2012 JEREZ TEST SESSION, 2 DAY, MICHAEL SCHUMACHER FASTEST!!!

Schumacher inspired by Raikkonen set fastest time!!!

Michael Schumacher set the fastest time on the second day of the first test in Jerez. Schumacher's morning time of 1:18.561 went unbeaten as Mercedes continued using its W02 to analyse the new Pirelli tyres. His time came during a short run on soft tyres.

Mark Webber led the way for the 2012 cars.Webber's time also came in the morning as much of the paddock chose to focus on longer runs in the afternoon.The Australian's 1m19.184s would remain the fastest time anyone has set in one of the new cars brought to Spain this week.

Pos     Driver              Team          Time       Gap   Laps
 1.  Michael Schumacher   Mercedes       1:18.561           132
 2.  Mark Webber          Red Bull       1:19.184  + 0.623   97
 3.  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso     1:19.587  + 1.026  100
 4.  Jules Bianchi        Force India    1:20.221  + 1.660   46
 5.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus          1:20.239  + 1.678  117
 6.  Paul di Resta        Force India    1:20.272  + 1.711   69
 7.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari        1:20.454  + 1.893   95
 8.  Jenson Button        McLaren        1:20.688  + 2.127   85
 9.  Sergio Perez         Sauber         1:20.711  + 2.150   68
10.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams       1:21.197  + 2.636   97
11.  Heikki Kovalainen    Caterham       1:21.518  + 2.957  139
12.  Pedro de la Rosa     HRT            1:22.128  + 3.567   64

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2012 JEREZ TEST SESSION: DAY 1, KIMI RAIKKONEN FASTEST!!!

 Iceman is back!!!

Kimi Raikkonen marked his official Formula One return with the fastest time of the first day of pre-season testing at Jerez. The 2007 world champion went fastest straight out the blocks and was never displaced, as four fast stints in the morning allowed him to get down to a 1m19.670s., faster than any testing laps at the Spanish track throughout 2011.It was also faster than anyone else would manage all day, particularly with the afternoon session proving slower than the morning.

Force India's Paul di Resta came closest to displacing Raikkonen at the top of the timesheets, missing out by just over one tenth of a second. A successful day was boosted by the fact the Scot was able to complete over 100 laps.

As always, the headlines times should not be taken as a simple reflection of who’s quickest and who’s slowest. For example, HRT (running last year’s car) were only 5% slower than the fastest time, well below the 7-8% range typically seen in last year’s races.With nine new cars in action on the first day of the test some teams had comparatively quiet days. 

Mark Webber got the year off to a slow start for defending champions Red Bull. He was unable to run during the first few hours of the session as fog at the track delayed the arrival of parts for the new RB8.Heikki Kovalainen logged 28 laps in the new Caterham CT01 but his day’s running came to an end when the car’s starter developed a fault. 

Another driver whose test ended early was Daniel Ricciardo. A drop in oil pressure on his Toro Rosso STR7 caused him to pull over with just over half hour remaining, causing the first red flag of the day.“We had a very productive morning, doing over 40 laps and we made good progress with our programme,” said Ricciardo.“Then in the afternoon, we did a couple of longer runs, but had to cut it short, although we only lost an hour. I was using the medium tyre on that last run, having used hard tyres for the rest of the day.” 

Meanwhile Kamui Kobayashi, who had shaken down the Sauber C31 yesterday, did over 100 laps in the new car today. But he hit trouble with less than half an hour left in the session, bringing the red flags out a second time.A brief restart gave Pedro de la Rosa time to post the final improvement of the day in last year’s HRT, before the chequered flag brought the first official test day of 2012 to an end.

Pos     Driver                Team                Time       Gap    Laps
 1.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault          1:19.670            73
 2.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes   1:19.772  + 0.102  101
 3.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes               1:20.219  + 0.549   56
 4.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault       1:20.496  + 0.826   53
 5.  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1:20.694  + 1.024   57
 6.  Michael Schumacher   Mercedes               1:20.794  + 1.124   41
 7.  Kamui Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari         1:21.353  + 1.683  106
 8.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes       1:21.530  + 1.860   60
 9.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari                1:22.815  + 3.145   69
10.  Heikki Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault       1:23.178  + 3.508   28
11.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Renault       1:23.371  + 3.701   25
11.  Pedro de la Rosa     HRT-Cosworth           1:23.676  + 4.006   44

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2012 JEREZ: TEST SCHEDULE

Action starts at Jerez, Formula 1 Test Session, 7-10 February

  Team       Car      Tuesday, 7 Feb      Wednesday, 8 Feb  Thurday, 9 Feb      Friday, 10 Feb
RED BULL     RB8      Mark Webber         Mark Webber       Sebastian Vettel    Sebastian Vettel
McLAREN      MP4-27   Jenson Button       Jenson Button     Luis Hamilton       Luis Hamilton
FERRARI      F2012    Felipe Massa        Felipe Massa      Fernando Alonso     Fernando Alonso
*MERCEDES GP W02      Rosberg/Schumacher  M.Schumacher      N. Rosberg              /
LOTUS        E20      Kimi Raikkonen      Kimi Raikkonen    Romain Grosjean     Romain Grosjean
FORCE INDIA  VJM05    Paul di Resta       Paul di Resta     Nico Hulkenberg     Nico Hulkenberg
SAUBER       C31      Kamiu Kobayashi     Sergio Peres      Sergio Perez        Kamui Kobayashi
TORO ROSSO   STR7     Daniel Ricciardo    Daniel Ricciardo  Jean-Eric Vergne    Jean-Eric Vergne
WILLIAMS     FW34     Pastor Maldonado    Pastor Maldonado  Bruno Senna         Bruno Senna
CATERHAM     CT01     Heikki Kovalainen   Heikki Kovalainen Giedo van der Garde Jarno Trulli
*HRT         F111     Pedro de la Rosa    Pedro de la Rosa        TBC              TBC
MARUSSIA     will miss the first test session of the year

* 2011 car

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2012 CAR LAUNCHES: SAUBER C31

Sauber was first F1 team to launch its 2012 car in Jerez on Monday.Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez unveiled the car to the media, with the C31 featuring another 'stepped' nose. The other most noticeable difference from the C30 are at the rear, with a redesigned gearbox allowing for more tightly packaged bodywork and a reconfigured floor.

Team principal Peter Sauber said:
"We're aiming to start the new season as strongly as we did in 2011, but then also to maintain this level of performance throughout the year. Our goal is to finish regularly in the points so as to put ourselves in a significantly better position in the World Championship."

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2012 CAR LAUNCHES: RED BULL REVEALED RB8

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2012 CAR LAUNCHES: LOTUS E20

The Enstone based team chose to launch the machine in an online broadcast from its factory. It will be given some demonstration runs at Jerez tomorrow ahead of the start of winter testing on Tuesday.

Team boss Eric Boullier said:
"It's true that the team's reputation is good in terms of innovation and we brought through the last years some nice ones, and let's say some more delicate ones, but definitely we have some this year.The E20 keeps the traditional black and gold colours used by the original Lotus F1 team in the 1970s and 80s, and features prominent new sponsorship from Unilever brands Rexona and Clear."

"My biggest hope is obviously to bring this positivity back again and to make sure this team is again at the front of the grid and for many years and a long time. Also, to have all the people in Enstone enjoying life here and enjoying their passion for motor racing and F1. The fear is that we can have anything wrong which you cannot expect or handle and which would slow down this process."

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2012 CAR LAUNCH: SAHARA FORCE INDIA VJM05

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2012 CAR LAUNCH: FERRARI REVEALED AGGRESSIVE F2012

Ferrari has launched its new car, The F2012 via an online presentation from its base in Maranello. Ferrari released following statement.

"The main changes when compared to 2011 concern the height of the front section of the chassis, the position of the exhaust pipes and the mapping for the electronic engine management. Practically every area of the car has been fundamentally revised, starting with the suspension layout: both the front and rear feature pull-rods, aimed at favouring aerodynamic performance and lowering the centre of gravity. The front wing is derived from the one introduced on the 150° Italia in the final part of its racing life and has been evolved from there. Further evolutions are planned in this area for the opening races of the season."

"The nose has a step in it that is not aesthetically pleasing: with the requirement from the regulations to lower the front part, this was a way of raising the bottom part of the chassis as much as possible for aerodynamic reasons. The sides have been redesigned, through modifications to the side impact structures, the repositioning of the radiators and revisions to all aerodynamic elements. The lower part of the rear of the car is much narrower and more tapered, a feature achieved partly through a new gearbox casing and a relocation of some mechanical components. In recent years, the area of exhausts has been crucial in terms of car performance and much effort was expended on this front, based on changes to the regulations introduced this year. The rear wing is conceptually similar to the one used in 2011, but every detail of it has been revised and it is now more efficient."4

"Naturally, it is still fitted with DRS (a drag reduction system,) which is operated hydraulically. The front and rear air intakes for the brakes have been redesigned and work was carried out in collaboration with Brembo to optimise the braking system."

Heavy snow in Maranello forced the team to cancel their launch ceremony and scrap plans for a shakedown run on their Fiorano circuit.

 Will Ferrari have great year with F2012?!?

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