Written by Garreth Wright Thursday, 04 February 2010
Formula 1 testing in Valencia
THIS WEEK saw the start of the F1 testing season in Valencia at the Ricardo Tormo circuit just outside of the city. unning from Monday to Wednesday and with teams only permitted to test one car/driver per day has seen some exciting driving. The reappearance of Schumacher in the new Brawn Mercedes has created some interest and the current world champion Jenson Button running with his new team McLaren brought out the crowds on the final day, Wednesday, after Lewis Hamilton tested on Monday and Tuesday.
But the real attraction has been Fernando Alonso debuting in the new Ferrari, stealing the show with the fastest lap times of the week, followed by his team mate Massa’s performance on Monday with the second fastest times of the week: the excitement of the locals to see their hero Alonso driving the new Ferrari brought the area to a standstill. In fact the queues were so long that it created a traffic jam at the exit of the Valencia-Madrid highway, all the way to the circuit. By mid-afternoon, a 36,400 strong crowd packed the circuit to see their hero in action.
Many people made the journey to watch Jenson Button testing the new McLaren, coming 10th in the week’s standings, with Hamilton beating him by point seven of a second to 5th fastest. But Button having just one day to acclimatise to his new car, spent most of the morning session getting comfortable, working with his new team and adjusting the settings to his style after Lewis drove it the previous days.
Button pointed out that although the Ferrari may have appeared the quickest, nobody knows the fuel loads being run during testing, so it is difficult to surmise which team is the fastest overall, but that even their (Ferrari’s) slower laps with high fuel loads were still very quick!
There is one final test in Jerez, 10th to 13th February, then again on 17th to 20th February, followed by Barcelona 25th to 28th February; it is then down to the first race in Bahrain on 14thMarch.
The testing is open to everybody and costs between €5 and €10 to gain access: if you are a F1 fan, RTN can definitely recommend going.
