1381 replies to this topic

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Jenson Button got the newly-formed Brawn GP off to an encouraging start by topping the times for the morning session of the group test that began at Barcelona today.

Button's fastest lap of 1:21.140 was considerably quicker than anyone else managed, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli going closest with a 1:21.85s.

While variances in fuel loads and the different testing programmes being followed from team to team mean that the times themselves are not a reliable indicator of outright performance, the reincarnated Honda outfit will still have been pleased to see the BGP 001 complete 30 laps on the opening morning of its first public outing.

Prior to today, the Brawn GP car's track time had been limited to a brief shakedown at Silverstone late last week, with the team's very future only having been secured via a buyout a day earlier.

Rubens Barrichello will drive the car for the first time when he joins the Barcelona test later this week.

[Nacho]

Brawn GP

addition from the f1-live article

Despite this being Brawn's first test since the Honda pullout, Button's best lap, after 30 tours of the Spanish layout, was quicker than his fastest lap of the Grand Prix at the same circuit last year.

Moreover, he was nearly seven-tenths faster than the next quickest car, Jarno Trulli's impressive Toyota. The new Toro Rosso was fifth fastest and immediately on the pace of the sister Red Bull.

[Nacho]

More news

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has flagged the coming of a new rival for the 2009 season.

On a visit to the German capital Berlin, the 23-year-old Briton admitted to the country's major Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he counts Sebastian Vettel as very much a dark horse for the forthcoming championship campaign.

Red Bull's new Renault-powered RB5 has been a standout of the pre-season tests, and last week at Jerez its 21-year-old driver set the fastest lap of the five-day session during a low-fuel run.

"Sebastian is on the way to being a star," the McLaren driver said.

"He proved it last year by winning in Monza that he is a winning driver. This year he can mix it at the front and I am expecting him to do so," he added.

Vettel set the Jerez pace last week by just under eight-tenths of a second.

Even the drivers dunno who's really fast

Mark Webber admits he has never encountered such a close pre-season as the winter of 2009, with as many as seven teams in the reckoning to win in Melbourne in less than 20 days.

"It is really difficult to read who is doing what," the Australian driver said in an interview with Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper.

"I think it is too close to call," the Red Bull driver explained while at home in Britain.

Webber said the F1 community expected the sweeping rules changes for this year to leave bigger than usual gaps between teams.

But the opposite is true, according to analysis of recent tests, and Webber reveals that several teams have shown race-winning pace over the crucial 'long runs'.

"It is literally us, Toyota, Williams, Ferrari and BMW. We have all, at certain times, done the business," he explained. "And the Renault as well.”

"You would expect McLaren maybe to have done a bit more, going by the testing over the last few years. But apart from that, we all know they are more than capable of turning up in Melbourne and spanking everyone," said Webber.

Webber's young German team-mate Sebastian Vettel was the quickest of all in qualifying trim at the Jerez group test last week, and deeper analysis has shown the new Ferrari to have a slight edge with race levels of fuel.

[Redliner]

I can't wait!

Why isn't Brawn GP at least running "Powered by Mercedes Benz" decals? The car looks so naked

[Robert]

More news



Even the drivers dunno who's really fast

I can hardly wait for the lights to drop.

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like I said previously, wouldn't it just be a big slap to Honda's/Fry's face if Brawn made the team a front runner in like 2 years time... i mean we don't know what any of the teams are running, do they have KERS, race level fuels, what type of aero/downforce, what type of stints they're running, but for BrawnGP to be right at the top of the time sheets on their first real test out... insane

this whole pre-season testing is interesting, so many variables for this coming season... can't wait for Melbourne

[_R_]

Nick Heidfeld led the way for BMW Sauber on the first day of the final pre-season group test at the Circuit de Catalunya on Monday.

Although the F1.09 has had a fairly low-key testing programme so far, Heidfeld's best lap of 1:20.339 saw him end the day more than half a second clear of Kimi Raikkonen.

Jarno Trulli was third quickest for Toyota, just ahead of Jenson Button, who was the talking point of the day after spending much of it at the top of the timesheets.

Just four days after the former Honda Racing outfit were given the green light to continue in F1, Button was consistently fast as he made his return to the cockpit for the first time since the end of last year.

The Brawn GP car caused a few raised eyebrows up and down the pitlane too, thanks to the design of its diffuser and some aero tweaks at the front end of the car.

Nelson Piquet was fifth quickest in the Renault, finally getting some decent running after a trouble testing programme so far, while Sebastien Bourdais completed the first public running for his new Scuderia Toro Rosso STR4 to set the sixth best time

Behind seventh fastest Mark Webber in the Red Bull Racing RB5 were Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen ended the day at the bottom of the timesheets - more than 2.6 seconds adrift of Heidfeld's best time.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:20.339 92
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:20.908 80
3. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:20.937 118
4. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.140 82
5. Piquet Renault (B) 1:21.662 124
6. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.158 96
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.246 115
8. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:22.452 127
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.813 111
10. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.948 87

wonder what programs the Mercedes powered cars are running...
Brawn GP is 1.3 seconds faster than Force India and 1.8 seconds faster than McLaren

[Dazed1]

End of March cant come fast enough

[Robert]

wonder what programs the Mercedes powered cars are running...
Brawn GP is 1.3 seconds faster than Force India and 1.8 seconds faster than McLaren

Macca is sandbagging!

[Shi]

I hope McLaren sucks

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Macca is getting blown off track by gusts of wind!

fixed

[_R_]

Macca is sandbagging!

I'd sandbag sure, but 2 seconds off the pace and bottom of the time sheets is 1 sandbag too many

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At the first day of this week's Barcelona test, McLaren have surprised the paddock with a radical reshape to their car's floor.

Rather than a flat continuous floor inside the coke bottle shape, the MP4-24 has appeared with a curious cutaway section: a triangular section of floor is missing between the forward part of the floor, which follows the curve of the sidepods and a squared off edge just ahead of the diffuser.

The rules demand a flat bottom underneath the car, with no part of the car visible from below. In recent years this cut-out would have exposed the flip-ups, but the cleaner sidepod lines allows the team to try this new floor shaping.

A diffuser creates its downforce at two points: firstly at the kick-line between the diffuser\floor, then secondly at its leading edge.

By effectively moving this leading edge backwards, McLaren are also moving the downforce it creates towards the rear. This may be part of a McLaren strategy to focus downforce production on the front wing and diffuser, as both devices are efficient at creating downforce with little drag.

If these two devices can create enough downforce, then the rear wing can be smaller reducing drag and gaining speed on the straights.

With no question on the floor's legality, McLaren may have stolen a march on the opposition at a time that many observers have been questioning the team's testing pace.

hmm... still pulling from the Ferrari playbook? 2007 Ferrari had the moveable floors

[_R_]

Anyone else think Vettel will get RBR's first win as well? that will be epic

[Nacho]

As the wick of the 2009 pre-season burns down, one nagging suspicion remains: the new McLaren does not seem quick.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Ferrari, BMW and Toyota are leading the pack, closely followed by Renault and Red Bull. Where reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton's team fits in, however, remains a crucial question.

Nick Heidfeld, quickest at Barcelona on Monday and confident his BMW Sauber is on track to being a title contender, believes the Mercedes-powered team will bounce back.

"Where they are now, they do not belong," the German said, presumably referring to Heikki Kovalainen's place on Monday at the very bottom of the timesheets.

"Even if they are having problems now, they will get over them," Heidfeld is quoted as saying by Auto Motor und Sport.

Jarno Trulli, another driver looking strong at the wheel of his 2009 car, agrees that McLaren does not belong at the rear of the field.

"They are a very experienced team who can bounce back at any time," the Toyota driver told reporters.
"So as soon as they understand what is wrong, what is right, and which direction they can take, I am sure they will be back."

Heidfeld and Trulli, like most of the F1 world, was also impressed with the form of the new Brawn GP car on Monday, after Jenson Button topped the morning session and raced to the fourth best time of the day.

"No matter how they [Brawn] did the time, it was good," Heidfeld said, addressing suggestions the BGP001 was not carrying much fuel.

Trulli added: "I was impressed by the Brawn, which was straight away looking well, which is positive for formula one, everybody, and I am happy for the team and everyone there as they have had such a difficult time."

[_R_]

in regards to the McLaren...
they are playing a lot with the aero.... not sure if they are going in the right direction or not though...
they've ran their 2008 wing a shit ton, and mondays time was with their new floor board...

who knows... but they haven't been consistent at all in the times...

[_R_]

Ross Brawn insists Jenson Button's sterling pace at the wheel of the new BGP001 on Monday was genuine.

Despite the Brackley-based team sitting out most of the winter amid uncertainty about its future, the rebranded 'Brawn GP' car had heads turning at Barcelona as it went against every other rival car.

Button topped the morning session with the Mercedes-powered machine and was bettered only by the impressive BMW, Ferrari and Toyota by close of play at the Spanish venue.

But was the pace genuine or had the team drained the fuel tanks, possibly in a bid to entice sponsors?

"If everyone knew how much fuel we had on board, they would be surprised," Brawn told Auto Motor und Sport, who said the Briton was 'smiling' as he gave his answer.

"Even our engine partner Mercedes didn't believe it when we told them," he added.

Long before team owner Honda announced its departure from the sport, Brawn and his team colleagues were predicting a strong 2009 for what was intended to be the RA109 car.

"On the basis of our simulations, we knew what lap times this car would do theoretically at Jerez, Bahrain and Barcelona. When we saw the times of the competition, we were surprised they were not quicker," Brawn revealed.

Most teams wrap up their 2009 pre-season programmes this week, but Brawn GP will conduct a final three days of testing at Jerez next week.

I could careless about Jenson or Rubens right now, but Brawn has my respect so
Ferrari and Kimi will always get my support, but my underdog driver is Vettel and underdog team is BrawnGP

[DrDickAction]

makes sense that macca might be a bit off the pace...you know they didn't really start on this car until November.

[_R_]

Kimi Raikkonen dominated the second day of testing at the Barcelona circuit, where all Formula One teams were again in action on Tuesday.

Ferrari driver Raikkonen posted a best time of 1:20.314 onboard the F60 to finish over half a second in front of his closest rival, Williams's Kazuki Nakajima.

The Brawn GP team continued to show good form in their first public outing, with Rubens Barrichello setting the third fastest time after a total of 111 laps.

The Brazilian, who had not driven an F1 car since the end of the 2008 season, got his first taste of the BGP-001 after taking over from teammate Jenson Button.

Jarno Trulli had another solid day for Toyota, completing 121 laps on his way to the fourth quickest time of the day, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber and BMW's Sauber Nick Heidfeld.

The Toro Rosso team, who unveiled their new car yesterday, had a poor outing this time out, with Sebastien Bourdais managing just 14 laps before the STR4 suffered a mechanical problem.

Teammate Sebastien Buemi took over in the afternoon, but the Swiss completed only six laps, bringing Toro Rosso's total to a disappointing 20 for the whole session.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:20.314 55
2. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.907 66
3. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:20.966 111
4. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:21.182 121
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:21.347 66
6. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:21.615 127
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:21.834 82
8. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.937 111
9. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.991 88
10. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.039 14
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) no time 6

that BrawnGP car seems quick... basically 1 second faster than the other MB powered cars...
i'm going to guess the STR has transmission problems

[DrDickAction]

that BrawnGP car seems quick... basically 1 second faster than the other MB powered cars...
i'm going to guess the STR has transmission problems

looks like it was the wafer thin suspension:

Front suspension keeps Bourdais in the pits

The lack of laps tell their own story today. After Bourdais had completed just 14 laps, a problem was identified on the front suspension, which could not be solved completely without the arrival of new parts from the factory back in Faenza.

Therefore, rather than continue with car development testing, it was decided to put Buemi in the car, running just "in" and "out" laps, while carrying out basic systems checks. The reason for the driver switch is that Bourdais had already run in the new car yesterday and on two days last week at the Adria circuit in Italy, therefore it was decided to give Buemi a chance to try his seat position and get a feel for the car for the first time, prior to starting testing proper tomorrow.

http://www.f1technical.net/news/11766

[_R_]

in other reports from todays times

Testing continued for a second day at the 4.655km Circuit de Catalunya, again with all ten teams present and just 1.7 seconds covering the fastest nine runners.

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace today for Ferrari, recording a best lap of 1:20.314s on his 35th lap of the day. The Finn's best lap is a fraction quicker than Nick Heidfeld's 1:20.338 recorded on Monday.

Kazuki Nakajima picked up the pace for the Williams Toyota team, lapping just six-tenths off Raikkonen's best and nearly two seconds quicker than yesterday.

After a long winter waiting for news on the former Honda team, Rubens Barrichello was back behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix last year. Armed with the new Brawn Mercedes, Barrichello stopped on track early in the day but soon resumed the test programme to complete an impressive 111 laps in the new machine, recording the third fastest time.

Jarno Trulli was fourth best today in the Toyota ahead of Mark Webber who lost time in the morning session when his Red Bull Renault ground to a halt on circuit.

After a trip back to the pits on the back of a low-loader, the Australian was back on track again running the enlarged 'shark fin' engine cover first seen Monday that continues up to and then over the top of the rear wing.

Nick Heidfeld was back behind the wheel of the BMW Sauber after setting the pace on Monday. The F1.09 today also featured a shark fin engine cover, something that looks like it will become as common in 2009 as it was last season. Heidfeld was sixth fastest ahead of Adrian Sutil in the Force India Mercedes.

After just one day in the car, Nelson Piquet handed over the Renault R29 to former champion Fernando Alonso today as the Spaniard recorded the seventh best time.

While Lewis Hamilton received his MBE from the Queen, Heikki Kovalainen was back on track for McLaren Mercedes, the team completing race simulation work including pitstops as they prepare for the Australian Grand Prix.

With flow visualisation paint streaking the right hand side of the MP4-24, Kovalainen posted the ninth fastest time ahead of Sebastien Bourdais was another driver to lose time as the new Toro Rosso Ferrari STR4 stopped on circuit.

Bourdais would only complete 14 timed laps over the day while rookie team-mate Sebastien Buemi completed a few shakedown laps in the STR4 without recording a lap time.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

mclaren resorting to flow visualization paint leads me to think they're really having a lot of problems with their aero and not just sandbagging. why else would you want to basically show your aero flow data off to the competitors, unless you were behind on development, strapped for time and had limited wind tunnel hours.

[_R_]

mclaren resorting to flow visualization paint leads me to think they're really having a lot of problems with their aero and not just sandbagging. why else would you want to basically show your aero flow data off to the competitors, unless you were behind on development, strapped for time and had limited wind tunnel hours.

[DrDickAction]

Is that a permanent winglet on the macca sidepod or just something temporary to distribute paint?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Is that a permanent winglet on the macca sidepod or just something temporary to distribute paint?

the way the paint works for visualization is that you paint a line or a few dots on the bodywork before you go out. the aero spreads the paint and results in a flow visualization. the winglet is part of their bodywork.