2nd Winter test, Barcelona 2013

[Rob]

Just couple more days to go now. I think the last test we will see the Melbourne spec parts, some of. And this week we will see Fernando in the F138, finally. And at Barcelona, we should see how the cars go on this track as it is what we race on and have a better track surface than Jerez.


Second test for Ferrari, first test for Alonso

Maranello, 17 February – Formula 1 continues its winter residency in Spain, when the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, hosts the second pre-season test session starting on Tuesday. The four day test, from 19th to 22nd February, will give Scuderia Ferrari the opportunity to confirm its findings from the week spent in Jerez and hopefully, move forward in terms of understanding and performance: pretty much the same goals as the ten other teams, albeit with one added element, the first on-track appearance of 2013 for Fernando Alonso. The Spanish double world champion will have a direct effect on the week’s events, as the crowds will flock to the circuit to see their hero in action, creating a noisy buzz that’s unusual for testing.

In light of the total twelve days of testing, to allow the Spanish to complete his training programme, two weeks ago the team had decided to opt for Felipe Massa and Pedro de la Rosa for the first session in Jerez. Fernando has therefore maximized the time available and tackled the task with great dedication, performing a focused physical preparation worthy of the best Olympic athlete by alternating between gym sessions, running and biking. Now Fernando is ready to slip into the cockpit of the F138 and benefit from all the work of Felipe and Pedro in Andalusia. This week it will be the Brazilian to sit out for the first three days, with the handover from his team-mate scheduled on Friday.

After driving in Jerez, Massa declared to be optimistic but cautious: the F138 is a much better starting base than the F2012 and only a constant development work will say if it will be better than the competitors’ cars as well. The Brazilian even stated he was more impressed with Jenson Button’s lap times but the fact that Felipe set the quickest time of the four days had already been seized on by observers as a sign that the Prancing Horse will gallop away with the title. However, in Maranello, the culture of not paying attention to speculation, focussing on one’s own tasks and working hard means that preparing for another week of testing has been occupying everyone’s time to the full, without any distractions. 2013 is the last season run to the current rules and after a long period of stability in the regulations, the performance levels between the teams inevitably closes up, so a positive start in Jerez is just that, a positive start and nothing more.

While time spent in Jerez was useful, the Circuit de Catalunya is reckoned to be a more realistic test of how a car really performs, with aerodynamics, the key to modern F1 performance, playing a more important role here. Therefore, the Scuderia Ferrari job sheet for the four days includes more tyre testing, on a track surface that is more representative of what lies ahead in terms of degradation and pace, while aerodynamically, the engineers will continue gathering data, as well as already introducing some new elements and updates, as part of a relentless development programme that began even before the F138 turned a wheel.

http://www.ferrari.com/english/formu...or-alonso.aspx

[Hornet]

Wow, here we are 2nd testing, just a month away now from the fast approaching Australia GP. Looking forward to seeing what Ferrari brings this week.

[PURE PASSION]

Wow, here we are 2nd testing, just a month away now from the fast approaching Australia GP. Looking forward to seeing what Ferrari brings this week.

This week propably not to match!
The last one will be the decisive one!!

[fratelliferrari]

Really looking forward to this testing week. Iam excited if we will know some more about the pace of our car! Forza Ferrari!

[mark p]

I want to hear what observers see in car behaviour on the mid to fast turns as well as low speed traction rather than any laptimes. interesting to hear about how the balance of cars appear.

[fratelliferrari]

I agree with you mark p and I meant the same with my comment. Iam also very interested what Fernando feels and thinks of the F138!

[TheProdigalSon]

Now we will see a bit of what this car has got

[Massimo181]

Does anyone know if Fernando is driving tomorrow or is Massa?

[Rishu]

Does anyone know if Fernando is driving tomorrow or is Massa?

For the first three days, it will be Alonso. Massa will be back on Friday

[fronaldo]

Does anyone know if Fernando is driving tomorrow or is Massa?

i think alonso will take part in first 3 days before massa will resume in Friday..correct me if i'm wrong

[stefa]

I wonder if we are going to see tomorrow some visible modifications on F138?

[Senna4Ever]

i think alonso will take part in first 3 days before massa will resume in Friday..correct me if i'm wrong

exactly the same information I have from other web sites.
How reliable? ... who knows as it no official Ferrari source ...

Lets hope for the best for the upcoming tests ...

[Rishu]

It is official. Read the first post of this thread

[slak]

Ferrari will be 6 tenths faster tomorrow Alonso is testing

[anakin]

its just bad luck for felipe. weather predictions. it is dry from Tuesday until Thursday. but its wet on friday.

[medeni73]

it is not that bad...its also important to see if our car will be Rain-Monster this year too :)

[SashAlex]

It's already tomorrow. Times flies fast. The race in Brazil was like yesterday.

[SashAlex]

it is not that bad...its also important to see if our car will be Rain-Monster this year too :)

That's a good point there because a fast car may really struggle when there are dump or wet conditions or vice a versa as it was the case with our F2008 not being easy on the drivers when it was wet and with the F2012 being probably the fastets last year in all the wet summer races.

[Rob]

Pirelli preview for the official F1 test in Barcelona
Teams try out full Pirelli tire range on familiar territory in Spain.
Added: 38 minutes agoThis page has been viewed: 21 times

Milan, February – The teams head off to Barcelona this week for the second four-day test of the year. The venue is the Circuit de Catalunya: a popular location for testing due to temperatures that are usually mild all year round and a technical layout that challenges every aspect of car and tyre performance.
The theory goes that if a car can be quick in Barcelona, it can be quick in most places. This is what all the teams will be trying hard to establish over the next four days.
Testing Quote:
Paul Hembery (Pirelli Motorsport Director): “All the teams will have their new cars in Barcelona and the entire range of 2013 P Zero tyres will be at their disposal. Barcelona is a circuit that the teams have plenty of data on already, which is useful for comparison purposes.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director
Photo by: XPB Images
So it should be possible for them to carry out plenty of productive work to help understand how their new cars interact with our latest generation of tyres, which are generally softer and faster than last year with deliberately increased degradation.
The limiting factor at the opening test in Jerez earlier this month was the abrasiveness of the track, so hopefully conditions will be more representative this time.
There is always the potential for low ambient temperatures though: last year, we actually saw some ice on the track in the morning…”
Testing Facts:
Each car will have a maximum of 35 sets of Pirelli’s new P Zero supersoft, soft, medium and hard compounds available in Barcelona, including the Cinturato intermediate and wet tyres if needed. In total, each team is allowed 100 sets of tyres per car for testing purposes over the course of a season. Pirelli will pick 20 of the sets that will be tested at Barcelona per car, while the teams are free to pick 15 more that they would like to try. Any sets of tyres not used at the previous test in Jerez may be carried forward to this test.
Barcelona is well known as an extremely challenging circuit for tyres, with the front-left tyre in particular subjected to a lot of work. This is because of the high number of right-hand corners on the 4.655-kilometre track. Turn three puts the most energy through the front-left tyre, equating to a load of 3.9g. The rear tyres also have to withstand plenty of stress in order to provide the combined traction needed coming out of the slower corners.
The third sector of the circuit, with its wide variety of corners, is the most demanding part of the track. A compromise set-up is needed in Barcelona to deal with the many different speeds and corners, but the teams will be altering many more parameters than they would during a race weekend in order to see the effects of set-up changes on the cars and tyres.
Pirelli Motorsport

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/pi...t-in-barcelona

[CDN-fan]

What I'm looking for in a PRE-SEASON TEST SESSION :

- No extended delays due to unexpected mechanical failures (Mercedes).

- Many multi-lap trials with a variety of lap times (we're trying many options, not all will work).

- Several extended runs with close and consistent fast lap times (we're dialing it in now).

- MAYBE a hot lap or two, but don't give anything away, save it for Melbourne.

- Consistency, consistency, consistency, with reasonable lap times and reliability.

...that's enough for now.

(oh, and a few good photoshops!)

[Werner601]

Does anyone have a link to see the testing times today ?

[mihirshah28186]

http://f1tests.info/2013.php
http://live.autosport.com/

[tifosi1993]

Does anyone have a link to see the testing times today ?

http://f1tests.info/2013.php?rev=on

http://www.msfree.gr/ms.php?id=29552

[anialonso]

Hoping that Ferrari build up on that great Jerez platform and also for some great innovative upgrades as said by pat fry..

[tifosi1993]

http://www.ferrari.com/english/formu...a-ferrari.aspx

[7mi]

Alonso on track..

[SinanOzerS]

Alonso getting in and out on the track.

[7mi]

Any pictures of our car yet?

[medeni73]

no pictures yet but AMUS says we have new exhaust
Google translation:
"The exhaust is the third version. The tailpipes are now more embedded in the side pods and are farther away from the diffuser. The bulge, in which the exhaust is, there is only indicated."

[number 13]