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As it happened: Test day four
By Matt Beer, Glenn Freeman and Scott Mitchell
The live commentary has ended. No further updates will be posted.
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FASTEST TIMES |
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P |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
1 |
Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1m24.067s |
2 |
Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m24.321s +0.254 |
3 |
Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1m24.941s +0.874 |
4 |
Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1m24.956s +0.889 |
5 |
Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1m25.345s +1.278 |
6 |
Carlos Sainz Jr | Toro Rosso | 1m25.604s +1.537 |
7 |
Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m26.312s +2.245 |
8 |
Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1m26.591s +2.524 |
9 |
Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1m27.956s +3.889 |
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All timing unofficial. Updated: 16:38 GMT |
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OVERVIEW |
DAY FOUR |
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CURRENT WEATHER |
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Clear skies |
High Temp: |
12°C / 54°F |
Track: |
Dry |
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Alonso has managed rather more running than Button this week, with the Spaniard's day being the one where things ran relatively smoothly while Button has had the brunt of the MGU-K seal woe.
That didn't stop him being optimistic about winning this year, though:
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg
Red Bull: Daniil Kvyat
Williams: Valtteri Bottas
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
McLaren: Fernando Alonso/Jenson Button
Force India: Nico Hulkenberg (2014 car)
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz Jr
Lotus: Romain Grosjean
Sauber: Felipe Nasr
Many teams are expecting that today will be the day to get good representative work done this week given the 'just right' weather conditions expected.
Bit breezy though, wind speed is currently 13km/h south-westerly.
"His helmet leaves little doubt on the kind of weather we're expecting!"
"Time to give the power unit a final run with more testing. Stability is the main focus for today."
Here's the full recap:
It looked like the mechanics were just clearing away anything not needed for today, but as more and more equipment was loaded, there was a brief moment of wondering 'is Red Bull going home...?'
The team later confirmed that it was just getting an early start on its get-out and clearing away all the pitstop equipment it won't be using today as it's done all its pitstop practice and race work already.
So where yesterday there was a full Red Bull 'prat perch' set-up on this wall, today there's just a lonely single box.
As far as we can see from here, the only teams with a full pitwall set-up out at present are Toro Rosso and Ferrari.
Valtteri Bottas hinted last night that Williams may well attempt a race simulation today, and with conditions looking both appealing and consistent, others are likely to feel it's a good time for representative runs too.
He said after last winter's problem-filled misery, Lotus was just thrilled to have such good reliability that it had time to whizz through all the tyre compounds at this relatively early stage.
"They're not the best here, they are too soft for this kind of track," he admitted.
"But with a soft tyre we did a very good laptime and we found a very good balance, which is quite encouraging for the team.
"It was very important for us to work through the tyres and learn from the tyres how the car reacts to the different compounds, even if they are not the right one for here.
"We have them available and I think you need to use them for mileage and for experience. Everything was going quite well and we decided to go through them."
What will Grosjean try today? Here he is heading out into a sunshine a few minutes ago.
Rosberg 8
Sainz 6
Kvyat 5
Grosjean 4
Hulkenberg 3
Vettel 1
Nasr 1
Alonso 0
As they pushed him down the pitlane, they had to stop briefly while Kvyat's Red Bull came in and dodged around them.
The Sauber sat in the pitlane waiting alongside Kvyat while he paused in his pit bay for a quick check, then continued in its way once the Red Bull had set off again.
Bottas lowers the benchmark further to 1m28.449s.
And they'll be on their way into our gallery from the F1 test shortly too.
Rosberg 14
Vettel 8
Kvyat 8
Bottas 7
Sainz 7
Grosjean 7
Hulkenberg 3
Nasr 3
Button 0
* Bottas and Vettel set the initial pace
* Rosberg spins into gravel on cold tyres but soon rejoins
* McLaren still confined to the garage
Mercedes: 31
Renault: 15
Ferrari: 11
Honda: 0
Expect the German contingent in the press room to start yelling to their Finnish counterpart shortly - though the best of that banter is saved for the Raikkonen days.
That's all very well (as his exclusive interviews with those in the know at McLaren/Honda and Renault this week have gone down well), but there are other bonuses to being well-connected in F1 that the Live commentary crew felt he wasn't taking proper advantage of.
So today he's been tasked with bringing us free biscuits. And plenty of them. And coffee.
And he's doing well:
Rosberg 22
Sainz 19
Vettel 16
Grosjean 16
Bottas 14
Hulkenberg 12
Kvyat 14
Nasr 3
Alonso 0
(We're chasing McLaren info)
1 Sainz 1m27.991s (softs)
2 Bottas +0.456s (med)
3 Vettel +0.979s (med)
4 Grosjean +1.371s (med)
5 Hulkenberg +1.930s (med)
6 Rosberg (+4.612s)
"We have general issues with the #C34. The team is investigating and we will be back on track as quickly as possible."
He put an upbeat slant on it last night...
"Just some small things with the braking and the entry of the corners. The car didn’t really do what we expected. But yeah I’m sure it’s not a big problem. I think every team has days like this."
...but it's fair to say that after showing signs of genuine improvement at Jerez, this isn't such a strong week for Sauber.
No one expected the team's time-topping performances at Jerez to accurately reflect the pecking order, but there was definitely a sense there that things were looking brighter than in the point-less 2014 season.
Sergio Perez insisted earlier in the week that being here is definitely important because of the chance to understand the 2015 tyres, and that even though it's basically last year's car, there are enough 2015 parts on it to still learn things.
But he did add:
"We have to look at the positives and there are plenty of positives and we are just waiting for the new car.
"Hopefully the new car turns up and we can do some proper mileage with the new car."
"The new part arrived late last night so we needed time for the power unit to be configured."
Rosberg 30
Vettel 24
Sainz 23
Grosjean 23
Hulkenberg 18
Kvyat 17
Bottas 16
Nasr 3
Alonso 0
Mercedes 87
Renault 40
Ferrari 27
Honda 0
1 Sainz 1m27.236s
2 Vettel +0.238s
3 Rosberg +0.427s
4 Grosjean +0.793s
5 Bottas +0.935s
6 Hulkenberg +1.528s
* Sainz uses softs to set pace
* Vettel, Rosberg, Grosjean, Bottas closely-matched in second to fifth on mediums
* Rosberg quickly back on track after spinning into gravel early on
* Nasr parks his Sauber in the pit entry with mechanical problems
* Delay getting Honda engine ready after arrival of crucial new MGU-K seal means Alonso misses first two hours and counting
The Renault powered teams suffered a disastrous pre-season 12 months ago and a difficult start to 2015 at Jerez, but reliability has improved massively since then.
Red Bull has managed two race runs over the past two days with Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, while Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen clocked 129 laps yesterday - more than any other driver that day.
Toro Rosso technical director James Key told AUTOSPORT: "Progress since Jerez is good as we are able to set up the car with more options at Barcelona and we also got some interesting direction from Jerez to test this week.
"Reliability is ongoing and part of winter testing, but mileage covered yesterday was positive.
"Renault is making progress and we look forward to further steps during the last test next week."
Here's Vettel's summary yesterday evening:
"People like myself and Kimi are happy with initial car behaviour. There is still a long way to go and Mercedes are the ones to beat.
"Those are the facts, I would say."
Sainz 38
Rosberg 34
Vettel 30
Grosjean 23
Bottas 23
Kvyat 23
Hulkenberg 18
Alonso 6
Nasr 3
"The main focus of today's work is to allow Nico to have an in-depth assessment of the new 2015 tyres, together with mileage."
The Honda sounds awful off-throttle. The Renault is the quietest of the three.
The Ferrari seems to put the power down quite well, not entirely smoothly, though.
It's sort of a middle ground between the Renault and Honda in terms of the noise as the throttle is applied.
It's when Alonso puts the power down that there's an odd interim noise before 'full' power. It's hard to describe, so we'll stick with 'unrefined'.
The transition through the notes is smoother with the Renault, as you'd expect. Even when Alonso looks like he's starting to push and gets on the throttle earlier mid-corner, the Honda sounds quite rough.
The Mercedes is much louder than the Force India - is that a new, noisier spec for 2015? The Williams certainly has the same note.
* Rosberg on mediums pips Sainz on softs to the top time by 0.094s.
* Vettel also within 0.096s of first place.
* McLaren joins late after new engine parts arrive overnight. Alonso is seventh after 12 laps.
* Rosberg spins off on cold tyres early on but is soon running again.
* Nasr confined to the Sauber pits with mechanical problems.
Rosberg 46
Sainz 45
Vettel 38
Bottas 35
Grosjean 32
Hulkenberg 26
Kvyat 26
Alonso 12
Nasr 3
1 Rosberg 1m27.142s
2 Sainz +0.094s
3 Vettel +0.096s
4 Hulkenberg +0.419s
5 Grosjean +0.887s
6 Bottas +1.029s
7 Alonso +1.166s
8 Kvyat +6.889s
(no time for Nasr)
Mercedes 139
Renault 71
Ferrari 41
Honda 12
Want the full set of weather screen numbers? OK then, humidity is 29 per cent and barometric pressure is 1004.7mb.
As well as its garage being beneath our feet, its trucks are right next to the walkway into the media centre, so we get to snoop into its business quite often.
We haven't seen anyone using these sofas all week. They definitely look comfy so either it's too cold out there or those (and this is unlikely) are officially Red Bull's 'sofas of success' and you only see Christian Horner lounging on them when he's confident Renault is matching Mercedes' horsepower.
He wasn't flat-out down the straight and is running on winter hards.
So far we've discussed helmet designs and car liveries, and today we want to hear what your favourite Grand Prix of all time is. To put it another way, if Bernie Ecclestone made every F1 race available to watch on an online database, which would you choose first (you're allowed to choose ones that FOM doesn't have the footage of as well!).
Let us know using #autosportF1 on Twitter and we'll get through as many as we can while our paddock team hunts out food in Spain.
So here it is, and to make it remotely relevant we've gone for a shot from the Barcelona pre-season test of that year where the blistering pace of the car first became apparent.
We also rather like Lauda's compatriot Alex Wurz's birthday salute: "Happy birthday Niki Lauda! One day please come to a @GPDA_ meeting and tell us drivers how you pulled off the driver strike back in the day."
Rosberg 58
Sainz 54
Vettel 52
Bottas 46
Grosjean 40
Kvyat 33
Hulkenberg 30
Alonso 16
Nasr 3
Mercedes 174
Renault 87
Ferrari 55
Honda 16
Rosberg 68
Sainz 59
Vettel 59
Bottas 52
Grosjean 40
Kvyat 38
Hulkenberg 33
Alonso 20
Nasr 3
1 Sainz 1m25.604s
2 Vettel +0.708s
3 Hulkenberg +0.987s
4 Rosberg +1.178s
5 Alonso +2.352s
6 Grosjean +2.425s
7 Kvyat +2.545s
8 Bottas +2.567s
(no time for Nasr)
Mercedes 193
Renault 97
Ferrari 62
Honda 20
Rosberg 68
Sainz 59
Vettel 59
Bottas 52
Grosjean 40
Kvyat 38
Hulkenberg 33
Alonso 20
Nasr 3
Lap count by engine:
Mercedes 193
Renault 97
Ferrari 62
Honda 20
1 Sainz 1m25.604s
2 Vettel +0.708s
3 Hulkenberg +0.987s
4 Rosberg +1.178s
5 Alonso +2.352s
6 Grosjean +2.425s
7 Kvyat +2.545s
8 Bottas +2.567s
(no time for Nasr)
The Frenchman's media session took place during the lunch break, where he revealed Lotus will focus on "long runs and a little bit more set-up work" this afternoon.
It's been a much, much better introduction for the E23 than its predecessor.
Rosberg leaves the Mercedes garage and the revving Red Bull below us also joins the track in Kvyat's hands.
"Come on @RGrosjean, it must be time for an afternoon race simulation? Let's see what you've got."
That's the same bracket as Kvyat (on winter hards) and Sainz (not sure on tyres but will run to the window next time).
Sainz, by the way, is on softs.
Sainz also pits in the Toro Rosso.
Rosberg rejoined immediately in the Merc.
Kvyat's back in now in the Red Bull. Engine's off as well.
Grosjean's times have fallen away properly now, that last lap was a 1m36s. Rosberg completes his latest drive-through.
Looks as though Rosberg's last visit to the pits ended with him in the garage.
Grosjean is immediately into the 1m31s on his mediums. Bottas has managed his soft tyres for 13 laps and counting.
Nasr uses his to set his first timed lap of the day, a 1m31.906s.
@JeffBurton: "Hoping Alonso is ok."
@GrahamRahal: "Hoping @alo_oficial is ok, he’s the man. Tough go for McLaren to start this year off."
We'll let you know if it's a problem or planned stop.
Their respective last laps were: Sainz, 1m30.4s; Nasr, 1m28.804s; Grosjean, 1m31.124s.
Nasr's also back in, but from the noise we can hear, seems as though he's continued as well.
Nasr continues to flirt with the pitlane.
"Today at 12:35 CET, while testing at the Circuit de Catalunya (Barcelona), during the fourth and final day of the current test, Fernando Alonso's McLaren-Honda car left the track at Turn Three, causing the right-hand side of his car to strike the wall.
"Fernando was driven to the circuit's medical centre where the circuit's doctors gave him first aid.
"He was conscious and spoke with the doctors.
"However, as per usual procedure in such circumstances, he was then airlifted to hospital where he is undergoing precautionary checks.
"We will issue a further update in due course."
Nasr's latest effort to improve ends in a 1m26.6s. Not quite.
Kvyat's last lap was a cool-down attempt and we forgot to run to the window because BEN ANDERSON was busy bring us cups of water. What a doll.
"Nico completed his instal lap following some lunchtime checks and changes and is now heading out for his first run proper."
We're debating with a Spanish colleague whether or not it has completely fried itself on the inside. Whatever it is, it isn't pretty.
We don't know that for certain but a very quick pan of the CCTV camera on the screens in the media centre made it look like there was something odd on the racing line and then leading to Hulkenberg's stricken car.
That was the race in which Jenson Button famously charged from last to first to claim a dramatic victory, cracking Sebastian Vettel and causing the champion to spin on the final lap.
It was a sensational race, in which Button made contact with Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and then-McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Here's what some of you had to say:
@Lewis44_Hulk27: "The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix!!! #AutosportF1 @autosport @autosportlive"
@lloydeh_B: "#autosportF1 has got to be that race where we saw vettel crack and button take that amazing win..."
@Sam_427: "China 2012, the battle for second was intense. I'm sure Canada 2011 is up there also. #AutosportF1 @autosportlive"
@DGrabko: "@autosport #autosportF1 2011 Canadian GP Button's amazing victory passing Vettel on the last lap."
@matbetteridge: "@autosport Canada 2011 by a mile, variable weather, safety cars, crashes, great overtakes, amazing Button performance and 4 hours long!"
@Stuart_Rowland: "@autosport Canada 2011. 6 pitstops. Plumb last with 20 laps to go. Takes the lead on [final] lap. Do races get any better? #autosportF1"
Sainz and Rosberg are swiftly out.
His response: "Just my luck!"
Kvyat's also on track.
Alonso's departure after his crash prompted an exodus of fans.
The young Russian goes top on a 1m24.941s.
You have to assume that's on the soft tyre. We'll confirm next time round.
We've got three cars on track: Bottas (constant 1m30s); Rosberg (1m27s) and Sainz (1m31s).
Slightly busier track now as Kvyat rejoins having stopped, and he sets a personal-best first sector.
Could be Nasr.
The Toro Rosso is stopped at Turn 3 just out of sight of our CCTV at Turn 2.
That's where Alonso went off earlier.
"Nico's car has been stopped by a power unit issue which we will investigate back at the factory."
So that's Force India's week done.
* Kvyat uses soft tyres to go quickest on a 1m24.941s
* Nasr and Grosjean also improve on the soft and run second and third
* No sign of McLaren-Honda, with Button yet to take over driving duties following Alonso's crash that led to the Spaniard being airlifted to hospital
* Hulkenberg causes the afternoon session's first red flag when the Force India suffers a power unit failure
* Sainz's off causes another stoppage
* Rosberg (95) and Bottas (94) lead the lap count
Anderson adds: "Button's not expected to be out today. It's not looking likely."
Laps completed so far:
Rosberg 95
Bottas 94
Sainz 88
Grosjean 88
Vettel 69
Kvyat 63
Hulkenberg 36
Nasr 30
Alonso 20
"That’s the end of our programme here at the first Barcelona test. Thank you for all your messages of support for Fernando."
It was hard to tell the extent of damage under the sheet, bar when the wind blew the cover off the front a little and revealed some nose mangling...
...but the amount of bodywork, looking like both front and rear wing components, being unloaded from the pick-up truck that followed the car in was pretty revealing.
Sainz had a quick trip to the medical centre it seems but hopped out of the course car under his own steam and seems fine.
Great lap from Grosjean, only 0.3s shy of where Maldonado was yesterday on the red-walled Pirellis.
No truck of debris trailing this one in, just a mechanical failure.
And Bottas was back on the pitwall having a cup of tea (maybe?) long before the car reappeared.
He's gone purple in sector one.
In any case, he slows on the main straight and lets the Red Bull go by.
He also spies "a group of three Ferrari personnel gathered at the hairpin to take pictures of the cars, can't beat a bit of pre-season reconnaissance!"
The team joked before that run that he needed to try harder. We agree. We want to see a 1m23s effort before the end of the day.
Back to Rosberg and Bottas we reckon...
We suspect it is the Red Bull.
Winding down now, just under an hour to go. It's been a busy week. If anyone fancies bringing AUTOSPORT Live a Twix in celebration, feel free. Just above the Red Bull garage. Purple shirt, white Macbook. Thanks.
* Grosjean leads by almost 0.9s with the fastest time of the test, set on super-soft tyres
* Alonso crashes at Turn 3 but escapes injury, although McLaren-Honda is forced to end its test early
* Sainz shunts on the outside of the same corner
* Bottas causes a red flag but rejoins in his Williams, which has logged 108 laps
* Rosberg remains the busiest driver on 114
Bottas is nearing Rosberg's day-best tally with every passing lap.
At the start of the session, the Lotus pitboard was counting down from L65 while the Williams version was counting up. But the latter has switched along the way and is now counting down in what looks like the final stint of a drawn-out two-stop softs/hards/hards race to us.
It's almost as if there's an ongoing rivalry. There are plenty of esteemed people in our vicinity. And they have very good banter. It's been a test highlight.
Nasr and Bottas are the only two that remain on track.
Grosjean's back in.
He's on soft tyres, and carries his performance through to the end – improving to fifth on a 1m25.345s.
He sets a personal-best middle sector and then is purple in the final third of the lap.
He stays second but his laptime is now 1m24.321s. If that's on the mediums, it's effectively 1.8s faster than Grosjean's Lotus on super-softs.
But you'd have thought it might do something else today. Just over 15 minutes remaining for it to do so.
It's been a tough few days for that team reliability-wise.
Here's team boss Franz Tost's verdict on it:
"We are still going through the data to understand the cause, so it’s a bit early to conclude; however, it is fair to say that the winds have been extremely high and gusting today, and we have seen a few other cars have offs as well."
Rosberg 129
Bottas 127
Grosjean 111
Kvyat 102
Sainz 88
Vettel 74
Nasr 73
Hulkenberg 36
Alonso 20
For now, we'll sign off by leaving you with our report from the final day of action, as Mercedes gave everybody something to think about:
We'll see you again just before 8am on Thursday for coverage from the final pre-season test before everyone heads to Australia for the first GP of the season.