The Official Testing Thread

[narain fan 0]

Team Time Lap Gap km/h Laps

1 Giancarlo Fisichella (M) Renault M 1'13.971 67 - 225.2 81

2 Fernando Alonso (M) Renault M 1'13.977 71 +0.006 225.2 87

3 Juan Pablo Montoya (M) McLaren M 1'14.588 96 +0.617 223.3 97

4 Kimi Raikkonen (M) McLaren M 1'15.586 34 +1.615 220.4 59

5 Jenson Button (M) Honda M 1'15.720 58 +1.749 220.0 82

6 Rubens Barrichello (M) Honda M 1'15.940 47 +1.969 219.3 86

7 Jarno Trulli ( Toyota B 1'16.057 38 +2.086 219.0 62

8 Ralf Schumacher ( Toyota B 1'16.059 48 +2.088 219.0 59

9 Nico Rosberg ( Williams B 1'16.849 31 +2.878 216.8 59

10 Mark Webber ( Williams B 1'16.913 71 +2.942 216.6 88

11 Christian Klien (M) Red Bull M 1'16.938 26 +2.967 216.5 29

12 David Coulthard (M) Red Bull M 1'17.247 41 +3.276 215.6 45

13 Cristijan Albers ( Midland F1 B 1'18.780 28 +4.809 211.4 42

14 Takuma Sato ( Super Aguri B 1'19.787 49 +5.816 208.8 55

2 hrs left...

[monza gorilla 1]

Has it been raining? Where did Renault pull those times from?

[narain fan 0]

Has it been raining? Where did Renault pull those times from?

so much for safety and cutting speed

they are .5 secs from last year's v10 record time

[Jenson_Rules 0]

quite! But barcelona is twisty so thats maybe why its still fast! Honda seem to have fallen behind mclaren now, they better get their heads down and work to not fall behind.

Also JB since november has covered the most testing miles of anyone, and the nearest driver to is 5000+miles is PDLR who has tested some 1000 miles less than JB. Now whoever says JB dosnt work hard cant say it anymore.

[narain fan 0]

quite! But barcelona is twisty so thats maybe why its still fast! Honda seem to have fallen behind mclaren now, they better get their heads down and work to not fall behind.

it has got a "stttrraiiiiigghhtt and fast corners.....

it is not valencia we are talking about...

Also JB since november has covered the most testing miles of anyone, and the nearest driver to is 5000+miles is PDLR who has tested some 1000 miles less than JB. Now whoever says JB dosnt work hard cant say it anymore.

maybe something to do with the new 5 year "contract" which "compels" him to work hard

[red is an ugly colour 0]

why does every1 hate him so much? his driving is pretty amazing to watch. Well Screw you!

Why do you think I hate the guy?? I just thougt it was good news that Kimi was the fastest.

[cristiano84 0]

Team Time Lap Gap km/h Laps

1 Giancarlo Fisichella (M) Renault M 1'13.971 67 - 225.2 81

2 Fernando Alonso (M) Renault M 1'13.977 71 +0.006 225.2 87

3 Juan Pablo Montoya (M) McLaren M 1'14.588 96 +0.617 223.3 97

4 Kimi Raikkonen (M) McLaren M 1'15.586 34 +1.615 220.4 59

5 Jenson Button (M) Honda M 1'15.720 58 +1.749 220.0 82

6 Rubens Barrichello (M) Honda M 1'15.940 47 +1.969 219.3 86

7 Jarno Trulli ( Toyota B 1'16.057 38 +2.086 219.0 62

8 Ralf Schumacher ( Toyota B 1'16.059 48 +2.088 219.0 59

9 Nico Rosberg ( Williams B 1'16.849 31 +2.878 216.8 59

10 Mark Webber ( Williams B 1'16.913 71 +2.942 216.6 88

11 Christian Klien (M) Red Bull M 1'16.938 26 +2.967 216.5 29

12 David Coulthard (M) Red Bull M 1'17.247 41 +3.276 215.6 45

13 Cristijan Albers ( Midland F1 B 1'18.780 28 +4.809 211.4 42

14 Takuma Sato ( Super Aguri B 1'19.787 49 +5.816 208.8 55

2 hrs left...

Sato just one second slower than Albers..considering he has got a 4 years old chassis not an impressive showing from Midland...

[cavallino 2]

I am sure I've seen different times..

Pos  Driver		Team					  Time	  Laps
01.  Button		Honda				(M)  1:13.935  116
02.  Fisichella	Renault			  (M)  1:13.971  125
03.  Alonso		Renault			  (M)  1:13.977  113
04.  Barrichello   Honda				(M)  1:14.266  119
05.  Montoya	   McLaren-Mercedes	 (M)  1:14.588  131
06.  Raikkonen	 McLaren-Mercedes	 (M)  1:15.475   80
07.  Rosberg	   Williams-Cosworth	(B)  1:15.774   83
08.  R.Schumacher  Toyota			   (B)  1:15.973   97
09.  Coulthard	 Red Bull-Ferrari	 (M)  1:16.034   54
10.  Trulli		Toyota			   (B)  1:16.057  103
11.  Webber		Williams-Cosworth	(B)  1:16.128   97
12.  Klien		 Red Bull-Ferrari	 (M)  1:16.923   55
13.  Albers		MF1-Toyota		   (B)  1:17.142   79
14.  Sato		  Super Aguri-Honda	(B)  1:19.787   58

I am willing to bet Aguri will get within 5 seconds, and maybe even 4. The Honda V8 does them no harm.

[narain fan 0]

I am sure I've seen different times..

Team Time Lap Gap km/h Laps

1 Giancarlo Fisichella (M) Renault M 1'13.971 67 - 225.2 81

2 Fernando Alonso (M) Renault M 1'13.977 71 +0.006 225.2 87

3 Juan Pablo Montoya (M) McLaren M 1'14.588 96 +0.617 223.3 97

4 Kimi Raikkonen (M) McLaren M 1'15.586 34 +1.615 220.4 59

5 Jenson Button (M) Honda M 1'15.720 58 +1.749 220.0 82

6 Rubens Barrichello (M) Honda M 1'15.940 47 +1.969 219.3 86

7 Jarno Trulli ( Toyota B 1'16.057 38 +2.086 219.0 62

8 Ralf Schumacher ( Toyota B 1'16.059 48 +2.088 219.0 59

9 Nico Rosberg ( Williams B 1'16.849 31 +2.878 216.8 59

10 Mark Webber ( Williams B 1'16.913 71 +2.942 216.6 88

11 Christian Klien (M) Red Bull M 1'16.938 26 +2.967 216.5 29

12 David Coulthard (M) Red Bull M 1'17.247 41 +3.276 215.6 45

13 Cristijan Albers ( Midland F1 B 1'18.780 28 +4.809 211.4 42

14 Takuma Sato ( Super Aguri B 1'19.787 49 +5.816 208.8 55

2 hrs left...

[Senna 0]

RAIN STOPS PLAY FOR TORO ROSSO

ITV

Another day of heavy rain at Imola prompted Scuderia Toro Rosso to cut short its test programme at lunchtime and head back to its factory in nearby Faenza.

The conditions were, if anything, worse than yesterday and the team once again spent much of its time concentrating on pit stop practice.

Scott Speed did brave the elements and completed 34 laps, posting a best time of 1m38.290s. Team-mate Neel Jani remained garage-bound.

[Jenson_Rules 0]

Button on top at Barcelona

23 February 2006

Jenson Button set the pace on the fourth day of testing this week at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. The Honda driver covered 116 laps, his fastest in 1m13.935s - just 0.036s ahead of Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella.

Button's lap came right at the end of the day and saw him nudge Fisichella and Alonso into second and third. The Renault pair completed the most mileage of the day with 238 laps or 1,101km. Honda was almost as busy and while Button set the pace, Barrichello was only 0.3s behind in fourth place. The pair covered 235 laps or 1,087km.

Behind Barrichello were the two McLarens of Montoya and Raikkonen - covering 211 laps. Nico Rosberg came in seventh in the Williams while team mate Mark Webber was eleventh. The pair were split by Ralf Schumacher (whose engine blew late in the day), Coulthard and Trulli.

Christian Klien finished the day twelfth ahead of Midland's Christijan Albers and Super Aguri's Takuma Sato. The Japanese driver covered 58 laps - almost a race distance. His best lap was in 1m19.787s - 5.8s off the pace.

It was overcast for most of the day and air temperature reached only 16 degrees Centigrade.

1 J. Button Honda 01:13.935 116

2 G. Fisichella Renault 01:13.971 125

3 F. Alonso Renault 01:13.977 113

4 R. Barrichello Honda 01:14.266 119

5 JP. Montoya McLaren 01:14.588 131

6 K. R

[ben_3001 0]

Both Jacques Villenueve and Robert Kubica were on testing duty today for the BMW Sauber F1 Team at Imola. The track was wet all day because of heavy rain showers. Both drivers worked on tyre development.

Unfortunately the team wasnt able to complete the proyected schedule due to bad weather, this is the team test info:

Jacques Villeneuve:

Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.06-03 / BMW P86 V8

Test kilometres today: 454 km (92 laps)

Fastest lap: 1:30.866 min (lap 81)

Robert Kubica:

Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.06-04 / BMW P86 V8

Test kilometres today: 424 km (86 laps)

Fastest lap: 1:31.939 min (lap 75)

Programme both drivers: There was no rain during the whole day, but the track was very wet in the morning and didn't dry up until the evening. In the morning, Jacques and Robert did long-runs on extreme wet tyres, in the afternoon, they tested intermediates. In addition, the engineers did some fine tuning of the electronic systems.

Jacques and Robert will continue testing tomorrow. The programme will be decided based on weather conditions.

Some pictures of Feb 22 :

[Jenson_Rules 0]

BUTTON SHADES RENAULTS IN SPAIN
Last Updated: Friday, 24, February, 2006, 04:22
[img]http://www.itv-f1.com/ImageLibrary/35923_1.jpg[/img]
The third day of testing at Barcelona underlined the intensity of competition at the front of the Formula 1 field this year, with the three fastest drivers blanketed by a scant 0.057s.

Jenson Button emerged on top with a stunning best lap of 1m13.920s, easily the quickest time set at the Circuit de Catalunya this year.

The Honda Racing driver just shaded Renault

[monza gorilla 1]

They are getting sooo close to last years times......

I think the top 3 were on low fuel banzai laps though.

[narain fan 0]

Button on top at Barcelona

1 J. Button Honda 01:13.935 116

2 G. Fisichella Renault 01:13.971 125

3 F. Alonso Renault 01:13.977 113

4 R. Barrichello Honda 01:14.266 119

5 JP. Montoya McLaren 01:14.588 131

6 K. R

[monza gorilla 1]

Yes, I noticed that, too.

[narain fan 0]

Yes, I noticed that, too.

and he was the one complaining that there are a lot of posts related to BMW's winter testing program and their drivers...

seems to be a deliberate attempt to post the same thing ...after Ben_3001 posted the

"BMW-Imola testing notes'...if that is the case then SHAME J-r

SHAME...

or maybe just that he was having another field day with "SOM RUS..."

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Howdy,

First timer, Kimi fan, been following F1 long enough to know SENNA was, and still is, greater than Schumacher. I've been following the topics quite closely, and decided to let loose with a few opinions thats entirely mine. I know this is the testing thread, so please be patient. OK, here goes...

1. Testing: I still think we can't really tell who's in front, who's leading, as Senna has suggested, it's still too early. It will still continue to be so until the first race of the season, until we're sure neither Ferrari or Mclaren are sandbagging, or drivers posting fast laptimes on low fuels etc. But we can tell who look strong. So based on this here's my little prediction.

1. Mclaren,

2. Renault

3. BAR Honda,

4. Ferrari,

5. BMW

6. Toyota,

the others i won't bother to mention.

2. It's weird how people can hack off the livery of a car when it's an absolute work of art. Not one motorsport magazine or website has done that! But every expert has use adjectives to describe the new McLaren MP4-21, words like DAZZLING, UNIQUE and STRIKING. Hmmmm....There's some jealous crowd out here, abusing their right to freedom of speech.

3. Villeneuve is a wuss, and a bad one at that. The only way he won the championship was on the back of a strong engine and a reliable car. He will never win one again! Heidfeld is gonna kick some a## this year!

4. Alonso is a bit of a wuss too. But he had a car last year. The car was so good, it enabled him to even slide into a corner using full opposite lock!!!!! How can you not win when the opposition's engine keep breaking down. With all this said, their MUST BE REASON why Kimi won all the driver of the year awards. Pure RAW TALENT, and thats the difference between Senna and Shumacher too. Why, Shumacher even brought the whole team from Bennetton so he could rely on a hugely superior car. Senna, maybe you should open a forum topic called "The difference between a RACER and a racer"

5. Weber might be a wuss, let's hope he better performs this year. That boy's got talent.

6. I'm gonna say something now that might shock some people. The fight in the future will not be between Kimi and Alonso, rather Kimi and Jenson Button, with Alonso licking scraps from wherever he can.

7. KIMI WILL BE CHAMPION THIS YEAR!

Well guys, i've let it out, now pick up yer rifles and FIRE at me! Can't wait for the first race, the three month break is torture!!!!

[narain fan 0]

Howdy,

First timer, Kimi fan, been following F1 long enough to know SENNA was, and still is, greater than Schumacher. I've been following the topics quite closely, and decided to let loose with a few opinions thats entirely mine. I know this is the testing thread, so please be patient. OK, here goes...

1. Testing: I still think we can't really tell who's in front, who's leading, as Senna has suggested, it's still too early. It will still continue to be so until the first race of the season, until we're sure neither Ferrari or Mclaren are sandbagging, or drivers posting fast laptimes on low fuels etc. But we can tell who look strong. So based on this here's my little prediction.

1. Mclaren,

2. Renault

3. BAR Honda,

4. Ferrari,

5. BMW

6. Toyota,

the others i won't bother to mention.

2. It's weird how people can hack off the livery of a car when it's an absolute work of art. Not one motorsport magazine or website has done that! But every expert has use adjectives to describe the new McLaren MP4-21, words like DAZZLING, UNIQUE and STRIKING. Hmmmm....There's some jealous crowd out here, abusing their right to freedom of speech.

3. Villeneuve is a wuss, and a bad one at that. The only way he won the championship was on the back of a strong engine and a reliable car. He will never win one again! Heidfeld is gonna kick some a## this year!

4. Alonso is a bit of a wuss too. But he had a car last year. The car was so good, it enabled him to even slide into a corner using full opposite lock!!!!! How can you not win when the opposition's engine keep breaking down. With all this said, their MUST BE REASON why Kimi won all the driver of the year awards. Pure RAW TALENT, and thats the difference between Senna and Shumacher too. Why, Shumacher even brought the whole team from Bennetton so he could rely on a hugely superior car. Senna, maybe you should open a forum topic called "The difference between a RACER and a racer"

5. Weber might be a wuss, let's hope he better performs this year. That boy's got talent.

6. I'm gonna say something now that might shock some people. The fight in the future will not be between Kimi and Alonso, rather Kimi and Jenson Button, with Alonso licking scraps from wherever he can.

7. KIMI WILL BE CHAMPION THIS YEAR!

Well guys, i've let it out, now pick up yer rifles and FIRE at me! Can't wait for the first race, the three month break is torture!!!!

as for the above analysis,i must appreciate it is a well articulated "first post"..

i found very very little more in it worth praising...

[monza gorilla 1]

Hmm. Where to start?

to the forum BradSpeedMan.

nice to have another opinion, but the McLaren livery is awful, so there! (The Edsel was unique and striking as well........)

I agree with some, but not all, of your driver assessments - I'll post a longer answer when I have more time.

In the meantime enjoy the ride!

[Jem of the Shire 0]

But he had a car last year. The car was so good, it enabled him to even slide into a corner using full opposite lock!!!!! How can you not win when the opposition's engine keep breaking down. With all this said, their MUST BE REASON why Kimi won all the driver of the year awards. Pure RAW TALENT

Wahey someone agrees with me!!!

Don't know what you're on about with the abuse of freedom of speech thing tho...

[pumpdoc 2]

Yes, I noticed that, too.

Notice that the times are different in the second post..ahemmmmmmmmm..............

[narain fan 0]

Notice that the times are different in the second post..ahemmmmmmmmm..............

since u fail to do the job at hand....

let me post the article here ...

""" [23/02/06 - 19:49]

McLaren complete another successful week of testing

Significant mileage on both MP4-21s

Photo F1-Live.com

Zoom

Juan Pablo Montoya / McLaren MP4-21

Team McLaren Mercedes' test at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona, Spain, ended today with Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya completing just under 1000km during the final session of the week.

Both drivers were continuing the programme for the week, which had seen the team focus on set-up work alongside putting significant mileage onto the two MP4-21s that were in Spain.

Juan Pablo set a fastest time of 1m14.587 over the course of 131 laps, which was the largest total for the day of all 14 drivers on track. Kimi put in a 1m15.475 as he covered 80 laps. Today saw Kimi and Juan Pablo complete 370km and 605km respectively, taking their joint total for the three day session to 2198km in the two MP4-21s.

Work began on Tuesday at the Circuit de Catalunya, with the day dominated by cold weather conditions in the morning and rain in the afternoon, any meaningful running was restricted to the late morning. Despite this, the Team McLaren Mercedes drivers covered nearly 400km between them. Kimi only ventured out on a couple of one lap runs to complete practice launches in the afternoon.

Wednesday saw the weather improve and after the track had dried out properly, Kimi and Juan Pablo began racking up the miles. As always with multi-team tests, running was affected by red flag stoppages, nine in total on Tuesday caused by the other teams. Although the track was closed about 20% of the day, the Team McLaren Mercedes test team had a productive day covering over 840km without incident, and Kimi topped the timesheets with a 1m15.224.

Testing will continue next week in Valencia with an MP4-21 and an MP4-20, as the two cars that were being run this week are returning to the McLaren Technology Centre before leaving in the freight for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Pedro will be at the wheel of the MP4-21 on Monday 27th February alongside Gary Paffett in the 20. Kimi will join the test for Tuesday 28th February and Wednesday 1st March in the MP4-21, with Pedro taking over duties in the MP4-20 for the final two days.

Juan Pablo Montoya

"We've done a lot of good work this week, there have been a few problems with the wet weather and a couple of small glitches with the car, but generally it has been a productive week. It has also been quite cold here in Barcelona, which means that you aren't getting the full performance, and also everyone is testing different things. So it is difficult to compare the performances of the teams testing here during the week."

Kimi Raikkonen

"I feel that we have improved a lot over the last few weeks, we are continuing to develop the car to find the speed and reliability that we need and we are moving in a good direction. We have covered some really good distances this week in Barcelona, but we need to keep pushing as there is still work to be done."

Press release

McLaren Mercedes"""

why, all of a sudden, are the mclaren thrashers are gone? is it becasue mcalren has found the reliability that has eluded them for so many years?

[narain fan 0]

BMW Sauber’s final pre-season test

Premature end on the final day at Imola

Zoom

Weather at Imola has hindered serious running

Due to bad weather conditions in the north of Italy, the BMW Sauber F1 Team decided to stop the test prematurely. Today Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica were unable to complete any timed laps at the wheel of BMW Sauber F1.06 cars with BMW P86 V8 engines. This was the team’s final pre-season test.

Jacques Villeneuve

“Apart from the bad weather in Imola, pre-season testing went quite well because we did a lot of laps and we didn't have too many mechanical problems. We did a race simulation, which we completed, and did even more laps than a race distance. The performance is definitely a big improvement compared to last year. How this compares to the competition is very difficult to judge, but I strongly believe that we are looking better than one year ago. The BMW Sauber F1.06 is easier to handle than last year's car and the BMW engine is very good, very smooth to drive."

Robert Kubica

“As I am not at all an experienced driver in a Formula One car, the testing opportunities given to me by the team were extremely important. I have been learning a lot. I now understand much more about Formula One already. It is not only about the car and driving it, it is also about how to work with the team and with the engineers. After I started testing with the interim car, I feel the BMW Sauber F1.06 is a big improvement. I’m very much looking forward to Bahrain and my new job there.”

Willy Rampf, Technical Director Chassis

“Overall we are very happy with the way the preparations are going. Since the roll-out on 17th January we have covered a total of 9,950 kilometres with the BMW Sauber F1.06 and have had no major problems. In terms of reliability, our car has reached a high standard. We had scheduled a very ambitious test programme and were able to work through it almost completely. It ranged from the initial system checks all the way to a complete race simulation including pit stops.

”As far as performance goes, we’re also making good progress there, but of course the only real benchmark will be the first race in Bahrain. I’m very happy with the integration process, which is already well advanced. The cooperation between Munich and Hinwil is working out extremely well. Our successful preparations have also been helped by the fact that the three drivers haven’t caused the slightest bit of damage to the car. We will be heading for Bahrain well prepared.”

Press release

BMW Sauber

VILLENEUVE POSITIVE AFTER FINAL TEST

Last Updated: Friday, 24, February, 2006, 14:59

Jacques Villeneuve has tipped his BMW Sauber team to take a step up in 2006.

The team had to abandon its final pre-season test early as the rain that has dogged this week’s Imola sessions failed to clear today.

But Villeneuve reckons that he has done enough mileage to know that the BMW Sauber F1.06 is a competitive car.

“The performance is definitely a big improvement compared to last year,” he said.

“How this compares to the competition is very difficult to judge, but I strongly believe we are looking better.”

Villeneuve added that the new BMW Sauber was “easier to handle” that the 2005 Sauber that caused him so many difficulties in the early part of last season.

The team has produced some promising times during winter testing, but BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen has been keen to downplay expectations.

“From my point of view, it would be unrealistic to claim that we are going to win a race in 2006,” he said.

“But obviously we hope to get as close to winning as possible.

“Should we be offered an opportunity, we will be on the spot.”

itv-f1

[monza gorilla 1]

Threadwaste.