Winter Testing For 2008 Season

[Harakimi]

First testing sessions have begun! Today the teams are running at Barcelona. I think we won't see anything new or special untill December but here is some pictures!

1) Bourdais listens carefully
2) New eyebrow master (Alonso lost the title here)
3) Force India livery

I hope that Force India will change their livery before the 1st race. I had difficulties to follow which one is Toyota and which is Aguri in this season and if we have 3rd team on same colours its going to be annoying. :mad:

[Driverdb]

I hope that Force India will change their livery before the 1st race. I had difficulties to follow which one is Toyota and which is Aguri in this season and if we have 3rd team on same colours its going to be annoying. :mad:

Yeah, I agree.

By the way. Is it just me or does the Force India car look extremely cluttered with extra wings, chimneys and whatnots. Perhaps it's always looked like that but the Midland livery managed to do a better job in hiding it. Or I just haven't been paying enough attention (quite likely :lol:).

[Harakimi]

You mean Spyker, I assume? :rolleyes:. It surely looks different but I just compared pictures from the Brazil GP and it seems that it's the same car. Force India has told press that they will start the season with this car and are excepting major upgrade around July.

[Driverdb]

Yeah, Spyker of course. :)

[Harakimi]

Morning times...Schumacher is only 2nd in there, shame on you. :D

Driver, Team, Chassis Laptime, Gap, Laps
Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren MP4-22, 1:24.158, 8
Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2007, 1:24.605 + 0.447, 8
Nick Heidfeld BMW, Sauber F1.07, 1:24.844 + 0.686, 18
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams FW29, 1:26.133 + 1.975, 16
Heikki Kovalainen, Renault R27, 1:26.513 + 2.355, 7
Giedo van der Garde, Force India F8-VII, 1:27.196 + 3.038, 18
James Rossiter, Super Aguri F1 SA07, 1:27.257 + 3.099, 7
Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Toro Rosso STR2, 1:27.572 + 3.414, 11
Andreas Zuber, Honda RA107, 1:28.274 + 4.116, 13
Anthony Davidson, Super Aguri F1 SA07, 1:30.215 + 6.057, 4
Roldan Rodriguez, Force India F8-VII, 1:30.554 + 6.396, 12

[Driverdb]

Morning times...Schumacher is only 2nd in there, shame on you. :D

:lol: Yeah. He's been getting old and fat!

[Harakimi]

I wonder if they are already using that new ECU and how much it favours McLaren. ;)

[lewstherin]

These are the times for today:

1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari F2007 1:21.922 64
2 Luca Badoer Ferrari F2007 1:22.129 + 0.207 71
3 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren MP4-22 1:22.687 + 0.765 63
4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault R27 1:22.802 + 0.880 68
5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1.07 1:22.883 + 0.961 55
6 Gary Paffett McLaren MP4-22 1:23.008 + 1.086 46
7 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB3 1:23.159 + 1.237 55
8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams FW29 1:23.187 + 1.265 66
9 Jarno Trulli Toyota TF107 1:23.624 + 1.702 46
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.07 1:23.671 + 1.749 75
11 Nico Rosberg Williams FW29 1:23.847 + 1.925 58
12 Franck Montagny Toyota TF107 1:23.861 + 1.939 61
13 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:24.048 + 2.126 77
14 Andreas Zuber Honda RA107 1:24.065 + 2.143 77
15 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:24.193 + 2.271 51
16 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri F1 SA07 1:24.246 + 2.324 70
17 James Rossiter Super Aguri F1 SA07 1:24.480 + 2.558 69
18 Karun Chandhok Red Bull Racing RB3 1:24.896 + 2.974 39
19 Giedo van der Garde Force India F8-VII 1:25.317 + 3.395 84
20 Roldan Rodriguez Force India F8-VII 1:26.297 + 4.375 87


Schumi is on top... :finishfirst:, with Luca in 2nd place :D

[Harakimi]

Oh man, Schuey at the front...I can picture tomorrows front pages in my mind. :rolleyes:

[lewstherin]

The times for today (updated at 13:31)

1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari F2007 1:20.475 50
2 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren MP4-22 1:21.943 + 1.468 40
3 Gary Paffett McLaren MP4-22 1:22.293 + 1.818 39
4 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing RB3 1:22.555 + 2.080 38
5 Nico Rosberg Williams FW29 1:22.759 + 2.284 32
6 Heikki Kovalainen Renault R27 1:22.808 + 2.333 34
7 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.07 1:22.946 + 2.471 45
8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams FW29 1:23.031 + 2.556 65
9 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.187 + 2.712 44
10 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1.07 1:23.488 + 3.013 24
11 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri F1 SA07 1:23.547 + 3.072 45
12 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso STR2 1:23.596 + 3.121 44
13 Jenson Button Honda RA107 1:23.708 + 3.233 47
14 Jarno Trulli Toyota TF107 1:23.778 + 3.303 20
15 Karun Chandhok Red Bull Racing RB3 1:24.021 + 3.546 24
16 Christian Klien Force India F8-VII 1:24.446 + 3.971 56
17 Adrian Sutil Force India F8-VII 1:24.537 + 4.062 64
18 Luca Filippi Honda RA107 1:25.205 + 4.730 37

Schumi is still the best... :D

I thought Massa was testing today, but he doesn't appear in the timesheet... :confused:

[NetOz]

Schummy still really good, but if Kimi or Massa were there they'd be faster then schummy, but what really nice times, thats why he is seven times world champion.

Schummy on the F2007

[JoStream]

Oh man, Schuey at the front...I can picture tomorrows front pages in my mind. :rolleyes:

Yea, there you go. As if the public is in desperate lead of even more confusion :mad:. They are making all other drivers look like a joke. And now we start the rumor mill again about a comeback. And wait, if he doesn't come back to Ferrari, what is wrong with Mr. Todt? Has Ferrari gone mad? :rolleyes:

[EIR Loe.307]

The red on the Ferrari looks different to me. Maybe more of a chrome (metallic) look to the base color. It looks deeper red too. It may be the shot but either way I like it.

I think Schumi will be at Ferrari for quite some time. I don't think he'll race unless Massa or Kimi are hurt, but I do see him moving into a technical director type position in a year or two.

People are always saying that they tweak the rules to keep the Ferrari more in line with the rest of the pack, so maybe this is a redistribution of power. :rolleyes:

[Harakimi]

01. Massa Ferrari 1:21.044 92
02. Kovalainen Renault 1:21.136 82
03. Montagny Toyota 1:21.363 85
04. Vettel Toro Rosso 1:21.486 67
05. Coulthard Red Bull 1:21.555 82
06. Badoer Ferrari 1:21.741 74
07. de la Rosa McLaren 1:21.805 33
08. Rosberg Williams 1:21.820 69
09. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:21.939 84
10. Paffett McLaren 1:22.070 31
11. Heidfeld BMW 1:22.460 53
12. Kubica BMW 1:22.706 52
13. Nakajima Williams 1:23.039 126
14. Trulli Toyota 1:23.064 52
15. Klien Force India 1:23.084 83
16. Button Honda 1:23.118 96
17. Liuzzi Force India 1:23.206 92
18. Conway Honda 1:23.729 72
19. Rossiter Super Aguri 1:23.931 61
20. Doornbos Red Bull 1:24.102 61

I think it was a wise decision from Ferrari to let Massa do some 'qually laps' so he won't look like a total idiot losing 0.5sec to Schumacher. :lol:. Kovalainen has also got nice pace over the whole week, Vettel outpaced Bourdais on every day. Now the engines cool off for a while and next testing will be held at December.

[EIR Loe.307]

Vettel outpaced Bourdais on every day.
I expect that to be the case until Seabass gets a better feel for the car.

[Harakimi]

Yeah it's not easy to come from different series as we see Doornboos is 2.5 secs slower than Coulthard with Red Bulls.

[EIR Loe.307]

Has Dornboos been testing F1 since Midland left F1? I know he's been in Champ car but I don't remember if he was still testing F1 at the same time. I'd really like to see hi do well in Champ or come back to F1.

[Driverdb]

I wouldn't draw to many conclusions as to who is slower than who during winter testing as we have absolutely no idea about the conditions they are running. As testing is limited the teams are probably not doing the same program for both their drivers as that would be wasting time.

[Harakimi]

Bridgestone will supply slick tyres for teams to trial at the upcoming test in Spain. Dutch magazine Formule 1 Race claims that every team will be given several sets of slicks to try at Jerez in December, ahead of the likely reintroduction of the tyres in 2009.

It is also reported that tyre-warming blankets will not be allowed in 2008.

[HondaF1Fan]

Would be great to see slicks again even if it isn't for long:)

[NetOz]

Would be great to see slicks again even if it isn't for long:)

I dont understand why F1 stopped using slicks, they are the best tyres for racing no doubts about it, and F1 always want the best, so i dont know why they keep with this ideia...

Mosley thought that with theese stripes on the tyres the passes would come back, that didnt work, so why they dont go back with slicks again that is what makes me angry :mad:

[saltysurprise]

Mosley thought that with theese stripes on the tyres the passes would come back, that didnt work, so why they dont go back with slicks again that is what makes me angry :mad:

Consider the source:rolleyes::mad:

[Harakimi]

M. Schumacher is going to test again for Ferrari at Jerez in December. This time he will team up with Räikkönen. If he would beat Kimi also, then the media will go absolutely crazy. :lol:

[DarkLord]

I m waiting for that :D

[Harakimi]

Well Ferrari played it safe and they won't drive on same days in Jerez. :D

[Harakimi]

Marko Asmer, british Formula 3 champion and spaniard Javier Villa from GP2 will test for BMW at Jerez on December 4th. Asmer will also get another day of testing at December 7th. BMW is seeking for test driver and both these guys are aiming for the position.

[Harakimi]

Jerez day 1. Testing takes place from tuesday to friday. This week teams are also testing slick tyres that might come back for 2009 season. Atleast Heidfeld and Button were on slicks today. Asmer beated Villa good. :thumbsup:

(Driver, Team, Time +gap, Laps)
1 Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:19.042 78
2 Jenson Button, Honda, 1:19.155 + 0.113 70
3 Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari, 1:20.063 + 1.021 78
4 Nelson Piquet Jr., Renault, 1:20.366 + 1.324 67
5 Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren, 1:20.569 + 1.527
6 Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:20.615 + 1.573 101
7 Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:20.682 + 1.640 69
8 Marc Gene, Ferrari F2007 1:20.832 + 1.790 67
9 Mike Conway, Super Aguri, 1:20.927 + 1.885 88
10 Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:21.060 + 2.018 46
11 James Rossiter, Super Aguri, 1:21.304 + 2.262
12 Timo Glock, Toyota, 1:21.336 + 2.294 69
13 Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 1:21.424 + 2.382
14 Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:21.551 + 2.509 27
15 Franck Montagny, Force India, 1:21.559 + 2.517
16 Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:21.566 + 2.524 33
17 Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:21.953 + 2.911
18 Marko Asmer, BMW Sauber, 1:21.962 + 2.920 57
19 Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota, 1:22.196 + 3.154 114
20 Javier Villa, BMW Sauber, 1:23.503 + 4.461 53

[JoelManiac]

Good old slicks:thumbsup:

Good to see Bourdais up in the top. Hopefully he turns good results in the championship.
Mark Webber in 7th is also pretty good. Hopefully he can also pick it up this year.:D

[Harakimi]

Renault and McLaren have adopted 'Ferrari' front wheel fairings. Lewis wrecked his car. Kimi, Pedro, Massa top three so far...

[DarkLord]

So they have started to use Ferrari Data :laugh:

Lewis might be giving a practice lesson to the crain operator so that he can pick him up and put on trace in real race

[hk77]

so obviously the cars with the slicks were the fastest. what is wrong with Max ?

ever since the grooved tyres were introduced in 98 overtaking was supposed to be easier, and therefor f1 should have been more entertaining for the viewrs.
Did it take them 10 years to figure out that they went down the wrong path. this is unbeleivable and extremly unprofessional. I wonder whats next, what other wrong decisions are they going to make and how long will it take them to realize that that was wrong. engine freeze ? TC ? V-10's,

honestly i wouldnt know where to start.:mad:

if there is one thing that has to be changed, its Mr. Mosley

[Harakimi]

1. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m18.213s
2. KUBICA BMW 1m18.410s
3. ROSBERG Williams 1m18.796s
4. M SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m19.136s
5. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m19.611s
6. GLOCK Toyota 1m19.961s
7. MASSA Ferrari 1m20.000s
8. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m20.033s
9. TRULLI Toyota 1m20.229s
10. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m20.657s
11. DAVIDSON Honda 1m20.821s
12. SATO Super Aguri 1m21.092s
13. ASMER BMW 1m21.333s
14. VAN DER GARDE Force India 1m22.321s
15. RODRIGUEZ Force India 1m22.508s


This was the last testing of the year. Next time when F1's go around the track we will see new designs and then we can start to speculate about strenghts between the teams. ;)

EDIT: Atleast Schumacher drove his Ferrari with 09 aero regulations.

[JoelManiac]

I thought the new design was coming in in 09. Or are they testing it now?

[EIR Loe.307]

I thought the new design was coming in in 09. Or are they testing it now?

There are new aero rules etc. coming for 2009 but for whatever reason teams are already testing them.:confused:

[Harakimi]

I think they are testing 2009 aeros because they got slicks to Jerez, and slicks are most likely to come back at 2009 so they wanted to get as much data from them as possible. Also Bridgestone benefits from this, they know now little better how the development on slicks should go on.

[Harakimi]

Position, driver, car, time, laps.

1. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari 1:19.846 59
2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari 1:20.123 42
3. Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren 1:20.548 54
4. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso 1:20.732 40
5. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren 1:20.936 48
6. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso 1:20.997 47
7. Nico Rosberg, Williams 1:21.143 47
8. Jarno Trulli, Toyota 1:21.314 84
9. Nelsinho Piquet, Renault 1:21.696 41
10. David Coulthard, Red Bull 1:21.746 49
11. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India 1:23.035 44
12. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams 1:23.134 42
13. Timo Glock, Toyota 1:24.351 56
14. James Rossiter, Super Aguri 1:34.862 10

Track was bit wet today.

[DanicaRules]

Looks like Sebastien is for real.

[Ryan]

Looks like Sebastien is for real.

For all intensive purposes those times don't mean anything.

We have no idea what the teams were testing/fuel levels/tires/many other variables.

[Harakimi]

Just watched some interwievs from yesterdays test day and Heikki Kovalainen was smiling like a little boy at christmas after driving the McLaren :).

He told to the finnish media that the difference to Renault is noticeable and after a while he reveleaded that the biggest difference between Macca and Renault was the aerodynamics, how fast you can corner and stability under braking.

[DanicaRules]

For all intensive purposes those times don't mean anything.

We have no idea what the teams were testing/fuel levels/tires/many other variables.


Yeah, but it gives me hope. I think Im gonna pull for the guy in F1 this year.

[NetOz]

Alonso is using a new helmet, similar to the 2006 season, but what is interesting is the par of A's in the back of his helmet, representing his two world titles...

In my opinion looked very nice :thumbsup:

[Harakimi]

Super Aguri had a rough week. They had overheating problems and they couldn't drive at all on tuestady and wednesday. James Rossiter was able to complete 10 laps on monday and they were the only laps they did.

Lewis Hamilton had hard time with driving without TC. He spunned two times off the track on wednesday and he admitted that driving is now more difficult than he excepted. Rumours say that he is having problems with new engine braking regulations. He also said that he was only trying to find new limits and that caused the spins.

Fernando Alonso set his best time at 16:47 in a two lap run on wednesday. He went out on low fuel and a new set of tyres under ideal conditions. Before that he was only 2 tenths faster than Force India driver, so it was pure PR lap. Alonso also was bit worried and is afraid that they will fight for positions outside the podium.

Räikkönen was pleased with the new Ferrari and said that they have made progress in areas they wanted, tho they are still excepting huge changes to car before the first race.

[DarkLord]

It seems Lewis Hamilton is fast aquiring the title of "Gravel Magnate" :D :D

[Driverdb]

It seems Lewis Hamilton is fast aquiring the title of "Gravel Magnate" :D :D

Do you have a good name for Massa? :whistling:

[Ryan]

Do you have a good name for Massa? :whistling:

John Deere????

[NetOz]

Alonso testing in Renault

The frontwing is new, could this be the 2008 car, or is just a different front wing??

[Harakimi]

McLaren and Ferrari topped the times on this weeks testing sessions at Valcenia. Also Williams' speed looks very promising. Rosberg said that the car is very much different compared to last year and he believes that they will get closer to BMW.

On the same time BMW drivers are having problems with new F1.08. Heidfeld said that last years car was much better balanced and new ride is having both under- and oversteering issues, maybe there is a reason why we saw new winglets on BMW. It was reported tho that they used those for only 5 laps.

Honda looks to be in troubles, they were the slowest cars on the track all the time. Team boss Nick Fry admitted that Barrichello was having motivation issues at 2007 because of the slow car, it remains to be seen if his motivation lasts for entire 2008 campaign if Honda continues poor performances.

Good news for Ferrari fans. Both drivers have said good things about the new car. Atleast Massa seems to be thrilled, but what is exceptional is that also Kimi has said that new Ferrari is good. He usually doesn't say these kind of things unless he really likes the way car is handling. :thumbsup:

[Harakimi]

Oh, and by the way Fernando Alonso 'lured' 35.000 spectators to watch testing live at Valencia, this must be a recrord. :eek::thumbsup:

[Harakimi]

Just look out the engine cover of new Red Bull, whoa! :eek:

[saltysurprise]

Just look out the engine cover of new Red Bull, whoa! :eek:

Na na na na na na na... BATMAN!!:lol:

[Harakimi]

Unofficial Friday times from Barcelona:

1. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:22.263
2. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:22.889
3. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:22.983
4. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 1:23.015
5. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:23.270
6. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:23.349
7. Nelson Piquet Jr, Renault, 1:23.367
8. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:23.387
9. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:23.453
10. David Coulthard, Red Bull, 1:23.491
11. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:23.547
12. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:23.836
13. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:23.955
14. Rubens Barrichello, Honda, 1:24.125
15. Alexander Wurz, Honda, 1:26.975

Honda is still 2sec behind top times, at this point I can say it worrys me abit, or atleast Honda staff should be IF they had tried stints on low fuel, as I except they had since they have a whole new ride...

[Driverdb]

Looks like Force India is doing the old "impress the sponsors"-routine, a trick Verstappen and Arrows used to perfect in the winter testing sessions. :lol:

[Mel x]

Here is the order by Autosport, they did a analysis from Valencia testing, although they do state they are not 100% sure about things like fuel loads and tyres.

1. McLaren
2. Ferrari + 0.2s
3. Williams
4. Renault
5. BMW
6. Red Bull
7. Toyota
8. Honda

It compares Lewis's long runs with Kimi's but also says that McLaren is traditionally quick around Valencia and Ferrari are quite pleased to be that close.

The other teams were basically a second or more slower

Williams - Nico quicker than Nakajima with the car good on long runs but the front wing failure suggests there might be an aero problem with a redesign possibly compromising the car.

Renault - Alonso was right the Renault was 1 second slower whilst Piquet is slower and struggling with understeer

BMW - Kubica quicker than Heidfeld with the car good on short runs but poor on long runs suggesting its using its tyres to much

Red Bull - Good over one lap but not on long runs, the car doesn't seem a leap forward from last year

Totoya - The car seems to have similar performance deficits to last years car

Honda - Really struggling with the car being 3 seconds off the pace

[Mel x]

This is amus take on things:

Over a single lap McLaren has a slight edge over Ferrari: on average 0,1 s. In the long runs though, Ferrari is clearly the one to beat. In the worst case scenario for McLaren, Ferrari is 0,3 s faster a lap.

At Jerez McLaren's fastest lap was 1:19,5, a tenth faster than Ferrari's fastest lap. At Valencia Kovalainen did a 1:11.0, almost 0,2 s faster than the best Ferrari there. According to McLaren, Kovalainen could have done a 1:10,5 on a real qualifying lap.

Haug about driving at Barcelona: ''We should already be able to drive low 1:21's, when we aim for it (at least).'' It's questionable if Ferrari can be beaten with that.

So far McLaren has done 8.672 km with their new car, which is a record.

Ferrari has overcome its weak points from 2007. It's fast over one lap and in slow corners. Raikkonen was a lot faster in Bahrain than his teammate was last year. But then a sandstorm afflicted the whole weekend making the track extremely slow. Ferrari obtained the exact same times as last year in testing.

But it shows how well Ferrari has worked nontheless. Bahrain is a stop and go track, braking and accelerating are keyfactors. If you're able to do the same times without traction control and engine braking, you deserve being the favourite.

BMW Sauber has certainly caught up, the gap to McLaren shrank to 0,4 s in long runs. Whether BMW Sauber's mechanical problem is really solved is to be seen next week at Jerez. Which is where Williams should confirm their performance Valencia also. According to Haug Red Bull is to be kept an eye on also: ''Webber's times are to be taken seriously. According to us they haven't been playing with the fuel loads.''

There's some mystery over Renault. Over a lap Alonso lost out 0,5 s to McLaren. But over a long run on average he was only 0,2 s behind Hamilton. Renault could still play a role in case this turns out to be a trend.

[Harakimi]

Fernando Alonso is convinced of BMW's speed on winter tests. BMW drivers haven't been very high on timesheets but Alonso insists that this isn't the whole truth.

"BMW's go very fast even with heavy fuel loads. If you look at their times you notice that the fastest lap has been made in the first lap of total 25-30 lap stints, and that is about 60-70kg's of fuel."

When it comes to changes winning races with Renault, Alonso ain't that optimistic.

"We are vey far behind. It looks like that the situation will be same than in the end of season 2007. There will be two Ferraris, two McLarens and two BMW's and we are fighting for positions 7 and 8 with Williams and Red Bull."

[DarkLord]

I guess Renault is sand bagging. Renault is faster than BMW. They will compete with Ferrari and Macca

[icegirl]

Best time today: Massa 1:20.508- 95 laps
Michael is testing for Ferrari on monday...with Kimi..can't wait to see that!!

[JoStream]

Best time today: Massa 1:20.508- 95 laps
Michael is testing for Ferrari on monday...with Kimi..can't wait to see that!!

I really think that the media hype about them coming together is pointless. There is absolutely no point in looking for a direct comparison. Ferrari has no interest, absolutely no interest, in letting these two fight for the best lap :banghead:

[CWBeattie]

I really think that the media hype about them coming together is pointless. There is absolutely no point in looking for a direct comparison. Ferrari has no interest, absolutely no interest, in letting these two fight for the best lap :banghead:

That's true, but racers being racers, and egos being egos, if they have identical cars, Kimi will want to beat Micheal of equal terms, and Micheal surely won't want to be beaten!

[Dunk]

Here are the latest test results
Testing times from Barcelona (February 25)

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.276s
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m22.319s
3. SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1m22.428s
4. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m22.724s
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.852s
6. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.974s
7. ALONSO Renault 1m23.021s
8. HEIDFELD BMW 1m23.075s]
9. SUTIL Force India 1m23.091s
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1m23.115s
11. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m23.188s
12. LIUZZI Force India 1m23.239s
13. GLOCK Toyota 1m23.270s
14. KLIEN BMW 1m23.442s
15. PIQUET Renault 1m23.609s
16. KOBAYASHI Toyota 1m23.880s
17. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m24.460s
18. WURZ Honda 1m24.667s
19. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m24.826s

[hk77]

M Schumacher is saying that mclaren and ferrari are evenly matched, although over a race distance the results remain to be seen, he also mentioned that ferrari latest chalenger is a step forward, and that he is optimistic about melbourne

What do you guys think, & who will be where in melbourne ?

it looks like williams have taken positive steps forward, and renault are sandbagging. BMW form remains to be justified


please discuss

[Dunk]

I think that its to hard say but has a ferrari fan i would have to say ferrari and kimi for the win and maybe Mass 2nd and Kovalainen or Hamilton 3rd. I also think that the bmw and the williams will be fighting for 3rd,4th and fift places and renault maybe.

[Harakimi]

What do you guys think, & who will be where in melbourne ?

it looks like williams have taken positive steps forward, and renault are sandbagging. BMW form remains to be justified


please discuss

I believe that this speculation about Renault sandbagging is total BS. We could point to Spanish media for this information spreading over the web, they just don't want to believe that Alonso could be slower. At the moment it looks like Ferrari might have slight advantage over McLaren but I still think that they will be pretty close to eachother. It really looks like Williams had made a step forward indeed but is it enough to challenge BMW will remain to be seen. Add Renault and Red Bull there and we will have excellent battles for places 4-8. :thumbsup:

[tamaucek]

Ferrari at the top im 100% sure! :thumbsup:
Behind them Mclaren.
BMW third, but we must not forget that Williams is doing quite well, and Renault has its champion back. And I am keen to see how Force India will do