Formula 1 prepares for final test before the 2013 season kicks off in Melbourne

Teams are set for the final testing session in Barcelona, where showers and unstable conditions are expected. It is the final test, and preparations for the season opener in Melbourne are vital.

The final pre-season Formula 1 test kicks off at Barcelona on Thursday amid fears that the vital four days of running will be hit by bad weather conditions.


With a threat of rain on both Thursday and Friday, teams face the prospect of having to condense much of their final on-track preparations of the season into only two full days of dry running over the weekend.

And with the temperatures over the weekend expected to be cold, this will inhibit chances of getting on top of the 2013 Pirelli control tyres in representative conditions ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

This follows the first Barcelona test being held in conditions that Mark Webber described as the "worst-case scenario" for the tyres, and in which all teams struggled with degradation.

So far, most of the eight days of testing have been largely unaffected by rain, but low temperatures have skewed the tyre picture.

During the upcoming final four days of running, the 11 teams are expected to bolt on their final Melbourne-specification upgrades and conduct race simulations.

Much attention will be focused on McLaren, which has shown encouraging form in the first two pre-season tests but has hit the headlines this week following technical director Paddy Lowe's decision to switch to Mercedes next year.

Force India to confirm Adrian Sutil 

It's all but official. Adrian Sutil is set to be confirmed tomorrow morning as Force India's second driver for the 2013 season. 

Sources close to the German have revealed that Sutil has been given the nod over Jules Bianchi to become Paul di Resta's team-mate in 2013. The move comes after weeks of speculation over Force India's decision, which had originally been expected to take place back in December.

Sutil's deal secures him a return to F1 after a year out of the sport, when he was in the headlines following a conviction for his part in an assault that took place in a nightclub in Shanghai after the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix.

News of his return will be a disappointment to Bianchi, who had hoped to be promoted from the reserve driver role he had last season.

Bianchi is expected to stay on with the outfit as reserve and will hope that another year of experience will boost his chances of landing a race seat in 2014.

Force India has not made any official comment about its driver plans yet.

Jerez, Day 3: Massa sets fastest time of the week

Felipe Massa set the pace on the third day of testing at Jerez as Ferrari let loose with its F138 for the first time this week.

Massa had spent the majority of the week completing aero work, but on Thursday morning he bolted on a set of soft tyres and set a 1:17.879, beating Romain Grosjean's best effort from Wednesday. It was Massa's third consecutive day in the car but he showed few signs of fatigue as he completed 85 laps over the course of the day.

Massa's nearest rival was Nico Rosberg who set about making up for lost time in the Mercedes after its issues this week. On Tuesday his test day was limited to 14 laps by a faulty wiring loom and on Wednesday team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashed out after a suffering a loss of rear brake pressure. However, Rosberg put Mercedes on the road to recovery with an impressive 148 laps and a best time of 1:18.766.

Third fastest was Sebastian Vettel as he got his first taste of the new Red Bull in which he will attempt to defend his title. He had a productive day, completing 102 laps with a best time of 1:19.052 in the RB9.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth fastest on his return to the cockpit, setting a 1:19.200 in the afternoon. He spent most of the morning getting comfortable in the new car and completing aero tests before he started to clock flying laps. He only completed 40 laps in total after being consigned to the garage for the final two hours of the day but will be in the car again on Friday for the final day of the test

Jean-Eric Vergne had a strong first day in the STR8 as he completed 85 laps and set the fifth-quickest time, though he did cause one red flag in the afternoon when his car came to a halt at the end of the pit lane.

Sixth fastest was James Rossiter who completed a full morning in the Force India after a brief outing in the final hour of testing on Wednesday. As the team's simulator driver, Rossiter is completing mileage this week in order to improve his understanding of this year's VJM06 before he handed the car back to Paul di Resta in the afternoon. During his morning session he misjudged his braking coming back to the pits and hit one of his pit crew, but fortunately the mechanic escaped serious injury with nothing more than a few bruises. Di Resta had a frustrating time, however, as an exhaust failure ended his running after just seven laps.

Jenson Button completed a number of long runs late in the day for McLaren en-route to the seventh fastest time, but he never threatened to get near his quickest time from Tuesday and after completing 83 laps he brought out a red flag that ended the day's running four minutes early.

Esteban Gutierrez proved his fitness as he racked up 110 laps on his first day in the Sauber, ending the day two seconds off the pace. Max Chilton was ninth quickest in the Marussia after some late performance runs, though his day was punctuated by electrical problems.

Valtteri Bottas continued Williams's schedule in the FW34 with 86 laps but never looked to be on anything other than a high fuel load as the team continues to learn about the Pirelli tyres, while Charles Pic only completed 57 laps following a technical problem which caused him to stop during the morning session.

Grosjean leads Jerez F1 test day two for Lotus

Romain Grosjean was the man to grab the headlines and set a new benchmark in Jerez. The Lotus driver's time was 0.600s faster than Button's on the previous day. Di Resta and Ricciardo finished 2nd and 3rd. 

Grosjean clocked a 1:18.218 in the afternoon, improving on his time from the morning that meant he was fastest at lunch. He completed an impressive 95 laps in total without any major issues as Lotus continued to work through its testing programme for the E21. Grosjean did stop on track at the end of the session, but that was as the team ran the car dry of fuel late in the day. Paul di Resta was second fastest, 0.785s off the Lotus, with Daniel Ricciardo finishing the second day third and within a second of Grosjean's time.


However, it was Lewis Hamilton who stole the limelight in the morning, albeit for all the wrong reasons. After just 15 laps his Mercedes suffered a loss of rear brake pressure and he crashed into the barriers at Dry Sac. He managed to lock up his front wheels to slow down ahead of the gravel trap but still dislodged his front wing against the tyres.

The team traced the problem to a hydraulic brake line connecting to the right rear, but had to call off its day's testing while a solution is engineered in time for Thursday's test. It was the second problem in as many days for the team after Nico Rosberg stopped on track with a faulty wiring loom on Tuesday that also needed a rethink. After the first two days of the test Mercedes has clocked up just 29 laps on its new W04.

Mark Webber had a more successful day for Red Bull, racking up 101 laps in total and setting the fourth fastest time. He was 0.164s clear of the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg, which also had a productive day by completing 99 laps before it too coasted to a halt as part of a low-fuel test.

Hamilton's time before his accident was still good enough for sixth, suggesting the car could be quick given more mileage and by the end of the day he was faster than the man replacing him at McLaren, Sergio Perez. However, Perez will be happy with his 81 laps on his first day on the job as McLaren recovered from the fuel pump issue that limited Jenson Button's running on Tuesday.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa was eighth fastest overall and 1.696s off the pace and completed 78 laps after a couple of hours in the garage in the afternoon. Pastor Maldonado had a busy afternoon after only logging seven laps in the morning, but recovered well in last year's Williams to finish the day with a total of 71 laps and a best time of 1:20.693.

James Rossiter managed 19 laps in the final hour for Force India as the team's simulator driver took over from di Resta, while Giedo van der Garde managed a solid total of 88 laps for Caterham. It was a less productive day for Marussia, however, as an unknown engine problem caused its newly confirmed second driver Luiz Razia to coast to a halt after 31 laps in the morning session.

Jerez, Day 2: Hamilton crashes on Mercedes debut

Another day wasted for the Mercedes team saw Lewis Hamilton end up in the barriers after a break failure in the car. Hamilton completed 15 laps and won't be returning to action for the rest of the day.

Mercedes has said a loss of rear brake pressure was to blame for Lewis Hamilton's accident during the second day of testing at Jerez.

Hamilton, who walked away unharmed, left the track at the Dry Sac corner, went through the gravel trap and into the barrier. The accident happened on Hamilton's 16th lap as he was in the process of lowering his times during his first day of official testing in the new W04.

"Lewis suffered a loss of rear brake pressure, the front brakes enabled him to slow the car but he couldn't avoid the barrier," the team explained on Twitter. "Obvious damage to the front wing and nose. Lewis himself is fine."

Mercedes later tweeted, "We have traced the problem to the hydraulic brake line connecting to the right-rear caliper. The impact with the barrier also damaged the front left corner (suspension and associated aero parts)..."

It is the second technical issue in as many days for Mercedes after a faulty wiring loom caused a brief flash fire on the car when Nico Rosberg was testing it on Tuesday. The team lost the rest of the day as it modified the component, but said there was no new about when Hamilton would get back on track.

New cars, new tyres and a handful of work. The teams were right at it today from the early morning until the late afternoon. From system checks to aero tests, they shared their experiences with the media and revealed whether they feel confident about their cars.


Red Bull

Mark Webber: "It was pretty good. As Adrian said at the launch, there haven't been big changes to the regulations this year and the car is an evolution of the one we finished with last season, so there were no big surprises. I think most of the drivers will sit back tonight and think today's times were pretty competitive.

"It was actually like a Friday practice session in some regards. We started understanding the tyres and there were a lot of positives," he added. "There's a bit of housekeeping we have to get on top of but, other than that, it's been encouraging. The car feels similar to last year's, so the main difference is the tyres. With these tyres you're always on your toes. It was good that we had consistent temperatures today, so we got a lot of information and feedback to analyse, which is all good. Generally though, the car feels pretty good, so I'm happy."

Ferrari

Felipe Massa: "I would say the difference compared to last year is huge, it is on a different planet. This year is much more balanced and I felt a good direction from the rear of the car as well. There is a still lot to do, a lot to understand the right direction to make the car ready for the first race."

Lotus

Romain Grosjean: "The feeling is good from the E21; it feels very similar to the E20 from behind the wheel, even if it does look different from the outside. Once again Enstone has produced a car that is quick from the very first lap. We spent a little bit more time than ideal in the garage today, but that's normal in testing. I'm happy we completed 54 laps, and even happier that all of them were quick.

"We now have a good idea of the new tyres and we'll have some challenges from them; the grip level is there but performance does fall away with graining. That said, Jerez is a very specific track in this regard. The speed came easy today and we didn't respond to the other cars going faster in the afternoon. We should go even better tomorrow."

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg: "At the start of winter testing, you often encounter small issues because the car you're running is a brand new design. We had an electrical problem this morning and, once we had found the root cause, chose to modify the parts to make sure it didn't happen again.

"Of course, at this time of year all you want to do is spend time in the car and get a feeling for how it's working, but these hiccups are just part of the game. During the laps I completed this morning, I had a good feeling with the car and it felt solid.

Force India

Paul Di Resta: "A positive first day and we managed to cover lots of laps - so that's the most important thing. I felt very comfortable all day and we managed to get through the programme as we focussed on collecting aero data and understanding how well the car correlates with our simulation tools at the factory.

"We also started trying to learn as much about the tyres as possible so that we can carry that into tomorrow and optimise the set-up. The new compounds are quite different with the new construction and I've already felt a difference with the balance of the car in the low and high speed parts of the lap."

Williams

Pastor Maldonado: "We had no problems today and the car felt very consistent so we were able to learn a lot, which will be useful for the FW35 development. We planned to run the FW34 to enable us to have a reliable car to test the new tyres with and also try some different set-ups. It's great to finally be back on track after what felt like a long winter and I'm confident we can achieve a lot this week."

Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo: "It's good to be back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. It was a long day to complete 70 laps, however, the main thing is that the car was reliable, which is a positive aspect and we got through our work schedule for the day.

"You cannot look at car performance on the first day, when reliability and comfort are more important and, on that front, my seat and driving position were good. So this was a day of tasks that were relatively simple, but also important."

Caterham

Giedo van der Garde: "First it's great to be back at work and I'm pleased with how day one on track has gone. We completed a very decent number of laps today without any major issues and I was pretty comfortable in the car straight away.

"Day one is all about making sure everything in the car works as it's supposed to and apart from a couple of minor issues with the floor we didn't really have to make any changes to the car straight out of the box. We also ran through a number of procedures that are new to me, particularly starts as we didn't do too many of those last year, but the main thing for me is the tyres. They definitely feel different to what I ran in the Friday sessions I did in 2012 and that's going to be a focus for us in the tests, to get as much as we can out of them.

"It's obviously far too early to make any judgements on the performance levels we can expect from the 2013 package but compared to the car I drove in Brazil it feels like we've made some good progress over the winter. Tomorrow will be more of the same for us - running through more procedures and a few setup options across the range of tyres we have available here and hopefully getting as many laps in as possible."

Day 1 program:

• The morning program included system and electronic checks, with all cars running several installation laps before posting some times. 
• Before lunch time, teams conducted several aero measurements. Most teams ran the typical 4 to 5 laps, pitting and heading out again for another 4 to 5 laps. Several cars featured flow-vis paint to gather data on aero elements: sidepods, front and rear wings, DRS, etc. 
• After lunch time, setup work was the primary focus, followed by another round of aero testing. Several cars conducted straight line tests, which involves letting the car flow in a straight line without accelerating. All teams practiced pit lane starts.
• Late in the afternoon, teams were experimenting with slightly longer runs, with Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean doing as much as 11 laps per stint.  

Day 1 highlights:

• First red flag caused by Jenson Button. The McLaren suffered a fuel pump failure and stopped on the track. The issue was resolved late in the afternoon.
• Second red flag caused by Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes suffered an electrical failure and stopped on the track. The issue was not resolved and the team lost the rest of the day with Rosberg completing just 11 laps. 
• Third red flag caused by Max Chilton. The Marussia suffered a suspension failure and the car spun into the gravel, hitting the barriers. It suffered enough damage for the team to end their test day.

Day 1 impressions:

• McLaren did a low fuel run in the final hour and posted the fastest time, which suggests that the car has the potential pace of its predecessor. Reliability problems still seem to be a concern for the team. 
• Red Bull did a medium fuel run in the final hour, and Mark Webber recorded the second fastest time, 0.800s off the pace. An encouraging sign for the team, with no problems so far like in last year's testing. 
• Lotus completed a rather average 54 laps, but the car does look as good as last year. Grosjean posted a quick time in the morning when temperatures and grip levels were low, which suggests that the car still has the pace from last season. 
• Force India showed signs of potential for speed and reliability. Paul di Resta completed a mammoth 89 laps, most of anyone in the session, with quite consistent times and reliability. 
• Toro Rosso also showed signs of life with Ricciardo finishing 5th and running a respectable 70 laps without any problems. 
• Ferrari kept a low profile with the team stating that they were not looking for quick laps. Massa stated that the car is miles better from last year, and from the times it certainly looks that way. 
• Caterham and Marussia still seem a very long way off the pace finishing 3 and 4 seconds respectively off the pace. 

Jerez, Day 1: Jenson Button sets fastest time on first day

McLaren showed a glimpse of their pace in Jerez, after Jenson Button topped the timesheets on hard tyres. Mark Webber was second on medium tyres, followed by Grosjean on hards.

It was a busy first day in Jerez with a total of three red flags. The first two happened in the morning, and were caused by Button's fuel pump issue in the McLaren and Rosberg's stopping Mercedes. The third red flag was caused by Max Chilton's barrier hit in the late afternoon, after the Marussia suffered a suspension failure. 

Mercedes was forced to call it a day and end the test earlier than expected, after a serious electrical problem. Jenson Button's car was in the garage for most of the day, but stormed out for a late run in the afternoon. 

Red Bull kept a relatively low profile for most of the day, until Webber set the fastest time in the final hour of testing. It made be the shape of things to come as the team aims to defend its title for the fourth year in a row. He was later beaten by Button's blistering 1:18.

Ferrari were conducting aero measurements with Massa behind the wheel and made it clear that they were not looking for setting fast times. Lotus conducted a relatively trouble-free shakedown and topped the table for most of the day with Romain Grosjean. 

The rest of the teams ran a smooth program and most were conducting aero tests and opted for short runs, which is a typical routine in the early days of pre-season testing. 

Jerez, Day 1: Mercedes hits trouble, ending test day early

The Mercedes team has been forced to end its first day of 2013 Formula 1 testing early after being hit by problems in the morning.

Nico Rosberg had managed just 11 laps with the new W04 before the car stopped on track, causing the second red flag of the day.

Mercedes spent the morning trying to identify the problem and has announced that it will not be running any more on Tuesday. 

"After identifying the cause of the problem, we will not be running again today whilst parts are modified ready for tomorrow," said the team. "The part which requires modification is the wiring loom where the electrical fault originated this morning."

Rosberg's new team-mate Lewis Hamilton is scheduled to make his on-track debut with the team tomorrow morning.

Jerez, Day 1: Grosjean and Lotus fastest in the morning

Romain Grosjean set the early morning pace in Jerez with a 1:19.796s  beating Paul di Resta in the Force India and Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso. 

It was a quick start to the first test in Jerez this morning, as cars were popping out for system checks, which is a common way to start pre-season testing. Three laps in and we already had our first red flag. Jenson Button's McLaren stopped on track due to a fuel pump issue, and the team didn't go out for the rest of the morning. 

Jerez, Day 1: Button's car came to a halt after three laps.

Mercedes also had a problem with Nico Rosberg. The car's rear end burst out in flames and had to stop on track which caused the second red flag of the session. Lotus also faced their series of problems with Grosjean completing only 15 laps in the beginning due to a heating issue on the bodywork. The team revealed later that it was a mild problem and the Frenchman came out banging for pace. 

Jerez, Day 1: Rosberg's car catches fire during installation run

Caterham and Marussia launched their cars during testing as the newcomers made their debut with Max Chilton and Van der Garde running 21 laps. 

Williams were running with last year's car, although the front and rear wings, as well as the nose were relatively new. As their car wasn't subject to any system checks, they ran the most laps in favor of testing new aerodynamic elements. Their new car will debut in Barcelona. 

Ferrari and Red Bull kept a relatively low profile, with Felipe Massa a second off the pace and Mark Webber two seconds slower. The big teams are not known for showing off with fast times in testing, so their pace was not at all worrying or uncommon.

Short runs were the main theme this morning. Most cars opted for 4 to 5 laps per run, pitting, doing system checks, and going out for another burst of 5 laps. The longest run was Mark Webber's, the Australian doing a string of 11 laps. Track temperature peaked at 30 degrees Celsius, with air temperature around 15 degrees, which is pretty much what we'll get for the rest of the day.  

Reading too much into these times is completely worthless. The first day of testing is usually dedicated to system and reliability checks. Making sure that the new cars are safe to run is the first step of testing. Later on, teams will focus on understanding the new Pirelli tyres and testing the new aerodynamic elements. We will get only half of the full picture of who stands where in Barcelona. 

Jerez 2013 F1 Testing: Who drives when?

The first pre-season test begins at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Southern Spain on Tuesday morning as Formula 1 comes back to life after a relatively short winter break. Here is the full schedule for the first four days of testing. 

The test lasts for four days and features all eleven teams. Every team bar Williams will run their 2013 car, although they will unveil their 2013 livery.

Caterham and Marussia will also unveil their CT03 and MR-02 in the pit lane on Tuesday morning.

Mercedes & Toro Rosso launch new Formula 1 cars in Jerez

Nico Rosberg took the new W04 Mercedes for a spin during a filming day in Jerez, followed by the official car launch in the afternoon. Hamilton later completed a shakedown as well.

The car was first seen as Nico Rosberg was driving on the circuit with new team-mate Lewis Hamilton taking photographs trackside as Mercedes announced a new partnership with BlackBerry. Following the morning's filming the car was officially launched by both drivers on the start/finish straight.

The new car makes use of the vanity panel to cover the stepped nose, while the team has also reverted back to Coanda-effect exhausts having ditched the system at the end of the 2012 season.

Having watched Rosberg behind the wheel all morning, Hamilton said he was looking forward to his turn driving the car in the afternoon.

"I am [excited] I could barely sleep last night!" Hamilton said. "It's quite an exciting day for us - the launch of a new car - and to be team-mates with Nico; we were just saying how crazy it is because we used to be team-mates back in 2000 when we were go-karting so it's a dream for me to be back here as his team-mate.

"It looks beautiful. It's a lovely car, I'm just excited to get in it ... I'm just really excited to get in and see what it feels like."

Toro Rosso has revealed their challenger for the 2013 Formula One season. The STR8, the team’s eighth creation, will be driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne. Toro Rosso slipped to ninth in the championship in 2012 and recruited technical director James Key.

Formula 1 pre-season testing begins in Jerez

It's been a long winter break for some, and a tight schedule for others. Nevertheless, it's go time. The new season gets underway as the busy bees arrive in Jerez for the first round of a series of pre-season testing. 

After a series of launches kicked off last week, it's time to relocate. Spain will host three rounds of testing: one in Jerez and the rest in Barcelona at the Circuit of Catalunya. Most of the teams have already arrived at the scene, and are making final preparations for Tuesday's green light. Mercedes, Toro Rosso, Caterham and Marussia will launch their cars in Jerez, while Williams  opted to skip the party and debut in Barcelona instead. 

Another big news that hit the media last week was that Fernando Alonso will be skipping the first round of testing. Newly recruited Pedro de la Rosa will take his place as the Spaniard decided to focus on physical preparation for the new season. Alonso will drive the new Ferrari for the first time in Barcelona. 

All eyes will surely be on Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez during these tests. The two drivers have swapped teams this season, with Hamilton moving to Mercedes and Checo to McLaren. Both drivers will surely need time to adjust to new conditions and the new cars. The world will also be watching the newcomers this season: Esteban Gutierrez for Sauber, Giedo van der Garde for Caterham and Max Chilton for Marussia. 

Force India and Marussia are yet to announce their second drivers. Announcements are imminent and we might find out who's driving where before the pits open on Tuesday. 


Pre-season testing

1st Test - Jerez, February 5-8
2nd Test - Barcelona, February 19-22
3rd Test - Barcelona, February 28-March 3