Bahrain second 2014 test Test day two
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Testing halted here in Bahrain. Everyone bar Gutierrez back in the pits...
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Chilton is on duty for Marussia today, but team-mate Jules Bianchi will know how he feels having also completed very limited running yesterday.
"Obviously it's always good to have issues in testing, even though we want track time," said Bianchi on Wednesday night. "But this is what happens when everything is new. We have to deal with it and try to fix everything as soon as possible to start running.
"It's frustrating, but it's part of the job and I think it's almost the same for everyone so we just have to be patient."
"Obviously it's always good to have issues in testing, even though we want track time," said Bianchi on Wednesday night. "But this is what happens when everything is new. We have to deal with it and try to fix everything as soon as possible to start running.
"It's frustrating, but it's part of the job and I think it's almost the same for everyone so we just have to be patient."
It's not been a good test for Marussia so far. Just three laps for Bianchi yesterday, thanks to an IT problem (have they tried turning it off and turning it on again?) and just 14 laps completed today by Chilton.
Stopwatch
Gutierrez has been going for it in the Sauber and improves significantly to get within just over a tenth of Vergne's Toro Rosso.
Brazilian GP 1980
With unreliability set to be a major feature of the 2014 F1 season and the fuel economy rules prompting fears of cars running dry with the flag in sight, this year could bring plenty of late-race heartbreak.
Inspired by that possibility, AUTOSPORT has dug back into the archives to recount tales of F1's most painful near-misses, from champions like Jim Clark and Sebastian Vettel being robbed to cruel disasters for underdogs such as Arrows and Andrea de Cesaris:
F1's late-race heartbreaks
The track is getting busier now as we head into the final couple of hours of running on day two. Bottas, Alonso, Vergne, Gutierrez and Kobayashi are all getting some laps in right now.
Bottas looks as though he's on a lengthy run in the Williams. Lapped consistently in the 39s early on, now low 41s.
Stopwatch
Hulk backs off for a lap then goes again. He's quickest of all in the first sector and does a personal best in the final part of the lap to shave another four thousandths of a second from the benchmark time.
Stopwatch
New quickest lap of the day from Hulkenberg puts Force India back on top. 1m37.215s. Mercedes engines 1-2-3 now.
And gone fastest of all in the second sector...
Hulkenberg is back out in the Force India and has just set a personal best time in the first sector.
GLENN FREEMAN reports that Alonso has gone off at the end of the back straight:
"Just went in too deep and ran wide; tried to hold it but the car wobbled on him."
"Just went in too deep and ran wide; tried to hold it but the car wobbled on him."
Rosberg is consistently lapping in the low 1m40s to high 1m39s at the moment. Alonso is in the 43s. Bottas is just winding up.
The three fastest drivers are the only ones on track at the moment: Rosberg, Bottas and Alonso are all racking up the mileage while the rest wait in the pits.
Some more observations from GLENN FREEMAN down at Turns 1 and 2. He reckons the cars look difficult to drive and sound pretty good too.
"Pretty much all of the cars I've seen on track look a real handful through here. They're moving around a lot and you can see the drivers really having to work.
"Just had a Mercedes and a Ferrari going around together. As soon as you get even two cars running together the noise level ramps up to an impressive level.
"Would be harsh to judge the sound of F1 2014 purely on cars running solo."
"Pretty much all of the cars I've seen on track look a real handful through here. They're moving around a lot and you can see the drivers really having to work.
"Just had a Mercedes and a Ferrari going around together. As soon as you get even two cars running together the noise level ramps up to an impressive level.
"Would be harsh to judge the sound of F1 2014 purely on cars running solo."
GARY ANDERSON: "Looking at the time Valtteri Bottas has done in the Williams-Mercedes (1m37.635s) compared to Sebastian Vettel's best in the Red Bull-Renault (1m40.340s), there is a 2.705s gap.
"The difference between a very low fuel load and a tank that is brimmed with 100kg should be around three seconds. So no matter what the relative loads, it's clear Williams has made a lot of progress over the winter.
"As I often say, you learn more from a bad year than you do from a good year. The performance of Williams compared to Red Bull is evidence of that."
"The difference between a very low fuel load and a tank that is brimmed with 100kg should be around three seconds. So no matter what the relative loads, it's clear Williams has made a lot of progress over the winter.
"As I often say, you learn more from a bad year than you do from a good year. The performance of Williams compared to Red Bull is evidence of that."
... But he is slower over the remainder of lap (1m37.819s) so doesn't improve.
Rosberg backs off after that headline-grabbing time and now goes again, setting a new fastest first sector...
Stopwatch
Rosberg goes quickest for Mercedes on a 1m37.368s, knocking Bottas and his Williams from the top of the perch by over a quarter of a second.
The Red Bull is back into the pits now, leaving Alonso's Ferrari (which just had a big lock-up at the hairpin onto the back straight) and Rosberg's Mercedes as the only cars on track.
Vettel has been on a reasonably long and consistent run for Red Bull recently.
GLENN FREEMAN has spied the world champion battling to bring RB10 under his spell.
"Vettel keeps running wide over the exit kerb at Turn 2 trying to keep his foot in."
GLENN FREEMAN has spied the world champion battling to bring RB10 under his spell.
"Vettel keeps running wide over the exit kerb at Turn 2 trying to keep his foot in."
Alonso back into the pits for a quick stop. Hulkenberg is also in as Vettel continues to circulate in the low 1m41s.
Vettel doesn't improve on that lap, dropping back into the 41s as Alonso brings the Ferrari back to the party.
Stopwatch
Vettel down into the 1m40.3s now and on another better lap in the Red Bull.
Vettel has joined Hulkenberg on track in the Red Bull, and has just set a new personal best in the first sector.
The new 1.6-litre turbo engines are delivering plenty of torque and making the cars difficult to control under acceleration.
Hulkenberg is certainly leaning on his reflexes in the Force India, according to our man on the ground GLENN FREEMAN:
"Hulk just had a big wobble getting on the power out of Turn 1."
Hulkenberg is certainly leaning on his reflexes in the Force India, according to our man on the ground GLENN FREEMAN:
"Hulk just had a big wobble getting on the power out of Turn 1."
Hulkenberg breaks the stalemate and heads back out in the Force India. Yesterday's pacesetter is currently third fastest and within a second of Bottas' benchmark.
Twitter
How do LMP1 sportscars stack up against new-look F1 on pace so far? Toyota factory driver and ex-F1 racer Alex Wurz reckons he has the answer.
@alex_wurz: "Watching Bahrain F1 test times. Currently I would be 7th with my time I set in the @Toyota_Hybrid...(With a good looking nose as well - LOL)."
@alex_wurz: "Watching Bahrain F1 test times. Currently I would be 7th with my time I set in the @Toyota_Hybrid...(With a good looking nose as well - LOL)."
Vergne has come back into the pits so the track is silent once more.
Breaking news
A quick headline recap from day two in Bahrain, for those of you who are just joining us:
*Bottas quickest for Williams after Alonso sets morning pace
*Vergne racks up miles as Toro Rosso recovers from day one woe
*Mercedes causes two red flags with reliability issues
*Red Bull completes more laps than in all other test days combined
*Bottas quickest for Williams after Alonso sets morning pace
*Vergne racks up miles as Toro Rosso recovers from day one woe
*Mercedes causes two red flags with reliability issues
*Red Bull completes more laps than in all other test days combined
A good moment to check out CRAIG SCARBOROUGH's analysis of the new Lotus, and why he thinks lateral thinking could give the team an edge this year:
Lotus E22: Lateral thinking could pay off
Lotus E22: Lateral thinking could pay off
Today's biggest mileage merchant Vergne is back on track in the Toro Rosso. Has the circuit all to himself at the moment.
No one on track with just over three hours to go in Bahrain. Here is the lap count so far:
Vergne (Toro Rosso) 53 laps
Bottas (Williams) 50 laps
Alonso (Ferrari) 49 laps
Gutierrez (Sauber) 48 laps
Vettel (Red Bull) 34 laps
Rosberg (Mercedes) 34 laps
Kobayashi (Caterham) 29 laps
Hulkenberg (Force India) 24 laps
Grosjean (Lotus) 15 laps
Chilton (Marussia) 14 laps
Magnussen (McLaren) 11 lap
Vergne (Toro Rosso) 53 laps
Bottas (Williams) 50 laps
Alonso (Ferrari) 49 laps
Gutierrez (Sauber) 48 laps
Vettel (Red Bull) 34 laps
Rosberg (Mercedes) 34 laps
Kobayashi (Caterham) 29 laps
Hulkenberg (Force India) 24 laps
Grosjean (Lotus) 15 laps
Chilton (Marussia) 14 laps
Magnussen (McLaren) 11 lap
Magnussen brings the McLaren back to the pits, once again leaving Kobayashi on his own on track in the Caterham.
BEN ANDERSON: "Just caught up with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in the paddock.
"The Australian is kicking his heels while Vettel puts in the laps today, so has left the circuit to go training!"
"The Australian is kicking his heels while Vettel puts in the laps today, so has left the circuit to go training!"
Kobayashi completes his first flier of the run. A lap of 1m44.354s.
And Kevin Magnussen now heads out in the McLaren.
GARY ANDERSON: "Many of the cars are running with a large aerial device on top of the rollover bar. This is called a pitot tube and measures the car's airspeed very accurately.
"When the cars are testing teams are looking at the aerodynamic influence of front wing angle differences, aerodynamic changes caused by different suspension setups or indeed aerodynamic differences when they test new components.
"As downforce multiplies by the square of the speed, it is very important to know the airspeed and not just the car speed."
Kobayashi takes to the track in the Caterham. He's the only man on track.
Alonso is now in the pits, meaning the track is empty.
By: Glenn Freeman, Matt Beer, Edd Straw, Ben Anderson, Pablo Elizalde
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