The Jerez test in numbers - who went fastest, and furthest

As ever with pre-season testing, reading too much into the timesheets - particularly after just four days of running at Jerez - can often be misleading, as differing objectives and priorities blur the picture of which teams have hit the ground running in 2015.

But while there is still an awful lot to learn, a close inspection of the data from the first four days of the new season does make for interesting reading...

This week’s unofficial aggregate test times from Jerez: 
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 20.841s, 200 laps
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 20.984s, 149 laps
3. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 21.545s, 197 laps
4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 21.982s, 308 laps
5. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 22.019s, 185 laps
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 22.172s, 208 laps
7. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 22.276s, 144 laps
8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 22.319s, 134 laps
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 22.553s, 170 laps
10. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 22.713s, 137 laps
11. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 23.187s, 183 laps
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 23.338s, 84 laps
13. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 23.802s, 53 laps
14. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 23.975s, 82 laps
15. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 27.660s, 41 laps
16. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1m 35.553s, 38 laps

Total distance run - by team (power unit, where different): 
1. Mercedes, 516 laps - 2,284km
2. Sauber (Ferrari), 382 laps - 1,691km
3. Toro Rosso (Renault), 353 laps - 1,563km
4. Ferrari, 349 laps - 1,545km
5. Williams (Mercedes), 278 laps - 1,230km
6. Lotus (Mercedes), 190 laps - 841km
7. Red Bull (Renault), 166 laps - 735km
8. McLaren (Honda), 79 laps - 349km

Total distance run - by power unit: 
1. Mercedes, 984 laps - 4,357km (3 teams)
2. Ferrari, 731 laps - 3,236km (2 teams)
3. Renault, 519 laps - 2,298km (2 teams)
4. Honda, 79 laps - 349km (1 team)

Longest stints - by tyre compound: 
Soft compound - 19 laps (Pastor Maldonado, Day 3)
Medium compound - 29 laps (Nico Rosberg, Day 1)
Winter Hard compound - 34 laps (Nico Rosberg, Day 1)
Hard compound - 42 laps (Nico Rosberg, Day 1)
Intermediate compound - 25 laps (Nico Rosberg, Day 3)
Wet compound - 4 laps (Felipe Nasr, Day 2)

Jerez test comparison - Year on Year
2014 - 1,470 total laps (6,509 kilometres) completed in four days
2015 - 2,294 total laps (10,156 kilometres) completed in four days
That's a 56 percent increase

2014 fastest overall time - 1m 23.276s (Kevin Magnussen)
2015 fastest overall time - 1m20.841s (Kimi Raikkonen)
That's 2.9 percent faster

(source: f1.com)

Comparing the 2015 teammates: Mercedes

Last year I did a series where I compared each team's teammates with each other. This year I will do the same. Some of these drivers have been teammates last year so that means that I have to update last years post. My opinions and facts haven't changed so that's why I am not writing everything from scratch.

The first drivers I am comparing are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg because they were under everybody's looking glass last year.

They used to be teammates also when they were teenagers but I only know a little about that so I'll focus on F1.

I'll do this the same way as I've always done. So first the year, then the teammate and how the season went.

I'm gonna start with Nico Rosberg.

2006 - Mark Webber. Nico started his career in Formula One with a bang. He set the fastest lap in his first ever race, got points and was 3rd in his second qualifying session. Nice start but his teammate was tuff! All of the races where they both finished Webber was always better. In the end of the season he also got more points (7-4).

2007 - Alexander Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima. This time Nico got more points than these two got combined. His "training" season was over and he really showed who was boss when he managed to beat his much more experienced teammate (Wurz). Later Wurz decided to retire from Formula One and the test driver Nakajima replaced him. He wasn't nearly as good as either one of the original drivers of 2007.

2008 - Kazuki Nakajima. Now Nakajima had a new chance to show what he was made of but lost by 8 points to Rosberg (17-9). Williams wasn't that good at the time but Nico managed to get his first ever podium in F1 at Melbourne.

2009 - Kazuki Nakajima. This season Nico was even better than the previous season. You could clearly see that Rosberg was the better driver and Nakajima had to leave the series after this season. Nico got 34,5 points and Nakajima didn't get a single point that season.

2010 - Michael Schumacher. The 7 time world champion came back as a Mercedes driver and became Rosberg's teammate. People said that Rosberg has a lot to learn from Michael but in the end he was better than Schumacher! It was probably because Michael had been away from the sport for a few years but still. Rosberg got 142 points and Schumacher only 72. That's almost twice the amount of points! Rosberg also got three podiums and Schumacher got none.

2011 - Michael Schumacher. Same thing continues in 2011, Rosberg is getting better results than Schumi but now the score is only 89-76. The car wasn't as good in 2011 than it was in 2010. They didn't get a single podium that year.

2012 - Michael Schumacher. Schumi's last year in F1 was worse than the seasons before. Rosberg got 93 points and Schumi only 49. Rosberg won his first race in China that year. It was also the first for the Mercedes GP team.

2013-2014 - Lewis Hamilton. I will compare these two after I have first listed Hamilton's teammates.

Lewis Hamilton on the other hand started a year later than Rosberg and got a chance right away in a better car (McLaren of course). He was 3rd in his first race.

2007 - Fernando Alonso. Probably the worst possible teammate to beat that year. Alonso had just won the last two championships and was planning to win his third in a row. He could probably have done it that year but he focused too much on the young rookie Hamilton when he should have been keeping an eye on Räikkönen. Hamilton and Alonso got exactly the same amount of points and Kimi won them with one single point. That was the tightest fight in Formula One history! Because Hamilton had more 2nd places than Alonso he was higher up in the standings. In a way you can say that he was "better than Alonso".

2008 - Heikki Kovalainen. He got 53 points and won a race. Lewis on the other hand got 98 points and won the championship! You can't beat that!

2009 - Heikki Kovalainen. This was a very bad season for Heikki and McLaren as well so it was easy to beat him. Lewis got 49 points and Heikki only 22. McLaren didn't wanna continue Heikki's contract any further.

2010 - Jenson Button. The 2009 world champion joined McLaren as the 2008 world champion's teammate. People were sure that Jenson had no chance against Lewis but made everybody shut up by winning a race before him. In the end the score was 240-214 between the two of them which ment that Lewis was better (as the press had predicted).

2011 - Jenson Button. This time Jenson was hungry to beat his teammate and did just that with a score of 270-227. Button was runner up in the championship and Hamilton was 5th.

2012 - Jenson Button. Hamilton's last year with McLaren and also the deciding year; who was better Hamilton or Button? Hamilton won 4 races and Button 3. If we look at the points it was 190-188 between them. Very close but Hamilton won with two points.

2013 - Nico Rosberg. The points were 189-171 between Hamilton and Rosberg in 2013. Very close! We also have to remember that in the same race where everybody were focusing on multi21, Ross Brawn told Rosberg to back off and keep his position. He had more speed than Hamilton but the Mercedes team didn't want them to fight and perhaps take each other out of the race. Rosberg also retired 3 times in 2013. Lewis only once.
Lewis won one single race and Nico two (one of them was in Monaco!). The points say that Hamilton is better but if you look at the whole picture it looks like Rosberg was better than Hamilton in 2013.

2014 - Nico Rosberg. This year it was totally different and even though Nico drove well he lost to Lewis clearly. Hamilton was a much better driver in 2014!
The points were 384-317 but Lewis also got 50 points for winning in Abu Dhabi. They both retired more than once but when they managed to finish it was usually Lewis who won. He won 11 races and Rosberg only 5.

This year the story continues...

Raikkonen puts Ferrari back on top as Jerez test ends

Kimi Raikkonen ensured Ferrari ended the first pre-season test of 2015 on top by going fastest on the fourth and final day at Jerez.

The Scuderia's new SF15-T had already topped the first and second days in the hands of Sebastian Vettel, and Raikkonen carried on that momentum by setting the best time of the test on Wednesday, dipping down to 1m 20.841s to finish comfortably clear of the chasing pack.

Behind him, Marcus Ericsson continued Sauber's encouraging start to the new season by finishing second fastest, after new team mate Felipe Nasr had put the team top of the timesheets on day three.

The Swede also broke into triple figures in the lap charts, although Mercedes once again led the way in terms of total mileage as Lewis Hamilton clocked up 114 laps en route to setting the third fastest time of the day.

Max Verstappen worked his way up to fourth for Toro Rosso, as the team continued to clock up far more mileage than parent team Red Bull, with Daniil Kvyat restricted to 62 laps of running in the new RB11. 

That was still more than Jenson Button managed at McLaren, who was disrupted by engine problems in the morning and then a fuel pump fault in the afternoon. However, in between issues the Englishman managed to help the Woking team to their most productive day of the test, completing 35 laps and setting a best time of 1m 27.660s.

That left Button eighth overall, behind Verstappen, Williams' Felipe Massa, Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Kvyat in the Red Bull.

Three red flags punctuated the day - Kvyat brought the first out after suffering a suspected ERS failure after just eight laps, while Hamilton spun at the chicane at midday and then Ericsson stopped out on track ten minutes from the chequered flag.

The teams now have two weeks before testing resumes at Barcelona on February 19-22. Force India are expected to join the fray, although their new car is not likely to appear until the third and final test, also at Barcelona, on February 26-March 1.

Unofficial Wednesday testing times from Jerez
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 20.841s, 106 laps
2. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 22.019s, 112 laps
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 22.172s, 116 laps
4. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 22.553s, 97 laps
5. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 23.116s, 73 laps
6. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 23.802s, 53 laps
7. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1m 23.975s, 63 laps
8. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 27.660s, 35 laps

(source: f1.com)

Nasr goes fastest for Sauber on day three in Spain

Felipe Nasr sent Sauber to the top of the timesheet on Tuesday in pre-season testing at Jerez, narrowly edging the Ferrari of morning pacesetter Kimi Raikkonen and the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

Less than half a second separated the trio at the close of play, although it was Nasr who set the headline time as he bolted on Pirelli's super-soft tyres and lapped the Spanish track in 1m 21.545s. The Brazilian also clocked up more than 100 laps on what was only his second official session as a Formula One race driver.

Raikkonen maintained Ferrari's position at the sharp end of the times with a 1m 21.720s on the white-marked medium compound, which was enough to edge Rosberg by two-tenths of a second in the fight for second overall.

Elsewhere there was encouragement for McLaren as Fernando Alonso managed 32 laps total, and several multi-lap runs, on his final day of running at Jerez.

The Spaniard's day was cut short by a loss of cooling water pressure, which left him with an unrepresentative time of 1m 35.553s set in mixed early conditions. Nevertheless the team were buoyed by their increased running relative to the first two days, and also by the fact they will be able to replace the problematic components ahead of the fourth and final day.

Alonso's tally was still in stark contrast to Rosberg, who once again set the standard with 151 laps in the Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid. The German's day included triggering the red flags when an on-track engine shutdown brought him to a halt just after midday.

Nasr had earlier triggered the red flags to fly when he spun into gravel at Turn 9 in damp conditions, while Lotus's Pastor Maldonado brought them out for a third time with just over one minute of the day remaining when he stopped out on track.

The Venezuelan had been delayed as Lotus encountered telemetry problems in the morning, but eventually finished the day fifth overall - just behind Felipe Massa, who took over from Valtteri Bottas for his first day of running in the Williams FW37.

Carlos Sainz Junior was sixth for Toro Rosso, while Daniel Ricciardo was limited by engine problems that restricted Red Bull to a handful of short runs in the RB11 as the day drew to a close.

Testing concludes at Jerez on Wednesday.

Unofficial Tuesday testing times from Jerez:
1. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 21.545s, 109 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 21.750s, 94 laps
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 21.982s, 151 laps
4. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 22.276s, 71 laps
5. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 22.713s, 96 laps
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 23.187s, 137 laps
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 23.901s, 49 laps
8. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1m 35.553s, 32 laps

(source: f1.com)

Vettel keeps Ferrari on top on rain-hit second day

Sebastian Vettel maintained his and Ferrari’s encouraging start to pre-season testing by going fastest on the second day of running at Jerez on Monday.

The four-time world champion, also quickest on the opening day, set a new overall benchmark of 1m 20.984s to finish almost one second clear of the chasing pack. 

Proceedings were brought to a slightly early close as a rain storm hit the track, although Sauber’s Felipe Nasr and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen - both entering their first season in Formula One racing - were among those who ventured out in the wet conditions.

It was Nasr who ultimately got closest to Vettel, putting Sauber second with a 1m 21.867s. That left him half a second clear of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and the Mercedes of 2014 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton was able to clock up 91 laps, the most of any driver, as Mercedes once again demonstrated impressive reliability - although a water leak from a failed component brought his day to a slightly premature finish.

Verstappen was fifth fastest, 1.5s down on Hamilton, while Lotus’s Pastor Maldonado and McLaren’s Jenson Button rounded out the top seven.

Lotus had initially played down their chances of running before the third day of the test as they finalised the build programme of their E23 Hybrid. They were able to join the fray early in the morning however, with Maldonado eventually racking up 41 laps.

McLaren’s progress was more limited, as a recurring problem confined Button to the garage for much of the day. The team did emerge in the final minutes, but only for a sedate out-lap. Button therefore ended the day with six laps - matching what 2015 team mate Fernando Alonso managed on day one - and an unrepresentative best time of 1m 54.655s, more than 30s down on Vettel.

Daniil Kvyat was the eighth and final runner for Red Bull, although the Russian did not set a time on his first day in the RB11 after damaging the front wing early on. With no replacement, Kvyat had the unusual task of completing several installation runs with no front wing.

The only team absent from the timesheet were Force India, who have opted to skip the first test completely whilst they develop their new car.

Testing continues at Jerez on Tuesday.

Unofficial Monday testing times from Jerez
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 20.984s, 88 laps
2. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1m 21.867s, 89 laps
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 22.319s, 61 laps
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 22.490s, 91 laps
5. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 24.167s, 73 laps
6. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 25.802s, 41 laps
7. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 54.655s, 6 laps
8. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, No time, 18 laps

(source: f1.com)

Vettel fastest for Ferrari on first day of testing in Spain

Sebastian Vettel made the perfect start to his Ferrari career by sending the Italian team to the top of the timesheets on the opening day of pre-season testing at Jerez on Sunday.

The four-time world champion, who switched to Ferrari from Red Bull over the winter, completed 60 laps in the new SF15-T, setting a best time of 1m 22.620s in the afternoon session to go clear of the field. 

The second-fastest time on the day went to Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson who, like Vettel, was making his first appearance for his new team. The Swede, who completed 73 laps, took his blue and yellow C34 round in 1m 22.777s late in the day to demote early pacesetter Nico Rosberg to third. 

The loss of position would have mattered little to Rosberg on a day when reigning champions Mercedes demonstrated ominous form. Having shaken down the F1 W06 Hybrid at Silverstone last week, the German clocked up a remarkable 157 laps in the freshly-unveiled car - a tally more than twice that managed by any other team.

Daniel Ricciardo was fourth-quickest in Red Bull’s uniquely liveried RB11, though mechanical issues restricted the Australian to just 35 laps. Williams, meanwhile, were late to join proceedings, but eventually completed a useful 73 laps and set the fifth-fastest time with Valtteri Bottas at the wheel of the FW37.

Carlos Sainz Junior recorded the sixth-quickest time as he gave Toro Rosso’s STR10 its maiden outing, though it proved a rather stop-start day for the Spanish rookie who caused the session's second red-flag stoppage when he came to a halt on the back straight towards the end of the session. 

The times were rounded out by Fernando Alonso who managed just six laps in McLaren's new Honda-powered MP4-30. The Spaniard did complete one timed effort, though it was a full 18 seconds off the leading pace.  

Absent from the timesheet were Force India, who have opted to skip the first test completely, and Lotus, whose car only arrived in Spain late on Sunday. The Enstone-based team say the E23 Hybrid is now undergoing its build programme and is not expected to run until the third day of the test on Tuesday.


Unofficial Sunday testing times from Jerez
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1m 22.620s, 60 laps
2. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 22.777s, 73 laps
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 23.106s, 157 laps
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 23.338s, 35 laps
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 23.906s, 73 laps
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1m 25.327s, 46 laps
7. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1m 40.738s, 6 laps

(source: f1.com)

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.