Formula 1:Final Day of Testing till the first Race

"Jonathon Klein" (jonathon-klein)
03/02/2014 at 08:35 • Filed to: F1 Testing, Bahrain

Good morning everyone, sorry this is going up a bit late, I was sick all last night and tried to get some sleep! So here is a quick recap of the testing so far. First, lots of Reds Flags 6 in total. That's more than any other day of testing. The first was the RB10 of Vettel who went off and was seen smoking in Turn 1. The second came from the beleaguered Lotus of Grosjean. Only a few minutes after the Green Flag dropped does Button's McLaren stop on the end of the back straight. Then Grosjean's Lotus stops again.Then it's time for Hulkenberg to stop right after Turn 3. Then after only 10 minutes, Alonso is off in the Ferrari. Not the final day of testing that anyone wanted to have. They should have had these cars all setup by now. But testing continues so here are the latest and greatest times with the last hour or so to run.

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And as an added benefit here are the total completed laps for today.

Kobayashi(Caterham) 101

Bottas(Williams) 94
Sutil(Sauber) 91
Hulkenberg(Force India) 74
Vettel(Red Bull) 64
Vergne(Toro Rosso) 56
Gutierrez(Sauber) 46
Alonso(Ferrari) 45
Hamilton(Mercedes) 36
Chilton(Marussia) 33
Grosjean (Lotus) 32

Button(McLaren) 21

Vettel is making some real progress today. (Dammit)

Update 1 :We are Green again with Hamilton and Chilton to be the first back out on the track.

Update 2 :Gutierrez and Kobayashi are preparing to head back out on the track.

Update 3 :Bottas and Alonso are headed back out too now.

Update 4: The Ferrari going for it on their first lap back pulls into second place with a 1:35.3

Update 5 : Because of all the Red Flags, the testing session has been extended for 25 minutes past what it was supposed to be. We now have a bit more time to see whats what.

Update 6 : And here is the man and indeed team of the hour, Williams might be a real force to be reckoned with this season.

Update 7 : And no sooner did I post that last update did Bottas just screamed in a 1:33.9 continuing his reign over fastest man on track!

Update 8 : Hamilton then follows that up with a 1:35.05 pushing Alonso out of second.

Update 9 : And another Red Flag, happening just after Alonso put himself back into second. This time the Red Flag was caused by Bottas who is right up beside the pit wall so the Red Flag shouldn't take too long.

Update 10 :Caterham just announced via their Twitter that they are done for the day and indeed the session with a gearbox issue.

Update 11 : Green Flag drops and Hamilton takes fastest lap with a 1:33.2

Update 12 : According to William's Twitter, this is the first time they have had a stoppage of the car this preseason. Not bad.

Update 13 : Force India is done for the day too with a gearbox issue.

Update 14 : Williams announced that their stoppage was due to high mileage of the ICE, this translates to non-F1 people to Internal Combustion Engine. So they ran the engine for too long. That's a bit bigger of an issue then they are letting on.

Update 15 : McLaren is out too suffering the same thing that Williams did, the high mileage unit on the ICE. Not as bad as I thought earlier.

Update 16 : Hamilton pits to get the SuperSofts on the car.

Update 17 : Hamilton puts in a 1:33.8, only a few tenths off his personal best.

Update 18 : This year, Bahrain is going to be held at night, and the drivers are just getting their first taste of what that is like right now as the lights begin to come on.

Update 19 : And another Red Flag, this time its Sauber's Gutierrez stopping in Turn 8.

Update 20 : Hamilton uses the stoppage to pit and possibly take off the SuperSofts.

Update 21 : With the Sauber on the back of the truck, we go green for the final 10 minutes!

Update 22 : Reigning World Champion heads back out on track for a final few laps, hopefully he doesn't shunt it or start another BBQ.

Update 23 : Hamilton and Chilton head out also.

Update 24 : Chilton vaults from last to 7th finding 4 seconds.

Update 25 : Both Vettel and Alonso keep going in and out of the pits.

Update 25 : Sauber stated that the reason the car stopped was an intentional fuel system stop to see what would happen when it ran out of fuel.

Update 26 : A teaser image of whats to come this season from Bahrain from Mercedes.

Update 27 : Vettel in the last 5 minutes moves up to 9th with a 1:37.7.

And thats it folks the flag drops on the final day of preseason testing here in Bahrain. Here as always are your final timesheets!

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So RedBull finally got their act together and strung in some laps for the World Champ. Were they sandbagging or did they really have that many problems. We will see.

Right now there are three teams to watch in my opinion with a fourth that could become a force on top too. Those are Williams, McLaren, Mercedes and possibly Force India. Odd choices but they have all been consistent and fast in these preseason tests. They have all had a few issues, but seem to have triumphed over them, most of all Williams. I think with Massa and Bottas at the wheel they have a real shot at the title and Constructers Championship this season. Well that is all from Bahrain. See you all in Australia in only 14days!!!

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DISCUSSION (7)

superspod > Jonathon Klein
03/02/2014 at 09:20

Who would you guess, if you had to choose now, will win this year? (personally i'm hoping for McLaren)

Jonathon Klein > superspod
03/02/2014 at 09:26

Right now, its a toss up for me between Williams, Mercedes, or McLaren. They all have shown real progress and some super fast results. They will be the ones to watch.

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Jonathon Klein
03/02/2014 at 09:47

Are these sessions ever shown on TV?

Jonathon Klein > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur
03/02/2014 at 09:48

I haven't been able to find anything.

superspod > Jonathon Klein
03/02/2014 at 11:36

so basically nothing powered by renault...

UserNotFound > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur
03/02/2014 at 14:12

The Jerez test was on SkySports F1, which can be found here:

http://cricfree.tv/sky-sports-f1-…

It's a great place to watch race practice live when they don't show it on NBC.

Jonathon Klein > superspod
03/02/2014 at 20:25

Yes, but actually Williams is looking the strongest out of the bunch for being reliable and fast.