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The 2016 Pirelli test at Paul Ricard circuit

Pirelli organized a wet tyre test at Paul Ricard circuit, on January 25th and 26th.

The two-day test focused just on wet tyres (no intermediates). Different wet prototypes was tested.

Three teams took part in the test: Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Here are the fastest lap times:

1. Sebastian Vettel 1.06,750 (Day 2)
2. Daniil Kvjat 1.06,833 (Day 2)
3. Stoffel Vandoorne 1.07,758 (Day 2)
4. Daniel Ricciardo 1.08,713 (Day 1)
5. Kimi Raikkonen 1.09,637 (Day 1)

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Mercedes confident 2016 cars will be significantly louder

Formula One cars will be 'significantly' louder in 2016 according to Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe.

The advent of F1 racing's 1.6-litre engine rules led to a fall in noise levels, but for this season steps have been taken to make power units louder such as mandating two exhaust tailpipe exits rather than one - changes that Lowe is convinced will prove a success.

"We'll see how much louder [the changes prove], but some measurements have been made in the labs and they have seen a significant increase," Lowe said in a Mercedes video.

"The reason for that is the wastegate was causing a sort of silencing of the main exhaust pipe, so by removing it from the main exhaust pipe we have less silencing going on of the main flow.

"In the last two years we have had a situation where the main exhaust goes through one tailpipe, [and] we have a wastegate to spill out extra pressure from the exhaust. We now have to duct that air separately through an extra tailpipe, and this is intended to make more noise. It will work."

The changes will get their first public outing when teams roll out for the first pre-season test, which takes place in Barcelona, Spain on February 22-25.

(source: f1.com)

Vettel and Raikkonen to drive for Ferrari in wet-weather test

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will share driving duties for Ferrari in next week's Pirelli wet tyre test at France's Paul Ricard circuit.

Ferrari are one of only three teams taking part in the test, along with McLaren - for whom 2015 GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne will drive on both days - and Red Bull. Like Ferrari, Red Bull's 2016 race drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat will split the team's workload over the two-day session, which runs on January 25-26.

Paul Ricard's sprinkler system means the track can be made wet regardless of the prevailing weather, allowing all three teams to focus their efforts exclusively on testing and evaluating Pirelli's wet-weather compounds, in particular the blue-marked full wet tyre.

Pirelli will control the testing programmes, and all three teams will be prevented from running their 2016-spec cars.

(source: f1.com)

Red Bull to reveal 2016 livery ahead of tests

Red Bull will unveil their new livery for the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship in a special event in London on February 17.

The team will not be revealing their new car, however, preferring to focus solely on their new colour scheme - which will be revised to reflect the arrival of new sponsors including TAG Heuer and Puma.

Red Bull have not yet confirmed when the new RB12 will be rolled out, although in recent years they have done this on the eve of pre-season testing. This year's first test will take place at Barcelona on February 22-25.

The decision to stage a livery launch ahead of testing means Red Bull are unlikely to return to the camouflage paint scheme which proved a sensation in the opening test last year.

The team have already run once this year - a spectacular demonstration in the snow of Kitzbuhel’s Streif ski course in Austria.

McLaren confirmed earlier this week that they will unveil their new car on February 21, while Sauber subsequently announced their new car would be rolled out ahead of the second and final pre-season test on March 1-4. Sauber will use a modified version of their 2015 car for the first test.

(source: f1.com)

McLaren gave up winter holidays to get 2016 car ready

The Christmas holidays are traditionally a time for the F1 fraternity to relax and recharge their batteries, but McLaren have revealed that some of their staff had to forego a festive break in order to get their new car ready for the start of pre-season testing.


A change to the provisional calendar was the source of the difficulties, with the Australian season opener moving three weeks forward to its now-confirmed date of March 20 - leaving McLaren (and no doubt a number of their rivals) scrambling to adjust their schedule.

"Our entire build programme wasn't lined up for that!" McLaren's operations director Simon Roberts told the team's website. "So we knew we had a problem to solve. In terms of our design and engineering capacity, it's a relatively straightforward re-planning exercise - there's less time to get the work done, so everyone works a bit harder.

"But the build schedule is on a critical path - it needs to pass all the FIA safety tests and be ready for the first test, which was also brought forward. In that situation, you can't just re-plan, you need to do something different."

Roberts explained that the only solution was for some staff to sacrifice their winter break. "In simple terms, we put about eight shifts of work back into the programme over a five-day period - a fantastic effort. In total, there were about 110 people involved and we looked after our Christmas workers with a competitive package.

"We had a really good response, and people seemed to enjoy it too – it was a bit weird, not having all the time off, but there was a good spirit in the place. Everyone knew why they were doing it, and it really cleared the decks.

"Most pleasingly, it meant that, once we came back in the New Year, we were back on schedule – and it felt like the programme had always been phased that way. It was an incredible effort."

McLaren announced on Monday that their 2016 car, the MP4-31, will be revealed on February 21, the day before the first test begins in Barcelona.

Sauber, meanwhile, confirmed that their new car will not be ready until the second pre-season test, also in Barcelona, on March 1-4. The team will therefore run last year's car, but in 2016 branding, at the first session.

(source: f1.com)