So it has all come to an end, Formula 1's final test of the season has finished and now teams look ahead to the first race of the season.
Next stop, Melbourne where we will really see the true running order. However the final day of testing in Barcelona was a busy and crucial one, most of the teams brought brand news parts and pieces to trial, fine tuning their Melbourne spec cars and preparing for the long, exciting new season to start.
Dry weather treated drivers to a more straightforward and useful day of running at the Circuit de Catalunya, the perfect training ground to put new parts through their paces and gather the final pieces of information for Barcelona.
Who was piloting the 2013 machines today then? Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Paul Di Resta (Force India), Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Charles Pic (Caterham), Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi (Marussia).
The final day of winter testing was a very busy one, particularly towards the end of the afternoon session. Cars were vying for track position, clean air and that all important information for Australia.
Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets by the chequered flag, his best time of 1m20.130 looking formidable. The Mercedes W04 looked strong in the hands of the German, the team finishing fastest for the second consecutive day.
The time was set on the Soft Pirelli rubber, relatively early in the day. The majority of the pack completed well over 100 laps, and Rosberg was no exception. He completed 131 laps and gained some useful information. They seemingly showed off their true pace, but Rosberg was keen to dismiss they were streaks ahead of the rest. Rosberg shared that he felt other teams had not really showed their hand, the running order still being up in the air.
Fernando Alonso briefly sat at the top of the standings in the morning session, before almost immediately being displaced by Rosberg. The Spaniard had a fair few fans showing their support, even treating them to a little one handed wave whilst tackling the Circuit de Catalunya's final chicane.
Alonso ended the day four tenths down on the leading Mercedes, completing a very healthy 120 laps. He concentrated on longer runs in the afternoon session and developing their new exhaust, hence why he did not improve his time
Jenson Button ended the day third fastest, McLaren not really showing their true colours in front of the prying eyes of rival teams. He ended the day 1.3 seconds down on rival Nico, and like Alonso he completed over 120 laps.
The Brit set his fastest time on the Soft tyres, before concentrating on long run stints on the Medium and Hard Pirelli rubber towards the end of the afternoon. Nico Hulkenberg suffered a few minor reliability issues in the Sauber, but still managed to gather 118 laps worth of data for the Swiss squad. The C32 looks fast but with a few issues to iron out.
Kimi Raikkonen returned to the cockpit of the E21 after falling ill on Saturday. He had time to recover in the morning, after a gearbox issue meant he was unable to get out of the garage. Despite the early problems Raikkonen managed 50 laps and moved up the order in the afternoon, 1.5 seconds down on Rosberg.
Paul Di Resta took over the reins from Adrian Sutil on Sunday, a rather quiet day of running. The VJM06 looked reliable but they appear to sit behind Sauber and Williams at the moment. He also managed over 100 laps on the final day of testing, a very busy day for the Scot.
Pastor Maldonado drove the FW35 in the morning, sharing driving duties with Bottas yet again. The Williams team concentrated on upgrades to the rear packaging of the car and completed 73 laps collectively, Maldonado ending the day seventh and Bottas ninth.
Between the two Williams drivers sat Sebastian Vettel, who was happy with his final day of testing the RB9. He had a rather wild moment at the exit of turn nine, pushing hard to get the most out of Adrian Newey's 2013 machine. The German completed a range of heavy fuel runs and never really showed the front running pace expected.
Charles Pic impressively managed to just dip under the three second margin to Rosberg in the Mercedes. The French driver completed 116 laps at the wheel of the CT02 and gained more experience in his new car.
Jules Bianchi just missed out on the top 10, completing valuable running in the morning session for Marussia. Like fellow Frenchman Pic, he gained vital experience in the cockpit of his new car after joining the team on Friday. He completed 62 laps and ended the day nine tenths faster than his new team-mate Max Chilton.
Chilton took over from Bianchi in the afternoon and completed 49 laps in the MR02. He rounded out the time sheets for the final day of testing, the Marussia pair sandwiching Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso. The Aussie completed a number of long runs and seemed to be running higher on fuel.
So Mercedes put the hammer down and really proved that they are challengers for victory in Australia. Whether the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari will be up there we do not know. The majority of the teams kept themselves to themselves, not really showing their hand and leaving us all guessing.
A busy final day of testing that really showed how important the sessions are. Seven drivers completed over 100 laps and teams tested and trialed numerous new additions.
Next stop, Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.
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| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Dry weather treated drivers to a more straightforward and useful day of running at the Circuit de Catalunya, the perfect training ground to put new parts through their paces and gather the final pieces of information for Barcelona.
Who was piloting the 2013 machines today then? Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jenson Button (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Paul Di Resta (Force India), Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Charles Pic (Caterham), Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi (Marussia).
The final day of winter testing was a very busy one, particularly towards the end of the afternoon session. Cars were vying for track position, clean air and that all important information for Australia.
Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets by the chequered flag, his best time of 1m20.130 looking formidable. The Mercedes W04 looked strong in the hands of the German, the team finishing fastest for the second consecutive day.
The time was set on the Soft Pirelli rubber, relatively early in the day. The majority of the pack completed well over 100 laps, and Rosberg was no exception. He completed 131 laps and gained some useful information. They seemingly showed off their true pace, but Rosberg was keen to dismiss they were streaks ahead of the rest. Rosberg shared that he felt other teams had not really showed their hand, the running order still being up in the air.
Fernando Alonso briefly sat at the top of the standings in the morning session, before almost immediately being displaced by Rosberg. The Spaniard had a fair few fans showing their support, even treating them to a little one handed wave whilst tackling the Circuit de Catalunya's final chicane.
Alonso ended the day four tenths down on the leading Mercedes, completing a very healthy 120 laps. He concentrated on longer runs in the afternoon session and developing their new exhaust, hence why he did not improve his time
Jenson Button ended the day third fastest, McLaren not really showing their true colours in front of the prying eyes of rival teams. He ended the day 1.3 seconds down on rival Nico, and like Alonso he completed over 120 laps.
The Brit set his fastest time on the Soft tyres, before concentrating on long run stints on the Medium and Hard Pirelli rubber towards the end of the afternoon. Nico Hulkenberg suffered a few minor reliability issues in the Sauber, but still managed to gather 118 laps worth of data for the Swiss squad. The C32 looks fast but with a few issues to iron out.
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| (c) Force India F1 Team |
Paul Di Resta took over the reins from Adrian Sutil on Sunday, a rather quiet day of running. The VJM06 looked reliable but they appear to sit behind Sauber and Williams at the moment. He also managed over 100 laps on the final day of testing, a very busy day for the Scot.
Pastor Maldonado drove the FW35 in the morning, sharing driving duties with Bottas yet again. The Williams team concentrated on upgrades to the rear packaging of the car and completed 73 laps collectively, Maldonado ending the day seventh and Bottas ninth.
Between the two Williams drivers sat Sebastian Vettel, who was happy with his final day of testing the RB9. He had a rather wild moment at the exit of turn nine, pushing hard to get the most out of Adrian Newey's 2013 machine. The German completed a range of heavy fuel runs and never really showed the front running pace expected.
Charles Pic impressively managed to just dip under the three second margin to Rosberg in the Mercedes. The French driver completed 116 laps at the wheel of the CT02 and gained more experience in his new car.
Jules Bianchi just missed out on the top 10, completing valuable running in the morning session for Marussia. Like fellow Frenchman Pic, he gained vital experience in the cockpit of his new car after joining the team on Friday. He completed 62 laps and ended the day nine tenths faster than his new team-mate Max Chilton.
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| (c) Caterham F1 Team |
So Mercedes put the hammer down and really proved that they are challengers for victory in Australia. Whether the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari will be up there we do not know. The majority of the teams kept themselves to themselves, not really showing their hand and leaving us all guessing.
A busy final day of testing that really showed how important the sessions are. Seven drivers completed over 100 laps and teams tested and trialed numerous new additions.
Next stop, Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.
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