2012 Formula 1 pre-season testing

Discuss Formula 1 Testing

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Ed
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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:21 pm

Final day of testing from Jerez gets underway. Weather conditions are cold but sunny.

Order after 1 hour:

Driver - Team - Best Time
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:19.289
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:20.696
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.20.890
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:21.353
Senna - Williams - 1:23.569
Trulli - Caterham - 1:23.581
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:31.730
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:43.061
Vettel - Red Bull - no time

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:12 pm

Order after 2 hours (Day 4 - Jerez):

Driver - Team - Best Time
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:18.877
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:19.673
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.919
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:20.696
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.20.775
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:22.041
Senna - Williams - 1:23.217
Trulli - Caterham - 1:23.545
Vettel - Red Bull - no time

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:27 pm

Order after 3 hours (Day 4 - Jerez):

Driver - Team - Best Time
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:18.877
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.667
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:19.673
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:19.729
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:19.834
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.20.056
Trulli - Caterham - 1:22.214
Senna - Williams - 1:22.394
Vettel - Red Bull - no time

Senna covered the most laps so far with 69 laps, Vettel has yet to set a time and has only completed 2 installation laps
Last edited by Ed on Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:14 pm

Order after 4 hours (Day 4 - Jerez):

Driver - Team - Best Time
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:18.877
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.597
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:19.640
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:19.729
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:19.834
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.19.977
Senna - Williams - 1:20.132
Trulli - Caterham - 1:22.214
Vettel - Red Bull - no time

Senna covered the most laps so far with 98 laps, Vettel has yet to set a time and has only completed 2 installation laps

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:13 pm

Order after 5 hours (Day 4 - Jerez):

Driver - Team - Best Time
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:18.877
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.597
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:19.640
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:19.729
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:19.834
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.19.977
Senna - Williams - 1:20.132
Trulli - Caterham - 1:22.214
Vettel - Red Bull - no time

Senna covered the most laps so far with 98 laps, Vettel has yet to set a time and has only completed 2 installation laps while Alonso hasn't gone out onto the track since 3 hours due to an electrical issue

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 11, 2012 12:19 am

Order after 6 hours (Day 4 - Jerez):

Driver - Team - Best Time
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:18.877
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.597
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:19.640
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:19.729
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:19.834
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.19.977
Vettel - Red Bull - 1.20.072
Senna - Williams - 1:20.132
Trulli - Caterham - 1:22.198

Senna covered the most laps so far with 104 laps, Vettel has gone out on the track but has covered the least so far with 18 laps.

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:02 am

Order at the end of the day (Day 4 - Jerez):

Driver - Team - Best Time - Laps
Alonso - Ferrari - 1:18.877 - 39
Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.597 - 80
Vettel - Red Bull - 1.19.606 - 50
Hamilton - McLaren - 1:19.640 - 86
Grosjean - Lotus - 1:19.729 - 95
Kobayashi - Sauber - 1:19.834 - 75
Hulkenberg - Force India - 1.19.977 - 90
Senna - Williams - 1:20.132 - 125
Trulli - Caterham - 1:22.198 - 117

Testing concludes at Jerez

The next test is at the Barcelona track from the 21st of February

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Post by Ed » Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:51 am

Jerez test summary (7 to 10 February)

Here is a statistical summary of the testing from Jerez over the 4 day period. Weather conditions were similar over the 4 days.

Mercedes ran with their 2011 car for 3 days while HRT ran with their 2011 car for 2 days. Marussia didn't conduct any testing.

All the other teams ran with their 2012 cars for the 4 days

Fastest laptimes over the 4 days

Rank Driver Team Best Time Date
1. Rosberg Mercedes 1:17.613 9-Feb
2. Grosjean Lotus 1:18.419 9-Feb
3. Schumacher Mercedes 1:18.561 8-Feb
4. Alonso Ferrari 1:18.877 10-Feb
5. Webber Red Bull 1:19.184 8-Feb
6. Vettel Red Bull 1:19.297 9-Feb
7. Hamilton McLaren 1:19.464 9-Feb
8. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:19.587 8-Feb
9. Vergne Toro Rosso 1:19.597 10-Feb
10. Raikkonen Lotus 1:19.670 7-Feb
11. Perez Sauber 1:19.770 9-Feb
12. Di Resta Force India 1:19.772 7-Feb
13. Kobayashi Sauber 1:19.834 10-Feb
14. Hulkenberg Force India 1:19.977 10-Feb
15. Senna Williams 1:20.132 10-Feb
16. Bianchi Force India 1:20.221 8-Feb
17. Massa Ferrari 1:20.454 8-Feb
18. Button McLaren 1:20.688 8-Feb
19. Maldonado Williams 1:21.197 8-Feb
20. Kovalainen Caterham 1:21.518 8-Feb
21. de la Rosa HRT 1:22.128 8-Feb
22. Trulli Caterham 1:22.198 10-Feb
23. van der Garde Caterham 1:23.324 9-Feb

Most Laps by Driver over the 4 days

Rank Driver Team Total Laps Days

1. Senna Williams 250 2
2. Grosjean Lotus 212 2
3. Raikkonen Lotus 192 2
4. Kobayashi Sauber 182 2
5. Schumacher Mercedes 174 1.5
6. Rosberg Mercedes 174 1.5
7. Di Resta Force India 170 1.5
8. Kovalainen Caterham 167 2
9. Hamilton McLaren 166 2
10. Massa Ferrari 164 2
11. Vergne Toro Rossa 159 2
12. Ricciardo Toro Rossa 157 2
13. Webber Red Bull 151 2
14. Button Mercedes 147 2
15. Vettel Red Bull 146 2
16. Maldonado Williams 122 2
17. Trulli Caterham 117 1
18. Perez Sauber 116 2
19. de la Rosa HRT 108 2
20. Alonso Ferrari 106 2
21. Hulkenberg Force India 90 1
22. van der Garde Caterham 74 1
23. Bianchi Force India 48 1

Notes:
  • Mercedes and HRT running 2011 cars
    Hulkenberg lost half a day due to Bianchi damaging the car in the morning session
    Marussia did not run at this test
Most Laps by Team over the 4 days

Rank Team Total Laps Days

1. Lotus 404 4
2. Williams 372 4
3. Caterham 358 4
4. Mercedes 348 3
5. Toro Rosso 316 4
6. McLaren 313 4
7. Force India 308 4
8. Sauber 298 4
9. Red Bul 297 4
10 Ferrari 270 4
11.HRT 108 2

Notes: Mercedes and HRT running 2011 cars. Marussia did not run at this test

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Post by Jim Watt » Mon Feb 13, 2012 4:02 am

:D Hi Ed:

I'm in agreement with Fernando about the futility of drawing any conclusions from testing. Not only from the first session, but from ALL the testing. There are just too many things on the teams' agendas and too much temptation to play with the other teams' heads. This said, the Lotus/Renault showing is encouraging, especially since Raikkonen's choice of them seemed so off the wall earlier in the year!

I hope the Merc boys know what they are doing holding their car out. And this makes me ask a silly question:

can the teams test on their own on their own facilities out of sight of other teams? And if so, how many miles are they allowed? If not, it seems nuts on the team's part to miss a whole testing period. But Ross is nobody's fool, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

So far I see no reason to see much change in the order other than McLaren being closer to Red Bull than they were at the start of last season.

Once again, my Red cars appear to be lost :roll: If they didn't have Fernando to throw in the cockpit with the tank full of vapours, I don't know what they'd do! 8)

On the positive side: If Lotus IS competitive and is mid-field, we'll see some great racing between Fernando and Kimi!

looking forward to Melbourne!

Jim Watt :cheers:
My Racing Gods: Fangio, Vukovich; Senna & Mears --all racers all the time; graceful winners & generous in defeat, but never giving up!!

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Post by Ed » Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:58 am

Jim Watt wrote:I hope the Merc boys know what they are doing holding their car out. And this makes me ask a silly question:

can the teams test on their own on their own facilities out of sight of other teams? And if so, how many miles are they allowed? If not, it seems nuts on the team's part to miss a whole testing period. But Ross is nobody's fool, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
The teams are only allowed a certain number of miles of testing privately for 'promotional' purposes. These tests are run on promo tyres. The teams do utilize this to test their cars for reliability and not performance.
There is also an allowance for straight line testing

It is claimed Mercedes are hiding something and hence their decision to delay the testing until the second test. That remains to be seen!

The actual testing regulations for 2012 are as follows (a bit confusing)

Section 22 of the Sporting regulations

TRACK AND WIND TUNNEL TESTING
22.1 Track testing shall be considered any track running time not part of an Event undertaken by a competitor entered in the Championship, using cars which conform substantially with the current Formula One Technical Regulations in addition to those from the previous or subsequent year, with the exception of promotional events carried out using tyres provided
specifically for this purpose by the appointed supplier.

22.2 Track testing may only be carried out using cars which have been subjected to, and fulfilled the requirements of, the tests described in Articles 16.2‐6, 17.2‐3 and 18.2‐9 of the F1 Technical Regulations.
Furthermore, any car used for track testing must be fitted with the panels described in Articles 15.4.7 and 15.4.8 of the F1 Technical Regulations.

22.3 No competitor may carry out more than 15,000km of track testing during a calendar year.

22.4 No track testing may take place :
a) Whilst a Championship Event is taking place.
b) During the month of August except under c) iv) below.
c) Between the start of the week preceding the first Event of the Championship and 31 December of the same year with the following exceptions :
i) One three day test carried out on a site approved by the FIA for Formula 1 cars.
ii) One three day young driver training test, carried out on a site approved by the FIA for Formula 1 cars either, between the end of the last Event of the Championship and 31 December of the same year or, at any other time during the Championship season following the agreement of all competitors and the FIA. No driver who has competed in more than two F1 World Championship races may take part in this test and all drivers must be in possession of an International A Licence.
iii) Four one day aerodynamic tests carried out on FIA approved straight line or constant radius sites between 1 January of the current year and the start of the last Event of the Championship. Any of these days may be substituted for four hours of wind‐on full scale wind tunnel testing to be carried out in a single twenty four hour period.
iv) If a team declares that one of its current race drivers is to be substituted by a driver who has not participated in an F1 race in the two previous calendar years, one day of track testing will be permitted between the start of the week preceding second Event and the last Event of the Championship. The following must be observed :
‐ Any such day may only be carried out by the new driver and may not take place on a circuit hosting a race in the current Championship year.
‐ Any such day may only take place within a period 14 days prior to the substitution and 14 days after the substitution has taken place.
‐ If a team, having declared the driver’s substitution and performed the test, does not then enter an Event with the new driver, the team will be penalised by a reduction of one day from the pre‐season track testing days available in the following year.

22.5 During all track testing cars must be fitted with the FIA ECU required by Article 8.2 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations. However, FIA approved software need not be installed in the FIA ECU when aerodynamic testing is being carried out in accordance with 22.4(c)(iii)
above.

22.6 No track testing is permitted at sites which are not currently approved for use by Formula 1 cars. In order to ensure that venue licence conditions are respected at all times during track testing, competitors are required to inform the FIA of their test schedule in order that an observer may be appointed if deemed necessary.

22.7 During all Formula One track testing :
a) Red flag and chequered flag procedures must be respected.
b) No other type of vehicle is permitted on the track.
c) Every reasonable effort should be made to ensure that the recommendations concerning emergency services detailed in Article 16 of Appendix H to the Code are followed.

22.8 If, after an incident during track testing, the Medical Warning Light signals that threshold forces have been exceeded the driver must present himself for examination in the circuit medical centre without delay.

22.9 With the exception of the full scale testing permitted in 22.4(c)(iii) above, no wind tunnel testing may be carried out using a scale model which is greater than 60% of full size.

22.10 No wind tunnel testing may be carried out at a speed exceeding 50 metres/second.

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Post by Jim Watt » Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:26 pm

:? thanks, Ed. I can see by looking at the regs you so nicely provided that each team must employ a troop of lawyers. I guess that helps a little in providing employment for lawyers, but it's hard to see how it improves the quality of racing in F1, or even help increase parity amongst the teams. I have to wonder whether even more folks are employed by the various teams in monitoring their opponents' facilities. Do McLaren employees park their caravans on the edge of Maranello and hope to catch Fernando or Felipe breaching the regs? I'm a retired guy and a huge F1 fan; if you know of any teams that would like to pay me a modest amount to camp out at any of the F1 facilities, please let me know.

Jim Watt
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Post by jacfan » Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:44 pm

I'm in agreement with Fernando about the futility of drawing any conclusions from testing. Not only from the first session, but from ALL the testing. There are just too many things on the teams' agendas and too much temptation to play with the other teams' heads.
I totally agree. No one really knows what information is relevant during any testing session.
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Post by Ed » Tue Feb 21, 2012 1:15 pm

The second pre-season test gets underway in a few hours at the Catalunya circuit in Spain. We will provide regular updates throughout the 4 day test.

The Mercedes team delayed the debut of their car until this test. They had a private session on Sunday.

All the teams are expected to be present except for HRT. Marussia will be present but will be using the 2011 car

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Post by Ed » Tue Feb 21, 2012 6:46 pm

First day of testing from Catalunya gets underway, today's lineup is:

Vettel - Red Bull
Hamilton - Mclaren
Alonso - Ferrari
Schumacher - Mercedes
Grosjean - Lotus
Hulkenberg - Force India
Perez - Sauber
Ricciardo - Toro Rosso
Senna - Williams
Kovalainen - Caterham
Pic - Marussia (2011 car)

Drivers have completed installation laps

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Post by Ed » Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:19 pm

Order after 2 hours into the session:

Rank Driver Team Best Time Laps
1 Vettel Red Bull 1:24.260 16
2 Hamilton McLaren 1:24.468 18
3 Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:25.247 19
4 Alonso Ferrari 1:25.677 13
5 Hulkenberg Force India 1:26.164 24
6 Grosjean Lotus 1:26.809 7
7 Perez Sauber 1:27.039 8
8 Senna Williams 1:27.051 20
9 Kovalainen Caterham 1:27.537 8
10 Pic Marussia 1:31.301 34
11 Schumacher Mercedes 2:1.595 6

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