Valencia day#3 times & HR photos

Times:

1 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 1:11.189 88
2 Heikki Kovalainen n FIN McLaren 1:11.206 + 0.017 89
3 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari 1:11.831 + 0.642 96
4 Kazuki Nakajima JAP Williams 1:11.971 + 0.782 116
5 Lewis Hamilton ENG McLaren 1:11.994 + 0.805 84
6 Robert Kubica POL BMW Sauber 1:12.095 + 0.906 86
7 Jarno Trulli ITA Toyota 1:12.109 + 0.920 96
8 Sebastian Vettel DUI Toro Rosso 1:12.526 + 1.337 113
9 Nick Heidfeld Nick Heidfeld DUI BMW Sauber 1:12.600 + 1.411 39
10 Timo Glock Timo Glock DUI Toyota 1:12.705 + 1.516 68
11 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Force India 1:12.949 + 1.760 93
12 Nelson Piquet Jr. . BRA Renault 1:12.973 + 1.784 89
13 Mark Webber AUS Red Bull Racing 1:13.133 + 1.944 15
14 Sebastien Bourdais FRA Toro Rosso 1:13.191 + 2.002 + 77
15 Nico Hulkenberg DUI Williams 1:13.306 + 2.117 74
16 Jenson Button ENG Honda 1:13.716 + 2.527 60
17 Takashi Kogure JAP Honda 1:15.703 + 4.514 25

Testing session in Valencia ended for the Scuderia

Maranello, 24th January

Circuit: "Ricardo Tormo" di Cheste circuit, (Valencia) - 4.005 km
Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa
Car: F2008
Weather: air temperature 11/18 °C, track 11/21 °C. Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon.

Third and final day of testing this week for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, working again at the "Ricardo Tormo" Cheste circuit, on the outskirts of Valencia.

Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen completed the programme planned for this test, which centred on further understanding the F2008, on reliability and on finding the best set-up for the car.

The day in figures is as follows: 88 laps for Kimi (best time 1.11.189) and 96 for Felipe (1.11.831).

The Scuderia will be back on track on 4th February, at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, running until the 6th and then back again at the same venue from 9th to 11th.

Ferrari Press & Media Bulletin# 1-14


Honda F1 Team

Button: "New car is worse than RA107"
After get his first tast of the new Honda RA108, Jenson Button has said that new car is not a big improvement respect last year one: "car doesn't have any grip, traction is very poor at the exit of the slow corners and at high speed ones it feels strange. We need to change alot of it, they said me the new parts will come at the next test, but i'm unsure that will make enough difference to be atleast at the top of the midfield.

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Once again the BMWs and Toyotas seem to be in lock step. I like Toyota but I was hoping BMW would be doing much better than this.

I was so hoping that Honda would turn things around this season. While I'm sure they've got what it takes this is very disconcerting.


On a positive note it's nice to see Williams doing well and Nakajima living up to the hype.

 

2 flying Finns now..woow

Honda.....jeeeez I'am. ..am lost for word's

 

Maybe Honda will distract us with some crazy livery.

 

Those Alonso fans are funny and also didn't Button say they would be fighting for the championship next year?

 

Honda is in deep, deep trouble and Toyota not a step further from last year.

BMW are disappointed with the car, but claim to know what the problem is and to fix it. One can only hope. So far it looks like they're far off from their 08 goal of a victory.

Looking at Fisico in the midst of all this with his Team Farce car, maybe they will live up to their claim to beat 2 teams this year?

 

3 days in a row that Bourdais is slower than his teammate.

I hope Berger didn't lose Scott Speed's number...

 

Bourdais has only been in a F1 car a few times now, Vettel has had over a year experience. Plus, we all know that practice and testing don't really indicate race speed.

 

+1

 

Williams is doing great !
Toyota should pull the plug at the end of this year if they once again are a mid pack , at best , effort and give their support ( $ ) to someone who knows what to do with it.

Kovalainen is proving why he didnt fit in at Renault; He's too fast.

 

Its a big step to F1.... give him some time.

Why has Alonso and Picket not been on the track on the same days ?

 

it's not exactly like Vettel is a grizzled veteran, now is he?

Hamilton made a bigger leap from GP2 than Bourdais is from Champ cars yet he was immediately competitive. I don't believe Bourdais has it. Liuzzi, who is hardly a world-beater, was frequently faster than Vettel, Bourdais appears to be a good 3/10s slower.

 

Valencia: Test review

A busy week's testing in Valencia over the past four days saw ten of the eleven teams venture on-track, with all using their 2008 cars. With the second major test of 2008 now completed, it's clear to see that Ferrari are still the pace-setters, with Räikkönen and Massa both finishing inside the top three all week. While McLaren are still hanging on, the surprises of the week was the lack of pace in the new BMW and the unexpected pace of the new Williams, which clocked the third-fastest time on its first full day. Williams, along with Renault, were the only teams on-track on Monday, as they conducted shakedowns of their new cars.

Ferrari

Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa spent the entire week at the wheel of two F2008s, as they continued with the development programme of the new car. With the Scuderia clocking the fastest time on the second and fourth days, the money is already on the Italian team for a competitive start to the season. On the agenda for the week was a focus on set-up, along with some reliability testing and practice starts.

Lots of Speed Left In the Ferrari ?

Felipe Massa has fired a warning shot at Ferrari's F1 rivals by suggesting that the already ultra-competitive F2008 will likely be even faster at by the time of the Australian grand prix in March. "We are basically just using the aerodynamics of last year," he revealed to the Spanish newspaper Diario AS at the Valencia tests, "and we are hoping for improvements for Melbourne, which are not yet ready. We still have progress to make," the Brazilian added.

BMW Sauber-BMW

The team continued with just one F1.08, with the 2007 F1.07B also running a limited programme for the three days. Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Marko Asmer were all on duty at different stages of the week, however, in general, the signs were not overly impressive, with a BMW getting inside the top eight only once, on the final day. Work in the F1.08, which was driven by Heidfeld on Tuesday, and Kubica on Wednesday and Thursday, focused on general development work, which concentrated on aerodynamic comparisons, suspension settings, mechanical and aero set-up, systems checks and long runs. In the F1.07B, which was driven by Asmer on Tuesday, before been taken over by Heidfeld, work focused on the new ECU and systems checks.

Renault

Renault ran their new R28 for the first time on Monday, conducting a shakedown alongside Williams before the real testing action got underway the following day. Once down to business, Fernando Alonso driving until Wednesday, and Nelson Piquet jr. driving on Thursday, worked on set-up, balance and reliability testing, as well as some practice starts and pit-stop training.

Williams-Toyota

Like Renault, Williams had just a single FW30 on-track for its maiden test, with Nico Hülkenberg giving it its shakedown on Monday, before Rosberg took over for Tuesday and Wednesday, while Nakajima drove on the final day. An interim FW29B was also on hand to conduct some reliability testing. Overall, the performance of the FW30 was extremely encouraging, with it lapping within a second of the Ferraris on all three days. Reliability too was impressive, with it completing over 100 laps on both of the final two days. Work in the new car was focused on systems checks and general development work.

Red Bull-Renault

David Coulthard and Mark Webber shared the time in Red Bull's new RB4, with Coulthard driving on the first day, before handing over to Webber for the final two days. Mark's test however, ended prematurely on Thursday when damaged was discovered on the monocoque after only 15 laps of running. The damage was unable to be repaired on time, thus ending the Australian's on-track duties. When the RB4 was on-track, worked centred on systems checks, set-up and car balance. Webber also conducted some aerodynamic test on Wednesday.

Toyota

Toyota had their first two-car test of their new TF108 this week, with Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli at the helm. The three days was spent on set-up evaluations, suspension settings and aero work. Despite an electrical problem to Timo's car on Thursday, the TF108 ran reliably all week.

Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Both race drivers were on duty all week at Toro Rosso, as they continued to hone new upgrades on last year's STR2, the car with which they will start the 2008 season. Over the three days on-track, Vettel and Bourdais worked on set-up, reliability, the evaluation of new aero parts and long runs. Overall, the car ran relatively reliably, although a problem with Vettel's car brought his session on Wednesday to an early end.

Honda

Honda debuted their new RA108 on Wednesday with Rubens Barrichello at the wheel. Jenson Button then took over from his team-mate for the final day, and although both say it is an improvement on last year's beastly RA107, the RA108 was unable to lap any quicker than any other car on-track, bar the 2007 Honda, which was piloted by rookie Japanese driver Takashi Kogure. In all, the RA108 needs to see significant improvements if it is to challenge for points. After all, Williams Renault debuted their 2008 machines here this week too, and both comfortably outpaced the Honda.

Force India-Ferrari

Force India once again rotated its three-strong driver line-up, with tester Tonio Liuzzi taking to the circuit on Tuesday, followed by Sutil on Wednesday and Fisichella on Thursday. Work focused in on set-up, dampers and the new standard ECU. Reliability however was not the team's strong point, as Liuzzi and Fisichella both experienced mechanical issues with the F8-VIIB.

McLaren-Mercedes

McLaren continued to put in impressive performances with its MP4-23, with Heikki Kovalainen carrying the flag for the team over the three days, first outpacing tester Pedro de la Rosa and then Lewis Hamilton on the final two days. Discounting a low-fuel run by Heikki on Wednesday however, the car did lack the pace to Ferrari, a situation which could continue to worsen as we drift towards the opening race of the season. The main focus of the test was to put more miles on the MP4-23, while work was also completed on the gearbox and set-up, as well as systems durability tests and endurance testing some new components.

Testing takes a break for a week, with the next official test due to begin exactly a week from today, on February 1st. All teams, bar Ferrari and Toyota, are expected to be in Barcelona for a three-day weekend test. In Bahrain however, Ferrari and Toyota will be at the Sakhir Grand Prix circuit for six days of testing, beginning on February 4th.

 

Great work by Ferrari, showing such a speed not doing any low-fuel-laps simply for fast times is fantastic.

Hondy on the other hand really has a problem. Getting beaten by every other team on the grid ... seems that Brawn has a lot of work to do

 

Hell no! Was glad when F1 got rid of him. Don't bring him back. Ever.

 

Actually Massa did some low fuel laps on day one.

 

Yes, but not on day #3 as it seems.

 

Hammi has been testing for a while, before he made he's debut. he's been groomed for years for that. plus, how can you compare a Mclaren and a STR?

 

Hami is older, true. But Vettel was a Friday test driver for the team for a while in 2006. Also the mistakes he made had nothing to do with the car he was in: The first corner accident at Indy and hitting his team mate in Fuji were brain fades, not brake fades.

OTOH Hami has shown his immense talent in the very first corner of his very first GP: As the chaos at Melbourne unfolded he not only didn't hit anybody, he even passed some folks. Now that is brilliant! Other moments of brilliance were not crashing at Monaco, but putting the pressure on his team mate. Fooling Massa into a mistake at Sepang. Having the situational awareness at Nuerburgring to remain calm in the car and keep the engine going. Stuff like that you don't learn in a simulator, you're born with it.

As I said, I'm not saying Vettel couldn't become a superstar, but so far I'm not sold. Hami is the next Senna/Schumacher, no question about it.

 

LoL at the brain fade...i mean, Brake fade

 

It is one of my fav expression. Not sure who invented it, maybe Hobbs. Another one is "he run out of talent and then out of track". Or "he got a little bit behind in his steering".

I'm sure we'll find plenty of situations this year to apply them again.

 

About Vettel;

Not really fair, accident was caused by Hammi in the lead, he was more like the innocent bystander at the gun fight.

I do agree 100% on Hammis skills and find it comical to those that pick nits about him. You can find a reason to dislike any driver.
For lack of a blatant team order move Hammi would be WDC.

 

'cause 'nando's scairt, that's why!

 

Hami's inconsistent driving behind the pace car ultimately caused Vettel's accident. True. But as a F1 driver he should be prepared for that. Hami didn't do anything illegal and not even that uncommon. Similar accidents happened with Button (?) at Monza behind the pace car (not sure, but might have been MS leading). Or with JPM in the Monaco tunnel hitting MS.

The accordeon effect is nothing pretty and caused by the first car behind the pace car, but it is always the following cars' responsibility not to hit the car in front. Button (?), JPM and Vettel were to blame, not the leader.

 

Of if Hamilton hadn't driven like a complete idiot and realized he only needed to bring the car home for the title instead of fighting for positions he didn't need.