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Cas
DC's Mechanic
Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 2664
Location: Cornwall
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 Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:12 pm Post subject: Barcelona 19th Feb |
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| Quote: | Rain curtails running on first day at Barca
Tuesday, 19, February, 2008, 17:50
Nico Rosberg set the pace for Williams on the opening day of the latest Barcelona test – but wet weather in Spain ensured there was little in the way of meaningful running on Tuesday.
As the pre-season programme enters its critical final phase over the next fortnight, F1's return to Barcelona for the first time since the racism storm was hit by rain showers that curtailed teams’ planned development programmes.
Williams was the team that got the most running in during the day as it focused on longer runs, with Rosberg and team-mate Kazuki Nakajima putting more decent mileage (73 and 96 laps) on the two FW30s.
Rosberg’s best time of the day, 1m30.675s, was nine seconds off the benchmark effort from the last test at Barcelona, while Nakajima was over a second further back.
Only three other teams took to the damp track during the day, with McLaren electing to sit out the first session in the hope that conditions improve on Wednesday.
Mark Webber was third for RBR, with Renault’s Fernando Alonso fourth after giving his R28 a 16-lap spin in the wet.
“It was cold and wet today and so there was no point in doing a lot of running,” Alonso said.
“It was an opportunity to try the car in the wet, but it was so slippery that we did not do many laps.
“We waited in the afternoon for conditions to improve, but they did not so we ended the day slightly early.”
David Coulthard provided the one significant spin of the day, causing minor damage to his RB4 when he brushed the wall on the uphill section between turns seven and eight.
Toyota was the final team to venture out onto the damp track and Jarno Trulli completed 57 laps to give a first test to some of the new aero parts being introduced on the TF108 this week.
Ferrari will join the fray tomorrow which should, weather permitting, give the first indication for several weeks of the balance of power between the Italian squad and McLaren ahead of the new season.
Meanwhile the weather conditions were no better in Valencia for BMW, whose private three-day test got off to a similarly disappointing start with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica only completing 22 and six laps respectively.
Testing times from Barcelona (February 19)
1. ROSBERG Williams 1m30.675s
2. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m32.370s
3. WEBBER Red Bull 1m32.599s
4. ALONSO Renault 1m32.820s
5. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m32.924s
6. TRULLI Toyota 1m33.283s
7. PIQUET Renault 1m40.073s
8. KOBAYASHI Toyota no time
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Poor DC!!! 
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Melanie
Red Bull Racing driver
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 2334
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| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject: |
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Now I see why DC complained about the absence of TC in the rain   |
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Cas
DC's Mechanic
Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 2664
Location: Cornwall
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:13 am Post subject: |
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Not bad today either
| Quote: | News
Rain washes out another day at Barcelona
Wednesday, 20, February, 2008, 18:24
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa topped the times in testing at Barcelona on Wednesday as cold and wet weather once again stymied teams’ planned programmes.
Rain in the morning and showers throughout the day kept mileage down, and Massa’s best time of 1m30.673s was just 0.002s quicker than Nico Rosberg’s Tuesday benchmark.
Massa tried out revised aerodynamics on the F2008 while test driver Luca Badoer (third quickest on 1m31.288s) continued with the development of the standard car.
The Brazilian had a minor off-course excursion around the back of the circuit shortly before the lunch break but did not damage the car.
Red Bull Racing again showed promising pace, Mark Webber and David Coulthard finishing second and fourth fastest respectively after simulating qualifying runs.
Fernando Alonso was fifth quickest in the Renault R28
“Another disrupted day and we did not do many laps,” lamented the Spaniard.
“It was too wet in the morning to do any running so we waited until the afternoon.
“We did some laps and tried some things in the wet and it was a chance to get used to driving without traction control and to improve the behaviour of the car in these conditions.
“Tomorrow the forecast is better – we have been waiting for these conditions all week, so fingers crossed…”
Renault team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr was restricted to a single installation lap and did not set a time.
Nico Rosberg piled up the day’s highest lap tally (97) en route to the sixth fastest time for Williams.
Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima and test driver Nico Hulkenberg shared the sister FW30, carrying out general set-up work.
“We spent the whole morning practising pit stops with the race team and both race drivers today,” said test team manager Dickie Stanford.
“We completed approximately 40 pit stops in total.
“The wet conditions really played havoc with the session for the second day in succession but we’re expecting a drier day tomorrow, during which we will again run all three drivers.”
Toyota duo Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli clocked similar times although Glock blotted his copybook with an off at the first corner during the afternoon.
Trulli said: “It was another difficult day for testing so we just collected some data in order to understand how the car works in this type of weather.
“The positive thing is that we were able to learn about the tyre warm-up behaviour in these conditions.
“I’m returning to test here next week so hopefully we’ll have better weather then.
“We have plenty of work ahead but when the conditions are normal I do feel we can be competitive.”
Meanwhile BMW Sauber enjoyed a more productive day at Valencia, where morning rain cleared and the team was able to get in some dry running in the afternoon.
Robert Kubica completed 121 laps with a best time of 1m12.893s, while Nick Heidfeld logged 136 laps and managed a 1m13.542s.
Testing times from Barcelona (February 20)
1. MASSA Ferrari 1m30.673s
2. WEBBER Red Bull 1m31.213s
3. BADOER Ferrari 1m31.288s
4. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m31.654s
5. ALONSO Renault 1h31.731s
6. ROSBERG Williams 1m31.963s
7. GLOCK Toyota 1m32.407s
8. TRULLI Toyota 1m32.571s
9. HULKENBERG Williams 1m33.102s
10. NAKAJIMA Williams no time
11. PIQUET Renault no time
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sassyshiraz
Site Admin
Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 3306
Location: North Bristol
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:53 am Post subject: |
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| Interesting times. Let's hope in Melbourne they can pull off more of the same. |
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Si
BMW Sauber
Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 823
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:53 am Post subject: |
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Not too bad a test considering the weather, mixing it with Ferrari ahead of Renault is quite good really.
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Melanie
Red Bull Racing driver
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 2334
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:24 am Post subject: |
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I read an interview with Trulli - he's convinced Toyota will be the third fastest team this season 
To me it seems Toyota are behind RBR, Renault and BMW or do testing times really mean nothing? Because why would he say that? |
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Si
BMW Sauber
Joined: 19 May 2006
Posts: 823
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:34 am Post subject: |
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Ralph said that for years, look what happened to him
Suppose you have to be optimistic but you can set your goals too high.
I have just read that Alonso thinks they are too far off the pace to consider podiums, TBH I don't believe him and think he will get some podiums. He's probably setting his sights low to avoid dissapointment - unlike Trulli !
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Melanie
Red Bull Racing driver
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 2334
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:42 am Post subject: |
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today
1. K. Nakajima Williams FW30 1:22.153 32 pit
2. H. Kovalainen McLaren MP4-23 1:22.185 +0.032 64 pit
3. P. de la Rosa McLaren MP4-23 1:22.208 +0.055 92 pit
4. F. Massa Ferrari F2008 1:22.213 +0.060 96 pit
5. N. Rosberg Williams FW30 1:22.248 +0.095 109 pit
6. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB4 1:22.477 +0.324 82 pit
7. D. Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB4 1:22.499 +0.346 104 pit
8. L. Badoer Ferrari F2008 1:22.535 +0.382 102 pit
9. F. Alonso Renault R28 1:22.657 +0.504 61 pit
10. T. Glock Toyota TF108 1:22.901 +0.748 110 pit
11. N. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:23.286 +1.133 105 pit
12. K. Kobayashi Toyota TF108 1:24.132 +1.979 56 pit
13. N. Hülkenberg Williams FW30 1:24.222 +2.069 54 pit
Why do Williams run three cars? |
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