Testing at Le Castellet for the Scuderia

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67442
Kimi Raikkonen led the way on the second day of testing at Paul Ricard in France on Thursday, as teams completed their preparations for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver eclipsed Lewis Hamilton's best effort from the first day to set a fastest lap of one minute 05.381 seconds - less than one tenth of a second ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.

Robert Kubica, keen to get his team back fighting McLaren and Ferrari after a disappointing Turkish Grand Prix, was third quickest - just more than four tenths behind Kovalainen.

David Coulthard continued to show the improving form of Red Bull Racing's RB4 to set the fourth fastest time, ahead of Jenson Button in the Honda Racing RA108 and Sebastien Bourdais in the new STR3.

Scuderia Toro Rosso will have taken great heart from the performance of the STR3, which was able to complete a race distance in the afternoon ahead of its scheduled debut in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Jarno Trulli was seventh fastest, ahead of Nelson Piquet and Kazuki Nakajima. Force India duo Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella were at the bottom of the timesheets after sharing their car over the day.

The day marked one of those rare occasions when a test was not interrupted by red flags.

The test continues tomorrow using a different configuration of the Paul Ricard circuit that will simulate the low-downforce settings required for the Canadian Grand Prix.


Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:05.381 102
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:05.471 89
3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:05.905 135
4. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:06.001 82
5. Button Honda (B) 1:06.091 155
6. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:06.125 110
7. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:06.205 120
8. Piquet Renault (B) 1:06.355 193
9. Nakajima Williams (B) 1:07.080 129
10. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:07.104 56
11. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:07.123 64

 

In that the teams are siad to be trying to avoid seeing him in Monaco... a Max detector?

 

Likely a pitot tube to measure air speed or pressure over the car. Note the extended engine cover/fin ala Renault and others.

 

I concur.

 

Rather different approach with the fin. Not as high and cut out on the bottom.

 

+3

 

Looks like a Pitot Tube to me too and they mounted it high so it is more in the freestream air and out of the boundary layer produced from the disturbed airflow over the car. The hole in the front measures Total Air Pressure and the hole on the side of the tube measures Static Pressure. By subtracting the Static Pressure from the Total Pressure, you arrive at the Dynamic Pressure which is represented by 1/2 times air density times Velocity squared. Knowing the air density, you can solve for Velocity (Speed). They may be trying to correlate wind tunnel data with the real-world track data or looking at the differences in the velocity measured from the Pitot Tube on the nose versus this mounting.

 

Yeah, its a pitot tube. Measures static and dynamic air pressure from which air speed can be calculated. They may still be investigating the effect of the new nose on flow to the rear wing. The larger sectioned portion is probably just a support; its probably designed to be as unobtrusive as possible while supporting the instrument.

As for the engine cover. It is no different than what Ferrari have been running for a while and no where near as long as Red Bull's. Here is a picture from the Turkish GP.
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LOL

 

Its looks like the top of a bumper car.

 

A comparison test possibly. It is also important to remember that we see a few pictures from a full days worth of running. The team could easily have run the normal nose yesterday too and we wouldn't ever get pictures of it. After all, a nose change takes what? 20 seconds?

-edit

I just noticed the spray coming off the wheels too. I wonder if it was a wet day or if they flooded the track. Something they can do at the testing mecca that is Paul Ricard.

 

Last day of testing at Paul Ricard for the Scuderia

Maranello, 16th May

Circuit: Paul Ricard HTTT, version 1EV2 SC Short - 5.255 km
Driver: Felipe Massa
Car: F2008
Weather: air temperature 16/15 °C, track temperature 18/16 °C. Overcast, outbursts of rain after 10, some heavy.

Third and final day of testing this week for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, working again today at the "Paul Ricard HTTT" circuit at Le Castellet in the South of France.

Today's test was carried out on a modified track, different to that used for the past two days, so as to replicate some characteristics of the Montreal circuit. Unfortunately, the rain put in an appearance, falling with increasing intensity shortly after ten in the morning. At the wheel of an F2008, Felipe Massa was only able to do a few laps with dry weather tyres, before the track surface made this impossible. Then, in the middle of the afternoon, given the limit on the number of kilometres that the rules allow for testing and the worsening weather at the track, it was decided to end the test slightly ahead of schedule. Up to that moment, Felipe had done 19 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.33.246.

With testing ended at Le Castellet, the Scuderia returns to Maranello to carry on with preparation for the Monaco Grand Prix, by studying all the data acquired these past few days. The shakedown of the cars to be used by Kimi and Felipe in the Principality will be carried out by Luca Badoer this coming Tuesday 20th May, at the Fiorano track.

 

guess they won't be running the holed nose for Monaco. anybody think they'll follow RB's engine cover soon?

 

I hope not that thing is ugly, and I believe that the team already stated that they won't be running the new nose for Monaco.

 

i agree. but, if it's workin, who knows, the team will give it a shot anyways.

well, say suppose this thing does come a new trend within this year, will it be outlawed next year?

 

The nose cone hole is only for the highspeed tracks.