F1 News ....

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Pos.  Driver                                          Car          Best Time  Laps
1. Jenson Button            McLaren       MP4-25    1:18.871    108
2. Robert Kubica            Renault        R30         1:19.114    117
3. Kamui Kobayashi        Sauber         C29         1:19.188    117
4. Tonio Liuzzi               Force India   VJM03      1:19.650     80
5. Nico Rosberg             Mercedes      W01        1:20.061    130
6. Fernando Alonso         Ferrari          F10        1:20.436    137
7. Jaime Alguersuari       Toro Rosso   STR5       1:21.053    139
8. Mark Webber              Red Bull       RB6        1:21.194     87
9. Nico Hulkenberg         Williams       FW32      1:21.919   137
10. Timo Glock              Virgin            VR-01     1:22.433    28
11. Jarno Trulli              Lotus            T127       1:23.470   141

The next and final test will be on the 25-28Feb at Bacelona Spain.

[Dr. Sujit]

This happened when Raikkonen follow McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen in the pit lane. McLaren'sKovalainen came out with fuel hose and spill over the fuel during 2009 Brazilian GP
Massa did this too during the first Singapore GP

Refueling during races is very dangerous

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Webber fastest at sunny Circuit de Catalunya
25 February 2010 / Photos


On the first day of what will be the final week of testing ahead of the 2010 Formula 1 season, Mark Webber completed the fastest lap at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. The Red Bull driver ended Thursday ahead of Williams' Nico H?lkenberg and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

The Formula 1 teams travelled to the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, for what will be the final four days of testing ahead of the opening race of the season, which begins in Bahrain on 14 March; until then, though, all eyes remain firmly fixed on Spain.

The first day of testing took place in perfect weather conditions, with pleasant temperatures and only a very small threat of rain in the afternoon which soon faded, which was more than welcome after two weeks of testing in Jerez which were washed out for majority of the time.

Today's session was halted no less than six times by red flag periods. The first came just twenty minutes after the start of the action when Lotus F1 test driver Fairuz Fauzy stopped on the run to La Caixa corner. Other stoppages came as Fernando Alonso's Ferrari ground to a halt on the same part of the circuit and Red Bull's Mark Webber pulled over on the run to Turn 7. Rosberg's Mercedes reigning Champion Button's McLaren also stopped later in the day.

There will be much work for the mechanics at Virgin Racing tonight after Lucas di Grassi spun and crashed into the tyre barriers backwards at Campsa corner; the car was heavily damaged at the rear, making it impossible for the team to continue its day of testing following the accident just after 12:30 - the new team hopes to be back out on-track on Friday.

With testing set to resume on Friday, World Champion Button will hand over the McLaren over to team-mate Lewis Hamilton as Michael Schumacher returns at Mercedes with German compatriot Sebastian Vettel due to pilot the Red Bull.

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Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has responded immediately to Mark Webber's fast times on Thursday, by clocking a lap over 0.7 seconds faster than the Red Bull.

His best time of 1:20.738 is over a second faster than his nearest rival today, fellow Spaniard Jaime Alguersuri in the Toro Rosso. The Ferrari driver was clearly going after hot laps on low fuel and set his best time at the start of a five-lap run.

Bridgestone have brought a selection of medium, soft and super-soft tyres to the test, with press officer Andy Stobart revealing that the soft compound got the most use on the opening day. The circuit will offer faster and faster lap times as the test progresses, as the cars put more rubber down on the track.

Michael Schumacher has taken over from Nico Rosberg at Mercedes today and has immediately set a 1:25.800 - good enough for seventh overall. Other new drivers today include Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, fourth fastest , Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull, fifth fastest, Jarno Trulli at Lotus, tenth fastest, and Robert Kubica who has yet to set a time as Renault make some tweaks to the car after Thursday's running.

 ESPN EMEA Ltd.
 Feeds: ESPNF1 Staff

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Schumacher: McLaren looking very strong
28 February 2010


Michael Schumacher has no doubts that the McLaren team will be at least one to beat as the Formula 1 circus heads to Bahrain for the opening round of the 2010 season in a fortnight's time. The Mercedes driver rounded off testing in Barcelona sixth quickest and two and three quarter tenths down on Lewis Hamilton on Sunday. 

With McLaren having led the way on the final pre-season timesheets from Red Bull, Ferrari, Force India and Mercedes, Schumacher admitted that the leading Mercedes customer team currently appears to be rapid.

"They looked very strong today, no doubt," the German explained to the press, including GPUpdate.net, at the Circuit de Catalunya. "It depends on who is going to bring what to Bahrain - it's something we'll have to wait for to find out about. "We have some improvements coming for Bahrain but is it much when compared with what the others may or may not have? It's a puzzle which is difficult to read."
 
Noting that Mercedes is 'generally positive' over its performance , Schumacher recalled today's on-track 'battle' with Hamilton.

"It was fun," described the 7-time World Champion. "It was interesting to see whether overtaking was possible; obviously it wasn't possible, though, as we were in different stages of our runs and tyres (grip-wise), but at one point I just felt there was no point because I was harming my own situation a little bit - I basically gave way and let him do what he wanted to do so I could do what I wanted to do."

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Ferrari not expecting easy wins, says Massa
28 February 2010


Felipe Massa does not believe, as some say in the paddock at Barcelona, that Ferrari will arrive in Bahrain with a clear advantage in a fortnight's time. The Brazilian driver finished third on the timesheets, fractions slower than the best time, as pre-season testing came to a close on Sunday.

With the Maranello squad having led all days of the opening test in Valencia at the start of the month, it was McLaren who rounded off the pre-season running on top ahead of Red Bull and Ferrari.

"I'm satisfied with the whole of testing, not just Barcelona," Massa explained to reporters at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday. "We did what we wanted to do but it looks as though it will be a very tough and competitive championship."

Felipe added that there is no room for complacency, either within Ferrari or any other team. "We never expected to have an advantage, to go to the first race and win in an easy way - definitely not," he stressed. "We expect to have a competitive car, though, and I think we do - it's reliable but also consistent and that's how we want to start the season."
 
Adding that Ferrari were not attempting to be 'Champions of testing', Massa confirmed that his association with team-mate Fernando Alonso remains healthy. "My relationships are good with everybody," continued the Paulista, who last won a race at Interlagos in 2008.

"I've never had any problems with a team-mate; I'm 100 percent sure that I will never have a problem with Fernando as we work well together and that's what's important."

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Fake Red Bull exhaust outlets exposed
01 March 2010


The Red Bull Racing team looks to have pulled the wool over the eyes of its rivals during winter testing as it was revealed in Barcelona that stickers have been applied to the top of the rear bodywork in order to show fake exhaust outlets.

With the stick-on outlets most likely in place to distract other teams when studying the cars of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber out on-track, they were caught on camera at the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday by Sutton Images, the official photographic partner of GPUpdate.net.

The adhesive additions on the Renault-powered RB6 give the impression that exhausts exit the rear of the engine cover, whereas in reality the exits are on the rear floor of the car, as can be seen in the photo sequence above

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Tires issue.
New for 2010, the top ten qualifiers will be forced to start races on the more worn rubber with which they finished Saturday whereas those behind are free to make use of fresh tyres as the five red lights go out

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Are you ready for the new season?
I've seen some good signals. We were the team with the most laps and the lap times were good.

Did you check out the competition?
Sure! We're always watching the others, not just the final time, but also race simulation: for example Red Bull went out with tyre x and did this run, the tyre y and did that. The result is the there are many competitive teams: Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, maybe Williams. And we are in there for sure.

Your friend Schumacher said that he can't win Bahrain, but then corrects himself. What do you think?
He's strong he can win. But we too.

Schumi is one of the few drivers happy with less testing...
If I was 41 years old I would be too, but I'm 28 and I'm happy with testing. 
 
Is there something on other cars you would like to have on yours?
There are many details, but if I don't know the data from the wind tunnel I can't comment. Mercedes has a different nose, looking nice, the McLaren is strange... In the end it's important that it works .

The new teams are having problems: also on the track?
I hope they won't be a danger. There are 6-7 teams one second apart while those teams are 4 seconds behind. It's not good for the sport and not good for them: it's like two different series. They'll suffer. And we'll suffer too, when we have them in front of us during qualifying. 
 
Qualifying will be more important now? Is it true that you can't overtake anymore?
No, not much will change. If you're driving a car with all that petrol on board it will be harder on the tyres and the possibility of making mistakes is higher: and the one behind you will benefit.

Managing the tyres will be the technical key to the season?
It depends on the circuit: on some the wear is higher and changing the tyres can be important.

Consumption: what can the driver do?
There are things we can do to consume more or less fuel. If there are for example 15 laps left and you have more petrol on board than you need because there was traffic, there is a way to burn more.

You are a veteran of the team.
I've never heard that before...

Time goes by: as a veteran how much do you feel the team's wish to win? You can't go wrong.
It's a very important moment for us after a horrible year and difficult due to politics. We really want a good Championship. It was also a difficult moment for me with the accident. I'm concentrated, I'm ready 100%.

Don't you think that if one race goes wrong they'll say that you're not the old Felipe?
Someone might say that. I'm expecting that and I'm not worried. Not worried at all.

What has changed with Fernando Alonso?
We're talking Italian. We also argued in Italian!.

Everybody remembers that, at the N?rburgring, in 2007! But you promised it won't happen anymore...
We've got many things in common, the way of life, the mentality. That's also good for the team, which has the same mentality.

Did you see all the fans at the tests in Spain? Are they more passionate than in Brazil?
It was wonderful. But I'm sure that of there was a test in Italy, or in Brazil, and the price was right, there would be as many people.

After three months what does it mean to you being a father?
It's fantastic. I'm in love with Felipinho, every day my wife sends me photos of him via cell phone, her is today's! He's great, he looks at me and he smiles. He's got a good character and he let's me know what he wants. He's determined. And he has more hair than me.
 
Did this experience change you?
I have to work more. I have a son to feed now. But when I'm in the car I don't think: I won't go slower.

Sunday in Bahrain: will you be happy only if you win or considering how it went at the last race in 2009 it will be enough if you're close to the others?
The last race doesn't count anything. And I wasn't even there. This is a fresh start for me, for all. We're starting from scratch. I'll be happy if I'll have a good race and even happier if I win

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Sub two-second pit-stops on the cards
ESPNF1 Staff
March 7, 2010
 
Red Bull mechanics practice a pit stop in Barcelona last month ? Sutton Images Related LinksChampionship: Formula One Schedule Teams: Red Bull For those who believed pit stops had just about got as fast as they were going to get, this season could be a revelation.

With refuelling now banned and only tyres to worry about in the normal course of events, Williams admitted that sub three-second stops would be commonplace, although even quicker turnarounds were witnessed as teams practiced at the February tests. Several outfits have spent as much as ?500,000 on new lightweight equipment.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner told the Mirror that pit stops will in fact dip below two seconds in 2010, with the team's unofficial record currently standing at 1.8 seconds.

"We have done sub-two second stops," he said. "They are absolutely lightning. The guys have trained like hell over the winter. They have all lost weight and got fitter in the process. They have been training in the gym at 12.00 and 4.00pm every day since November.

"We've always been fast but now there's been a lot more of a scientific approach to the whole issue."

? ESPN EMEA Ltd.

[Stormy]

Holy...

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Holy...

The best of the decade ... 

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An interview with Michael Schumacher
09 March 2010


Just three days to go before the seven-time Formula 1 world champion will be back in action during an official Grand Prix session. Michael Schumacher scored a total of 91 victories in Formula 1 and this weekend the German will return after being away for three years.

Michael, this weekend will be your first race after three years. You have prepared yourself very carefully but on the other hand there was only a limited number of testdays allowed. Do you have the feeling your preparation was enough?
I think none of us drivers has, but that is just normal: give us 40 days, we want 80. You always have the feeling you could do more, and a lot of the test days have been strongly handicapped by the weather. It is valuable time you are losing, which would be very important for the development of the car. But all in all I am very happy with our preparation, as our focus was on reliability and internal processes. We worked very efficiently. I am looking very much forward to the start of the season now.

Everybody seems to expect nothing but the title from you. Aren't those expectations too high maybe?
No. I said it quite clear from the beginning: we do not have to - and probably will not - be in the position to win right from the start. It is important to be close and then use the long season to be at the top at the end. It is not the start which is important; it is the finish.
 
But then less testing is even worse, as you are known to squeeze out all possibilities in testing to improve the car.
Correct, but then the data are so much better quality-wise and you can analyse them on a much better ground nowadays. This helps a lot, it speeds up the development. And then, haven't we seen for example in 2005 that it is not all about testing? We probably did 100.000 km, and what did we achieve? For sure not a lot, if you look back at this year... Compared to this you can work much more purposefully nowadays. I strongly believe we can fight at the top.

How would you think your prospects are for this season?
The car has not been completely at the level of other teams' cars at the end of the tests, true, but the amount of fuel was massively influencing this impression. It seems we were driving more fuel than others most of the time and therefore we look quite good I would say. But than it is hard to judge who played all his cards yet. Our car also has not been at the final configuration - something we had deliberately wanted. We wanted to use the 2 weeks development time between the last test and the race in Bahrain.

There is no refuelling allowed anymore during the races, how will you have to adjust to this?
Saving tyres will be an important factor. You will have less sets of tyres available than last year which makes it harder to do what you need to do for setting up the car perfectly. But driving is always about adapting to new circumstance, and this is one of my strong points. I would say the biggest difference are the tyres. You will have to develop a good feeling for them.

Everybody wants to beat you, are you ready for fighting for the title?
Absolutely, yes. This is what I am here for, and I am confident we can play a role in this fight. If we win it at the end will be a different question, as always in sports. But our entire team is extremely motivated, as am I. The guys have won both titles last year, and now, with Mercedes Power on board, they want to repeat this success. We all want to win. The season will be long and hard, no doubt about that, but I love this fight - it is because of this fight that I came back to Formula 1.

[Stormy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l48errZPPa4&feature=related

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l48errZPPa4&feature=related

Very cool ... is that for real ?!?!