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Archive for 2008-2009 Winter Testing
Thoughts on BMW Sauber After Testing
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BMW Sauber have now wrapped up their winter testing schedule and are going home for final preparations for the 2009 F1 season.
First, gathering any real and specific information on the team’s progress has of course been next to impossible, but we are able to see what’s happening on track and come up with our own opinions. Reliability, speed, and handling are of course subjective when questions posed to the team are answered with a lot of political savvy rather than specific information. None the less, BMW Sauber seem to be on the right track for a title challenge.
Reliability has always been a boasting point for the team especially after completing the entire 2008 season without a dnf due to the car itself. Testing this winter started off of course and straight out of the box reliability didn’t seem to be a big issue. Certainly problems did pop up, but they were minor in nature and corrected quickly with no recurrence of the same issues again. BMW Sauber`s final test session in Barcelona this week saw hundreds of kilometers put on the car including full race distance testing, starts, and pit work with not a reliability issue in sight.
BMW Sauber Day 4 in Baracelona: Now Let’s Go Racing!
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Weather conditions: Heavy fog early morning, sunny for the rest of the day.
Temperature: Air: 8 – 19 °C, Track: 10 – 26 °C
Number of drivers participating: 11 from 10 teams
Fastest lap overall: Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP) 1:18.926 min
Circuit length: 4.655 km
Robert Kubica
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-04 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 624 (134 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:20.740 min
Programme:
The last day of the BMW Sauber F1 Team’s pre-season testing started with a delay of more than an hour due to heavy fog. When the sun had finally burnt through Robert Kubica did a race simulation that included start procedures and pit stops. After the lunch break Kubica continued to evaluate different solutions for the BMW Sauber F1.09’s set-up in advance of the Australian Grand Prix. Today he covered 134 laps, bringing the car’s total mileage for the four Barcelona test days to 2,162 kms.
Barcelona Day 3: Kubica at the Wheel
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On his first day at the Barcelona test Robert Kubica concentrated on several different race related situations to fine tune the working relationship between him and his pit crew.
He also worked on solutions for the set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09 on the mechanical and aero side of the car. As well as this, he tested different tyre options and, before the lunch break and after the end of the afternoon session, did a couple of practice starts.
Nick UpBeat About 2009 Season
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It’s been a busy few months for Nick Heidfeld what with getting engaged, working out and becoming more fit than last season, and logging a lot of miles in Valencia – Bahrain – Jerez and Nick has a lot of motivation leading into Melbourne in a few weeks.
I can’t remember a time when Heidfeld has been as open and positive about preparations for a race season and he’s almost put Robert Kubica into the back seat with regard to the media and fan accessibility. Just recently he had a Q&A shedding a little more light on where BMW Sauber are at this point in testing the F1.09 and what his hopes are and what he thinks his chances are for this season. You can see the entire Q&A at Formula 1.com
Targets Reached as BMW Sauber Leaves Jerez
Posted by: | CommentsIn the morning on a damp track Nick Heidfeld took the opportunity to work on the car’s set-up on wet tyres. Although later in the day the track dried out quickly, gusty winds prevented any useful aerodynamic work. Instead the BMW Sauber F1 Team concentrated on the mechanical set-up of the car. Heidfeld’s 123 laps today brought the mileage to a total of 1,728 kms (plus 209 kms on 2010 tyres) for the Jerez test.
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber Technical Coordinator, said:
“The ever changing weather made it quite difficult to do continuous work during the Jerez test. Nevertheless we achieved the main targets of our development programme. Basically we concentrated on set-up work and evaluation of new components. Running the BMW Sauber F1.09 for the first time in full wet conditions was a valuable experience as well. In addition on one of the days we had the chance to test the 2010 specification tyres. Now we will have a busy weekend working out the programme for the last pre-season test in Barcelona next week. Then we will also have a complete race simulation and pit-stop practice on the schedule.”
Wind and Rain for Nick Heidfeld on Day 4 in Jerez
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Today’s work for Nick Heidfeld started with the mechanical set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09. He also did a so-called ‘run-out of fuel run’ which resulted in him stopping out on the track. This standard procedure allows the engineers to compare telemetry readings with the car’s actual fuel level. After the lunch break Heidfeld’s main focus switched to tyres and brakes. He also did a couple of race start simulations completing a total of 99 laps.
“The strong wind affected today’s work a little bit”,
“Nevertheless I was able to work with various tyre compounds and try a lot of different solutions for the car’s set-up. That gives me a good base to work on tomorrow.”
Kubica Gets Wet Again and Makes Good Progress
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In the morning, when the track was still damp, Robert Kubica concentrated on set-up work with the BMW Sauber F1.09 running on wet tyres.
After the lunch break the team continued its development program on a dry track. The main focus was evaluating different solutions for the car’s aerodynamics and set-up.
Late in the afternoon Kubica stopped on the track after switching off the engine when a warning light came on. The reason was quickly traced to a faulty sensor, so minutes later the F1.09 was back on track completing a total of 98 laps over the day.
Good Wet Weather Test for Kubica
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On a completely wet track, Robert Kubica today concentrated on set-up work. For the first time the team had the opportunity to collect data on the BMW Sauber F1.09 running in wet conditions. That included a water-activated false electrical alarm which caused Kubica to stop on the track once. For the rest of the day the car ran without any problems, giving driver and engineers the chance to gain more knowledge about the 2009 car on unchanged wet tyres. Kubica completed 70 laps and also carried out a few race start simulations.
Barcelona Tests Get Together. Sign up for a Great Time.
Posted by: | CommentsWant to go to the Barcelona tests? BMWF1Talk is organizing a great getaway for just that. Here’s the details I’ve got:
There will be a group of people renting a hospitality. They will be both a group of BMW Sauber (from BMWF1Talk and other webs) and Alonso fans.
More details of the hospitality:
-Hospitality room just above the pits, with fridge, TV’s, some catering, etc. Capacity for 60 persons.
-Access to grandstands only open for hospitality renters
-Paddock pass
-Pit lane “tour”
-Lunch at the circuit restaurant
The full pack will cost 125€ if I’m not mistaken, although we are looking for partial and cheaper options as well. That price may go down as well if we get a good (big) enough group.
To get more details, email the organizing travel agency at: pedidos@viajesf1.com