Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Thursday starts the second F1 test of the year ,this time at the Circuit de Catalunya it will be a 4 day test , until sunday . Here are the names of the drivers :

Mercedes AMG Petronas
Thursday: Lewis Hamilton
Friday: Nico Rosberg
Saturday: Lewis Hamilton
Sunday: Nico Rosberg

Infiniti Red Bull Racing
Thursday: Daniel Ricciardo
Friday: Daniel Ricciardo
Saturday: Daniil Kvyat
Sunday: Daniil Kvyat

Williams Martini Racing
Thursday: Susie Wolff
Friday: Felipe Massa
Saturday: Valtteri Bottas
Sunday: Felipe Massa / Valtteri Bottas

Scuderia Ferrari
Thursday: Kimi Raikkonen
Friday: Kimi Raikkonen
Saturday: Sebastian Vettel
Sunday: Sebastian Vettel

McLaren-Honda
Thursday: Jenson Button
Friday: Jenson Button
Saturday: Fernando Alonso
Sunday: Fernando Alonso

Toro Rosso
Thursday: Max Verstappen
Friday: Carlos Sainz
Saturday: Max Verstappen
Sunday: Carlos Sainz

Lotus F1
Thursday: not yet known
Friday: not yet known
Saturday: not yet known
Sunday: not yet known

Sauber F1 Team
Thursday: Felipe Nasr
Friday: Marcus Ericsson
Saturday: Marcus Ericsson
Sunday: Felipe Nasr

Sahara Force India:
Thursday: not yet known
Friday: not yet known
Saturday: not yet known
Sunday: not yet known

The test days in Barcelona are from 9:00 to 17:00 CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Statistics from the 1st 4 days winter test at Jerez :

Combined time table over the four days of testing in Jerez:
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 01.20.841 (197 laps)
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 01.20.984 (148 laps)
3. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 01.21.545 (196 laps)
4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 01.21.982 (308 laps)
5. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 01.22.019 (184 laps)
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 01.22.172 (208 laps)
7. Felipe Massa, Williams, 01.22.276 (144 laps)
8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 01.22.319 (134 laps)
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 01.22.553 (170 laps)
10. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 01.22.713 (137 laps)
11. Carlos Sainz Jr., Toro Rosso, 01.23.187 (182 laps)
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 01.23.338 (83 laps)
13. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 01.23.802 (53 laps)
14. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 01.23.975 (81 laps)
15. Jenson Button, McLaren, 01.27.660 (41 laps)
16. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 01: 35 553 (38 laps)

Number of rounds per team:
1. Mercedes (516 laps)
2. Sauber-Ferrari (380 laps)
3. Toro Rosso Renault (352 laps)
4. Ferrari (345 laps)
5. Williams-Mercedes (278 laps)
6. Lotus Mercedes (190 laps)
7. Red Bull-Renault (164 laps)
8. McLaren-Honda (79 laps)

Number of rounds per engine manufacturer:
1. Mercedes (984 laps)
2. Ferrari (725 laps)
3. Renault (516 laps)
4. Honda (79 laps)

F1 teams showed their ready eagerness for the Australian GP ! 2294 Laps and 155 Tyres in only 4 days at the Jerez Test :

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Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 4th and last day of winter testing at Jerez :

Kimi Raikkonen fastest for Ferrari on final day :

1 : Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 1m20.841s - laps 106
2 : Marcus Ericsson - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m22.019s 1.178s laps 112
3 : Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1m22.172s 1.331s laps 117
4 : Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m22.553s 1.712s laps 97
5 : Felipe Massa - Williams/Mercedes - 1m23.116s 2.275s laps 73
6 : Romain Grosjean - Lotus/Mercedes - 1m23.802s 2.961s laps 53
7 : Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull/Renault - 1m23.975s 3.134s laps 64
8 : Jenson Button - McLaren/Honda - 1m27.660s 6.819s laps 35

Kimi Raikkonen ended the first Formula 1 test of 2015 on top for Ferrari, setting the fastest time of the week at Jerez on Wednesday afternoon. The 2007 world champion spent most of the day at the top of the times, running on the medium and hard-compound tyres during the morning, before switching to some soft-tyre running late in the afternoon. Raikkonen reiterated his belief that Ferrari has started 2015 in encouraging shape. "Compared with the last car it feels at lot better," he said. "We still have a lot of things to work on and things to improve, but we have something we can work on and the team has done a good job over the winter to prepare and make this car. "We can be happy about that, but it's still early days." It was during a sequence of runs on the yellow-sidewalled Pirellis that Raikkonen set the best time of the four days, going one tenth of a second faster than Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel managed on day two (on mediums). Sauber once again got itself towards the front as it completed some soft-tyre running for the fourth consecutive day, with Marcus Ericsson edging out Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes for the second-fastest time with half an hour to go. Ericsson caused a last-minute red flag when his car ran out of fuel on track. Hamilton succeeded in passing the 100-lap mark for the first time at this test, after a water leak limited him to 91 on day two. The reigning world champion did not have a perfect day though, as a spin at the chicane brought out the red flags in the morning. It was only a minor delay to Mercedes' programme, with Hamilton returning to the track just 40 minutes after he caused the stoppage. At the other end of the timesheets, Lotus and McLaren both wrapped up the test early due to power unit and fuel pump problems respectively, while Red Bull lost time with an ERS problem earlier in the day that forced Daniil Kvyat to stop on track in the morning. McLaren had a troubled morning as well, when an "operational issue relating to the oil level" caused a delay to its programme in the morning. Button finished the day with 35 laps to his name, and he set the Honda-powered MP4-30's fastest lap of the week with a 1m27.660s.

Next winter test will be at february 19 , 20 ,21 ,22 ,at the Catalunya Circuit in Spain

The engine sounds of the 2015 Formula 1 cars !!!



Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 3rd day of winter testing at Jerez :

Felipe Nasr's Sauber pips Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari :

1: Felipe Nasr - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m21.545s - laps 109
2: Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 1m21.750s 0.205s laps 94
3: Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1m21.982s 0.437s laps 151
4: Felipe Massa - Williams/Mercedes - 1m22.276s 0.731s laps 71
5: Pastor Maldonado - Lotus/Mercedes - 1m22.713s 1.168s laps 96
6: Carlos Sainz Jr. - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m23.187s 1.642s laps 137
7: Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull/Renault - 1m23.901s 2.356s laps 49
8: Fernando Alonso - McLaren/Honda - 1m35.553s 14.008s laps 32

Felipe Nasr topped the third day of Formula 1 testing at Jerez for Sauber, as the team's soft tyre strategy finally got it ahead of Ferrari.
The Swiss team opted for a quick run on the yellow-sidewalled Pirelli tyres for the third successive day, but while it narrowly missed out on top spot to Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari on days one and two, Nasr was able to beat Vettel's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to that honour on Tuesday. Nasr's lap came just a couple of minutes after Raikkonen had gone quickest on a set of medium-compound tyres, during a mid-afternoon spell where the Sauber had a couple of turns at the top and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes briefly got in on the act as well. Mercedes once again dominated in terms of mileage, with Rosberg adding 151 laps to the 157 he managed on day one and the 91 team-mate Lewis Hamilton completed before a water leak curtailed his running on Monday. Rosberg's day was not trouble free though, as an on-track engine shutdown forced him to a halt just before 1pm, bringing out the red flags. That was the second stoppage of the day. Nasr had caused the first when he spun into the Turn 9 gravel when the circuit was damp in the morning. There was a third red flag with just over one minute left in the day's running, caused by Pastor Maldonado stopping on the backstraight.
McLaren-Honda enjoyed its best day yet as Fernando Alonso managed 32 laps in the morning, but a problem with the engine - detected by the Spaniard on an out-lap - brought its running to a premature end. That left the MP4-30 comfortably bottom of the timesheets, as Alonso missed out on the fully dry conditions of the afternoon. Lotus made a late start to the day due to a telemetry problem, while Red Bull suffered engine gremlins that limited Daniel Ricciardo to little more than some short runs late in the day in the RB11.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 2nd day of winter testing at Jerez :

Sebastian Vettel leads for Ferrari again on day two

1 : Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1m20.984s - laps 89
2 : Felipe Nasr Sauber/ Ferrari - 1m21.867s 0.883s laps 88
3 : Valtteri Bottas - Williams/Mercedes - 1m22.319s 1.335s laps 61
4 : Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1m22.490s 1.506s laps 91
5 : Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m24.167s 3.183s laps 73
6 : Pastor Maldonado - Lotus/Mercedes - 1m25.802s 4.818s laps 41
7 : Jenson Button - McLaren/Honda - 1m54.655s 33.671s laps 6
8 : Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull/Renault - - laps 18

Sebastian Vettel topped Formula 1 pre-season testing at Jerez for the second day running in the Ferrari SF15-T. The four-time world champion set several laps faster than anyone else during two medium-tyre runs in the morning, and his position at the top of the times was safe once a rain shower hit the track with an hour of running remaining. "There is a lot of change going on and new things," said Vettel, who now hands the car over to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. "In that regard it was good to run. It was important to keep running the learn the car and understand all of the numbers, and make sure we're good for the next test." Sauber used soft Pirelli tyres to take the runner-up spot for the second day running, with Felipe Nasr edging out Williams's Valtteri Bottas when both were lapping on the yellow-sidewalled tyres at the same time in the afternoon . Mercedes topped the lap count again, but 2014 world champion Lewis Hamilton fell some way short of team-mate Nico Rosberg's day one total of 157 laps. Although Hamilton clocked 91 laps, his day was cut short when a water leak forced him to stop the F1 W06 in the pit entry. McLaren and Red Bull also endured troublesome days, with Jenson Button only completing six laps for the former and Daniil Kvyat failing to post a time for the latter. Button's only laptime in the MP4-30 was 33 seconds off the pace, while Kvyat's programme was limited to single-lap runs after he damaged Red Bull's only front wing - forcing him to run without one for the rest of the day. The second day of the test also marked the debut of the Lotus E23, which joined the action for the first time mid-morning and completed 41 laps with Pastor Maldonado. The Lotus was responsible for the only red flag of the day though, as a drivetrain issue forced Maldonado to stop on the approach to the final corner in the afternoon. Very few teams went back out after the rain hit, with Vettel, Nasr, Max Verstappen and Button the only drivers to take to the circuit in the wet.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 1st day of winter testing at Jerez :

Sebastian Vettel fastest for Ferrari on first day :

1 : Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari -1m22.620s - laps 60
2 : Marcus Ericsson - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m22.777s 0.157slaps 73
3 : Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1m23.106s 0.486s laps 157
4 : Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull/Renault - 1m23.338s 0.718s laps 35
5 : Valtteri Bottas - Williams/Mercedes - 1m23.906s 1.286s laps 73
6 : Carlos Sainz Jr. -Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m25.327s 2.707slaps 46
7 : Fernando Alonso * McLaren/Honda - 1m40.738s 18.118s laps 6

New Ferrari signing Sebastian Vettel topped the first day of 2015 Formula 1 testing at Jerez on Sunday. The four-time F1 world champion first moved to the top of the times in the afternoon with a short run, returning to the track after a long delay caused by telemetry problem on the SF15-T. Sauber's Marcus Ericsson closed to within less than a tenth of a second of that benchmark on a soft-tyre run later in the afternoon, but Vettel went quicker still on a set of mediums in the final 20 minutes of the day. Nico Rosberg had led the way for double 2014 world champion Mercedes for much of the day before Vettel's quick laps were set, and the F1 W06 comfortably completed the most laps on the first day. By the end of the day Rosberg had notched up 157 laps - including several long runs - while the next highest total came from Ericsson and Williams's Valtteri Bottas with 73 laps each. Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull spent the morning as Rosberg's closest challenger, but his morning running was brought to a smoky halt. The Red Bull did return to action later in the day, but by the chequered flag the RB11 had only completed 35 laps - with his running curtailed by a battery problem that overheated the rear brakes. That was not the lowest total on the day though, as the McLaren-Honda completed just six laps in the hands of Fernando Alonso. Those were broken up into three installation laps, followed by a three-lap run that included the only timed lap set by the MP4-30 all day. While Williams recovered from a late start to log 73 laps with Bottas, the Lotus E23 failed to appear on track at all as it spent the day in transit from the team's Enstone factory. The day was only affected by two red flags - the first when Ericsson spun in the morning, and the second late in the afternoon when Carlos Sainz Jr stopped on the backstraight in the Toro Rosso.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Glad to say this year's F1 cars look much better, no more strange noses, and smoother lines.

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Test schedule first winter test 2015 at the Jerez Circuit in Spain :

Sunday, February 1:
Ferrari - Vettel
Lotus - TBC.
McLaren - Alonso
Mercedes - Rosberg
Red Bull Racing - TBC.
Sauber - Ericsson
Toro Rosso - Sainz
Williams - Bottas

Monday 2 February:
Ferrari - Vettel
Lotus - TBC
McLaren - Button
Mercedes - Hamilton
Red Bull Racing - TBC
Sauber - Nasr
Toro Rosso - Verstappen
Williams - Bottas

Tuesday, February 3:
Ferrari - Raikkonen
Lotus - TBC
McLaren - Alonso
Mercedes - Rosberg
Red Bull Racing - TBC
Sauber - Nasr
Toro Rosso - Sainz
Williams - Massa

Wednesday, February 4:
Ferrari - Raikkonen
Lotus - TBC
McLaren - Button
Mercedes - Hamilton
Red Bull Racing - TBC
Sauber - Nasr
Toro Rosso - Verstappen
Williams - Massa

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

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Ferrari announced the name of the 2015 car : SF (Scuderia Ferrari)15 (year)-T (Turbo).
The official presentation will be next Friday at 12 CET.

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After Jules Bianchi' s crash in Japan last October, FIA decided that in next season Australian, Malaysian, China, Japan and Russian GPs
will have to anticipate 1 hour the starts of the races, due to visibility and for security reasons

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> > Ferrari has confirmed that his next year's car passed the FIA crash tests.

In addition, as disclosed by the new head of the stable of Maranello - Maurizio Arrivabene, tentatively called the 666 car will be presented on the Internet at the end of January. "It will be shown [car] at the end of January on the website.

Official news : Ferrari announced on Twitter that Mexican Esteban Gutierrez will be the 3rd driver and test-driver for the 2015 season.
In the last two seasons Gutierrez drove a Sauber, with a Ferrari engine.
"It' s an honour to be part of a team with such an extraordinary history" said Gutierrez "I' m impatient to begin the new season
with passion and dedication".