Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

Formula One: Barcelona Testing Recap

The final pre-season test was the only one at a track on the 2010 F1 calendar. The Circuit de Catalunya plays host to the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth stop of the F1 circus in 2010, and the final stop of preseason testing. Four group tests have brought us closer to a picture of how the 2010 Formula One World Championship will shape up. The conditions were mostly dry which gave teams ample opportunity to get their cars fine tuned for the first race of the season at Bahrain. So who was fastest in the final test of the year and who looks strong for the season? Times and analysis after the jump.

Day 1 (February 25)

A series of short runs over the course of the day’s running, it was Red Bull’s Mark Webber that topped the time charts on the first day of the final test. The RB6 was also consistent on its long runs and overall was the best car on track. The Williams of Nico Hulkenberg pipped Rosberg’s Mercedes late in the going on a mock qualifying run. Ferrari was the first of the frontrunners to experience a major issue. They had an electrical problem which stopped them on track and ruined most of their morning. That was still better than Virgin F1. Lucas di Grassi backed the car into the wall and missed most of the day while spare parts were flown in.

  1. Mark Webber – Red Bull-Renault – 1:21.487
  2. Nico Hulkenberg – Williams-Cosworth – 1:22.407
  3. Nico Rosberg – Mercedes – 1:22.514
  4. Pedro de la Rosa – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:23.144
  5. Jenson Button – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:23.452
  6. Vitantonio Liuzzi – Force India-Mercedes – 1:24.064
  7. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari – 1:24.170
  8. Vitaly Petrov – Renault – 1:24.173
  9. Jaime Alguersuari – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:24.869
  10. Lucas di Grassi – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:27.057
  11. Fairuz Fauzy – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:28.002

Day 2 (February 26)

On the power of a mock-qualifying run after the lunch break, Nico Hulkenberg brought Williams to the top of the time sheets. The other teams spent their morning on short runs while focusing long runs in the afternoon. That was the strategy for Fernando Alonso who was trying new parts for the F10 during the day. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton focused solely on long-run simulations during the day with the seven-time champ looking particularly strong while testing out new components. Meanwhile, it was Vettel who experienced a mechanical failure during a race distance run which slowed progress for the expected 2010 world champ.

  1. Nico Hulkenberg – Williams-Cosworth – 1:20.614
  2. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari – 1:20.637
  3. Pedro de la Rosa – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:20.973
  4. Vitantonio Liuzzi – Force India-Mercedes – 1:21.056
  5. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull-Renault – 1:21.258
  6. Jaime Alguersuari – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:21.571
  7. Michael Schumacher – Mercedes – 1:21.689
  8. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:22.152
  9. Robert Kubica – Renault – 1:24.912
  10. Jarno Trulli – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:25.524
  11. Timo Glock – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:25.942

Day 3 (February 27th)

For the first time this test, but not the first time during winter testing, there was rain that hampered running at the Circuit de Catalunya. There was rain on and off from about 11:00 on but that didn’t slow Mercedes GP #2 driver Nico Rosberg who set the fastest time of the day. Three of the front-running teams (Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes) ran simulated races today. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull spent most of the day in the garage while the team changed oil pumps on the RB6. That was better than the Virgin GP who spent most of the day in the garage with Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson because of a fuel leak.

  1. Nico Rosberg – Mercedes – 1:20.686
  2. Sebastien Buemi – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:21.413
  3. Jenson Button – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:21.450
  4. Rubens Barrichello – Williams-Cosworth – 1:21.975
  5. Felipe Massa – Ferrari – 1:22.344
  6. Vitaly Petrov – Renault – 1:22.523
  7. Adrian Sutil – Force India-Mercedes – 1:22.606
  8. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull-Renault – 1:23.123
  9. Jarno Trulli – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:25.059
  10. Kamui Kobayashi – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:26.216
  11. Timo Glock -Virgin-Cosworth – 1:26.305

Day 4 (February 28)

With most teams running a series of mock qualifying attempts, the final day of group testing before the start of the 2010 F1 season might have provided us with the clearest picture so far of the upcoming season. Lewis Hamilton showed that McLaren is continuing its improvement since the start of the 2009 season with the fastest time of the week. Mark Webber and Felipe Massa were less than a tenth of a second behind. Michael Schumacher and Mercedes GP was the slowest of the Big Four, trailing Mercedes customer Force India. That being said, the top nine drivers were all within half-a-second of Hamilton’s best time.

  1. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:20.472
  2. Mark Webber – Red Bull-Renault – 1:20.496
  3. Felipe Massa – Ferrari – 1:20.539
  4. Adrian Sutil – Force India-Mercedes – 1:20.667
  5. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull-Renault – 1:20.667
  6. Michael Schumacher – Mercedes – 1:20.745
  7. Rubens Barrichello – Williams-Cosworth – 1:20.870
  8. Kamui Kobayashi – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:20.911
  9. Sebastien Buemi – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:22.135
  10. Robert Kubica – Renault – 1:23.175
  11. Heikki Kovalainen – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:25.251
  12. Lucas di Grassi – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:26.160

After a month’s worth of testing that covered over 56,000 KM, we have a slightly clearer idea of who will contend for the crown in 2010. It looks like the favourites will be McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari. If Mercedes can get a handle on their apparent weight distribution issues, they could join the top teams for a run at the title for the second year running. The second tier would appear to be Sauber, Force India, and Williams. Toro Rosso could be in with that second tier but appears to somewhere between mid-pack and the bottom end. That slow group is Renault and the new teams of Lotus and Virgin. I would include Campos Meta, USF1, and Stefan GP with that bottom group seeing as they haven’t hit the track but no one knows if any of them will make it to the grid this season.

Best Times of the Week

  1. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:20. 472
  2. Mark Webber – Red Bull-Renault – 1:20.496
  3. Felipe Massa – Ferrari – 1:20.539
  4. Nico Hulkenberg – Williams-Cosworth – 1:20.614
  5. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari – 1:20.637
  6. Adrian Sutil – Force India-Mercedes – 1:20.667
  7. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull-Renault – 1:20.667
  8. Nico Rosberg – Mercedes – 1:20.686
  9. Michael Schumacher – Mercedes – 1:20.745
  10. Rubens Barrichello – Williams-Cosworth – 1:20.870
  11. Kamui Kobayashi – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:20.911
  12. Pedro de la Rosa – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:20.973
  13. Vitantonio Liuzzi – Force India-Mercedes – 1:21.056
  14. Sebastien Buemi – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:21.413
  15. Jenson Button – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:21.450
  16. Jaime Alguersuari –  Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:21.571
  17. Vitaly Petrov – Renault – 1:22.523
  18. Robert Kubica – Renault – 1:23.175
  19. Jarno Trulli – Lotus-Cosworth -1:25.059
  20. Heikki Kovalainen – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:25.251
  21. Timo Glock – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:25.942
  22. Lucas di Grassi – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:26.160
  23. Fairuz Fauzy – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:28.002

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