Rubens Barrichello quickest on final day of Jerez test session
The final day of the Formula 1 pre-season testing in Jerez was interesting, as the drivers are now trying to push their cars hard to get a better understanding of how competitive the will be for the upcoming 2011 Formula 1 season. Rubens Barrichello of the
Williams team, led the time-sheets by scoring the fastest time of 1:19:832, followed by Kamui Kobayashi of the Sauber team and Fernando Alonso for Ferrari.
McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Felipe Massa of Ferrari, are trying to test their respective cars rather than trying score good times on the time-sheets. They were satisfied with their respective results, as the
drivers believe that they successfully secured enough data required in order to evaluate their new cars and make them even more competitive.
Bruno Senna made a good first impression, as he took the new Lotus Renault GP car out for the first time. After Robert Kubica’s horrific accident during a rally race, Senna is expected to be the reserve driver, as it is believed that the team is going to
reveal that they will use Nick Heidfeld as their regular driver for the upcoming Formula 1 season.
Most of the drivers stated that these results really do not matter much, as each team is testing its’ respective cars differently during each day of testing. The drivers do not take the time-sheets very seriously, as they are more focussed on providing
their team with some vital data for their respective cars before the season begins. The data is crucial for the teams, as it provides all the information necessary to improve the performance of the car.
The pre-season testing session is the only chance that the teams have to gain information on the actual track performance of the cars. Testing is taken very seriously, as the team engineers work very hard to find the optimum level of performance for the
first few races of the season. All the teams will be hoping that their pre-season testing has given them with enough information that will yield important advantages on the racetrack. Each team knows that the beginning of the season is the most crucial, in
that it determines which team has a clear competitive edge.
The 2011 Formula 1 season will begin on 13 March, 2011 in Bahrain after the final pre-season test session at the same venue. This year promises to be very exciting for the fans, as Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all look equally competitive to take
the top honours in both the drivers and constructors titles.
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