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[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Final day of Jerez testing – 13h00 update



This is the final day of testing here for Scuderia Ferrari. The team’s programme this morning was affected by damp track for much of the time, which meant that none of the drivers could post meaningful lap times. When the surface finally dried out and some checks were carried out in the garage, Kimi Raikkonen went back out on track with dry weather tyres, to post the fastest time of the morning in 1.22.537. This afternoon, the team will continue with a programme based around various tyre and set-up tests.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Testing at the Jerez circuit – 4 February 2015



Circuit: Jerez circuit – 4.428 km
Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
Car: Ferrari SF15-T – chassis 309
Weather: Air temperature 9/13 °C, track temperature 8/22. Clear skies.
Laps/Km completed: 105/464
Fastest time: 1:20.841 (Pirelli Soft tyres)
Tyres used: Wet, Intermediate, Medium, Hard and Soft
Programme: Tyre evaluation and set-up work.

Kimi Raikkonen:

“Over the winter, we have made a good step forward and this car is definitely an improvement over the 2014 one. It’s the whole package that has progressed, but there is still a lot of work to do. We are not comparing ourselves to the others, we just got on with our own job, without looking at what they were doing. Times are of relatively little importance; what matters is that we have put together a good number of laps without having any real problems. Today’s conditions were not that easy, with too strong a wind blowing ontrack, but then it’s the same for everyone. As I said, we now have a good basis from which to start the development work.”

James Allison:

“When you bring a new car to the track, you’re always excited and worried and that is mixed with a profound hope that all the hard work of so many people will be rewarded with performance. We leave this test without having all our expectations met, simply because we would have liked to have done even more mileage and because you always want to be faster. However, having said that, given how it went, overall we can bepleased, because we have had a solid start. Now, we are keen to push on with the development work in Barcelona, so as to be ready for the first race in Melbourne.”

Maurizio Arrivabene:

“If one makes a comparison to last year, these past few days of testing have produced encouraging signs. The team has worked well, both at home and at the track and our drivers did a great job, providing the engineers with valuable feedback. But above all, I am pleased that the group has rediscovered its motivation and team spirit. In terms of performance, I don’t think our competitors – one in particular – have shown their true potential over these past days. I think we will only discover the truth about them and about ourselves at the last Barcelona test session. Now, my attention turns to Paris, where tomorrow’s meeting will decide the future of our sport.”

[sagi58]

 wrote:">#askJames: James Allison's answers to the fans

[youtube]/442rZVuPL-Q[/youtube]

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Testing at the Montmelò circuit – 19 February 2015



Circuit: Montmelò circuit – 4.655 km
Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
Car: Ferrari SF15-T
Weather: Air temperature 7/15 °C, track temperature 9/16. Sunny
Laps/Km completed: 58/270
Fastest time: 1:25.167
Tyres used: Hard, Medium, Proto Medium
Programme: System checks, long runs, set-up work and tyre testing.

Kimi Raikkonen: “It’s not that different from Jerez, we don’t know about the fuel other cars
had, and some of them were on soft tyres. We keep doing our stuff, have made our plan and try
to follow it. The car is a completely different story from last year’s, we’ve still got a long way
ahead of us but the team is working well and has produced a very nice car”.

James Allison: “Overall we are content with the day, happy because the work we’ve been doing
in learning how the car responds to set-up changes was very satisfactory, less happy with the
laps count for the day. I hope that in the remaining days we get some more mileage under our
belt”.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Testing at the Montmelò circuit – 20 February 2015

Circuit: Montmelò circuit – 4.655 km
Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
Car: Ferrari SF15-T
Weather: Air temperature 4/14 °C, track temperature 9/20. Sunny
Laps/Km completed: 90/419
Fastest time: 1:24.584
Tyres used: Soft, Medium, Hard,
Programme: System checks, long runs, set-up work and tyre testing.

Kimi Raikkonen: “Today was not ideal, we had some small issues which prevented us from running as much as we wanted, but still we managed to do other stuff, try things and learn. We are going in the right direction in all areas and the team did a good job over the winter. Of course, racing is a different story from testing, but so far it has been good. The team bosses have managed to put the right people in the right places. It’s still early days, but everybody seems to enjoy it more. For the next test we’ll try to put the right things into the car”.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Third day of testing at Barcelona–13.00 update

Montmelò, 21 February –

The third day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari at the Catalan track saw a change of driver, with Sebastian Vettel driving the SF15-T today and tomorrow.

The weather did not have a particularly warm welcome for the German, with intermittent rain falling throughout the morning, which made the track very slippery. In fact, because of this, Sebastian went off the track at Turn 5 on his first out-lap, but no damage was done. After that, he went on to complete 46 laps over the course of the morning, the quickest in a time of 1.26:407, third fastest overall.

Today’s programme again features aerodynamic and set-up work. As the rain intensified, the team decided to slightly modify the programme, with normal work set to resume once it’s over.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Testing at the Montmelò circuit – 21 February 2015

Circuit: Montmelò circuit – 4.655 km
Driver: Sebastian Vettel
Car: Ferrari SF15-T
Weather: Air temperature 7/15 °C, track temperature 8/16. Cloudy with intermittent rain.
Laps/Km completed: 105/489
Fastest time: 1:26.407
Tyres used: Medium
Programme: Reliability testing over long runs.

Sebastian Vettel: “This morning I was sleeping a bit and, coming out of the pits on cold tyres, I spun. The least I could do was help the guys clean all the gravel out of the car!

Then, we worked mainly on reliability,doing a good number of laps. We are managing to run without too many problems, but it’s really hard to tell where we are compared to the others. We need to work day by day to try and understand our car.

In general, both me and Kimi are pleased with the way it handles, but there’s still a lot to do. The conditions today were difficult for everyone, as the cold meant the track was pretty slippery. It was good to see our President in the garage and I’m pleased he is bringing his support”.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Final day of Barcelona test – 13.20 update


Montmelò, 22 February –

Fourth and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari at Barcelona.

Once again, Sebastian Vettel is at the wheel of the SF15-T. So far, it’s been very cold, but with beautiful sunshine at the Catalunya circuit, although a strong wind blew up around mid-morning, which makes data comparison somewhat difficult.

Today, the team is concentrating on some tyre work and on set-up. Sebastian has set the second fastest time of 1.26:312, with 59 laps to his name. With the session being red flagged just before the lunch break, the team opted to stop and get back to work in the afternoon. - See more at:

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Final day of Barcelona test – 13.20 update


Montmelò, 22 February –

Fourth and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari at Barcelona.

Once again, Sebastian Vettel is at the wheel of the SF15-T. So far, it’s been very cold, but with beautiful sunshine at the Catalunya circuit, although a strong wind blew up around mid-morning, which makes data comparison somewhat difficult.

Today, the team is concentrating on some tyre work and on set-up. Sebastian has set the second fastest time of 1.26:312, with 59 laps to his name. With the session being red flagged just before the lunch break, the team opted to stop and get back to work in the afternoon.

[sagi58]

, Andrew Benson wrote:">Ferrari - too fast to be real?

It was Ferrari, not Mercedes, who produced the fastest laps of the test - with Sebastian Vettel and Raikkonen quickest on three of the four days.

A note of caution, though. Raikkonen was also fastest on the first day in Jerez last year - before the team's worst season for more than two decades.

And up and down the pit lane there was scepticism. As one leading engineer pointed out: "I don't know what Ferrari are up to - they're not going to be two seconds faster than Mercedes."

This was the mystery of Ferrari's performance. The car appeared genuinely fast - but it was surely too fast to be real. The team's average lap time over the whole test was 1.5 seconds quicker than anyone else's.

F1 history - and basic engineering logic - is clear. For one thing, a team as dominant as Mercedes were last year is never going to lose that edge this quickly; for another, a team in as much trouble as Ferrari were in 2014 is not going to dominate the year after.

A clue to what might be going on was in Ferrari's run plan - where Mercedes were generally doing 30- or 40-odd laps at a time, rare was the run on which Ferrari did more than 10.

The longer the run, the more fuel is needed to complete it (although a team can of course start a short run on a lot of fuel). And the more fuel in the car, the slower it goes.

But while it would be a surprise to see the two Ferraris on the front row come Melbourne in six weeks' time, there are signs the team has made a genuine step forward.

One of them came from Raikkonen. Not exactly known for his effusiveness, and notoriously sensitive to the way a car behaves, the Finn was much more positive about the new car than he needed to be at its first test.

"This year is a completely different story to last year," said Raikkonen, who rarely felt comfortable in the 2014 Ferrari, and was annihilated by team-mate Fernando Alonso as a result.

"I had a good feeling straightaway when I went out. We've improved in all areas. It's definitely a positive start."

The other indicator is the progress the team have made on the engine - their biggest weakness last year, when it lacked overall power, driveability and performance from its hybrid system.

Insiders say Ferrari have found at least 50bhp already since the end of last year and could have another 30bhp or so to add before the first race.

This information was lent extra credence by Sauber driver Felipe Nasr. Now using a Ferrari engine, the Brazilian has experience of the 2014 Mercedes from a year as Williams reserve driver. He said the two engines "feel similar".

Ferrari were reckoned to be about 40bhp down on Mercedes on peak power last year, and even if Mercedes add the 50-60bhp they were said to have for this season, this sort of improvement could put Ferrari, as one rival said, "right up with Mercedes" on engine performance...

[sagi58]

 wrote:">Vettel not put off by Ferrari 'teething problems'

Sebastian Vettel was not deterred by a number of teething problems during his latest day of pre-season testing on Sunday.

Vettel completed 76 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday but spent a large chunk of the afternoon in the garage as the team made planned changes to components amid set-up work and tyre testing. Ferrari has yet to complete a race simulation but insists that is in keeping with its original plan for the three pre-season tests.

"I can say that we have focused mainly on the car's reliability, completing some long-runs, and testing various settings and tyre configurations," Vettel said. "We could not run as much as we'd like, but at this stage of winter testing there are always some teething problems you have to deal with. Overall, I can confirm that my feeling with the car is positive and now I'm looking forward to the next week of testing." ...

[sagi58]

 wrote:">Ferrari still shining with 2015 car

Ferrari is continuing to impress with the apparent speed of its 2015 car.

At Jerez recently, the fabled team - despite having gone through the turmoil of a personnel revolution after its disappointing 2014 campaign - surprisingly emerged with the quickest pace as the winter test period began.

And the SF15-T continued to shine in Kimi Raikkonen's hands on Thursday, as the second of just three pre-season tests began in Barcelona.

At the top of the times, both the Finn as well as ultimate pacesetter Pastor Maldonado, of Lotus, were quicker than Lewis Hamilton's Spanish grand prix pole time of 2014.

Raikkonen pointed out that some on track were using soft tyres on Thursday, but the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 revealed that the SF15-T was not among them.

"We used only the medium and the hard," the 35-year-old driver confirmed.

"The car is a completely different story from last year's," Raikkonen reported.

"We've still got a long way ahead of us but the team is working well and has produced a very nice car."

Raikkonen hinted that all the high-profile personnel changes, including a new team boss and Sebastian Vettel as his teammate, were made "for the right reasons".

"There is a nice atmosphere in the team," he is quoted by Italy's Autosprint. "I see a motivated and happy group of people, but as I said, we know that we are just beginning and we will still work to improve.

"But we are together as a team, which is a good starting point."

Autosprint reports that Raikkonen's best lap on Thursday was not only good enough for the 2014 pole, but his top speed between turns 4 and 5 as well as on the main straight was fully competitive.

"As I already said," the 2007 world champion is quoted by Speed Week, "it's a totally different car, a different story."

Italy's Omnicorse, meanwhile, revealed that new team boss Maurizio Arrivabene arrived at the Circuit de Catalunya mid-afternoon on Thursday.

"Let us not be surprised in these days," the former Marlboro executive insisted.

"It's too early to make any assessments, but the team is there," he added.

"And that is important. I was sure that it was enough to give a little tranquillity and motivation to a group that can do great things," Arrivabene added.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Testing at the Montmelò circuit – 22 February 2015


Circuit: Montmelò circuit – 4,655 km
Driver: Sebastian Vettel
Car: Ferrari SF15-T
Weather: Air temperature 11/15 °C, track temperature 12/22.
Sunny with strong winds.
Laps/Km completed: 76/353
Fastest time: 1:26.312
Tyres used: Soft, Medium.
Programme: Set-up work and tyre testing.

Sebastian Vettel:

“First of all, I’d like to wish Fernando a quick recovery. Luckily, we have already received some good news, so I hope he we’ll be back in top form at next week’s test.

As for today’s test, I can say that we have focused mainly on the car’s reliability, completing some long-runs, and testing various settings and tyre configurations. We could not run as much as we’d like, but at this stage of winter testing there are always some teething problems you have to deal with.

Overall, I can confirm that my feeling with the car is positive and now I’m looking forward to the next week of testing”.

Simone Resta:

“Overall, over these past days, we have followed the planned programme, based on development, on fine-tuning various components and strategy. We have also run aerodynamic measurements based on components to be developed in the wind tunnel, along with hardware and setup tests, all while runing different tyre programmes.

We had some planned stops in order to change components that had reached the end of their life cycle. We did a lot of practice starts, but we have not yet completed a race simulation, which is in accordance with our programme.

The drivers said they have a good feeling with the car and the set-up work has served to improve that, as well as being carried out to adapt to the continually varying weather conditions”.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">First day of testing in Barcelona – 13.15 update


Montmelò, 26 February –

The final test session of the winter got underway today, for Scuderia Ferrari and the other teams at the circuit. Kimi Raikkonen is at the wheel of the SF15-T and his programme features various simulation tasks, relating to set-up, as well as fuel loads, doing runs of various lengths.

This morning’s work was slightly affected by the unpredictable weather, with rain beginning to fall persistently, before the lunch break. The Finn set the sixth best time of the morning, a 1:27.813 and work will resume at the start of the afternoon.

[sagi58]

, Staff wrote:">Testing at the Montmelò circuit – 26 February 2015

Circuit: Montmelò circuit – 4.655 km
Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
Car: Ferrari SF15-T
Weather: Air temperature 8/14 °C, track temperature 10/13. Cloudy.
Laps/Km completed: 80/372
Fastest time: 1:26.327
Tyres used: Soft, Medium, Hard.
Programme: Set-up analysis, practice starts and pit-stop test.

Kimi Raikkonen:
“We learned something today, even with a few issues which I am sure we can fix. The car is not too bad overall, but there are some areas where we want to improve, especially when it gets tricky with the conditions that we are experiencing and because the tyres don't work the same way from one lap to another. Now we have another day of testing to put together what we have learned. In a few days in Melbourne we will find out where we really are”.

James Allison:
“This wasn’t an easy day for us as we spent time chasing our tails on annoying reliability problems which by the end of the day we managed to put to bed, but that interrupted our programmes for the day quite considerably. Now we can put what we learn today in place for tomorrow so to have a day much more like we want to have”.