FORMULA 1 - 2016

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Button says new Honda boss a big boost for McLaren

Jenson Button is convinced new Honda motorsport boss Yusuke Hasegawa will be a great boost for his McLaren team this year.

Hasegawa, with whom Button worked in F1 at the Japanese manufacturer's own F1 team a decade ago, has replaced Yasuhisa Arai as Honda's motorsport boss.

Arai had led the car marker's efforts in F1 since it announced its return to Formula 1 with McLaren.

Button believes Hasegawa is exactly what both Honda and McLaren need to move forward.

"He's a great leader. He's a great listener," Button told reporters on Tuesday. "He spent last week all the time with the engineers, the McLaren engineers and mechanics to get a good understanding of the team.

"I've never seen anyone in his position do that before.

"I really like the guy and I remember working with him 10 years ago and he's gained a lot of experience since then, but he's still the same person, which is a strong personality who worked very hard to find a way to improve the car and bring updates as much as he can.

"He will push the team very hard, which is great and people will fall in line because they will believe in him," Button added.

Button, who will back in the car on Wednesday at Barcelona, said it's still too early to say how much progress McLaren has made with its new car and the new Honda engine.

The British driver also pointed out that McLaren had not run its high-downforce aero package yet.

"I can't tell you yet. There's nothing negative, which is important. There are no big issues to iron out, but we haven't pushed the car. We also haven't run the car in its proper downforce settings.

"We've ran low downforce because we don't have the wings yet. I could probably tell you a lot more tomorrow when I'm at the circuit."

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Alonso says new qualifying "a headache" for F1 fans

Fernando Alonso says Formula 1's new qualifying format will just give fans "a headache" as it over-complicates matters.

F1 chiefs approved a new elimination qualifying system last week, but Bernie Ecclestone revealed over the weekend that it would not be introduced until at least the Spanish Grand Prix because the new timing software would not be ready in time for the start of the season.

McLaren driver Alonso, however, reckons there was no need to change qualifying, and he thinks the new system will only confuse spectators.

The Spaniard labelled the changes as "crazy".

"[Viewing numbers] are down in all countries and so they are thinking about new things all the time to regain popularity," Alonso told Spanish radio station COPE in a interview.

"But some of the things they are thinking are crazy, like the new qualifying system, which is more complex than the one we had. We are giving the fans another headache.

"It's a bit hard for people to follow and people want to turn on the TV and watch loud cars with big tyres and see overtaking all the time, and we don't have that right now."

The two-time world champion added that the current cars continue to be too easy on the drivers as well as too slow on the track.

"They are not demanding," Alonso added.

"I remember the tests with the old cars: you couldn't sleep at night because you were so tired, because the neck hurt, because you felt dizzy when you laid down.

"Now you only need to look at the times: 1:26 at Barcelona, when we used to do 1:16. When we did laps waving at the people we nearly did 1:24s or 1:25s, and now are lapping in 1:26s, so it's not very demanding."

Mercedes in a league apart

Alonso, who struggled in his first year back at McLaren last season, believes Mercedes remains the team to beat, and claims the title is already for the German squad's to lose.

"Mercedes is in a league apart, it is very strong. They would have to do something catastrophic to lose. I don't think anyone can find that performance.

"Right now Vettel and Ferrari (are third) but I wouldn't rule out Williams or Red Bull or Force India, which appears to be stronger than usual.

"And let's hope sooner or later we are close, especially on some circuit that are more favourable for us."

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Kimi Raikkonen on Mercedes' fastest lap: 'Good for them'

Kimi Raikkonen says there is no point in trying to guess where Ferrari stands in relation to Mercedes before the first race of the season in Australia.

Ferrari still holds the fastest time of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, set by Sebastian Vettel on ultra-soft tyres, but on Tuesday Mercedes laid down a marker with a time just 0.2s off using the slower soft compound tyres. But when asked to analyse the times set so far, Raikkonen said he was not interested in playing guessing games.

"It's pointless to start guessing -- you can do that and other people can do that, but I don't see the point of that," he said. "I have no idea what they are doing, they don't know what we are doing. You can see the lap times -- is it close or is it not, different tyres, different this and that...

"Like I said, we have a good feeling, we for sure have made quite a good progress over the winter, but is it going to be enough? Who knows. I think we are going to be more or less where we want to be but we will see."

Raikkonen missed out on track time on Tuesday due to a gearbox issue that kept him in the garage for most of the afternoon. Asked if he was concerned by Mercedes' show of reliability and its strong pace while he sat on the sidelines, Raikkonen said: "Good for them. It takes nothing away from us."

He added: "We never planned to do them [race simulations] yet. Everybody does their own things. Just putting miles helps and obviously helps in certain areas, but what we want to do is maybe different to what they want to do.

"We were doing our own stuff and yes there have been some small issues, but that's part of testing and I'd much rather have issues now than in racing. At least we know what we have to do."

"Obviously it could be slightly better at this point, but the purpose of testing is to try things. Obviously if something breaks or we have an issue, we can fix it and there is still time. Every year is the same story, you push, push, push and then you have an issue that you have to fix.

"Am I concerned? Not really, that is the purpose of testing and trying things and learning about the car. There are still many days that we can run and obviously certain things come up and I would say it's normal progress and we have some work still to do. Like I said, every year it is the same, at least from what I can remember from the past. It's a different story when we go racing."

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Hulkenberg counts up mileage for Force India

Nico Hulkenberg says he had another flawless day in the VMJ09 as the Force India driver concentrated on long race stints rather than outright speed.

Having topped the timesheet on the only day he'd been in the new Force India challenger - day three of the first test - the German driver took a more constructive approach to testing by notching up a healthy total of 121 laps with a fastest time of 1m 25.760s to take eighth place overall.

Having gone over 2.5 seconds faster last week, Hulkenberg is confident his team already has strong single lap pace as he concentrated on longer stints in order to become more familiar with the new Pirelli compounds.

“It was a good day and we were able to get through a big testing plan,” Hulkenberg said. “We had quite a few different objectives and specific items we wanted to look at, so to be able to do all that was a positive.

“We continue to build our understanding of the VJM09 and we explore ways to adapt to its behaviour. It's the usual learning process that takes place when you have a new car and you start developing it for the season. In the afternoon we were able to complete some long runs which were useful to learn about the way the tyres work.”

Hulkenberg hands over to team-mate Sergio Perez for the second day of the concluding test before returning for his final day of pre-season on Thursday ahead of the 2016 season opener in Australia.

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Barcelona F1 Pre-season Test 2: Kvyat lands solid setup ahead of final day tweaks

Daniil Kvyat says he's discovered a 'happy place' with his race setup in the Red Bull RB12 despite not maximising his lap count and will focus on outright pace on his final day of pre-season testing.

The Russian's opening day in the second pre-season test at Circuit de Catalunya has been punctuated by a right-rear brake fire midway through the morning session but after getting on top of the issue and fixing the brake duct he completed 69 laps with a best time of 1m 25.049s to take fifth overall.

Kvyat says despite missing some valuable track time he is satisfied he's discovered a solid setup and is keen to hunt outright performance gains on his final day in the RB12 tomorrow.

“We would have liked to have done a bit more laps, but nevertheless there is another day of driving ahead for me, which we will try to make as busy as possible,” Kvyat said. “We had a little issue with a brake duct, and we took a little bit of time to understand it and sort it out, but the guys did a good job because the rest of the day there was absolutely no issues.

“With the balance my engineer and I reached quite a happy place quite soon, so now it is about small things here and there, trying to figure out what gave you half a tenth, a tenth here or there, trying to really understand what things work or not. The balance is progressing and panning out quite well.

“There are some other things we still have to go through in the last day of testing, but I am sure we can make up for it. There is nothing specific we are working on.”

Kvyat will enjoy his final day of pre-season testing tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd March) before handing over to team-mate Daniel Ricciardo on the final two days in Barcelona.

“I think there is progress which we still have to try to extract out of this potential,” he added. “I am still calling it, because the real progress we will see in Melbourne and the first couple of races.”

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Verstappen exuding confidence in STR11

Max Verstappen says he is feeling confident in the Toro Rosso STR11 as he continued to impress with the car's reliability and pace in pre-season testing in Spain.

With the car breaking cover in its 2016 F1 livery on the morning of the first day, Verstappen drove the car to 144 laps and the seventh quickest lap time of the day.

With Toro Rosso consolidating its position behind only Mercedes in terms of mileage, the young Dutchman says he is feeling good in the Ferrari-poweredcar.

“So far the package is working well. We try to learn more about it and get ready for the first few races,” he said. “It's not worse that's for sure, that's always positive. We always try to improve, though the conditions are different to last year so it's difficult to compare. I am feeling confident in the car. I think that's always important.

Even so, Verstappen admits he doesn't know where Toro Rosso factors in terms of pure pace, admitting he probably won't know until the team reaches Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

“For me, it feels all OK. We are not chasing lap times yet. We are just discovering the car even more and get the mileage up. I think it's always very good to validate all the data you have. From there, we'll see where we end up in Melbourne.”

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BARCELONA TEST: BOTTAS ENDS DAY TWO ON TOP

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas topped the timing sheets at the end of day two of the second Barcelona Formula 1 test with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton second fastest in the Mercedes and Kevin Magnussen third in the Renault.

Both Bottas and Magnussen set their best times with Pirelli Supersofts bolted on to their cars, while Hamilton’s best was on a set of Softs. Bottas’ best time 1:23.261 was three tenths up on the Mercedes driver who shared duties on the day with teammate Nico Rosberg.

The German sticking to race simulations on Mediums. He was ninth fastest as the Silver Arrows pair racked up 164 laps collectively.

Sebastian Vettel was fourth fastest in the Ferrari and best of the drivers who ran Pirelli Mediums on the day, with 151 laps to his credit.

Fifth fastest was Jenson Button who set his time with a set of Softs on his McLaren. He was 1.5 seconds down on Hamilton’s best lap set on similar rubber.

Daniel Ricciardo was second best of the drivers on the Medium Pirelli tyres, just shy of half a second down on Vettel – fastest of the drivers who used Mediums.

Carlos Sainz was seventh fastest and with 166 laps on his chart did more mileage than any of his rivals. Force India’s Sergio Perez was eighth on the timing sheets.

At the other end of the paddock, both Haas and Sauber suffered reliability problems.

Marcus Ericsson managed just seven laps in the morning session in the Sauber C35 He got going in the afternoon to rack up 55 laps in total but ended the day slowest of all the runners.

Esteban Gutierrez failed to register a lap time in the Haas due to a turbo charger problem which they had on the opening day and plagued them again on day two.

Report in progress…

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HAMILTON: LET’S KEEP OUR FEET ON THE GROUND

World champion Lewis Hamilton is ignoring predictions which claim his Mercedes team are untouchable heading into the new Formula One season.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso has said Mercedes, who have won 32 of the last 38 grands prix, are looking “stronger than ever”, while Valtteri Bottas of Williams does not expect another team to challenge them when the season gets under way in Melbourne later this month.

Hamilton topped the timesheets on Wednesday morning as Mercedes once again demonstrated they have the pace to match their bulletproof reliability.

Lewis Hamilton is not paying too much attention to claims Mercedes will be unbeatable this year

But the Briton, bidding to win his third consecutive championship, does not expect the upcoming campaign to be a forgone conclusion.

“Honestly, I have not looked at where everyone else is,” Hamilton, who completed 72 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday, told Sky Sports F1.

“Everyone naturally is going to hype us up, every single person is going to hype us up, but you really don’t know what fuel load Ferrari are on.

“I think they have got a strong package, even Williams look like they have got quite a strong package, so I would not take any notice of what they are saying to be honest.”

Mercedes have covered more distance than their rivals in the six days of winter testing in Barcelona so far, and Nico Rosberg was fastest for the Silver Arrows on Tuesday.

“I’ve the feeling it’s the best season’s start we’ve had in the last couple of years,” said boss Toto Wolff, whose team have won the last two constructors’ championships.

“But we still haven’t seen what the other frontrunning cars are capable of extracting performance-wise. We’ve haven’t seen Ferrari, Williams, and Red Bull.

“So let’s keep our feet on the ground and see where we end up on Saturday afternoon in Melbourne, which will give more indication.”

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ALONSO: YOU COULD RACE THESE F1 CARS UNTIL YOU ARE 50

Double world champion Fernando Alonso says his future rests on the reforms that are slated to revolutionise Formula 1 next season, because as it stands now the new era cars are less of a challenge to race than the cars he has driven during the course of his career.

2017 will be the third and last in the Spaniard’s current McLaren-Honda contract, amid speculation more midfield straggling in cars that no longer excite him could spell the end of his 16-year F1 adventure.

“The cars are less spectacular than some years ago,” Alonso said on Spanish radio Cadena Cope.

“The laptimes are much slower, the cars weigh 120 kilos more than 7 or 8 years ago, the sound has changed, the Pirelli tyres have changed the races.

“There are a number of factors that have made the racing less dramatic, and I think no one likes it,” Alonso insisted.

Told that he will be 36 when his potential F1 retirement comes along in 2017, Alonso smiled: “I think you could race these cars until you are 50.

“They are very undemanding. With the old cars you could not sleep some nights at first due to physical fatigue. We were doing 1.16s and now it’s 1.26s, so it’s very undemanding.

“About how long I will be in F1 I will know next year, because the cars are changing radically. They want to make the cars faster and that may be the turning point. If the cars are fun and F1 returns to being F1, it is attractive for any driver.”

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VASSEUR: MAGNUSSEN AND PALMER ON ONE SEASON CONTRACTS

Frederic Vasseur, the new team boss at Renault, has confirmed that neither team driver has a guaranteed future with the French marque beyond the 2016 season.

“Both drivers have a contract for one season,” he is quoted by the Danish broadcaster TV2, referring to Dane Kevin Magnussen and Briton Jolyon Palmer.

“Formula one is moving all the time and you can’t say your drivers are staying for five or six years. Right now for us it’s more about building a strong base.”

Indeed, after taking over the near-collapsed Lotus at the eleventh hour, Renault is keeping its expectations very low for the 2016 season.

“We are in the battle around the points,” Magnussen said at the Barcelona test on Tuesday. “Maybe just outside the points. I think if we get both cars in the points in Melbourne, that will be a really good weekend.”

But Vasseur said that although 2016 will not be about winning, that does not mean the drivers are unimportant for Renault.

“It is very important that you have the right drivers,” he insisted, “as the whole team is of course built on them. But first and foremost we need to deliver a car that they can do (good) results with. It has to be in the right order.”

The co-founder of the ultra-successful formative team ART, Frenchman Vasseur arrives in the F1 paddock already with a reputation for being one of the sport’s hard men.

He laughs: “I’m definitely not the right one to answer that. But ok, maybe my leadership style can be hard. It’s not the first time I have heard it!”

Indeed, his welcoming message for Dane Magnussen recently was that Vasseur’s first choice for the 2016 seat was in fact McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.

But Vasseur insists: “I’ve known Kevin for a long time and I’m convinced that he’s going to deliver. The feedback I am getting from the team describes someone who is extremely dedicated. Kevin has a really good reputation.”

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NASR: MAYBE IT WILL NOT BE 100 PER CENT IN AUSTRALIA

Felipe Nasr admits Sauber’s newly-launched car may not be 100 per cent ready for the 2016 Formula 1 season opener in Australia in just over two weeks.

While the rest of the teams were already testing their 2016 machines last week in Barcelona, Nasr’s Ferrari-powered C35 was unveiled only on Tuesday, ahead of just four days of running prior to Melbourne.

The Brazilian answered “yes” when asked if there was a financial aspect to the holdup, but also explained: “It was a combination of things, even involving Ferrari.

“In fact we could have brought the launch forward, but it (the car) would not have been as we would have liked,” he told Brazil’s Globo Esporte. “This car has a much better integration of chassis, aerodynamics and engine, and this takes time.”

But with the midfield expected to be so fiercely-contested in 2016 – as Manor steps up with Mercedes power, Haas arrives with strong Ferrari backing and Lotus becomes Renault – it could be Sauber that is left at the very back.

“After all that I have seen us doing in the team, I do not believe it,” insisted Nasr, “but of course it can happen.

“If it is, we have to find ways to reverse the situation and our team has the structure to do that. But as I said, I do not think it will be so.”

And so the 23-year-old said he will not criticise Sauber for the new car’s delay, “If I had the car a week ago we would have done much of the work that we did today. But I’d rather have the car now than to not have it.

“We have more work ahead of us, we still need time, and maybe it will not be 100 per cent in Australia, but I am as optimistic as possible. I believe we will have a good preparation for the first race,” Nasr added.

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ALONSO APPOINTED OFFICIAL AMBASSADOR FOR 2016 GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE

Press Release: Baku City Circuit (BCC) is today delighted to announce two-time Formula 1 World Champion and current McLaren-Honda driver, Fernando Alonso, as the official ambassador for the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe.

Alonso counts as one of the most successful and popular drivers in F1’s history, with two world titles, 32 Grand Prix victories and 97 podium finishes to his name. Fittingly, he is one of only a few select drivers to have won a Formula 1 European Grand Prix, having secured first place at the event on three previous occasions including his memorable 2012 triumph in Valencia, which also happened to be the most recent edition of this historic Grand Prix.

As part of his role, Alonso will visit Baku for two days on March 8th – 9th. In doing so, he becomes the first F1 driver to visit Baku, where he will observe the progress being made on the city’s streets as the Baku City Circuit nears completion.

During his visit he will be able to see first-hand some of the many challenges that await his McLaren this summer, including the soon-to-be iconic sequence of narrow uphill, winding turns along Baku’s Old Town walls and the main straight where cars are estimated to hit speeds of up to 340 km/h. In addition, he will also spend time in Baku engaging with both local and international media as well as fans and in particular with the many 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe volunteers and marshals who are currently undergoing extensive training ahead of F1’s arrival in Azerbaijan.

Commenting on the news, Alonso said: “I am thrilled be chosen as an ambassador for the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe. It is a real honour to be the first F1 driver to visit Baku and inspect the new circuit facilities. I have heard and read many great things about the city and am immensely looking forward to seeing it for myself very soon. Having won three European Grand Prixs in my career, it seems a good fit for me to help promote the race’s return to the F1 calendar in this wonderful new location.

In fact, the manner in which I won the last edition of the European Grand Prix in Valencia ensured that I would be forever emotionally linked to this particular race. From a technical point of view, I’m sure myself and my colleagues will love racing here in Baku, given that a street circuit is always an exhilarating challenge for any driver and from what I have already learned about this circuit, it seems clear that this one will be no exception.“

Baku City Circuit’s Executive Director, Arif Rahimov also expressed his excitement at today’s news: “We are absolutely delighted with today’s announcement and can not wait to welcome Fernando to our beautiful city and show him the sights and sounds that will make this Grand Prix one of the highlights of the F1 season. With our track-build progressing daily, this is the perfect time to showcase Baku City Circuit and its many unique characteristics to one of the sport’s greatest drivers. I am sure he will relish the opportunity to acquaint himself with the circuit before he races here in June. To have the support of a two-time Formula 1 World Champion and all round sporting great such as Fernando Alonso is truly invaluable to us. Welcome to Baku, Fernando!”

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F1 OFFICIALS UNDER-FIRE FOR QUALIFYING FORMAT FARCE

Formula 1 officials have come under fire for what major newspapers including the Independent and Telegraph are calling the 2016 Formula 1 qualifying farce.

Mere weeks before the new season, the decision-making F1 Commission agreed to implement a new ‘musical chairs’ elimination format for qualifying this year.

But F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, reportedly the architect of the scheme, had to admit that his software-writers at Formula One Management are unable to write the necessary software in time.

“You can imagine the high-level meeting where that bubble burst … and they forgot to ask the people on the ground whether they can do it or not,” former driver and now leading British commentator Martin Brundle told the Morning Star newspaper.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg agrees: “It’s not very professional the image they are giving with that, going back and forth.”

Arguably the bigger issue, however, is that the change had been put into place while so many stakeholders argue that nothing was wrong with the existing format.

“Of all the things I wanted to change, qualifying would probably be the last and that is the route they have decided to take,” said Brundle.

McLaren-Honda’s Fernando Alonso agrees: “(Spectator) numbers are down in all countries and so they are thinking about new things all the time to regain popularity.

“But some of the things they are thinking are crazy, like the new qualifying system, which is more complex than the one we had. We are giving the fans another headache,” he told Spanish radio Cadena Cope.

More diplomatically, Alonso’s teammate Jenson Button agreed: “I think everyone understands that a lot of things in formula one have to change.

“It’s important that we are looking constantly to improve, I just hope the fans like it and understand it. From my point of view, I’m pretty experienced in formula one and it’s quite confusing for me.”

Ecclestone said the software should be ready by May’s Spanish grand prix, but the latest twist is that Ferrari may nix the idea altogether through its famous veto.

“You can’t criticise them (F1) for saying ‘Let’s try and do something different’,” said Brundle, “but to introduce it and then have to pull back is nothing less than embarrassing.”

But Rosberg says that stepping back to reconsider the matter is a good move for F1, “It’s such a major change. It’s good that we are thinking about it.”

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ECCLESTONE GAVE HOCKENHEIM A WAKE UP CALL

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is putting pressure on Hockenheim to up its game in order to secure Germany’s future on the grand prix calendar.

Hope that the Nurburgring might bounce back from its troubles is now all but gone, but F1 supremo Ecclestone said he preferred to see Germany sit out a year in 2015 than agree a cut-price deal for a Hockenheim stand-in race.

“We wanted to wake Hockenheim up a little bit,” he told the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. “They are still 20 years behind the times when I compare it to other places.”

Ecclestone said the existing contract, set for two more races in 2016 and 2018, is “not very good”, adding that whether Germany has a future in F1 is “in principle a question of money”.

So with an unprecedented 21 races already on the calendar, the 85-year-old Briton might have to scrap existing events in order to take F1 to its next locations.

“I would like to see a race in Africa, somewhere we haven’t been before,” said Ecclestone. “The first discussions have already happened, and maybe one more race in the US, let’s see.”

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MCLAREN: STARTED THE SECOND TEST OFF ON A POSITIVE NOTE

On Tuesday, Fernando Alonso returned to the cockpit for the first day of the second and final pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Like last week, the weather was dry and sunny all day, although it started off cold, which meant the track temperatures were low early on in the morning session.

The focus of today’s running was to bed in a new power unit, which had been slightly updated from last week’s to move closer to the specification scheduled to run at the first grand prix in Melbourne. Much of the day’s programme concentrated on engine mode and driveability tests, tyre compound assessments as well as aerodynamic set-up changes.

A technical glitch halted running just before the lunch break, when an electronics issue caused the car to lose telemetry data. This was identified and reset over lunch and Fernando returned to the track shortly after 15:00.

Despite some niggles in the afternoon as the new power unit bedded into the chassis, today’s run programme was concluded successfully, and Fernando completed a total of 93 laps.

Wednesday, Jenson Button will once again take over the driving duties as the team continues the MP4-31 test programme.

Fernando Alonso: “After the disappointment of not being able to complete much running at the end of last week’s test, it was positive to get so many laps on the board today. We tested a number of different configurations and spent a lot of time working on the power unit and collecting data from the aerodynamics. It’s too early to tell a real difference compared to the engine last week, as we focussed today on shorter runs and adjusting the balance and set-up of the car. However, today’s full day of running has been a good start to the second test, and has provided us with lots of useful data that we can analyse overnight before Jenson continues the programme tomorrow.”

Matt Morris, Director of Engineering: “After a busy and long weekend for the whole team out here at the track, back at MTC and in Sakura, we started the second test off on a positive note. It’s always encouraging to get some good mileage under our belt on the first day. We spent a good chunk of the day evaluating the power unit functionality, although our attention hasn’t yet turned to assessing outright performance. The important thing was to get as many miles on this package as possible, so from that point of view and the amount of data we have collected today, it has been very positive. We will continue to maximise our track time over the coming days, to work on ironing out reliability niggles and move on to longer runs. We also have some new aero parts arriving overnight, which will be assessed on track tomorrow with Jenson.”

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: “We had an unexpected control electronics shutdown just before lunch time, believed to be the cause of a software problem. Apart from that, we were able to run a decent amount of laps to finish the first day of the second test in Barcelona. On the power unit side, we tested many different modes of running to prepare for the race, so it was a busy day for the system engineers. As a package, we were able to test different balances of the car and tyres together with the power unit. We are looking to perform further detailed checks on the power unit during tomorrow’s testing.”

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FERRARI: NORMAL TO HAVE LITTLE ISSUES DURING TESTING

Ferrari report from day one of the second Formula 1 preseason test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

• Circuit: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – 4.655 km
• Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
• Car: Ferrari SF16-H
• Weather: Air temperature 8/18°C, Track temperature 8/25°C.
  Sunny
• Laps/Km completed: 72/335
• Fastest time: 1.24.836
• Tyres used: Medium
• Programme: Aero test, software and damper settings

Kimi Raikkonen: “It is normal to have some little issues during testing like we had with the gearbox today, but I am not concerned as we have time to fix it. That’s the purpose of testing, learning new things and trying something different. We still have something to be done of course but it is a normal process this time of the year. It is a different story when we go racing. We will know pretty soon what will happen in Australia but so far the car feels good. I have no idea what the others are doing, lap times may vary with different tyres and fuel levels, but we know what we are doing and we are pretty happy with the way the car is handling. I think we have a very good package, time will tell if it is good enough.”

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HAAS: IT WASN’T AN IDEAL DAY

Haas F1 Team report from day one of the second Formula 1 preseason test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Esteban Gutiérrez was held to just 23 laps in preseason testing Tuesday at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya due to a fuel system issue.

Gutiérrez recorded a best lap of 1:26.661 during his third run of the morning session, set on the Pirelli P Zero White medium tire, the favored compound for the majority of the morning’s participants.

The VF-16 sat out the afternoon session as the team worked to rectify the problem with its fuel system.

Esteban Gutiérrez: “It wasn’t an ideal day as we had some technical issues which we’re still investigating. We wanted to do a lot of running and had setup work planned. However, we’re working on our solutions and focusing on the next few days so we can get our program completed. Tomorrow is another day. The team is working hard to solve the issues and I’m confident we will. Hopefully, we can have a smoother day tomorrow.”

Guenther Steiner: “Unfortunately in the morning we experienced some problems with the fuel system. We tried to fix it but we were unable to and had to stop running just before the lunch break. We will not be able to run again until tomorrow, so a little bit of a setback. But what makes you suffer makes you stronger. We take a step back, but we hope to make two forward tomorrow.”

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FORCE INDIA: THE CAR RAN RELIABLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Sahara Force India resumed its Barcelona test programme today with Nico Hülkenberg clocking up 121 laps with a best time of 1:25.336. Sergio Perez takes over driving duties tomorrow.

Nico Hülkenberg: “It was a good day and we were able to get through a big testing plan. We had quite a few different objectives and specific items we wanted to look at, so to be able to do all that was a positive. We continue to build our understanding of the VJM09 and we explore ways to adapt to its behaviour: it’s the usual learning process that takes place when you have a new car and you start developing it for the season. In the afternoon we were able to complete some long runs which were useful to learn about the way the tyres work.”

Tom McCullough, Chief Race Engineer: “Another routine day of testing with ideal weather conditions for this time of year. The car ran reliably throughout the day and we covered 121 laps. We dedicated the early morning running to aero data correlation and fitted various test sensors to the VJM09. We then moved on to general set-up work and focussed on long run performance and further understanding of the 2016 tyres. Although the temperatures we see in these winter tests are not especially representative, it still gives us a reasonable idea of what we can expect from the early races. We need to analyse most of the tyre data tonight so that we can continue with the programme tomorrow with Sergio.”

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RED BULL: NOT A FANTASTIC FIRST DAY BACK AT THE TRACK

Red Bull report from day one of the second Formula 1 preseason test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

After a busy weekend of analysis following last week’s first outings in the Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12, Daniil Kvyat today got our final four days of preparation for the start of the season underway in Barcelona. And despite a compromised morning session, due to a brake duct issue, the Russian driver posted a respectable 69 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on his way to a best time of 1:25.049, set on soft compound tyres.

Commenting on his penultimate test day before the season-opener in Melbourne, Dany said: “We had a busy afternoon, which was good. We would obviously have liked to have done some more laps, but there is another day left available to me and I’ll try to make that as busy as possible. This morning we had a little bit of an issue with the brake ducts and it took a little bit of time to sort it out, but the guys did a good job and for the rest of the day there were absolutely no issues.”

Head of Race Engineering, Guillaume Rocquelin added: “Not a fantastic first day back at the track for us, as in the morning we had a brake system issue. It wasn’t a major issue – the fault was easy to rectify – but unfortunately there was some damage to one corner of the car and we therefore had to strip the back end, which was quite time consuming. When we got out in the afternoon we got stuck into the programme we had set for the day and we had a good second half to the day. Dany also had a run on the soft tyre. There was no suggestion of chasing lap time, but we just wanted to get a little bit more data. In all, not an ideal start to these final days in Barcelona but we’ll keep plugging away.

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TORO ROSSO: RELIABILITY HAS BEEN A REAL POSITIVE

Toro Rosso report from day one of the second Formula 1 preseason test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Phil Charles (Chief Engineer): “It’s been another good day for us. We spent the morning characterising some new aero parts. This is another good job from the factory to get those delivered to us in time after the very busy winter we’ve had. The rest of the day was a nice mix of set-up work followed by long-runs in the afternoon. We are spending more time on these, building our understanding of the car. There’s perhaps still a bit of work to do on the tyres, but all in all we’ve learned quite a lot and the reliability has been a real positive for today, adding a further 144 laps to the team’s tally.”

Max Verstappen (Car 33): “It was a very good day! We completed plenty of laps and I think we can be very happy. Everything was running smoothly and we were able to go through the whole of our programme, which is always something positive to do. We tested a few parts and it was, all in all, a very productive day. Physically I’m also feeling good and I can’t wait to be back in the car on Thursday – that will be my last time at the wheel of the STR11 before heading to Australia!”

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WILLIAMS: THE CAR RAN FAULTLESSLY

Williams report from day one of the second Formula 1 preseason test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: “Today was a very good day for us. The car ran faultlessly. We did lots of quite significant tests throughout the day as well as a bit of a qualifying simulation. We managed to get through our planned programme without any major problems, so overall we are really pleased.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a good day today. We managed to run without any major issues with the car. It was very interesting discovering more about the FW38 and what kind of set-ups work for this car. I think we managed to make progress. We did some short runs today which I really enjoyed. I still agree with what I said last week – we have improved in the areas where we were weak last year. I am looking forward to tomorrow and continuing testing.”

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MANOR: WE ENCOUNTERED OUR FIRST SIGNIFICANT TESTING GLITCH

Rio Haryanto ploughed through a condensed testing programme this afternoon after losing most of the morning session to an oil leak. He managed 45 laps in the MRT05 as the team gave chassis 02 its first outing. He ended the day 12th, his best lap time a 1:27.625.

Rio Haryanto: “This afternoon has been really positive, so that has made up for the track time we lost this morning to an oil leak. That’s what testing is for though so I’m happy that we quickly identified and got on top of the problem. We managed 43 laps this afternoon and as well as the core programme I worked through some controls procedures including practice starts. Pre-season testing is short so every lap counts but with one more day in the car to focus on race simulation and qualifying preparation, my confidence with the car and team is improving all the time.”

Dave Ryan, Racing Director: “We encountered our first significant testing glitch this morning when an oil leak disrupted our programme. The leak itself was pretty straightforward to deal with but the source was difficult to reach and that’s where we lost the time. Once fixed, we turned the car around quite quickly and managed to get Rio back out for a lap before the break to make sure we were on top of the problem for the afternoon. Rio responded well to the challenge of playing catch-up and his calm and focused approach contributed to a very smooth rest of day. Although we lost some valuable mileage, we’re in a good place for the start of this week’s test.”

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RENAULT: WE KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS

Renault Sport Formula One Team completed the first day of the second and final pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with Kevin Magnussen back in action. Kevin completed a bumper 119 laps with a best lap time of 1min 25.760secs.

Kevin Magnussen: “It was another strong day with lots of laps completed. There’s a positive feeling with this car but equally we know where we need to make improvements and that’s what we’re working towards. It’s great to be able to get so much mileage for myself and the team as we can really make good progress.”

Nick Chester, Chassis Technical Director: “A pretty good day for us with the car running reliably and completing 119 laps. We were able to work on both front and rear suspension set up as well as aero data logging which will give us further direction for the remainder of the test. All of today’s programme has been completed so there is a satisfying amount of data to process ahead of tomorrow.”

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Button hails ‘perfect partnership’ with Alonso

Jenson Button is adamant his partnership with Fernando Alonso is exactly what McLaren-Honda need as "we have our heads screwed on."

Last year there was a great deal of speculation about both McLaren drivers and their future in the sport.

Alonso was constantly questioned about whether he would be around for a second season given the frustrations with McLaren's form while Jenson Button was reportedly considering retirement.

Both drivers, though, have stayed on with Button convinced McLaren will benefit from their input.

"This is the perfect partnership for this team because we have our heads screwed on," the Brit told Sky Sports F1. "In terms of development it really helps.

"I think he's regarded as one of the best drivers to have ever driven a Formula 1 car.

"We've both won World Championships and having been in that position you can get through the pain of last year.

"I think we've moved this team forward."

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Ground Effect: Lotus' Incredible discovery that revolutionised F1

Maximum Down Force Minimum Drag - Lotus Ground Effect. Clive Chapman son of Lotus founder and F1 legend, the late Colin Chapman, describes how a chance discovery changed F1 forever. Featuring the Type 78, the title winning Type 79, and the ultimate Ground Effect Car the Type 91. Mario Andretti won the F1 title in the Type 79 and the first time he drove a ground effect Lotus, described it like being painted to the track.