving style.

The team that interests me the most is still none of these teams. McLaren-Honda is the one I am very interested of. I was a huge Ayrton Senna fan (and still am) and the last time Honda and McLaren were together they were unstoppable.

I am posting the test results here on the blog every day starting tomorrow.

If you want to follow the testing in real time I suggest that you go to www.autosport.com because they usually have a live feed in every test session.

Review of the 2014 season's first tests in Jerez

First of all I would like to say that the 2014 cars were really ugly! I mean take a look at this mess:

The FIA is to blame for all of this. The teams are just trying to get the best possible cars that fit the new regulations. If the cars look like this as their best then what can we do? Just have to get used to it.

The sound was different also. It was not as loud, the pitch is clearly lower and the cars seem to be slower as well. Guess we have to get used to that too.

The drivers didn't seem to like the sound either. Hulkenberg said that it doesn't sound like a Formula One car, it sounds like a DTM car or something like that. Kimi said that he didn't care as long as the car goes forward..

So how did the tests go? Ask that from any Renault team and they will give you the finger. It was a disaster for them.

In the last 10 years a car with a Renault engine has won the championship 6 times! (Alonso 2005-2006 and Vettel 2010-2013). This is so weird that suddenly the best motor is the worst! It will be an interesting season I give you that.

Now it seems that Mercedes is the best motor manufacturer and Ferrari is there somewhere in the middle.

McLaren, Mercedes, Force India and Williams seemed to be flying out there with much less problems. So this doesn't look any better. Now it's just another engine manufacturer that dominates the rest.

I remember saying earlier that Mercedes and Ferrari will be the best teams this year but didn't expect the other Mercedes teams to be this close! The Renaults are far away behind..

I would like to see a season where every team is as equal as possible. It's boring when you almost every time know who is going to win and no double points is helping the situation. It just makes it more weird.

It was nice to see old drivers in different teams such as Massa at Williams, Ricciardo at Red Bull, Perez at Force India and Sutil at Sauber. It was also nice to see Hulkenberg and Räikkönen go back to their old teams (Force India and Ferrari).

I was very glad to see Kobayashi back in a Formula One car as well. He really deserves to be in this series and F1 really needs a character like him. The sad part is that he is driving for Caterham which rarely gets good results.

The new guys Magnussen, Ericsson and Kvyat were all driving like they had been in the Formula One series for years. Kevin Magnussen even set the fastest lap time for the whole tests!

Kevin Magnussen's father Jan was supposed to be the next best thing in F1 but he never really made it. Let's hope young Kevin has a bit more skills than his father. Would really like him to push hard on Jenson Button.

Kevin Magnussen, McLaren

These were the first tests of the year so there isn't really that much to say yet. Let's hope that the teams can work out their problems at the next tests so that we will have a clean fight between all teams at the first GP.

Last but not least the results combined. Here we can clearly see all the times and how many laps they drove:


This week’s official aggregate test times from Jerez:
1. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1m 23.276s, 162 laps
2. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 23.700s, 133 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 23.952s, 121 laps 
4. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 24.165s, 83 laps
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 24.812s, 78 laps 
6. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 25.344s, 42 laps
7. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1m 25.495s, 173 laps 
8. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 25.588s, 188 laps 
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 26.096s, 17 laps 
10. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1m 28.376s, 48 laps 
11. Daniel Juncadella, Force India, 1m 29.457s, 81 laps
12. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1m 29.915s, 45 laps 
13. Adrian Sutil, Sauber, 1m 30.161s, 103 laps 
14. Jules Bianchi, Marussia, 1m 32.222s, 25 laps
15. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1m 33.270s, 60 laps 
16. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham, 1m 37.975s, 12 laps 
17. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1m 38.320s, 11 laps
18. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham, 1m 43.193s, 54 laps
19. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1m 44.016s, 9 laps
20. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 45.374s, 10 laps
21. Robin Frijns, Caterham, No time, 10 laps
22. Max Chilton, Marussia, No time, 5 laps

Total laps run - by team (power unit, where different):
1. Mercedes, 309
2. Ferrari, 251
3. McLaren (Mercedes), 245
4. Williams (Mercedes), 175
5. Sauber (Ferrari), 163
6. Force India (Mercedes), 146
7. Caterham (Renault), 76
8. Toro Rosso (Renault), 54
9. Marussia (Ferrari), 30
10. Red Bull (Renault), 21

Total laps run - by power unit:
1. Mercedes, 875 (4 teams)
2. Ferrari, 444 (3 teams)
3. Renault, 151 (3 teams)

Jerez: Day 4

Williams’ Felipe Massa set the pace at Jerez on Friday, as the opening pre-season test of 2014 drew to an intriguing close.

The Brazilian was one of seven drivers - six of them using Mercedes or Ferrari power - to complete more than 50 laps of the Spanish circuit, but once again all three Renault-powered teams were forced to cut their running short because of technical issues.

Running got underway in wet conditions, but that didn’t deter all of the runners from going out on track. Nico Rosberg quickly worked his way up to a race simulation run (which included three pitstops) in Mercedes’ F1 W05 and by lunchtime the German had accumulated 91 laps. 

The times ramped up in the dry afternoon session, with morning pacesetter Fernando Alonso initially keeping Ferrari at the top of the timesheets. The Spaniard’s time was soon eclipsed by his former team mate, Felipe Massa, who appeared more than comfortable at the wheel of Williams’ Mercedes-powered FW36, improving several times before the chequered flag appeared.

“It wasn't a great day because it was raining, but we completed some laps in the wet conditions which was interesting to understand how the car behaves in wet, with the tyres and new power unit,” Massa explained. 

“We managed to do many more laps today than we have in the last three days which is important. Today we didn't have any issues with the car which I think is also another step forward. We now need to concentrate and prepare with an aim to do more laps per day in Bahrain. 

“Overall, I'm happy with my first days with Williams and I'm pleased with what I have seen in the team this week. For sure it is important to be competitive, but testing is testing, and we now need to look to prepare for Bahrain and then towards the first race, which is the most important thing.”

Massa and Alonso finished the day with impressive lap tallies (86 and 115 respectively), as well as first and second places on the timesheets. Just behind the leading duo was new Force India test driver Daniel Juncadella who had an impressive first run in the VJM07.

McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen, who was fourth fastest on the day, completed five fewer laps than mileage leader Alonso and was responsible for two red flag stoppages during the session. The Dane spun at the chicane, and just before the end of the session he crashed at Turn 10.

The fifth and sixth fastest times were clocked by Lewis Hamilton, who’d taken over the Mercedes from Rosberg at lunch, and Jules Bianchi who enjoyed his maiden outing in Marussia’s MR03. 

“The car feels great to drive and I’m pleased that I was able to achieve some good mileage,” the Frenchman said. 

“You always want more, of course, but there is a lot to work through and understand, so we have to be patient and go through the programme in the right way, especially as we have had damp conditions to contend with also. 

“At the end, once we were happy with the systems work, it was nice to put the slicks on and start putting some laps together. It is early days but we were quite happy with the pace in the conditions and for our programme. Not a bad start.”

Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil followed up his spin on Thursday with another one on Friday, bringing out the red flags when he lost the rear end of his Sauber C33 at the chicane and became beached in the gravel. He ended up seventh on the timesheets, just ahead of Rosberg.

The final three times on the board were taken Renault runners - Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. 

“We were working through a number of different engine maps and were definitely making progress but just after lunch we had another engine problem which meant we had to stop,” explained Kobayashi. 

Joining the Japanese driver in the pits was Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian having completed just seven laps before pulling in for the day.

“It's been a very difficult test,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner as his squad packed up having completed just 21 laps in four days in the new RB10. 

“We have had numerous Renault issues as well as chassis cooling issues, which have affected our progress. However, despite the lack of mileage, what we have managed to learn shows that the problems should be solvable for the next test in Bahrain. 

“Part of the purpose of this early test was to learn about any issues ahead of the start of the season and there will now be a lot of focus on the dyno over the next few weeks.”

From Jerez, the teams will now head back to their respective factories to consolidate their findings and prepare for the second pre-season test, which takes place in Bahrain on February 19-22.

Unofficial Friday test times from Jerez:
1. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 28.229s, 86 laps
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1m 29.145s, 115 laps
3. Daniel Juncadella, Force India, 1m 29.457s, 81 laps
4. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1m 30.806s, 110 laps
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 30.822s, 41 laps
6. Jules Bianchi, Marussia, 1m 32.222s, 25 laps
7. Adrian Sutil, Sauber, 1m 36.571s, 69 laps
8. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 36.951s 91 laps
9. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham, 1m 43.193s, 54 laps
10. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1m 44.016s, 9 laps
11. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 45.374s, 7 laps

(source: f1.com)

Jerez: Day 3 results

Kevin Magnussen was fastest of the day

Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen ensured that McLaren finished at the top of the timesheets for the second day in a row on Thursday by setting the pace on the third day of pre-season testing in Spain.

But there was more frustration for world champions Red Bull as technical issues restricted Daniel Ricciardo to just three laps in the new RB10.

Unofficial Thursday test times from Jerez:
1. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1m 23.276s, 52 laps
2. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 23.700s, 47 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 23.952s, 62 laps 
4. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 25.030s, 40 laps 
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1m 25.495s, 58 laps 
6. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 26.096s, 17 laps 
7. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1m 29.915s, 30 laps 
8. Adrian Sutil, Sauber, 1m 30.161s, 34 laps 
9. Robin Frijns, Caterham, No time, 10 laps
10. Max Chilton, Marussia, No time, 5 laps
11. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, No time, 3 laps

Jerez: Day 2 results

Day 2 results:

1 Jenson Button (McLaren) 1m24.165s, 43 laps
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1m24.812s, 47 laps
3 Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1m25.344s, 35 laps
4 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m25.588s, 97 laps
5 Sergio Perez (Force India) 1m28.376s, 37 laps
6 Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1m33.270s, 53 laps
7 Marcus Ericsson (Caterham) 1m37.975s, 11 laps
8 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m38.320s, 8 laps

212 laps for Mercedes teams, 100 laps for Ferrari teams and only 19 laps for Renault teams!

What is up with the Renault teams? Is Red Bull getting nervous already?

Today was a good day for me!

Today I finally got it! RUSH was in my mailbox when I came home from work. I should probably watch it right away! After that there's going to be a Formula One show on Finnish TV showing the highlights of today's test session. Waiting forward to it.

The results for today's test session:

 1. Kimi Raikkonen     Ferrari               1m27.104s            31
 2. Lewis Hamilton     Mercedes              1m27.820s  +0.716s   18
 3. Valtteri Bottas    Williams-Mercedes     1m30.082s  +2.978s    7
 4. Sergio Perez       Force India-Mercedes  1m33.161s  +6.057s   11
 5. Jean-Eric Vergne   Toro Rosso-Renault    1m36.530s  +9.426s   15
 6. Esteban Gutierrez  Sauber-Ferrari        1m42.257s  +15.153s   7
 7. Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull-Renault      No time               3
 8. Marcus Ericsson    Caterham-Renault      No time               1

By the way! Here's my previous post about Rush if somebody's interested:

http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2013/09/review-of-rush-formula-one-movie-no.html

First tests of 2014 in Jerez!

The tests start tomorrow in Jerez and continues till Friday. Here are the teams, drivers and when they are driving:

Ferrari
Tuesday: Kimi Räikkönen
Wednesday: Kimi Räikkönen
Thursday: Fernando Alonso
Friday: Fernando Alonso

McLaren
Tuesday: Jenson Button
Wednesday: Jenson Button
Thursday: Kevin Magnussen
Friday: Kevin Magnussen

Mercedes
Tuesday: Lewis Hamilton
Wednesday: Nico Rosberg
Thursday: Lewis Hamilton
Friday: Nico Rosberg

Red Bull
Tuesday: Sebastian Vettel
Wednesday: Sebastian Vettel
Thursday: Daniel Ricciardo
Friday: Daniel Ricciardo

Sauber
Tuesday: Esteban Gutierrez
Wednesday: Esteban Gutierrez
Thursday: Adrian Sutil
Friday: Adrian Sutil

Caterham
Tuesday: Marcus Ericsson
Wednesday: Marcus Ericsson
Thursday: Robin Frijns
Friday: Kamui Kobayashi

Marussia
Tuesday: Max Chilton
Wednesday: Jules Bianchi
Thursday: Jules Bianchi
Friday: Max Chilton

Williams
Tuesday: Valtteri Bottas
Wednesday: Valtteri Bottas
Thursday: Felipe Massa
Friday: Felipe Massa

Force India
Tuesday: Sergio Pérez
Wednesday: Nico Hulkenberg
Thursday: Daniel Juncadella
Friday: has not been announced

Toro Rosso
Tuesday: Jean-Eric Vergne
Wednesday: Daniil Kvyat
Thursday: Jean-Eric Vergne
Friday: Daniil Kvyat