Schumi testing the F2007 w/o TC next week!

[iceman1]

Heidfeld was in the F1.08 and Asmer in the F1.O7B. Heidfeld was as well conducting aero work and worked on the suspension settings, this why his(Heidfeild')times is slower

[color]

Heidfeld was in the F1.08 and Asmer in the F1.O7B. Heidfeld was as well conducting aero work and worked on the suspension settings, this why his(Heidfeild')times is slower

ok, correction
(from BMW SAUBER website):
"On Wednesday, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld continued the BMW Sauber F1 Team's testing programme in Valencia. While Robert was driving the new BMW Sauber F1.08, Nick took to the track in the F1.07B.

Robert drove the team's 2008 challenger, the BMW Sauber F1.08. He completed 121 laps (485 kilometres) and set a personal fastest lap time of 1:13.230 minutes. Nick covered a total mileage of 204 kilometres (51 laps) at the wheel of the F1.07B. His personal fastest lap time was clocked in 1:12.976 minutes.

Nick had a limited programme and concentrated on systems settings.
Robert was at the wheel of the F1.08 working on the mechanical and aerodynamic set-up of the car. In addition, he did numerous systems checks and tested different suspension parts. Both cars ran reliably all day.

Tomorrow, Robert will continue driving the F1.08 while Nick will again be at the wheel of the F1.07B."

This explains a little bit.
But Heidfelds comments about 2008 car are still very interesting...

[AzShadow]

Heikki was the fastest today! Awesome. Of course it was a qualifying lap, but still it was way better than the other quali laps so far.

As for BMW, so is this when they're starting to fall? It'd be interesting to see if they can overcome their problems as many teams are doing pretty well at the moment.

[Lilellatho]

I just noticed that the final times of the day with the actual number of laps run by each driver haven't been posted yet.So here goes

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:11.000 92 *
2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:11.662 81 *
3. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:11.850 108 *
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:12.076 115 *
5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:12.255 93
6. Alonso Renault (B) 1:12.360 111 *
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:12.493 117 *
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:12.594 87 *
9. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:12.976 51 *
10. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:13.015 63
11. Glock Toyota (B) 1:13.129 95 *
12. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:13.230 121
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:13.307 118
14. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:13.409 98
15. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:13.547 96 *
16. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:14.588 36 *
17. Kogure Honda (B) 1:16.954 40

* 2008 car

Sourcehttp://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64821

So Kovi apparently did a Q2-type quali lap. From what I've read from the team reports and other sites, Ferrari continued working on long runs but Massa set his best time on a 9 lap run.

McLaren also worked on long runs, testing the durability of the gearbox and stuff but Kovi said he wanted to know what the car felt like with low fuel, and he obviously did well.

Wow, Williams is looking quite well and I've just read that they did a full race simulation with Nico and they are satisfied with the results. Keep it up, guys

Renault is also up there but I'm most surprised at the pace of the BMW's. So the 07 car is more balanced and faster than the 08 car. I had good feelings when I first saw the car bu now I don't really know. Hell, even Heidfeld is worried:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64816

But what is most suprising is the reliability of these cars, especially those in front. So many laps for Ferrari and Macca and no technical problems? Wow, that's really something.

[iceman1]

The BMW Sauber continues to test the radical front nose they used for the very first time at Valencia. The horn-like flaps were fitted to Heidfeld's F1.08 for the first time yesterday and this morning the flaps were seen again as Robert Kubica drove out of the garage.



It is crucial to know that neither of these elements tend to create downforce but instead help to improve aerodynamic efficiency of the car as a whole.

[AzShadow]

But what is most suprising is the reliability of these cars, especially those in front. So many laps for Ferrari and Macca and no technical problems? Wow, that's really something.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 0222.shtml

It says that Massa had one today. Massa has caused other red flags too during the winter testing, but I'm not sure if they were due to technical problems.

McLaren has definitely been running fine keeping their form from 2007 which is just amazing considering how many poor years they had with all the problems.

[raikks]

It is crucial to know that neither of these elements tend to create
downforce but instead help to improve aerodynamic efficiency of
the car as a whole.

As you can see these new horn-flaps are symmetric to the
roll-hoops and they should work together. Perhaps they direct the
airflow to the roll-hoops and so, give a better balance to the car.
But it looks like the CFD simulation is not working the same as it
does on track. Maybe BMW knows something, but they should try
different solutions.

[WDC]

that BMW looks awsome! its starwars like... lol!
the flaps on the role hoop are designed to guide the air, in a neater, way towards the rear wing. which then, as a results, the rear wing is able to ue the air more efficiently and so downforce is enhanced. so the flaps dont generate the downforce but they do assist in gaining it.
thats my how i see it.
not sure how effectie the nose flaps would be though, maybe they guide the air in a similar way to those things on the side of the sidepods, helping the air find its way into the vents and over the top of the body of the car.
whatever the purpose, they look great, really great!

[iceman1]

Webber happy with first taste of RB4

After David Coulthard had two days in the cockpit of the new Red Bull car (one at Jerez last week and another in Valencia), yesterday it was Mark Webber's turn to try RB4 for the first time.

After making adjustments to his seat and driving position, Webber got down to business and the car ran almost faultlessly all day. The Australian got acclimatised to what will be his home for this year's eighteen races and, apart from the usual development work, he also did some aero testing with generally positive results.

"I'm happy with the new car," Webber said. "The first day has been encouraging and, so far, it seems to be a big step forward from last year in terms of reliability and speed, which is great. Now we need to work with what we've got and get it as fast as possible before Melbourne. We've got a big four weeks coming up."

Button: "New car is worse than RA107"
After get his first tast of the new Honda RA108, Jenson Button has said that new car is not a big improvement respect last year one: "car doesn't have any grip, traction is very poor at the exit of the slow corners and at high speed ones it feels strange. We need to change alot of it, they said me the new parts will come at the next test, but i'm unsure that will make enough difference to be atleast at the top of the midfield".

1. K. Räikkönen Ferrari F2008 1:11.189 33
2. Kovalainen Mclaren 1:11:206 35
3. F. Massa Ferrari F2008 1:11.831 +0.642 45
4. K. Nakajima Williams FW30 1:11.971 +0.782 45 pit
5. R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1.08 1:12.095 +0.906 69 pit
6. S. Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:12.526 +1.337 47 pit
7. N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.07B 1:12.600 +1.411 25 pit
8. T. Glock Toyota TF108 1:12.705 +1.516 9 pit
9. L. Hamilton McLaren MP4-23 1:12.847 +1.658 36
10. G. Fisichella Force India F8-VII 1:12.949 +1.760 57 pit
11. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB4 1:13.133 +1.944 15 pit
12. J. Trulli Toyota TF108 1:13.201 +2.012 47 pit
13. S. Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:13.246 +2.057 45 pit
14. N. Piquet Jr. Renault R28 1:13.269 +2.080 48
15. N. Hülkenberg Williams FW29B 1:13.929 +2.740 40 pit
16. J. Button Honda RA108 1:13.993 +2.804 30 pit
17. T. Kogure Honda RA107 1:15.703 +4.514 25 pit

[Lilellatho]

Final times of today:

1 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 1:11.189 88
2 Heikki Kovalainen n FIN McLaren 1:11.206 + 0.017 89
3 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari 1:11.831 + 0.642 96
4 Kazuki Nakajima JAP Williams 1:11.971 + 0.782 116
5 Lewis Hamilton ENG McLaren 1:11.994 + 0.805 84
6 Robert Kubica POL BMW Sauber 1:12.095 + 0.906 86
7 Jarno Trulli ITA Toyota 1:12.109 + 0.920 96
8 Sebastian Vettel DUI Toro Rosso 1:12.526 + 1.337 113
9 Nick Heidfeld Nick Heidfeld DUI BMW Sauber 1:12.600 + 1.411 39
10 Timo Glock Timo Glock DUI Toyota 1:12.705 + 1.516 68
11 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Force India 1:12.949 + 1.760 93
12 Nelson Piquet Jr. . BRA Renault 1:12.973 + 1.784 89
13 Mark Webber AUS Red Bull Racing 1:13.133 + 1.944 15
14 Sebastien Bourdais FRA Toro Rosso 1:13.191 + 2.002 + 77
15 Nico Hulkenberg DUI Williams 1:13.306 + 2.117 74
16 Jenson Button ENG Honda 1:13.716 + 2.527 60
17 Takashi Kogure JAP Honda 1:15.703 + 4.514 25

Source: http://www.f1today.nl/

[raikks]

Well, Honda's gonna have a tough year again. It looks like they're
slower even than Force India and perhaps S.Aguri. Renault seems
to struggle too, and also BMW. Williams are fast, that is pretty
obvious, and I'm not really sure about Red Bulls and Toyotas, but
they're in the middle of the field.

I hope for more pace for McLaren, but at least, their cars are reliable.

@Beer

[AzShadow]

2 Finns on top. Now I just hope to see these kind of race results too...

From what it looks like at the moment, McLaren and Ferrari are on top and then comes Williams. After that it's hard to tell. Renault hasn't showed anything spectacular yet, but it would be expected to see them in the top 4. Honda and BMW are struggling a lot and BMW's hopes for a race win this season might have to be buried. Last year they were on the pace very early and it marked a good season for them back then.

As for the rest of the teams, no idea really. I'd expect Red Bull and Toyota to be in the middle field too, but I think Williams has been the biggest winner so far.

[Zack]

Final times of today:
11 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Force India 1:12.949 + 1.760 93

not bad ...even with empty tank :|

[Supermega1]

Webber happy with first taste of RB4

After David Coulthard had two days in the cockpit of the new Red Bull car (one at Jerez last week and another in Valencia), yesterday it was Mark Webber's turn to try RB4 for the first time.

After making adjustments to his seat and driving position, Webber got down to business and the car ran almost faultlessly all day. The Australian got acclimatised to what will be his home for this year's eighteen races and, apart from the usual development work, he also did some aero testing with generally positive results.

"I'm happy with the new car," Webber said. "The first day has been encouraging and, so far, it seems to be a big step forward from last year in terms of reliability and speed, which is great. Now we need to work with what we've got and get it as fast as possible before Melbourne. We've got a big four weeks coming up."

Button: "New car is worse than RA107"
After get his first tast of the new Honda RA108, Jenson Button has said that new car is not a big improvement respect last year one: "car doesn't have any grip, traction is very poor at the exit of the slow corners and at high speed ones it feels strange. We need to change alot of it, they said me the new parts will come at the next test, but i'm unsure that will make enough difference to be atleast at the top of the midfield".

[iceman1]

First day for Nelsinho in R28, The ING Renault F1 Team completed its final day of work in Valencia today. The team was again running the new car, the R28, as preparations continue ahead of the new season. Nelson Piquet Jr. was at the wheel of the R28-01, taking over driving duties from Fernando Alonso.

Nelson Piquet Jr: "I think it was a good day and it was important for me to get back in the car. I have not raced in Formula 1 yet, so it's always beneficial to have time in the car. A new car always needs lots of set-up work and we continued with that today, trying different approaches to improve the balance of the car. I think there is a lot of promise and I'm looking forward to continuing working with the team next week in Barcelona."

source