Barcelona Testing Tag

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Formula One’s second pre-season test ended the way the first test began; with Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari firmly atop the timesheets. The German slapped a set of Pirelli’s super-softs in the morning session to post the fastest time of the pre-season with a strong 1:22.852 tour of Circuit de Catalunya. With Ferrari the quickest car on five of the eight days of testing, things near the sharp end of the field seem to have tightened between them, Mercedes and Williams. Vettel also ran the haloRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor After playing it safe for the first Barcelona test, Mercedes opened up the second test by showing just what its new W07 chassis is capable of. Nico Rosberg had the morning’s testing duties and with a set of softs on the car he clocked a blistering 1:23.022 lap. His time just two tenths of a second behind Sebastian Vettel’s best lap of testing so far. The worrying difference there, is that the Ferrari did its time on the new ultra-soft compounds, the Mercedes set its timeRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Day three at Barcelona has been the most note worthy yet, with a large shakeup in the order that saw Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India top the time sheets ahead of Romain Grosjean in the new Haas VF-16. Hulkenberg ran quickest most of the day, progressing from medium on to soft and super soft tires, setting a time just 3/10th’s off Sebastian Vettel’s time on the ultra-softs from yesterday. Grosjean set his time of 1:25.874 on the soft tires, pushing the Haas VF-16 hard forRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor The second day of running in Barcelona once again saw Sebastian Vettel top the session for Ferrari. The four time champ lowered his best time from yesterday by two seconds after slapping on a set of Pirelli’s new ultra-soft compounds. Daniel Ricciardo had the second best time for Red Bull, also on the ultra-softs, but near 3/4th’s of a second behind the Ferrari. Sergio Perez validated Force India’s performance by putting in the third best lap of the day on the super-softs. Nico Rosberg took overRead More

Adam Tate & Joey Barnes (Tribute Racing) are teamed with the duo of Christopher DeHarde(Motorsports.com) and Josh Farmer (Motorsport Monday), breaking down the latest news in auto racing. The gang will be joined by special guest Brian Carroccio from AR1 with the latest on IndyCar and Formula One news. NASCAR gears up to hit Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with fresh faces in new places they break down Brett Moffitt’s incredible run with Michael Waltrip Racing at Atlanta this past weekend, Jimmie Johnson’s win, and much more. So click the linkRead More

F1 testing just wrapped up in Barcelona and if you’re like us, you are curious to see just what all gets tested. Sauber has come to the rescue with this illuminating cut away of the inside of a Formula One car. Studying it gives new appreciation to the complexity and speed of these machines.Read More

The final day of testing in Barcelona was a quieter one. Valtteri Bottas comfortably topped the time sheets for Williams with a strong 1:23.063 on the super softs, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel 4/10ths behind for second place. Felipe Nasr had another strong run in the Sauber, coming in third with a 1:24.023 as he racked up a day high 159 laps. Rosberg in the Mercedes never went for a fast time, coming in only 7th on the day but racked up a second best 148 laps worth of data forRead More

Lewis Hamilton flew for Mercedes today, setting a best time on soft tires several tenths ahead of what rivals Massa and Raikkonen could do on the super softs, solidifying Mercedes position at the top of the field heading to Australia. Massa and Raikkonen each on qualifying simulations showed that the pre season form of both Williams and Ferrari has been no joke. McLaren-Honda had another rough day with Magnussen only putting in 39 laps compared to the day high 156 set by Hulkenberg in the Force India. Only one dayRead More

Nico Rosberg laid down the Gauntlet at Barcelona today. With a time over 2 seconds faster than last year’s pole and over a second faster than Valtteri Bottas in the Williams, Mercedes finally showed its pace. Behind the two best teams of last year, Felipe Nasr put in more impressive times and laps for Sauber, with Vettel’s Ferrari right behind. McLaren-Honda finally had a good day with Button coming in 5th on the time sheets and racking up 101 laps. Nico Hulkenberg brought up the rear for Force India whoRead More

Felipe Massa topped the time sheets for Williams in Barcelona today setting  a very quick 1:23.500 in the FW37. Behind him Marcus Ericsson continued Sauber’s strong testing form with a 1:24.276. Mercedes had their worst day of testing so far, Hamilton came in third with a 1:24.881 before an MGU-K failure sidelined his silver arrow. Only Massa and Ericsson managed over 100 laps on what was a slower day than usual, poor Jenson Button only got 7 laps out of the temperamental McLaren-Honda before a hydraulic ended their running. Image:Read More