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.

Vettel and Raikkonen ready to be patient with new Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel has warned against expecting immediate results from his maiden season with Ferrari, saying that patience will be key to the Scuderia's hopes of returning to the front of the Formula One grid.

Having switched from Red Bull to Ferrari ahead of the 2015 season, the four-time world champion says he is realistic about the team's early prospects, and that his focus is on building a platform for success in the long-term.

"There is a lot of change going on, new people in new positions - including myself," Vettel told the official Ferrari website, "so it always takes a bit of time to settle in until you really start to make proper progress. 

"I am confident we are going in the right direction but it would be wrong to immediately expect a lot [from] us.

"We need to remember we are coming from a 2014 season where there was one team very dominant, so it will be very difficult to arrive there from the beginning. For us the main target is to start to really work together, start to make progress, hopefully catch up more and more as the season progresses."

Asked if he would be happy should Ferrari score one victory over the coming season, Vettel said: "I think we would be happy - but of course we would be happier if we win more. As I said you have to be realistic. 

"I think the most important thing is that we start getting into the groove quickly in winter testing and start to make progress. If the situation is like last year, it will be very difficult to fight for victories, but of course that is our goal. That is why we are here; we are not here to be second."

Vettel's patient approach was echoed by an new team mate Kimi Raikkonen, who said his immediate focus in on pushing the team forward rather than outright targets.

"Obviously we want to be as strong as we can, but it's too early to say where we're going to be," the 2007 world champion said. "As long as we do our things 100 percent, work as one team to push things forward and keep building what we have over the winter, that's the starting point - and then the results should come. 

"There's no point from my side to put any goals yet: start from the first test and go forward from there. It will be interesting working with [Vettel], but I'm sure we have a good understanding of each other. The aim is to push the team forward and do everything for Ferrari, and then obviously we try to fight against each other, but in a good way."

Raikkonen said that both he and the team had learned lessons from their lacklustre showing in 2014, adding: "Sometimes you have years that go like that, everything seems to be a bit difficult. We understood a lot of things and hopefully this year we can turn things around, as a team be strong, and get more where we should be little by little."

Between them, Vettel and Raikkonen have claimed five F1 drivers' crowns, 59 Grand Prix victories and 61 poles, making them one of the strongest pairings ever to line up for Ferrari.

(source: f1.com)

Alonso and Button realistic over development of McLaren MP4-30

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have expressed excitement about getting behind the wheel of McLaren’s newly unveiled MP4-30, though both are acutely aware that developing the Honda-powered machine will not be easy.

Alonso, who re-joined McLaren from Ferrari over the winter, said that he’s prepared for possible teething problems when he gets the Woking team’s pre-season test programme underway in Spain on Sunday. 

McLaren have only ever run Honda’s brand-new RA615H Hybrid power unit once previously, in an interim car during a disrupted test at Abu Dhabi last November.

“Of course, we’re prepared for a steep learning curve, but it’s clear to see that inside McLaren-Honda there’s total commitment, and a real change in feeling, as we start this new partnership,” explained Alonso.

“Our first target will be to learn the maximum from the car at the pre-season tests, understand the package, and extract as much performance as possible. That won’t be easy or trouble-free, but we’re ready for that. Why? Because our key focus will be on development. 

“Historically, McLaren has already been characterised by its ability to bring updates to the car quickly, and develop a strong package.” 

Despite the hard work that lies ahead, Alonso emphasised that his motivation for the new season ‘could not be stronger’, a feeling echoed by new team mate Button.  

“I’ve trained hard over the winter, and I’m absolutely itching to get going in the new McLaren-Honda MP4-30,” said the 2009 world champion, who will take over driving duties from Alonso on day two at Jerez.

“It’s been interesting to spend time in the factory during the past few weeks: you can really sense a feeling of reignited optimism and positivity around the building. 

I’ve never seen such motivation amongst the guys - we’re all massively keen to get going in Jerez and to work hard on developing our new car. But we’re under no illusion that it will be easy - there’s a huge challenge ahead of us to try to pull back the gap to our rivals, but we’re certainly up for it. 

“We ended last season with great momentum and clear progress, and I’m determined to carry that forward into 2015.”

In December McLaren chairman and CEO Ron Dennis described the pairing of Alonso and Button as "by an order of magnitude the best driver line-up of any current Formula One team". Between them the experienced duo have started 500 Grands Prix, winning 47 races and three world drivers’ titles.

(source: F1.com)

Renault reveal 'fundamental' changes to 2015 power unit

Renault have achieved a 'fundamental' overhaul of their Formula One engine ahead of the 2015 season, as they bid to reduce last year's performance deficit to Mercedes.

Managing director Cyril Abiteboul said sweeping changes have allowed Renault to make significant progress over the winter in terms of both reliability and performance, with the French manufacturer now targeting upwards of the three victories they scored in 2014.

“Viry needed a refresh. We did not suffer from a lack of resources or finances in 2014, it was simply that the resources were not joined up in time or used to their optimum," Abiteboul explained.

“We knew what we had to do over the winter and we know what we have achieved. We believe we have made a very big step in performance and will be more reliable. In the short gap between seasons we have taken a number of steps forward. 

“We do not know where the others will be: we may not have erased all the gaps, but we are confident that we have gone a long way to making up the deficit of last season. Our objective is to close the gap as much as possible and give Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso a more competitive car on most circuits, independently of their characteristics and sensitivities."

Rob White, Renault chief technical officer, said Renault's 2015 power unit will be substantially different to their 2014 version, such has been the extent of the changes made. Engine manufacturers are allowed to change up to 48 per cent of their power unit for the season, using development 'tokens' as permitted by governing body the FIA.

“We have made some fundamental changes to gain performance and reliability. We have upgraded every system and subsystem, with items that will give the most performance prioritised," White said. 

“The principal changes involve the internal combustion engine, turbocharger and battery. The ICE will have a new combustion chamber, exhaust system concept and variable trumpets, as permitted by the 2015 regulations. The compressor is more efficient, while the energy recovery systems are able to deal with more severe usage.

“The 2014 unit was already well placed in its centre of gravity, however we have tidied up the packaging to give greater ease of integration into the chassis. Additionally many systems and functions have been rationalized and simplified to further ease the task. In short, there are very few carry over pieces between the 2014 and 2015 power units."

In addition to such changes, Renault have also overhauled their staffing structure. White, in his capacity as chief technical officer, will now work alongside Jean-Paul Gousset, who has been appointed as organisation performance officer.

A development department has been newly created and will be headed up by Naoki Tokunaga, who is also responsible for overseeing the engineering department. Director of operations Remi Taffin will also take on an expanded role, overseeing all factory operations in addition to his existing track operation concerns.

“We have implemented a new organisational structure [with] numerous of changes," Abiteboul added. “F1 constantly moves forward at a very fast rate. The sport evolves, technology evolves and the competition never sleeps so Viry needs to evolve at the same rate. It is still very early to see the direct effects but all the changes are made for long term gain. We should start to see the full impact in development by the mid-season with greater flexibility, dynamism and efficiency across all our operations."

(source: f1.com)

Sauber to reveal new car on same day as Ferrari

Sauber will launch their new Formula One car online on January 30, just two days before the first pre-season test of 2015 gets underway in Spain.

The Swiss team will unveil the Ferrari-powered C34 at 0900 GMT on the same day that Ferrari are also set to reveal their 2015 machine, the SF15-T.

Marcus Ericsson, who joined Sauber from Caterham at the end of last year, will be tasked with driving duties on the opening day of testing at Jerez on February 1. 

Fellow new recruit Felipe Nasr - who challenged for the GP2 title last year - will take over for days two and three, before handing back to Ericsson for the fourth and final day.

As it stands, McLaren will be the first team to take the covers off their 2015 car, having set an online launch date of January 29. 

Formula1.com will bring you full coverage of every launch, roll-out and unveiling, as well as the latest news from every test as the action ramps up towards the season-opening 2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix on March 13.

(source: f1.com)

Ferrari revealed the name of the new car

Ferrari’s 2015 Formula One car will be designated the SF15-T, the team announced on Monday.

The new car, to be piloted by Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen this season, will be unveiled online on Friday (January 30), two days ahead of its track debut at Jerez on February 1.

Ferrari are hopeful that their new machine, whose name incorporates an ‘S’ for ‘Scuderia’ as well as a 'T' for turbo, will be significantly more competitive than last year’s disappointing F14 T, which became the first Ferrari car since 1993 not to win a race. 

(source: f1.com)

Finnish F1 drivers: Valtteri Bottas

This is the last part of this series because the only "Finnish" F1 driver left is Nico Rosberg but if he drives under the German flag I don't consider him Finnish at all.

This time it's all about Bottas!
After Valtteri Bottas had won Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, Masters of Formula 3 and the GP3-series he was assigned as a test driver for the Williams Formula One team. This was in 2010-2012. In 2012 before he became Williams' racing driver he took part in 15 free practice sessions. He was very often faster than the teams racing drivers Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna. Bottas said that the practice session times don't matter even if he was faster.

Bottas returned to racing in 2013, as he was confirmed as teammate to Pastor Maldonado at Williams for the 2013 Formula One season on 28 November 2012. On 8 June 2013, Bottas qualified in 3rd position at the Canadian Grand Prix (Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal) behind Sebastian Vettel (1st), and Lewis Hamilton (2nd). He scored his first points finish at the US Grand Prix by finishing 8th. This result allowed Bottas to finish ahead of Maldonado in the Drivers' Championship.

On 11 November 2013 Bottas was confirmed to continue with Williams in 2014 alongside Felipe Massa who has been signed from Ferrari to replace Pastor Maldonado. At the first race of the 2014 season in Australia, Bottas qualified 10th and finished 6th, after recovering from a crash earlier in the race. He was later promoted to 5th after Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from 2nd position. 

At the Austrian Grand Prix, Bottas qualified 2nd, his best grid position in Formula One, and achieved his first podium in the sport, finishing third behind Nico Rosberg (1st) and Lewis Hamilton (2nd). 

Despite qualifying 14th on the grid at the British Grand Prix, Bottas charged through the field to finish second, following Rosberg's retirement from the race, thereby achieving his second consecutive career podium. 

At the German Grand Prix, he qualified second and ended the race in the same position despite a late challenge from Hamilton.

Bottas got three more podiums in 2014 (3rd in Belgium, Russia and Abu Dhabi) and was 4th in the final standings. He has now been better than both of his more experienced team-mates.

Personally I am very interested of seeing what he will accomplish in 2015. I wish him good luck!