 |
 |
As it happened: Test day three
By Geoff Creighton, Matt Beer and Steven English
The live commentary has ended. No further updates will be posted.
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
FASTEST TIMES |
 |
P |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
1 |
Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m23.168s |
2 |
Petrov | Renault | 1m23.463s +0.295 |
3 |
Hamilton | McLaren | 1m23.858s +0.690 |
4 |
Maldonado | Williams | 1m24.815s +1.647 |
5 |
Webber | Red Bull | 1m24.995s +1.827 |
6 |
Trulli | Lotus | 1m25.454s +2.286 |
7 |
Perez | Sauber | 1m25.557s +2.389 |
8 |
Sutil | Force India | 1m25.720s +2.552 |
9 |
Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1m26.155s +2.987 |
10 |
Massa | Ferrari | 1m26.508s +3.340 |
11 |
Glock | Virgin | 1m26.598s +3.430 |
12 |
Mondini | HRT | 1m28.178s +5.010 |
13 |
Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1m28.329s +5.161 |
14 |
Karthikeyan | HRT | 1m30.722s +7.554 |
 |
All timing unofficial. Updated: 16:03 GMT |
 |
OVERVIEW |
DAY THREE |
 |
CURRENT WEATHER |
 |
 |
Mainly sunny |
High Temp: |
14°C / 57°F |
Track: |
Dry |
|
 |
 |
Thanks for the live coverage, it's great. I have a question about the speed of this year's cars: I don't remember them lapping as slowly as 1m30s at Barcelona. Also, last year's fastest testing time was something like 1.19.9 from Hamilton, which we are still more than three seconds removed this year.
Keep up the good work and kind regards from Adriaan ter Mors, in Delft, the Netherlands (on the sofa - not going for the exotic-location prize)
AUTOSPORT.com features editor @TeamAnglais says:
The times so far have been between one and two seconds slower than those set during pre-season testing last year. We can attribute the slower times partly to the loss of downforce and partly to the change from Bridgestone to Pirelli tyres.
At Valencia the best lap dropped from a 1m11.470s in 2010 to a 1m13.144s two weeks ago. There were two tests at Jerez last year, producing 1m19.583s and 1m18.871s bests. Last week the quickest was 1m19.832s.
The fastest time of the Barcelona test last year was 1m20.472s, compared to Vettel's 1m23.315s yesterday. We'd expect the quickest time to come on the last day of the test, once the circuit is more rubbered in.
This year's tyres don't seem to be leaving as much rubber on the circuit as the previous ones, so the times don't improve as much with more days of running - something that will affect grands prix weekends too.
Also, Barcelona is regarded as the most strenuous test of aerodynamic performance of all the testing venues, so the loss of downforce this year will have a bigger effect on laptimes here than anywhere else.
Sergio Perez skated off the road in the Sauber at spot on 11am and the team got the car back to the garage at about 11:10. Sauber reported no major problems, said the team would just check the car over and clean it out, and he rejoined just a moment ago - so 30-35 minutes.
AUTOSPORT technical consultant Gary Anderson says:
In placing the exhaust pipes, what you are trying to do is use the exhaust gases to increase the veocity of air flow around the area where the exhaust exits. Different teams are trying to place them in what they think is the best position to use them to help increase downforce.
McLaren are back-to-back testing different solutions and have resolved back to a standard exhaust system, that exits at the back of the sidepods, today.
To back-to-back different solutions at every test is a strange route for a team that would have the tools to simulate the various systems. The aggravation caused by having a complex exhaust system is not really worth it if you can't measure it in real laptime.
AUTOSPORT technical consultant Gary Anderson says:
I do think the height of the noses has got a bit silly. I don't think I'd want it to go back to being right on the ground again, but I definitely would put a maximum height on the centre line of the nose at the front, and a maximum height of the area where the nose intersects the chassis at the front wheel centre line.
I think that would be better and would reduce the risk of T-boning someone in the middle of the chassis. Structurally, it would be better on an impact, and I think aesthetically it would be more pleasing to the eye. It would reduce downforce, not by a significant amount, but by a couple of per cent.
Webber - 45, Massa - 35, Perez - 32, Ricciardo - 28, Maldonado - 11, Rosberg - 31, Hamilton - 30, Trulli - 24, Petrov - 14, Sutil - 40, Glock - 40, Karthikeyan - 14
So if you're following our coverage from an exotic location, let us know via live@autosport.com.
"Hey guys, thanks for the live streaming. Dan is flying and it's great seeing all the others have a crack at him. In this condition in a kart he was a master as well, trust me!"
Ricciardo will be joining us later today to answer your questions. Send them to live@autosport.com
What unusual location are you joining us from? Anyone else on a boat? We like boats.
Email live@autosport.com and let us know.
We're also popular on trains: Mario Bassani says he was on that Stockholm train going back to Gothenburg yesterday. Yordan Angeloff is watching from a train on the way to Sofia. And Jonathan Quinn on a train from Taunton to Cardiff, having cycled the other way yesterday.
We also have Erik Cramer up a mountain outside Rio de Janeiro and Andreas Nicolaou up a snowy mountain in Cyprus. Tim in the snow in Kazan, Russia. George Grazebrook in a field 30 miles north of Aberdeen. Tom Jakovljevic checking our timing from the middle of a music festival in a tent with 10,000 people. Mikey spent the lunch break shoveling snow from his driveway in Thunder Bay, Ontario. And for the less exotic, Dave Lawrence is in his living room in Walsall, where it's raining.
Thanks for sending in your unique locations during the lunch break. Sorry we couldn't shout about you all.
AUTOSPORT F1 editor @eddstrawF1 says:
Everyone is pretty much in agreement that the Bahrain Grand Prix should not go ahead. Even if everything calmed down tomorrow, there would rightly be serious ethical questions to be asked as to whether F1 should be willing to go there.
Bernie Ecclestone is in a difficult position. He's an intelligent guy and understands the situation, but also needs to work through the correct process to possibly cancelling the race. Be wary about reading too much into his public utterances - he knows what he is saying and the implications of that. He's a master when it comes to situations like this, and it will just take a little time to reach a resolution as his job is to ensure that the financial repercussions of a possible cancellation are addressed.
Remember, too, that the FIA has a clear say in this. While the teams can't refuse to go because they are contractually obliged to compete in world championship races, I believe that the FIA could also call it off.
That's good news for the Russian, who was pretty frustrated by the lack of running he'd managed in the R31 when we chatted with him on Friday.
Perhaps they are about to try for a full distance again this afternoon.
We've got more than enough emails to get through with the Toro Rosso reserve, but do stay tuned for his answers.
Laurence Thorn asks: You've come through Formula Renault 3.5, whereas other members of the grid have gone the GP2 route instead. What do you think are the similarities and differences between the series in terms of how they prepare drivers for F1?
Daniel's reply: Hey Laurence. Well, I've never driven in GP2. I know both categoires are quite elite, they both have carbon brakes, pitstops and longer races, so I think they have a lot of similarities to take the step to F1.
Obviously GP2 shares race weekends with F1, so this can maybe give people the impression that GP2 is more popular, because it's in the F1 eye. Perhaps that's why there are more GP2 guys out there than World Series.
For me, I learned enough in World Series and it has given me the right background to be here in this postion in F1. I imagine GP2 offers the same things, and both categories are enough of a preparation to make this next step.
Daniel Ricciardo: I'm going to be very busy this year, that's obvious, but I'm looking forward to trying to get the championship in WSR this year - that's the first objective on my list. Then also to get some very valuable seat time in F1 is a big positive to me, so as I see it, it's going to be a really good year for me.
I've got some great opportunities to try to take what I didn't get last year, and to try to step into my aim in F1 for the following season. I'll definitely have the motivation with World Series by Renault again this year, as I really want to take the championship - I don't plan on being the bridesmaid again!
Daniel Ricciardo: The idea is to get more downforce. More downforce normally means a quicker laptime on the stopwatch and that's the basic theory behind any developments. I guess time will tell whether it's a good move from the technical department of Toro Rosso, but I think the car looks great and out on track it's been really good to drive.
Daniel Ricciardo: As a kid I supported Ferrari. My father is Sicilian and loves the Ferrari heritage - and he passed that on to me. I'm sure, as many drivers would say, there has been a stage in life where they have dreamt of driving for Ferrari one day.
Everyone wants to be out there racing, so this is definitely what I want to aim for. But for now I'm very content in the Red Bull family, and they've been a huge benefit in my career. If we keep working together how we have since I've been with them, succesfully, then I think they will offer me a good seat in the not too distant future.
Daniel Ricciardo: (laughs) Hey Joe! How you going? To answer your question, I had a delicious piece of fillet steak, cooked medium, with a side serving of pasta al pomodoro and some cooked vegetables. Might sound a bit boring, but it's important to get some good carbs and protein in after a session.
With the new one-second overtaking rule coming in this year, do you think this will force the frontrunners to push harder than normal to keep the gap above one second? Will this help on the harder-to-overtake circuits, as the front car can no longer just cruise with no fear of being passed? All the best Daniel, keep Sebastien and Jaime on their toes mate.
Daniel Ricciardo: I think you'll definitely see more overtaking this year with the new DRS in place, so it will be interesting to see how the leader of a pack controls his gap. As you said, I think they won't be able to rest as easy as last year with a slight advantage. This could force a driver to make a few mistakes and open up another window of opportunity. I think we're in for an exciting season.
Daniel Ricciardo: Hey Nico. I think the people at Pirelli are doing a good job with developing the tyre for this new season. It's going to be interesting to see which teams get on top of it before the others, because the tyre is the most important part on the car - the only piece in contact with the track.
Out of the races I went to last year, my favourites were Australia, Canada, Singapore and Monaco. You might get a hint that the street circuits are a lot of fun!
Daniel Ricciardo: They felt quite good to me, but I don't have any reference from anything else as it was my first time in an F1 car in these conditions. I only ever drove on Bridgestone tyres in the dry. But speaking to a few of the other guys, they seem to think that they're alright.
Daniel Ricciardo: I think, to a point, wet testing can be useful and you can take some information. But then it's not really like dry testing when you can run around for laps and laps always gathering information. You have a lot more things to test in the dry and you get clearer readings from data.
My aim is to be in a race seat in 2012 - that's what I'm punching for. So this year I'm just going to try and make the most of the experience I'll get with Friday first practice and be as quick as possible. If I can do a good job there, then next year could be a full-time seat.
Daniel Ricciardo: Hey, that's a really good question. The forces of power steering can be altered on a driver's preference. Even at its lightest, I think it is still heavy for the average person. But if you would compare the average weight of F1 steering input to, say World Series by Renault from my personal experience, then I would say the F1 would be equal to or even lighter.
Daniel Ricciardo: In Europe, I'm getting around in a Fiat Punto, and in Australia I've got a Toyota Hilux - that's more of an outdoors car for the Australian environment! My dream road car is a white Lamborghini Gallardo with black wheels - that would definitely get chicks!
And for the banner, 'Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!'
Daniel Ricciardo: As a test driver, or any form of race driver in general, if you want to break into the top you have to be quick. I think that's always the priority. But you also have to show good understanding of car characteristics, and I think feedback is very important for engineers.
When I'm in the car, I always try to go as fast as I can. You give your best feedback when you're on the limit, otherwise it's not very accurate. So the job for me as the driver is to go out there, adapt to the conditions and go as fast as I can. Being conservative doesn't sit well with a race car driver.
Daniel Ricciardo: In any form of top-level sport you will never be best mates with your competitors. But between the three of us, we talk and help each other out to understand the new car. I think if we all co-operate well, then we all advance foward as a group - then the rest is up to us out on the track.
Daniel Ricciardo: Testing has gone well for us in the pre-season. It's always hard to say how good we will be until the first race because there are too many variables in testing to get too excited, or too negative.
But the vibe around the team is a positive one and I think they've made a good step forward from last season. I really hope this season the boys can move up a chunk of positions on the grid, and with these new rules coming into place a podium might even be on the cards.
Tomorrow Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembery will be our special guest, so get your questions in via live@autosport.com.
We're off to catch up with the drivers. Stick with AUTOSPORT for all the reaction to today's test.