Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Result from the Gp of Australia :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:31:54.067 ( 1: 30 945 )
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - + 1:36
3. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - + 34 523
4. Felipe Massa - Williams - + 38 196
5. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - + 1m35.149
6. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - + 1 lap
7. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - + 1 lap
8. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - + 1 lap
9. Carlos Sainz Jr. - Toro Rosso - + 1 lap
10. Sergio Perez - Force India - + 1 lap
11. Jenson Button - McLaren - + 2 laps
Dropouts
12. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari- tire
13. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - engine
14. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - unknown
15. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - crash
Not Started
16. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing
17. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren
18. Valtteri Bottas - Williams
19. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team
20. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team

Fastest Lap : Lewis Hamilton - 1: 30 945
Pitstop Carlos Sainz jr. : 1 ( lap 26 )
Bat.2 Teams : Sebastian Vettel > Felipe Massa
Grid Pos. Nico Hulkenberg : 7th place

Lewis Hamilton beats Nico Rosberg to win :
Lewis Hamilton began the defence of his Formula 1 world championship with a commanding victory in the Australian Grand Prix, as Sebastian Vettel began his Ferrari career with a podium. Hamilton led away from pole in Melbourne and only momentarily lost the lead to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg during the pitstop sequence before securing the 34th win of his career. Rosberg crossed the line second, 1.3 seconds adrift, as Mercedes picked up where it left off last season with a dominant performance in which the team finished 33s clear of the field. Vettel bided his time before jumping Williams's Felipe Massa at the mid-race pitstops by going longer to take third and confirm Ferrari's improved pace. Just 15 cars started the season-opening race, after both McLaren's Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat stopped on the way to the dummy grid with mechanical problems. Valtteri Bottas had already been ruled out on medical grounds because of a back injury sustained in qualifying, while neither Manor ran all weekend as it continues its efforts to get back into F1. The field was further depleted after just a few corners, when Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was clipped by Carlos Sainz Jr's Toro Rosso at Turn 1. That nudged the Ferrari into Felipe Nasr's Sauber, which then ricocheted into Pastor Maldonado, spinning the Lotus driver into the barriers and out of the race. This brought out the safety car and Lotus's misery was compounded after just one lap when Romain Grosjean pitted before being pushed back into the garage having had a power issue on the formation lap.
Rookie Felipe Nasr provided Sauber with a sensational end to what has been a difficult weekend, which saw the team involved in a legal battle with Giedo van der Garde, as he finished a brilliant fifth. It was an impressive debut for the Brazilian, who was 12s clear of home favourite Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull. Nasr's team-mate Marcus Ericsson, who started 16th, pulled off a late move on Sainz at Turn 13 to finish eighth for the Swiss team, which failed to score a single point last season. Nico Hulkenberg scored points for a Force India team that managed just two-and-a-half days of pre-season testing because of delays with the production of the 2015 chassis as the German finished seventh. Sainz crossed the line ninth to score points on his debut, having lost a lot of time with a slow pitstop, while Force India's Sergio Perez, who had a messy race, closed out the top 10. The Mexican spun, dropping to the back of the field, and then found himself facing the wrong way when he clumsily hit McLaren's Jenson Button when attempting an opportunistic pass at Turn 3. Button narrowly missed out on giving McLaren-Honda a remarkable points finish as he crossed the line 11th - and last.
However, it was the first time the team had managed to complete a race distance with its new car, following a pre-season littered with problems. Raikkonen looked on course to finish fourth, but at his second stop his Ferrari team failed to fit the left-rear tyre properly.
The Finn rejoined, but pulled off the track a few corners later and retired with his engineer saying "sorry, Kimi" on team radio.
Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen, who became Formula 1's youngest driver by taking the start, retired when running ninth with smoke pluming from the rear of the car.

Next Race : Malaysian GP - 27 - 29 march

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Breaking News :

Valterri Bottas will not be driving because of health reasons with his back !!!!!!!!!!!!!

So everyone is free to change this name at the "Race " Game if you should have it on your list !!!!

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Result of the Qualifying for the GP of Australia :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:26.327
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:26.921 +0.594
3. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:27.718 +1.391
4. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:27.757 +1.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:27.790 +1.463
6. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:28.087 +1.760
7. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:28.329 +2.002
8. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso - 1:28.510 +2.183
9. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:28.560 +2.233
10. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:29.480 +3.153
Q2
11. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - 1:28.800 +2.473
12. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - 1:28.868 +2.541
13. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing - 1:29.070 +2.743
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:29.208 +2.881
15. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:29.209 +2.882
16. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - 1:31.376 +5.049
Q1
17. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:31.422 +5.095
18. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:32.037 +5.710
19. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team - no time
20. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team - no time

Hamilton leads Mercedes rout in qualifying :
Lewis Hamilton got his championship defence off to the best possible start by claiming pole position for the first race of the season in Australia. Nico Rosberg was over half a second behind his team mate after a troubled qualifying session, but this was still a dominant performance for Mercedes. Their closest rivals Williams were well over a second slower, as Felipe Massa narrowly beat the two Ferrari drivers to third place.

Q1
The Mercedes pair easily secured their passage through to Q2 and they didn’t even have to use a set of soft tyres to do it. The only other driver to achieve the same was Valtteri Bottas, but Williams team mate Felipe Massa found it necessary to use a set of softs.
Pastor Maldonado languished in the drop zone as the final minutes of Q1 began but the Lotus driver found a substantial improvement on the soft tyres to guarantee a place in Q2. But as he and the Toro Rosso drivers moved forward, McLaren slipper perilously down the order. Jenson Button managed a cleaner lap than team mate Kevin Magnussen, but it still left him five-hundredths shy of a place in Q2. And then a difficult task became impossible. The Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat had been struck with a technical problem late in final practice which delayed his start to qualifying. Once he put a time in both McLarens lost another place and were eliminated, along with Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber. Joining the trio were the two Manor cars, which failed to run at all in Q1 or practice.
Drivers eliminated in Q1
16 Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari 1’31.376
17 Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda 1’31.422
18 Kevin Magnussen - McLaren-Honda 1’32.037
19 Roberto Merhi - Manor-Ferrari
20 Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari

Q2
Hamilton led the way in the second part of qualifying, lowering the fastest time of the weekend so far to a 1’26.894 after switching to the soft tyres. Rosberg was two-tenths of a second slower after feeling his engine cut on the approach to turn 15. The two W06s had the luxury of only having to run once. After scraping into Q2, Kvyat was unable to get any further in the Red Bull, but the other RB11 in Ricciardo’s hands made it through. The Toro Rossos were split as well – Verstappen owned up to an error at turn five on his flying lap, while Sainz replied “nice one!” when told he’d made it through into Q3. Having beaten his team mate into Q2 Felipe Nasr took an impressive 11th for Sauber. However the two Force Indias had the distinction of being the only Mercedes-powered cars not to reach the final ten.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
11 Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari 1’28.800
12 Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault 1’28.868
13 Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull-Renault 1’29.070
14 Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes 1’29.208
15 Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes 1’29.209

Q3
Hamilton came out fighting at the beginning of Q3, taking almost half a second off his best time up to that point. Rosberg’s troubles at turn 15 continued, however – he ran wide at the exit and aborted his lap. Bottas was unable to capitalise on the benefit of having saved a set of soft tyres as he struggled with a lack of bite from his brakes on his first run, and like Rosberg headed back to the pits without setting a time. Vettel therefore took up second place, albeit over 1.3 seconds slower than Hamilton before the first runs began. And the Mercedes driver stretched his advantage even further with his final run. While Hamilton lowered his best to a 1’26.327, Rosberg could only try to make up for lost time. He ended up over half a second behind his team mate. A lairy moment from Bottas limited him to sixth on the grid and allowed Massa to take the ‘best of the rest’ spot, nearly 1.4 seconds slower than Hamilton. The pair were split by the Ferraris, Vettel narrowly out-qualifying Raikkonen. Ricciardo briefly held third with his final run before being bumped back to seventh. He’ll share row four with Carlos Sainz Jnr, who said he was pleased with his car’s set-up. The Lotus pair finished the top ten.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 3rd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:27.867
2. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:28.563 +0.696
3. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:28.821 +0.954
4. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:28.912 +1.045
5. Felipe Massa - Williams -1:28.988 +1.121
6. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:29.017 +1.150
7. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:29.481 +1.614
8. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:29.864 +1.997
9. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso - 1:29.869 +2.002
10. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - 1:29.934 +2.067
11. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - 1:29.952 +2.085
12. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - 1:30.613 +2.746
13. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:30.741 +2.874
14. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:30.993 +3.126
15. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:31.185 +3.318
16. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:31.391 +3.524
17. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:31.666 +3.799
18. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing - 1:32.830 +4.963
19. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team - no time
20. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team - no time

Hamilton ahead as practice ends without Manor running :
Lewis Hamilton led the final practice session for the Australian Grand Prix with almost a full second in hand over team mate Nico Rosberg.However Rosberg, who led both of yesterday’s sessions, reported a gearshift problem with his car during his final run on the soft tyres. The pair were split by Sebastian Vettel, the Ferrari driver getting within seven-tenths of a second of Hamilton’s time.
Hamilton’s lap of 1’27.867 was more than a tenth of a second off Rosberg’s best from yesterday. But late in the session he demonstrated he had more pace in hand by improving his first and second sector times. Valtteri Bottas was fourth-quickest for Williams, a second off Hamilton’s time, followed by team mate Felipe Massa. Behind Raikkonen’s Ferrari, Williams’ fellow Mercedes customers Lotus were next, Romain Grosjean ahead of Pastor Maldonado. Carlos Sainz Jnr and Felipe Nasr completed the top ten, the pair and 11th-placed Max Verstappen all covered by less than a tenth of a second. The other Sauber of Marcus Ericsson was 12th despite a spin at the exit of the high-speed turn 12. It was another difficult session for Red Bull whose cars placed only 15th and 18th – Daniil Kvyat the slowest of the drivers who set times. Daniel Ricciardo’s car stopped at the pit lane exit but was pushed back in by the marshals and was later able to rejoin. The pair were split by the struggling McLarens. However Manor’s chances of qualifying for the first race of the season remain slim as neither Will Stevens nor Roberto Merhi was able to participate in the session, having also missed all of yesterday’s running.

Coming up : Qualifying - 07.00u CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 2nd practice session :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:27.697
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:27.797 +0.100
3. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:28.412 +0.715
4. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:28.842 +1.145
5. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:29.265 +1.568
6. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing - 1:30.016 +2.319
7. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso - 1:30.071 +2.374
8. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:30.104 +2.407
9. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:30.205 +2.508
10. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:30.473 +2.776
11. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - 1:30.755 +3.058
12. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:30.980 +3.283
13. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:31.387 +3.690
14. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - 1:31.395 +3.698
15. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - 1:32.303 +4.606
16. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:33.289 +5.592
17. Felipe Massa - Williams geen tijd
18. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - no time
19. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team - no time
20. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team - no time

Nico Rosberg on top again for Mercedes in 2nd practice :
Nico Rosberg pipped Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the top of the timesheets in the second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. Rosberg ended up exactly one tenth of a second quicker than his team-mate once both had completed their quick runs after switching to the soft-compound Pirellis. The German had slipped to third overall based on his pace on the mediums thanks to Ferrari pairing Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen bolting on the softs and temporarily taking first and second places. But at around the halfway point of the session, Rosberg set his fastest time on softs, beating Vettel by 0.715s. Hamilton then attempted to hit back, but despite setting the fastest time of the session in the middle sector of the Albert Park circuit, could not overhaul his team-mate. Vettel and Raikkonen held on to third and fourth places, with Raikkonen just over seven tenths slower than his team-mate but admitting over the radio that it was "not a very good lap". Valtteri Bottas was fifth fastest for Williams, 1.568s off the pace, but team-mate Felipe Massa was unable to run thanks to a water leak that was detected ahead of the session. Red Bull also had only one car running thanks to the need for an engine change on Daniel Ricciardo's machine. But team-mate Daniil Kvyat was sixth fastest, albeit 2.319s off the pace and only just ahead of Carlos Sainz, who was the fastest of Red Bull's 'B-team' drivers at Toro Rosso. Sainz, who also showed well in the first session, again had a strong run, but did suffer a brief spin on the entry to the Turn 15 left-hander with 26 minutes remaining. Lotus pairing Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean were eighth and ninth fastest, although both endured brief off-track moments early in the session. Maldonado ran wide onto the grass exiting Turn 15, while Grosjean slid through the gravel at Turn 3. Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 in the lead Force India, 2.776s off Rosberg's fastest time.
The Sauber team made its first appearance of the weekend after sitting out the opening session amid its court case with Giedo van der Garde. Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson were the first two drivers to head out onto the circuit, with the former ending up 11th quickest ahead of the second Force India of Sergio Perez. But Ericsson had a more troubled session thanks to a problem with the left-rear corner cropping up as he exited the final corner. Ericsson suspected a suspension problem, with the team saying that the wheel was rubbing on some bodywork, and he was unable to return to the track. After a troubled first session, during which both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen faced restricted running thanks to an air intake problem, McLaren again struggled. The Dane, filling in for Fernando Alonso, crashed at Turn 6 on his fifth lap after losing the rear end and being spat into the gravel while attempting to recover. Magnussen was uninjured, but his crash brought out the red flag for seven minutes while his car was recovered. Button ended the session 13th, 3.690s off the pace, and one place ahead of the second Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen, whose running was limited to just six laps because of a battery problem. Only 16 drivers were able to set a time thanks to the problems for Massa and Ricciardo, with Manor pairing Robert Merhi and Will Stevens also not participating. The Manor team is continuing to work to reinstall software needed to operate the car, a consequence of all of its hard drives being wiped prior to the planned auction of the teams assets that was cancelled once an investor was found.

Practice 3 : saturday 04.00u CET - 05.00u CET
Qualifying : saturday : 07.00u CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 1st practice session :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:29.557
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:29.586 +0.029
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:30.748 +1.191
4. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso - 1:31.014 +1.457
5. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:31.029 +1.472
6. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - 1:31.067 +1.510
7. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:31.188 +1.631
8. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:31.261 +1.704
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari -1:31.310 +1.753
10. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:31.451 +1.894
11. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:31.570 +2.013
12. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing - 1:32.073 +2.516
13. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:32.247 +2.690
14. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:34.542 +4.985
15. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - no time
16. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - no time
17. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team - no time
18. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - no time
19. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team - no time

Nico Rosberg pips Lewis Hamilton in practice one :
Nico Rosberg edged Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to top the first free practice session of the new Formula 1 season by less than half a tenth of a second. Rosberg's first serious effort as the teams began their preparations for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix proved enough to top the session. His best lap of 1m29.557s fell less than two tenths shy of the fastest lap of the entire weekend at last year's Albert Park race. Reigning F1 world champion Hamilton languished in the lower half of the top 10 for the first part of the session, before clocking a 1m29.586s best to leap up to second. No one else could get within a second of the Mercedes duo, but Williams driver Valtteri Bottas got closest, lapping 1.191s slower than Rosberg to finish the session third fastest. Toro Rosso rookies Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen were fourth and fifth (separated by just 0.053s) for much of the session, before Ferrari new boy Sebastian Vettel split them with a late improvement. His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was eighth quickest, just behind the second Williams of Felipe Massa. Pastor Maldonado began the new Mercedes-powered era at Lotus by setting the ninth fastest time, but team-mate Romain Grosjean failed to record a timed lap after his E23 required a change of its floor. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo recovered from an early hydraulic problem and a brief spin to round out the top 10. He complained of "aggressive" throttle response from the RB11's Renault engine, while team-mate Daniil Kvyat was concerned by a lack of assistance from the power unit in slowing the car down under braking. Kvyat finished the session just a fraction of a second clear of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, who are both making up for a late start to pre-season testing for Force India. Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen completed a combined 13 laps for McLaren-Honda, which curtailed its running early once the team discovered an engine problem. Both McLarens lapped more than two seconds slower than the Force Indias and roughly five adrift of the pacesetting Mercedes. Amid an ongoing legal wrangle with its former reserve driver Giedo van der Garde, Sauber did not run either of its cars in this session. The team refused to comment on the exact reason for Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson missing the session when contacted by F1 News. Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens also skipped the first practice session of the new season for the revived Manor GP/Marussia squad. After its 2014 computer hard-drives were 'wiped' (ready to be auctioned off when the team was in administration), it was unable to update its software in time for its revised '14 cars to run. The team hopes to be ready in time to run in practice two later on Friday.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

And practice 1 has started !!!

Here are the times for this weekend Formula1 1st race of season 2015 :

Friday 13 march :
1st practice session : 2.30u CET - 04.00u CET
2nd practice session : 06.30u CET - 08.00u CET

Saturday 14 march :
3rd practice session : 04.00u CET - 05.00u CET
Qualifying : 07.00u CET

Sunday 15 march :
Race : 0.600u CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

4 hours to go : Snacks - check - , green apples - check shwepps Agrum - check coffee - check , tea - check , Livestream F1 checked - check . Ready for Formula 1 1st practice session of season 2015 , 02.30u CET to 04.00u CET, 2nd practice session from 06.30u CET to 08.00u CET !!!

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Australian Gran Prix – Albert Park circuit - Melbourne 13-14-15 march
the first GP of the 2015 Formula One World Championship.
Mercedes is again the team to beat in this season
the battle behind Mercedes seems close, with Williams, Red Bull and Ferrari(at least i hope)
This year's F1 cars are certainly faster than last year.

2015: Teams and Engines(Power Unit)
Mercedes, Williams, Lotus and Force India (P.U. Mercedes)
Ferrari, Sauber and Manor/Marussia (P.U. Ferrari)
Red Bull and Toro Rosso(P.U. Renault)
Mc Laren (P.U. Honda)

Australian GP: some stats and news
Drs zone: first and second straight
Pirelli tyres: soft and Medium as last year
2014 winning strategy - 2 pitstop: lap. 12 and lap 38.

Season 2012 (the top five): Button(Mc Laren) – 2° Vettel – 3° Hamilton – 4 Webber – 5° Alonso
Fastest lap: Button - pole position : Hamilton 1'24''922

season 2013(the top five):1 Raikkonen (Lotus) – 2° Alonso – 3° Vettel – 4° Massa – 5° Hamilton
Fastest lap: Raikkonen - pole position : Vettel 1'27''407 * damp track

Last year 2014(the top five):
1° Rosberg (Mercedes) – grid position 3°
2° Magnussen – gr.pos. 4°
3° Button – gr.pos. 10°
4° Alonso – gr.pos. 5°
5° Bottas – gr.pos. 15°
Fastest lap: Rosberg
pole position : Vettel 1'44''231 * wet track

the winners at Melbourne (current pilots)
3 wins: Button (2009-2010-2012)
2 wins Raikkonen (2007-2013)
1 win: Hamilton(2008) Alonso(2006) Vettel(2011) and Rosberg(2014)

pole position (current pilots)
3 pole: Vettel(2010-2011-2013) Hamilton (2008-2012-2014)
2 pole: Button(2006-2009)
1 pole: Raikkonen(2007)

Fastest lap (current pilots)
5: Raikkonen (2002-2003-2006-2007-2013)
2: Rosberg(2009-2014)
1: Alonso(2005); Massa(2011); Button(2012)

Podium(winner+second+third) at Melbourne
5 (2+1+2) Raikkonen (two wins + one second place + 2 third place)
5 (1+2+2) Alonso
4 (1+1+2) Hamilton
4 (3+0+1) Button
3 (1+1+1) Vettel
2 (1+0+1) Rosberg.
One third place also for Massa

and good luck to everyone for the F1 game, in this forum
regards oberon

Short News : McLaren's Fernando Alonso pulls out of Australian Grand Prix :

Fernando Alonso has pulled out of the Australian Grand Prix after doctors advised him against getting back in a Formula 1 car just yet.
The Spaniard suffered concussion in a testing accident at Barcelona last month and, after spending three days in hospital, he has been recovering at home in Spain. Although doctors are happy with the progress he has made, with medical tests having been completed last night, the risk of another injury setting him back has prompted them to advise he steers clear of racing in the F1 season-opener. A statement issued by McLaren said: "Fernando's doctors have recommended to him that, following the concussion he sustained in a testing accident on February 22nd, for the time being he should seek to limit as far as is possible any environmental risk factors that could potentially result in his sustaining another concussion so soon after his previous one. "[This is] to minimise the chances of second impact syndrome, as is normal medical procedure when treating athletes after concussions. "In order to limit those environmental risk factors, specifically, his doctors have advised that he should not compete in the imminent Australian Grand Prix."
McLaren has already decided that Kevin Magnussen will drive alongside Jenson Button at Albert Park. The team added that Alonso believes he will be ready to resume racing at the second round of the championship in Malaysia on March 28. The statement added: "Fernando's doctors acknowledge that he feels fit and well, and that he regards himself as ready to race. "And, that being the case, they are comfortable with the fact that he has already recommenced physical training, with a view to preparing for a return to the cockpit of his McLaren-Honda car for the Malaysian Grand Prix. "Indeed, his doctors are supportive of that ambition, satisfied as they are that he sustained no damage whatsoever during his testing accident on February 22nd."

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

[hidden link - please register]

Barcelona F1 test , day 4 last day of winter test : Valtteri Bottas keeps Williams on top :

1: Valtteri Bottas - Williams/Mercedes - 1m23.063s laps 89
2: Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1m23.469s + 0.406s laps 129
3: Felipe Nasr - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m24.023s + 0.960s laps 159
4: Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m24.527s + 1.464s laps 85
5: Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull/Renault - 1m24.638s + 1.575s laps 72
6: Sergio Perez - Force India/Mercedes - 1m25.113s + 2.050s laps 130
7: Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1m25.186s + 2.123s laps 148
8: Jenson Button - McLaren/Honda - 1m25.327s + 2.264s laps 30
9: Pastor Maldonado - Lotus/Mercedes - 1m28.272s + 5.209s laps 36


Valtteri Bottas's morning run on the super-soft tyres was enough to ensure Williams ended the final session of pre-season testing on top, as McLaren endured another difficult day. The Finn's qualifying simulation run before lunch yielded a time of 1m23.063s, 0.4 seconds clear of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who was on the same tyres. Such was Williams's confidence with its progress that the team chose to end its running at the Circuit de Catalunya early for the third consecutive day, packing up with 89 laps on the board.
After a flurry of super-soft runs in the morning, the focus switched to longer stints after lunch as teams finetuned their preparations for the season-opening grand prix in Australia on March 15. Sauber's Felipe Nasr was third quickest and achieved the highest lap tally with 159. Four drivers broke the 100-lap mark during a busy afternoon. Jenson Button was not one of those drivers, as McLaren's problems continued. The Briton missed most of the morning because of a sensor issue that required the team to remove the Honda power unit so it could fix the problem. He eventually got out just before lunch, but only made fleeting appearances in the afternoon as he put 30 laps on the board - the fewest of anybody. Mercedes topped the table in terms of laps completed across all three tests. Nico Rosberg covered 148 laps for the seventh fastest time on a low-key day for the world champion team. Meanwhile, Force India had another trouble-free day, despite its 2015 car having only made its debut on Friday, with Sergio Perez completing an impressive 130 laps. Pastor Maldonado was involved in the first crash of the four-day test when the Venezuelan went into the barriers at Turn 4 to bring out the second red flag. Lotus was unable to fix the car in time to get Maldonado back out and he ended the day bottom of the timesheets. Daniel Ricciardo, who finished fifth quickest, caused the first red flag of the day, when the Red Bull driver stopped at the end of the pitlane with an ERS problem, but he returned to clock up 72 laps. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was responsible for a third red flag when the Dutchman rolled to a stop at Turn 12 due to engine trouble not long after lunch. But Toro Rosso did an impressive job to repair the car to allow him to get back out for the final 10 minutes of the session and he ended fourth fastest.

Next Stop : Melbourne - Australia 13th - 15th march , 1st Formula 1 Race of the season

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Barcelona F1 test , day 3 of final test : Mercedes tops penultimate day with Hamilton :

1: Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1m23.022s laps 76
2: Felipe Massa - Williams/Mercedes - 1m23.262s + 0.240s laps 102
3: Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 1m23.276s + 0.254s laps 136
4: Carlos Sainz Jr. - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m24.191s + 1.169s 1laps 32
5: Romain Grosjean - Lotus/Mercedes - 1m24.200s + 1.178s laps 116
6: Marcus Ericsson - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m24.477s + 1.455s laps 123
7: Nico Hulkenberg - Force India/Mercedes - 1m24.939s + 1.917s laps 158
8: Kevin Magnussen - McLaren/Honda - 1m25.225s + 2.203s laps 39
9: Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull/Renault - 1m25.742s + 2.720s laps 128

Mercedes flexed its muscle ahead of the new Formula 1 season again on Saturday, as Lewis Hamilton topped the times on the penultimate day of testing in Barcelona. Having spent the first half of the afternoon in the garage as the team applied what it called an 'experimental' set-up, Hamilton finished with a soft tyre lap faster than Williams and Ferrari achieved on super-softs. When he initially emerged on the medium tyre just before 3pm, the world champion lapped within a second of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen's super-soft efforts, which were set amid a flurry of qualifying simulations before lunch. Hamilton's first taste of F1's 2015 soft rubber yielded a 1m23.262s, just 0.386s shy of Massa's morning time, but there was more to come. On his second run, Hamilton leapt to the top with his 1m23.022s more than two-tenths clear of the super-soft benchmarks, and a similar margin slower than Nico Rosberg's 1m22.792s from Friday. Massa and Raikkonen spent the majority of the afternoon conducting longer runs on the medium and hard tyres, the Ferrari driver completing a race simulation. Red Bull applied that strategy to its entire day, with Daniel Ricciardo finishing at the bottom of the times having focused on long runs on the medium rubber. It was another busy day at Circuit de Catalunya, with Mercedes and McLaren the only outfits not to break the 100-lap barrier. Kevin Magnussen's outing in the McLaren-Honda ended almost three hours early due to an oil leak. Deputising for Fernando Alonso, the Dane only managed 39 laps. Force India, meanwhile, enjoyed another promising day with its new VMJ08, which has completed 235 laps since breaking cover just before lunch on Friday. Nico Hulkenberg was Saturday's busiest driver with158 laps, and his time on the super-soft was eventually bumped down to seventh by Carlos Sainz Jr and Romain Grosjean's late runs on the compound. Sainz and Marcus Ericsson caused the day's only red flags, both stopping on track during the final hour.

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Shaky - Schumi

Barcelona F1 test , day 2 of final test : Nico Rosberg fastest as Mercedes uses soft tyres :

1: Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1m22.792s laps 106
2: Valtteri Bottas - Williams/Mercedes - 1m23.995s +1.203s laps 90
3: Felipe Nasr - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m24.071s +1.279s laps 141
4: Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1m25.339s +2.547s laps 143
5: Jenson Button - McLaren/Honda - 1m25.590s + 2.798s laps 101
6: Pastor Maldonado - Lotus/Mercedes - 1m26.705s + 3.913s laps 140
7: Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m26.766s + 3.974s laps 139
8: Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull/Renault - 1m26.965s + 4.173s laps 84
9: Nico Hulkenberg - Force India/Mercedes - 1m28.412s + 5.620s laps 77

Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap of Barcelona Formula 1 testing so far on day two of the final test, while McLaren finally got some good mileage on the board. World champion team Mercedes fitted soft tyres to its car for the first time in pre-season testing late in the afternoon and Rosberg produced a 1m22.792s. That lap was 0.7s quicker than the previous best, set by Williams' Felipe Massa on the same tyre on Thursday, and 1.2s clear of Valtteri Bottas in the Williams who was his nearest challenger today. Rosberg was also one of six drivers to complete 100 laps or more on a day when teams spent much of their time focusing on long runs and race simulations.
Despite a late stoppage out on track, which brought out the red flag, McLaren and Jenson Button had comfortably their most successful day of testing this year. Button clocked up 101 laps - nearly half the total McLaren has achieved in nine previous days of testing combined - before coming to a stop between Turns 7 and 8. Meanwhile, the new Force India appeared in public for the first time just before lunch and proved to be very reliable. Nico Hulkenberg completed 73 laps, finishing six seconds off the pace and bottom of the timing screens, but the team said reliability is its focus having missed so much testing. Sauber's Felipe Nasr, who was quickest in the morning after a soft tyre run, ended the day third fastest, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel fourth, having completed several long runs and 138 laps. Button was fifth, 2.8s off the pace, with Lotus' Pastor Maldonado, who stopped at the pit entry towards the end of the day, sixth. Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen was seventh, but an electrical problem forced the team to stop running with around an hour to go. Daniil Kvyat, who caused the first red flag of the day when he stopped at the first corner during the afternoon session, was eighth quickest for Red Bull.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi