Half a second covered the top eight runners on the 15th and final day of pre-season testing. Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in his McLaren Mercedes with Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Adrian Sutil, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Kamui Kobayashi all very close behind.
Here’s what the teams had to say...
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton was back in the car today, continuing the understanding, evaluation and development of new components that Jenson had started yesterday.
With a more innate understanding of the new package, Hamilton’s engineers were able to spend the morning fine-tuning MP4-25’s set-up while also carrying out a number of pitstop practices.
At the end of the morning, the team undertook several simulated qualifying runs - going head to head with Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher - who were also carrying out similar work.
For the final afternoon, the team ran another race simulation, carrying out three 22-lap stints. At the end of the day, Hamilton declared himself happy and comfortable with the new car and told his engineers that he’s now looking forward to Bahrain.
Red Bull
Having had less time on track than expected yesterday, Sebastian Vettel started the test for us this morning with Mark Webber finishing our pre-season preparations in the afternoon.
It was a similar programme for both drivers which the team successfully completed; establishing the final set-ups for the start of the season with varying fuel loads.
Ian Morgan, head of race engineering: “Losing a bit of time yesterday we didn’t do everything we wanted to with Seb so we got pretty much a day and half’s testing into today - which is why we’ve done 137 laps. It’s been busy but we’ve got a lot done.
“This final test was good for us. With our limited testing in the dry at the two Jerez tests, the four days of almost completely dry weather here meant that we got back on course and we’ve made a lot of progress this week. It’s been a very good test.”
Ferrari
Today marked the end of winter testing in preparation for the new season, at the Catalunya Circuit, near Barcelona. Having driven the F10 on its track debut in Valencia a month ago, it fell to Felipe Massa to bring Ferrari’s testing to a close.
Today, the Brazilian driver had a packed programme, working on evaluating the handling of the car and the Bridgestone tyres under different fuel loads.
Massa completed a total of 114 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.20:539s, third fastest.
Force India
Adrian Sutil brought the Force India team’s 2010 winter testing programme to a close at the Circuit de Catalunya today. The German ended the testing on a high with the fourth quickest time of the day, 0.139secs behind Lewis Hamilton.
Sutil worked through a full race programme today in anticipation of the start of the 2010 championship in just two weeks’ time. He conducted a race simulation and qualifying runs, in addition to aero and brake work.
With a combined total of approximately 4,000km and 12 days of testing under its belt, the team will now head back to Silverstone to finalise preparations for the Bahrain Grand Prix on 14 March.
Adrian Sutil: "I feel like this was the first proper test day for me. We did our long race simulation and I think we can be quite happy and confident. The pace was good, the tyre life was very good, and I was able to run a lot of laps on both the soft and the hard tyres without any problems so both compounds seem to be working really well for us. Also the qualifying sim went well. Speed-wise the car is competitive and we have to show it in Bahrain now."
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer: "This morning was very windy, and it was affecting the balance of the car quite a lot. We changed our programme because of this, completing some long run evaluations either side of lunch and some performance outings in the afternoon with Adrian. He also tested some different brake materials and some developments for the brake cooling. It was a good day to complete our 2010 winter testing programme, covering 100 laps and signing off our pre-season test objectives.
"The team has worked extremely hard these past four days and they deserve credit for a very intensive February of running."
Mercedes
Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of the MGP W01 car today to conclude this week’s four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and complete his own on-track preparations for the new season.
Schumacher spent the morning focusing on qualifying simulations and developing the set-up of the car before working on race procedures throughout the afternoon. Schumacher completed 123 laps with a quickest time of 1:20.745.
Today’s action brings the pre-season test programme to a conclusion after fifteen days of track action in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona during February.
With the new season getting underway in less than two weeks, Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will next be in action on Friday 12 March for the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher: "The four testing days here in Barcelona have helped us to make significant progress with the MGP W01 and I am feeling quite confident for the start of the season.
"It is always difficult to read too much into testing but knowing our programme, it is fair to say that the times did not always reflect the true picture. We have worked through many set-up and development evaluations this week and gained valuable information to study before Bahrain.
"We are heading the first race with a good feeling and we know that we will have our upgrades there. But most of all we know that our prospects for even the first races are looking very reasonable now."
Ross Brawn: "Today brings our pre-season testing programme to its conclusion and overall we are very pleased with the progress made with the MGP W01 and the integration of Michael and Nico into our team.
"In performance terms, we are not quite where we want to be yet but then again we are not far off. In testing, it is always difficult to be precise about your position relative to the competition, and we have our complete upgrade package due for the first race in Bahrain which should bring further improvements.
"Michael and Nico have both looked very good during the tests and they are working well together to improve the car."
Williams
No information available from Williams today.
Sauber
On the final day of pre-season testing Kamui Kobayashi was again on duty for the Sauber team. A gearbox problem cost about two hours of track time before lunch. In the afternoon the team tried to catch up with the programme, but had to contend with an early stop to its running. Nevertheless, technical director, Willy Rampf, has drawn a positive conclusion after a total of 16 test days.
Willy Rampf, technical director: “After the car ran smoothly during the earlier tests, unfortunately our final day of testing was hampered by reliability problems. In the morning it was a shifting problem, which needs to be analysed, and at the end it was a problem in the fuel system. Certainly both can be solved before Bahrain. In Barcelona we have been testing new aero parts, which confirmed the performance we expected after the wind tunnel tests.
"We also concentrated further on getting the best out of the mechanical set-ups. We have defined the Bahrain package now and feel ready for the season to kick off. The team has four very busy weeks behind it and we are very much looking forward to finally going racing. We are happy with the overall performance of the car, considering the conditions under which the lap times were achieved.”
Kamui Kobayashi: “We didn’t manage to achieve the expected mileage today because of technical issues. However, for me it was still a good day because we ran through several procedures for the first race weekend. As I said yesterday, these things are very important for me and I can see I’m improving. I feel ready for Bahrain.”
Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi: “I am pleased with my two days here in Barcelona. Today, we concentrated on doing a scan of various mechanical set-up options as well as some aero work. Overall, I think we are in good shape and now I’m looking forward to the first race to see where we stand compared to everyone else.”
Franz Tost: “Just two weeks from today, we will be racing in the Bahrain Grand Prix. It will be Scuderia Toro Rosso’s first ever race with a car designed totally in-house. Thanks to an intensive and effective programme through 2009 and the enormous efforts of all our staff and suppliers we were able to get our car out on schedule and I want to thank them for a job well done.
"Because the car was ready on time, we have made the most of the 15 days of testing, during which STR5 has enjoyed excellent reliability. We therefore managed to complete a very respectable mileage with both our drivers, despite the bad weather at the two Jerez tests.
"It was also important that both Jaime and Sebastien completed a full race simulation here in Barcelona. It means we can arrive at the Sakhir circuit reasonably confident as far as reliability goes. We have also seen that our two relatively inexperienced drivers have learned a lot from these test days and that they have been diligent over the winter in their physical preparation.
"Never before, in its five year history has Scuderia Toro Rosso gone into a season so well prepared. It just leaves the big question – how fast will we be? And the answer to that will have to wait at least until after qualifying and the race in Bahrain.”
Renault
Renault lost some track time in the morning with a technical problem, but covered good mileage in the afternoon.
Robert Kubica: “In the morning we lost a lot of track time with a technical problem. In the afternoon we tried to do a race distance, which was interrupted, but we did cover a lot of laps. Afterwards we just did a couple more runs for set-up work to try and improve the car a bit more.”
Alan Permane, chief engineer: “Our final day of testing was a mixed one as we suffered a problem with the gearbox on the installation lap, which limited our running. We managed to get back out at the end of the morning to evaluate some new aero parts and also worked on improving the set-up of the car. For the afternoon we tried to cover a race distance, and although it was interrupted, we did cover the desired number of laps. To end the day we returned to our set-up programme.”
Lotus
Hot weather in Barcelona provided the backdrop for the final day of testing on track for the Lotus Racing team before the 2010 season kicks off in earnest.
Heikki Kovalainen took the Lotus Cosworth T127 for its final session as the test season drew to a close and completed a total of 65 laps in the five month old challenger.
After some developmental mechanical and weight balance changes, the team were happy to see yet more improvement in the car’s reliability and pace.
The test has confirmed Lotus Racing’s belief that they have a reliable car, ready for its debut in Bahrain. Consistency and completion of races are the key goals for the first few Grand Prix, until further aero developments - scheduled for the Barcelona GP.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: "It was a game of two halves as they say; we had a good morning where we were able to complete all our plans but a problem with the programme change on the gearbox delayed us in the afternoon, which meant we weren’t able to do as much running as we wanted.
"Overall, however, the test has been extremely productive - in general we’ve had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.
"Considering the length of time we’ve had to work on the project it’s a fantastic effort from the whole team. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard over the two tests and we now have to work on the pace of the car and improve that, but it’s been a tremendous effort from the whole team and I’m very proud of them."
Virgin
Virgin Racing today concluded its three-test, pre-season programme at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, the team’s final day of running ahead of the season curtain-raiser in Bahrain in two weeks’ time.
In consistently warm and dry conditions, Lucas di Grassi completed 49 laps and set a best time of 1:26.160.
The past three weeks have witnessed a monumental effort by the whole team to ensure Virgin Racing arrives in Bahrain in the best possible shape. Despite a few mechanical trials and tribulations along the way, the team takes away many positives from the programme, particularly in the areas of aerodynamic performance and validation.
Nick Wirth, Technical Director for Virgin Racing, commented: “Once again, our running today has been heavily compromised by the reoccurrence of the hydraulic leak. We have new components designed to fix this issue on their way for the Bahrain race and we’re looking forward to putting that particular story behind us. Lucas did manage to conduct some productive race work but we leave Barcelona having never run a qualifying simulation or the super soft tyres that all our competitors are likely to have set their times on. Now both Virgin Racing and Wirth Research have a busy two weeks preparing both race cars and spares for our debut in Bahrain.”