It is the last day of F1 winter testing at the Jerez track, and the teams should be pleased with their running. There have been no major mechanical issues for any of the teams, with many getting their predicted millage in.
The next test is in Barcelona, so they will be hurriedly evaluating the data and hearing from the drivers to push forward at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Here is the review of day 4's testing, including pictures and quotes.
After spending the majority of the past few days near the bottom end of the leader board, Ferrari finally topped a day at the Jerez track. Alonso's best time of 1m18.877 put Ferrari firmly at the top. The good result comes after the FIA deemed the Ferrari, along with the Mclaren's, exhausts to be legal after questioning in the paddock. The Spaniard set the time early in the day before using the rest of his track time as aero tests. Alonso's time is even more impressive as it is the 2nd fastest time a 2012 spec car has set during this test, but be did only complete 39 laps.
Ferrari still are adamant that timings mean nothing, "We said yesterday we don't look at the stopwatch now because it's a work in progress and we don't look at the stopwatch now because we have done one second less than yesterday. Nothing has changed," said Ferrari's Head of Communications Luca Colajanni.
7 tenths behind the Ferrari F2012 was another Ferrari powered car, the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne. The impressive young Frenchman completed a healthy 80 laps, bringing an end to an impressive test for the Italian team. They have been at the top of the time sheets throughout the 4 days, with lots of mileage under their belt. Vergne's time of 1m19.597 was a decent effort, with the team feeling the day was very productive. He said "A good second day for me as we worked through everything on our work plan and completed a lot of kilometres. After making some adjustments, I feel more comfortable in the car and I can also get an understanding of the effect of the set-up changes that we tried and they seem to have moved us forward."
Just 9 thousandths behind the Toro Rosso was the Red Bull RB8, in the hands of double world champion Sebastian Vettel. The car did 2 installation laps before retiring to the pits with the first mechanical problem of the test, an electronic fault. This left him in the pits until mid afternoon, meaning his times were set at the less favourable time where conditions are not at their prime. The delay left Vettel completing just 49 laps.
Just 34 thousandths behind the double world champion was Lewis Hamilton in the Mclaren MP4-27. His best time of 1m19.640 meant the top 4 were separated by just 7 tenths, a small margin compared to the past few days. The Mclaren had another faultless day with 86 laps completed.
Less than 1 tenth back on a 1m19.729 was another Frenchman, Romain Grosjean. He did not better his day 3 time but was still competitive, within touching distance of the Mclaren, Red Bull and Toro Rosso. He completed 95 laps and left the team feeling confident that the E20 was at the front of the pack.
Kamui Kobayashi took over from Sergio Perez in the Sauber C31, completing 76 laps for the Swiss outfit. He finished the day less than a second behind the Ferrari of Alonso, a tenth away from Grosjean. He did stop on track, causing a brief red flag, after a hydraulics leak but was soon able to continue running. His time of 1m19.834 meant the from 2nd to 6th was a gap of just 2 tenths. He said "If I look at the whole picture I am happy with the first test. For sure we have found the right direction to go in. The car didn't surprise us with any big issues, which allowed us to work on improvements straight away."
Force India had a difficult Thursday with reserve driver Jules Bianchi crashing and causing the team to abandon running Nico Hulkeneberg later on. The German got his testing debut underway in the VJM05 and completed 90 laps. His time of 1m19.977 was just a tenth behind Kobayashi, just over a second off Alonso's front running time.
Senna in the Williams completed another faultless day, showing the possible reliability of the FW34. He circulated the Jerez track 124 times with a best time of 1m20.132 meaning he missed out on dipping below the 1m20's. It was an encouraging day for the team and Senna who felt he progressed and felt more comfortable.
Jarno Trulli took over from Caterham reserve driver Giedo van der Garde and drove 117 laps of the Spanish track. After struggling in 2011 with power steering he immediately noticed a distinct improvement. He was however over 3 seconds off the pace with a 1m22.198 being his best time. He said after his first full day of testing “My first impression of the car was that it is good – a definite progression from 2011 and a good basis for us to work on for the season ahead. Its reliability has been demonstrated all week here in Jerez and we have generated a lot of data, particularly on KERS and the 2012 tyres which will help us improve setups for the next couple of tests."
So it is clear times do not mean anything. After not being able to set a headlining time the Ferrari, in the hands of Alonso, has hit back at the critics who felt a bad few days of testing would show the real pace. A few mechanical problems for Vettel and Kobayashi were the only main problems of the day, with a decent amount of mileage set.
The next test is at the Circuit de Catalunya on the 21st-24th February where the new Mercedes will be revealed. It will give the teams a chance to review the data and push forward to improve the car.
Results
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s 39
2. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +0.720 80
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.606s +0.729 50
4. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.640s +0.763 86
5. Grosjean Lotus 1m19.729s +0.852 95
6. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +0.957 76
7. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +1.100 90
8. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +1.255 125
9. Trulli Caterham 1m22.198s +3.321 117
To read all the days reviews go here for day 1, here for day 2 and here for day 3.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Here is the review of day 4's testing, including pictures and quotes.
After spending the majority of the past few days near the bottom end of the leader board, Ferrari finally topped a day at the Jerez track. Alonso's best time of 1m18.877 put Ferrari firmly at the top. The good result comes after the FIA deemed the Ferrari, along with the Mclaren's, exhausts to be legal after questioning in the paddock. The Spaniard set the time early in the day before using the rest of his track time as aero tests. Alonso's time is even more impressive as it is the 2nd fastest time a 2012 spec car has set during this test, but be did only complete 39 laps.
Ferrari still are adamant that timings mean nothing, "We said yesterday we don't look at the stopwatch now because it's a work in progress and we don't look at the stopwatch now because we have done one second less than yesterday. Nothing has changed," said Ferrari's Head of Communications Luca Colajanni.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Just 9 thousandths behind the Toro Rosso was the Red Bull RB8, in the hands of double world champion Sebastian Vettel. The car did 2 installation laps before retiring to the pits with the first mechanical problem of the test, an electronic fault. This left him in the pits until mid afternoon, meaning his times were set at the less favourable time where conditions are not at their prime. The delay left Vettel completing just 49 laps.
Just 34 thousandths behind the double world champion was Lewis Hamilton in the Mclaren MP4-27. His best time of 1m19.640 meant the top 4 were separated by just 7 tenths, a small margin compared to the past few days. The Mclaren had another faultless day with 86 laps completed.
Less than 1 tenth back on a 1m19.729 was another Frenchman, Romain Grosjean. He did not better his day 3 time but was still competitive, within touching distance of the Mclaren, Red Bull and Toro Rosso. He completed 95 laps and left the team feeling confident that the E20 was at the front of the pack.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Force India had a difficult Thursday with reserve driver Jules Bianchi crashing and causing the team to abandon running Nico Hulkeneberg later on. The German got his testing debut underway in the VJM05 and completed 90 laps. His time of 1m19.977 was just a tenth behind Kobayashi, just over a second off Alonso's front running time.
Senna in the Williams completed another faultless day, showing the possible reliability of the FW34. He circulated the Jerez track 124 times with a best time of 1m20.132 meaning he missed out on dipping below the 1m20's. It was an encouraging day for the team and Senna who felt he progressed and felt more comfortable.
Jarno Trulli took over from Caterham reserve driver Giedo van der Garde and drove 117 laps of the Spanish track. After struggling in 2011 with power steering he immediately noticed a distinct improvement. He was however over 3 seconds off the pace with a 1m22.198 being his best time. He said after his first full day of testing “My first impression of the car was that it is good – a definite progression from 2011 and a good basis for us to work on for the season ahead. Its reliability has been demonstrated all week here in Jerez and we have generated a lot of data, particularly on KERS and the 2012 tyres which will help us improve setups for the next couple of tests."
So it is clear times do not mean anything. After not being able to set a headlining time the Ferrari, in the hands of Alonso, has hit back at the critics who felt a bad few days of testing would show the real pace. A few mechanical problems for Vettel and Kobayashi were the only main problems of the day, with a decent amount of mileage set.
The next test is at the Circuit de Catalunya on the 21st-24th February where the new Mercedes will be revealed. It will give the teams a chance to review the data and push forward to improve the car.
Results
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s 39
2. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +0.720 80
3. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.606s +0.729 50
4. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.640s +0.763 86
5. Grosjean Lotus 1m19.729s +0.852 95
6. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +0.957 76
7. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +1.100 90
8. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +1.255 125
9. Trulli Caterham 1m22.198s +3.321 117
To read all the days reviews go here for day 1, here for day 2 and here for day 3.
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