Bahrain second 2014 test Test day two
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Here's an interesting observation on the subject of Sauber. The Swiss squad seems to be one of the only teams not constantly hiding its car behind screens every time it is in the garage.
EDD STRAW: "Credit to Sauber for not obsessively hiding their car behind screens, at least when the bodywork isn't off.
"All the teams have all the photos they could need of the detail of rival cars already, so the circus of hiding things is usually a bit pointless unless you have the stuff under the body exposed."
That said, when our photographers visited Sauber, the team was being fairly coy...
EDD STRAW: "Credit to Sauber for not obsessively hiding their car behind screens, at least when the bodywork isn't off.
Sauber
"All the teams have all the photos they could need of the detail of rival cars already, so the circus of hiding things is usually a bit pointless unless you have the stuff under the body exposed."
That said, when our photographers visited Sauber, the team was being fairly coy...
Here's some updates on Lotus's programme with the E22 at the moment from EDD STRAW in the pitlane:
"Lotus is working through a few things in terms of getting the engine to work properly. The usual little glitches that need to be ironed out - things that others could do at the first test [which Lotus missed].
"When the car came back in after that last run there was a hint of smoke from the front brakes. The team were running some aero sensor kit in the sidepod intakes."
Gutierrez takes to an empty track and sets a new personal best in the Sauber.
"Lotus is working through a few things in terms of getting the engine to work properly. The usual little glitches that need to be ironed out - things that others could do at the first test [which Lotus missed].
"When the car came back in after that last run there was a hint of smoke from the front brakes. The team were running some aero sensor kit in the sidepod intakes."
Gutierrez takes to an empty track and sets a new personal best in the Sauber.
The fact that Red Bull isn't propping up that mileage table is a welcome change for the champion team.
Yesterday Vettel made it clear that the problems Red Bull had at Jerez had been solved, but some new ones had replaced them...
Here's EDD STRAW's analysis of where Red Bull stood after day one at Sakhir:
Red Bull crisis continues in Bahrain
Yesterday Vettel made it clear that the problems Red Bull had at Jerez had been solved, but some new ones had replaced them...
Here's EDD STRAW's analysis of where Red Bull stood after day one at Sakhir:
Red Bull crisis continues in Bahrain
Lap count-wise, every team bar McLaren and Caterham (eight each) is into double figures today.
Toro Rosso tops that chart comfortably with 46, as Vergne pits and leaves the track empty.
Toro Rosso tops that chart comfortably with 46, as Vergne pits and leaves the track empty.
Ferrari notes on Twitter that the wind is interfering with its programme a bit at the moment.
As Alonso returns to the pits and does some more burnouts in front of Straw, things have quietened down on track. Vergne - now up to 43 laps for Toro Rosso, is the only man going round at the moment.
From the pitlane EDD STRAW has more detail on Alonso's 'slow' laps at the moment, and hints that it could be the makings of a serious part of any team's pre-season test programme:
"Alonso drives through the pits. Proper practice start with tyre warm-up wheel spins - the full procedure.
"Watch out for a long run from this. The team are not expecting him back, so this can't be far from a race sim from them."
"Alonso drives through the pits. Proper practice start with tyre warm-up wheel spins - the full procedure.
"Watch out for a long run from this. The team are not expecting him back, so this can't be far from a race sim from them."
At the moment we have Alonso touring round more than 10s off the pace, Bottas lapping in the 1m44s, Vergne in the 1m41s, Grosjean in the 1m44s, and Kobayashi gradually building up speed in the Caterham.
That's a timed lap in the books for the Caterham, so we've got all 11 teams on the leaderboard today.
Kobayashi makes it six cars on track, joining Alonso, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Rosberg and Grosjean.
Twitter
Caterham is now ready to send Kobayashi back out, according to its Twitter feed.
@CaterhamF1: "Sorted. Fire up and go."
@CaterhamF1: "Sorted. Fire up and go."
You know teams are starting to get down to some proper work when mundane tasks such as passing through the pitlane and performing practice starts are on the agenda. Nico Rosberg is the lucky man carrying out such a task at the moment for Mercedes.
The Red Bull garage has an interested onlooker in our very own EDD STRAW:
"The car disappears behind screens into the garage and is descended on by the team.
"Nothing looks particularly wrong but is there a slight burning smell in the air? Certainly plenty of external cooling fans in use!"
"The car disappears behind screens into the garage and is descended on by the team.
"Nothing looks particularly wrong but is there a slight burning smell in the air? Certainly plenty of external cooling fans in use!"
Vettel is back in the pits, but that run was at least long enough to get Red Bull into double figures for the day. It sums up the team's pre-season so far that something so small can be considered a mini-triumph.
Grosjean posts the first time for the Lotus, a 1m41.6s.
Twitter
Mercedes has joined in with the testing banter that Red Bull started (at its own expense) earlier today (see 07:48).
@MercedesAMGF1: "@redbullracing @InsideFerrari @McLarenF1 Good morning fellow testers.. testing times for everyone. But testing times don't matter.. right?"
@MercedesAMGF1: "@redbullracing @InsideFerrari @McLarenF1 Good morning fellow testers.. testing times for everyone. But testing times don't matter.. right?"
We have had an improvement from Vettel, although his 1m41.8s is less eye-catching than that Alonso lap would have been.
After two sectors on his latest lap Alonso is well on course to set a new fastest time for the day. So what does he do? He pits...
The track is reasonably busy at the moment by 2014 testing standards, with Alonso, Bottas, Vergne, Chilton and Vettel all on track.
Twitter
New Caterham signing Kamui Kobayashi hasn't done many laps so far today. According to the team's Twitter feed:
@CaterhamF1: "We're having a couple of telemetry issues which mean we can't send @kamui_kobayashi on track yet... should be resolved soon."
@CaterhamF1: "We're having a couple of telemetry issues which mean we can't send @kamui_kobayashi on track yet... should be resolved soon."
Bottas, Vergne and Chilton are on track at the moment. The Toro Rosso is now past the 30-lap mark for today.
Here's how the whole field stacks up so far:
Vergne (Toro Rosso) 32 laps
Gutierrez (Sauber) 20 laps
Rosberg (Mercedes) 18 laps
Alonso (Ferrari) 14 laps
Bottas (Williams) 12 laps
Hulkenberg (Force India) 11 laps
Chilton (Marussia) 10 laps
Magnussen (McLaren) 8 laps
Vettel (Red Bull) 4 laps
Kobayashi (Caterham) 2 laps
Grosjean (Lotus) 1 lap
Here's how the whole field stacks up so far:
Vergne (Toro Rosso) 32 laps
Gutierrez (Sauber) 20 laps
Rosberg (Mercedes) 18 laps
Alonso (Ferrari) 14 laps
Bottas (Williams) 12 laps
Hulkenberg (Force India) 11 laps
Chilton (Marussia) 10 laps
Magnussen (McLaren) 8 laps
Vettel (Red Bull) 4 laps
Kobayashi (Caterham) 2 laps
Grosjean (Lotus) 1 lap
Ferrari pitlane, Bahrain F1 test
F1 teams love a bit of secrecy, and never more so than during testing.
Current pacesetter Alonso stopped in the pitlane earlier this morning, and within seconds of his crew reaching him to push the Ferrari F14 T back to the garage, the whole rear-end of the car was covered up with this rather unsightly package.
Another improvement for Hulkenberg takes him to second behind Alonso.
Yesterday's pacesetter Hulkenberg sets the Force India's first time of the day. That leaves only Kobayashi's Caterham (2 laps) and Grosjean's Lotus (1 lap) without a registered time.
Gutierrez and Sauber join the leaderboard with a first timed lap of the day.
And we have our first sighting of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, so all 11 teams have made it out on track for at least one lap in the first two hours of running.
And we have our first sighting of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, so all 11 teams have made it out on track for at least one lap in the first two hours of running.
Alonso tried to go again after that latest cool-down lap. He set a new fastest first sector, but by the end of the lap he had fallen slightly adrift.
Twitter
Red Bull's Twitter account shows the team hasn't quite lost its sense of humour just yet, poking fun at itself for the the lack of running so far.
"@redbullracing: Morning from Bahrain. 35 laps done at testing so far. Only 348 laps to go! Playing lap catch up @MercedesAMGF1 @InsideFerrari @McLarenF1"
"@redbullracing: Morning from Bahrain. 35 laps done at testing so far. Only 348 laps to go! Playing lap catch up @MercedesAMGF1 @InsideFerrari @McLarenF1"
Following the pattern that he took after his first quick lap, Alonso's pace drops by 12 seconds after his latest best effort.
Stopwatch
And as we say that, Alonso sets a new fastest time for the day...
EDD STRAW: "While Williams had a difficult opening day of the Bahrain test (although Valtteri Bottas is currently second fastest today), the feeling in the paddock is that things are looking promising for the Mercedes-powered team with the new FW36.
"Things are looking positive off-track too, with some significant new sponsorship deals being put together. Most recently, Brazilian energy company Petrobras, which previously worked with the team for 11 years from 1998.
"Given the difficulty of finding and signing partners in F1 today, not to mention the fierce competition surrounding those who are interested, these sorts of deals show Williams must be doing a lot right.
"On-track, it's difficult to say where Williams will end up this season, but all the signs are that the team will do significantly better than it did in 2013."
"Things are looking positive off-track too, with some significant new sponsorship deals being put together. Most recently, Brazilian energy company Petrobras, which previously worked with the team for 11 years from 1998.
"Given the difficulty of finding and signing partners in F1 today, not to mention the fierce competition surrounding those who are interested, these sorts of deals show Williams must be doing a lot right.
"On-track, it's difficult to say where Williams will end up this season, but all the signs are that the team will do significantly better than it did in 2013."
Alonso is still circulating after that session-topping time, but he has not completed another lap at a representative speed since then.
Only two cars (Toro Rosso and Williams) are into double figures on the lap count so far today, and there will be some satisfaction from Red Bull's secondary team as it has already hit the 25-lap mark in just over an hour and a half of running.
Stopwatch
Alonso's first timed lap of the day also makes him the first person to dip under 1m38s this morning. That puts him fastest.
Vergne and Rosberg are on track at the moment, and both are setting personal best times.
Red Bull, Bahrain F1 test 2014
As Vettel pits after a slow first sector and a personal best second sector, here's a picture clearly showing what Red Bull's primary concern was when he returned from an earlier run, with two fire extinguishers on call at the rear of the car.
Talking of teams that had a first day to forget, we have our first time on the board for Vettel in the Red Bull.
The Finn improves again in the Williams, taking him comfortably more than one second clear of the rest at this early stage as yet another of day one's trouble hit teams waste little time getting some work done today.
Stopwatch
Bottas's first timed lap of the day takes him to the top of the pile.
As Vergne follows Rosberg back into the pits (19 laps in the bag for the Frenchman), Bottas heads out with the track to himself.
After that earlier problem that caused him to stop on track, Rosberg has headed back out in the Mercedes. By 2014 standards, that has to go down as a pretty quick fix.
By: Glenn Freeman, Matt Beer, Edd Straw, Ben Anderson, Pablo Elizalde
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