AUTOSPORT Live: Test day one - F1 Jerez first pre-season test

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LIVE COMMENTARY: JEREZ FIRST PRE-SEASON TEST - TEST DAY ONE

GO TO LIVE INDEX	ALL TIMES GMT

As it happened: Test day one
By Matt Beer and Jamie O'Leary

The live commentary has ended. No further updates will be posted.

07:55 Good morning and welcome to the first AUTOSPORT Live commentary of the 2012 season, as Formula 1 testing kicks off at Jerez.

07:56 Engines are being warmed up in the garages ready for the action to get underway. Conditions are good, with a dry track and just some mist over the back of the circuit.

07:57 Here's today's full forecast from our weather genius @radarguruf1: Tuesday: Weather will be fine with strong sunshine quickly coming through after a misty start. No hint of any cloud all day, but there will be a light northerly breeze. Temp climbing from an overnight low of +3 Celsius. Max air temp 18c, maybe touching 19c mid-afternoon. With continuous sunshine that could pitch track temp up around the 25-30c range in the hour or two after lunch.

07:59 All the teams bar Marussia are present today, and of those in action, Sauber, Ferrari, Force India, Caterham, McLaren, Red Bull, Lotus, Toro Rosso and Williams will have their 2012 cars on track.

08:00 Mercedes and HRT are sticking with their 2011 machines for now, with their 2012 designs expected to appear for the next test in a fortnight.

08:00 We're off: Heikki Kovalainen takes the Caterham out of the pitlane and F1 2012 is underway.

08:01 Next out are Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus and Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso.

08:01 Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber, Nico Rosberg's Mercedes and Paul di Resta's Force India follow on.

08:02 These will just be quick installation runs, with the cars returning to the pits for checks before going for times.

08:02 The air temperature right now is a chilly 3.7 degrees, with a track temperature of 8.9.

08:03 Kobayashi has already brought the Sauber in then rejoined the track.

08:04 Rosberg has stayed out for a second lap, everyone else has returned to the pits.

08:04 Felipe Massa sets off in the new Ferrari for the first time this morning.

08:06 Massa is now the only man on the circuit.

08:07 We've seen seven cars out so far, but nothing from McLaren, Red Bull, HRT or Williams.

08:08 Williams only took the wraps off its new car this morning, launching the Renault-powered FW34 in the pitlane half an hour ago.

08:11 Pastor Maldonado will give the car its first run today, with Bruno Senna making his first appearance in a Williams on Thursday.

08:12 It's all quiet at Jerez at the moment, with the majority of teams having completed installation laps and all returned to the pits. The air temperature has nudged up to 4.1 degrees, track temperature to 12.1.

08:13 Wise observation from AUTOSPORT news editor @glenn_autosport: "Rare that we can read much into F1 testing times, but on the first day last year the Red Bull was the fastest 2011 car by 0.7s from Ferrari"

08:14 Sometimes these tests can be very popular with spectators, but today the stands are empty - it's a working day and local favourite Fernando Alonso is not in action.

08:15 AUTOSPORT's F1 editor @eddstrawF1 explains what to expect from this morning: "The early running today, particularly for those who haven't taken advantage of the opportunity to run the car on a promotional day already, will be to check the basics.

"New cars means new packaging, different cooling systems, modified electronic systems and for teams like Williams, a switch of engine supplier, so early doors the teams will want to check the fundamentals.

"If the car doesn't fall apart or catch fire (very much the worst case scenario) they will continue to gather this kind of data and also try and get a feel for if the car is behaving on track in the same way that the windtunnel and CFD simulation data suggests. The happiest teams will be the ones who discover that the correlation is good as the test goes on."

08:16 Maldonado brings the new Williams out for its first run.

08:16 His out-lap is particularly slow and cautious.

08:17 Williams's chief operation engineer Mark Gillan explained to AUTOSPORT's @eddstrawF1 what the team would be doing on the FW34's first outing: "We have a long checklist of systems checks and operational running of which understanding the cooling, to make sure that we are in the right region of the cooling as expected to make sure that the correlation with the tunnel is good. And understanding the subtle changes of mapping and the way Renault operates compared to our previous supplier."

08:17 Maldonado is trickling back towards the pits now.

08:18 As ever, you can check out all the pics from the Jerez test as they roll in via our constantly updated testing gallery, already packed with images from Monday's set-up day and the Lotus promotional run.

08:19 News from @ToroRossoSpy: "Installation lap completed successfully, now it's time to give the car a thorough check over."

08:20 With Raikkonen in the Lotus cockpit today, Romain Grosjean is standing on the pit wall watching proceedings.

08:20 Jenson Button emerges to give the new McLaren its track debut.

08:20 Raikkonen's Lotus fires up and he sets off for his second run of the morning.

08:22 Button pressing on with an installation lap much faster than the one just seen from Maldonado's Williams.

08:23 Raikkonen heads onto what could be our first flying lap of the day.

08:23 Contrails from the rear wing as he goes through Turn 4. The air is still very moist and there's a hint of mist.

08:23 The Lotus heads through the Dry Sack corner.

08:24 Raikkonen sets a 1m20.992s, our first flying lap of the year.

08:24 Kobayashi brings the Sauber back out.

08:25 Raikkonen improves to 1m20.802s.

08:25 The ex-champion is the only man to set a time so far, and continues onto a third flying lap.

08:26 Di Resta and Rosberg have headed out as well.

08:26 Raikkonen's third lap is slightly slower than the second, a 1m20.839s.

08:28 Kobayashi goes second fastest to Raikkonen with a 1m22.198s.

08:28 Raikkonen laps in 1m21.065s as he goes onto lap five of his run.

08:29 Kobayashi's second lap is slower than his first, he does a 1m22.259s.

08:29 Rosberg is also on the circuit, but is coming through the pits at the end of every lap.

08:30 Raikkonen improves to 1m20.514s, a new best of the morning.

08:31 Raikkonen returns to the pits at the end of his first run. All calm and relaxed at Lotus.

08:32 Kobayashi has pitted too, so just Rosberg on track.

08:34 Rosberg is still out but is doing some form of slow-running tests at the back of the circuit, so his times are only 1m40s.

08:36 AUTOSPORT F1 editor @eddstrawF1 says: "It's no coincidence that the two teams who completed promotional running yesterday - Lotus and Sauber - have completed the most laps of teams with new cars so far.

"As Kamui Kobayashi said yesterday 'we had no problems and went through the programme, so I am happy. It was a good start for us. We can start tomorrow with more detailed testing and are not worried about trouble from the first moment."

08:36 Another 1m40s lap from Rosberg's Mercedes.

08:36 Rosberg comes into the pits.

08:39 Track temperature is up to 16.7 degrees as Maldonado brings the Williams back out. Air temperature still only 4.5.

08:40 This is another very tentative run from Maldonado in the brand new Williams FW34.

08:40 If you have any questions you want to put to AUTOSPORT's team on the ground at Jerez about testing so far, the 2012 cars or any other burning issue, you can email live@autosport.com.

08:40 We'll try to get through as many of your questions as we can, and will also have a few special guests for you to quiz later in the week.

08:42 Massa heads out with a long aero tube on top of the Ferrari's rollhoop.

08:42 The Brazilian took it very easy through Turn 3 before accelerating up to speed.

08:42 Maldonado has brought the Williams back into the pits.

08:44 Massa stays out for a second lap, and is more aggressive this time.

08:44 Massa's first flying lap is a 1m24.423s and he stays out and keeps pushing on.

08:46 Di Resta brings the Force India back out. He's done quite a few laps without setting a time so far.

08:46 Massa comes past the pits in a lower gear this time, perhaps doing a calibration check.

08:46 Ricciardo leaves the pits in the Toro Rosso.

08:48 Massa continues to slow on straights, this is definitely an evaluation run rather than an attempt at performance testing. The Ferrari's last lap was in the 1m41s.

08:50 Ricciardo puts in a 1m31.537s for his first flying lap of the winter.

08:52 Ricciardo improves to 1m25.807s.

08:54 Several of you have asked how the times set so far compare to last year. Very well, is the answer. Raikkonen's 1m20.514s is quicker than the 1m20.709s that Massa set when topping the first day of Jerez testing in February 2011.

08:54 Last year Jerez was the second venue on the testing schedule after a week at Valencia.

08:54 The top time at the end of the 2011 Jerez week was a 1m19.832s from Rubens Barrichello's Williams.

08:55 Given how Williams's season subsequently unfolded, that seems a good time to mention that testing can sometimes be misleading...

08:55 Button has done an out/in run on soft tyres.

08:57 We've had quite a few questions about the tyre allocation for testing. Teams have 25 sets of Pirellis, covering the soft, medium and hard compounds, and are free to run them as they please. We will do our best to identify which compound drivers are using on their runs.

08:57 Raikkonen is back out and pressing on, his slower laps still faster than anyone else is managing so far.

08:57 Rosberg brings the Mercedes out on the medium Pirelli.

08:59 Smiles down at @Lotus_F1Team: "A good start, as Kimi quickly settles into the rhythm in the E20"

09:00 There were reports of a part flying off the new Sauber during Kobayashi's earlier run. @eddstrawF1 has discovered that it was a small part of the rear brake duct and is now being repaired.

09:01 From trackside we can see that Raikkonen is starting to wind it up, and beginning to lean on the car a little more.

09:01 The Finn is the only man on track at the moment.

09:01 And is frankly probably happier than he would've been if he had been preparing for Rally Sweden this weekend...

09:03 Raikkonen comes back in. That run was on the medium tyres. And now the circuit is empty.

09:04 So an hour into 2012 F1 winter testing, and Raikkonen is fastest on a 1m20.514s, 1.5s ahead of Kobayashi, 3.9s ahead of Massa and 4.1s ahead of Ricciardo. Di Resta and Rosberg have only done slower evaluation runs, and no one else has set a time so far.

09:06 A Lotus spokesman tells @StrangAutosport that all is looking good so far, with no dramas and Raikkonen happy in the car.

09:06 Lotus's programme for this morning is mainly focused on giving Raikkonen and the new E20 some mileage.

09:07 @MikeGascoyne provides a Caterham update: "Short break after installation lap while we fit some parts that only turned up this morning. Back out soon."

09:09 Raikkonen took a bite of grass as he entered the pitlane. Not hanging about even on his in-lap. There is purpose in his body and car language.

09:10 News from the pitlane from @eddstrawF1: "Finishing touches are being put on the Red Bull. It will be out this morning - in the next hour, the team hopes."

09:11 Yesterday Red Bull team boss Christian Horner declared that the team's winter build-up had been smoother than ever:

Horner hails Red Bull's 'best winter'

09:12 It's getting slightly warmer: air temperature now 6.7 degrees and track temperature 19.4.

09:14 Rosberg leaves the pits on medium tyres, pausing for a practice start at the end of the pitlane, then works up through the box checking gearchanges, before backing off the throttle.

09:15 The Mercedes trickles slowly through the hairpin and Turns 3, 4 and 5.

09:16 Di Resta sets out from the pits with a 'periscope' measuring device on the car and medium tyres fitted to his Force India.

09:17 De la Rosa's very white HRT sets out, as Raikkonen also rejoins the track.

09:17 Di Resta passes at half speed, Rosberg at full speed.

09:17 Raikkonen is again on medium tyres.

09:18 De la Rosa comes past at racing speed, possibly set for his first flying lap in the HRT.

09:20 Rosberg does a 1m23.207s to go third quickest as he gets the Mercedes up to speed.

09:20 De la Rosa's first flying lap as an HRT driver is a 1m27.243s.

09:21 Raikkonen has done the most running this morning, having started off with a five-lap run averaging 1m20.8s, then a four-lap run averaging 1m21.8s.

09:21 Massa does a 1m24.014s, his fastest lap of the morning so far.

09:22 The Ferrari is on medium tyres, like most drivers so far this morning.

09:22 Massa improves to a 1m23.443s next time around.

09:22 Rosberg goes up to second on a 1m21.918s.

09:23 Di Resta cruises through the pits again, still no quick time from the Force India.

09:23 Rosberg gets his time down to a 1m21.379s, 0.865s behind pacesetter Raikkonen.

09:25 @StrangAutosport: "Kimi looks on it this morning. Taking no prisoners on the apexes and really pushing on to get up to speed."

09:26 @eddstrawF1 also enjoying Raikkonen's comeback so far: "had a watch trackside around the final part of the track. Great to see Kimi leaning on the car. Took a bite of the grass with his front-left entering the pits, so on it on an in-lap. Great to see him back in an F1 car."

09:27 Raikkonen just did a 1m22.250s midway through his third stint of the morning, then on his next lap had a massive lock-up into the final corner and sent tyre smoke billowing.

09:27 Raikkonen does a 1m22.1s, setting consistent times on this run.

09:30 @StrangAutosport with some more Raikkonen analysis: "During his run in the 2010 Renault, two weeks ago, taking into account fuel correction, he was within two tenths of his best lap on his first flyer."

09:30 Ricciardo brings the Toro Rosso back out.

09:32 Ricciardo starts his stint with a 1m25.0s. He set a 1m24.6s earlier.

09:32 Ricciardo improves to 1m23.141s and takes fourth place from Massa.

09:33 Raikkonen returns to the pits after his longest run yet - a nine-lap stint on medium tyres averaging 1m22.5s.

09:34 Ricciardo's Toro Rosso is now the only car out on track. He does a 1m23.9s this time around.

09:35 Ricciardo then improves again, doing a 1m22.578s.

09:37 Ricciardo pits and the track goes quiet again - but only briefly before Rosberg sets off on the medium tyre shod Mercedes.

09:38 Rosberg does another practice start at the end of the pitlane.

09:38 Di Resta comes back out again too.

09:38 Green flag running throughout so far this morning - a serene start to 2012 testing as the new cars show good initial reliability.

09:39 Raikkonen, Rosberg, Kobayashi, Ricciardo, Massa, de la Rosa and di Resta have all set times, though the latter has yet to do a full-speed run.

09:39 Maldonado, Button and Kovalainen have done installation runs but not set times, Webber is yet to emerge at all in the Red Bull.

09:42 Massa has gone back out with the periscope device atop the Ferrari and an old set of mediums, suggesting more calibration work is intended.

09:42 Rosberg zaps past a slow Massa on the straight and then sets a 1m22.597s.

09:42 Kobayashi rejoins on the medium tyres.

09:47 Just Kobayashi on track at the moment, setting a 1m23.454s as he settles in.

09:50 This is one of those mid-morning testing lulls, as Kobayashi circulates alone and improves from mid-1m23s to mid-1m22s.

09:51 A lot of you are emailing live@autosport.com to ask what McLaren's programme is and if all is well as Button has not been out since his installation laps. We're investigating...

09:51 Track temperature has now risen to a cosy 24.4 degrees.

09:52 Raikkonen blasts back out of the pits, and isn't hanging around... He flings it through Turns 3, 4 and 5 even on his out-lap.

09:54 Kobayashi slowed and did laps in 1m25s and 1m27s, then got back down to 1m22.5s.

09:55 Raikkonen sets a new fastest time - a blistering 1m19.670s.

09:56 That's quicker than any time set in Jerez testing last winter, and puts him 1.7s clear of second-placed Rosberg.

09:56 Rosberg comes back out.

09:56 McLaren informs us that Button's absence from the track since the installation laps is just for routine systems checks and the car will rejoin soon.

09:57 That 1m19.6s from Raikkonen was set on medium tyres.

09:57 Rosberg is using soft tyres for this run.

09:57 Raikkonen's next lap through is a 1m20.0s.

09:57 Then he does a 1m20.428s.

09:58 @StrangAutosport reports that Raikkonen was "inch perfect" through the final corner as he went to the top of the times.

09:59 Fellow Lotus men Grosjean and Jerome D'Ambrosio are watching from the pit wall 'prat perch' and getting a masterclass from Raikkonen.

09:59 Rosberg improves his time to 1m21.170s but remains 1.5s down on Raikkonen.

10:00 De la Rosa comes back out in the HRT.

10:00 Raikkonen backs off to a 1m24s on his fourth lap.

10:01 Two hours in, and it's Raikkonen on top with a 1m19.670s, 1.5s ahead of Rosberg, followed by Kobayashi, Ricciardo, Massa and de la Rosa. Di Resta has only set slow times, Maldonado, Button, Kovalainen and Webber yet to get on the board but everyone has been out for at least an installation lap except the Red Bull.

10:01 Kimi pits, and yes he was on mediums! Also for what it is worth he's changed from wearing a red set of driving gloves to a more corporate black pair!

10:02 Ricciardo brings the Toro Rosso back out.

10:04 A new best of the day from de la Rosa, who goes sixth fastest on a 1m26.520s.

10:04 Rosberg shaves 0.008s off his previous best and does a 1m21.162s, but that's still 1.4s off Raikkonen.

10:05 Maybe Rosberg would've been quicker with a year or two's rest from F1...?

10:05 Another improvement from de la Rosa, this time a 1m26.110s.

10:07 Rosberg is back in after a consistent five-lap run all in low to mid 1m21s, averaging 1m21.3s.

10:07 Di Resta stutters the Force India down the pitlane as the Lotus pit wall occupants turn to take a closer look.

10:08 We've just put a poll up on our Facebook page about the look of the 2012 F1 cars, so head over there and have your say.

10:08 Di Resta flies past the pits on what looks like Force India's first proper quick lap of the day.

10:09 The car's attitude through the Turn 3/4/5 section proves this is a flyer.

10:10 Di Resta takes plenty of kerb through Dry Sac and crosses the line with a 1m22.9s to go fifth fastest.

10:10 He presses on into a second lap.

10:11 @TheFifthDriver provides some reassurance for McLaren fans: "For all those asking, @jensonbutton and the team were running some routine systems checks - we'll be on track again shortly!"

10:11 Di Resta improves to 1m22.008s and grabs third.

10:11 The Force India then backs right off.

10:12 Di Resta is 2.3s down on pacesetter Raikkonen and 0.8s off Rosberg, as he slots in just ahead of Kobayashi and Ricciardo.

10:12 Massa comes back out on the same set of medium tyres he has used for the last few evaluation runs.

10:13 Massa now starts a flying lap.

10:14 After that one slow lap - a 1m34s - di Resta is getting back up to speed again, the Force India's rear end twitching through Turns 4 and 5.

10:14 It results in another quick time as the Scot does a 1m21.768s.

10:15 He stays third but gets closer to Rosberg.

10:16 @Lotus_F1Team: "That lap time from Kimi was set on medium compound tyres; it'll be interesting to see how he fares on the softer compounds!"

10:16 Di Resta goes faster still with a 1m21.526s. Impressive stuff from the Scot, who is now within 0.3s of Rosberg.

10:18 Massa does a 1m24.228s on his first flying lap, that's a bit slower than his earlier best.

10:18 Di Resta pits after a stint that started with a 1m22.9s, then a 1m22.0s, then slowing to a 1m34s then banging in a 1m21.7s and a 1m21.5s.

10:19 Massa goes quicker with a 1m23.663s, still 0.3s shy of his previous run.

10:19 A new best of the day from de la Rosa in the HRT - a 1m25.618s.

10:19 Massa and de la Rosa are the only men on track at present.

10:22 Massa is putting some effort in now, he puts two wheels on the exit kerbs at Turn 4, then gets sideways on the exit of Dry Sac, and does a 1m24.111s.

10:23 Rosberg sets out again on what appear to be fresh Pirellis.

10:23 Pacesetter Raikkonen is setting off again.

10:24 Rosberg improves to a 1m20.219s, which puts him just 0.5s behind Raikkonen.

10:25 Rumours are that Red Bull will be going out in the next hour.

10:26 De la Rosa has made another improvement in the 2011 HRT, lapping in 1m25.535s.

10:26 Raikkonen didn't go for a flying lap that time and has come straight back into the pits.

10:27 Rosberg goes by with a 1m21.133s, making good use of his new soft tyres.

10:27 Raikkonen's timing screen topping run was on mediums, though...

10:27 De la Rosa brings last year's HRT back into the pits.

10:28 Kovalainen has now put a second installation lap on the Caterham.

10:28 Raikkonen rejoins and cruises past at half-speed. This is an evaluation run, not a problem for the Lotus.

10:28 Raikkonen and Rosberg currently have the track to themselves.

10:31 Force India update: "just checking each system today and dialling the the car at the same time. Priority is also to get miles today for data collection". Paul di Resta has done 28 laps so far, third fastest 1m21.526s, 1.307s off

10:31 Rosberg is now alone on track and did a 1m21.5s last time by.

10:32 Update from @HRTF1Team: "Back in the garage and Pedro gives his impressions. Balance improved and so has the temperature but there's still a lot of work to do"

10:32 Rosberg comes in and the track falls silent.

10:36 Di Resta exits the pits on medium Pirellis.

10:38 Jenson Button heads out onto the track on a set of mediums too.

10:39 Kovalainen is back out on mediums, and Maldonado takes to the track with an old set bolted on to his Williams.

10:41 Blaz Stremfelj asks how many laps each driver has done so far. Raikkonen, 38; Rosberg, 36; Di Resta, 30; Kobayashi, 14; Ricciardo, 22; Massa, 24; De la Rosa, 17; Kovalainen, 3; Button 2, Maldonado, 3.

10:42 @MikeGascoyne: Heikki just finished another couple of installation laps, now heading out for first proper run. On the hard tyre for the moment

10:43 Button starts a proper run

10:44 Kovalainen and Maldonado on flying laps too.

10:44 Button goes round in 1m23.561s, that's P6. And Ricciardo goes P4 in 1m22.036, his fastest lap of the day.

10:45 Rocky1 asks: “are McLaren and Red Bull playing a cat and mouse game with one waiting to see when the other goes out or what sort of programme the other is running?”

10:47 @eddstrawf1: It's way too early for that. Right now both teams are in the early stages of proving the car. It will be systems tests, checks, gathering baseline data and that kind of thing. What one does can't really influence the programme of the other.

10:47 Kovalainen's first flyer is 1m26.181s. Maldonado goes slowest of all on 1m27.275s.

10:48 Button improves to a 1m22.440s on his second lap. McLaren looking pretty solid so far.

10:48 Maldonado improves by nearly 4s. A am23.547s lap puts him seventh.

10:49 Kovalainen does a 1m24.298s lap, bumping de la Rosa and the old HRT to the bottom of the order.

10:50 Raikkonen rockets out of the pits. From his position near the pit exit, he barely needs to bother with the limiter.

10:50 Kovalainen is back in the pits after a reliable first run for the Caterham.

10:50 Apologies, Button is on soft tyres, not mediums. Easily noticeable at slow speed as he trickles past the pits on a slow lap.

10:51 The 2009 world champion is back in the pits now and is immediatley surrounded by mechanics and photographers. He's P6 at the moment, 2.7s off Raikkonen's pace-setting time.

10:54 Ah. The moment you've all been waiting for as Red Bull's RB8 takes to the track for the first time. It's Mark Webber at the wheel today.

10:57 Massa on a couple of flying laps currently. The Ferrari driver's latest is 1m25.208, over a second off his best.

10:58 Ricciardo leaves the pits again, practicing a start as he does so.

10:59 Krishna asks: “Last year there were issues with marbles during testing. How are the Pirellis behaving this year, do we have as much marbling as last year?”

11:00 @eddstrawF1: "It doesn’t appear that we have anything approaching the marbles that we had in testing last year. That’s not a big surprise as Pirelli put a lot of work into reducing the marbles. As you say, the early tests and races last year produced a hell of a lot of rubber off line, but that reduced as the season goes on. Off-line, from the parts of the track I have watched at, there’s no problem."

11:02 Massa goes past the pits working on an evaluation process, and that sums up a morning where we've seen nothing to suggest a good, hard run yet from the Ferrari man. Track temperature now up to 28.9 C.

11:06 By way of a meaningless comparison, the fastest time on the first day of last year's Jerez test was a 1m20.709s by Massa. Fastest today so far is Raikkonen in 1m19.670s. Don't read too much into that though.

11:07 Ricciardo has the track to himself as Massa pits. But Rosberg looks like he's about to take to the track in his Mercedes. A set of softs on his machine.

11:11 Di Resta takes his Force India out of the pits. It was here at Jerez a couple of years ago that he first made a big impression on the team at the first young driver test.

11:13 Brendan has a question about the new nose regulations: “We’ve heard the lower nose is to stop cars from going over the top of another, such as Mark Webber in Valencia in 2010. But having a lower nose, wouldn’t that create a 'submarining' problem with a car going under another? Remember the Schumacher/Liuzzi crash in Abu Dhabi in 2010...

11:14 @eddstrawf1: "It’s a fair point. In fact, in this week’s AUTOSPORT magazine Gary Anderson comments on that exact point in our eight-page analysis of F1 2012. Inevitably, if you lower the nose to stop cars being launchdd, you can have the opposite effect, so there is a balance to be struck there. You make a very good point about the Abu Dhabi crash, and that was one of the case studies that the FIA looked very closely at during the process. However, it’s worth noting that, although it was close to hitting Schumacher in the head, he was in the clear thanks to the height of the cockpit. That will have been taken into account."

11:17 Visit our Facebook page and have your say about the appearance of 2012's breed of F1 cars.

11:19 Webber puts in the first 'proper' lap for a Red Bull this year. 1m23.556s puts him only ninth. There'll be a couple of teams quite happy to freeze the order right now.

11:20 Webber heads a gaggle of cars into the pits. Raikkonen is in too, so Ricciardo has the circuit to himself.

11:24 Ricciardo makes full use of the clear track to set his best time of the day in 1m20.694s. He can't improve on his third spot though

11:25 After trying out red gloves earlier, Raikkonen is back to black now. They do go with his overalls better, after all...

11:27 @ToroRossoSpy No official lunchbreak in Jerez, but at 12.30 Dan has done 34 laps in the new car and is currently 3rd fastest. All going ok so far

Mark Webber Red Bull RB8 Jerez test 2012

11:30 Webber, following that earlier run, is in the pits in his Red Bull. Looks rather nice from above, doesn't it? The Australian has the car for today and tomorrow before Sebastian Vettel takes over for Thursday and Friday's running.

11:30 Massa is back on track and on medium tyres. Kobayashi's Sauber joins him.

11:32 McLaren reports that Button's run ticked all the boxes this morning. The British driver did a big systems check after the initial installation lap and hopes to do some longer runs this afternoon.

11:32 Ferrari is not concerned with times and is happy with the progress made on its programme.

11:33 Williams says everything is running to plan and that normal progress is being made for a new car.

11:34 Ricciardo pits, ending his longest run of the day. He's been out for 11 laps. The Toro Rosso driver is still third quickest.

11:36 Rosberg makes another practice start as he leaves the pits. De la Rosa follows the German out, but doesn't bother laying the rubber.

11:37 Button goes back onto the track in his McLaren, and a massive tank-slapper as he accelerates out of Curva Michelin and down through Turn 3.

11:38 It's a lesser-spotted Williams today; Maldonado having managed just eight laps so far. He's on-track right now though.

11:41 Massa reaches the 40-lap mark in his Ferrari. Nothing spectacular from the Brazilian today, who lies seventh on the timesheets. Ferrari is, as usual in testing, running the odd-looking periscope on his car. All in the name of data collection.

11:42 Massa's still some way off Rosberg though on the laps completed chart. The German racks up 51 tours today before pitting.

11:43 Button's McLaren looks very slow past the pits... False alarm. He was just backing off. No problem by the looks of it as he picks up speed through the opening sequence of corners.

11:45 Maldonado sets his best time of the day in 1m23.371. It's an improvement of less than a tenth, though, and keeps the Williams man in eighth.

11:45 Kobayashi and di Resta head back onto the track.

11:46 @redbullracing We were late getting out today because of the delayed arrival of some components due to heavy fog! We're all systems go now though

11:46 Well, that clears that one up then. No issues with the new RB8.

11:48 Holy banjo. Di Resta improves by 1.2s to go third in his Force India. Just Raikkonen and Rosberg ahead of him. That's Renault engine leading two Mercdes powerplants and two Ferraris.

11:48 De la Rosa has the hard compound Pirellis on as his HRT leaves the pits

11:49 Soft tyres for Rosberg as he heads back out, and once again does a practice start.

11:51 Kovalainen and Caterham are off the bottom of the timesheets. The Finn does a 1m23.178s lap to go eighth. Over 1.1s quicker than his previous best - which was set on only his second flying lap of the day.

11:52 Maldonado and Di Resta are both back into the pits.

11:53 Joachim Othman asks: "What does HRT get out of testing the 2011 car? I can understand that they can test the new tyres, but for a relatively poor team, wouldn't it be better to spend money on developing the new car?"

11:55 @eddstrawf1: "A fair question, and it's worth noting that HRT is only doing two of the four days here partly for that reason. There is a certain amount that you can learn. As you point out, the main thing is getting on top of the new Pirellis, and in the case of Mercedes, which is also running its 2011 car, that will be the main priority. But HRT is in an unusual situation. Not only is Pedro de la Rosa new to the team, but the changes in terms of personnel and the way it has been run over the winter mean that all concerned will benefit from a couple of operational days on track. The idea would be that come the Barcelona test, the team will have its 2012 car ready to go after passing its crash tests. So it should allow the team to hit the ground running when the new car is on track for the first time."

11:56 Kovalainen pits too. Just Rosberg and de la Rosa are on the track at the moment.

11:58 The pair pit, so it's all quiet... for about 15 seconds. The Sauber mechanics fire up the C31 and out goes Kobayashi. Di Resta follows him out on mediums.

11:59 @MyCaterhamF1 Heading towards the lunch break and Heikki's 18 laps in, best time so far of 1.23.178.

12:00 @eddstrawf1: Just saw Daniel Ricciardo patiently posing with his ever-present grin for photos with some local fans.

12:00 Massa heads out on mediums. That periscope looks like it will be a permanent fixture to his Ferrari today.

12:04 Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost reckons Caterham now has the package it needs to join the midfield fight. Red Bull KERS will, he thinks, provide a big step forward. Watch this space...

12:06 Well Caterham certainly has looked okay today. Only four tenths of Ferrari so far, so could be a good year for Norfolk - or a bad one for Maranello. Very early days though...

12:06 Massa comes down pitlane, but doesn't stop at his garage. Instead there's another practice starts.

12:08 Button is back out in his McLaren. The Mercedes engine sounds glorious!!!

12:09 Massa repeats the practice start trick as de la Rosa heads back out.

12:12 And another practice start for Massa. First gear on that F2012 is getting a serious workout today!

12:15 So halfway through the day, Raikkonen is quickest. Find out more about the man who has given him such a (seemingly) quick car by reading Jonathan Noble's interview with Lotus technical director James Allison.

12:16 Webber is out on track, and gets his Red Bull very sideways out of Turn 3.

12:17 The Australian is pushing that RB8 hard.... 1m21.474s puts him up to fifth. The car works then.

12:18 Panic in the Jerez press room as there's a power cut! AUTOSPORT's intrepid reporter Sam Tremayne is sent to resolve the problem... and it works! Not before several laptops shut down and a few more swear words are heard though.

12:18 There won't be any Lotus machinery on track for a little while - the team has broken for lunch.

12:19 @AlanPermane: An excellent first morning in Jerez for us. 50 untroubled Laps. Small break for lunch, a couple of changes and then more of the same please!

12:20 That'll be the Lotus trackside operations director feeling pretty pleased with the team's morning then.

12:23 Kobayashi thrashing around on his own in the Sauber, now four laps into his run. 1m22.164s on his last lap, about 0.6s off his best lap of the morning.

12:24 Kovalainen is back on track - which is now 31.7 C. That's an improvement of just under three degrees in the last 90 minutes.

12:26 @InsideFerrari: The first part of today's job has been completed without any issue on the car. yfrog.com/nvjq0lj

12:27 @InsideFerrari: Felipe completed a total of 51 laps , the quickest in 1.22.815.

12:27 One imagines that Ferrari has now broken for lunch, as there's no sign of Massa's car in the pits or on the track.

12:30 Kovalainen blasts past the pits to begin a hot lap... and really maximises the kerbs on the exit of Turn 5. That's the Curva Sito Pons for those of you with an interest in two-wheeled GP history - named after the man who won the 250cc world titles in 1988 and '89 world titles. A very big name in these parts.

12:30 Kovalainen does back-to-back laps in 1m24.760s and 1m24.838s. That's pretty consistent from the Finn.

12:31 Maldonado is the only other man on the track and completes his lap in 1m25.042s.

12:32 The Venezuelan has flames spitting out of the right exhaust of his Renault-engined Williams FW34 as he negotiates turns four and five. 1m23.944s is 0.6s slower than he's managed today.

12:32 Six more laps in the bag, and Kovalainen returns to the pits.

12:35 Maldonado continues on-track and does another high 1m23s.

12:35 Hasn't everyone been well-behaved today. Not a single red flag. Come to think of it, not a single yellow either...

12:36 Looks like most of the teams are having lunch at the moment. Sauber isn't though as Kobayashi is sent out for another run.

12:37 Salil has a question about location: "Why is Jerez chosen as a Testing venue when not all teams are based in Spain?"

12:39 @eddstrawF1 (working overtime today): "Definitely, it's a bit of a trek from the UK (where the majority of the teams are based) to Jerez. But having encountered scenes equivalent to Rally Sweden on my journey to the airport a few years ago and had a hefty flight delay because of snow and ice, staying close to home at, say, Silverstone isn't really an option at this time of year. While only HRT is based in Spain, the country's southern Europe conditions are significantly warmer. Right now it's around 15C (air temp), which is about 15 degrees warmer than it would be in the UK. It's a similar story in France and Germany, where you are likely to encounter very cold weather, rain and even ice/snow. Jerez is close enough to be easy to get to without being so far away as to be too expensive or time-consuming to travel to. It's also a pretty good test track, albeit not quite as good as Barcelona, so it works well."

12:46 Webber back onto the track in his Red Bull. Medium tyres fitted.

12:47 Daniel Pettit asks: "Why are Red Bull happy to spend a couple of hours of their precious testing time sitting in the garage. I'd have thought that the cars would be good to go for their first installation laps the moment the track opened, or - as two teams did - for a shakedown during a 'filming day'. Also, how many of the drivers who aren't running today are at the track to see how it is going?"

12:50 @eddstrawF1 (we do keep him busy...): "Red Bull certainly planned to be up and running straight away, but given the tight schedules it's not a surprise that the odd team falls a bit behind. They had the engine fired up pretty early and the schedule was likely to get going as soon as possible. It's likely that they just fell a little behind because of the fog that prevented some parts arriving on time. As for the drivers who aren't running, plenty of them are around. Both Romain Grosjean and Jerome d'Ambrosio are around at Lotus, Williams tester Valtteri Bottas is here and they aren't the only ones. Some of the less experienced ones in particular like to keep an eye on things to learn."

12:51 Webber reaches nearly 169mph on the back straight on that lap, but doesn't improve his lap time. Too little rear wing perhaps?

12:54 Webber has done eight laps so far on this run - his longest of the day. Interesting that the paint job on the RB8 really masks the step in the nose. The Australian is sixth at the moment, but only needs to find 15 hundredths to move ahead of Sauber driver Kobayashi

12:57 @tonyfernandes Good start to caterham as a formula 1 team. Long way to go. But there is promise in the car. Heikki gave me some positive feedback. Very early days but reasonable start.

12:57 Webber pits and that means the track is empty. Don't want to tempt fate but - whisper it - the AUTOSPORT crew might just get some lunch today!

13:00 Typical. Spoke too soon. Engine noise emanates from the pits and a quick glance reveals it's Kobayashi San, heading back out in his Sauber.

13:01 There's a banner out in one of the stands for Pedro de la Rosa. "Go, Pedro go. You'll never race alone," it reads. Wonder if that's Jerez's answer to The Kop...

13:03 Find out what went on this morning at Jerez in our handy wrap-up, and keep tabs on what happens for the rest of the day right here on AUTOSPORT.com.

13:05 And remember, you can ask us about any of the burning topics going on in F1 by email us on live@autosport.com.

13:07 @Lotus_F1Team: Lunch at Jerez and a chance to welcome our new @Lotus_F1Team fans; we reached 70k followers today, thanks for your support! #F1 #GreatFans

13:09 Kobayashi is showing great consistency on this run. After a 1m21.542s on his first lap out of the pits, he's gone 22.6, 22.9, 22.7 and 22.5 before returning to the pits.

13:11 Come to think of it, doesn't the livery on that Sauber look an awful lot like the one used by the Epsilon team in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2010?

13:12 @clubforce Lunch time in Jerez and @Jules_Bianchi is doing some interviews

13:13 Lunchtime is a bit of a loose term here in Jerez, as there isn't an official on-track break. Instead, the teams have chosen to take their breaks as and when seems suitable. And with that, the place goes quiet again.

13:15 More details on the Red Bull delay in taking to the track this morning. @eddstrawF1 has been down there and found out that the plane carrying the RB8's rear wing assembly was unable to land at Jerez airport due to fog, and was diverted to Seville - about two hours away - instead.

13:17 Eric Boullier looks a very relaxed man as he wanders out to the pitwall. He has every reason to be as well, his driver Kimi Raikkonen's 1m19.670s lap has Lotus on top of the timesheets.

13:21 @RobertDoornboss GO ICEMAN!!!!

13:23 And we have our first sight of Pirelli's supersofts in 2012. This set is bolted on to Kobayashi's Sauber - get ready for a quick lap. Wonder if the team's sponsors have just arrived...

13:24 How inspiring. It's an installation lap for the Japanese racer as he pits... and then goes straight back out again.

13:25 Some Finnish guy in a black car goes onto the track... Raikkonen. Yes, that's his name. And he's not messing about either as he scythes through Expo and up to Michelin (so nice to have corner names, rather than numbers here).

13:26 Funnily enough, Pirelli's press release from yesterday says there will be no supersofts at Jerez. Somebody's had their felt tips out then...

13:26 Di Resta heads out on mediums.

13:30 A (kind of) pitstop for Raikkonen. No teamwork or tyre changes, but he pulls into his pit bay and, after a quick moment stationary, pulls away and trundles back down the pitlane.

Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Paul di Resta Force India Jerez test 2012

13:37 The top two on the timesheets are out on track right now. Raikkonen's Lotus is just ahead of di Resta's Force India at the chicane in this shot, and just 0.102s clear of him on the timesheets too.

13:40 @eddstrawf1 has been down to Toro Rosso. The team reports a satisfactory debut of the STR7, with Ricciardo getting through plenty of laps and reporting no problems. The car has been out on the hard tyre only with the usual first day jobs of data acquisition and system checking being undertaken.

13:40 Di Resta and Kobayashi are still pounding around the circuit. A total of 122 laps completed between them so far.

13:42 Kobayashi goes straight through the pits and back out again.

13:43 @karunchandhok F1 2012 is go...sort of...today's times more meaningless than even the rest of test days but wonder who'll chase the 'glory times'

13:46 Sir Frank Williams reckons the FW34 will be the start of a new era for his eponymous team. What do you reckon? Go to our Facebook page and have your say.

13:47 After a short stint in the pits, Raikkonen is back out on the track. And after a far longer spell out of the car, Button follows the Finn out in his McLaren.

13:51 And Ricciardo heads out on medium tyres for the first time today. At last, several cars on-track at the same time.

13:52 Button sets his best time of the day in 1m21.952s. It's four tenths quicker than he's managed so far, but doesn't move him up from seventh.

13:53 Webber returns to the track for Red Bull... as Sam Michael ventures out to the McLaren pitwall with a cup of tea. Very strange to see Sam in anything other than Williams gear...

13:54 And McLaren's sporting director is chatting to the team's technical director Paddy Lowe. Unconfirmed reports that Lowe is more of a coffee man himself.

13:55 @karunchandhok nice to see Kimi back at a proper test... Watching him attack Becketts at Silverstone in 2003 is still a standout memory for me!

13:57 For the stattos among you, Karun was racing in the British F3 national class that year and was part of a three-way title fight that went to the season finale with Steven Kane and (champion) Ernesto Viso. Bit of an ugly crash at Brands Hatch decided that one, if I remember rightly.

13:58 A roar in the pitlane announces the arrival of Michael Schumacher, who has assumed driving duties for Mercedes for the final few hours of on-track action today.

13:59 Button passes Ricciardo out on the circuit, although he is still a place behind the Australian on the timesheets.

13:59 Another car comes in, and goes straight back out again. A common trend today. This time it's Webber, who exits the pits just ahead of Button.

14:00 A few corner behind them there's Schumacher and Ricciardo barely feet apart too.

14:00 Button passes Webber, but lets the McLaren man repass at Michelin.... and then pits.

14:06 Webber still out on track, and while we're talking Red Bull, you might like to know that Christian Klien, who scored points on Red Bull's grand prix debut in Australia in 2005, is 29 today. Coupled with that tweet from @RobertDoornboss earlier, this is turning into a serious Red Bull retrofest. Tonio Liuzzi, we're wating...

14:06 Schumacher pits and makes, you guessed it, a practice start.

14:07 The German is bottom of the timesheets right now. Don't expect that to last though.

14:08 Raikkonen's had another quick stop in the pits, and is back out, as are Kobayashi and Massa - complete with olbligatory periscope.

14:08 @HRTF1Team Lunch break but track action doesn't stop. RAI is fastest (1'19.670) and Pedro runs P11 (1'24.209/32L) aboard the F111

14:09 Why spoil the sequence. A fourth outlap-box-outlap in as many tours for Schumacher.

14:11 Bhargav Radhakrishna asks for more pictures from today's test. Your wish is our command Bhargav. Check out our test gallery, which we will, of course, be adding to until Friday.

14:13 Did I say four times for Schumacher? Make that five.

14:14 This time Schumacher pits properly, as does Massa. Just Kobayashi left on-track now.

14:15 Massa and di Resta head back out onto the track.

14:24 In case you were wondering, the AUTOSPORT team is hard at work in the Jerez press room, braving powercuts and possible starvation (damn the lack of a lunch break). Here's the team. Introducing, from left to right; Sam Tremayne, @eddstrawF1, @NobleF1 and @StrangAutosport.

14:26 @Lotus_F1Team The #E20 glistens in the sun as Kimi brings it home from another solid run #Raikkonen #Iceman #F1 yfrog.com/h4nssnjj

14:27 @eddstrawF1 reports that Caterham has KERS fitted, but is only in passive mode today.

14:29 More like it from Webber. His best time of the day as he laps in 1m20.917s. P5 for the Red Bull driver.

14:30 Massa and Ricciardo go out on mediums as Jenson Button watches the action from the pitwall. He seems to be paying special attention to the Red Bull (go figure) and the Force India (the dark horse for the season perhaps...).

14:31 Schumacher heads onto the track as Ricciardo comes in - and goes back out.

14:32 @karunchandhok: Lots of tweets ref car designs which reminds of what a top designer once told me - there are no right & wrong designs... just fast & slow ones

14:33 My goodness. Schumacher stays out on track this time...

14:33 ..and goes quicker than so far today, a 1m20.794s puts him fifth.

14:34 The Mercedes set new personal bests in all three sectors, and registered massive straightline speed at the end of the lap.

14:35 A 1m21.4s for Schumacher to follow that.

14:36 Di Resta takes his tally up to 84 laps for the day - not a bad effort, as he edges past previous benchmark Kobayashi's 81.

14:36 That's lap 15 on this run for the Force India, which started out in mid-1m24s and is now doing mid-1m25s.

14:38 First red flag of the day.

14:38 Ricciardo's Toro Rosso has stopped at Curva Expo, the first turn.

14:38 The Australian was going slowly down the main straight before having to park the car.

14:39 Impressive that the teams got nearly seven hours into the first day of testing their largely untried machines before red flags were required.

14:41 Recovery trucks head down towards Turn 1, where the Toro Rosso lies.

14:41 It had looked like Ricciardo might try and limp right round the lap, but instead the Toro Rosso had to limply park.

14:42 Ricciardo is out of the car with his helmet off, and has a small army of photographers lined up by the barrier.

14:42 The tow truck has lifted the Toro Rosso onto its back with minimum of fuss.

14:43 Until it came to actually lowering it...

14:43 The marshals can't quite decide which way around the car should be placed, so it's currently just spinning around...

14:44 Success! The car is down on the truck.

14:45 While we're paused, time to announce our first special guest of our 2012 Live testing coverage.

14:46 New Williams driver Bruno Senna will be joining us on AUTOSPORT Live to answer your questions tomorrow. So email live@autosport.com with any queries you want to put to him about 2012, Williams or any other topic.

14:47 The safety car peels off. As Ricciardo stopped at the pit exit, it won't be a long trip home.

14:48 Nifty work from the Toro Rosso mechanics, who have the car sheeted up before the low loader passes rivals' garages.

14:48 Some red flag reading for you all - technical analysis of the new Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso and Lotus on AUTOSPORT Plus.

14:50 Back to green.

14:50 Button first out, his McLaren shod with medium Pirelli rubber.

14:50 Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber follows suit.

14:52 STR remains tight-lipped about the nature of Ricciardo's problem despite the best efforts of our intrepid team.

14:52 Webber now also out, and like the McLaren and Sauber, the Red Bull is on medium compound tyres.

14:53 Remember Nick Heidfeld, the man who this time last year was about to successfully audition for the Renault seat left vacant by Robert Kubica's horrific injuries? Here's what he's up to now:

Q & A: Heidfeld on his Rebellion sportscar deal

14:53 Lots of action in the McLaren garage, and sure enough Button dives into the pits.

14:56 Red Bull looks good again in the technical sections - Webber records the highest top speed of any car today through sector two.

14:57 He's started his run with a 1m21.6s lap, 0.7s down on his earlier best.

14:58 Massa heads back out again.

14:59 Webber continues this run with a 1m21.8s.

15:00 Button goes back out too, while after a heavy morning of running, Raikkonen and Lotus have been quiet this afternoon.

15:01 Kobayashi comes across for a 1m24.996s as the clock ticks down and we move into the final hour of the opening day of testing.

15:02 So for your 4pm recap: Raikkonen remains quickest on a 1m19.670s, a tenth ahead of di Resta, with Rosberg, Ricciardo, Schumacher, Webber, Kobayashi, Button, Massa, Kovalainen, Maldonado and de la Rosa completing the order.

15:02 Everyone is using 2012 cars except Mercedes and HRT, and Mercedes is the only team that switched drivers at lunchtime.

15:03 In the mileage charts, Kobayashi has notched up the highest tally with 89 laps, just ahead of di Resta on 86, while Massa has done 67 and Raikkonen 63.

15:04 Button immediately puts in a new personal best time of 1m21.530s, quicker than before in all three sectors but still 1.8s off the outright pace.

15:05 Lowest mileage of the day is unsurprisingly Schumacher, as he only took over the Mercedes from Rosberg at lunchtime, while of the 'all day' drivers Maldonado and de la Rosa have only done 25 and 32 laps respectively - though de la Rosa is going back out now.

15:05 Massa dives into the pitlane.

15:05 Schumacher heads out to try and increase that modest lap tally.

15:07 Toro Rosso is unsure whether its car will be able to go back out again today after Ricciardo's recent issue.

15:08 Here are Adrian Newey's early thoughts on Red Bull's competitiveness:

Newey unsure about RB8's speed

15:09 And this is what Kovalainen is thinking about the new Caterham:

Kovalainen sure CT01 a step forward

15:10 Kobayashi is up to lap 12 of a long run, lapping mainly in mid-1m26s.

15:10 De la Rosa pits, leaving Button, Kobayashi and Schumacher out on track.

15:11 Button is onto lap six of his run. After kicking off with a 1m21.5s, he has now drifted up to high 1m22s.

15:11 A reminder that Bruno Senna is our special guest on AUTOSPORT Live tomorrow morning, so send any questions you have for him to live@autosport.com.

15:13 Caterham news from @MikeGascoyne: "Testing finished for the day unfortunately. No problem with the car but a damaged starter shaft means we can't start it"

15:14 @MikeGascoyne adds: "shame as was a really positive day up till then"

15:15 When testing has finished in 45 minutes - or during test if you fancy multi-tasking - head to our Facebook page and have your say about the new cars' looks.

15:15 Kobayashi ends a 23-lap run and pits.

15:15 While Button and Schumacher are both regularly in the 1m22s.

15:20 News from @ToroRossoSpy on Ricciardo's issues: "Car suffered a drop in oil pressure and the engine protection system shut it down. Nothing serious but not enough time to fix it before 5pm"

15:21 Di Resta, our veteran of 86 laps today, heads back out on medium compound tyres.

15:21 The Force India will keep Button company as the McLaren was the last car left on track for a while.

15:22 Button is now on lap 15 of this long run and notching up consistent mid-1m23s.

15:22 Kobayashi heads out for Sauber.

15:23 Throw in early in/out laps and this is Button's 20th, and of his flying laps only one has gone over 1m24s.

15:24 Webber hits the track with medium tyres on his Red Bull.

15:25 Button pits, having averaged 1m22.9s on that long run.

15:27 Nice little wriggle for di Resta as he gets a dose of understeer on the run from Michelin down to Turn 3.

15:28 Webber improves his best time of the day to a 1m20.496s - fourth place - on his first flying lap of his medium tyre run.

15:29 And though Webber only clocked a 1m28.0s next time, his speed in sector one topped 300 km/h - the fastest seen all day. Unexplored potential?

15:30 Massa and Schumacher head back out to keep Webber and Kobayashi company.

15:31 Massa only did an out/in lap and has pitted.

15:33 Webber has pitted too.

15:33 The Sauber has stopped at the back of the circuit, another red flag is imminent.

15:33 As the red comes out, Kobayashi has already hopped out of the car and removed the headrest.

15:34 The Sauber has stopped on the long back straight heading down to the Dry Sac corner.

15:35 The safety car is already at the scene, along with a marshal whose fire extinguisher is thankfully superfluous on this occasion.

15:36 While there's nothing happening on track, have a think about what you might want to ask Williams driver Bruno Senna. He's our special guest on AUTOSPORT Live tomorrow, and you can email your questions to live@autosport.com.

15:36 Spanish efficiency: a low loader is now alongside the Sauber and already the car is being lifted away. Plenty of marshals and personnel at the scene.

15:37 Again the covers go on the car - two Sauber team members making sure their secrets are covered before the car returns to the pits.

15:37 More red flag reading material coming up for AUTOSPORT Plus subscribers...

15:38 Tony Dodgins examines whether this year's technical rule tweaks will close the field up:

How ugly rules could hurt Red Bull

15:39 @eddstrawF1 finds out from Sauber how to make a successful F1 car on a budget:

Making a successful budget F1 car

15:39 Marshals not being quite so efficient getting the car on...

15:40 The car is finally on the truck and the covers are pulled back over it.

15:42 With the Sauber loaded up, the truck returns to the pits with three safety cars in tow.

15:42 @eddstrawF1 informs us that Kobayashi had run out of fuel.

15:43 That's unlikely to be an oversight by Sauber - teams often deliberately run dry during winter testing as part of planned consumption tests.

15:44 Red Bull boss Christian Horner and team manager Jonathan Wheatley have headed down to the last corner to watch proceedings.

15:45 The truck carrying the Sauber gets back and the session resumes.

15:45 Just 15 minutes left for anyone to try and deny Raikkonen a glorious timesheet-topping comeback day.

15:46 Raikkonen is actually first man out, followed by de la Rosa, Button and Schumacher.

15:47 Earlier we were puzzled by Sauber appearing to use super soft tyres, which aren't in Pirelli's selection this week. Turns out they were hard tyres painted red.

15:47 Webber is the latest to join the fray.

15:50 No sign of supersonic times in this final flurry of laps just yet.

15:55 Trackside news from @StrangAutosport: "Kimi looking super smooth into final corner. Button and Webber running together - both cars already looking planted under braking"

15:55 Raikkonen has a massive lock-up on the brakes into the final turn as he comes round to set a 1m26.302s.

15:56 Button's turn to lock up into the final corner as he is chased by Webber.

15:56 Both Button and Webber are lapping in mid-1m22s, Raikkonen in 1m25s and 1m26s.

15:59 Heading into the final minutes, unless anyone bursts out for a one-lap quali-style sprint now, it looks like Raikkonen and Lotus have day one bragging rights.

16:00 Final minute and de la Rosa sets a new personal best, but still 4s down on Raikkonen.

16:00 The chequered flag is out.

16:00 Button dives down the inside of Raikkonen at the Michelin curve.

16:01 That's it for day one of pre-season Formula 1 testing in 2012.

16:01 It will be remembered as the day Raikkonen said "remember me?" by beating last year's best Jerez testing time before the day had barely begun - and then stayed on top till the finish.

16:02 Second place goes to di Resta in the new Force India, followed by Rosberg in last year's Mercedes.

16:02 The new Red Bull was fourth with Webber, while the McLaren of Button and Ferrari of Massa were a quiet eighth and ninth.

16:03 Kobayashi may have caused a late red flag when his Sauber ran out of fuel, but he still notched up the day's top lap count with 106. Di Resta was next up on 101.

16:03 But just 25 laps for Maldonado in the new Williams.

16:03 Testing doesn't always tell an accurate picture - remember last year Rubens Barrichello's Williams was fastest of all during the Jerez week, a dizzy height the car never came near approaching when the actual season started.

16:04 But nevertheless, Raikkonen's performance this morning - with his best time set on medium tyres, not softs - will have erased many doubts about his return with Lotus.

16:04 AUTOSPORT Live resumes just before 9am Jerez time tomorrow morning for coverage of day two.

16:04 Bruno Senna will be our special guest, so email any questions you have for the new Williams driver to live@autosport.com.

16:05 We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the opening day of Jerez action and look forward to more of the same tomorrow.

FASTEST TIMES

P	Driver	Team	Time
1	Raikkonen	Lotus	1m19.670s
2	Di Resta	Force India	1m19.772s +0.102
3	Rosberg	Mercedes	1m20.219s +0.549
4	Webber	Red Bull	1m20.496s +0.826
5	Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1m20.694s +1.024
6	Schumacher	Mercedes	1m20.794s +1.124
7	Kobayashi	Sauber	1m21.353s +1.683
8	Button	McLaren	1m21.530s +1.860
9	Massa	Ferrari	1m22.815s +3.145
10	Kovalainen	Caterham	1m23.178s +3.508
11	Maldonado	Williams	1m23.371s +3.701
12	De la Rosa	HRT	1m23.676s +4.006

All timing unofficial. Updated: 17:00 GMT

OVERVIEW	DAY ONE

CURRENT WEATHER

	Mainly sunny	High Temp:	18°C / 64°F
		Track:	Dry

INFOBOX

Loading info ...

Hack (12:49) Join the debate on the first day of pre-season testing for 2012.

jonpollak (07:58) Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. :wave:

Mastah (08:00) good morning, i miss you ladies and gentlemen :wave:

harsha (08:00) I'm the 4th guy.. yyyyyaaay

harsha (08:00) Lets see if the ferrari is really quick :clap:

ColchesterF1 (08:00) YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES HELLO ALL! :wave:

Andy35 (08:02) Hi All,

You guys never look any older :love:

Mastah (08:02) williams site is dead

Mastah (08:02) good morning andy :wave:

ColchesterF1 (08:02) JP :wave:

Mastah

Andy

I have missed you all

jonpollak (08:03) Ahh aren't you sweet

Mastah (08:03) :wave:

to you too, colchester

Jambo (08:04) Morning

Andy35 (08:04) Morning :wave:

Is the greek or dutch site running this year with updates?

ColchesterF1 (08:04) Everyone seen the Williams?

Mastah (08:05) live timing http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php or http://www.williamsf1.com/test-timings

Jambo (08:05) Yup, very sleek

sad_08uk (08:05) morning all

Mastah (08:05) also live commentary from amus http://ticker.auto-motor-und-sport.de/

ColchesterF1 (08:06) Rachel Brookes @RachelBrookesTV Reply Retweet Favorite · Open

Mazda is testing for Ferrari today pic.twitter.com/QLF0B9sp

:lol:

Gilles4Ever (08:07) morning

Jambo (08:07) Tiny rear end on the Williams

Jambo (08:07) :wave:

Mastah (08:07) mazda? OMG :lol:

Jambo (08:08) God damn spellcheck :P

jonpollak (08:08) Oooh an official. Let's hope you keep the yellow card in your pocket :lol:

ColchesterF1 (08:08) Our first clanger of the year

sad_08uk (08:08) where you guys looking at williams pics? the one on autosport article isn't the best

Jambo (08:09) Rachel Brookes @RachelBrookesTV

·More

Predictive text!!!! That will be Massa testing for Ferrari today! pic.twitter.com/E9mhQBqH

Jambo (08:09) Plenty on the Williams thread in forum.

Gilles4Ever (08:09) interesting to see how different the Mac will be today

Jambo (08:10) http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?sh...

jonpollak (08:10) Poor girl :lol:

sad_08uk (08:10) thanks jambo

Jambo (08:10) np

sad_08uk (08:11) looks good other than the nose but thats the same as most cars this year i guess

Jambo (08:11) The connection of the front wing endplates to the itself are tiny.

Andy35 (08:12) Williams website not working and the other one mastah posted is banned at work... nooooooo

I'll have to check back later on Williams

sad_08uk (08:12) @Gilles i would imagine it will be rather different, i'm guessing they will have a diffuser on it today for a start

sad_08uk (08:14) andy both are just saying nothing has happened yet

equinoxuk (08:14) Has anyone found a timing link? thanks.

Mastah (08:14) live timing http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php or http://www.williamsf1.com/test-timings

ColchesterF1 (08:14) Adam Cooper @adamcooperf1 Reply Retweet Favorite · Open

#F1 Lotus has Clear, Williams has Head & Shoulders - the anti-dandruff wars hit F1!

Jambo (08:15) Williams has inlet similar to Red Bulls on the bump.

Jambo (08:16) sorry, am lying :P

Mastah (08:16) pastor is out, will he crash?

equinoxuk (08:17) @Mastah - thanks!

Mastah (08:17) 08:16 His out-lap is particularly slow and cautious. - hehe, he knows what not to do

RoutariEnjinu (08:17) That Williams livery just for testing or permanment?

Andy35 (08:18) I'm just getting a blue screen at Williams. Maybe they have gone from AT&T to Tiscali ...

jonpollak (08:18) Oh my oh my.

Sky's first blurb from the track

PLAYLIFE (08:19) evening guys

steliosbotzakis (08:19) Good Morning everyone!

equinoxuk (08:19) It is nice to see cars on track.

16vmini (08:21) morning .. start of new year

wrighty (08:22) hi kids....working atm so can't stay but.....good to be back!! :wave:

Mastah (08:22) wrighty :wave:

jonpollak (08:22) Hi Wrighty :wave:

Andy35 (08:22) wrighty starts off 2012 like 2011 .. late

Jambo (08:22) :wave:

ColchesterF1 (08:22) Wrighty :wave:

Jambo (08:23) I haven't slept yet :/

whoisjohngalt (08:23) hi everyone.

jonpollak (08:23) Hello sexy :eek:

steliosbotzakis (08:24) Yaaay first timed one

ColchesterF1 (08:25) JP, I've been here a while...

wrighty (08:25) jon, i asked you not to in public...... :lol:

Ramses1348 (08:25) KR only used 3rd and 4th gear

ForeverF1 (08:26) Williams site up and running http://www.williamsf1.com/test-timings

Mastah (08:26) 1:20 already? what the :eek:

Ruckus (08:26) Great to be back here (lurking as always), and to see so many welcome and familiar faces. Love this time of year. Enjoy, all.

Mastah (08:27) meanwhile kamui is really slow, 20:49.775

sad_08uk (08:28) yes that is slow

Ramses1348 (08:29) lotus obviously cooking its tires

Gilles4Ever (08:30) definately so its going faster

katmen (08:31) hello :wave:

ali.unal (08:32) testing folks, morning

Andy35 (08:32) Golly in the 1 min 20's already.

Jambo (08:32) :wave:

Andy35 (08:32) The Kimi thread must be going banonkers.

jonpollak (08:32) SSN with it's first piece from the circuit !!

floydinator (08:33) hey everyone! new season here we go. THE ICEMAN COMETH! :clap:

Ramses1348 (08:33) ok guys it is time for me to go to bed, enjoy the session! Here is to hoping KR is still at the top of the time sheet when I wake up in 5 hours :up:

ColchesterF1 (08:33) You guys may have seen this. But one of the funniest Gif.'s i've ever seen! https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_rl1j8...

Mastah (08:34) good one :lol:

ali.unal (08:34) 2011 best testing time: 1'19.832

2010 best testing time: 1'18.871

Mastah (08:34) hi ali :wave:

steliosbotzakis (08:34) Good to see all of you ...

RoutariEnjinu (08:35) Scrolling the live forum is borked for me. Did someone post a link to last years test results before?

Mastah (08:35) ferrari is DOOMED http://twitpic.com/8gsdge/full

Mastah (08:35) oh, they actually put number on that bump

Welsh (08:36) Morning all :clap:

here we go again

ali.unal (08:36) There is this Russian web site. Anyone has the link?

Jambo (08:36) :wave:

Mastah (08:37) http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php

steliosbotzakis (08:37) http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php?rev=on

ali.unal (08:37) Thanks stelio :up:

steliosbotzakis (08:38) :wave:

Welsh Just thinking it was only you missing..

ali.unal (08:38) It doesn't show Raikkonen's lap times.

Welsh (08:38) No Lotus on that site

Welsh (08:39) Why are you all sporting odd noses? :eek:

steliosbotzakis (08:39) just checked it . i can't see kimi's laptimes too.

wrighty (08:40) lol kimi not being listed? where's my tin hat.......

sad_08uk (08:40) yeah russians don't like lotus after they dropped petrov clearly haha

Mastah (08:40) 08:40 This is another very tentative run from Maldonado in the brand new Williams FW34. - guess why :lol:

hello86 (08:40) Hey I´ve got a question! How many tyres are they allowed to use each day?

steliosbotzakis (08:40) try this one too http://www.williamsf1.com/test-timings

Welsh (08:41) I don't think there are limits with testing tyres.

sad_08uk (08:41) what the hell is rosberg upto in the 1.40s? even with full tank that seem very slow for last years car

Welsh (08:41) However there are ice lolly limits and soda drinks add weight.

Jambo (08:41) he is running through the pitlane.

hello86 (08:41) Thanks Welsh :wave:

Youichi (08:42) BBC have reported that bit have fallen off the Sauber

Welsh (08:42) ahh the lotus is added.

sad_08uk (08:42) Paul Hembery said something about a limit to number of sets for the entire season for each team i think

steliosbotzakis (08:43) I'm not sure welsh i think there is a limit on testing too...

Jambo (08:43) Sky showed a marshall picking them up :P

Mastah (08:43) :well:

Welsh (08:43) oh lotus gone again and a ferrari appears.

sad_08uk (08:44) massa going for a timed lap?

sad_08uk (08:45) 08:44 Massa's first flying lap is a 1m24.423s and he stays out and keeps pushing on.

thats not really "flying" is it

Jambo (08:46) Well yes, in the sense that a flying lap is one where the start/finish is crossed at a reasonable speed.

steliosbotzakis (08:47) do you guys remember last year's times in jerez?

floydinator (08:47) 1:19 fastest first day i think

floydinator (08:47) yeah 1.19.823 by williams

floydinator (08:48) sorry that was day 4 :drunk:

steliosbotzakis (08:49) ok thanks.. i'll try to find them..

floydinator (08:49) day 1 was massa 1:20.7

ali.unal (08:49) First day's fastest was Massa with a 1'20.709

sad_08uk (08:49) so kimi faster already

ali.unal (08:50) Right now the track temperature is 17.2 degrees

samcox89 (08:50) Different version front wing that McLaren are using Today:

https://twitter.com/# (long text removed)

Launch spec: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/up...

Note the inclusion of the TV camera mounts

samcox89 (08:51) Well that didn't work

steliosbotzakis (08:51) Does anyone knows if macca did a "filming day" during the weekend ?

ali.unal (08:52) @stelio, they did an aero test in Spain.

sad_08uk (08:53) Lotus and sauber only teams to run filming days i think

steliosbotzakis (08:53) Ah so it was a straight line test not filming day..ok thanks..

ColchesterF1 (08:53) No sign on Red Bull?

D A (08:55) Any photos of the mclaren yet?

steliosbotzakis (08:55) i think they haven't even done an installation lap.

Mastah (08:56) the got it funny on amus - seb will drive last 2 days, so mark can sort out all teething problems :lol:

hello86 (08:56) Kimi´s out for his second run

Welsh (08:58) ah I found the live timing data page I saved from last year.....

sad_08uk (09:00) hey wait, red bull aren't even listed on the williams timing sheet?

sad_08uk (09:01) or the screen at the track http://yfrog.com/nugvoehj

ali.unal (09:01) It's not listed as it didn't go ut on track but Lotus is "duly" not listed although Raikkonen had set a time.

Mastah (09:01) because they weren't on the track yet

Jambo (09:01) They haven't left the pits yet.

sad_08uk (09:02) but de la rosa hasnt been out either has he?

DrChatNuff (09:02) :wave:

Mastah (09:02) what's up dr

Welsh (09:03) ahh remember we are the people who predicted HRT for champions last year *sigh*

DrChatNuff (09:03) :lol:

rolf123 (09:03) :wave:

ello folks

DrChatNuff (09:03) sup bro

Welsh (09:03) at least HRT did not come last. :cat:

sad_08uk (09:03) well i did just suggest to EliGP that heidfeld would win the world championship driving for HRT this season after replacing narain haha

Mastah (09:03) oh, we have the godfather of autosport too :lol:

ColchesterF1 (09:04) It's the HRT 3 year plan, sandbag for the first 2 seasons! And dominate this year!

DrChatNuff (09:04) Mastah...any news on Shumi

rolf123 (09:04) hmmm put money on kimi+renault??

Andy35 (09:04) They are still mixing the vis flo up at RB maybe

Mastah (09:05) my prediction - he'll be nico's lapdog once again

Welsh (09:05) sandbag - more likely they using breeze blocks!!!

DrChatNuff (09:06) see u still in foam then...nuttin changed

DrChatNuff (09:06) form

Fortymark (09:06) rolf123, don´t.. It´s just testing

Welsh (09:06) Lets hope Williams this time gets it right.

Welsh (09:07) a happy Kimi - How can they tell? :confused:

ali.unal (09:07) The launch pictures didn’t give much away, so we’re waiting to see what the letterbox-shaped slot on the stepped nose actually does. Early thoughts from the paddock are that it gives an aero benefit, in that it gives air that would normally be disturbed by the step in the nose somewhere to go - therefore smoothing out the airflow around the top of the car

Jambo (09:07) :up:

rolf123 (09:08) i tipped punterslounge the day jense did amazing in testing. i didnt have the nerve to put a bet on. someone i know put like 100 quid on jense at something ridiculous like 10-1

DrChatNuff (09:08) lets pray for a tighter season

wrighty (09:09) has the ferrari thread imploded due to the use of flow-viz yet? :lol:

Mastah (09:10) red bull even didn't build yet their box on the pit wall - amus

Jambo (09:10) :lol:

Fortymark (09:10) Whats´kimi now?, last I checked it was 34-1

Welsh (09:10) hmm McLaren not out yet - surely not a repeat of last year.....

ColchesterF1 (09:11) Right Gents, i must get Tea! and food!

sad_08uk (09:11) thats worth a few pounds if you can still get them odds haha

wrighty (09:12) he's been out welsh (8:55 ^^^)

sad_08uk (09:12) f1odds.co.uk has kimi listed as 50-1

Welsh (09:13) oh yes so he has.... phew

Mastah (09:14) 09:12 It's getting slightly warmer: air temperature now 6.7 degrees and track temperature 19.4. - here it's -14 :lol:

Welsh (09:14) This Red Bull slot thing looks very untidy to me http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/w... lumpy, there is no hole there btw

rolf123 (09:14) Even betfair has 55-1 for kimi

you never know. last yr was supposed to be amazing, maybe they learned...maybe kimi knew something before signing....first lap is a stonker, they got lucky on the setup??? hmm...

Don_Humpador (09:15) Hello folks :wave:

Welsh (09:15) hello :wave:

sad_08uk (09:15) betfred 66-1 for kimi even better haha

Welsh (09:16) Christ its only day 1 hour 1 and you already betting.......

Fortymark (09:16) 66-1 is interesting..

16vmini (09:16) get a bet on before those odds drop

Mastah (09:16) hello don :wave:

sad_08uk (09:16) nah just looking haha. and its hour 2 now

rolf123 (09:17) we could all bet on him. then do a big campaign on twitter saying "omigod kimi shatter lap record at jerez". watch the oods tumble. then lay bets to secure the profit

Welsh (09:17) uh uh Di Resta is going out star gazing in his Fifi - is Dr Brian Cox about?

Mastah (09:17) props to autosport for reporting on which compound cars are :up:

D A (09:18) Is the McLaren running the exhaust bulge? I didn't see it on the twitter pic they posted.

Fortymark (09:19) agree Mastah

Don_Humpador (09:19) Yep it's useful info..

sad_08uk (09:20) the HRT is capable of doing racing speeds? wow

Welsh (09:20) Not happy Russian site not showing Lotus: http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php

sad_08uk (09:21) i know welsh very annoyinh as hes done a fair few laps

Fortymark (09:21) Because of Petrov? lol

sad_08uk (09:22) i already made that joke

haha

ali.unal (09:22) It shows now

Welsh (09:23) hmmm

ali.unal (09:23) Oops disapparated again!

ColchesterF1 (09:24) JYS on SSN

Welsh (09:24) oooooh are they trying to hide something???

FlashMaster (09:24) merc with the 2011 or an modified car?

ali.unal (09:27) From Auto-Moto-Sport:

At McLaren we can finally see the position of the exhaust pipes. The gases are diverted through a small ridge behind the pipes, in order to use aerodynamic. The biggest secret about his Ferrari's exhaust. Hardly the F2012 into the pits, the tailpipes are covered with covers. We will show you the first pictures, of course, directly as soon as the photographers are back"

Welsh (09:28) Seems hair shampoo is the new sponsor deal for 2012 - are they worth it?

steliosbotzakis (09:28) @eddstrawF1 also enjoying Raikkonen's comeback so far: "had a watch trackside around the final part of the track. Great to see Kimi leaning on the car. Took a bite of the grass with his front-left entering the pits, so on it on an in-lap. Great to see him back in an F1 car."

Pendejo (09:28) merc are running 2011 car. new car launch is at 2nd test i believe.

jonpollak (09:28) Ahh Jackie is the beat thing about Lotus :clap:

FlashMaster (09:28) pics http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-photos/790...

Mastah (09:29) each time has 100 sets of tyres for testing

steliosbotzakis (09:29) Yeah kimi pushing all the way..give him a tank & he'll break it down...

steliosbotzakis (09:30) so it's a 2011 car from merc

sad_08uk (09:30) that sauber livery really doesn't look good

Welsh (09:30) Kimi "Take two bottle to f1 testing - no I want to wash and go very fast round the track" - it's because he is worth it. shot of Kimi licking ice lolly....

ColchesterF1 (09:31) Thanks Flash! Turned over to ITV1 for Jeremy Kyle. A tv show that makes people feel better about themselves! :lol:

ortim (09:31) poor kimi,he needs some time to get the rust out ha ha

Fortymark (09:32) The cars are really ugly 2012 compaired to only a few years back

Welsh (09:32) Not sure Maldonado uses head & shoulders - he hardly got any hair. I wonder if he still wearing braces?

sad_08uk (09:32) were red bull up partying to late last night or something?

jonpollak (09:32) Anyone remember Kimi's drink bottle diatribe during his NNS run?....hysterical :lol:

sad_08uk (09:35) ferrari is slower than both the teams they supply engines to :eek:

clearly this is the time to point out they have built an awful car!

jonpollak (09:36) Found it..

http://m.jalopnik.com/5806620/the-ten-fu...

16vmini (09:37) @sad_08uk its only two hours in....

sad_08uk (09:38) it was sarcasm

that kimi thing is funny, he's always loved lots of drink think press conferences need more orange juice again

jonpollak (09:39) You are very welcome sad_

D.M.N. (09:39) http://t.co/IejtonjU

Welsh (09:40) Was weird watching Force India launch on Sky Sports News - I wondered why Andy from Emmerdale was there.......

steliosbotzakis (09:41) nice D.M.N. Damn i can't get used to the look of the ferrari...

sad_08uk (09:41) i do love the honesty of kimi when he's not tied into a contract saying he can't say what he likes. his opinions on abu dhabi track were brilliant

sad_08uk (09:42) i agree stelios, the ferrari nose is possibly the worst out there, back end of the car looks lovely tho

jonpollak (09:43) Staring down the Mac

http://t.co/jcSCziho

sad_08uk (09:43) russia has decided to accept that kimi and lotus exist!

ali.unal (09:44) Kimi's last run - very consistent

17 1:22.954

18 1:22.485 -0.469

19 1:22.742 +0.257

20 1:22.502 -0.24

21 1:22.250 -0.252

22 1:22.107 -0.143

23 1:21.895 -0.212

24 1:22.979 +1.084

25 1:22.930 -0.049

steliosbotzakis (09:45) yeah the back is nice...Some pics uploaded at the f1.com...

The ferrari pic showing understeer?

sad_08uk (09:46) doesnt look like hes going to take much adjustment to get back does it? think he might show grosjean up abit

wrighty (09:46) lol understeer and flow-viz? bestill my acid fingers.....lol

sad_08uk (09:46) and lotus has gone off russian site again?

ali.unal (09:47) I somehow feel Kimi's return will be easier to adapt than it to Schumacher

Welsh (09:47) Sales of ice lolly's will rocket.

ali.unal (09:48) By the way, apparantly Mercedes still using EBD:

SKY: "Ted K reckons the engines sound rather cleaner this year, though it's still apparent that the 2011-spec Mercedes that is here - blown diffuser and all - makes quite a racket."

steliosbotzakis (09:48) me too ali.

sad_08uk (09:49) i think kimi and michael are very different people. michael built his carear on lots of testing making everything perfect. kimi is very much just a jump in and drive the hell out of it kind of person

steliosbotzakis (09:49) Anyone a pic from macca;s exhaust layout?

sad_08uk (09:49) Riccardo's times seem very up and down..

Welsh (09:50) ahem shame russian timing site does not use tyre codes ........

hello86 (09:50) Sad: Yes he is consistant but it could also be slow! Lets just wait until the first GP

sad_08uk (09:51) well from reports track side hes hitting all apexs and pushing it

ali.unal (09:51) Track temp up to 24.4 More like it.

Anomnader (09:52) every year its same, send some one down to the mclaren garage, and ask WTF you doing?

sad_08uk (09:52) hmmm i wonder if they are going to let us know what the drivers are having for lunch this year? money on pasta

ColchesterF1 (09:53) Can we send the same guy to Red Bull?

jonpollak (09:53) 09:51 A lot of you are emailing live@autosport.com to ask what McLaren's programme is and if all is well as Button has not been out since his installation laps. We're investigating...

ali.unal (09:53) Red Bull and Macca are having party.

steliosbotzakis (09:53) Raikkonen blasts back out of the pits, and isn't hanging around... He flings it through Turns 3, 4 and 5 even on his out-lap

steliosbotzakis (09:54) typical kimi..i missed that guy..

ortim (09:54) sad08 you are so right ms works on all details kimi just goes fast,should be a great season

ali.unal (09:55) 1:19.670 from Kimi

hello86 (09:55) Guess that Kimi is having lots of fun :lol:

sad_08uk (09:56) its very much like rossi and stoner in Moto GP. rossi can develop a team and bike like nobody else, but stoner can ride any bike u give him bang on the limit

ali.unal (09:56) :stoned:

hello86 (09:56) How was MS doing at this first test? :confused:

Welsh (09:56) Caterham ready to go on track.

denthierry (09:56) woopsie

doesn't mean sh... i know, but still it's overall good speed & reliability so far, and good for kimi building confidence and morale. let's see what we'll get by the end of the day.

sad_08uk (09:57) wow 19.670 isnt that faster than 4th day last year?

steliosbotzakis (09:57) That 1m19.6s from Raikkonen was set on medium tyres.

Gilles4Ever (09:57) thats it, everyone bet the house

ali.unal (09:57) MS's first test was back in 2010 in Valencia. Massa was fastest with 1:12.574 while MS set 1'12.947

Mastah (09:58) 19.6 on mediums? bloody hell :eek:

Welsh (09:58) That 1m19.6s from Raikkonen was set on medium tyres.

ali.unal (09:58) Nico's time at the same day was 1:13.543

D A (09:58) what is the lap record for jerez, including testing?

slideways (09:59) It's new rubber remember.

Mastah (09:59) i guess lotus miss already vitpet and lalli and their mega speed :lol:

ali.unal (09:59) 1'15.629 - Jerez' best time by Schumacher

Mastah (09:59) oh yeah, mediums is last year softs more or less

sad_08uk (09:59) 09:58 @StrangAutosport reports that Raikkonen was "inch perfect" through the final corner as he went to the top of the times.

icemans back then?

sad_08uk (10:00) what year is that ali? back in V10s? about 05-06?

ali.unal (10:00) Ferrari F2004 Ferrari 3.0 V10

slideways (10:01) 2004 was the quickest cars of modern era.

Scotracer (10:01) The fastest F1 car ever.

ColchesterF1 (10:01) First media lap?

steliosbotzakis (10:01) Oh loved the V10s...

D A (10:01) lap record for v8's then?

Mastah (10:01) record with slicks is something like 1:17

rolf123 (10:01) dammit ui can;t load money at betdfair and kimi odds arwe plumeting!

ColchesterF1 (10:01) De La Rosa out for 8 timed laps

hello86 (10:02) I don´t want to get too excited yet! It´s just testing and we haven´t seen RB so far! But nice to say that he seems to enjoy it :up:

Welsh (10:02) ah now we shall see HRT top the times.....

denthierry (10:02) wonder what Red Bull has up their sleeves :well:

takes time mounting their new secrets on the RB8

Scotracer (10:02) Oh come on, people are putting bets on Kimi already? We haven't even seen RBR or Mclaren yet...

hello86 (10:02) Remember that this could have been a media lap

slideways (10:02) It's the first guy to even try a fast run on the first day of testing...

Welsh (10:03) Remember Lotus Cars is for sale....... :cool:

steliosbotzakis (10:03) no one gets excited..the only clue you can get is which cars is breakable..everyone knows that hello86

sad_08uk (10:03) just because the odds are so high i think haha. found webber for 15-1 aswel tho haha

ColchesterF1 (10:04) Pedro only 6.8 off! :clap:

sad_08uk (10:05) in the '11 car. wait for the '12! hahaha

Mastah (10:06) EliGP Pablo Elizalde

Seeing the amount people following our live coverage, it's fair to say no believes that "it's only testing" - and yet fom doesn't bother with giving us proper live timing :rolleyes:

ali.unal (10:06) @D A - 2009 - 1'16.617 (Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull/Renault)

Welsh (10:06) I only hope there are not many places where de la Rosa can fall over when his car breaks down this season.......

sad_08uk (10:06) or video streaming would be nice haha

ali.unal (10:06) McLaren: For all those asking, @jensonbutton and the team were running some routine systems checks - we'll be on track again shortly!

Mastah (10:07) ScarbsF1 Craig Scarborough

McLaren gains a small winglet on top the beam wing, no clearshots of the exhaust yet

ali.unal (10:07) Macca's exhausts: http://www.motorsport-total.com/bilder/2...

ColchesterF1 (10:07) 6.4!!!!!

ortim (10:08) would be nice if they could also post number of laps with times

sad_08uk (10:08) does anybody really care what rosbergs upto in last years car?

Mastah (10:08) pedro and kimi are back on LT page

steliosbotzakis (10:08) 32 laps from kimi already...now that's impressive !!

sad_08uk (10:08) wow DLR could be world champion if he keeps improving like that colchester

steliosbotzakis (10:09) Thanks Ali !!

sad_08uk (10:09) rather out of date HRT livery on russian site the '10 i believe

ColchesterF1 (10:09) Right, gonna put a tenner on it. Except for Karthikeyan to be champ

Mastah (10:10) forum is dead

Gilles4Ever (10:10) working here

DrChatNuff (10:10) :down:

sad_08uk (10:10) http://twitpic.com/8gltgu nose looks dreadful from that angle

sad_08uk (10:11) haha colchester. i'm not even sure karthikeyan will be in the car by end of season haha

Mastah (10:11) it was for a while, gilles

ali.unal (10:11) try this - http://www.msfree.gr/ms.php?id=25875 - you can click each driver to see lap times

Gilles4Ever (10:12) ok Mac fans, time to panic - @TheFifthDriver provides some reassurance for McLaren fans: "For all those asking, @jensonbutton and the team were running some routine systems checks - we'll be on track again shortly!"

ColchesterF1 (10:12) I don't think he will either!

ortim (10:12) many thanks to autosport for this format,nice to chat and get instant updates,kind of like sitting in the stands

sad_08uk (10:12) nice site ali thanks

Welsh (10:13) ahh the greek site.

ortim (10:13) ali thanks

ali.unal (10:14) cheers

steliosbotzakis (10:14) yeay see we Greeksaint Crap @ali

jonpollak (10:17) Go Paul :clap:

Mastah (10:17) 10:16 Di Resta goes faster still with a 1m21.526s. Impressive stuff from the Scot, who is now within 0.3s of Rosberg. - being 2 seconds slower than lotus is impressive? :lol:

Slackbladder (10:17) Welcome to 2012 F1ers!

sad_08uk (10:18) 10:16 Di Resta goes faster still with a 1m21.526s. Impressive stuff from the Scot, who is now within 0.3s of Rosberg.

.526-.162 i make that 0.364 which is actually not within 0.3s

Welsh (10:19) oh god I can't read the forum......

sad_08uk (10:20) DLR within 6s! another 4 tenths improvement!

jonpollak (10:20) So,...are Ferrari crap?

ColchesterF1 (10:20) Yes, HRT will rule ze world

sad_08uk (10:21) yeah JP, kimi is champion ferrari slower than both teams they supply and RBR wont turn up to any of the races seems to be how the season is going to go so far

Slackbladder (10:22) No, just Massa JP

sad_08uk (10:22) another 0.05s off for pedro

jonpollak (10:22) I thought so

steliosbotzakis (10:22) :lol:

sad

ortim (10:23) massa looks slow right out of the box,cant understand ferrari keeping him

sad_08uk (10:23) who else would they have tho ortim?

wrighty (10:24) me neither welsh :confused:

jonpollak (10:24) Danica

DrChatNuff (10:24) Where d hell are Redbull...show wot ya gatz

Welsh (10:24) Toro Rosso's Giorgio Ascanelli candidly admits the exhaust is already overheating the wishbones of the STR7, so he has a job on

smartie_f1 (10:24) Morning folks

slideways (10:24) Badoer.

jonpollak (10:24) Just thought I'd say that

Hacklerf (10:25) Kimi on softs now?

Welsh (10:25) Interesting because the Red Bull RB8's exhaust apparently points in a similar direction, so let's see how they fare...

sad_08uk (10:25) lmao @slideways

Welsh (10:25) That stuff from Adam Cooper.

ortim (10:25) jonpollak,thats a sick joke,and i am a danica fan lol

sad_08uk (10:25) 10:25 Rumours are that Red Bull will be going out in the next hour.

they woke up now?

slideways (10:26) car wasn't ready

jonpollak (10:26) Joke? ...

saudoso (10:26) rumor has it, oh dear :eek:

Welsh (10:26) Apparently Red Bull are waiting for some parts to arrive in the post.......

sad_08uk (10:26) only real posibility for ferrari was perez in my opinion and he isn't really experienced enough

Welsh (10:26) Adam Cooper: No sign yet of the RB8 on track, although I heard the engine running in the garage over an hour ago

grunge (10:27) lets see if KR's on softs this time around

sad_08uk (10:27) another tenth for pedro

D A (10:27) Any news on the McLaren?

ortim (10:28) jon,she might make it in nascar but woould have no chance in f1 in my opinion

slideways (10:28) Ferrari should have taken Webber for one year IMO.

DrChatNuff (10:28) well......at least Kimi's shown intent........now you know why not to listen to Lauda or Jackie

saudoso (10:29) This must be an all time record, firing the driver after half the first test day of the season. Come on guys, keep up the good work and tell us the WDC/WCC finish, I'll go betting on it.

sad_08uk (10:29) but why would webber move to ferrari when he has a deal at RBR he would clearly be #2 at ferrari

jonpollak (10:29) Dr didn't listen to what Jackie just said then

smartie_f1 (10:29) Who was fired?

ortim (10:30) slide,i think that would have been a great move for ferrari

DrChatNuff (10:30) Jackie said wot

ortim (10:31) sad08,is right weber is not getting out of rb,even for $$

Welsh (10:32) We need a red flag.

slideways (10:32) Webber is already clearly a #2 at RBR.

Welsh (10:33) Pedro is giving his impressions to HRT - so far he only done his constipated look.

ortim (10:33) how about sutil in the ferrari

DrChatNuff (10:33) this Merc aint too bad....

slideways (10:33) Ferrari would = a new opportunity, who knows maybe he could challenge Alonso more than he is able to Vettel.

sad_08uk (10:34) yeah he may be a number 2 at RBR but ferrari is alonso's team now so no chance of not being number 2 there aswel and in a slower car. if anything happens that vettel cant race mark has a great chance in ferrari he would still have had 2 beat vettel in a faster car if alonso didnt race

DrChatNuff (10:34) Shumi takes over from Britany after lunch .. :clap:

....SSsssh Mastah

sad_08uk (10:35) i don't think sutil is anything special, would rather have perez, di resta or hulk

hello86 (10:37) Don´t understand why RB and Macca aren´t driving! It´s not that they have that many days to test their car

slideways (10:37) sad_08uk, Mark still wouldn't have won the championship the past two seasons if Vettel wasn't on the grid. :eek:

I think he would find it hard to turn down a Ferrari seat if they came knocking.

Mastah (10:38) fred is better than seb, he would be trashed even more than he is now in red bull

Mastah (10:39) jens and pastor out

D A (10:39) finally McLaren is out!

slideways (10:39) I don't agree Mastah.

slideways (10:40) Webber has beat Alonso in inferior cars before.

Mastah (10:40) you are allowed guess

Mastah (10:40) *i guess

sad_08uk (10:40) i think hes happy in the RBR enviroment tho, and with a team based in the UK not that far away from where he lives. can't see him driving for any team other than red bull in F1. he was suggesting other day on twitter he could possibly swap to le mans for porsche in 2014

DrChatNuff (10:41) teams moan about NO testing.....you would think they'll spend every sec on track but..... :confused:

steliosbotzakis (10:41) button 1:23.551

Mastah (10:41) only 1:23.5 from jenson, mclaren iz doomed

smartie_f1 (10:42) they've got to evaluate the information and make adjustments though

steliosbotzakis (10:43) 1:22.440 now

slideways (10:43) To me it just depends on what drivers Ferrari have available, I think right now it's a bit thin and Webber seems a solid #2 candidate.

DrChatNuff (10:43) yeah...well

noikeee (10:43) so who else bet money on Kimi based on that lap alone? i put all my betclic profit on him (8,50€) - got EXCELLENT odds at 60.00. that's a potential 510€. expect him to fail to get a podium all season now. :up:

Welsh (10:43) ooh ooh theres a Button on the track

jonpollak (10:44) Betting is a blight on sport

wewantourdarbyback (10:45) Morning all

Scotracer (10:45) I won £1050 from a £10 bet on Button in 2009. No blight at all :wave:

Slackbladder (10:46) lol so did I noikeee...I like the long odds.

noikeee (10:46) well, if I win 500€ i'm not going to lose my sleep wondering about the morality of it. :lol:

Mastah (10:46) blight? new word learned, thanks jp :up:

Mastah (10:46) hi darby :wave:

ortim (10:47) if massa continues to make mistakes i dont see ferrari going the season with him,but i agree thin field,maybe a polish guy lol

jonpollak (10:47) Never bet on something you love.

Eisthename (10:48) any way to see every single lap time?

ali.unal (10:49) http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php?rev=on

Mastah (10:49) so i guess i can bet on scumi then

sad_08uk (10:49) only if his is fit enough ortim

DrChatNuff (10:49) dat Polish guy cant do better than Massa...well at least not dis yr

slideways (10:49) I think if they make a mid season change they'll have learnt the hard way not to use inexperienced drivers. Would have to go with Sutil, Alguersuari, Heidfeld etc IMO

hello86 (10:49) Do we know something about the tyres? Who used new ones at which stint and so on?

Eisthename (10:49) thanks

saudoso (10:50) Ferrari should have painted a pair of eyes there

Gilles4Ever (10:50) @EliGP: I can reveal Ferrari will try a different stepped nose when Alonso drives the car http://twitpic.com/8gtec7

sad_08uk (10:50) better odds for kimi than schumi haha

ortim (10:51) did someone say ms will run this afternoon

steliosbotzakis (10:52) :lol:

sad_08uk (10:52) yes his is swapping in at lunch ortim

DrChatNuff (10:52) Kimi 33ish...Shumi 43

ali.unal (10:52) @ortim - yeah it was originally planned Ros and MS will share the day

Gilles4Ever (10:52) yes MS takes over for this afternoon

sad_08uk (10:53) kimi 66-1 schumi 50-1 are best odds ive seen listed dr

ortim (10:53) thanks,sad08

Mastah (10:53) dr - how many tenths per lap scumi is slower now than he was at his peak?

Eisthename (10:53) when lunch break starts and when testing ends today?

DrChatNuff (10:54) race pace is same as britany.....Shumi suffers in Quali

Mastah (10:55) so he is affected by his age or not?

sad_08uk (10:55) hurray! RBR out on track!

slideways (10:55) RBR time.

DrChatNuff (10:56) being in F1 at 43 is no mean feat.....

wewantourdarbyback (10:56) "The moment you've all been waiting for"... nope, the moment I'm waiting for is a Williams on the top step

sad_08uk (10:56) @Mastah i think he is more affected by lack of 1000s of laps of testing to make everything just how he wants it

DrChatNuff (10:56) ur right....sad

slideways (10:56) Darby I gave up waiting for that a long time ago. :cry:

Eisthename (10:57) Webber will do 1m17s in his installation lap alone xD

sad_08uk (10:57) give it 10 years and you never know wwodb

Mastah (10:57) so you can't answer the question, ok then

DrChatNuff (10:57) Williams on top...keep off d r u g s

ortim (10:57) is this RBR 2012 car

Mastah (10:58) sad - then he it means he isn't and nevr was as naturally talented as top drivers, who don't have any problems with that

wrighty (10:58) Darbs :wave:

DrChatNuff (10:58) 2012 Ferrari slower than 2011 Merc....lol

slideways (10:58) I kind of agree, I think Schumi was somewhat flattered by having his own team, tyre supplier, and dud teammates.

sad_08uk (10:59) i think schumi has probably lost a small amount due to age but not much at all

maybe not, but he is very clever and can help the team around him build a good car around him

like i said earlier rossi and stoner is a very simlar case

Brian O Flaherty (11:00) So what Krishna is asking is "Have Pirelli lost their marbles?"

slideways (11:00) Stoner at his peak is way faster than Rossi IMO.

Scotracer (11:01) It is clear Michael hasn't gotten the most out of the tyres over one lap. If you watch races from 1998-2004 you'll see he just isn't as good now. A 98-04 era Schumacher was quite simply the best racing driver of the modern era.

DrChatNuff (11:01) Shumi didnt fight the championship against his teammate...

wewantourdarbyback (11:01) Wrighty! :wave:

wewantourdarbyback (11:01) NEVER give up Slideways.

sad_08uk (11:01) i dont think he is that much faster if u put rossi on that honda i think it would be pretty close

DrChatNuff (11:02) yep..if he can grasp the tyre prob...

DrChatNuff (11:03) Rossi was bad on a bike Stone was pretty good

Eisthename (11:03) is webber back in the pits?

Welsh (11:03) are they on lunch break now?

hello86 (11:04) tweet: @rwilliams1947 Kimi Raikkonen lapping constantly and setting fastest times at Jerez: paddock full of Lotus team sponsors, so..

Mastah (11:04) we were told scumi can drive around problems, meanwhile he can't get 100% from tyres in quali trim... something doesn't add up

sad_08uk (11:04) yes but its a bad bike. rossi needs a good bike and helps develope it to be that, stoner will take any bike by the scruff of the neck but on a good bike it can only be taken to a certain limit. pedrosa wasn't miles off stoner most the season and i think rosi is a much better rider than him

sad_08uk (11:05) think lunch will be 12 GMT 1 local time welsh but not sure

DrChatNuff (11:05) wonder wot papers would say if Kimi finishes day highest :lol:

slideways (11:05) I think last years tyres were just strange. Webber is a good example, he was completely no where in terms of tyres when the year before he outclassed Vettel in tyre management most of the year.

Mastah (11:05) decent track temp :up:

sad_08uk (11:06) was strange how vettel gained so much performance over webber over a summer break aswel they were very close all season 2010

Welsh (11:06) Apparently its Magnums for lunch - Button normally has chicken and baked beans.

Scotracer (11:06) It's a nice day in Jerez. Better than the snow here in London...

wewantourdarbyback (11:06) Of champagne...

Welsh (11:06) Maldonado is having pasta.

Mastah (11:07) fack, i hate when plane goes kaboom just over my head, it shouldn't be allowed :mad:

DrChatNuff (11:07) cant get latest F1 app on my jailbreak ipad...anyone know anything

wewantourdarbyback (11:07) No snow in Brum... just midlanders

sad_08uk (11:07) and "some meat" welsh don't forget that

slideways (11:07) They weren't really that close in 2010. There were only a couple of races in which Webber challenged Vettel.

Welsh (11:08) We know narthing - we a from a Jerez

slideways (11:08) Usually Vettel just did something stupid, or had a mechanical issue which kept Webber in the chase.

karlth (11:08) DrChatNuff, Do you mean apart from paying for it?

saudoso (11:08) where are you mastah? never heard it would love to...

sad_08uk (11:09) there was alot of races in 2010 when they qualified within 1-2 tenths of each other, don't think that happened many times at all last year

DrChatNuff (11:09) cant pay 20pounds...man

Welsh (11:09) Q for Ferrari http://twitpic.com/8gtko2

Mastah (11:10) saudoso - northern poland, it's frikking annoying when out of nowhere you hear huge explosion in the sky, it was cool for the first time, but not now :well:

Scotracer (11:10) Isn't there a free F1 app? There has been for the last couple of years...when it worked.

slideways (11:10) Yeah the quali gap was much bigger.

karlth (11:10) DrChatNuff. I know it is far too expensive. You shouldn't take it though.

slideways (11:10) Do you live in missile testing range Mastah?

saudoso (11:10) sonic boom i guess

DrChatNuff (11:11) best F1 app is $30

slideways (11:11) Haven't looked for it yet scot, maybe it's not out yet? It's only used in official season sessions tho.

karlth (11:11) Scotracer, There are two F1 apps. The official app which is free and the more graphical private app which is very expensive. (For an app)

Welsh (11:11) ha ha say "sonic boom" in a sean connery accent..... :drunk:

hsvone (11:12) hi all from NZ :wave:

Scotracer (11:12) Sounds like a sonic boom to me. And FYI, they don't just boom over your head...they boom all the time when supersonic, you only hear it when the sonic cone reaches you

DrChatNuff (11:12) pretty sure before season starts..will get it FREE

slideways (11:12) SHHAUNIC BEWWWM

DrChatNuff (11:12) Gidday mate

Mastah (11:12) saudoso - yep

saudoso (11:13) I used the paid app before fom releaed theirs. Use the free now and never looked back

saudoso (11:13) where mastah?

hsvone (11:13) Raikkonen fastest season over

Mastah (11:14) scotracer - yeah, but i have never heard it when living in the city, i guess they don't care about peasants :well:

DrChatNuff (11:14) Mastah no wonder you chat crap....its too cold :lol:

hsvone (11:14)

sad_08uk (11:14) which team does everyone think algi turned down because he thought he was staying at STR?

slideways (11:14) One that he made up.

DrChatNuff (11:14) HRT

Mastah (11:15) saudoso - northern poland, just few minutes from big city

slideways (11:15) Kid has no manager, and is playing at politics, and will lose I'm sure of it.

DrChatNuff (11:15) reserve driver

slideways (11:15) I believe when he said he had a verbal confirmation though. STR treat their drivers terribly.

sad_08uk (11:16) well hes supposed to have talked to HRT since. he claimed it was a "good offer"

Welsh (11:16) Hardly think HRT is in position to pay a driver.

sad_08uk (11:16) yeah claims he was verbally confirmed at STR during brazil GP weekend

Welsh (11:17) verbal agreement= nowt in f1

sad_08uk (11:17) i just cant see who would of considered him. dont think williams would, force india no. lotus no...

sad_08uk (11:18) written contact = nothing in f1

let alone verbal haha

hsvone (11:18) so Sutil is out and Hulkenberg in

Welsh (11:18) You notice how talky Algysweary was during interviews last yr - the guy never stopped.... yak yak yak.... Made Kimi look like a monk.

steliosbotzakis (11:19) Webber 1:23.556

DrChatNuff (11:19) currently downloading F1 2012timing App cp FREE :clap:

wewantourdarbyback (11:19) Everyone makes Kimi look like a Monk

Welsh (11:19) Do you like Liveries? http://www.ratemylivery.com/

slideways (11:19) He's very arrogant IMO. Will get chewed up and spat out of F1 just like Klien.

Mastah (11:20) c'mon koba, move your ass

saudoso (11:20) I've only seen fighters in flight once, a bunch of F18s in San Diego. Boy those are loud, I can just imagine the boom...

saudoso (11:23) ha ha, now what, massa is beating weber already!!

milestone 11 (11:23) :wave:

Morning everyone from a sunny Fuerteventura. It's difficult to believe that a year has passed since we were last here.

Taking bets on the time McLaren paranoia sets in :lol:

sad_08uk (11:24) no official lunch break 2day?

Welsh (11:24) remember "its only testing".......

Gilles4Ever (11:24) no official lunch break @ Jerez

mark f1 (11:25) evening everyone :wave:

Welsh (11:25) tororossospy No official lunchbreak in Jerez, but at 12.30 Dan has done 34 laps in the new car and is currently 3rd fastest. All going ok so far

hsvone (11:26) evening mark

Welsh (11:26) oh no Kimi, not the black gloves!!!!!

hsvone (11:27) actually early morning here now

saudoso (11:27) now that weber has proven as useless as massa's replacemente, who would be the next in line?

ali.unal (11:27) It's only glove testing. Don't read too much into that.

sad_08uk (11:28) were the red once his old ferrari gloves? haha

sad_08uk (11:28) @saudoso fisichella? haha

Welsh (11:28) Black gloves have slots to channel air into the fingers to keep them cool.

sad_08uk (11:29) rubens?

slideways (11:29) Badoer.

Welsh (11:29) Also the Red gloves had the pull finger element whereas the Black gloves have the push finger element.....

Mastah (11:29) koba is finally out

hsvone (11:29) who's that?

Welsh (11:29) Wait till you see the Gold gloves though - they have "step finger" elements......

hsvone (11:30) did Rubens get a drive?

saudoso (11:30) don't know, guess we need someone driving today, so that we can have a definite measure of how fast they are...

sad_08uk (11:30) lmao welsh

saudoso (11:30) barrichello looking like indy

sad_08uk (11:31) nope, looks like rubens is going to indycar even tho he promised his wife he would never race ovals

ortim (11:31) anybody know if alo i going to take over ferrari this afternoon of tomorrow

DrChatNuff (11:31) Rubens replacing Massa at Ferrari :lol:

hsvone (11:31) oh no he should retire

hsvone (11:31) Rubens you're mad! :drunk:

DrChatNuff (11:32) Alonso ..2mw

Welsh (11:32) well for Rubens it was either racing in Indy or being Eddie Jordan's chauffeur

Mastah (11:32) i would love too see rubens in indy, i hope he will kick their asses to show how superior f1 is :cool:

DrChatNuff (11:32) so would i

hsvone (11:32) damn tough choice

sad_08uk (11:33) ortim check this for whos in when

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php...

saudoso (11:33) I a gree but the sh*t is that he jumped into the car and leaded the charts, so he is all winded pup.

Welsh (11:33) I have seen that McLaren tick box form - they all triangles!!!!!

DrChatNuff (11:33) Hammi should go better this yr..Nicole been kicked of Xfactor

ortim (11:34) ty sad08

sad_08uk (11:34) when we getting a red flag welsh?

Welsh (11:34) *goes for another nosey in the forum*

Jamiednm (11:34) :wave:

DrChatNuff (11:35) F1 to race in Syria... :drunk:

wrighty (11:35) inverted i hope welsh, to optimise the affirmative indicator paper interface opportunity with synchronicitous shapes (aka 'because ticks fit better' hehe)

Welsh (11:35) 2:30pm

ali.unal (11:35) Look at sidepods: http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editoria...

:eek:

hsvone (11:36) hey wrighty :wave:

wrighty (11:36) hsveeee!! :wave:

sad_08uk (11:36) is that GMT welsh?

Welsh (11:37) *returns* ye gods they all mad in there..... bonkers.

hsvone (11:37) DCN not a chance in hell

Mastah (11:37) hrt faster than caterham :lol:

Welsh (11:37) yeah GMT.

hsvone (11:37) happy new year mate :up:

Welsh (11:38) oh oh There is a Button on the track........

sad_08uk (11:38) HRT 4.5s off the pace? WHAT?

hsvone (11:39) Jenson was great last year

Welsh (11:40) Pics of Massa on the track looks like he had a collision with Mary Poppins and has an umbrella stuck on top of airbox.....

wewantourdarbyback (11:40) I hereby pronounce Kimi the 2012 world champion.

Let's go home.

hsvone (11:40) the forum hasn't changed then

noikeee (11:41) wait a minute, HRT are there?! :eek:

i thought they'd hide in their dark dungeon until Melbourne.

wewantourdarbyback (11:42) Lord the nose on that Fezza is fugly

Welsh (11:42) This chat is like the SKY coverage of testing, whereas the forum is the BBC coverage (delayed).... #joke - oh look at massa pic - umbrella see ^

wewantourdarbyback (11:43) They use that high up set of Pitots every pre season

hsvone (11:43) damn that Ferrari is fugly :well:

hsvone (11:43) darby :smoking:

hsvone (11:44) i hope all the cars don't look like that :eek:

Welsh (11:44) redbullracing on twitter: We were late getting out today because of the delayed arrival of some components due to heavy fog! We're all systems go now though

wewantourdarbyback (11:44) Always one post ahead HSV :cool:

hello86 (11:45) It seems that Kimi´s already bored!

hsvone (11:45) yes but i'm half a day ahead

Gilles4Ever (11:46) @alanbaldwinf1: The official explanation as to why Webber has managed only four laps so far. Fog. That clears it up.

Welsh (11:46) Kimi is changing into new overalls which have a slot on the behind so he can **** much quicker.

hsvone (11:46) hey Gilles :wave:

hsvone (11:46) i hope Lotus have got their freezer stocked with icecream

wewantourdarbyback (11:48) Means I can learn from your mistakes HSV

Mastah (11:49) holy banjo? what the...

Scotracer (11:49) Holy banjo indeed.

Welsh (11:49) *plays his banjo*

hsvone (11:50) another JYS in the making?

Welsh (11:50) Di Resta turned owt nice again, cleaning windows and playing banjo in his cockpit....

jonpollak (11:50) Holy viola

KnucklesAgain (11:51) Just shows how meaning less times are at this stage. But we knew that and still we are here :stoned:

Hi everyone, great to see you all :wave:

Welsh (11:51) Paul di Resta is the George Formby of Formula One.....

hsvone (11:51) :confused:

jonpollak (11:51) If you could see what I could see......

Scotracer (11:51) He obviously gets misty-eyed about Bathgate when driving and that makes him so fast. What a home-town to share with an F1 driver...

wewantourdarbyback (11:51) Leaning on a lamp post?

Welsh (11:52) Kimi Raikkonen is the George Foreman of Formula One.

Welsh (11:52) google both Georges if you don't know......

hsvone (11:52) very cool he's from your town eh Scot?

F1McLarenFan (11:52) Did Mercedes make the stepped nose for this testing? so he can join the otgher teams or no need?

wewantourdarbyback (11:52) I'll stick with sharing a home county with my favourite driver.

(Justin Wilson)

Scotracer (11:53) hsv - I know him. He was in the year above at school.

hsvone (11:53) Foreman i know Formby i don't

hsvone (11:54) :cool:

ortim (11:54) jonpollak,tell us what you can see,lol

Welsh (11:54) education time: youtube of George Formby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfmAeijj5... might explain banjo joke better.

KnucklesAgain (11:54) Suggestion to Live team: make the time sheet a few lines longer, then Kova would not be off the bottom

Mastah (11:54) small kers problem at williams

hsvone (11:55) ta Welsh :up:

wewantourdarbyback (11:55) This has to be the first time George Formby has been connected to F1

wewantourdarbyback (11:55) Other than that time there was a mix up and he test drove a McLaren while James Hunt went on top of the pops

Welsh (11:56) good god George Formby does have the look of Paul Di Resta about him......

Mastah (11:56) megaton - dc on twatter https://twitter.com/#!/therealDCf1

hsvone (11:57) yes there is a likeness

Welsh (11:58) I think di Resta needs to take up banjo playing.....

hsvone (11:59) that was a ukelele but anyway

Welsh (11:59) quibble.

Eisthename (12:01) how many laps Button drove?

Mastah (12:01) cousin 19.7

wewantourdarbyback (12:01) They are very different Welsh.

sad_08uk (12:04) buttons done 16 laps

sad_08uk (12:04) ooo nice lap time by paul now

F1McLarenFan (12:10) On what tyres Raikkonen scored his fastest lap?

Mastah (12:10) man, red bull, ferrari and mclaren are so slow, who would have thought wdc will be decided between force india and lotus?

hello86 (12:11) medium

ali.unal (12:11) @F1Mc... Medium

ColchesterF1 (12:11) Right guys, been a fun morning. But I have to leave now, as I have an interview! I'll try to be back before the end of testing today!

hello86 (12:12) which tyres did Paul use? Autosport doesn´t even mention his time

16vmini (12:12) good luck

DrChatNuff (12:14) Interview ...at Walmart :lol:

hello86 (12:15) bye :wave:

16vmini (12:16) why would people practice starts on the first day ? just system checking ? or does it point to new ideas for launching ?

Welsh (12:16) good luck with interview :wave:

wewantourdarbyback (12:17) Good luck Colchester

sad_08uk (12:19) DC on topgear on dave

sergeym (12:19) :wave:

F1McLarenFan (12:19) Are thet eams allowed to user the SS tyres?

Welsh (12:21) oh super soft........

wewantourdarbyback (12:21) Bit personal Welsh

Welsh (12:22) ss tyres I thought he meant nazi......

rolf123 (12:22) anyone got any video footage yet?

hsvone (12:23) ugh stepped noses :well:

Mastah (12:24) http://yfrog.com/z/nvjq0lj so ugly

hsvone (12:26) mclaren looks best so far :up:

Welsh (12:27) I can't see step noses being in f1 for long....

hsvone (12:28) ok i take that back i was looking at the wrong year :blush:

sad_08uk (12:28) already banned for next year welsh

hsvone (12:28) what is that wart on its nose?

Mastah (12:28) ouch

Mastah (12:29) "McLaren have had a little problem this morning with burning on the floor just in front of the rear tyres. But that's the sort of thing that happens in testing and McLaren will get that fixed pretty soon"

sad_08uk (12:29) mclaren exaugsht overheating back end then?

sergeym (12:31) Hello Mastah

16vmini (12:31) what times where caterham (aka lotus) doing last year in testing here ?

Brian O Flaherty (12:32) sad_08uk, is that confirmed re- stepped noses? Have you a link? I'd be interested to read their reasoning. It might be ugly but it's hard to make a case for it being illegal in any way.

StevieRay (12:32) so problems for McLaren...again. Button drove about 20 laps today, so it won't be productive day

Mastah (12:33) hi sergey :wave:

RoutariEnjinu (12:33) Burning the floor? I thought floor exhaust interaction was stopped?

sad_08uk (12:33) read somewhere that the whole nose has got to be below the height for next season, think it was on twitter tho so will be hard 2 find

Brian O Flaherty (12:35) OK cheers. I'll keep my eyes peeled. The FIA need to acknowledge that it's their own restrictive regulations that are making the teams resort to these kind of solutions !

sad_08uk (12:37) yeah think it was scarbsf1 who mentioned it but he tweets so much would take years to flick thru and find it haha he usually knows what hes talking about tho haha

16vmini (12:38) ok , lotus seemed to do a 1.21 last year ...

hsvone (12:39) williams is nice and its get a half decent engine now :up:

sad_08uk (12:39) right if most the teams are going for lunch i think i will to haha

hsvone (12:39) *got

Yolandy (12:47) Kimi's F1 WDC betting odds is now 25/1 on skybet. Not long ago it was 50/1 :stoned:

hello86 (12:48) Kimi used two set of tyres in the morning (source: TS ... courtesy of Apple)

Welsh (12:49) what we really need is for Montoya to return now......

wrighty (12:52) lol yolandy, you'd think the phrase 'a fool and his money are soon parted' would be more difficult to apply now that we all haz da interwebs and such wouldn't ya.....

Welsh (12:52) no really Ralf, you stay where you are.......

Welsh (12:53) and David Coulthard is def now on twitter.......

wrighty (12:53) is that def as in 'down wid da kidz' def jam - type def?

saudoso (12:53) where's this Q&A going on?

wrighty (12:55) here if you want saudoso, ask me anything

spaceace (12:55) Montoya for Caterham 2013.. ??

saudoso (12:56) :-P

Welsh (12:58) ok let me ask stupid question Q: how fast do the wheels spin on an F1 car?

hsvone (12:59) very fast

fkqmz (13:00) come on kimi :clap:

Jelinski619 (13:00) Okay so last years Renault is now Lotus and last years Lotus is now Caterham? Right?

Welsh (13:00) Q Why do the tyres wear out and what are they made of?

Brian O Flaherty (13:00) Yes Jelinski. And last year's Virgin is now Marussia.

Buzz47 (13:02) D'day... interesting to note that the two top teams have the least laps...so far...

Welsh (13:02) Q Why do F1 drivers sweat and where does the water come from and go to?

RoutariEnjinu (13:02) from: their brow

to: 'wards victory

Welsh (13:02) omg there is a pedro de la rosa fan at the track!!!!

RoutariEnjinu (13:03) SS tyres and D'Day, what is going on

Buzz47 (13:03) *G'day

RoutariEnjinu (13:04) No drivers really race alone though do they. Apart from rally drivers maybe...

hsvone (13:04) :yawn:

Buzz47 (13:04) My mind is awake but my typing fingers are asleep

Welsh (13:05) its world war 3 and we trying to save private raikkonen

hsvone (13:05) 2am time to hit the sack :wave:

DrChatNuff (13:06) WHERE U AT......2am

DrChatNuff (13:07) aussie

SchuOz (13:07) must be in NZ?

RoutariEnjinu (13:07) 13:05 And remember, you can ask us about any of the burning topics going on in F1 by email us on live@autosport.com.

For all things McLaren floor related!

fkqmz (13:07) it isnt 2am anywhere, nowhere is 13 hours ahead of GMT!

hsvone (13:07) yes mates

wewantourdarbyback (13:07) Yes, HSV is an upside-downer

Scotracer (13:11) Anything interesting happen yet?

wewantourdarbyback (13:12) I'm eating soup if that helps

RoutariEnjinu (13:13) Do F1 cars run upforce when they run in Melbourne?

Scotracer (13:14) Riveting.

Scotracer (13:14) Yes. HTH.

Jelinski619 (13:18) Does the Lotus have any immediately obvious innovations which could give it an edge? Or is it just a tidy car?

Gilles4Ever (13:20) All the Lotus brass and sponsors are in the paddock

Mastah (13:20) jaime is testing too https://twitter.com/# (long text removed) :lol:

fkqmz (13:20) Does the Lotus have any immediately obvious innovations?

yes it has a kimi raikkonen installed in the cockpit

Mastah (13:20) that should do https://twitter.com/AlguersuariJA/status...

Welsh (13:21) a car that comes with a finn normally goes fast.

wrighty (13:21) thats kimi 2.0, the replacement for kimi 2.oh i cant be bothered.....

Jelinski619 (13:21) I don't get the hype with Kimi. The last season he had in F1 was a shambles.

sad_08uk (13:21) hahaha thats a great innovation. does it have an edge is the real question tho. only 0.1 faster than di resta those 2 teams were pretty close alot of last season really

Welsh (13:21) I think Kimi has stolen Alonso's 6 tenths

Jelinski619 (13:22) He scraped one championship with the help of his team-mate. That's not impressive in my books.

Jelinski619 (13:22) Had Massa been fighting for that championship like Alonso was with Hamilton, I doubt he'd have got it.

fkqmz (13:23) di resta lap time set at 12:30 on softs, kimi lap time set at about 11 was it? - on mediums

Jelinski619 (13:23) Is there any footage at all of the cars today?

Welsh (13:25) oh scarbsf1 F1 Testing FAQ: Nose holes - Sauber and Red Bull both have a slot in their noses, IMO they are for airflow management over the step

Mastah (13:25) SS tyres in action

Welsh (13:25) scarbsf1 F1 Testing FAQ: Nose holes: Sauber - this is a wide outlet at the back of the nose cone, probably fed by the driver cooling inlet

Fortymark (13:28) WTF... Is Robert Doornbos a kimi fanboy too?!

Welsh (13:28) I don't think its really Kimi in the car at all - it is actually THE STIG!!!!

Gilles4Ever (13:28) @tedkravitz: Just spoke to A Newey, post box slot is primarily for cooling: driver and other parts. He denies it gives RB8 any aero benefit.

fkqmz (13:28) you see - everyone knows :cool:

jonpollak (13:28) Doorknobs

16vmini (13:29) he would not say anything else would he though ...

Gilles4Ever (13:30) @ScarbsF1: F1 Testing FAQ: Nose holes: Red Bull, the slot is the driver cooling inlet and the ridge over it helps keep airflow attached over the step

Gilles4Ever (13:31) @tedkravitz: Newey also says might be exhaust controversy if someone races in Oz with a different interpretation and that he wants to stay at Red Bull..

Mastah (13:31) russian LT is dead

Slackbladder (13:32) God, I can't help but hoping that RB and Newey really screw up design sooner rather than later.

Welsh (13:33) I wonder if Newey plays the banjo?

xman (13:33) just placed a bet for Kimi to win WC this year with 51/1 odds.. you never know

Gilles4Ever (13:33) nah I would rather see another team catch up

slideways (13:34) I don't think RBR will have the qualifying advantage this year so it should be game on.

Slackbladder (13:34) I'd settle for that..

naca (13:36) kimi is hopeless, grosjean will beat him quiet easily this year.

He should go back to crashing into trees.

fkqmz (13:37) xman who's your bookie? the 50/1 has gone everywhere in uk, kimi been moving all morning in more ways than 1

Gilles4Ever (13:37) @RacecarEngineer: Looks like the Ring is in trouble - maybe has lost its Grand Prix.

Gilles4Ever (13:37) Nurburgring that is

scandyman (13:37) where is the mod. banning time

xman (13:38) fkqmz bodog still has 51/1

Mastah (13:39) no big deal, average track, even castrated hockenheim is better

Gilles4Ever (13:39) http://t.co/qkGkJL8K

Ring Story

Welsh (13:39) This is the list of the Jerez day 1 testing 2011: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/w... so you can compare today.

slideways (13:39) Hey guys besides Suzuka 05 what are some of Kimi's best wins?

scandyman (13:39) I only remember his last on spa

jonpollak (13:40) He's posted right above you scandyman :yawn:

xman (13:40) only allows for a maximum bet of 15 € though, with a payout of 750 €...

naca (13:40) as I said kimi will struggle this year. he will find it difficult without a co-driver (although his engineer could help) and he will find it really hard to find a tree or ditch to crash into.

naca (13:40) also whats with autosport ripping of other journos work ??? Been seeing it more and more lately (and yes I checked timestamps and autosport was publishing atleast an hour later with word for word sentences)

slideways (13:41) Monaco 05 was nice.

xman (13:41) spa 2009 comes to mind..

scandyman (13:41) well, saves my time if i dont need to check every other f1 pages

naca (13:41) I mean why would anyone want to plagarise from planetf1 articles.

jonpollak (13:41) My favourite Kimi race was Spa 08

fkqmz (13:41) haha bodog not soft, not registering with theyre non UK firm, i got a bit with skybet earlier but asll gone now, waiting for the drift later in the week once grosjeans in the car

slideways (13:42) I knew someone would say that. :well:

fkqmz (13:42) kimi china & brazil 07 B2B to steal the title - unforgettable :clap:

naca (13:44) when does soft hand sutil get out of jail ???

slideways (13:45) naca go back to planetf1 ..

naca (13:45) *glass hands

naca (13:45) stupid iphone

scandyman (13:46) I dont think he wants ouy. Judging by his girl running, he will be happy with that big black bubba.

slideways (13:46) fkqmz yeah great end to a season.

naca (13:46) planetf1 is sheet - f1technical is were it is at.

scandyman (13:47) But then again male to male prison love happens only states...

naca (13:48) planetf1 is owned by the evil empire of rupert murdoch - hence why it is shyt.

D A (13:49) took some time for button to come out. I hope he can do some long runs now.

jonpollak (13:49) Scandy:

What the hell are you talking about?

If you Intend to speak nonsense ... Make it funny

scandyman (13:50) I am bored, nothing happens on track

ortim (13:50) why is schumi not out now

slideways (13:51) I'm too old fashioned. Why should I load another page (facebook) to comment on an autosport live comment? Damn social media.

Mastah (13:51) Jamesallenonf1 James Allen

#f1 Renault saying the banning of blown diffusers make the engines 10-20hp more powerful and increase straight line speed

wrighty (13:52) so....what's actually happened with the nurburgring then? (apologies, the translation was unintelligible) - have the local council types cancelled the incumbents contracts? is this a victory for SaveTheRing?

scandyman (13:52) Hey Mastah, why is that

jonpollak (13:53) Here here slideways :up:

naca (13:53) Jamesallenonf1 James Allen

I am loving being able to commentate on LEWIS HAMILTON and JENSON BUTTON

wrighty (13:53) and most importantly, when will PlanetF1 issue their take on it so Autosport can copy&paste it for us? naca :lol:

naca (13:55) the germans have turned into greeks and spent all their money (presumably on sausages, leederhosen and beer) instead of actually promoting the track

naca (13:55) as I said planetF1 is absolute shyte. only gp there for a chuckle. I prefer F1technical.

naca (13:56) *go there (bloody iphone)

Welsh (13:57) just bin gawping at the pics of the cars on the autosport gallery....

jonpollak (13:57) Sounds good Welsh Brb

Mastah (13:57) scumi

wrighty (13:57) may i suggest you spend a little less time on F1technical and visit 'iphone spelling apps for dummies' instead? :lol:

scandyman (13:57) Anyone knows why "Jamesallenonf1 James Allen

#f1 Renault saying the banning of blown diffusers make the engines 10-20hp more powerful and increase straight line speed" ???

Welsh (13:57) the step noses don't actually look that bad out on the track.

Scotracer (13:58) Scandyman - probably due to the extra fuel they have left (i.e. not using it for off-throttle) so they can turn up the wick on them a bit. So they'll be getting the full 750BHP+ and then KERS on top this year.

Welsh (13:58) Can't see Red Bull exhaust though. Thought I could see use of copper on floor.

sad_08uk (13:58) think you need your eyes testing welsh noses still look bad 2 me haha

naca (13:59) cause the engines were tuned/ omptimzed for EBDs, this caused some top end power to be lost. also the increased length and complexity of the exhaust system increased the losses in the system

Scotracer (13:59) And a bit extra from the exhaust design too, as sad said.

sad_08uk (13:59) @scandy exaughst pipes wont be as long making engine more powerful and the drag created from diffuser being blow would of reduced straight line speed

scandyman (13:59) Ok, Thank you scot

16vmini (13:59) @scandyman , to get the most exhaust gasses/flow they might have had to over/under fuel .. which cause the engine to have less power, but have a better exhaust flow...( loss of power was beaten by extra downforce )

Welsh (13:59) Red Bull http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo-l... can you see copper?

Brian O Flaherty (14:00) "A roar in the pitlane announces the arrival of Michael Schumacher"

Brian O Flaherty (14:00) "A roar in the pitlane announces the arrival of Michael Schumacher". He's been practicing that roar all winter. Most drivers just say Hi and wave.

naca (14:00) my bet is MS will again be outclassed by rosberg this year

naca (14:00) also the excess fuel caused some very minor inefficiencies in the combustion

Welsh (14:01) Also Williams car is not that different from last year model. from what I can see......

sad_08uk (14:01) nope no idea on exaughsts welsh

Welsh (14:01) oi anyone at the test now ffs take more photos of the rears of the cars please, I want more rear action pictures.

scandyman (14:01) Schumi gets older and older, it will be though for him

sad_08uk (14:02) 14:00 Button passes Webber, but lets the McLaren man repass at Michelin.... and then pits.

that makes no sense at all

Mastah (14:02) yeah, nico will teach him once again

sad_08uk (14:02) you like a bit of rear end do u welsh? haha

Welsh (14:02) Golden Rule of Formula One is, it's in the rear dear.

wrighty (14:04) lol welsh my colleague here was looking for more front pics of the RB but said he couldn't find any 'because the photographers have been warned off by the team'......he's seen a bit too much of the cold war methinks :lol:

Slackbladder (14:04) typical RB though. always being snobby about people takng pics

Welsh (14:06) Red Bull is the Faye Dunaway of F1 - a right diva over photos.

scandyman (14:08) How do we know if michael is in pace or not, he could do same glory laps like kimi.

Welsh (14:08) McLaren is the Madonna of F1 - getting on a bit but still pulls in the fanboys......

Welsh (14:08) HRT is the Lady Gaga of F1..... er

naca (14:08) and ferrari is the AC/DC OF F1

Don_Humpador (14:09) Guess that makes Caterham the Michael Buble of F1..

Welsh (14:09) load of old men banging = ferrari?

scandyman (14:09) Ferrari must be sandbagging

naca (14:10) and Force India is some broke bollywood singer

Yolandy (14:10) Rosberg is the Britney of F1... according to Webber.

16vmini (14:10) caterham are very quiet ? they got problems ?

Welsh (14:10) ahhhh I know why Massa with periscope - he looking for Alonso's 6 tenths.......

naca (14:10) have you seen who runs/used to ferrari ????

Brian O Flaherty (14:10) Massa needs a very long periscope. He's sinking without trace.

scandyman (14:13) Maybe Massa joins Lotus next year.

Welsh (14:14) Schumi having satnav problems.

scandyman (14:14) schum is just getting heat on tires

scandyman (14:20) that tires koba has

midgrid (14:20) Good to see that Team X is doing media laps, and that Team Y is working on a different programme to everyone else.

midgrid (14:20) Afternoon everyone! :clap:

scandyman (14:21) u nail it

scandyman (14:22) Is there any source go get tyre info ASAP?

sad_08uk (14:22) a rear end for u welsh! http://twitpic.com/8gvmuv

scandyman (14:23) COme on, anyone here ?

Welsh (14:23) ooo that ferrari rear wing interesting.

Eisthename (14:23) any ideas whats up with mclaren... are they having some problems or they just dont feel like testing today

gdon (14:24) Hi all, i come here only once a year on this forum during testing which is a bit :down:

but hey at least i make the effort

sad_08uk (14:24) as far as i know not anywhere that says what tyres every1 is on, just being worked out at track and we get random bits of it now and then

scandyman (14:24) Come on, KOBA on long run and i have no idea what tyres he has

Welsh (14:25) pah - look at all those lazy journos - idiots inside working instead of being out on track gawping - no wonder they miss loads!!!!!

Pendejo (14:26) Have you guys seen a picture of the F2012 exhaust? Can't be legal. It's pointing downwards.

Mastah (14:28) http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2913/...

FlashMaster (14:29) burned ferrari http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2913/...

scandyman (14:29) Koba still out, what are those journos doing, cant check out of window and tweet what he is running? :confused:

gdon (14:30) even the bodywork is warped with the heat!

Welsh (14:30) Ferrari need a hack saw....

scandyman (14:31) THank you, Massa and Ricc on mediums

gdon (14:31) so much for being aggressive

Fortymark (14:31) Just saying a hello to the autosport Jerez team if they are reading :wave:

gdon (14:32) now they need a way to cool down the exhaust gas when it leaves the tail pipe and then heat it up again near the diffuser

Fudce (14:33) Afternoon chaps

Welsh (14:33) good job we didn't say what we had for lunch today - or the autosport team would have been made even hungerier. (chips, cod and beans with buttered bread)....

scandyman (14:35) I knew it! Michael is doing glory run

ortim (14:35) autosport team you are doing a fantastic job,sorry about no lunch have a extra beer tonight lol

gdon (14:35) i had lunch at work so it was meat balls with salted crackers

gdon (14:35) i can even share some of mine if u want :smoking:

gdon (14:37) anybody knows how many laps did massa do before he melted his car?

scandyman (14:37) If they would also tell every time tyre compound it would be suuper fantastic

sad_08uk (14:38) well he's done 64 now if that helps...

scandyman (14:38) Check this out

http://f1tests.co.cc/2012.php?rev=on

sad_08uk (14:38) RED FLAG

gdon (14:39) thanks sad

Brian O Flaherty (14:39) Quite amazing that on day one it has taken this long for the first red flag! Good work from all concerned.

scandyman (14:39) around 10 ?

scandyman (14:39) yeah 64 total, last stint 10 laps

Welsh (14:39) ahem.

sad_08uk (14:39) welsh was only 8 mins out to be fair haha

RoutariEnjinu (14:40) Who fell over?

RoutariEnjinu (14:40) Ah Toro Rosso...

Welsh (14:40) I win today :clap:

sad_08uk (14:40) haha its the end of session 1 we need to guess haha. 1st corner... hopefully they just drag it back to pits

sad_08uk (14:40) ricciardo stopped at 1st turn scandy

Welsh (14:41) Ricciardo's Toro Rosso has stopped at Curva Expo, the first turn.

scandyman (14:41) Why is red flag

fauxhemian (14:42) hmph

scandyman (14:42) yes sad 08, Welsh answered before i asked :lol:

gdon (14:43) i remember a few years ago there was this guy who wrote poetry on here.. where's he gone?

Mastah (14:43) red flag? cannot be

Welsh (14:43) what filth

scandyman (14:43) Toro rosso had heating probs earlier ?

Welsh (14:44) Ricciardo is out of the car with his helmet off, and has a small army of photographers lined up by the barrier.

RoutariEnjinu (14:44) I killed him

sad_08uk (14:44) wouldnt surprise me, u seen there side pods? haha

Welsh (14:44) You would think that F1 car had climate control by now.... would solve the heating problems #notgotaclue

scandyman (14:44) do u have pics

noikeee (14:44) has betclic stopped accepting F1 bets today? :lol:

F1 doesn't show up in the sports list when accessing betclic through my cellphone. the site is blocked here in the browser

gdon (14:45) must be the mpaa

Welsh (14:46) ooo special guest.

Fudce (14:46) In a way, it's good that the test isn't televised.

I don't think we could cope with that many bad noses. Even Mclaren has a silly nose (theirs is just transparant)

Mastah (14:47) lalli

scandyman (14:48) lalli the next senna

Mastah (14:48) F1Kate Kate Walker

Ted Kravitz has just told the press room that the STR7 stopped 'because the car was disintegrating'. 1st red flag of 2012!

scandyman (14:49) what is disintegrating? pieces falling off? ?

noikeee (14:49) "Bruno, if you could attack anyone in a nightclub using a broken glass, who would you attack and why?"

wrighty (14:49) ffs noikee no wonder you changed your name :lol:

noikeee (14:51) what? i didn't get that, seriously.

wrighty (14:51) nice to see Schumi's test appearance isn't going un-noticed by the British media>> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/90663...

scandyman (14:52) Button out!

RoutariEnjinu (14:52) Damn nang it I subscribed to Autosport mag but can't get any Plus action till the mag comes through I think :mad:

Welsh (14:52) interesting Ferrari covering exhaust in pits.

Don_Humpador (14:52) Yowch, wrighty

Welsh (14:53) There is a Button on the track........

scandyman (14:53) it is probably ugliear piece than its nose!

ortim (14:53) anybody know if nico used soft tires for his fast time and has schumi used them yet

wrighty (14:53)

scandyman (14:55) ORTIM!

I have been asking these same questions over and over again

Don_Humpador (14:56) The tyres he used were black. Does that help at all?

scandyman (14:57) :rolleyes:

Fudce (14:57) what shape?

Mastah (14:58) Apparently a Sky Sports cameraman trackside reported seeing sparks trail from Ricciardo's car moments before he pulled over.

scandyman (14:58) Spring damage it must be or blown off tyre

Welsh (14:59) 1 hour left.

Fudce (15:00) SO - any bets on when the next red will be?

RoutariEnjinu (15:01) 16:43

Mastah (15:01) i would say 5 minutes befor the end

ortim (15:02) scandy did you get any answers

Mastah (15:02) pasta too fasta into corna

scandyman (15:02) ortim, so far i know tires are black

Fudce (15:03) and round

sad_08uk (15:03) 3 mins from end, someone testing fuel tank size

noikeee (15:03) Bruno, if you were a paydriver and you could buy any Formula 1 seat in the world occupied by another brazilian, with the exception of Ferrari, which team would you choose? #questionsforbrunosenna

scandyman (15:04) nobody has said they are round.

ortim (15:04) scandy ask them what color the stripe on the side is lol

ortim (15:05) so todays test ends at 1600 GMT

Mastah (15:05) noikeee :lol:

gdon (15:05) no no the tries this year are square

gdon (15:05) tiers

wrighty (15:05) lol third time's a charm gdon

ortim (15:08) autosport team what tires does schumi have on thanks

Fudce (15:08) What, like the noses?

scandyman (15:08) ortim, dont bother

jonpollak (15:10) scandy...you're a bit of an internet ass aren't cha?

ortim (15:11) if schumi cannot get closer than .700 to nico he needs to retire now

Andy35 (15:12) Golly, just back from lots of work. Kimi still in front, is he now odds on favourite down at William Hill?

Has anyone mentioned MS being behind "journeyman" yet

Ellios (15:12) right then about time for the 'media laps' don't you think folks

scandyman (15:12) Man, all I wanted to know was what tyre compound they were running

Mastah (15:13) andy - i don't think so, maybe everyone got used to it

Fudce (15:14) right then about time for the 'anti-media laps' red flagging don't you think folks

Welsh (15:15) at least Caterham gone faster today compared to last year.

Welsh (15:16) Kobayashi with avg 1:26s

Fudce (15:17) So - who isn't showing their pace, and who's showing too much pace so far?

Andy35 (15:17) So if this is on sky at the moment does it mean it might be on justin tv or similar enterprising companies working out of a van in hong kong?

Not that I want anyone to slip me a PM for a crumpled up £5 note or anything, cough.....

wrighty (15:18) lol andy, is it time for the 'internet broadcasting 101' lesson m8?

Andy35 (15:19) really? You would have thought it would have been a chance for Bernie to make more money?

Welsh (15:19) Andy Testing is not televised - FOM prevents that....

jonpollak (15:19) Andy..it's only 3 minutes updates every half hour and says nothing but corporate blahblahblah..

you ain't missed nuthin.

scandyman (15:19) jonpollak! Will my request be mystery forever?

Welsh (15:19) FOM realise there is no revenue to be made from f1 televised testing. Lack of numbers.

Welsh (15:20) The cost of hosting a team to televise testing outdoes the money coming in.....

Andy35 (15:21) Actually Mrs Miggins at number 43 is watching it, I can see through my binocs... damn she is standing in the way taking her clothes off again ... get out of the way woman ! :mad:

Mastah (15:21) interview with pirelli guy right now

jonpollak (15:21) sorry scandy...he's on medium

jonpollak (15:22) what really does it matter though it's the 2011 car

Mastah (15:22) 100 sets of tyres, 25 per compound i guess

Welsh (15:22) Sauber and Force India will be happy with high laps on first day.

Welsh (15:24) McLaren will be doing ontrack stuff to compare it with computer simulator. - low laps indicate that car on track matches computer simulator.

ortim (15:24) jonpollak was nico on medium when he did his time

jonpollak (15:24) dunno..i am afraid it's.. None of our Business

wrighty (15:25) Mastah, tyres note from this morning >> 08:57 We've had quite a few questions about the tyre allocation for testing. Teams have 25 sets of Pirellis, covering the soft, medium and hard compounds, and are free to run them as they please.

gdon (15:25) or on the other hand it does not so they are trying set up changes to figure out whats wrong

scandyman (15:26) Webber is out

Welsh (15:27) I doubt we shall see another red flag now.

sad_08uk (15:27) kobayashi going to be the 1st to hit the 100 lap mark it looks

gdon (15:28) this forum should actually float like a balloon given all the hot air in here :lol:

Welsh (15:28) Kobayashi has pretty much done an f1 weekend today.

wrighty (15:29) yep sad he's listed as 100 laps now.....for day 1 with a brand new car that's a brilliant days work :clap:

(for him and the team, ultra-reliable)

scandyman (15:29) Sauber was gentle on tyres last year, wonder if its case now.

Andy35 (15:30) I did about 40 laps at brands on Friday afternoon, I was knackered the next day.

wrighty (15:30) ok mastah, one of em's full of sh1t then :lol:

Mastah (15:30) wrighty - paul hembury said it's 100 sets per team

Welsh (15:30) I wonder if Kobayashi plays the banjo?

Mastah (15:31) but i guess it's for all tests

Welsh (15:31) yes Bring me the head of the Pirelli F1 Programme.

Mastah (15:32) i would rather believe head of pirelli f1 programme

wrighty (15:33) aye

still in general terms that's the quietest and busiest first test day i think i've ever seen.....1 red and what? 650? 700 laps running?

Andy35 (15:33) Best to tread carefully when doubting Paul ... ho ho...

Welsh (15:33) oh no red flag.

Mastah (15:33) 15:29 And though Webber only clocked a 1m28.0s next time, his speed in sector one topped 300 km/h - the fastest seen all day. Unexplored potential? = yes autosport, unexplored potential by you, you can reveal to us sector times and speed trap data more often than twice per day

Scotracer (15:34) Any driver comments on the new tyres yet?

I suspect lap times from last year to this year remaining similar as the normal rate of progression is 1 second per year but with loss of EBD that'll be pretty much nullified.

sad_08uk (15:34) red flag again?

gdon (15:34) just a thought can the teams steal some new tyres?

Scotracer (15:34) gdon - no, they are all accounted for with bar codes.

sad_08uk (15:34) at back of curcuit could take a little longer to clear then glory runs?

gdon (15:34) yeah thanks welsh for the copy and paste

midgrid (15:34) Given the number of laps Koba has run today, perhaps it was a deliberate fuel consumption test?

Welsh (15:35) As the red comes out, Kobayashi has already hopped out of the car and removed the headrest.

scandyman (15:35) I bet drivers like these tyres atleast compared to last year. no marbles and steady performance

Andy35 (15:35) mastah is gonna be banned :lol:

Fudce (15:35) ok, who had 15:33?

RoutariEnjinu (15:36) I had 15:43 I think

Mastah (15:37) i already was, nothing new for me :lol:

Welsh (15:38) I am far too angelic to be banned.

gdon (15:38) thats another 4 then

Scotracer (15:38) I'm already banned on the forum...for the next 4 days. Woops.

scandyman (15:38) scot what did u do?

ortim (15:39) i think a tire code by fast times would be great,just S,M,H,

Andy35 (15:39) every scotsman does

D A (15:39) testing over for today with 20 minutes left?

Scotracer (15:39) I might have challenged the competency of the mods...

Andy35 (15:40) He mentioned Bannockburn too many times when drunk scandy

Mastah (15:40) i was for saying new regs regarding blocking were written because of scumi's antics - funny fact is lewis said exactly that on 27 launch, i guess he's banned too :lol:

gdon (15:40) why should i pay to read those articles?? i like my stuff for free

Welsh (15:40) eh?

Scotracer (15:40) Andy...s'not nice!

Fudce (15:41) Plus they don't want to be accused of discriminating against the Welsh

Scotracer (15:42) Do we know if Merc are blowing the diffuser off-throttle?

gdon (15:42) guess even the marshals are testing loading these cars for the 2012 season

Andy35 (15:43) only kidding scot!

sad_08uk (15:43) fuel test for kobi

Mastah (15:43) scot - kravitz said so

Andy35 (15:43) ForeverF1 is a good mod. I called a mod Hitler once and expected to be banned but he sorted me out without the need. I have repented ever since. Just call them Himmler now

Welsh (15:43) Kobayashi had run out of fuel.

midgrid (15:44) "midgrid: Given the number of laps Koba has run today, perhaps it was a deliberate fuel consumption test?" Yeahhh :cool:

Scotracer (15:44) Andy...what did he do to you instead? Take you up the OXO tower, so to speak?

Andy35 (15:45) This is what I wrote to them both

"Why don't you and XXXX hand in your mod badges, grow up a bit, then re-apply? There enough little Hitlers as it is."

OOPs. I have never done anything since like that.

sad_08uk (15:45) i hope so ortim

Mastah (15:45) media laps :clap:

Welsh (15:46) 15 mins to go

ortim (15:46) glory run time

Welsh (15:46) Raikkonen is actually first man out, followed by de la Rosa, Button and Schumacher.

ortim (15:46) watch RBR go 1:13.500 lol

Mastah (15:47) oopsie, andy

ForeverF1 (15:47) That can all be changed Andy.

Mastah (15:47) 15:47 Earlier we were puzzled by Sauber appearing to use super soft tyres, which aren't in Pirelli's selection this week. Turns out they were hard tyres painted red. - clever :lol:

scandyman (15:47) I bet schums media lap will be slowest

sad_08uk (15:48) di resta or maldonado most likely to do media laps i would guess?

ForeverF1 (15:48) You never knbow who is lurking. :lol:

noikeee (15:48) Raikkonen to do a 1.17. Come on you can do it bro. :up:

ForeverF1 (15:48) *know

sad_08uk (15:48) he's in a 2011 car not much point in media lap

jonpollak (15:48) I kinda want Kimster to top his comeback day...It's good news for F1

Andy35 (15:48) Only kidding Forever !

Respec bro as TheRealLewis would say .

Welsh (15:49) meh

Scotracer (15:49) They wouldn't have time to drain the tanks unless they actually planned this.

jonpollak (15:49) noikee: put down the glue

sad_08uk (15:50) haha russian site has had more uk visitors than russian

ortim (15:50) schumi should show he can get closer to nico,maybe age is catching up and he cant

jonpollak (15:51) just figuring that out are ya ortim?

Andy35 (15:51) hee hee. I was all homy there for a mo....

midgrid (15:52) Teams should be allowed to paint their allocated tyres, like Benetton did occasionally in 1986.

noikeee (15:52) jon: the glue is down. it wasn't when i put 8.50€ on Kimi being champion this morning though. hence why only a ridiculously insane lap will satisfy me now.

jonpollak (15:52) paranokiee :lol:

sad_08uk (15:53) im guessing schumi is running same set of tyres, times slowly been getting slower and slower

ortim (15:54) jon have known for some time just hopein i was wrong lol

Welsh (15:54) too early to call yet - it is only day 1 ffs

jonpollak (15:55) I have to say..those looking for the significance in lap times at the test session...are on a hiding to nothing

gdon (15:55) yes thats true but the melting ferrari is worriesome tho

scandyman (15:55) Is jon in michaels bandwagon?

rolf123 (15:56) tell that to those who bet on brawn

wrighty (15:56) lol scandy jon in michaels camp? lawwwlzzzzz :lol:

noikeee (15:56) rolf: exactly. i do these insane bets because i'm bitter i watched the testing then and didn't bet on Brawn.

jonpollak (15:56) Jp was at Dry Sack that day in 97 and saw him do the dirty...so I would say...uhh

NO

Welsh (15:57) Must say, not impressed with photographs of testing today - very poor and lack of numbers too. :down:

Welsh (15:57) But 2009 was different.

Mastah (15:57) scumi beaten by nico by 6 tenths, normal service resumes :up:

jonpollak (15:58) Cut them some slack wrighty..they're new..REAL new.

scandyman (15:59) Well michael is then kept his pace from last year

jonpollak (16:00) ta ta kids.. :wave:

see ya tomorrow at some point.

sad_08uk (16:00) ooo hes got half a second closer...

Mastah (16:00) see ya jp :wave:

Andy35 (16:00) Agree with Jon on that one, apart from Brawn that year it is very hard to say.

Wouldn't it have been fantastic if a lower car had done consistent 1 min 18's today .. that would have been the same.

scandyman (16:01) DLR to beat Kova ? We shall see

sad_08uk (16:01) DLR glory lap to end it!

Mastah (16:01) media lap from pedro!!!!!

sad_08uk (16:01) DLR only 4 seconds off, looks like other teams sand bagging haha

wrighty (16:01) cyas tomorrow i suspect, have a good evening :wave:

wrighty (16:01) cya :wave:

sad_08uk (16:02) cya in morning guys. then off out to celevrate my 21st

scandyman (16:03) bye bye, I'll be back tomorrow

ortim (16:03) see yall tomorrow :wave:

Mastah (16:04) the end

Mastah (16:04) i can't wait for tomorrow, checo in sauber will show what that car is truly capable of (which is some 0.5 second better than koba)

noikeee (16:05) so that would've made Sauber... 7th instead of 7th today :eek:

Mastah (16:07) well, he isn't superhuman, he can only show where that car really stands

Mastah (16:09) :wave:

Welsh (16:09) cya tomorrow :wave:

Andy35 (16:12) :wave:

Fortymark (16:25) Thanks all

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