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Jarno Trulli took over from Timo Glock to conclude Panasonic Toyota Racing's three-day test programme at Hockenheim. Like Timo on Wednesday, Jarno used a 'shark fin' engine cover for his installation lap to test the stability of the configuration but then reverted to a standard engine cover as a base for the day's testing.
Jarno focused on the upcoming German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, working on different aerodynamic set-ups as well as getting experience of the medium and hard Bridgestone Potenza tyres in use next weekend. He enjoyed a reliable day's running and finished with 129 laps in the book. The team's next action also comes at Hockenheim, when practice for the German Grand Prix begins next Friday.
Jarno Trulli - Chassis TF108-04
Best Lap Time: 1min 16.065s
Position: 9th
Total laps: 129
"We concentrated mainly on aerodynamic experimentation and also did some brake and tyre comparisons. I got through a busy schedule and did more laps than anyone today. It will give us a lot of data to maximise the car set-up at next week's German Grand Prix. There were no mechanical issues, we completed what we needed to do and I'm happy."
Gerd Pfeiffer, Test Team Manager
"It has been a busy and varied three days with Kamui in the car on the opening day, followed by Timo and then Jarno. We have done a lot of aerodynamic and brake work as well as evaluating the Bridgestone compounds that will be available to us next week in quite varying conditions. We have a lot of data to work through in Cologne and I want to thank everyone for their efforts."
Circuit: Hockenheimring - 4.574 kms Driver: Sebastian Vettel
Chassis: STR3-02 Best time: 1:15.556, 106 laps Scuderia Toro Rosso had to end today's test session early, but it was for the positive reason that, having run pretty much trouble free for the past three days, the engine in the car had reached its mileage limit. German Seb had a full day at the wheel, continuing with preparation work for the German Grand Prix. He evaluated various mechanical and aero set-ups, did long runs to compare the tyre types and also did some work
aimed at improving brake performance. "We had three good test days here in Hockenheim, managing to do a lot of laps," commented team principal Franz Tost. "I think we have found quite a good set-up and have
a good understanding of the differences between the Bridgestone prime and option choices we will have next week. This means we should have a good baseline from which to start the test session next Friday morning
here in Hockenheim and we are looking forward to the German Grand Prix."
Robert Kubica
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08-06 / BMW P86/8
Test kilometres today: 490 km (107 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:15.869 min
Programme:
As Nick Heidfeld in the past two days Robert Kubica today tested different setup solutions not only for the upcoming German Grand Prix but for the future as well. Not concentrating on a single fast lap time he completed 490 kms also collecting valuable data on the two tyre compounds (medium and hard) nominated for the German Grand Prix. In perfect weather conditions Kubica also took the opportunity – given to all teams by the Hockenheimring organisers – to conduct start tests not as usual in the pitlane but on the start and finish straight. Several pitstop practice runs summed up today’s programme. The BMW Sauber F1.08 car ran without problems the whole day increasing the Hockenheim total to 1.286 kms and finishing a positive test session for the team.
What comes next:
The BMW Sauber F1 Team is now looking forward to it’s home Grand Prix which will take place at the end of next week at the Hockenheimring.
Circuit: Hockenheimring - 4.574 km
Driver: Felipe Massa
Car: F2008
Weather: air temperature 20/31 °C, track temperature 21/42 °C. Sunny.
Third and final day of testing for the Formula 1 teams at the Hockenheim circuit, in preparation for the German Grand Prix, that will take place at this track on 20th July.
Felipe Massa was on track for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, bringing to a close the development programme on new mechanical and aerodynamic components fitted to the F2008. He also worked on finding the best set-up on the car for the next race. The car ran trouble-free and Felipe was able to complete the scheduled programme an hour before the track closed for the day: 109 laps were completed, the quickest in a time of 1.14.989.
"It was a good day's work," said Felipe. "We did a lot of kilometres and I have to say the car felt well balanced. This can only mean that we should also be competitive at this track, which is also the case for our main rivals."
While Massa was driving at Hockenheim, his team-mate was in Brussels, taking part in the European Youth Conference for Road Safety, which took place at the European Commission Headquarters in the Berlaymont Palace.
The Scuderia will be back on track this coming Tuesday 15th July at Fiorano, where Luca Badoer will shake down the cars that will be used in the German Grand Prix.
The ING Renault F1 Team completes its Hockenheim test Fernando Alonso, R28-04, 115 laps, 523 km, fastest lap 1:15.593 The ING Renault F1 Team completed its Hockenheim test programme today, bringing to a close its preparations for next week’s German Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso remained in the R28 for his second day of work with the team this week and benefited from near perfect weather conditions with temperatures in the region of 30°C.
The team made the most of the warm and sunny weather to complete a total of 115 laps, equivalent to 523km. Having completed a successful R&D programme yesterday, the team shifted its attention today to working on improving the set-up of the R28, tyre evaluation and general race preparation. The team was able to complete its programme as planned, improved the car and now looks forward to returning here next week for the German Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso: “Another busy day, covering lots of laps and getting more data, which will be useful for the race next week. It was quite nice to drive with the warmer temperatures because I think it is more representative of what we will have over the race weekend. We were certainly more competitive today, so it is clear that we have improved the car and that we are going in the right direction, but we still have some further ideas to explore over the race weekend.” Christian Silk, Chief Test Engineer: “We concentrated on race preparation work today, did some tyre evaluation, and completed the rest of our programme. The car was working reasonably well and so overall we are quite happy with the week’s work and looking forward to the race here. It was good to run in the warm temperatures today because they are more typical of what we can expect next week.”
Giancarlo Fisichella took over for the final day of the Force India Formula One Team's three-day test at the Hockenheimring. Following on from Adrian Sutil's progress over the past two days, Giancarlo worked on aero development, tyre comparisons and establishing a set-up for the German Grand Prix in just over a week's time. Although the Italian's quickest lap was just one second slower than the day's fastest time, he completed just 74 laps over the day. The programme was curtailed in the morning following a fuel system failure at around 10:30, and then a heavy impact in the afternoon. Both caused some down time, however the team were able to complete the overall test programme. The team will now return to its Silverstone HQ to reintegrate the test findings into its preparations for next week's German Grand Prix. Team quotes Dominic Harlow, chief race and test engineer 'We had much better weather today, which was more representative of the conditions we are likely to see in the race next week. The programme focussed on testing some aero development items, brakes and tyre comparisons and, despite the downtime, we were able to complete the test objectives. The two issues we had did not cause us too many problems; we had a fuel system failure in the morning and then the repairs following Giancarlo's accident took a couple of hours, but our programme was completed as part of preparations for the race here.' Giancarlo Fisichella 'It was a bit frustrating we could not do more running. In the morning we had the technical problem and had to stop for some time, then in the afternoon I had an accident. The rear of the car went away and I just lost control through the stadium complex. The car went across the road and there's not much run off area there so I went into the wall. I'm fine, but the car was quite badly damaged. The guys did a good job to get it out again for the last 30 minutes. Overall we are making some small improvements and moving forward. We will have to see how they work next weekend.' Testing data Driver: Giancarlo Fisichella Track: Hockenheimring, Germany Best lap time: 1min 16.133 Laps completed: 74 Kilometres completed 338km Air temperature: High of 31ºC Track temperature: High of 40ºC Weather: Dry and warm
| Date | Thursday July 10 2008 | | Driver | Heikki Kovalainen | | Location | Hockenheim | | Track length | 4.574km | | Weather | Hot and sunny, with clear blue skies
Track temperature 42°C/Ambient temperature 29°C | | Laps completed today | 123 laps | | Laps completed in total at test | 299 laps (75+101+123) | | Kilometres covered today | 562.6KM | | Kilometres covered in total at test | 1367.6km (343 +462 + 562.6) | | Best lap time of Heikki today | 1m15.289 at 11:23 AM | | Best lap time of the test | 1m14.872 (Lewis on Wednesday) | | Programme | Heikki joins the test team to continue development work of new aerodynamic and mechanical components and evaluate a number of different race set-ups ahead of the Santander German Grand Prix. | | Duration of test | Three days (July 8th - 10th 2008) | | Next test: | Jerez, Spain (July 22nd - July 25th 2008) |
The Honda Racing F1 Team today concluded a three-day test at the
Hockenheimring in Germany, the scene of Round 10 of the FIA Formula One
World Championship which takes place next weekend.
Buoyed by Rubens' podium finish in last weekend's British Grand Prix,
the team got back to the business of evaluating further developments to
the car for the balance of the European races. The German Grand Prix
will see the introduction of the team's next package of aerodynamic,
engine and mechanical improvements. In addition, the drivers have been
conducting general set-up work in order to get a head start for when
they return to Hockenheim next weekend, with mixed weather conditions
this week laying the foundations for what could be an equally variable
race weekend according to early forecasts.
Alex Wurz was in the car for day one, bearing the brunt of the
intermittent rain showers and very gusty wind conditions, which
frustrated his progress. Nonetheless the team made the most of every
opportunity to get out on track and commence the planned programme of
aerodynamic and mechanical evaluations and he completed 89 laps.
Rubens Barrichello joined the team for day two of the test, which saw a
gradual improvement in the weather conditions. He continued the
evaluation of the new mechanical and aero parts but also took part in a
10-minute race start session from the Hockenheim grid. Rubens' day was
frustrated by instability of the car under braking, despite various
set-up changes to try to improve the issue. He also suffered a gearbox
problem which compromised some of his afternoon session. He was able to
complete the planned programme however and a total of 90 laps.
Warm and sunny conditions greeted the arrival of Jenson Button for day
three of the test. He completed a total of 121 laps in a continuation of
the upgrade evaluation programme, together with the simulated race
starts and live refuelling where the team addressed the issues which
created a problematic second pitstop for both drivers in last weekend's
race. Jenson ended the day in second position in the timings.
Alex Wurz
"I experienced pretty much every extreme of weather during my one day on
the track, with sun, rain and a full-blown storm changing the course of
the day in a matter of minutes. At least we are prepared for any
scenario next weekend! We had a big list of items to get through so we
made the most of every chance to get out on track and I think we
achieved some interesting tests with the engine driveability and
aerodynamic developments. It made a refreshing change to test at a
different venue to the typical Spanish test tracks."
Rubens Barrichello
"This was the first time I have tested at Hockenheim and obviously it is
extremely beneficial to be able to test at a track the week prior to
actually racing there. We had some problems with the braking stability
which we spent a lot of time trying to fix, however most of the planned
programme was positive. Hockenheim is a track that has given me a lot of
pleasure in the past so I'm looking forward to next week. I think we
have made a small step this week but in dry conditions we are still not
as competitive as we need to be."
Jenson Button
"My day in the car was very productive and we did a lot of useful
aerodynamic work and long run comparisons with the different tyre
compounds. The new parts we tested were positive and we achieved a lot
during my 121 laps. As always we won't really know how much of an
improvement the developments will bring until we are into the race
weekend, but
I'm looking forward to coming back here next week."
Steve Clark
"We are introducing our new aero package for next weekend's race, a
continuation of the developments we brought to Silverstone. The weather
conditions at the last test made it difficult to fully evaluate the
benefit of those developments therefore we have conducted a further
review which has made this an especially busy test. We also have some
improvements for engine driveability, together with mechanical changes
and a new fuel system which is unrelated to the pit stop issue we
encountered in Silverstone with Rubens. However, we have of course taken
the opportunity to identify the cause of Sunday's issues and will revise
our methods in time for the German Grand Prix. All the indications are
that we have made progress here this week."
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