Valencia test 22-24 January

[Roland Ehnström]

Am I missing something here ??

Yep, one more year of chassis and aero development. That's probably worth one second a lap. This year's Bridgestone may well be a little faster too, who knows, and perhaps the track is in better shape this winter.

I think Kovalainen's lap was a qualifying simulation, though, so it's probably one second faster than McLaren's "real" pace. Tomorrow we will probably see more teams doing qualifying stints. I expect to see high 1:10's from the Ferrari's + Hamilton, and mid-1:11's from Williams, BMW and Renault.

[mx_tifoso]

Does anyone know what problems S.Vettel had in his STR today Many websites reported this but none that I know of had specific info about the actual problem.

[NaZzO]

thanks Roland for the clarification.
According to McLaren, their programme consisted of accumulating miles, endurance testing, and a focus on long runs throughout the day.
http://www.mclaren.com/f1season/tests/V ... Jan_23.php
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 2224.shtml
http://www.f1technical.net/news/8096
So I find it awkward to fit a qualifying run in that programme.But I could be wrong, i mean what i know comes from what i read online
maybe if you can add a link to your source that would be much clearer.
thanks again

[Roland Ehnström]

I'm only guessing here, I have no source other than my own head. Perhaps this was with full tank and they can do 1:09 in qual trim, no-one really knows. But I find it very unlikely that Kovalainen would be one second a lap faster than Hamilton when they are both running similar setups and fuel loads...

[Roland Ehnström]

I was right!

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 4208.shtml

Kovalainen admits to low fuel run
Running light to set the Wednesday test pace
24/01/08 12:42

Heikki Kovalainen has revealed that his best time in Valencia testing on Wednesday was set by carrying a low fuel load.

The Finnish driver, at the wheel of a new McLaren MP4-23, set a fastest lap of the twisty eastern Spanish venue of 1.11.000s - nearly seven tenths quicker than the nearest Ferrari, and a full second clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

To the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, however, the 26-year-old said he is not seeking any false glory.

"Of course you are always pleased to be in the front, but tests do not mean so much," Kovalainen said. "Everyone is following their own programme. Yesterday I was fourth, but I am not that bad either."

Asked to explain the seven-tenth gap to Ferrari's Felipe Massa on Wednesday, he admitted: "I had less petrol in the tank.
We wanted to get a feel for how the car is when it is light."

Kovalainen also would not delve into the subject of which 2008 car seems quicker so far; the MP4-23, or its expected main rival this season, Ferrari's F2008.

"I dare not say," he insisted. "Personally, I have a good feeling. The car is fast, and now that I have a better seat, I feel comfortable behind the wheel."

Source GMM
© CAPSIS International

[m3_lover]

Where is Super Aguri?

[modbaraban]

Where is Super Aguri?

Busy creating SA08 from scratch?

[mx_tifoso]

Is SA going to use the RA107 this season

If not, and instead are actually going to use a RA108, Honda probably doesn't have enough chassis to go around for both teams.

Honda seem to be in a bad position so far, they barely launched their '08 car this week, with old aero bits and all. Not what you would expect from such an experienced racing group, especially when their revival is crucial this season.

[m3_lover]

Since they had problems with there car last year, I believe they rolled out the RA108 without too much complex aerodynamics. I think they wanted to make sure first that the car has none of the problems of last year. Hence they put some pretty conservative Front and Rear Wings, to get a baseline reading on how the car feels and to see if all the bodyparts are doing what they are suppose to be doing. If everything went okay, you will start to see the times drop down more and more as they start developing the car.

[kimi_khodr_raikkonen]

what is this?

[manchild]

Steering mechanism. Rack and pinion.

[Lewisfan007]

I don't believe the time especially where Lewis Hamilton, is concern. I believe it's danagerous for Lewis to be in spain and spain is know for it's right wing views. I seen some of the fans shouting out racist things at Lewis and saying aint Jewish things about Ron Dennis ( Ron Dennis isn't Jewish either)

[Lewisfan007]

it should be nice for some drivers to have such a large croud in a test day.

[vyselegend]

Usually on this forum we behave in a friendly manner with newcommers, but in your case I fear I have to be a little harsh.

We had our share of childish comments during the Schuey period, I think no one wants to revive this type of attitude for Hamilton. It's not only this post but every other post you wrote since you registered. Please try to find a forum that suit your style better.


Spannish people certainly are enthusiast toward their national star, Alonso. As are the brits toward the "new Hero" Hamilton...

So posting as "Lewisfan007", arguing fanatically in favor of Lewis and against Fernando, and then ranting about the spanniards being fannatic of Alonso and cynical about Lewis is a bit hypocritical, don't you think?

[Roland Ehnström]

So, looking at the laptimes from the first test day at Valencia, it looks like Ferrari and McLaren are still fastest (no surprise there), and that the Williams FW30 is very fast already on it's first proper day on the track. Toyota and BMW on the other hand, were not on the pace today. It will be interesting to follow the laptimes over the next couple of days, to see if these trends stay the same.

The times from day 2 confirm what we saw yesterday: Williams have found excellent speed, the BMW doesn't go quite as fast as some would have hoped, the new Toyota is not fast at all, and the new Honda doesn't look promising so far.

Same cars on top in day 3. Pretty impressive pace from Force India today, less than 2 secoonds off the fastest lap of the whole test week, and much faster than Honda... Of course, they could be running the car light in search of sponsorship, like Prost did a few years ago.