Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso ended set the fastest time for the first free practice session in China.
A relatively quiet session was marked with a track temperature of 18 degrees Celcius for nearly all of the 90 minutes of running. Overcast conditions around the Shanghai International circuit made it more difficult to optimise the tyre temperatures; evident by the fact that several drivers struggled front locking.
Fernando Alonso set the quickest time of the session, a 1:39:783 but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Ferrari team. A steering/front-suspsension issue reduced Kimi Raikkonen’s running to a solitary installation lap. New team principal Marco Mattiacci spent most of the session in the garage.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was second quickest by the time the chequered flag came out and completed a total of sixteen laps. Lewis Hamilton, eighth position, completed only nine laps as his session was cut short with an unknown issue.
Felipe Nasr completed the first free practice session for Williams in place of Valtteri Bottas while Giedo van der Garde filled in for Adrian Sutil at Sauber. Marussia’s Jules Bianchi managed to set one flying lap at the end of the session as he recovered from a fuel pressure issue. The Frenchman improved to eighteenth overall on his second flying lap.
Daniel, some bad news earlier on at the start of this week for you, what was your reaction to that?
Daniel RICCIARDO: Obviously a little bit disappointed but at the same time I had moved on already. I think Sunday night in Melbourne the damage was already done and I went from a big high to a pretty big low, so I’d sort of already moved on. I hoped but didn’t really expect too much to come from it. So that’s it. I’m here now in Shanghai and that’s it. There’s no more ifs or buts, it’s here, I have 12 points and i just have to play catch-up.
Fernando, it’s also been an interesting week for you with some interesting news from the team.
Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, there has been some news from the team and we’re here to try to improve the situation a little bit, be a little bit more competitive, more than we have shown in the first three races. We’re here to fight back.
Is that slightly unsettling for you?
FA: I think we need to be honest with our situation. It’s not where we wanted to be. I think there is a lot of room to improve. We need to become better in all the areas from the car. There is a long way to go, the championship is very long and we know that probably in the first (part) of the championship we will not be as competitive as Mercedes or some of the teams that now they are on top but as I said we need to maximise what we have in our hands now, try to score as many points as possible and hopefully we can be very competitive later in the season.
Lewis, a fantastic race for you in Bahrain and an interesting quote from you saying it was a “real racer’s race”, using the skills that you had acquired as a karter. Are we going to see lots more of that and have you had a look at the race and seen what was happening all the way down the field?
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it was quite an exciting race, I got to spend some time at home with the family at the weekend and we watched the highlights. Yeah, it was quite interesting to see the duel between each team and between team-mates. As I said it was a bit more like a go-kart race. Whether or not it will always be like that… that was a great race, I hope there are more races like that through the year.
It was always interests me, as a karting dad, as I have been, when you guys start talking about karting and how it is the purest form of racing. It’s extraordinary that you can race like that, almost like a karter, in a Formula One car.
LH: Yeah, it is. You don’t see it too often. Obviously in karting you don’t have downforce, you just have mechanical grip, so it is more exciting in general. But to have the staggered tyres, difference between different cars enabling that racing in the last race was quite unique.
Well any time you like; we’d like some more of it. Esteban can I come to you now? First of all, you said this was one of your best races last year. Obviously we saw you end the last race in not the best way and hopefully there is no lasting damage but tell us about this race from your point of view.
Esteban GUTIERREZ: Well, yes it was very challenging, especially as the performance at the moment is not where we want to be and this puts everything in a very difficult position. The whole team is really pushing very hard, we are trying to recover our pace and to really be where we belong and where we are aiming to. We have a great team behind and everyone is pushing very hard to achieve that very soon, hopefully very soon.
And you were perfectly alright the next day after the crash?
EG: Yeah definitely. Nothing happened. This was the most important thing on the weekend and on the incident as well, apart from really actually what happened. Afterwards it was just necessary to do all the check up and be sure that everything was fine.
Q: Sergio, obviously an excellent race for you in Bahrain as well. What is it that’s making Force India so competitive at the moment?
Sergio PÉREZ: It was a great race for the team as well. Nico finishing fifth, a lot of points, second in the Constructors’ so it’s a big motivation for the team. Right now we are maximising every opportunity that we are having. I had a little bit of a difficult start of the season, I struggled in Malaysia with some issues. We managed to come into Bahrain and do a great job and I think right now we have a good package with Mercedes but I think as well the car. We’re beating all the other Mercedes engine [customers], so we’re doing a good job as a team, we are maximising what we have and hopefully we can… we come into a different challenge here in China, very different track to Bahrain so I think it will be a good target for us to try to do as good as we did in Bahrain. It will be a big challenge for us here.
Q: Adrian, I think there’s quite a few areas that Sauber have to improve. Did you make some progress at the test? What are the areas still to work on?
Adrian SUTIL: Yes. A little progress has been made at the test with the test drivers in Bahrain, so it was quite conclusive. Of course at the moment we are far too slow. Not really enjoyable but we are looking ahead. It will get better. It’s just a question of time. We need to be a bit patient. So, for here, there are a few things changed already. So, I’m quite excited to see how the car will be. But our plan, especially for the next races going to Europe and going to Barcelona and on, the car should definitely be a different one to drive. It’s not only one area, quite a few areas of the car. It’s the power unit, it’s the weight – and I’m fighting also personally a little bit here and there. It will get there and as soon as we do progress every race weekend, I’m happy. Fingers crossed it’s going to happen very soon.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Fernando, the new team principle of Ferrari, Marco Mattiacci has no experience related to Formula One. Could it be an issue in your opinion, or not?
FA: Well, I think we need to give him time and try to see how he settles down. It’s too early to say if, y’know, it will be a very good thing or very bad. I think we need to make sure he has all the facilities ready, all the technical stuff ready, all the team behind him, try to help him settle down as fast as possible. And, yes, try to put him in a condition to feel comfortable from day one. I certainly hope… we are really hoping it will be a successful managing of the team and everyone is looking forward.
Q: (Kate Walker – Crash.net) A question for all six of you. We’ve heard an awful lot about this year’s technology and how it’s changing the future of Formula One. Looking further ahead, how do you see the role of the driver evolving as the technology becomes more complex?
FA: I think it’s going to be pretty similar to what we saw in the last couple of years. Drivers still have an input on the result and developing the car – but as we know Formula One is a category that is dominated by the performance of the car, in a way. We saw in Bahrain also in the last couple of laps, they were fighting two team-mates, two team-mates, two team-mates until the tenth or twelfth position. It’s difficult to get away from that order. It has been more or less like this in the past. I don’t see any big difference. Probably it’s a little bit more extreme now with all the technology as you said. In the past there were some strange cases in races like Monaco or things like that, maybe a midfield car could fight for a podium etcetera. In this last couple of years it’s difficult to see that but, y’know, you take it or you go in another category. It is what it is.
Sergio?
SP: I fully agree with Fernando. I think you are as good as your car. The level your team is and the performance your team has. We’ve seen it in the past. Drivers changing teams and sometimes you can be in a very good team and show very strong potential, win some races. Sometimes you don’t even go into the points – and it’s related to the level of the car. But I think the drivers still have a big influence on the development and the result but it’s a factor now that Formula One is dominated by the car and how quick your car can be.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo On Line) Fernando, what were you celebrating at the end of the last race as you took the chequered flag and took your hand out of the cockpit and punched the air?
FA: Yeah, I was saying thanks to the mechanics. I said it a hundred times after the race also. They’d been working hard on Saturday. As you know, we had a problem on the engine side, on the power unit that slowed us a little bit in Q1, Q2 and then furthermore in Q3. We didn’t have the solution for the problem, even on Sunday at 12 o’ clock so we still were not completely sure that the car was perfectly OK and then in the race, we had everything in place – they did a fantastic job so when we crossed the line, they were on the pit wall saying hallo and I said hallo to them.
Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, it was quite shocking, the replacement of the team principal after three races. I don’t know if you agree but in your opinion, is that enough to solve the problem – to save the season – or not?
FA: Well, I think we need to assess what Stefano decided. He was probably not any more in the mood to continue and with the feeling of taking the weight on his shoulders. He made a very responsible move. It’s not easy, when you have a very privileged position in one Formula One team to be able to step back and to say ‘maybe it’s better to move’. But he did it, just for Ferrari’s interest and improvement so that’s something that we cannot forget and now we have to respect that decision. From that point, for sure, it’s not that in this race we will improve one second, because I don’t think Stefano was doing the front wing or the rear wing or whatever by his hands, so probably we need to wait a little bit of time and see what we can improve and try to help all the team with the new people coming to make us a little bit stronger and try to get back some of the success from the past.
Q: (Qian Jun – Oriental Morning Post) To all of you, this year the FIA has introduced a penalty point system. After just three Grands Prix, Jules Bianchi has four points and Pastor has three points. Do you think anybody will reach 12 points this season, and what’s your opinion on this regulation?
AS: I think it’s OK. I’m not sure if anyone will reach the full 12 but after three races, having four, then he should reach it very soon. Let’s see how it’s going to be. Most important is that there was a change from last year because there were at certain times some penalties, especially for the backmarkers, which were not doing anything. If you’re last and you get a ten place penalty you’re still last and that’s it. This is a little bit different and I think there was a reason why it should be changed and now we need a little bit of time to see if it is working. I hope so.
DR: Yeah, I think you reach 12 if you’re a bad boy but yeah, I think this system is OK. It’s trying to keep us in line, really, so if it helps then yeah.
EG: I think it’s a good system. It puts some conscience on ourselves to not do wrong moves and to respect each other and to race in a fair way, which is how racing should be.
Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) To Lewis and Fernando, as World Champions. We will have the 20th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death in a few weeks. I wanted to ask what are your memories from that day and if Senna was the driver that you most looked up to when you were in karting in those days?
LH: Yeah. For me, it’s not unknown, I always comment on it: when I was a kid I had all the books, all the videos, he was the driver I looked up to, way before I even started racing. He kind of inspired me to even be a driver and of course, on the day of his passing, his death was… it was very difficult for me to show my emotions in my family so I went off to a quiet place and it was very difficult for several days to really… your hero’s gone. But an incredible legend; you can still learn things from how he approached racing and how he drove. You like to think that one day you may be recognised as someone that was able to drive similarly to him.
FA: Yeah, the same for me: he was an inspiration. I remember some of the races that we could see in the news in Spain, because we didn’t have the TV coverage of Formula One, but yeah, I remember I went to school – on my book, I didn’t have (pictures of) girls, obviously I was too young to have girls on the book but I had Ayrton there and the same in my room. I had a big poster of Ayrton and even my first go-karts were in the colours of Ayrton’s McLaren because my father also liked him. It was a very sad moment. I know there is something happening at Imola in Italy in the next weekends and I intend to be there, just to be close on this unfortunately important day.
Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) Fernando, have you already had a discussion with your new team principal about the things you would like to change in the team and if not, what are the points you would like to discuss with him?
FA: No, I haven’t had the chance… I don’t know if he’s coming here, I guess so, so it would be a good time to welcome him. I don’t really have much to say. I drive the car. He will be good enough to recognise what are the weak areas of the team, what are the strong areas of the team and hopefully improve them. I think that as drivers, we will try to drive as fast as we can, Kimi and I, and try to help him in whatever field our help is required.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Fernando, you’ve worked and driven under a variety of team principals in Formula One. Where would Stefano Domenicali rank amongst your other team bosses and what do you think Ferrari will miss most about him?
FA: I think that Stefano was a great man, first of all. I’m a close friend of his, not just on the circuit. We ski together every January 1st in Italy in the mountains. We still have a close relationship. We’ve been talking all the week long. I think that will continue, because we have known each for many years and we have worked very closely for this couple of years, so that’s important, to separate work from friendship. Then, as a team principal, I think he made good choices, good things. Obviously we missed opportunities in 2010, in 2012. They missed opportunities in 2008 with Felipe (Massa). If not, he could probably have three championships in his pocket. I think he brought in Pat Fry, he brought James Allison, Raikkonen, so I think all the things that people ask from him he was giving to them, probably, as I said, the results in the sports are important and the pressure at Ferrari is also quite big, so he made his decision which we respect and we will try to move forward in different directions but try to move forward. I’m happy with the time that we passed together.
Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes made it two from two this evening by finishing on top of the time sheets in the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished the session in P1 with a time of 1:34.325. His team mate Nico Rosberg ended the session in P2 with a 1:34.690. Fernando Alonso finished the session in P3 with a 1:35.360, a full 1.035s slower than Hamilton’s P1 time.
Alonso could not do any better than P3. His long run pace looked encouraging but Ferrari are struggling with high tyre degradation. Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari struggled this session. He ended his FP2 down in P14 with a 1:36.962. So not a good session for the Finn who’s looking to get a strong finish in the race.
With 35m left in the session Max Chilton in his Marussia suffered a front left brake disk failure under braking into T4. The front brakes went, the rears locked up and he spun off the track into the run off area and that was his session. He was not the only casualty of the session. Sauber’s Adrian Sutil stopped out on track with 30 minutes left in the session. The final casualty of the evening was Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson. He stopped his car on the back straight on the run down to T11 with just 5mins left in the session. There was a bit of a moment between Rosberg and Perez in the Force India that will be investigated after the session. Rosberg was on a slow-down lap with Perez on a timed lap approaching rather quickly. Rosberg moved to his left to get out of the way, but by then Perez had already committed to passing Rosberg on the left. Perez had to move a bit more to the left to avoid Rosberg. All this happened on the run into T14
The Williams cars of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas spent most of the session in their garages and with 42 mins left in the session they both took to the track with very encouraging pace from Massa. Massa and Bottas finished P5 and P11 respectively.
Red Bull confirmed just after the start of the session that the had a fuel flow sensor failure together with Toro Rosso and Lotus. They had a relatively quiet FP2 with Ricciardo finishing in P4 and Sebastian Vettel finishing P7. Red Bull do have some tyre degradation issues but not as bad as Ferrari. They actually looked much stronger on the long run race than Ferrari.
Mercedes look to be in a class of their own. At the moment qualifying looks to be between Hamilton and Rosberg for P1 and P2. But we all know how quickly things can change in F1. There’s still FP3 to come.
Roughly a year ago Red Bull’s biggest worry was the unrest between its two drivers. In a ruthless move Sebastian Vettel ignored the now infamous ‘multi-21’call to hold position and pinched victory from Mark Webber.
Twelve months later the second round of the championship again brings Red Bull and the paddock to Malaysia. The reigning champions arrive at the Sepang International circuit with no points on the board and lingering questions about reliability. Despite having nothing to show for the Australian GP definite progress had been made. The RB10 looked settled and quick with a good aerodynamic base. Their issues have been confined, mainly, the Renault power unit and Christian Horner believes that “massive progress” can be made if the French manufacturer gets on top of its problems.
The tropical climate of Kuala Lumpur requires a unique approach from drivers and teams. Unlike in Melbourne the Sepang International circuit, with a length of 5.542 km and a total of 56 laps, will test the mettle of the 2014 F1 cars. Several high speed corners will put aerodynamics under the microscope while a taxing 65% of the lap is spent on full throttle. The Malaysian GP is additionally notorious for its stiflingly hot and humid conditions which puts serious physical demands on the driver.
Pirelli has brought its medium and hard compound tyres to combat the relatively abrasive track surface. Tyre degradation hasn’t featured yet in 2014 but Malaysia presents, as the first permanent race track of the year, a substantial demand on tyre performance. When the weather pendulum has tended towards extreme heat track temperatures have reached as high as 52 degrees Celsius. Issues with overheating will be a key area of focus, especially during the long-runs.
The demands on the hybrid power unit are no less stressful. Twelve seconds is spent on full throttle during the 920 meter long back straight and with only four slow corners Sepang was built with one thing in mind – speed. Several teams were down on power and straight-line speed in the season opener and if those issues have not been solved for this weekend they’ll be nothing more than mobile chicanes.
Mercedes have the speed, reliability, performance and the drivers. The Silver Arrows team start the weekend as overwhelming favourites but under a veil of mystery. Lewis Hamilton was set fair with pole position and the fastest car on the grid in Australia. But one vital element was missing – reliability. Reliability is a word that fans will grow weary of in the initial part of the season but it is the most important commodity in the sport. With it, it ensures the capacity for consistency and crucial points. Without it, success is unattainable.
Ironically, a lot of noise has been made about the new sound of Formula 1. No longer does the V8 engine scream down the straights and rattle the fillings in your teeth and it’s a shame. It’s a shame because for countless years Formula 1 has been synonymous with bone jarring racket so loud it could cause permanent ear damage. It’s a shame but it isn’t as dreadful as some would suggest. Sound isn’t what makes this Formula 1. Mika Hakkinen’s inspired simultaneous pass on Michael Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta at the 2000 Belgium GP, Schumi’s unbelievable 4 pit-stop strategy at the 2004 French GP, Kimi Raikkonen’s sensational drive through the field of the 2005 Japanese GP – these and many more moments and races are what define the soul of this gut-wrenchingly passionate sport. They are revered because of the brilliance of men, in the cockpits and in the factories. While the distinctive sound of Formula 1 may have gone it is true still that the absurd talent and passion never will.
Lewis Hamilton ended the final day of pre-season testing on top in Bahrain.
All attention will be towards the first race of the season in Melbourne, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix. Below are some quotes from the drivers.
Lewis Hamilton(1:33.278) | Mercedes | 70 laps: “This has definitely been the most challenging winter I’ve experienced and the car is still very much a work in progress, but we’ve learnt a lot over the course of these last few weeks and overall it’s been a good winter of testing for us. There’s been an incredible amount of work put in by the team back at the two factories and on track. I have to say a special thanks to the crew here today who had a tough task in front of them but never lost their cool. It was a tough start to the day but they managed to get the car turned around for me to complete some good laps in the afternoon, which was a fantastic effort. There’s so much to learn with these new cars; it’s just mind-blowing and I don’t think anybody can be fully ready for the challenge of this season. But I feel as ready as I can be and I’m looking forward to seeing where we are in Melbourne.”
Valtteri Bottas(1:33.987) | Williams-Mercedes | 108 laps: “I think our final day of testing was very good, right up to a very unlucky failure just one run before the end. Overall, it was a still a good day as we had no other issues throughout and made a lot of progress with the car set-up. I think with this amount of testing we are as prepared for Melbourne as we can be. The team has done a great job and thank you also to Mercedes-Benz. We still need to work very hard in these next two weeks but I overall I’m happy with how testing has gone for us. As I didn’t have the chance to do a quick time on the supersoft tyre today, I am looking forward to picking up where we left off when we get to Melbourne.”
Fernando Alonso(1:34.280) | Ferrari | 74 laps: “The team did its utmost to carry out changes on the car as quickly as possible, but again today, we had planned to do more laps than we managed. There are a lot of things to learn with the use of the power unit to improve the performance of the car and we are not yet where we want to be. Everyone in the team is very competitive and we are working day and night in order to get all the potential out of the F14 T as soon as possible. We have gone through twelve days of testing that were very demanding for everyone and I would like to thank the whole team for all its efforts.”
Nico Hulkenberg(1:35.577) | Force India-Mercedes | 74 laps: “The final day of testing went pretty well. In the end we didn’t do the race simulation, but we did some long runs and signed off a lot of other things on the job list. We didn’t do as many laps as yesterday, but we still made progress and learned some new things. So it’s been two good days for me and I’m feeling pretty satisfied. You always want more time to prepare, but I think we’re in good shape. The car has come a long way since the first Jerez test and we have made progress every day.”
Adrian Sutil(1:36.467) | Sauber-Ferrari | 91 laps: “It was a good morning. We covered everything that we had planned, just in a shorter time frame. Yesterday was unlucky, but it’s better to have a problem here than in Melbourne. I feel much more comfortable after this morning’s session. Now we have a lot more data to analyse. Overall we had a tough testing programme to go through and we had unexpected problems here and there. However, we don’t get any more tests, so we will take what we have and get the most out of it in Melbourne, and I’m looking forward to that.”
Sebastian Vettel(1:37.468) | Red Bull-Renault | 77 laps: We did a lot of laps today so that was useful. We tried to do a race simulation today; for one reason or another that didn’t work out, but in two week’s time things should look a little bit different. Obviously it’s difficult to know where the car is. It’s not just the number of laps that you do, but also the type. There are so many different running options as well – full power, low power etc, so its’ impossible to say where we are. We know we have to catch up in a lot of areas, but with that said, I’m happy today, we did a lot of laps, we learned a lot and it was a positive end to a tough week here.”
Kamui Kobayashi(1:38.391) | Caterham-Renault | 106 laps: “106 laps is a good way for us to finish the tests, even though the clutch problem we had in the last hour meant we didn’t have a chance to do any of the performance runs we’d planned for today. However, I’m very happy we were able to have two such good final days in Bahrain as it’s showed that our reliability is good and that could be very important in Australia and for the whole season, especially when you look at how quite a few of the other teams have struggled both here and in Jerez.”
The next we get to see the teams and drivers again will be in Australia. The way things stand now is that Red Bull are struggling, Mercedes and Mercedes powered teams are looking very good and Ferrari, and Ferrari powered teams are not far behind. We must not, however, write off Red Bull, they have the potential to come back and dominate throughout the season.
It’s very hard to tell the pecking order for this season. A few races into the season and we will have a very good idea of where things stand. Reliability will be the big thing this season. It’s wide open for this seasons title race.
Photo Credit:
Title Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Article Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team
Day one of the Bahrain test concluded with Red Bull in a spot of bother and with Mercedes looking very strong.
The first day of testing got off to a bad start for Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull racing in Bahrain. Their car was not seen until they were 5 hours into the session due to issues during the building of the car this morning. Once Vettel was on the track he only managed 14 laps after stopping on track with an hour left in the session. According to the BBC, when the car arrived back in the pits there was a burning smell emanating from the cockpit.
“Obviously we’re not happy with where we are now and we have a long way ahead of us. The first gut feeling from the car is OK, but we need more running,” he said.
“It’s not easy to find a quick fix, but i think we understand the problems. We sorted out the issues from Jerez adn we were able to do some laps today. However, very often you fix one problem and another pops up, which is what happened. That’s testing. We all knew this year was a massive challenge and we knew it would be difficult. We obviously didn’t want this, but it is what it is and we are working flat out to solve the problems
Mercedes on the other had had more laps around the track. A brake issue ended the session slightly earlier for them today. Lewis Hamilton clocked 74 laps around the Bahrain International Circuit in the W05 with a best time of 1:37.908.
“It’s been impressive to see us start the Bahrain test with good mileage, reliability, especially when you see how difficult it is for everyone with the new regulations,” said Hamilton. “The team can be very proud of this after so much of hard work.”
“We’re not aiming to be top of the timesheets at the moment, it’s more about ticking the reliability boxes, but we can be happy with where we are before the halfway point of the pre-season tests,” he added.
Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India set the fastest time for the day with a 1:36.880. Force India who use Mercedes engines also enjoyed some long runs out on track and clocked up a total of 79 laps on track. These are very encouraging signs early on in the test for the Silverstone based team.
Hulkenberg: “A very positive and satisfying day. We had a busy programme and we learned a lot. Time in the car is very valuable at the moment and so it feels good to cover so many laps and even complete two long runs at the end of the day. That gave me a chance to see how the car behaves and to start getting a feel for it, which was not something I was able to do in Jerez. It’s great that we’ve already done some set-up work and started to improve the drivability of the car. But it’s still very early stages; we are learning with every lap and we face a very steep learning curve in the coming days.”
The Lotus E22 made its public debut in Bahrain today with Frenchman Romain Grosjean at the wheel. With little issues in their filming day at Jerez last week, it was a very different story today. The E22 only managed to do 8 laps.
“To be honest, there are so many things going on at the rear of the car that I can’t understand everything, but it was related to the engine or batteries or things like that. Nothing too crazy,” said Grosjean.
“Hopefully we can understand it and get better solutions for tomorrow and the day after.”
Grosjean went on to say that he is not even going to attempt set ups with the car because the main focus on the testing at the moment is the reliability.
Ferrari had a rather straight forward test day without any unexpected difficulties. Fernando Alonso was at the wheel of the F14T today with the second fastest time of the day of 1:37.879. Alonso will be pilot the F14T tomorrow before Kimi Raikkonen takes over for the final two days.
“It’s nice to be driving again, especially when you have more reference points compared to the previous time, which means you get a better feeling for the car,” said Alonso. “We are also at a track that is more representative, with normal temperatures, where it’s been easier to understand tyre behaviour. We are in a phase where we are discovering things and with every lap, we learn something new. For everyone, there is still a lot to do to be well prepared for Melbourne, so it will be important to make the most of every day we have available to us.”
Toro Rosso also suffered engine issues and together with Red Bull and Lotus, they managed 27 laps between them. Robin Frijns in the Caterham CT05, which is also powered by the Renault engine, managed to clock up 68 laps.
Williams had a bad day today. The Mercedes powered FW36-02 never got to see much of the track today. According to their Chief Test engineer, Rob Nelson, they had a fuel system problem. However, they were able to change some of the components and do some running towards the end of the day.
“It was a difficult day. It was frustrating for me but also for the whole team as we all wanted to get lots of laps on the board today. We had a few issues with the car which we are investigating and aim to solve for tomorrow and the following days,” said Felipe Massa
Kevin Magnussen in his McLaren finished the day 4th fastest with the second highest lap count. The most mileage done today was by Adrian Sutil in the Sauber. Both teams had relatively normal testing days and were quite happy with the progress that was made so far.
Renault powered teams look to be on the back foot at the moment and with Red Bull and Lotus having all these issues it’s going to be very tough to catch up to the other teams.
The unofficial timing sheet is included below
Photo Credits
Title Photo: Scuderia Ferrari F1
Article Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team
The complete list of numbers that the drivers will carry, starting in 2014, was recently announced by the FIA with many of the choices revealing the nostalgic sentimentality of several drivers.
Current world champion Sebastian Vettel will race with the #1 while he has reserved #5 not so much as an homage to former British champ Nigel Mansell but rather as a return to the number he used as a child in karting. Should Vettel not make it five world titles in 2014 he will run with the #5 in 2015. Red Bull Racing teammate Daniel Ricciardo has also chosen his first number in karting but tweeted that #3 is also a result of being a fan of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.
Lewis Hamilton continued the trend of karting numbers and the 2008 champion will race with #44 emblazoned on both his helmet and car. Nico Rosberg has chosen his number as a tribute to his father Keke Rosberg who carried #6 during his championship winning year in 1982. However, the number six seems to run in the Rosberg family as Nico also secured the 2002 Formula BMW title while carrying the same number.
Fernando Alonso carried the nostalgic trend further as he too reminisced about his karting days with the choice to race #14. Believe it or not Fernando Alonso is the only driver on the grid to have won the Karting World Cup and he did so using kart #14 when he was 14 years old.
While sentimentality overflowed Kimi Raikkonen delivered his trademark, unaffected reasoning for his choice. “It was my number the previous year so I saw no reason to change it,” he said. Raikkonen will race with #7.
Romain Grosjean has similarly elected to retain his 2013 number. However, the Frenchman revealed that his choice to retain #8 is based on the fact that he had experienced his best ever season last year. Newly signed teammate Pastor Maldonado has brought back #13 to Formula 1 which is considered to be unlucky in many circles. However, Maldonado’s choice could be down to the fact that this particular number in considered lucky for Venezuelans. Several Venezuelan Baseball players all carry #13.
Jenson Button has returned to his championship winning season of 2009 with the choice of #22 while rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen is continuing the trend of karting numbers with #20.
Nico Hulkenberg’s choice of #27 hasn’t been given much clarification as yet but the romantics amongst the F1 fans would like to think that German’s choice is in honour of the great Gilles Villeneuve. Coincidentally, Ayrton Senna clinched the 1990 world driver’s championship with #27. Mexican Sergio Perez has picked #11 as the second Force India driver. “Ever since I was a kid I always wore the 11, in karting. Actually my email has 11 in it as well,” he grinned. “A lot of things have to do with 11 so I identified myself with that number,” said Perez.
Adrian Sutil, a Sauber driver for 2014, will run #99 which was the highest possible number up for grabs. Esteban Gutierrez will race #21. Jean-Eric Vergne hand-picked his karting number 25 while rookie teammate Danniil Kvyat has confirmed #26.
Williams driver Felipe Massa has selected #19 which could be in honour of Ayrton Senna as this was the Brazilian’s first number in Formula 1. Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas has seen the marketing potential in his choice of #77 as it resembles the letter ‘T’ in his name. Marussia driver Jules Bianchi had to be content with his third choice of number 17. The FIA has confirmed Max Chilton as the second driver at Marussia for 2014 but the Brit is yet to select a number. Caterham are still to announce their driver pairing for the upcoming season.
The issuing of permanent numbers is a great homage to the history of Formula 1. Gilles Villeneuve will always be as synonymous with #27 as Nigel Mansell will be with #5. Now it is the chance of a different era of drivers to breathe new life into these legendary numbers.
The Sauber F1 team announced early on Saturday morning that Esteban Gutierrez will stay on for 2014.
The young Mexican will race alongside Adrian Sutil as his teammate at the Hinwil based team.
“I am happy to be able to continue as a driver for the Sauber F1 Team. It was a steep learning curve last season, but by working closely with the team I was able to improve continuously,” Said Gutierrez
It will be my fourth year with the team, the second as a racing driver, and I feel comfortable in taking the next step. The technical challenges in 2014 will be massive. Therefore it will be even more important to know well the people you are working with. I will do my very best to improve even more and support the team the best way I can.,” Gutierrez added.
“We are pleased Esteban will drive for us in 2014, because we believehe is a talented young racing driver. Last season he experienced first hand how hard it can be for a rookie to step into Formula One,” said Sauber Team Principal, Monisha Kaltenborn
Along with the singing of Gutierrez, Sauber also announced their continuation of their partnership with Mexican telecommunications company, Telmex.
“We at Telmex and Telcel are very proud to continue being part of the Sauber F1 Team to keep consolidating our succesful history in motorsport, particularly in Formula One and our driver development programme for Mexican and Latin drivers such as Esteban Gutiérrez, a great young talent, friend and human being,” said the Chairman of Telmex, Carlos Slim Domit.
With Telmex staying on for 2014, and with the driver market that played out the way it did, it looked as though it worked out quite well for Gutierrez and ensured that he retained his seat for 2014 at Sauber.
Adrian Sutil has set his hopes on achieving a maiden podium with the Sauber team in the 2014 Formula One season.
Having spent his entire F1 career with the Force India and Spyker F1 teams, the German will now get to experience life with a new team and hopes to achieve his first podium soon.
The German talks about his move to Sauber, his hopes and preparations for the season ahead.
Q: Adrian, your whole F1 career to date has been spent with the same team – was it about time to make a change?
Adrian Sutil: Yes, I felt that it was time for a change and we worked hard for it for months to make it happen. It will be an interesting experience to see how another team goes about things.
Q: You were always been confident of staying in Formula One. Were you negotiating with Sauber before Force India announced their decision to take on Sergio Perez or did the deal come about at the last minute? Adrian Sutil: No, we were in contact for a long time. As I just said, it had been my wish to have a change after six good years with Force India – and Sauber was my priority. My Manager has been in contact with them since autumn – and around that time I visited the factory in Hinwil for the first time.
Q: After many years with Force India, with what feelings are you leaving? Adrian Sutil: I have had a good and successful time with Force India. They gave me the chance to come back – and this fact will always have a special place in my heart! For sure I will miss some of the guys there that have turned into friends over the years, but now I’m excited to be with my new team. Let’s see if it is true that new brooms sweep clean! (laughs)
Q: What do you expect from Sauber? They finished 2013 on a high but that doesn’t mean too much with all the changes coming along in 2014… Adrian Sutil: I’m convinced that we will have a successful time – and I’m looking very much forward to my first podium! Sauber have had some podiums in the past and that is exactly what I want.
Q: You have witnessed the 2014 developments at Force India and now you’ve seen how Sauber is going about things. What’s your impression – and where are the differences? Adrian Sutil: To be honest all I know is that Sauber have already passed the crash test. I haven’t seen more yet and don’t know anything about the 2014 Force India car.
Q: There have been some new measures announced recently: you can now choose your own race number; there are double points at the last race; a pole position trophy has been introduced; and there’s a new penalty system. What’s your opinion on all that? Adrian Sutil: We have to take it as it comes! It doesn’t make any sense to waste too much time on fruitless discussions when you know that you cannot change things. We will see at the end of the season what has happened with all the changes – then will be the time to discuss sense and nonsense.
Q: Have you already picked your number? And was your favourite number still available? Is there any personal anecdote attached to your number? Adrian Sutil: Yes, I have picked my number already – and yes, my favourite was available – but it will be a secret until it is official!
Q: So far you are the only driver to be announced at Sauber for 2014. Do you have any preference for your team mate? Adrian Sutil: To be honest: I don’t care. It should be the best and fastest team mate that is available!
Q: Living in Switzerland and driving for a Swiss team – that sounds pretty convenient – and suggests that you will be a very frequent visitor to the factory. Is that so? Adrian Sutil: Yes, because it will be an easy one to visit! And the real luxury is that the factory is just an hour’s drive from my home. So I will be there quite often.
Q: What will be on your agenda for the weeks until the Jerez test at the end of January? Adrian Sutil: I will relax and recharge my batteries, have a nice and peaceful Christmas and then I will start to prepare for next season -and for sure I will spend many days in the factory to get to know everybody and inhale their procedures!
The Sauber F1 Team has confirmed that Adrian Sutil will form part of its driver line-up for the 2014 season.
The German driver has 109 grand prix starts in his F1 career and all of them has been with the Sahara Force India team. Force India have signed Nico Hulkenberg, from Sauber, and Sergio Perez from McLaren.
“I am very happy that we found common ground,” said Sutil. “Although I have known for a while where I wanted to go, in the end the negotiations took a bit longer than planned. However, now I will have all the more reason to celebrate during the Christmas season.
“After six good years driving for Force India, with a lot of highlights, it’s now time to embark on a new challenge. I am determined to do my part in order to have a successful future together with the Sauber F1 team.”
The 2014 move to Sauber will be the first time that Sutil has raced for a different team in Formula 1. He joined the Midland team in 2007 which would later transform to its current guise of Force India.
Sutil’s best result in Formula 1 remains a fourth place at the 2009 Italian grand prix.
