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The weather turned unusually cold with even
some snow in Barcelona, as the second
pre-season test session ended, but the heat
of competition is clear within Scuderia
Ferrari after the first eight days of
testing on Spanish soil. |
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The
weather turned unusually cold with even some snow in
Barcelona, as the second pre-season test session ended,
but the heat of competition is clear within Scuderia
Ferrari after the first eight days of testing on Spanish
soil. The Ferrari F138 has shown it has got off on the
right foot and although there is clearly much work to do
to fully understand its behaviour, both drivers were in
a positive frame of mind after driving it over these
past two weeks.
Between Jerez and Barcelona, the car has racked up
almost 3000 kilometres and there is still four more days
of testing coming up at the Catalunya Circuit, prior to
the team’s departure for Melbourne, where the 2013
championship gets underway on 17 March. Those remaining
days will be used to complete the analysis of the car
while also working on getting the most out of it, in its
current configuration. A good team spirit is a vital
part of preparation, in the weeks leading up to the
Australian Grand Prix, with the drivers and team members
all focusing in a cohesive manner on what lies ahead,
whatever the intemperate weather might have in store for
the next few days in Spain, prior to the final test
session.
Over the four days in Montmeló, Fernando and Felipe
completed a total of 363 laps, a tiny bit more than
their main competitors. After getting an initial feel
for for the F138 and carrying out some aerodynamic
testing over the first two days, for his final day in
the car, the Spaniard was able to look at set-up work
and do a tyre comparison. He ended his first on-track
appearance of the year with the second fastest time of
the week, set on the Soft compound. It rained for much
of the Brazilian’s one day at the wheel and he completed
a very useful wet weather test for the team, setting
reasonable times, reporting that the car handled well in
the cold and slippery conditions. However, lap times
still mean nothing at this stage and again this past
week, it was difficult to draw any accurate conclusions
as to the pecking order down pit lane: this is down to
the big differences in the programmes being run and the
fuel loads carried on a track where every 10 kilos of
fuel costs three tenths of a second per lap. Next week,
the team will bring the first few development parts
planned for the F138 to Barcelona and will spend the
final days of testing, running various race weekend
simulations and only then is there a slight chance that
a truer picture of the performance levels of the teams
will emerge.
Another really unknown factor at the start of the year
will be the behaviour of the new tyres. The entire
Pirelli range features softer compounds than last year
and that will make a difference, not just in qualifying,
where we can expect to see quicker times- indeed this
was already born out by the fact that this week’s test
times were quicker than those on the Saturday of last
year’s Spanish Grand Prix at the same track - but also
in the race. Tyre wear is once again a topic for
discussion and one will have to wait and see what this
will really mean in terms of how many more pit stops
might be necessary. The tyre factor will therefore give
the drivers and team personnel something to think about,
as well as injecting some unpredictability and
spectacle, which is bound to go down well with the fans.
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