The first half of a four-day Testing session at the Circuito De Jerez in the south of Spain raised a few eyebrows. Young German hotshot Sebastian Vettel continued his fine run of form.
He was fastest on Tuesday, when eight of the 10 teams ran. He was also fastest on Wednesday, where nine of the 10 teams tested.
Only two of the seated F1 drivers participated on Tuesday, Vettel and Jarno Trulli, but let's not take away the stellar job that the young German is doing right now. To beat a McLaren, Ferrari, Toyota, and Red Bull takes some doing, even if it is the test drivers, as opposed to the first team drivers, carrying out duties. Then on Wednesday, some of the regular F1 drivers were on the circuit. Vettel again topped the time sheets with another outstanding drive. Test Times for July 22 Sebastian Vettel - STR - 94 Laps - 1:19.844 Gary Paffett - McLaren - 80 Laps - 1:20.179 Luca Badoer - Ferrari - 69 Laps - 1:20.679 Nico Hulkenberg - Williams - 58 Laps - 1:20.953 Sebastien Buemi - RBR - 110 Laps - 1:20.977 Romain Grosjean - Renault - 71 Laps - 1:21.223 Jarno Trulli - Toyota - 96 Laps - 1:21.459 Alexander Wurz - Honda - 84 Laps - 1:21.596 Test Times for July 23 Testing in this session was done under 2009 racing regulations, where the drivers used slick tyres and reduced aero packages. It was a good indication that we may be watching quite quicker cars next season, judging by the time differences between session one and session two. Sebastian Vettel - STR - 100 Laps - 1:18.843 Pedro De La Rosa - McLaren - 122 Laps - 1:19.081 Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 76 Laps - 1:19.446 Nico Rosberg - Williams - 112 Laps - 1:19.861 Mark Webber - RBR - 105 Laps - 1:20.021 Alexander Wurz - Honda - 77 Laps - 1:20.416 Jarno Trulli - Toyota - 81 Laps - 1:20.534 Vitzantonio Liuzzi - Force India - 102 Laps - 1:20.577 Nelson Piquet - Renault - 99 Laps - 1:20.827 Christian Klien - BMW Sauber - 89 Laps - 1:20.866 Not much to go off, as there is no race at Jerez, but Sebastian is showing he is worth every penny of that Red Bull Racing contract for next season. Jarno Trulli didn't make much of a showing by finishing seventh out of eight on Tuesday and seventh out of 10 on Wednesday, but we all know what the Italian's capabilities. Sebastian Grosjean of France had a decent outing, to say he never drove at Jerez before Tuesday. Flavio Briatore has decided to give him another outing in Friday's test session. "It was my first time here in Jerez, and so I had to learn the track this morning and worked gradually with the team, improving the car throughout the day. It feels amazing to drive this car, and I was glad I had the chance to work with the team again," said Grosjean. Ferrari had a decent outing, taking third place in both tests. Luca Badoer was testing Slick tyre setup on Tuesday, then World champion Kimi Raikkonen took over on Wednesday running on the new grooved 2009 tyres. McLaren were second on both days with Gary Paffett and Pedro De La Rosa giving polished performances in the Mp4-23. Timo Glock will return to his Toyota tomorrow after his horror smash at Hockenheim on Sunday. "I am looking forward to getting back in the car; It is an important test, and I'm pleased I can contribute" declared the 26-year-old German rookie. So what do you think of Sebastian Vettel's continuing improvements? Are we looking at another future german WDC? Comments and ratings, please, fellow Bleachers. I will bring you Thursday's and Friday's results as soon as they come in.
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2 months ago
mate, you must note that the second lot of times for vettel were under 2009 regulations i.e. slick tyres and reduced aero.
is it only me that thinks that KERS should wait one more year?
from 2 months ago
Done mate .
You knowwith this new look bleacher report , do you keep getting a message up everytime you go to a new page saying something about an ID ?
2 months ago
I will add that in now mate .thanks for reminding me :-) .
I do think kers should wait till 2010 , its not at the stage where its 100% proofed yet , the accident proved it
2 months ago
yeah I am getting that ID thing, getting on my nerves now.
just done my article on the current state of KERS, tell me what you think. I'm off to bed.
from 2 months ago
ok ill look at your KERS article in a minute matey .
2 months ago
All I am taking from those times right now is that ... MCLAREN ARE FASTER THAN FERRARI ! ... Ha ha ha ... I love it ... I know it means nothing at all but hey, can beat that feeling !
2 months ago
Ben , i woke up before and i knew that was going to be your comment , im happy enough with that one mate . We cant take anything from these tests except that Mclaren are Quicker than ferrari , Vettel is in his usual mood and we can look forward to quite quicker cars next year woo hoo .
from 2 months ago
What do you reckon of the horns that McLaren had on the car today (Honda / BMW style) ... They had a bad day today ... System issues in the morning and an oil leak in the afternoon which needed an engine change ... Only ran out 39 laps !
2 months ago
Mclaren horns? I gotta see a pic, any links?
Great Article Mark, I'm pleased to see young vettel topping the time sheets, and of course Mclaren being faster than Ferrari :)
from 2 months ago
Thanks ryan im pleased to see vettel on top too , he is doing very well right now , i think ferrari should of snapped him up and sold felipe :-) ,
ive just found the pictures of the horns on the mclaren , its on F1.com , they look weird , but could be good , we will have to see how it performs tomorrow when heikki gets in it .
2 months ago
No mate , ive tried looking but i cant see the new horns , was it on F1 live or F1 .com ?
I Read about the setback today , but it doesnt decide anything anyway plus heikki is in the car tomorrow , so lets see if its any better . Mark webber top eh ! i think christian horner and gerhard berger have been using red bull rather than fuel :-)
2 months ago
Well i didn't excpect anything less from Vettel in this situation when he signed for Red Bull. That guy is extremly motivated, and i think i can see another German star. He looks so optimistic, and i like that. Btw, i found out that his contract with Red Bull is just one year deal so we could see him in some big team in 2010. Maybe he will wearing a red clothes...not silver.
2 months ago
Only one year deal ? i thought Red Bull wanted him longer than that .
If he does move in 2010 then i think it will be Ferrari he joins . I think Ferrari would rather have Vettel Than Alonso , just because of the fact Alonso will moan as usual and Vettel will just do his job .
He is going to be a superstar , no doubt about that .
2 months ago
a
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