You’ve heard me talk about it before and no doubt remember yourself, but testing in 2009 for McLaren really didn’t very good great results.This year has been far better as McLaren were fastest in the first session of testing in Jerez, courtesy of Lewis Hamilton on day 4. Jenson Button finished up the 2nd session of testing in Jerez as the fastest driver for McLaren. On to the testing in Barcelona which took place from Thursday to Sunday of this week just gone and it’s Lewis Hamilton who has gone the fastest, again.
Thursday 25th February 2010 – Day 1 of testing in Barcelona
1. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.487, 109 Laps
2. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:22.407, 82 Laps
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:22.514, 107 Laps
4. Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber, 1:23.144, 73 Laps
5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:23.452, 101 Laps
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:24.064, 65 Laps
7. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:24.170, 74 Laps
8. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:24.173, 74 Laps
9. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:24.869, 111 Laps
10. Lucas di Grassi, Virgin, 1:27.057, 31 Laps
11. Fairuz Fauzy, Lotus, 1:28.002, 76 Laps
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Quote from McLaren, the rest of which can be found here:
Despite not setting any headline laptimes, the team declared itself pleased with progress, gaining a greater understanding of the behaviour of the Bridgestone tyre over a long run.
Friday 26th February 2010 – Day 2 of testing in Barcelona
1. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:20.614, 99 Laps
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:20.637, 133 Laps
3. Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber, 1:20.973, 114 Laps
4. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:21.056, 90 Laps
5. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:21.258, 125 Laps
6. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:21.571, 104 Laps
7. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:21.689, 85 Laps
8. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:22.152, 93 Laps
9. Robert Kubica, Renault, 1:24.912, 53 Laps
10. Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:25.524, 70 Laps
11. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:25.942, 52 Laps
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Quote from McLaren, the rest of which can be found here:
Lewis took over from Jenson today, continuing the development work his team-mate began yesterday: refining set-up and evaluating tyres.
The morning was spent conducting shorter runs, attempting more experimental set-ups – changes that Lewis found beneficial to the car’s balance.
Saturday 27th February 2010 – Day 3 of testing in Barcelona
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:20.686, 128 Laps
2. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:21.413, 106 Laps
3. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:21.450, 105 Laps
4. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:21.975, 101 Laps
5. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:22.344, 115 Laps
6. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:22.523, 68 Laps
7. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:22.606, 61 Laps
8. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:23.123, 51 Laps
9. Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:25.059, 102 Laps
10. Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber, 1:26.216, 105 Laps
11. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:26.305, 31 Laps
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Quote from McLaren, the rest of which can be found here:
The morning’s session was affected by rain showers, which compromised running and limited the team’s learning of a number of new components. As a result, the morning was spent conducting a number of shorter installation runs to establish set-up.
Sunday 28th February 2010 – Day 4 of testing in Barcelona
1. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:20.472, 134 Laps
2. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:20.496, 61 Laps
3. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.539, 114 Laps
4. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:20.611, 100 Laps
5. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:20.667, 76 Laps
6. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:20.745, 123 Laps
7. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:20.870, 84 Laps
8. Kamui Kobayashi, BMW Sauber, 1:20.911, 67 Laps
9. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:22.135, 88 Laps
10. Robert Kubica, Renault, 1:23.175, 107 Laps
11. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:25.251, 65 Laps
12. Lucas di Grassi, Virgin, 1:26.160, 49 Laps
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Quote from McLaren, the rest of which can be found here:
For the final afternoon, the team ran another race simulation, carrying out three 22-lap stints. At the end of the day, Lewis declared himself happy and comfortable with the new car and told his engineers that he’s now looking forward to Bahrain.
This time 2 weeks and the Bahrain Grand Prix will have taken place. For the every first race we’ll have seen whether Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button is fastest for McLaren. We’ll also have seen the return of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso at Ferrari. If the pre-season testing of 2010 is anything like that of 2009, then as a McLaren fan I can only hope that like last year it is transferred to great race results, just like Brawn did 12 months ago.
I am confident going into this season that McLaren will do well. I think Lewis Hamilton will be in the mix for the world championship, his 2nd, while Jenson Button will be fighting it out for podium places as he acclimatises to his new car and team. With so many new teams and new drivers on the grid it will up to Hamilton and Button to not just drive to the best of their abilities but to also keep an eye on everyone else. This is something they have done every year, but in 2010 that awareness is going to need to be as sharp as ever.