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Archive for winter testing
Robert Kubica Talks on Season 2009
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The final day of testing of the BMW Sauber F1 Team for the 2009 season has now passed. After taking the F1.09 for its maiden outing in Valencia on 20th January, Robert Kubica tested the car in Bahrain, Jerez and Barcelona. Those who know the Pole would not expect him to be happy with every aspect of preparations for the forthcoming season; for Robert this would be tantamount to lethargy. After all, why only be good when you can be better? In addition to fitness training and F1 preparation work he also used the winter to launch a new venture: Robert Kubica Kart.
Robert Kubica, how has testing gone with the F1.09?
BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Robert Kubica: “Winter testing is always important. This year it is even more important because of the drastic changes in the regulations. It is hard to say if the direction is right because every team starts with a completely new package from zero. So there is a lot to do in testing. For example, on the last day of the final pre-season test in Barcelona I covered more than twice the distance of a Grand Prix. That is pretty demanding on the car and on the driver. Neither the BMW Sauber F1.09 nor my body had a problem with that. That shows my fitness training during the winter was as perfect as the work on the reliability of the car. In addition to the race simulation, we evaluated a lot of different solutions for the mechanical set-up and the aero configuration of the car. We were able to make up some of the time we lost the week before in Jerez due to the unfortunate weather. So overall it was a very productive test.”
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.
BMW Sauber Barcelona Day 2
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Weather conditions: Overcast with a damp track early in the morning,
sunny for the rest of the day.
Temperature: Air: 11 – 20 °C, Track: 13 – 26 °C
Number of drivers participating: 10 from 10 teams
Fastest lap overall: Kimi Raikkönen (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:20.314 min
Circuit length: 4.655 km
Nick Heidfeld
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.09-04 / BMW 86/9
Test kilometres today: 578 (124 laps)
Fastest lap: 1:21.615 min
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.