.:: F1PU 2010 Car Launches & Winter Testing Thread ::.

I thought sauber had already confirmed De La Rosa.Racky_rules

They have, sorry my bad. You can't always trust what you read lol 

No problem.

Just a quick update on the 2 cars being launched today, it is 1:30 Gmt for Sauber and 3:30 for Renault.

.:: BMW-SAUBER C29 ::.

The Stats
NAME: BMW-Sauber C29 (SUI)
NUMBERS: TBA, TBA
DRIVERS: Pedro de la Rosa (ESP), Kamui Kobayashi (***)
TEST DRIVERS: TBA
2009 SEASON: N/A (Finished 5th under Toyota)

BMW Sauber was the third Formula 1 team to show off its new challenger for the 2010 season on Sunday, with the unveiling of the C29 at the Valencia circuit.

The car, which will be powered by Ferrari engines this season, is the first machine from the Swiss squad following the exit of BMW from the sport at the end of 2009.

Peter Sauber, who sold his team to BMW in 2005, is now back in charge of the Hinwil-based squad following the German car maker's exit.

The team's place on the grid for 2010 was in doubt before Sauber re-took control of the team and Toyota confirmed it was leaving Formula 1, opening up a slot for the Swiss outfit.

The new C29, which sports a shark fin similar to the one used by McLaren in its new car, will be driven by Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi.

Sauber's car retains the colours used during the BMW era, but with more white space due to the lack of sponsors.

Sauber will begin running with the C29 tomorrow, when pre-season testing kicks off at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

SOURCE: Autosport.com

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just found some more photos here

Say hello to the new Renault:

Gorgeous livery, not so sure about the red though.

.:: RENAULT R30 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Total Renault R30 (FRA)
NUMBERS: 11, 12
DRIVERS: Robert Kubica (POL), Vitaly Petrov (RUS)
TEST DRIVERS: Ho-Pin Tung (CHI), Jan Charouz (CZE), Jerome d'Ambrosio (BEL)
2009 SEASON: 8th Place - 1 Podium, 26 pts.

The Renault Formula 1 team launched its 2010 car at the Valencia circuit on Sunday afternoon and confirmed Vitaly Petrov as its second driver.

The new R30 was unveiled by Russian Petrov and team-mate Robert Kubica, who will form the all-new driver line-up of the French squad this year.

Twenty-five year-old Petrov, last year's runner-up in the GP2 series, becomes the first Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport.

Petrov will be partnering Pole Kubica at Renault, who is hoping to turn around its fortunes following a dismal 2009 season in which the team scored just 26 points on its way to eighth place in the championship.

The R30 was presented with Renault's new colours - yellow and black - following the exit of ING as main sponsor in the middle of last season.

It also incorporates a similar shark fin engine cover, as those seen in the new McLaren and Sauber cars.

The new colour scheme resembles that used by Renault when it first entered Formula 1 back in 1978.

SOURCE: Autosport.com

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BMW-Sauber C29's technical specs

BMW-Sauber's technical director Willy Rampf says the team's new C29 is the latest evolution in the team's learning process.

After a disappointing 2009 season, the team unveiled the new C29 at Valencia on Sunday, which Rampf is hoping will prove that the BMW-Sauber has learnt their lesson from past mistakes.

"The development of the BMW Sauber C29 has seen the team build on the experience gained last year and the improvement in performance over the final third of the season," Rampf said.

"However, the new regulations banning refuelling during the race and stipulating a reduced width for the front tyres have required significant changes to the car's design."

Technical Specifications

Chassis
* Chassis: Carbon-fibre monocoque
* Suspension: Upper and lower wishbones (front and rear), inboard springs and dampers, actuated by pushrods (Sachs Race Engineering)
* Brakes: Six-piston brake callipers (Brembo), carbon pads and discs (Brembo, Carbon Industries)
* Transmission: Ferrari 7-speed quick shift gearbox, carbon, longitudinally mounted, carbon-fibre clutch
* Chassis electronics: MES
* Steering wheel: BMW Sauber F1 Team
* Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza
* Wheels: OZ

Dimensions
* Length: 4,940 mm
* Width: 1,800 mm
* Height: 1,000 mm
* Track width, front: 1,495 mm
* Track width, rear: 1,410 mm
* Weight: 620 kg (incl. driver, tank empty)

Ferrari 056 engine
* Type: Naturally aspirated V8, cylinder angle 90 degrees
* Cylinder block: Sand cast aluminium
* Valves / valve train: 32 / pneumatic
* Displacement: 2,398 cc
* Bore: 98 mm
* Weight: > 95 kg
* Electronic injection and ignition

SOURCE: planet-f1.com

Just reads gp updates story on the Renault launch and something in the last paragraph caught my eye.

With the striking new livery revealed on one of last year's R29 models, Renault's R30 remains concealed in the team garage and will be out on track in the hands of Kubica on Monday morning.

which would explain why it looks so similar to last years car

Just reads gp updates story on the Renault launch and something in the last paragraph caught my eye.

With the striking new livery revealed on one of last year's R29 models, Renault's R30 remains concealed in the team garage and will be out on track in the hands of Kubica on Monday morning.

which would explain why it looks so similar to last years car

Racky_rules

There's a lot of debate on this over at Autosport Forums, people seem very much split over whether it's the R29 or R30. I guess we'll find out when they hit the track tomorrow.

Ok it now appears that gp update have changed their article to say it is the R30, and after further research there are subtle differences to the R29 that are just big enough to make this a new car, but if that is the case it is a bit worrying as last years car wasn't that great. Still if the engine is as efficient as everyone says it is maybe they didn't need to make to many changes and so they maybe at an advantage on that front.

SAUBER C29 

The new Sauber is quite an impressive design moving away somewhat from the less than stellar BMW F1.09 which didn't perform to standard.  

While the rear wing and sidepod shields are similar if not the same to last years BMW the rest of the car is completely updated. The front wing is particularly impressive, certainly one of the most well developed of the 2010 cars released so far. The sidepod and brakeduct openings are also increadibly small which is a surprise as the Sauber will be running Ferrari power which is largely considered to be the hottest runner on the grid - expect these to increase in size if not for testing then certainly for Bahrain. As pointed out earlier it's yet another high nose design and I do believe this will be the staple design for all teams this year given the advantages. 

Obviously the wheelbase of the Sauber has increased when compared to last year (as will all 2010 cars due to the increased fuel tank size.) but other mechanical developments include new front suspension necesary to get the new front tyres working.  

The naming debate still goes on with BMW Sauber and many valid points have been stated already in this thread. First off, it is costly, secondly it requires unanimous agreement from other teams (this probably wont be a problem however) the big thing is money. Peter Sauber has always been clever with his money and wont toss it away frivilously on a name change... especially when he doesn't have a title sponsor (in fact there are next to no sponsors at all as yet...) a name change would only become worthwhile once he has secured a title sponsor then he can change the name and all associated apparel (team uniforms, merch and trucks etc) to reflect the new sponsor. Wait and see.  

The Renault R30 that has been shown off so far is indeed a new car... but not by much, I'll reserve an overview until the car begins testing and there maybe some more changes. I've also seen pics from the Toro Rosso website showing the new STR5 but again, I'll wait till its on track for a review.

.:: TORO ROSSO STR5 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Scuderia Toro Rosso STR5 (ITA)
NUMBERS: 16, 17
DRIVERS: Sebastien Buemi (SUI), Jaime Alguersuari (ESP)
TEST DRIVERS: Brendon Hartley (NZE), Daniel Ricciardo (NZE)
2009 SEASON: 10th Place - 8 pts.

Scuderia Toro Rosso became the latest team to unveil its 2010 challenger on Monday, as the Faenza-based team's STR5 was shown for the first time.

The new car is the first machine that Toro Rosso has had to produce itself, following the effective ban on customer cars in F1.

"2010 is a landmark year for Scuderia Toro Rosso as the new regulations demand that we go it alone in terms of designing and building our car in-house," said team boss Franz Tost.

"After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the TR5 is the first car that is one hundred percent down to our own endeavours.

"Creating the necessary infrastructure to tackle this task has been our biggest challenge, possibly more difficult than actually producing the car itself. We have taken on an additional eighty staff and expanded our facility to accommodate them, including a Machine Shop to increase our production capacity.

"In addition, we have commissioned a wind tunnel in Bicester, England, which we bought from Red Bull. It will take time for the highly skilled team we have assembled to learn to work together as efficiently as possible.

"Making predictions for the coming season is a dangerous trap, but if pushed, I would say we must aim to finish in the top eight in the Constructors' Championship, while giving our young drivers everything they need to improve, as well as optimising our infrastructure in order to be as competitive as possible in 2010 and beyond."

Although conservative in its philosophy, the car features a fully-optimised double diffuser - with the team having had to incorporate the concept into last year's STR4 mid-season following the FIA decision that the designs were legal.

"At the end of last year, we had already increased our staff to around one hundred and fifty and now we have two hundred. At the end of March '09, we got the green light as to what actually constituted being an F1 Constructor," added technical director Giorgio Ascanelli.

"That was the starting point for building up our operation in such a way that we could actually design a car that was achievable in engineering terms, working in a different way to the methods we had adopted in the past.

"Being recognised as a Constructor involves owning the intellectual property rights to what are defined as the listed parts: these are effectively the monocoque, the safety structures that are subject to homologation and crash testing, which means the rear and front structures, primary and secondary roll-over structures and the complete aerodynamic package, the suspension, fuel and cooling systems.

"Before even thinking about producing a car, we had to acquire the right tools to carry out these tasks and also hire the people who are to use these structures. Finding fifty people and putting them in an environment where they can do their job has been a tough task.

"As for the challenge we face this season, to quote Mao Tse-tung, 'we should not be talking about what we will do when we have crossed the river, we must first get the bridges and ships with which to cross the river.'

"We have started by building those bridges and ships. We are not quite there yet and, at this stage, getting everyone to work together in a productive fashion is our most important task."

Sebastien Buemi is due to give the new Toro Rosso its first laps today, when the first official pre-season F1 test kicks off at Valencia.

The Swiss driver will again be partnered by Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari.

AUTOSPORT

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.:: MERCEDES GP MGP W01 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Petronas MGP W01 (GER)
NUMBERS: 3, 4
DRIVERS: Michael Schumacher (GER), Nico Rosberg (GER)
TEST DRIVERS: Nick Heidfeld (GER)
2009 SEASON: N/A (Won Constructors Championship under Brawn GP)

Mercedes-Benz unveiled its W01 in the Valencia pit lane on Monday morning, ahead of the first pre-season Formula 1 test at the Spanish track.

The German car manufacturer had launched the colour scheme of the car in Stuttgart last week, but it waited until shortly before track action began on Monday to show the world the car that will carry the title hopes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

The car features a radical version of the now typical Red Bull Racing RB5-type V-nose configuration, as well as a small fin on the engine cover.

Rosberg will give the car its first shakedown on Monday morning, with Schumacher due to make his return to the cockpit of a contemporary F1 car for the first time since confirming his F1 comeback.

The Valencia test features seven of the current teams - with Red Bull Racing and Force India all opting to skip this week's running to give themselves more preparation time for 2010.

AUTOSPORT

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.:: WILLIAMS FW32 ::.

Images of Williams at Valencia

The Stats
NAME: AT&T Williams FW32 (GBR)
NUMBERS: 9, 10
DRIVERS: Rubens Barrichello (BRA), Nico Hulkenberg (GER)
TEST DRIVERS: Valtteri Bottas (FIN)
2009 SEASON: 7th Place - 34.5 pts.

AUTOSPORT

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Testing is done for the day:

Session went pretty smoothly, except one red flag for Barrichello who stopped on track. Apparently fuel related, but could just be testing the new Cosworth running on fumes. Rosberg reported that he was seated too low in the cockpit, and couldn't see the track. Schumacher seemed fine, and fairly quickly outpaced his team mate in the same car. No indications of fuel levels or other testing related parameters, so these times mean very little. Toro Rosso seemed to have a few issues early on and set just 18 laps.

RENAULT R30

 After a livery release yesterday the R30 proper hit the track. For 2010 Renault have dumped the old chunky nose in favour for for a slightly less chunky nose. For now they appear to be running the lowest nose on the grid. The R30 also features a new 3 plane front wing with a new set of cascades similar to McLaren's 2009 front wing, these should help to improve the front end grip which will be needed more than ever with the smaller front tyres.

Sidepods appear largely unchanged compared to the dog R29 but there are new wing mirror mounts that should serve to control airflow a touch better than before. The one last interesting feature is the W profiled rear wing. This was bandied about as an idea way back in 2008. Honda released one after Renaults first effort and neither of them appeared to have the effect that was intended and they were dropped but now it's back. To be honest the concept doesn't make alot of sense. The centre of the rear wing is obscured by dirty air off the back of the engine covermaking it less effective, Red Bull knew this back in 2007 and introduced a small cut out in the top plane of the rear wing. It should also be pointed out that the sharkfin engine cover does connect to the rear wing on the R30 so there may be some trickery going on there.

Mechanically the Renault will feature the smallest fuel tank and thus more tuneable ballast and a shorter wheelbase which should help them on twistier circuits but the engine is slightly down on power and if testing is anything to go by (and it's not really) the R30 is 2.5 seconds down on the Ferrari F10 ... and that's bad.

Renault have struggled following Alonso's departure and return and the loss of sponsorship due to racefix gate and this appears to be manifesting itself in the new car. It's not as developed as some of the other cars that have been shown off so far. 

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO STR5

This is Toro Rosso's first "real" effort at a car given that Red Bull Technologies has been the designer and largely the manufacturer of their past chassis. The car isn't going to be all that bad, it's a direct evolution of the ST4 and that was a carbon copy of the super quick RB5.

That said they have also shot themselves in the foot. The new STR5 still runs the pull rod suspension of the STR4 which, while lowering the centre of gravity, harms the amount of room available for a big DDD. Not much more can be said of the car really as it is just an RB5 with a slight nose job and a longer wheelbase. Today's testing has it running quicker than the Renault R30 but we shall see how the car develops. They should be in better shape than USGPE, Campos and probably Lotus but don't expect anything more than the occasional lucky point.

MERCEDES PETRONAS W01

Like the STR5 the car appears to be an evolution of it's predecesor the Brawn GP BGP 001 but there is alot more than meets the eye with this effort. The new car features a new nose which is higher than last years (surprise.) but the front wing is largely unchanged from 2009 baring some small endplates on the upper elements. The sidepods also remain largely unchanged their sculpting is quite similar to last year (which isn't a bad thing as they were really well packaged AND this year they have to cover a new larger fuel tank.).

However it's not the sidepods causing a stir over at F1 Technical, the airbox is a very interesting new shape and appears to be divided right down the middle. This could be a splitter to divide air to two seperate air filters for each bank of the engine, no one is sure as yet. The new shape should help the above effect and also disrupts airflow to the rear far less than last years solution.

The mechanical solutions from Ross Brawn are also interesting. The front suspension has reverted back to a single keel layout last seen in 2006 on the Ferrari. There are many possible reasons for this but seeing as the centre section of the front wing has been castrated by the FIA airflow in this area isn't quite as important or as sensitive as it was in the day of the "spoon" wings so there is less aerodynamic penalty to running this set-up and more to be gained mechanically with better adjustability and adaptability of the suspension which will be hugely helpful with the new front tyres and Ross Brawn last worked with this kind of slick tyre (narrow type)  on a single keeled car in 1997... old knowledge could be the order of the day.

GENERAL TESTING

Testing today saw the Sauber, Ferrari and Mercedes very quick out of the box. McLaren were just behind with Williams, Toro Rosso and Renault making up the back part of the grid. As noted before testing times don't count for much yet. The Cosworth in the Williams ran without fault but Barrichello explained that they weren't giving it too much stick today as it's the first real track run for this engine type since 2006.

Staying with Barrichello he believed the McLaren's were able to run at 10kph or more faster at the end of the straights while it doesn't sound like much in F1 that is a HUGE difference considering how close the cars are these days. We know the Mercedes engine is strong but there is word about that the Cosworth is possibly even more powerful albeit more thirsty. Why I brought this up is that below the airbox appears to be a second opening on the McLaren and no one is quite sure yet where it goes and what it does, there is also a strange bulge in the end of the sharkfin as well. The sub-airbox hole could run along to feed the top of the diffuser with hot air increasing it's effeciency but probably not reduce drag and cause the speed differential. The sharkfin bulge though may end in an opening of sorts which would spill hot air in the low pressure area behind the rear wing which would reduce drag and lift created by the rear wing leading to higher top speeds... watch this space, it could be nothing or it could be some intensely clever aero work from McLaren.

Ferrari are surprisingly quick given that the car didn't appear to change much from the not so fast F60, Sauber is running extremely well. Schumi is settling in very well as well which bodes well for Mercedes. Oh, and everyone's diffusers have been revealed, they're all huge and some are arguably triple decked. there is some seriously clever jiggery pokery going on these days. 

One closing note. Williams are running signage on the side of the tub advertising their hybrid technologies.... Will they run their flywheel KERS? they're sure as anything not doing much to dispel the rumors.

It appears that the bbc have decided to run a live text blog to cover this years testing coverage.

Anyone interested can find today's blog at the following link:

BBC Formula One Testing Coverage.

Hopefully this wasn't a one off and it will continue through the pre-season as normally any coverage of testing is hard to come by.

If they do run it tomorrow could someone post the link.

VALENCIA DAY 1 ROUND-UP

Today the new cars from seven teams hit the track and Formula 1 2010 really took off.

Although there are still 40 days to go to the first Grand Prix in Bahrain, the new season kicked off in ****with a frantic day of car launches and testing in Valencia.

We had first sight today of new cars from Toro Rosso, Williams and the Mercedes W01, the keenly awaited follow up to the championship winning Brawn. Michael Schumacher took the wheel in the afternoon for his first laps in a contemporary F1 car since the end of 2006.

Missing from the test this week are Red Bull, Force India and the new teams.

Most attention, inevitably, was on Schumacher and his return to F1 action. He quickly got down to work in the afternoon, having taken over the car from his new team mate Nico Rosberg and he went faster after just 18 laps. Rosberg had complained of sitting too low in the car and not being able to see out properly.

Rosberg did the initial installation laps and his best long run was at the end of his time in the car and his laps mainly in the high 1m 13s and low 1m 14s. Schumacher was on that pace straight away and in his final long run he was lapping in the low 1m13s and high 1m12s. Afterwards he was bright and breezy,

"I felt totally comfortable and really had a feeling that everything was very natural," he said. "It felt just like at the very beginning of my career in 1991 when on the first lap, I thought 'wow that was really fast' and then on the second lap, I was just extremely excited. I feel like a young boy again and really enjoyed myself out there."

Although it looks today as though Schumacher was faster, it will be a fairer comparison over the next two days when both drivers get more time with the car.

With new rules meaning that the cars will have to race with 160 kilos of fuel on board it is harder than in the past to decode the lap times, because the range of possible fuel weights is greater.

My understanding is that the front running teams will settle into a routine of running around 80 kilos of fuel, half full tanks, for their long runs to develop the car. Teams looking for sponsors or otherwise trying to catch the eye will be running around 40 kilos at times, a difference worth around 1.5 seconds per lap. This is something to watch out for over the four test sessions this month.

It will be very obvious all round when a time has been set on low fuel and new tyres.

The other comeback king, Felipe Massa, was fastest today in the new Ferrari. He set a time of 1m12.574 on the 14th lap of a 16 lap run and managed an impressive 102 laps. His long runs looked pretty good. He did one early on in the mid to low 1m 13s and later on did a ten lap run in the low 1m 13s. The car looks like it reacts well to changes.

"The car behaved very well, said Massa. "I felt it was an easier car to drive compared to last year's. Last year it was always difficult to find the balance."

It was a positive start for Ferrari. There have been rumours about the aero figures being poor and a B spec car being prepared. But my sources suggest that what has happened is that they recruited a new head of aerodynamics from Toyota in December and he brought a solution for a radical new diffuser with a hole the size of a sheet of A3 paper! It's worth a lot in extra downforce and so Ferrari may well be building an update package around it, possibly for the first race if they can build it in time.

McLaren had Gary Paffett at the wheel for the first day, tomorrow it will be Lewis Hamilton and on Wednesday Jenson Button.

Paffett took the radical looking McLaren around 86 laps and set a fastest time of 1m 13.8s. Most of the long runs looked like they were run on heavy fuel, there was one long run in the middle of the day when he lapped mainly in the low 1m 14s to high 1m 13s.

Pedro de la Rosa managed 74 laps in the new Sauber-Ferrari and said, "The car was reliable right from the beginning, which meant we could follow our programme perfectly without wasting any time. Also the car reacted to our changes very well."

His long runs were varied, the fastest in the middle of the day was a ten lap run in which his times compared with the Ferrari, but I would guess that he was running less fuel for that run.

Renault did not set any eye catching lap times in their new car today, but they covered 69 laps with Robert Kubica at the wheel.
"Tomorrow we will start working on the balance and trying to understand the car a bit more, " said Kubica. "The narrower front tyres certainly had an impact on the car, but it's difficult for me to judge as this is the first time I've driven the R30."

Likewise, Williams looked like they were struggling a bit early on, but Rubens Barrichello covered 74 laps and set his best time on the fifth lap of a seven lap run. Barrichello brought out the only red flag of the day when he stopped out on track due to a software problem on the throttle system.

Sebastien Buemi managed just 18 laps in the new Toro Rosso, losing a lot of time to a gearbox control problem. This is the first car that the team has designed and built by itself, having relied on a car from Red Bull Technologies until now. Technical director Giorgio Ascanelli managed expectations today when he said that it was inevitable that there would be mistakes in this fledgling technical operation.

JamesAllenonF1.com

STEPHAN TO TEST CAR AT PORTIMAO THIS MONTH

Stefan GP has announced it will test its first Formula 1 car later this month in Portugal, as it continues to push with its plans to race in the sport this year despite not having an entry.

Following today's announcement that the Serbia-based squad will send equipment to Bahrain for the first of the season, the team said it will test its car at Portimao on 25-28 February.

Stefan GP said it will unveil the Stefan S-01 before the tests.

AUTOSPORT has learned former Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima will be one of the team's drivers.

Stefan GP said its car has been developed by the team and with technical support from Toyota, with which is has agreed a technical partnership.

The engine it will use is the Stefan RG-01, also serviced by Toyota.

The team said it will be testing two drivers at Portimao.

Stefan GP released a picture of its offices, in which team owner Zoran Stefanovich can be seen with former McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan.

AUTOSPORT

MASSA TOPS VALENCIA DAY 2

Felipe Massa helped Ferrari maintain its position as the team to beat on the second day of pre-season Formula 1 testing at Valencia in Spain on Tuesday.

The Brazilian, who had been quickest on the opening day of action on Monday, spent most of the day focusing on long runs - but had put in a quick time early in the morning running that no one else was able to beat.

His best effort of 1m11.722s seconds was set in the first hour of running, when BMW Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi also put in his personal best of 1m12.056s to set the second best time.

"It was definitely a good day," said Kobayashi. "We had no problems with the car and covered a lot of mileage. The car felt good. I enjoyed driving a lot and also working with the team.

"It was a difficult winter for everyone but they seem to have done a good job; I want to thank them for that. Now it is important to keep working hard for the remaining test opportunities."

With the times of the top two staying static, it was left to Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren to chip away and make improvements over the course of the day during his first outing in the new MP4-25.

Hamilton was quickly up to speed and, although he too focused on some long runs, he managed to put in a best time of one minute 12.256s in the early afternoon to end the day third overall on the timesheets.

Renault's Robert Kubica was another driver who spent the day working on long run efforts - completing a total of 119 laps over the course of the day before some lower fuel laps right near the end.

The Pole delivered his best effort of 1m12.426s in the final 30 minutes - but he brought the day to an early finish when he stopped on the start-finish straight with just five minutes of the session remaining. Remarkably, it was only the second red flag of testing so far.

"After checking the systems on the car yesterday, we spent today trying to understand the car a bit more, especially to see how the balance reacted to some set-up changes," Kubica said.

"It's quite different to what I have been used to, so it was important to get a good feel for how the car behaves. We did one very long run, which went pretty well, and there have been no problems, which is a good sign for our reliability."

Behind Kubica, Nico Rosberg had the whole day to himself in the Mercedes GP W01, setting a best lap of 1m12.899s, just ahead of Rubens Barrichello in the Williams - whose best effort was 1m13.377s.

The Mercedes GP driver, who will hand the car over the team-mate Michael Schumacher tomorrow, was pleased with his day's work.

"I'm very pleased with our first full day of testing and we were really able to get into the programme and achieve some good work today," Rosberg said. "We successfully completed a race distance on the car's second day of running and I'm quite happy with how the car felt on the longer runs with heavy fuel.

"It felt like the same car, just a little bit slower, but the balance was good. We've still got some work to do on my position in the car as I dropped down by 1.5cm during the day which explains why the visibility got a little difficult towards the end but that's something we can fix before the next test.

"Overall it's been a positive start to our pre-season testing and I'm enjoying working with the team and feeling very comfortable here."
Sebastien Buemi may have ended the day at the bottom of the timesheets, but it was a more productive outing for him after the gearbox problems he suffered on Monday.

Scuderia Toro Rosso was determined that its new car would be ready for the first test, so team personnel could get a grips on the first car it has designed and manufactured for several years. Buemi completed a total of 107 laps, and set his best near the end with a 1m13.823s.

The final day of the test is likely to draw big interest, with three world champions taking to the track - Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time     Laps
 1.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)   1:11.722  124
 2.  Kobayashi     BMW Sauber-Ferrari   (B)   1:12.056   96
 3.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     (B)   1:12.256  108
 4.  Kubica        Renault              (B)   1:12.426  119
 5.  Rosberg       Mercedes GP          (B)   1:12.899  119
 6.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth    (B)   1:13.377  102
 7.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)   1:13.823  107

All Timing Unofficial

AUTOSPORT

.:: VIRGIN RACING VR-01 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Virgin Racing VR-01 (GBR)
NUMBERS: 24, 25
DRIVERS: Timo Glock (GER), Lucas di Grassi (BRA)
TEST DRIVERS: Luiz Razia (BRA)
2009 SEASON: N/A (New Entry for 2010)

Virgin Racing has revealed details of its first Formula 1 car, the VR-01, although its planned online launch was delayed by technical difficulties.

The VR-01 was due to be unveiled on the team's website this morning, the team having opted for an 'all-digital' launch to mirror its 'all-digital car' - reflecting the fact that design company Wirth Research created the car entirely using computational fluid dynamics rather than using a windtunnel.

But technical issues prevented the broadcast from taking place as planned, with the team working to reveal the VR-01 on its site later this morning.

"Today is a very proud day for everyone involved with Virgin Racing, however on this occasion, where the car is the star, I want to pay tribute to all the amazing people at Wirth Research who deserve so much of the credit for the VR-01," said designer Nick Wirth.

"Putting together an F1 team, assembling an engineering group and designing a new car from scratch is an epic task in the timeframe we have been working to.

"I have been fortunate to have worked with the very best designers in F1 and I am well aware of exactly what it takes to be successful in this sport. When you see what the existing teams have achieved using the conventional but proven design approach, it is unsurprising that there is a great deal of scepticism about our all-CFD approach.

"But we are competing in a sport that is undergoing significant change having come face to face with today's harsh economic realities. Under resource restriction, convention will become too costly and necessity really will be the mother of invention. I have absolute belief in the digital design process and the opportunity to put the all-CFD approach to the test at the highest level - to demonstrate that this could be the way for the future of F1 - is very, very exciting."

Virgin's F1 project was officially launched in December, when Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock were announced as its drivers. It fired the Cosworth-powered car up for the first time last week, and will conduct a shakedown at Silverstone on Thursday and Friday.

The team will then join the rest of the F1 field for the second winter test at Jerez, where it will also become the first of the new entrants to test alongside the established squads.

While unwilling to make grand predictions for his car's debut, Wirth is quietly confident about the VR-01's prospects.

"We are a serious racing team with serious ambitions, so we aren't going to try to run before we can walk," he said. "The starting point is to try to run reliably, safely and efficiently and be the best of the new teams. Then we will start to bring performance to the car through a continuous development programme in computer simulation."

He acknowledged that the CFD approach had limitations - but insisted windtunnel testing was no different.

"We fully expect to encounter issues along the way; CFD is an approximation - as is scale-model testing," Wirth said. "In both cases, it is only when you hit the track that you can really appreciate the effect of factors that are tricky to model with any technology such as the effect that the real stiffness of all bodywork components and joints has on the airflow for example.

"We've done all of this before on both closed and open-wheel cars, so I'm pretty confident in the accuracy of our predictions and looking forward to seeing how our starting configuration performs on the race track."

SOURCE: autosport.com

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FORCE INDIA TO LAUNCH ON THE 9TH

Force India has confirmed that it will reveal its new Formula 1 challenger in an online launch next Tuesday.

The team then plans to run the car for the first time during the second pre-season test at Jerez the following day.

The VJM03 will be unveiled to the world through the team's website at 10.00am. Force India is the second squad to undertake an online unveiling of it's new car after Virgin Racing, whose launch took place on Tuesday morning.

The new car has been created by a team led by technical director James Key and design director Mark Smith, and will be the first to be launched under new chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer's guidance.

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More VR01 pictures. You can also name both cars and two chosen name will be part of the car livery. Competition

ALONSO KEEPS FERRARI ON TOP AT VALENCIA

Fernando Alonso helped Ferrari end the first pre-season Formula 1 test as the team to beat after setting the best time of the week on the final day of action on Wednesday.

After two days where Felipe Massa had led the way in the F10, it was the turn of Alonso to complete his first day of official action for Ferrari in front of more than 35,000 fans who had packed the grandstands.

Alonso took little time getting up to speed, getting down into the 1m11s window within the first hour, and setting his best time of the day - and of the whole test - with a 1m11.470s lap before a break at lunchtime.

More worrying for Alonso's rivals was not the time he did, but the fact it came so early into a long stint - as he completed eight further laps following that effort - showing that it wasn't simply a low fuel glory run.

Behind Alonso, the BMW Sauber C29 continued to raise eyebrows, as Pedro de la Rosa set the second fastest time on a day when he continued to outpace more high-profile opposition.

Despite early trouble when he clashed on-track with Nico Hulkenberg following a mix-up in the first minutes of the day, de la Rosa was consistently fast – although only his Hinwil team knows exactly how much fuel he was running. His best lap was 1m12.094s.

Michael Schumacher settled down to his first full day on track with Mercedes GP, having caused such a stir with his comeback performance on the first day of the test on Monday, to set the best time with a lap of 1m12.438s.

Although the W01 still does not have the definitive 2010 diffuser and front wing fitted yet, Schumacher set the third best time – albeit almost one second slower than Alonso's best.

Schumacher had to end his running with an hour of testing to go thanks to a small hydraulic problem, having completed 82 laps over the course of the day.

Team principal Ross Brawn admitted though that the team was not where it had hoped to be – with the outfit believed to need to make weight distribution tweaks to its car in time for the next test to optimise its performance on the narrower 2010 front tyres.

"It's always very difficult to judge. On full tanks yesterday (Tuesday) we didn't look too bad but we're a little bit off on pace and (there are problems with) the handling and balance of the car which we can fix for (the next test in) Jerez," he told the BBC. "We know what the problem is.

"Of course the other teams will be progressing as well so we are reasonable, not as quick as Ferrari and Lewis looked quick yesterday. So it looks like we've got a bit of work to do."

Schumacher himself too played down the team's chances for the start of the season.

"I wouldn't expect to be winning right from the beginning," he said. "It wasn't something that I was aiming for and expecting to be the case. But we need to be strong enough on development."

Jaime Alguersuari showed improved speed from the new Toro Rosso, with the team experiencing no repeat of the gearbox problems that had left Sebastien Buemi stranded in the pits for much of the opening day.

The Spaniard was fourth fastest at the end of the day, just ahead of world champion Jenson Button – who was getting his first taste of the new McLaren MP4-25.

Button spent the early part of the session with the team in the pits, perfecting his cockpit set-up and getting himself comfortable in his new surroundings, before completing a total of 82 laps. His best lap was 1m12.951s – 1.4 seconds adrift of Alonso.

Vitaly Petrov completed his first day of action in an F1 car, steadily building himself up to speed as he got used to the demands of grand prix machinery. His best lap of 1m13.097 came near the end of the day.

Although Renault still clearly has work to do to improve its R30, with a big aerodynamic update scheduled before the first race of the season, Petrov acquitted himself well.

At the bottom of the timesheets, Hulkenberg recovered from his morning clash with de la Rosa to complete 126 laps – just one less than Alonso – but his overall lap time will have left him feeling slightly disappointed.

Today's times:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time     Laps
 1.  Alonso        Ferrari              (B)   1:11.470  127
 2.  de la Rosa    BMW Sauber-Ferrari   (B)   1:12.094   80
 3.  M.Schumacher  Mercedes GP          (B)   1:12.438   82
 4.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)   1:12.576   97
 5.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes     (B)   1:12.951   82
 6.  Petrov        Renault              (B)   1:13.097   75
 7.  Hulkenberg    Williams-Cosworth    (B)   1:13.669  126

All Timing Unofficial

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VIRGIN VR-01 

It's an excellent livery and not a bad effort given no windtunnel development. The car looks a solid baseline but that will be all it is. CFD is an excellent tool but it's not a substitute for windtunnel testing that said, Wirth has good experience with CFD desgined cars such as the Acura LMP which ran well in the American Le Mans series. 

Aerodynamically the car is pretty basic, the front wing is relatively simple, it features the RBR type "v" nose and while I'm not 100% sure it appears it is running a V keel suspension layout I'll need a closer look at better pictures. The wheel base is less than that that of the Ferrari, but more than the Renault which is surprising as the fuel tank is reportedly 200L in capacity. It appears to have been packaged in the sidepods toward the rear of the car as the back end is no where near as tight as with the Ferrari. How this will effect weight distrubution is unclear at present but should become clear when we see the car on track. 

As said earlier, the car is a solid baseline but nothing more, we'll have to wait and see how the development cycle goes. Sometimes simplicity is what is needed but in this day and age in F1 it's not often the way to go.
  

JEREZ WEATHER WORRY FOR F1 TEAMS

Red Bull Racing faces an anxious wait ahead of its new car debut in Jerez next week with early forecasts suggesting the second pre-season F1 test could be hit by rain.

The Milton Keynes-based team chose to skip the first F1 test at Valencia earlier this week to give itself more development time for the new RB6 car - which many believe will be a strong contender for the world championship this year.

The team was confident that the remaining 12 days of testing scheduled before the first race would be plenty for it to get the most out of the RB6.

However, early weather forecasts for Jerez suggest that rain could blight some, if not all, of the four day test - which could severely limit useful track time.

If Jerez is a wash-out that would leave Red Bull Racing with only two more scheduled tests - at Jerez the following week and Barcelona at the end of this month - to get its car fully sorted prior to Bahrain.

Virgin Racing and Force India are the other teams that have scheduled next week's Jerez test to be the first outing with their new car.

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Did someone say Midland?Redders1989

My thoughts exactly.

.:: FORCE INDIA VJM-03 ::.

The Stats
NAME: Force India-Mercedes VJM-03 (IND)
NUMBERS: 14, 15
DRIVERS: Adrian Sutil (GER), Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)
TEST DRIVERS: Paul di Resta (GBR)
2009 SEASON: 9th Place - 13 pts.

Force India has become the latest team to unveil its 2010 challenger, after releasing images of its new VJM-03 on Tuesday morning.

The car features the high nose and the shark-fin engine cover that has become typical of this year's designs.

On the back of the team making big progress in 2009, as it captured its maiden pole position and podium finish, Force India is looking for more success this year.

The new car will be tested for the first time at this week's Jerez test and its design chiefs are confident it will be a match for the machinery that has already been unveiled.

Design director Mark Smith told AUTOSPORT that the Silverstone-based team had seen nothing on its rival cars that had caught it by surprise.

"There's a little bit of variety out there but predominantly we are happy," he said. "You will always see something on each car that makes you think 'that's interesting' but understanding how they work on your car is the key thing.

"We haven't looked at photos and thought 'we've missed something significant' and we're excited to get down to Jerez."

Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi will race for Force India this year, with Paul di Resta installed as reserve and test driver.

SOURCE: Autosport

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JEREZ TESTS FULL DRIVER LINE UP

Formula 1 teams will kick off its second test of the 2010 pre-season at the Jerez circuit tomorrow.

Three outfits who missed the first test at Valencia - Red Bull, Force India and Virgin Racing - will join their rivals in Spain this week.

Below is the provisional line-up for the Jerez test.

Team             Feb 10        Feb 11        Feb 12         Feb 13

Mercedes GP      Rosberg       Schumacher    Rosberg        Schumacher
Red Bull         Webber        Webber        Vettel         Vettel
Mclaren          Button        Button        Hamilton       Hamilton
Ferrari          Alonso        Alonso        Massa          Massa
BMW Sauber       Kobayashi     Kobayashi     de la Rosa     de la Rosa
Williams         Hulkenberg    Hulkenberg    Barrichello    Barrichello
Renault          Petrov        Petrov        Kubica         Kubica
Force India      Liuzzi        Liuzzi        Sutil          Sutil
Toro Rosso       Buemi         Buemi         Alguersuari    Alguersuari
Virgin Racing    Glock         Glock         di Grassi      di Grassi

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