FORMULA 1 - 2013

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ANALYSIS: LOTUS WINS THE RACE TO UNVEIL FIRST 2013 CAR, BUT WHATS IT LIKE?

Lotus became the first F1 team to unveil its new car, when it pulled the wraps off the E21 in front of an audience live online via You Tube and on Sky Sports News in the UK.

The launch was handled by team owner Gerard Lopez and team principal Eric Boullier, while technical director James Allison together with the drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen pulled the wraps off the car. Raikkonen said that he believes the team has what it takes to win the world title.

Boullier said third place is the target for the 2013 season, which is ambitious, but builds on their success of 2012. He said that he expects Grosjean to deliver in 2013, having kept faith with him after some rocky times in 2012, with crashes and a race ban.

So what of the first car to break cover in 2013?

Well it is a direct descendant of the 2012 car, that is clear. This makes sense as the Lotus was one of the most competitive cars last year.

They were late to the party on the Coanda exhausts, which channel exhaust gas down to the diffuser, so there is more to come for them in this area than their direct competitors.

There were places on the car where the engineers had clearly placed a “launch specification” part in order to give nothing away of their true intentions. The front wing, for example was rather vanilla and less aggressive and complex than the one which finished the 2012 season. The top element of the wing, for example, was very simple in comparison. That will surely change for the first test next week.

That said, the FIA is pushing the teams hard with stringent anti-flexing tests on the front wings, so it will be interesting across the board to see how they deal with this.

The nose itself is quite narrow and on launch specification is missing the bulbous underbelly which was present last season to help create balance.

The passive DRS air intake was missing from the air box, while the rear wing endplate was identical to the car from the end of last year.

The venue was dimly lit (probably on purpose!) so it was not possible to see the floor in detail. Last season Lotus had a very aggressive rear floor, angled away from the car to pull the rear tyre wake away from the floor. They were one of the most aggressive teams in that respect.

The suspension looks similar, which makes sense as the Lotus was one of the best cars last year at using its tyres.

Despite relaxation of the rules on the stepped noses, to remove the ugly blight on many of last year’s cars with a cosmetic panel, the bump on Lotus nose is still there; for the moment. This is likely to change. But at this stage, Lotus do not want to show their hand. There is an aerodynamic gain to be had from a plate which has been designed into the car, but we will have to wait to see Lotus’ solution.

“We have not done it yet because a cosmetic panel would weigh a few grammes and that’s anathema,” said Allison. “However if we find one which looks nice but more crucially which gives us a few more points of downforce we’ll put it on the car as quick as you like.”

Asked if this was basically an evolution of the 2012 car, Allison said,

“We’ve done a lot. There is a lot gone into it and it is going to be an exciting car.

“The rules for 2013 are very, very similar to 2012 so you can expect a lot of family resemblance from the 2012 car, but the devil is in the detail and it adds up to a significant amount of performance,” said Allison.

“There are lots of new ideas and same concepts we have been pushing on with for a few years.”

The use of the word “significant” to describe the performance step is interesting and implies that they feel that the gain is of the order of half a second per lap or more.

The car had the black and gold livery, but with red accent colour on the air box and rear wing, with a scaling down of Total branding, a small amount of branding from Coca Cola energy drink “Burn” on the front wing endplates and the name “Kimi” on the air box, which looked like a holding sticker for a prospective sponsor.

Raikkonen said that he enjoyed his comeback last year and is open to a conversation later this year about extending his contract with Lotus.

He added that he believes Lotus has what it takes to win the world title,

“I think they do. It’s clear from working with them that they are racers, and you can see in their history that they’ve won championships,” he said. “Nothing I saw last year made me think that another championship was impossible in the future. Of course, there is some pretty tough competition out there and everyone wants to win. The team have beaten everyone before and there’s nothing to say they can’t do it again.”

The third driver is reigning GP2 series champion Davide Valsecchi. Alain Prost’s son Nicolas will be the Development Driver. Jérôme D’Ambrosio will continue with the team as Reserve Driver.

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Christian Horner extends contract as Red Bull F1 team principal

Christian Horner will remain as team principal of the Red Bull team after extending his contract with the outfit.

Red Bull said Horner had signed a new, multi-year contract.

The 39-year-old Briton joined the Milton Keynes-based team in 2005 after Red Bull bought out Jaguar.

The previous year he successfully led the Arden team he founded to the final F3000 title.

Red Bull has won the drivers' and constructors' championships three years in a row since 2010, and has also secured 34 grand prix wins and 46 pole positions.

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Di Resta pulls the covers off the Force India VJM06 at Silverstone

Sahara Force India unveiled its 2013 Formula 1 world championship challenger as Paul Di Resta pulled the covers off the VJM06 at Silverstone circuit.

The VJM06 is the third car to be overseen by Technical Director, Andrew Green, and builds on the strengths of the 2012 car. With stable technical rules the car is more evolution than revolution with the removal of the ‘step’ nose being the most obvious visual change.

“The VJM06 doesn’t look massively different to its predecessor, but beneath the skin we’ve looked at every detail to try and find more performance,” says Team Principal, Dr Vijay Mallya. “I’ve followed the development of the car closely and I’m proud of what we have achieved. The objective now is to make sure we build on the promise of last year and have a strong start to the season.”

Summing up the approach to the design of the VJM06, Andrew Green said: “It’s a brand new car from the ground-up – everything is new. We discussed carrying over big chunks of last year’s car, including the chassis, but decided not to. There were still some gains to be had with the chassis, so we elected to take the performance benefits. The biggest change that everybody is going to notice this year is the fairing on top of the nose to hide the ‘step’. It’s neutral as far as the car’s performance is concerned but tidies up the flow over the top of the chassis.”

Chief Operating Officer, Otmar Szafnauer, praised the team’s efforts over the winter to develop the VJM06: “We’re very optimistic. We’ve been working hard over the winter, trying to make improvements where we know we can find performance. Everything has come together very nicely. We’ve also focussed on operational strength by bolstering our simulator programme and increasing our CFD capacity with new hardware.”

Paul Di Resta, half of the team’s 2013 line-up, was delighted to see his new car:“Seeing the car built and complete for the first time is a special feeling. I’ve followed its progress in the tunnel and it looks very impressive – aggressive and fast. Now I’m just eager to get out there and see where we stand compared to our competitors. After the winter I feel refreshed and keen to get back to business.”

The Sahara Force India cars will be powered by Mercedes engines with the gearbox supplied by McLaren Applied Technologies for a fifth season. This will be the third season with the Mercedes KERS.

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Ferrari: We will have a strong package for the third test and first race

Scuderia Ferrari’s Chief Designer, Nikolas Tombazis, like all his peers along the pit lane, will be eagerly awaiting the first few days of testing to get a glimpse of what the coming season might hold. For Tombazis, he will not only be looking for validation of his team’s work, but also for confirmation that the new organisational structure put in place last year in Maranello is taking the team in the right direction.

“The recent reorganisation of the team after a couple of disappointing seasons had an impact on my position when it became clear that there were too many demands on my time overseeing both the mechanical and aerodynamic aspects,” says Tombazis.

“In order to alleviate this difficulty, we have created the role of Deputy Chief Designer with two people in this position, each of them alternating car model years. We have also taken on a Head of Aerodynamics and some additional people to improve our methodology on the aero side. In turn, my role has evolved to oversee these activities, while freeing up time for me to spend on specific aerodynamic issues and on adopting a more creative approach. Over the last few years, Formula 1 has become ever more sophisticated so one person can no longer do every single thing.”

The new organisation was the result of an in-depth internal enquiry into the shortcomings of the team. Apart from restructuring the human element, it also became clear that the beautiful Renzo Piano designed wind tunnel, was now in need of some modernisation.

“Last year, we had to push on the development of the F2012 right to the end of the year, while initial development of the F138 began towards the end of last season with the bulk of the aerodynamic work being carried out in Maranello,” recalls Tombazis.

“We also did some work in an external tunnel in 2012 and all the work for this season’s car will be carried out in the Toyota tunnel in Germany while we upgrade the Maranello wind tunnel to bring it up to the right level. It is now quite old and needs upgrading having served us well for twelve years. The ideal situation would be to have the wind tunnel right here and I cannot say that using a wind tunnel in Cologne is the perfect solution, but weighing up the medium and long term advantages of having an upgrade on our wind tunnel or carrying on as it was, we concluded that our current strategy was the best. We have taken steps to ensure communications and logistics are as effective as possible in 2013. But still, wherever the wind tunnel, the most important thing is to have good ideas and aerodynamic development and a good facility.”

Tombazis is far too experienced in the ways of Formula 1 to make brave predictions for the coming season: “recent years have taught me not to say too much too early, so let’s wait and see what answer we get from the track. I think we have done a reasonable job and we certainly had to make a step up from where we had been in the past few years: the launch specification car, that will run at the first test, has had a relatively small amount of wind tunnel development because it was fixed straight after the end of the season, when we pushed so late on the F2012. However, I believe we will have a strong package for the third test and first race.”

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Massa 'feeling positive' about the F138

Felipe Massa believes Ferrari's F138 is a step in the "right direction" as he looks to return to winning ways.

It has been four seasons since Massa climbed to the top step of the podium with the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix marking his last race victory. That was also the last season that he fought for a World title.

Massa, though, is determined to put that right this year with the 31-year-old feeling "positive" about his prospects after unveiling Ferrari's new F138 at Maranello.

Speaking at Friday's launch, the Brazilian said: "It's always a good feeling - the first feeling - to see the car.

"I've had many presentations already in my career from Ferrari. I've some feelings that were not very positive in a few years, to see the car for the first time. Other years, it was very positive.

"I have to say that this is a very positive feeling. Maybe it's just my personal feeling but I think it was nice to see the car."

He added: "The car is much more prepared. You have some interesting details around the car that can work, that can be nice on the track.

"Let's wait and see how everything's going to be on the track but the feeling is really 100 per cent in the right direction."

Massa will drive the F138 for the first time at Jerez next week when pre-season testing gets underway on Tuesday.

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Hulkenberg and Gutiérrez launch Sauber C32

The Sauber F1 Team presented the Sauber C32-Ferrari to its partners and the media today. Drivers Nico Hülkenberg (DE, 25) and Esteban Gutiérrez (MX, 21) pulled back the covers on the new car at the team’s base in Hinwil, Switzerland. The roll-out of the Sauber C32 will take place during the first winter test at Jerez de la Frontera on 5th February.

“Two thousand and twelve was a very successful year for us,” said Monisha Kaltenborn, looking ahead to the new season. “We not only moved up from seventh to sixth place in the constructors’ standings, but also improved our points total from 44 in 2011 to 126 last season. We have a strong platform in place now, on which we are aiming to build and continue our upward curve.”

The Team Principal is bullish about the prospects for the team’s new driver pairing: “We have had our eye on Nico Hülkenberg for some time and have been impressed by his performances. He is very quick, but, most importantly, he’s also very efficient. He understands how to pick up as many points as possible from a particular race situation. Esteban Gutiérrez is a driver we know very well as a result of a relationship with the team going back several years, and he has already had a number of opportunities to test with our car. Plus, he has always stayed in close contact with our engineers, which has allowed him to learn a lot about Formula One. I’m in no doubt he is now ready to take the final step and put his outstanding talent on display.”

Gutiérrez has been succeeded as test and reserve driver by 21-year-old Dutchman Robin Frijns. “We rate him as an extraordinarily gifted young man, so we decided to give him this opportunity,” explained Kaltenborn. “We will now set about introducing him step by step to life in F1.”

Hülkenberg is entering his third F1 season in a race seat. The German spent 2010 – his rookie year – with Williams and 2012 at the wheel of a Force India car. “The Sauber F1 Team made significant progress last year from 2011,” the German driver recognised. “Now the team is ready to take the next step, and I want to play my part in making that happen. My personal aim is to put in a good, steady performance this season.”

Gutiérrez won the GP3 Championship with something to spare in 2010. He promptly made the move up to GP2 and finished third in last year’s standings. Now the Mexican is focused on the future: “I’m really looking forward to my first season in F1. My long association with the Sauber F1 Team has given me the chance to understand the complexity of F1. But I also realise, of course, that I still have a huge amount to learn. I will be working flat out to adapt to the whole F1 environment as quickly as possible and, if things open up during races, I want to make sure I’m ready to take full advantage.”

Test and reserve driver Frijns (21) spent last year competing in the World Series by Renault – and crowned his season with the championship title. “I’m overjoyed that the Sauber F1 Team has given me this chance. I will do everything I can to support the team as effectively as possible and, at the same time, learn how things work in the professional world of F1,” said the Dutch youngster.

MIKA: I love the new Sauber F1 and will be one of the main teams I follow this season (Hulkenberg) along with Lotus (Kimi & Romain), McLaren (Button) & Mercedes (Rosberg).

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Byrne working on 2014 Ferrari

Rory Byrne, the legendary former Ferrari chief designer, was at the launch of the team’s 2013 car at Maranello on Friday.

He told Auto Motor und Sport that he is actually “working full steam” on the Italian team’s project for the 2014 car, which will be powered by the all-new turbo V6 rules.

“It’s a nice car,” the South African – referring to the newly-launched F138 – laughed, “but it’s all child’s play compared to what awaits us in 2014.”

Until then, Ferrari has the 2013 title to win after a championship drought of five years and boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed that his designers have adopted some “extreme solutions” to compete with Red Bull.

“We are just waiting for Newey to complain about our rear suspension,” AM&S quoted a team insider.

The German report said that the insider is referring to the rear profile that duplicates the 2012 Red Bull – only more extremely.

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Force India say it’s not about the money as they consider Bianchi and Sutil

Germany’s Adrian Sutil and Frenchman Jules Bianchi are frontrunners for Force India’s second Formula One race seat for the 2013 F1 world championship but the decision is about more than just the highest bidder, the team said when they launched their new car last week.

Deputy principal Bob Fernley said the team’s shareholders would take a long-term decision with 2014, when a new V6 turbocharged power unit is due to replace the existing V8 engine, and beyond in mind.

A decision, on what is the only remaining vacant seat with an established points-scoring team, was likely before the start of the second pre-season test in Barcelona on Feb. 19.

“In 2014 we are into a completely different era and we need to have drivers that we feel are going to be capable of developing the car through,” Fernley told reporters at the launch of the new VJM06 car.

“We need performance but we also need the development ability. And it’s about bringing the right person in to do all of that and getting the long-term stability.”

Force India have Britain’s Paul Di Resta as one of their drivers but have to fill the second seat vacated by Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg, now at Sauber.

The assumption, in tough financial times with teams tending to appoint drivers who can bring much-needed sponsorship millions with them, is that Force India are looking for someone with backing.

Fernley said that was not a given but was more of a media assumption.

“The decision we will make will be for the benefit of the team. And it doesn’t necessarily follow that that is a financial requirement. In fact it’s highly unlikely that it will be,” he declared.

The experienced Sutil drove for the team, through its various incarnations, from 2007 to 2011 while Bianchi was the test and reserve last season and is also a member of Ferrari’s academy.

Other experienced drivers with some sponsorship behind them and still looking for a seat include Russian Vitaly Petrov and Brazilian Bruno Senna.

Ferrari said this month that they wanted to find Bianchi a role in Formula One and that has been interpreted as a hint that he could be part of a package with the Italian engines replacing Mercedes for 2014.

However, Ferrari said at their car launch at Friday that Bianchi could be their reserve driver this season with the matter “under discussion”.

Fernley agreed that the media would inevitably “put two and two together”, and said Bianchi was “a very significant candidate” but his Ferrari connection wasn’t the key to it.

“It’s part of the decision-making process,” he said. “It would be too simplistic just to say it (the drive) is linked to an engine, because it’s not the case at all. We’ve always had these mythical stories about Paul coming linked to Mercedes and it’s total nonsense.”

Di Resta won the DTM (German touring car) title with Mercedes, has had close ties to the German car manufacturer during his career with some speculation that his breakthrough into the team was linked to the Mercedes engine deal.

The Scot will do most of the testing of the new car in Jerez next week, with the focus on systems and making sure everything is working.

Fernley doubted there would be any problems in getting the second driver up to speed before the start of the season in Australia on March 17, with simulators playing a much bigger part in preparation than track work nowadays.

“It’s nice to have the track time but the track time is only quality if we’ve got the conditions to go with it,” he said.

“Paul is a major part of what we do. He gives us stability, his technical feedback is excellent and that’s why it’s quite important that we optimise Jerez with Paul.”

Force India finished seventh overall last year and Fernley said the aim in 2013 would be to step up from being a team “knocking on the door” of the podium places to actually converting the chances. (Reuters)

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World Champions unveil the Infiniti Red Bull RB9

Infiniti Red Bull Racing set the defence of its Formula One Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship titles in motion today with the launch of its 2013 car, the RB9, at their headquarters in Milton Keynes with triple world champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber doing the honours.

In front of an audience of team members, partners, guests and international media, drivers Vettel and Webber drew back the sheet to reveal the RB9, the final instalment in a generation of designs that have bought Infiniti Red Bull Racing 34 grand prix victories and six FIA World Championships.

Nine time grand prix winner Mark and triple world champion Sebastian were joined on stage by team principal Christian Horner, chief technical officer Adrian Newey and corporate vice president global marketing communications representing Infiniti, Simon Sproule.

Despite the largely unchanged nature of the technical regulations for 2013, Adrian Newey explained that the off-season was far from relaxed.“It’s a tribute to all the hard work of the guys over the winter because we had a very tight championship battle last year,” he said. “It was difficult trying to continue development of last year’s car while also doing research into the RB9. Obviously it worked for us, but it gave us a very tight timeframe to design and manufacture this car.

“RB9 is an evolutionary car,” he added. “Probably the most significant change is not the regulations, but the new Pirelli tyres. We had a quick test with those in practice ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix but in truth we didn’t learn a lot because of the conditions. Pirelli have supplied us data about how the new tyres behave but past experience tells us that it’s only when we go testing that we [will] really find out.”

The continuity in Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s driver line-up for 2013 is much more straightforward. Sebastian is beginning his fifth year with the team, while this will be Mark’s seventh straight season with Infiniti Red Bull Racing, the longest-established team-driver combination on the 2013 grid.

“The fact that this is my seventh season with the team is a massive advantage,” said Mark. “I couldn’t have envisaged it when I joined and it’s hard to believe that you could be with the same F1 team for seven years, as continuity is not always easy to achieve in this sport.

“I think the way we keep people excited and motivated here is important,” he added. “It’s quite a small operation, but obviously we’re big on ambition and desire and that makes us perform very well. I’ve really enjoyed the years I’ve had here so far and I can’t wait to get going this season.”

After a thrilling climax to the 2012 season which saw Sebastian claim his third title in as many years, the sport’s youngest ever triple world champion has had the opportunity to recharge his batteries over the last two months and professed himself more than ready to begin the task of trying to win a fourth straight title, something done only twice before in the history of the sport.

“We had a very strong finish last season, but it was hard as the season was so long – it was important for me to enjoy being home,” he said. “Pretty soon though, I started training again, preparing for the new season and I’m very excited because this is the first time I’ve seen the car in one piece. I’ve seen little bits, but it looks very nice, so now we’ll get to see if it works as expected. I’m excited to get going again, to get back in the car, start testing and then go racing. Then, we’ll finally find out where we are.”

As Infiniti Red Bull Racing begins the defence of its world titles, Christian Horner emphasised the value of stability in the team. “The 2012 season was tough and long, but our success was testimony to all the hard work and dedication in the factory,” he said. “We’re fortunate that we’ve been able to maintain continuity within our group. This is the fifth year that this driver pairing has been together. We’ve got continuity throughout all of the technical teams and all the key areas. I think that’s proof that there is a fierce determination to keep both of those trophies in the cabinet for another year.”

The team departs for southern Spain this evening, with testing of the RB9 due to commence at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit on Tuesday. Mark will give the car its track debut, driving on Tues 5 and Wed 6 February, with Sebastian taking over for the final two days, on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 February, 2013. (Red Bull)

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Is Sauber spying on Red Bull or vice versa?

Tongue in cheek, a German specialist publication has wondered if there is a Sauber spy in the house at world champions Red Bull or vice versa, as the two teams’ new cars – the C32 and the RB9 – featured a number of remarkable similarities.

After Swiss team Sauber surprised the world with its ultra-slim sidepods and a half-’stepped’ nose for its newly launched C32, Auto Motor und Sport‘s Michael Schmidt noticed that Red Bull’s new RB9 – which broke cover on Sunday – “has the same characteristics”.

The report added with a hint of sarcasm, “Last year, we still believed in coincidence. But now it’s getting weird. The new Red Bull RB9 and the Sauber CR2 share at least two distinct pounts: the narrow sidepods and the shape of the nose is very similar in design and concept. Is it because one knows what the other is doing?”

Last year the two teams had similar, although independently conceptualised, solutions for the exhaust restrictions that came into play.

Actually, Red Bull insisted that the RB9 was a simple “evolution” of its title-winning predecessor, while Adrian Newey argued that the whole concept of a ‘new’ car is now outdated.

“It’s a car in transition, as are all the cars – development is key,” he said.

The team insisted one of the biggest changes is the new purple hue to the livery, marking the official beginning of the Infiniti title sponsorship.

In essence, it was difficult for observers at the Milton Keynes launch to make a real assessment – photography was banned, and those in the audience squinted to make out the RB9′s details in the clever lighting before the car was covered up once again.

Newey did reveal that the change in the ‘step’ nose for 2013 is a compromise between the unseemly 2012 rules and the FIA’s allowance of a so-called ‘vanity panel’ this year.

“We have a vanity panel,” he confirmed, “but it doesn’t extend very far forward otherwise it becomes unjustifiable in weight.”

Shortly after the launch, the RB9 was loaded into a transporter bound for Jerez, where Mark Webber will be at the wheel for the opening action on Tuesday. (GMM & Apex)

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Force India to choose between Bianchi, Sutil, Kobayashi or Senna

A quartet of drivers appear to be in the running for the last, highly coveted, race seat on the 2013 Formula One grid.

Strangely in the highly professional world of F1, Force India launched and debuted its new car, the VJM06, at Silverstone on Saturday with only one race driver under contract – Paul di Resta.

“Whoever does that is surely having problems,” mused veteran Swiss F1 correspondent Roger Benoit, who writes for Blick newspaper.

When asked the obvious question about the missing race driver, deputy boss Bob Fernley immediately admitted that Jules Bianchi and Adrian Sutil are candidates.

“Jules is a significant candidate, along with Adrian,” he said. “And a few others.

“I think we shouldn’t close any doors off.”

Could one of the significant others be Bruno Senna, the former HRT and Williams driver? According to one rumour, Scot di Resta has confided to some that his teammate this year will be the well sponsored Brazilian.

Another rumour is that Japanese F1 refugee Kamui Kobayashi, despite already counting himself out of the running for 2013, is now back in the frame with new sponsors.

The biggest betting money, however, is on Frenchman Bianchi, the Nicolas Todt-managed rookie who was Force India’s reserve driver last year.

His place might also be bundled with a Ferrari engine deal for 2014.

“If we’d had an ideal world,” said Fernley, “we’d have liked to run Jules for two years as a third driver.

“What’s happened with the Nico [Hulkenberg] departure is that it’s just taken us out of our comfort zone in terms of where we were wanting to plan going forward.”

Force India has said that it plans to unveil the name of di Resta’s 2013 teammate ahead of the second test in Barcelona later this month.

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Salo: Not the end of the road for Kovalainen

Former Formula One driver Mika Salo has tipped countryman Heikki Kovalainen to return to the grid in the future.

Finn Kovalainen is the latest victim of the ever-increasing influence of the ‘pay driver’ in F1, with Caterham replacing its entire 2012 lineup in favour of the heavily sponsored Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde.

When the news about Dutchman van der Garde broke, the Finnish press tried and failed to extract a comment from Kovalainen, who was paid by Caterham for the past three seasons.

Some interpreted that as a clear sign that the 31-year-old former McLaren and Renault driver knows his F1 career is over, but Salo insisted: “I don’t think so.

“I think he can still come back,” the 46-year-old, now a commentator for Finnish television, told the broadcaster MTV3.

“It often happens that there are new, young drivers, but their song can be short if they make a lot of mistakes.

“That’s when people start looking around again for an experienced professional,” added the former Ferrari and Sauber driver.

“Heikki had long negotiations with Caterham,” Salo revealed, “but in the end they chose money over skill.”

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Montezemolo: Decisions are taken by Ferrari, not Alonso

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has moved to play down what is being dubbed the ‘Jerez controversy’ by insisting that Fernando Alonso is not in charge at Maranello, as well as pointing out that the Spaniard does not make the decisions about the team.

First, some suggested that Alonso – Ferrari’s undisputed number 1 – had hand-picked Spanish countryman and former McLaren colleague Pedro de la Rosa as his test driver for 2013.

Then, it emerged that de la Rosa would be standing in for Alonso as this week’s official test action begins at Jerez.

“Decisions are taken by Ferrari, not Alonso,” insisted di Montezemolo.

Alonso, meanwhile, explained to Autosprint that he needs the break, ”After the end of the last championship, a very hard championship, we had many promotional activities and also in the first half of January I was travelling a lot for a number of commitments.”

“So as it was not possible to be ready for the first test, we decided to use that time for physical training in a hot country,” Alonso added.

He played down the importance of his Jerez absence, ”The first test of a season is to get a general impression, there is no real work aimed at performance, so I don’t think I am missing a lot.”

“I will still be in contact with the team and will be informed about everything, even from a distance. But these are the last weeks in which you can relax, because it will then be flat out until November,” said Alonso.

Montezemolo agrees: “Attention will switch to the performance [of the car] for the Barcelona test, which is why Fernando will start then.”

According to Spain’s AS newspaper, Alonso added: “Anyway, at Ferrari we are very fortunate to have other guys who are like an extension of each of us. With Felipe and Pedro it is almost like we are all the same person.”

Meanwhile, world champion Sebastian Vettel explained on Sunday that he intends to get up and running in the new Red Bull at Jerez this week.

“Testing is limited,” said the German. ”But Jerez is different in that it is a circuit you don’t race on so I don’t think you miss a lot if you don’t test there.”

At Jerez, a dry and sunny – albeit windy – week of weather is forecast for the opening test, with Speed Week’s Mathias Brunner saying only “a few harmless clouds” are dotting the skies.

Even before the circuit kicks into action, McLaren and Toro Rosso have been checking the running systems of their new cars at the Idiada test facility, according to El Mundo Deportivo newspaper.

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Petrov bows out as Caterham seat now filled

Vitaly Petrov’s manager admits that Caterham was the Russian’s “only possibility” to stay in Formula One this season, and that this is now a non-starter as the team has filled their its final berth.

“We knew this a few days ago, about the decision of the team, which we have to respect,” Oksana Kosachenko, referring to Dutchman Giedo van der Garde’s deal for 2013, is quoted by R-Sport.

“I wouldn’t say we didn’t expect it.”

Kosachenko said she will now look at what other options there are, such as a test driver seat for 28-year-old Petrov.

“We have a few offers for Vitaly to stay in F1 and around the paddock, so we have to decide what is the best for him,” she said, adding that a race seat outside F1 is “likely not” an option.

She expressed disappointment in Russian companies and also the organisers of the new Russian Grand Prix, which will take place in Sochi in 2014.

“We have to do something to promote the Sochi Grand Prix, and this is a bad mistake they are [making],” said Kosachenko, indicating that the race organisers turned down her request for sponsorship.

Lamenting the sport’s current situation, she added: “F1 is really expensive at the moment.

“Actually it isn’t a sport at the moment, it’s tending to be a show, and I believe that we have more and more and more rental drivers.”

Ironically, Petrov was initially branded a ‘pay driver’ when he debuted in 2010, but Kosachenko argues: “I believe that a driver who has shown his possibilities in F1 within three years deserves to be supported.”

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Webber counting on Red Bull support

Mark Webber is "confident" he will have 100 percent support from Red Bull despite heavy criticism from Helmut Marko.

During the off-season, Marko gave a candid interview with the Red Bulletin in which he slated the team's Australian driver.

According to the Red Bull advisor, Webber "can't maintain this form throughout the year" and "falls relatively easily into a downward spiral" as he has "trouble with the pressure".

The Aussie is determined to prove Marko wrong as he chases his maiden Drivers' Championship title but has also made it clear to Red Bull that he needs their support to do that.

"I do believe I can have a crack at the Championship again this year, as I have done in previous seasons," he said. "That's what I'm getting up each day thinking.

"The team know I need 100 percent support, you can't win World Championships with 99 percent support. That's what I'm confident of."

The 36-year-old will be the first to test the new RB9, which was launched on Sunday, when the pre-season running gets underway at Jerez on Tuesday.

"I cannot wait to get in the car," he said. "I've been strapped to Adrian's cars for quite a while now, and I can trust them, so next week will be about gathering data."

This will be Webber's seventh season with the Red Bull, which he says is a "massive advantage, and very hard to believe I've been with the team for seven years.

"But the way we keep people excited and motivated, although we've a small team mentality, we're big on desire and personality."

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McNish admits Hamilton fears

As Lewis Hamilton prepares to unveil Mercedes' new challenger, Allan McNish has expressed concerns about the Briton's future.

After 14 years at McLaren, Hamilton switched to the Silver Arrows after much speculation throughout last season.

The former World Champion's decision was met with mixed opinions, with some saying it was a good idea to leave the familiar surroundings of McLaren while others believing he is jeopardising his hopes of winning another title. McNish it seems is in the second camp.

"I don't see Lewis winning races in 2013 - and there has to be doubts that the car will be good enough in 2014," he told The Express.

"And it is easy for a lean couple of years to develop into something longer. Just look what happened to Jacques Villeneuve after he joined BAR having won the title in 1997. He never won another race.

"Lewis has got a tough task ahead of him at Mercedes. It is a gamble."

The Scot feels that Hamilton may have been premature in making his decision.

"I imagine the contract discussions with Mercedes started last April when Nico Rosberg won in China and Michael Schumacher was doing OK," he added.

"But there has been a lot of changes at Mercedes since.

"There has been a lot of talk about all the changes to the regulations in 2014 working to level out the playing field. But what you find in F1 when there are changes is that there is one man who is ahead of the game and that's Adrian Newey at Red Bull. The rest are usually playing catch-up.

"Maybe Lewis would have been better off waiting another year to see what the driver market was like then."

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Pirelli delivers 35 sets of tyres per team for Jerez test

The teams get their first taste of Pirelli’s 2013 Formula One tyres at the official opening test of the year at Jerez in southern Spain, which takes places from 5-8 February.

Although the teams already had the chance to sample the new construction during free practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix last year, this will be the first time that they try out the complete new tyre range, together with the latest-specification compounds.

The key characteristics that the teams will notice about the 2013 tyres are a bigger performance gap between the compounds and faster overall lap times, by approximately half a second per lap.

There is also a brand new colour: P Zero Orange hard, which replaces silver as the designation for the hardest tyre in the range. New markings should also make the colours easier to distinguish.

Testing quote from Paul Hembery (Pirelli Motorsport Director): “The pre-season tests represent an important opportunity for the teams to integrate their new car package with the 2013 tyres. With the number of test days strictly limited, the work done in testing will be crucial for their understanding of the tyres over the rest of the season. As many new cars will be running as well, it is sure to be an extremely busy four days in Jerez. The teams will encounter tyres that are quite different to the ones they were used to last year, as every P Zero compound and construction has been changed, with softer compounds that allow more performance and a different construction that will place a bigger footprint on the track surface to enhance traction and grip. This is one of the key aspects of Jerez, which should enable the teams to start to understand the nature of our new tyres by the time they go home on Thursday.”

Testing facts:

• Each car will have a maximum of 35 sets of Pirelli’s new P Zero soft, medium and hard compounds available in Jerez, including the Cinturato intermediate and wet tyres if needed. The supersoft will not be seen in Jerez as its characteristics are not suited for the track.
  
• Teams are allowed a maximum of 100 sets of tyres per car each year for testing purposes, and they are permitted to choose any combination of compounds they would like to test within their allowance.
  
• The 4.428-kilometre track, which contains some slow corners as well as medium to fast bends, puts particular emphasis on the rear tyres, which have to work hard to provide traction over a wide range of usage conditions.
  
• This year’s sporting and technical rules regarding tyre use are unchanged from 2012. However, as a result of the modifications made to the 2013 construction – largely a more rigid belt package – a set of tyres is now about two kilogrammes heavier than it was last year. This has been compensated for by adjusting the regulated minimum weight of the car accordingly.
  
• High degradation of the rear tyres is expected, as the tarmac roughness of the surface in Jerez is the highest of all the tracks visited during the year.
  

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NEW MERCEDES BREAKS COVER

The new Mercedes broke cover yesterday in Jerez, as Nico Rosberg shook it down ahead of the launch this afternoon and testing tomorrow.

The car, known as the F1 W04, is described as a “sophisticated evolution” of last year’s model and was officially launched this afternoon with Team principal Ross Brawn promising a “step change in performance” compared to the disappointing 2012 car.

“The restructuring we undertook at the team over the past 18 months are now growing in maturity and this is reflected in the F1 W04, which is a clear step forward in design and detail sophistication over its predecessor,” said Brawn. “Many thousands of hours of work have been invested by our technical teams in Brackley and Brixworth to ensure that the new car delivers a step change in performance compared to last season.”

One immediately noticeable logo on the side of the car is Blackberry. According to the team, “BlackBerry will collaborate with the team on technical and marketing opportunities. The new BlackBerry 10 platform will deliver tools and services for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS and fan engagement will be improved through the joint development of apps.”

Nico Rosberg Drives the F1 W04

F1W04 First Shots:

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CATERHAM, TORO ROSSO AND MARUSSIA REVEAL 2013 CARS IN JEREZ:

As the F1 testing got underway in Jerez, three more teams launched their new cars, leaving only Williams to produce a 2013 model, which they will do at the second test on February 19th.

All three teams under performed last year for different reasons and all need to raise their game this year. They have gone about it in different ways as we shall see.

Here we take a look at each of their situations and former Williams chief operations engineer Mark Gillan looks at the changes to the cars and what they mean.

Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso revealed its car on the same day as Mercedes and was rather overshadowed as a result. Whether this was deliberate or just unfortunate planning, is unclear. They have announced renewals of most of their key sponsors like CEPSA and Falcon Bank, while we already knew that the same drivers would be retained for 2013, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne. Both will be under intense pressure to get results from Red Bull driver mentor Helmut Marko, who has been ruthless in the past with drivers he does not consider likely to become winners and champions. The second year is usually the last, it’s make or break..

The Toro Rosso is fitted once again with a Ferrari engine, but the word in F1 circles is that a move for 2014 to Renault engines could be on the cards. This would align Red Bull’s two teams, both with Renault engines, which raises all kinds of possibilities. Given the current uncertainty around the rule making procedures and the recent changes in the Sporting Regulations concerning the listing of which parts of a car must be made by a team itself, there is a chance we may see some crossover from Red Bull to Toro Rosso on the 2014 cars, if they can find a way to do it within the regulations.

Chief Designer Luca Furbatto said of the car, “Development was rather limited in 2012 and this was because the STR7’s distinctive sidepod design, although initially looking quite good, later proved difficult to develop, so that we reached a plateau during the season. ”

Mark Gillan’s Technical Analysis of Toro Rosso

Technical Director James Key’s comments are quite revealing and if they did come to a relative dead end in aero development with their STR7 a sizeable mechanical change and suspension pickup point/suspension leg positional change may help provide a new avenue of development and interaction with other key components.

“The rear suspension pickups look as if they have been modified. In general the release car is not too different from last year’s (from an aerodynamic perspective) although I have yet to see a rear of car/diffuser picture which James Key says has been changed.

“The noticeable differences being the modified non-stepped nose, new front brake ducts, thinner lipped, reprofiled sidepods and updated mirrors, although there is typically not much performance in the latter item, normally less than 0.005 in aero efficiency gains, downforce/drag (or half ‘a point’ in an aerodynamicist’s language) to be had from one decent design to another.

“However one will still gladly ‘bank’ these half point gains. For reference, 3 points of aerodynamic efficiency is around a tenth of a second in lap time.

Caterham

Caterham has taken a different approach from the other teams; it has focussed its efforts on restructuring the team and produced an evolution of last year’s car, but will deliver a more definitive car later in the year. This is a bold strategy, given that significant resources need to be targeted at the 2014 car during the course of this year. It is also likely to mean that Caterham falls behind Marussia in the first part of 2013.

“We cannot satisfy ourselves anymore from being the best of the new teams,” said Caterham team principal Cyril Abiteboul. “We need to be doing better than that – and we need to say and demonstrate that we can do better than that.

“It is about finding the right balance between what, given the level of resources, we can put on the car for the first test, what will be on track for race one and how we will be able to develop the car for 2013 keeping an eye on 2014. From where we are, we will be able to afford something totally new, a new concept, along the course of the year.”

The drivers are both new: Charles Pic raced with Marussia last year and despite having the “pay driver” tag due to the budget he brings the team, he acquitted himself well against Timo Glock. Guido van Der Garde is a rookie, coming out of Caterham’s GP2 programme.

Mark Gillan’s Technical Analysis of the Caterham:

Technical Director Mark Smith says that the main change is the more undercut side pod and I would agree, as apart from minor changes to the roll hoop structural fairings, an extra turning vane on top of the more under cut side pod and subtle changes to the bodywork around the Coanda exhaust, the car looks very similar to last year.

He even states that this roll out car will be the baseline, with updates coming. The oversized front brake ducts, with outboard trim, are a distinct feature of the release car. The cascade of element on the rear brake duct drum looks less aggressive than on most cars and Caterham appeared to struggle last year in this area, maybe with correlation to the tunnel, having to flow viz this region at most events.

As the brake duct area can affect wheel lift performance, as opposed to body downforce, it can be difficult to quantify the relative performance of these particular parts, as the suspension load cells will not measure wheel related forces- hence the need to flow viz the parts and correlate them to the tunnel flow viz pictures.

Marussia

Marussia launched its car, which is a significant departure from the one it raced in 2012. The team went through a divorce with its original technical partner Nick Wirth and last year was a bit of a compromise, as the team headed by former renault engineering chief Pat Symonds, got to grips with the car. Cash is tight here and Symonds’ team has had to work hard with not very much to produce a car that can challenge. The addition of Williams’ KERS system will certainly help, as will the ongoing wind tunnel programme with McLaren. There is every chance that the Marussia will be ahead of the Caterham this season.

Max Chilton was the only driver at the launch, the second driver has yet to be confirmed, despite strong rumours last week that Brazilian GP 2 driver Luis Razia had the job.

Mark Gillan’s Technical Analysis of the Marussia

“Of all the Teams probably Marussia had one of the biggest redesign jobs on their hands for 2013 with the introduction of a new Williams supplied KERS system. Packaging a KERS system invariably leads to significant internal architectural changes which can impact on one’s weight distribution (which must remain in a tightly controlled window).

“Depending on available resources, it is likely that most components throughout the car were re-analysed to see if they could be made that bit more efficient in-order to strip some unwanted mass from them, thus ensuring that the car hit the minimum mass target with some ballast to spare. The ballast allows for adjusting the car’s weight distribution within the legal zone whilst maintaing as low as possible the centre of gravity height.

“Both the car’s engine roll hoop feed and radiator cooling side pod intakes, coanda channel and associated floor geometry and engine cover geometry have changed quite a bit this season. The KERS introduction has probably impacted some of the engine cover modifications, but with further aero development in the McLaren wind tunnel (whilst McLaren are in Toyota’s tunnel) they will no doubt have also improved the cooling efficiency map of the car too.

“The extra 3/10ths of lap time derived from the KERS system will be a welcome boost, as will the ability to better defend and attack during the race.”

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JEREZ TEST DAY 1: MCLAREN TOPS TIMES:

As the new F1 cars got down to business on the first day of testing in Jerez, Jenson Button and McLaren overcame an early on-track stoppage to top the time sheets by a considerable margin, ahead of Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean. But there were troubles for Mercedes too, as they were forced to cut the opening day short with electrical problems.

Two red flags in the morning caused by Button and Nico Rosberg put the brakes on their respective programmes, with Rosberg the most hampered as Mercedes opted to call it a day and solve the issue before Lewis Hamilton takes over on Wednesday.

Mercedes had an electrical issue, which sparked a small fire as bodywork became heated. McLaren were struck with a fuel pump problem and had to wait until the final ninety minutes of the session to set their first lap time of 2013.

They were able to make amends for lost time during a flurry of laps in the final half an hour of the day. Button completed two laps fast enough for the top spot on Pirelli’s new hard compound tyre during a short, light-fuelled run. His lap of 1m 18.861s was almost a second faster than the fastest time on Day 1 in Jerez last year.

McLaren conducted an eight lap run on the medium tyre, during which Button set an average lap time of 1:24.1s – faster than any others over a run of similar length.

Webber had a quiet day as the Champion team went about their testing as under stated as ever. And it was not until a short run on the medium tyre in the final hour that Webber could overhaul long-time pace setter, Grosjean.

Grosjean was the first to break the 80-second barrier during a short hard-clad run in the morning and went on to concentrate on longer runs in the afternoon.

Paul Di Resta and Daniel Ricciardo behind had a promising first day in their new Force India and Toro Rosso machinery. They, along with Webber, Nico Hulkenberg on his first day with Sauber and Pastor Maldonado driving the 2012 Williams, completed the most laps of anyone and all had trouble free days.

The only other red flag of the day was caused by Marussia rookie Max Chilton. The young Briton set his fastest time of the day and then suffered a suspension failure the following lap.

Jerez Test Day 1

1. Jenson Button McLaren 1m18.861s 37 Laps

2. Mark Webber Red Bull 1m19.709s + 0.848 73 Laps

3. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1m19.796s + 0.935 54 Laps

4. Paul Di Resta Force India 1m20.343s + 1.482 89 Laps

5. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Ross 1m20.401s + 1.540 70 Laps

6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.536 + 1.675s 64 Laps

7. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1m20.699 + 1.838s 79 Laps

8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m20.846 + 1.985s11 Laps

9. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m20.864s + 2.003 84 Laps

10. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1m21.915s + 3.054 64 Laps

11. Max Chilton Marussia 1m24.176s + 5.315 29 Laps

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McLaren: Morning running was compromised

The morning’s running was compromised by a mechanical fuel-pump issue, which cost a couple of hours’ track-time, but the problem was quickly rectified and the team was able to run productively for the remainder of the afternoon.

Jenson spent the first part of the day’s programme running a lower-lip rake to complete some aero mapping work. The end of the day saw the team evaluate the effects of a series of mechanical set-up changes, using both the Supersoft and Hard Pirelli tyres.

Both the aero mapping and the balance changes fell in line with the team’s pre-test expectations. Jenson set his fastest time of the day on the Hard compound.

What’s next? Sergio Perez gets his first opportunity to drive a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car tomorrow (Wednesday). The knock-on effects of this morning’s fuel-pump issue mean that he will begin his day by continuing today’s initial aero and balance checks.

The aim for tomorrow afternoon is to conduct a series of longer runs – possibly incorporating live pitstops into the mix if the team is satisfied with the day’s initial progress.

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Red Bull: The main difference is the tyres

Just 48 hours after Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s RB9 was unveiled in Milton Keynes UK, the new car took to the track at the Jerez Circuit in Spain today, at the first pre-season test of 2013.

With Mark Webber at the wheel, the RB9 completed 73 laps. Mark’s best lap of 1:19.70 was the second quickest time of the day and left the Australian greatly encouraged ahead of his seventh season with the team.

Mark said: “It was pretty good. As Adrian said at the launch, there haven’t been big changes to the regulations this year and the car is an evolution of the one we finished with last season, so there were no big surprises. I think most of the drivers will sit back tonight and think today’s times were pretty competitive.”

“It was actually like a Friday practice session in some regards. We started understanding the tyres and there were a lot of positives,” he added. “There’s a bit of housekeeping we have to get on top of but, other than that, it’s been encouraging. The car feels similar to last year’s, so the main difference is the tyres. With these tyres you’re always on your toes. It was good that we had consistent temperatures today, so we got a lot of information and feedback to analyse, which is all good. Generally though, the car feels pretty good, so I’m happy.”

Commenting on the first day’s work with RB9, Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum said: “We had a very good day’s running today. Being the first day of testing there’s always a few nerves when the car goes out, but we had very few problems and Mark managed to get through just over 323km of running. We were able to get through about 90% of what was on the list for today. If I recall, this time last year we couldn’t run in the morning because of fog, so this first day with the RB9 has been good. Tomorrow, we’ll just crack on with the work load, which means more aero work and getting to know the tyres more.”

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Lotus: The feeling is good from the E21

Lotus F1 Team’s 2013 car, the E21, took to the track for the first time with race driver Romain Grosjean at the wheel under bright blue skies in Jerez, Spain.

Romain was the fastest man on track for much of the day, ending the afternoon with the third quickest time. 54 laps were completed as the team went through its first day programme of shakedown and assessment.

Fast Facts:

• Track: Jerez, Spain, 4.4km
  
• Chassis: E21-01
  
• Weather: Sunny, ambient 7-26°C, track 6-21°C
  
• Programme: Systems checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, evaluation of the performance of the car with its initial aerodynamic package.
  
• Laps Completed: 54
  
• Classification: P3, 1:19.796
  
• Interruptions: Ballast redeployment and KERS battery change in afternoon.
  

What’s Next? Romain will complete his E21 running at Jerez tomorrow, before handing the car over to team-mate Kimi Räikkönen for the Thursday and Friday sessions.

Romain Grosjean: “The feeling is good from the E21; it feels very similar to the E20 from behind the wheel, even if it does look different from the outside. Once again Enstone has produced a car that is quick from the very first lap. We spent a little bit more time than ideal in the garage today, but that’s normal in testing. I’m happy we completed 54 laps, and even happier that all of them were quick. We now have a good idea of the new tyres and we’ll have some challenges from them; the grip level is there but performance does fall away with graining. That said, Jerez is a very specific track in this regard. The speed came easy today and we didn’t respond to the other cars going faster in the afternoon. We should go even better tomorrow.”

James Allison, Technical Director: “It’s great to see the fruits of our labours take to the track for the first time here in Jerez.

Everything has looked positive so far. The feedback from Romain has been encouraging and on the engineering side there have been no particular dramas of note. Overall it was a promising first day for this car and we hope to continue in this vein for the next days of testing.”

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Marussia: Suspension failure curtails first day

Straight after the Marussia F1 Team revealed its 2013 challenger – the MR02 – to the media this morning, the Team got its 2013 pre-season testing programme underway at the Circuito de Jerez.

With a brand new driver in a brand new car, the main thrust of the morning’s programme was acclimatisation. The Team is running KERS for the very first time so there was a detailed focus on systems and procedures, as well as getting to grips with the range of Pirelli PZero tyres available for the test.

Max left the garage shortly after running got underway at 09.00hrs CET and was immediately at home in the MR02. He steadily built his performance from there.

The Team took time out over the lunch period to conduct routine checks with the KERS and other systems before Max took to the track again for his afternoon programme. It was shortly after he had embarked on this that an issue with the right rear suspension became apparent forcing Max into a spin. The Team decided to curtail its running as a precaution while further inspection is conducted with the specific component.

Max Chilton: “This afternoon’s problem aside, I’m really happy with the start we have made to our 2013 campaign. With a new car there is always the potential for something to crop up and cut short the programme, but for the morning period everything went according to plan, which is just the start we needed. I’m sure the Team will get on top of the suspension issue very quickly so we can all pick up where we left off and start putting some more miles on what is obviously a very promising package.”

John Booth, Team Principal, Marussia F1 Team: “Up until the afternoon session we really couldn’t have been happier with the way things were going for us with the car and Max. It was a big day for him but he has been his characteristically mature and assured self, and as a consequence of that and a very seamless morning’s running, we have every reason to feel encouraged by our big picture. In terms of the specific issue we encountered this afternoon, we will naturally ensure we conduct a thorough inspection of the component in question and see what solution we can bring to recommence our programme.”

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Force India: A positive first day

Sahara Force India was back in action today as Paul Di Resta completed a busy first day of testing in the VJM06 in Jerez, Spain.

Paul completed 89 laps with a best time of 1:20.343 to finish fourth on the timesheets.

Paul Di Resta: “A positive first day and we managed to cover lots of laps – so that’s the most important thing. I felt very comfortable all day and we managed to get through the programme as we focussed on collecting aero data and understanding how well the car correlates with our simulation tools at the factory. We also started trying to learn as much about the tyres as possible so that we can carry that into tomorrow and optimise the set-up. The new compounds are quite different with the new construction and I’ve already felt a difference with the balance of the car in the low and high speed parts of the lap.”

Jakob Andreasen, Chief Race Engineer: “As first days go, we are pretty satisfied with how things went today. From the install lap onwards we managed to keep to the programme, even with the disruptions for the red flags. In the morning we focused on aero data collection before moving to baseline set-up work just before lunch. For the afternoon Paul completed some longer runs as we started to get an understanding for the 2013 tyres, especially the medium compound, and how they perform. All the while we made good progress with our system checks and we are in good shape ahead of tomorrow.”