Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

News Round Up part 2 :

Pirelli reveals early compound nominations :
Pirelli has revealed the compound combinations it will be bringing to the first four rounds of the 2013 Formula 1 campaign, with the Italian manufacturer gearing up for its third season as the sport's sole tyre supplier since returning in 2011. For the opening race weekend in Australia, the Super Soft and Medium compounds will be used, while a less aggressive selection of Medium and Hard has been made for Malaysia. The Soft compound will be brought to China and Bahrain, but will be used in conjunction with the Medium tyre at Shanghai and the Hard tyre at Sakhir. All 22 drivers will receive six sets of the harder compound and five sets of the softer compound for each Grand Prix weekend, while Pirelli will also bring four sets of its Intermediate tyre and three sets of its Full Wet tyre for damp conditions.

Rounds 1-4 tyre compounds:
Australia: Super Soft (Red), Medium (White)
Malaysia: Medium (White), Hard (Orange)
China: Soft (Yellow), Medium (White)
Bahrain: Soft (Yellow), Hard (Orange)

Mercedes eyes top four position in 2013 :
Toto Wolff, Mercedes' motorsport boss, says a top four Constructors' position would be a positive outcome for the outfit in 2013. The Austrian's target follows on from compatriot and three-time World Champion Niki Lauda's comments that the Silver Arrows will be able to take the fight to the sport's top teams this season.
The German marque, which has not finished higher than fourth in the Constructors' standings since returning to the sport as a works team in 2010, has recently undergone a structural reshuffle in a renewed bid to climb up the Formula 1 order. Although 2013 will not be a defining year for the squad, Wolff is still hoping to challenge the front-runners on a regular basis.
"If the team finishes in the top four and is a regular front-runner," Wolff told the official Formula 1 website when asked what he would label a good campaign. "I will do everything it needs to make this team successful. First it is watch and listen, and then I will give my opinion and execute my opinion."
Wolff went on to explain that his move from Williams does not come without personal risk, with the Austrian admitting that his ‘neck is on the line’ at the Silver Arrows.
"As they know I have put my neck on the line they know that I have no room for failure," Wolff added. "Not only have I taken a personal risk by leaving Williams - where I have enjoyed working - but there is also a financial and economic side to it. There is a huge amount of trust on both sides and I am very happy having joined."

Coulthard hits out at Melbourne cynics :
Ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has responded to those who consistently campaign against a Grand Prix taking place in Melbourne, explaining that although taxpayers in the state of Victoria have to bear the front of a large race licence fee, they should recognise the overall economic boost it provides to the area.
After reports in Australia's Herald Sun newspaper marked the annual hosting fee at approximately 20 million pounds, renewed criticism of the event was sparked. However, Coulthard says the positives of the race clearly outweigh the negatives.
"There is absolutely no question that Melbourne is a great city for us to come to, full stop," Coulthard said on the Australian Grand Prix podcast. "It's a great race track within the Albert Park facility. For the one week of inconvenience when people don't get the access, they shouldn't be so selfish, quite frankly.
"They should think of the greater good; what it does for the local economy, what it does to inspire young school children who want to be engineers, designers, whether it's in engine design, tyres or whether they want to be drivers. You don't inspire people by not giving them a taste of what is out there.
"The people who put out the negativity, I wonder how they'd feel if I stood outside whatever sporting event they follow and put forward my right to say 'well I don't like you doing that, it annoys me'? You have to be tolerant and those who don't particularly appreciate it (the Grand Prix) should be tolerant of those who do."
Coulthard went on to argue that licence fees are not exclusive to Formula 1, with other sporting events being subsidised by the government and taxpayers.
"It's a truly international event and Melbourne is on the world map," he said. "With the licence fee that has to be paid, nothing comes for nothing, and licence fees get paid for other sporting events. You have to think of all the restaurants, hotels, and the duty free at the airport. It gives a boost to the economy."
Melbourne has a contract in place to stage a Grand Prix until 2015. In a recent interview with Australian radio station 3AW, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone stated: "If they’re happy with what they pay for the event to take place, then I’m very happy .

Marussia pleased with Chilton and Razia :
Max Chilton and Luiz Razia have both made a positive impression at Marussia so far this year, with the outfit's Chief Engineer, Dave Greenwood, stating that the rookie duo 'delivered all we asked of them' during the first pre-season test . Chilton was due to line-up alongside Timo Glock this season until financial difficulties forced a change in approach, leading the latter to a DTM switch. Despite Razia's appointment making for an all-rookie line-up at the Banbury-based squad, both GP2 graduates have shown encouraging form at the wheel of the MR02 chassis. "Both Luiz and Max performed well in Jerez and delivered all we asked of them in their first test with the new car," said Greenwood. "It wasn’t an easy week for them by any means; we were getting over the car’s initial teething problems, which made it difficult for them to get into a good rhythm.
"Nonetheless, they both applied themselves well, were fully focused on the engineering programme and their feedback was very complete. Jerez was a good foundation step and the next two weeks in Barcelona will test them further. We are confident that they will rise to the challenge."
The second pre-season gathering takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya from 19-22 February, with Razia and Chilton again set for two full days of running each.

France moves to pay TV model with Canal+ :
France has followed the lead of the UK, Italy and the Netherlands by introducing a pay television model for its Formula 1 coverage, with Canal+ claiming the rights.
Fans wishing to follow the sport in the country, which houses one of Europe's biggest F1 audiences, will now be required to pay 35 euros (30 pounds) a month for the privilege. The exclusive deal also pushes well-known broadcaster TF1 out of the sport, a channel which had been fronted by Romain Grosjean's wife, Marion Jolles.

Sutil preparing for Force India test outing :
Adrian Sutil could test for Force India during the second pre-season gathering of the year at the Circuit de Catalunya next week, with GPUpdate.net learning that the German has completed a seat fitting in the team's VJM06 chassis. Sutil, who is not yet guaranteed a test outing, is a leading candidate for the vacant seat alongside Paul di Resta. The 30-year-old drove for the outfit under various guises between 2007 and 2011 and is up against 2012 reserve Jules Bianchi.
"Adrian has had a seat fitting," a team spokesperson confirmed "The line-up is not finalised, but there is a possibility Adrian could be involved."
Force India is expected to reveal its full Circuit de Catalunya testing line-up on Monday. The venue, situated to the north of Barcelona, will host the final two pre-season tests of the year from 19-22 February and 28 February to 3 March respectively .

Whitmarsh: Majority of teams struggling :
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone explained earlier this week that every team involved in the sport is financially stable and 'richer than God', but according to McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh, the opposite is the case. With the economic crisis still hanging over the Formula 1 paddock, Whitmarsh says most teams will find it challenging to "have a viable business model for a few years."
"It's tough," Whitmarsh explained to BBC Sport. "We're in the world of advertising and you only have to see how advertising is worldwide. The rate card is down. We have taken some measures, but I think it's going to be tough for some." Whitmarsh believes the teams are suffering from the aftermath of the global financial crisis, with a number of sponsorship deals concluding at this time. In addition, the 54-year-old has described the way in which Formula 1's profits are shared between the teams is 'deeply frustrating', but admits it is up to each outfit to fight for itself. "Bernie has done a fantastic job for the owners," he said. "We can criticise him but he's doing a better job than we are. He's keeping the money on behalf of his employers. That money whistles out of the sport and that's deeply frustrating for some of us, but that's exactly what he should be trying to do. If the teams aren't cohesive enough to work together to secure a larger share, they have to blame themselves."
The new Concorde Agreement, which has not yet been signed, will see the teams share 63 percent of the sport's overall profits, as opposed to 43 percent in the past .

Maldonado gets first test day in new FW35 :
Williams driver Pastor Maldonado will complete the first full test day in the FW35 at the Circuit de Catalunya, the Grove-based squad confirmed on Friday. The team will be the last to reveal its new design in Barcelona, having tested with its 2012 car at Jerez. Following Maldonado's run on Tuesday, new team-mate Valtteri Bottas will get behind the wheel for the second day. The pair will then alternate for the final two days of running, equally sharing the morning and afternoon sessions on Thursday and Friday.
Williams development driver Susie Wolff is scheduled to shakedown the FW35 at the Idiada motorsport complex, to the north of Barcelona, before the test gets underway.

Recycling company purchases HRT cars :
A Madrid-based car recycling firm has purchased five cars previously used by the now folded HRT Formula 1 team, company owner Teo Martin confirmed on Friday.
Martin has acquired three cars from 2012 and two from 2011, while the engine units used in all five have been taken back by supplier Cosworth. A third car from 2011 was bought by Pirelli, which the Italian brand has confirmed will be used as a show car. In addition to the cars, Martin has claimed a large proportion of the team's general equipment from its headquarters - situated at the Caja Magica in Madrid. The businessman is planning to sell items to collectors who express an interest. A fortnight ago, there were reports that a group of investors from the United States and Canada had been looking at the possibility of purchasing HRT's assets and entering the sport under the name of Scorpion Racing, but a deal did not come to fruition .

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Testing will resume at the Circuit de Catalunya on 19 February, with the Spanish Grand Prix venue hosting the remaining two pre-season gatherings of the year

News Round Up part1 :

Lauda: Mercedes can fight top three teams
Three-time Formula 1 World Champion Niki Lauda believes that Mercedes, running with a modified driver line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, will be able to join the battle for a top three position in this year’s Constructors’ Championship. The German marque, recently subjected to major structural changes, has failed to finish higher than fourth in the overall standings since re-entering the sport as a works outfit in 2010. However, Lauda, who acts as the team's Non-Executive Chairman, was left feeling positive after the opening test of the year at Jerez. "The cars are relatively close together," Lauda told Bild. "In my view, Vettel is the fastest at the moment. The Red Bull works well and looks reliable. He is a bit faster than the rest, but my joy is that Mercedes can now compete with the top three teams."
Lauda also touched upon the early technical issues Mercedes suffered this week, with both Rosberg and Hamilton restricted to less than 20 laps on their first days in the new F1 W04. Although the problems were a setback, the 63-year-old played down their impact.
"The tests are there so you can eliminate errors," said Lauda. "Nico and Lewis have been so busy in the final days. The two failures on the first days were made up for." Rosberg, who claimed the first Mercedes victory for 57 years at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, and Hamilton collectively completed more than three and a half race distances at Jerez, bouncing back from respective hydraulic and brake failures.

Sauber completes most mileage at Jerez :
Sauber led the mileage stakes at the opening pre-season test of 2013 last week, with new drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez racking up a total of 430 laps at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain. The Hinwil-based outfit and rivals Red Bull are the only two teams to have covered more than 1000 miles so far this year.
Force India, Williams and Toro Rosso all feature near the top of the mileage charts after four days of track action, while Mercedes was able to recover from its early technical problems to sit sixth. Caterham is the last of the teams above the 300 lap milestone, leaving McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Marussia in the bottom four positions .
1. Sauber / 430 laps / 1904.040 km / 1183.115 mi
2. Red Bull / 372 laps / 1647.216 km / 1023.532 mi
3. Force India / 357 laps / 1580.796 km / 982.261 mi
4. Williams / 333 laps / 1474.524 km / 916.226 mi*
5. Toro Rosso / 330 laps / 1461.240 km / 907.972 mi
6. Mercedes / 322 laps / 1425.816 km / 885.960 mi
7. Caterham / 318 laps / 1408.104 km / 874.955 mi
8. McLaren / 299 laps / 1323.972 km / 822.678 mi
9. Ferrari / 278 laps / 1230.984 km / 764.897 mi
10. Lotus / 272 laps / 1204.416 km / 748.389 mi
11. Marussia / 220 laps / 974.16 km / 605.314 mi
* Using 2012 chassis

Hamilton: I'm loving life at Mercedes so far :
Lewis Hamilton says his time at new employers Mercedes has been thoroughly enjoyable so far, dispelling suggestions that he is regretting his move from rivals McLaren. The 2008 World Champion, who has signed a three-year deal with the Silver Arrows, is relishing the experience of working in a completely new environment.
"So far I am loving it here," Hamilton explained to the official Formula 1 website. "The team is great. Everybody is so welcoming and it feels fantastic to work with a new group of people. I honestly feel that this could be a place for me to grow something new."
Hamilton, who drove the team's new F1 W04 chassis for the first time at the opening Jerez pre-season test added that the wide range of comments over his move, made by former Grand Prix drivers and those currently involved in the sport, do not affect him.
"No, that didn’t surprise me," Hamilton replied when asked if the flurry of remarks came as a surprise. "That’s how people are. Whenever there is something coming up some people feel the right to make their comments. That doesn’t really bother me." Hamilton will be back in action at the Circuit de Catalunya , with the second pre-season test of the year taking place at the venue from 19-22 February.

Williams FW35 passes final crash test :
Williams has passed the final FIA-regulated crash test with its new FW35 chassis, meaning the outfit is on schedule for its launch presentation on Tuesday 19 February.
Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas were both present at the opening pre-season test of the year at Jerez last week, collectively completing 333 laps in the team's 2012 car with the aim of gathering aerodynamic and tyre data for their new challenger.
The FW35 will be revealed at the Circuit de Catalunya shortly before 9am local time (GMT +1) next Tuesday, moments before the second pre-season test gets underway .

Kobayashi handed test by AF Corse Ferrari :
Kamui Kobayashi will get behind the wheel of a Ferrari 458 Italia at the Motorland Aragón in Spain this week, with the Japanese driver being handed a test by AF Corse.
Kobayashi, who will be joined at the gathering by Karun Chandhok, Luca Filippi, Davide Rigon and Brandon Maisano, failed to secure a Formula 1 seat for the 2013 campaign, despite picking up a podium finish at last year's Japanese Grand Prix. AF Corse has two seats remaining for its World Endurance Championship effort, meaning Kobayashi will be involved in an evaluation process. The test, which began on Monday, also features regular drivers Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella.

Maldonado targets more victories in 2013 :
Pastor Maldonado is certain that his Williams team can challenge the established order in Formula 1 in 2013, with the Venezuelan hoping to add another Grand Prix victory to his name this season. The 27-year-old, who starts his third term with the Grove-based team, feels confident after four positive days of testing at Jerez.
Pastor Maldonado"We are quite close to the top teams," Maldonado, who won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix for Williams, said in an interview with Sky Sports. "It's always difficult to predict every year - you never know what the others are doing - but if we compare what we did last year and what we are doing for the next season, we have great potential and we feel confident with the package.
"We have been pushing so hard the last two years and we must concrete our potential. We won one race last year and I hope to continue like that. It's going to be very difficult; the changes in the car are not so big for everybody, the rules are more or less the same, but we've been working so hard and I hope to be more competitive than last year. (I have) more experience as well; fingers crossed to have a great season."
Maldonado also had positive words for new team-mate Valtteri Bottas, explaining that the Finn's experiences from 2012 should pay dividends as the campaign progresses.
"(I will have) more responsibility because it's going to be the first year of Valtteri in the car racing, and that will be a bit difficult at the beginning, but Valtteri has a lot of experience with the team and he knows very well how the team works and the style," he added.
"He's a good guy so I hope as well to have a great season together as a team. Our mission is to put the car in the top (places) as (often as) possible for us."
Williams, which attended the opening test with its 2012 chassis, will debut its new FW35 design on the morning of Tuesday February 19 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, moments before the second pre-season gathering gets underway.

Häkkinen: Mercedes slower than I expected :
Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen does not expect Mercedes to be fighting at the front of the field this season, explaining that the Brackley-based team's new car is slower than he had anticipated. Following the opening test at Jerez, the Finn instead expects Lewis Hamilton's former outfit, McLaren, to set the pace.
"I have a strong feeling that McLaren is in top form this year," Häkkinen said during an interview with the BBC on Tuesday. "As we saw at testing in Jerez, the Mercedes wasn't as fast as I expected them to be, so I don't see them competing too much this year."
Despite his initial thoughts on the 2013 pecking order, Häkkinen backed Hamilton's switch to Mercedes, arguing that it was a suitable moment for the 2008 World Champion to seek a new challenge.
"Lewis has been with McLaren for so many years and I think, for him, it was time to change," Häkkinen commented. "It's just a job to be honest. There are no emotional feelings about it, you are there to win, you are racing with the team and you do your maximum for the team. Lewis has now moved to Mercedes and that is going to be interesting because his team-mate Nico Rosberg is also a very quick driver."
Mercedes is approaching its fourth campaign since returning to the sport as a full works team in 2010. Courtesy of Rosberg's dominant weekend performance, the outfit managed to claim its first victory in 57 years at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Alexander Wurz 15th February 1974
[Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Happy Birthday to your 39th anniversary

Toranosuke Takagi 12th February 1974
[Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Happy Birthday to your 39th anniversary

another season of Formula 1 has started. and the first pre-season test at Jerez is gone
there are only a few changes in the rules to hope for major changes
for me, only two important things:
1 – Pirelli tyres: softer compounds to improve performance and to ensure a faster degradation. so we will see more pit stop(at least two). good news for sponsors.
2 – the use of DRS use will limited during practice and qualifying to the same area as in the race. I would abolish the drs, but with these cars and these circuits (apart Spa and a few others) is unfortunately impossible.

The track. Jerez de la Frontera is not very probative circuit for aerodynamics, (better Barcellona) and its asphalt is too rough for Formula One tyres testing

Cars. esthetically is ugly the high nose; the front wings seem snowplow. The nose of the new Ferrari is even higher than the Red Bull RB9. I hope at least is a good choice. Sidepods and rear zone of the F138 seem better than last year. And now some comparisons between the best times of this week (4 top teams)

Vettel Red Bull (2012) 1m19.297s -- (2013) time:1m18.565s (hard tyre)
Webber Red Bull(2012) 1m19.184s -- (2013) time:1m19.338s (medium tyre)

Button Mc Laren (2012) 1m20.688s -- (2013) time:1m18.861s (hard Tyre)
Hamilton Mc Laren(2012) 1m19.464s -- (2013) time:now in Mercedes

Massa Ferrari (2012) 1m20.454s -- (2013) time:1m17.879s (soft tyre)
Alonso Ferrari (2012) 1m18.877s -- (2013) no time

Raikkonen Lotus (2012)1m19.670s -- (2013) time:1m18.148s (soft tyre)
Grosjean Lotus (2012) 1m18.419s -- (2013) time:1m18.218s (soft tyre)

- impossible to compare the results of the Mercedes, because last year at Jerez was the only team that still had the old car with the diffusers blown.

generally the cars seem faster probably due to the new softer Pirelli's compounds, but it is too early to make judgments about the teams.

F40LM wrote:[Verstecktes Bild - Registrierung notwendig]

[Verstecktes Bild - Registrierung notwendig]
pix
? if 2big ;some1 delete it

....better now than in the championship
this year will be the ferrari year

Short News :

Raikkonen puts Lotus on top on final day
Kimi Raikkonen topped the final day of Formula 1's first pre-season test of 2013 at Jerez.
The Finn set the best time of the day on a short run with the soft tyre during the afternoon running, which was extended by 30 minutes to make up for a delay caused by track repairs around lunchtime.
Raikkonen had attacked the run from the moment he left the pits, choosing to force a way past the Caterham of Charles Pic on his out lap rather than back off to get clear track. After the short, but clearly committed run, the 2007 world champion switched back to longer runs. Raikkonen's lap was just enough to prevent Force India hopeful Jules Bianchi from leading the way as he bids to earn a promotion to a race seat with the Silverstone-based team. Bianchi's lap, which came just after the track re-opened following the long stoppage in the middle of the day, also came on soft tyres. The Ferrari junior had no chance to respond to Raikkonen's lap, as he handed the Force India back to lead driver Paul di Resta for the final two hours.
World champion Sebastian Vettel was third fastest for Red Bull on a day where he focused on long runs with the medium and hard tyres. Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez managed to go fourth with a short run, but he spent most of his afternoon getting used to how the Pirelli tyres behave on longer stints.
A series of short runs on the soft tyre helped Jean-Eric Vergne move up to fifth late in the day, moving him ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Briton had a much better second day with his new team, making up for his lack of running on Wednesday due to a crash by logging the most laps of anyone.
New Ferrari development driver Pedro de la Rosa got back out in the afternoon after a gearbox problem stopped the F138 in the morning. The Spaniard completed 50 laps .

Test day 4 ( final for this week ) :
1 Kimi Raikkonen : Lotus- E21 1’18.148 laps 83
2 Jules Bianchi : Force India - VJM06 1’18.175 +0.027 laps 56
3 Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull - RB9 1’18.565 + 0.417 laps 96
4 Esteban Gutierrez : Sauber - C32 1’18.669 + 0.521 laps 142
5 Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso - STR8 1’18.760 + 0.612 laps 92
6 Lewis Hamilton : Mercedes - W04 1’18.905 + 0.757 laps 145
7 Sergio Perez : McLaren - MP4-28 1’18.944 + 0.796 laps 98
8 Valtteri Bottas : Williams - FW34 1’19.851 + 1.703 laps 92
9 Pedro de la Rosa : Ferrari - F138 1’20.316 + 2.168 laps 51
10 Charles Pic : Caterham - CT03 1’21.105 + 2.957 laps 109
11 Luiz Razia : Marussia- MR02 1’21.226 + 3.078 laps 82
12 Paul di Resta : Force India- VJM06 1’23.435 + 5.287 laps 49

Next test session will be scheduled at 19th feb. till 22nd feb.at the Catalunya Circuit ,Spain

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News from at the Jerez Circuit , Spain :

Ferrari catches fire as de la Rosa debuts
Ferrari's new car caught fire just two laps into Pedro de la Rosa's Friday testing programme at Jerez. The Spaniard, who is correlating the F138 with its simulator version, ground to a halt in a ploom of smoke between Turns 7 and 8.
"Difficult start of the day for De La Rosa: F138 stopped on track after the second installation lap," Ferrari, which completed the opening three days of pre-season testing at Jerez with Felipe Massa, explained via Twitter after the technical gremlin hit. Following the incident, which occurred at 10.10am local time (GMT +1), de la Rosa's car was covered and returned to the pit lane. The Ferrari mechanics quickly unloaded it, putting up barriers outside the garage before working to diagnose the cause of the fire. The Italian outfit has not yet confirmed if de la Rosa will be back out on-track later today. If the problem cannot be rectified in time, the second gathering at the Circuit de Catalunya from 19-22 February will be the team's next chance to complete mileage .

Red Bull will not run two design teams
Red Bull will not be splitting its design teams for the 2013 and 2014 Formula 1 campaigns, Team Principal Christian Horner has confirmed. With the V8 engine era ending in favour of turbocharged V6 units, the pressure is on to end development for the current season at a suitable time to ensure competitiveness next year.
Unlike Ferrari, which has partitioned its efforts in a bid to optimise the transition phase in the sport's regulations, Horner says his team will be 'juggling both developments' because it does not hold the resources required to mirror its rivals. "No, we don’t have that big amount of resource," Horner told the official Formula 1 website when asked if two design teams are an option for the outfit. "It is a matter of balancing your resource between 2013 and the challenge of 2014 - which is a significantly different car with a big regulation change. That is one of the major challenges of this season - to juggle both developments." Reflecting on the opening three days of pre-season testing at Jerez, Horner reports that 'an encouraging start' has been made with the evolutionary RB9 chassis. "The feeling of the car is pretty much the same as its predecessor - just more refined," he explained. "But overall it was an encouraging start of the life of the RB9."
Vettel is completing the final day of the Jerez pre-season gathering for Red Bull.

Brawn - 'Hamilton is part of the solution'
Ross Brawn has described new recruit Lewis Hamilton as a key ‘part of the solution’ to Mercedes’s performance deficit, explaining that the former World Champion has started the process of driving the team forward at this week's Jerez pre-season test. Although his opening day programme was scuppered by a brake failure, Hamilton enjoyed a large amount of running at the wheel of the new F1 W04 on Friday, with Brawn adamant that his arrival has had an extremely positive on the outfit.
"I think we’ve made it very clear to Lewis that he’s part of the solution," Brawn told reporters at Jerez. "You have a choice in a team; are you the problem, or are you the solution? He’s part of the solution to get us where we want to be. I think he knows that and understands that, and I think he’s relishing it.
"It’s correct that he gives us reference points and helps us understand what we have to focus on. I think some of it we already knew, and that’s why we restructured the aerodynamic group. I welcome that approach. It needs to be positive and it needs to be constructive. Criticism of the right sort is always helpful to drive a team forward."
Brawn added that there have been ‘lots of encouraging signs’ displayed by Mercedes over the winter break, particularly in terms of efficiency at the team's Brackley factory.
"The step we have to make from the end of last year to the beginning of this year is pretty substantial, and it’s a moving target as well," he said. "From what I’ve seen it’s very encouraging. It’s the first car (Engineering Director) Aldo (Costa) has designed, and the aero group seems to be working well. So, lots of encouraging signs. "We know what we have got to do, and Lewis has really helped to confirm it. That will be something that we will strive to do, but it won’t be overnight."
Hamilton completed 145 laps in the cockpit of the F1 W04 at Jerez on Friday, just three shy of the impressive total new team-mate Nico Rosberg managed 24 hours

Kimi Raikkonen calm about Lotus gains
Kimi Raikkonen says there are no guarantees that Lotus will do better than last year in 2013, despite the Finn feeling the new E21 is a step forward. Raikkonen returned to Formula 1 last year after a two-year absence, and was one of the stars of the season, taking one win and finishing in third place in the standings.
The Lotus driver got behind the wheel of the new car for the first time on Thursday and he felt the car was stronger than last year's machine. The former world champion admitted, however, that it was no guarantee of a stronger season. "We try to do better and hopefully we manage to do it. Everybody is aiming to do better they did the previous years," said Raikkonen.
"Even if you win the championship you try and improve things and I cannot promise that we will manage to do that, but hopefully that is our aim and hopefully we can do that."
Raikkonen did concede he feels more comfortable at Lotus now that he is starting his second season with the team. "It is more easy because I know the team, and I know the people, and they know me. But it doesn't mean we will suddenly be better and do better," he said. "There are an awful lot of things that can work in your favour or go against you. "In theory it should be more easy. But I don't count on it that we are suddenly going to start to turn it around and start to be something different to how we finished last year.
"Time will tell. It is definitely more easy to come here and be here than it was a year ago because I know the team."


Ferrari denies Alonso absent in Jerez because of injury
Ferrari on Friday denied rumours Fernando Alonso is nursing an injury. Most suspect that the Spaniard is sitting out the Jerez test this week so that the new F138 car can be 'shaken down' by Felipe Massa and Pedro de la Rosa ahead of Alonso's debut on the much more representative Barcelona track.
But one or two whispers in the Jerez paddock this week suggested Alonso may have injured a rib whilst karting last month. However, as the double world champion is currently running and cycling in Dubai and happily posting photos to Twitter to prove it, a Ferrari spokesperson said on Friday: "It's obvious how hard Fernando is training at the moment. This rumour (about the injury) is utter nonsense and totally untrue," Ferrari added.

Hamilton not impressed by Red Bull pace
Lewis Hamilton said he was not concerned by the pace shown by Red Bull so far on the final day of testing.
Sebastian Vettel set a time of 1’18.565 on hard tyres in the first half of the final day of testing but Hamilton wasn’t concerned by the show of pace from the RB9: “18.5, yeah, I don’t know how the hards behave but over the last couple of days people seem to get a decent time out of the hards. Yeah, I mean the Red Bull’s always quick so it’s not a surprise, it doesn’t impress me at all.” He said Mercedes were unsure where they stood compared to the rest of the field at the moment: “I’ve asked the guys to try and predict it but they don’t know. We don’t know what fuel loads people are on so it would be just a guess.”
Hamilton completed 59 laps on the morning of his second day in the Mercedes. He lost most of his first day of running on Wednesday after a brake failure caused a high-speed crash.
“It’s much, much better than what we started with,” he said. “The car’s obviously been capable of that we’ve just had a couple of issues.” “I feel like the mileage, of course it will count,” he added. “Because by the time we get to the end someone’s done 5,000 kilometres or whatever it is and we would have done four or something like that. “But we’re catching up. Nico did 150 laps yesterday so he already caught kind of a day back up with people doing 80 laps, something like that. “We’re probably not going to be able to get to 150 laps today because Nico had already done close to 100 by now. But we’ll still try and get as much time in as possible.”
Hamilton spoke to media at Jerez while the final day of testing was red-flagged when a hole appeared in one of the kerbs. Hamilton said the delay, which lasted almost an hour, didn’t affect him:
“It works out well because i just had lunch,” he said. “The guys are working on changing some things on the car so we just shifted our lunch earlier. “I didn’t even see what was on I heard it was a manhole or something on the track. It wasn’t an issue for me while I was out there but as long as they fix it and we get out hopefully quite soon.” He said Mercedes are “at the level we hoped we’re at” with the W04. “I couldn’t really ask for more.”
“The guys have done a great job to add downforce to the car and understand where they’ve been and take the car in the direction they really wanted to go.” However he added he needed more running to give them team the direction they need: “I wouldn’t say I was clear, no. With time and more testing I think I’ll become more clear.”

Rossiter: Test shows value of simulator work
Force India simulator driver James Rossiter says his tests for the team this week show the value of using a simulator for car development. Rossiter, who was previously a test driver for BAR, said his run in the VJM06 on Wednesday and Thursday at Jerez was “massively useful”.
The test driver was struck by how much has changed since he last drove a real, rather than virtual, F1 car:
“Obviously the tyres are very different and I had to get used to the systems, working with DRS and KERS. Obviously I’ve been doing that in the simulator so that was relatively easy.
“Trying to understand the tyres has been the biggest thing we’ve been trying to do and just get me up to speed in a current Formula One car.” “For me it was more about running on a sensible amount of fuel with new tyres and then running with an awful lot of fuel just so I can feel that difference,” he added. “I never got to experience super-high fuel levels they have at the start of a race.”
“Now I’ve got to experience that and see what that’s like, that’s certainly pretty interesting, it’s very different from what I remember about Formula One.
“So there wasn’t too much focus on performance, there was no need to push hard, make any mistakes or anything like that. It was all about me getting up to speed and just learning as much as I can to take back and correlate with the simulator.” Pedro de la Rosa is running for Ferrari on the final day of the test, which Rossiter takes as further indication that simulator work is becoming more valuable for teams:
“I think it shows the importance the fact that Pedro’s driving at Ferrari as well, that I’ve been driving, it really is starting to highlight that you can get performance with the simulator and we hope to exploit that as much as possible. Whether that means I get to run later in the year we’ll have to wait and see.”
Force India is the only team left to confirm its driver line-up for 2013. Rossiter acknowledged that uncertainty had given him the chance to return to the cockpit:
“We discussed it even at the end of last year, if an opportunity would arise, and everyone sort of agreed it would be a good idea. I’ve been very fortunate in the situation that without the second driver being confirmed there was an opportunity for me to drive. I’m very appreciative of the team for the chance and it was nice to get back in there.” The test hit a snag when Rossiter knocked over one of the team’s mechanics, who fortunately only suffered minor injuries. “I hold my hands up that was totally my fault,” said Rossiter.
“I came in, we were doing some aero runs and everything was cold, brakes too cold, tyres too cold. And I came in too fast and thank God Marcus is OK and he’s just got a few bruises. I’m sure I’ll be buying him many beers and he won’t be forgetting it soon.”
“There’s no reset button in real life unlike the simulator – there’s no mechanics stood in front of the car in the simulator either. So it was quite unfortunate but luckily he’s OK.”

Pic: Engine and KERS biggest changes from Marussia
Charles Pic says the change of engine and the addition of KERS marks the biggest difference from the Marussia he drove last year and the Caterham he is driving now.
“I think the biggest difference is coming from the engine side and KERS,” he told reporters in Jerez.
“Last year we didn’t have KERS, it’s quite different, you have to learn how to use it and where you decide to take back the energy to decide it. Yeah it’s a new part but it’s quite fun.” “It’s coming step by step. I’m sure there is still a lot of work to do on it.” Pic added that managing the effect of KERS on braking was a particular challenge: “For sure it is different because it’s giving you more locking because when you recharge it it’s like extra rear braking. “I think you have to learn how to use it and where you recover the energy so where you have this extra rear braking depending the circuit and where you want it to not disturb your balance.”
Pic said he wasn’t drawing any conclusions on the basis of his first day’s running:
“The first day I was very happy because I didn’t drive since Brazil so I was looking forward [to] this day.
“It was a good day, we lost some running time unfortunately but I think it’s like that. We made the best we could and the mechanics work very fast. “Now it’s too early to say anything, I don’t know what is the performance of the car compared to others. I think what is important is follow the programme you have, get the answers from the test and prepare a lot.” Pic starts his second year of F1 alongside rookie team mate Giedo van der Garde, but said he doesn’t feel under pressure as a de facto team leader:
“So first time I’m not alone there is a lot of engineers at the tracks,” he said. “For me it’s changing nothing I just give my best, give the best feedback I can to help them the maximum and that’s it.”

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

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? if 2big ;some1 delete it

Short News :

Massa quickest on third day at Jerez
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the pace on the penultimate pre-season test day at Jerez, producing a time of 1:17.879 on the Soft Pirelli tyre. The Brazilian led Mercedes rival Nico Rosberg - who completed a mammoth total of 148 laps - by 0.887 seconds, while reigning Champion Sebastian Vettel marked his return in third.
Much chillier conditions greeted the Formula 1 fraternity at the gates of the Jerez circuit on Thursday morning, with the air and track temperatures taking a significant amount of time to reach a meagre 10°C (10°F). Massa was the early pace-setter as the session got underway, being usurped only breifly by the F1 W04 of Rosberg. The latter recovered his team's lost ground with a series of long-distance stints, completing more than two and a half Grand Prix distances in his new car.
Vettel had a quiet first day at the Spanish venue, much like Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber's introduction to the RB9 chassis earlier in the week. The German completed two long and consistent high fuel runs at the end of the day to end on a total of 102 laps. He wound up just ahead of fourth place man Kimi Räikkönen, who ran through aero runs early on before a clutch issue curtailed his running in the afternoon.
Aside from the former title winners, there were a number of returning names at Jerez on Thursday. Toro Rosso's Jean-Éric Vergne was one of them, finishing the day fifth fastest after signalling a brief red flag period when his STR8 stopped at the end of the pit lane. However, the biggest drama of the day came when Force India development driver James Rossiter (sixth) collided with the team's front jackman upon returning to the pits. Luckily, nobody was injured as a result of the accident.
Jenson Button (seventh) was back in the cockpit for McLaren this morning, taking over from Sergio Pérez. Massa had described the McLaren driver's time as 'incredible' on the opening day, but the tables were turned this afternoon. Esteban Gutiérrez (eighth) made his first appearance of the week for Sauber, racking up 110 laps with a focus on brake materials and cooling methods. He was trailed by Marussia's Max Chilton, who bounced back from his Tuesday crash to finish within 3.5 seconds of Massa.
Valtteri Bottas, Charles Pic and Paul di Resta brought up the rear of the field, the final two drivers both suffering issues. Pic stopped at Turn 2 with a technical gremlin just before the lunch break, while di Resta was unable to complete more than 7 laps after taking over from Rossiter - the Scot's car being sidelined with an exhaust problem.
Testing day 3 :
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari F138 1:17.879 / 85 laps
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP W04 1:18.766 / + 0.887 / 148 laps
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing RB9 1:19.052 / + 1.173 / 102 laps
4. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus E21 1:19.200 / + 1.321 / 40 laps
5. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso STR8 1:19.247 / + 1.368 / 85 laps
6. James Rossiter Force India VJM06 1:19.303 / + 1.424 / 42 laps
7. Jenson Button McLaren MP4-28 1:19.603 / + 1.724 / 83 laps
8. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber C32 1:19.995 / + 2.116 / 110 laps
9. Max Chilton Marussia F1 Team MR02 1:21.454 / + 3.575 / 78 laps
10. Valtteri Bottas Williams FW34 1:21.575 / + 3.696 / 86 laps
11. Charles Pic Caterham CT03 1:22.353 / + 4.474 / 57 laps
12. Paul di Resta Force India VJM06 1:23.729 / + 5.850 / 7 laps

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News from at the Jerze Circuit :

Ecclestone calls meeting with teams
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is meeting with Team Principals on Thursday in a bid to finalise the sport's future. The 82-year-old, who has already discussed key areas such as a new Concorde deal and the V6 engine era with Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes heads, will talk to the remaining teams in London.
In addition to the Concorde Agreement - which officially binds teams to the sport - and the new turbocharged V6 engine units which are set for introduction next season, debated subjects such as the use of customer cars and entry fees will be looked at. Talking about the situation at this week's opening test in Jerez, McLaren Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh says the teams 'need to have' a new Concorde deal in place, but is unsure as to how the negotiations are going to progress as the first race approaches.
"We're good a creating crises in our sport and we're good at not sorting them out," Whitmarsh told reporters. "We need to have somebody come out and say 'peace in our time', wave a bit of paper and say 'here's a new Concorde Agreement'. We need to have that, but I'm not sure everyone is motivated to do it."
Ecclestone stated this week that the upcoming campaign will feature 19 races, with the 7 July slot remaining unfilled. The German Grand Prix, which went through a phase of uncertainty amid financial problems, has been confirmed at the Nürburgring .

Rosberg delighted with mileage total
Nico Rosberg declared himself 'very happy' after getting Mercedes's testing programme back on track at Jerez on Thursday. the German completing a total of 148 laps. After two troublesome days at the Andalusian circuit, the outfit was able to cover 655 kilometres of trouble-free running; more than two and a half race distances.
"I'm very happy with today and I think it was probably a personal record for me to do almost 150 laps," said Rosberg. "I've never been so well prepared physically as I am this season; I feel on top form and it was no problem to complete the programme.
"To drive the distance from Silverstone to Spa in one day with no problems whatsoever is a fantastic achievement from the team. It really made up for the last two days and put a smile on everybody's face."
Rosberg said he felt comfortable in the car en route to the second fastest time on Thursday, but says the team still has 'plenty of work to do' before the opening race.
"In terms of driving the car, I have a good feeling, I can push it and feel comfortable - but obviously we still have plenty of work to do to continue improving," he concluded.
Lewis Hamilton will get back behind the wheel of the F1 W04 chassis tomorrow morning, with the Briton completing the fourth and final test day for Mercedes.

Vettel - 'We've made another step forward'
Sebastian Vettel says Red Bull has made 'another step forward' with its new RB9 chassis. The reigning World Champion, who took over from team-mate Mark Webber at the Circuito de Jerez on Thursday, enjoyed a smooth introduction to his 2013 challenger, posting the third quickest time on his way to an overall lap total of 102. "So far, I think we can be pretty happy," said Vettel. "Mark had a good couple of days to start with and I took over today. It was great to get back in the car, to get rid of the rust and to get back in the groove again.
"It's an evolution and I think we've done another step forward, but that's all we can say at the moment," said Vettel. "The first feeling is good and the car is working well. It’s difficult to judge the speed, but reliability looks pretty good. For today we accomplished what we set out to achieve – which was to put a lot of laps on the car.
Despite his positive first impressions, Vettel was cautious about making any predictions for the season ahead, reiterating that tests never show the full picture.
"It’s very difficult to judge anything else," he added. "It could be that there is a favourite after these three tests, but it could turn out to be completely different in Australia because it’s a different track with different characteristics. I expect the Championship to be at least as tight as last year, as the regulations haven’t changed so much."
Vettel will bring the first pre-season test of the year to a close for Red Bull on Friday.

Jerez struggling without Alonso
Jerez is struggling without Spanish hero Fernando Alonso. The 2012 runner-up and Ferrari driver elected to sit out the opening test of the pre-season in favour of cycling training in a hot country -- possibly the Canary Islands. His absence has led to mostly "empty grandstands" as the rest of the Formula One world tests at Jerez in southern Spain, Brazil's Globo reports.
"We have 25 to 30 per cent more journalists this year," Jerez's media boss Raul Zarzuela said.
"Everyone wants to see the new cars -- it's almost like a Grand Prix," he added.
But "The absence of Alonso has hurt the interest here (in Spain)," Zarzuela admitted. "We (Spain) are in (economic) crisis, of course, but it only costs 10 euros for the whole day."

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Christian Klien 7th February 1983
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Time: 07.02.2013, 14:30)


1. F. Massa Ferrari F138 1:17,879
2. N. Rosberg Mercedes F1 W04 1:19,004
3. J. Rossiter Force India VJM06 1:19,303
4. K. Raikkonen Lotus E21 1:19,539
5. J. Button McLaren MP4-28 1:19,603
6. S. Vettel Red Bull RB9 1:19,676
7. J. E. Vergne Toro Rosso STR8 1:19,707
8. E. Gutierrez Sauber C32 1:19,995
9. V. Bottas Williams FW34 1:21,578
10. M. Chilton Marussia MR02 1:23,938
11. C. Pic Caterham CT03 1:25,365

Short News

Testing day 2 ,Grosjean fastest, Hamilton crashes at Jerez
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at Jerez, clocking a 1:18.218 to overtake Jenson Button as the overall pace-setter for the week. Paul di Resta wound up three quarters of a second adrift in second place, while Lewis Hamilton ended his day in the barriers after just 15 laps.
Similar conditions to those experienced 24 hours ago greeted the drivers this morning, with a cold start soon passing amid clear blue skies. One of the biggest stories of the day came before the on-track action started, with 2012 GP2 runner-up Luiz Razia being announced as Max Chilton's team-mate at the Marussia F1 Team.
Soon after the news broke, it was time for the test to continue. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo caused a brief red flag period early on, before the field set about their first full runs of the day. However, there was drama for Hamilton at the two-hour mark when his F1 W04 lost rear brake pressure and sent him straight into the barriers at Turn 6. The accident, which damaged the car's front wing and suspension arms, left Mercedes with no choice but to end early for the second consecutive day.
Following Hamilton's return to the pit lane, Grosjean set about delivering his promise of an 'even better' E21 performance. He wasted little time in moving to the top of the timing screens, a position he would hold and improve upon throughout the day. His personal best effort, putting him comfortably clear of nearest rivals di Resta and Ricciardo, was 0.643 seconds quicker than Button managed on Tuesday afternoon.
Webber kept a low profile in the new RB9, racking up a total of 101 laps before his team-mate Sebastian Vettel steps into the car tomorrow morning. The Red Bull man finished just ahead of Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg and the sidelined Hamilton, while McLaren's Sergio Pérez got accustomed to his new surroundings with a series of medium-length stints in the MP4-28 chassis.
Felipe Massa, who set the eighth quickest time of the day, spent his afternoon testing a number of exhaust systems on the F138. Fellow South American Pastor Maldonado completed tyre and component evaluations in the 2012 Williams, while James Rossiter made a late appearance to begin Force India's simulator correlation. Rookies Giedo van der Garde and Luiz Razia brought up the rear, the latter stopping along the pit-straight in the middle of the day and losing a large amount of track time .

1. Romain Grosjean : Lotus - E21 1:18.218 laps 95
2. Paul di Resta : Force India - VJM06 1:19.003 + 0.785 laps 95
3. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso - STR8 1:19.134 + 0.916 laps 83
4. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing - RB9 1:19.338 + 1.120 laps 101
5. Nico Hulkenberg : Sauber - C32 1:19.502 + 1.284 laps 99
6. Lewis Hamilton : Mercedes - GP W04 1:19.519 + 1.301 laps 15
7. Sergio Perez : McLaren - MP4-28 1:19.572 + 1.354 laps 81
8. Felipe Massa : Ferrari - F138 1:19.914 + 1.696 laps 78
9. Pastor Maldonado : Williams - FW34 1:20.693 + 2.475 laps 71
10. James Rossiter : Force India - VJM06 1:21.273 + 3.055 laps 19
11. Giedo van der Garde : Caterham - CT03 1:21.311 + 3.093 laps 88
12. Luiz Razia : Marussia F1 Team - MR02 1:23.537 + 5.319 laps 31

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News from at the Jerez Circuit , Spain

Razia confirmed as second Marussia driver
Luiz Razia has been confirmed as the second member of Marussia's driver line-up for 2013, with the Brazilian stepping up to secure the vacancy left by DTM-bound Timo Glock. The 23-year-old, who graduates from the GP2 Series, first enjoyed a reserve spell with the team when it was known as Virgin Racing back in 2010.
Luiz Razia: Multiple GP2 race winnerHaving finished runner-up in the GP2 category last year, Razia was one of the candidates for the initially spare seat alongside Glock. His chances appeared to be over once Max Chilton had signed, but the driver reshuffle has paved the way for his promotion.
"The past two seasons in GP2 have been all about proving that I have what it takes and that I’m ready," explained Razia, who picked up a total of four victories and a further five podium finishes in the feeder series last year. "This coming season will be all about rewarding the faith the Team have shown in me. I am looking forward to beginning that process in Jerez where we are testing the MR02 for the first time.
"I am also looking forward to the first race in Melbourne and I’m excited to be racing alongside Max, who I competed ‘against’ last season. This is an important year for the Marussia F1 Team in terms of maintaining the momentum from a very positive 2012 season. I look forward to making a valuable contribution to that."
Marussia Team Principal John Booth believes that although his team will be running an all-rookie pairing this season, both men have an 'incredibly ambitious' attitude.
"He is a very quick and tenacious driver who battled hard to the runner-up spot last year," Booth said of his latest signing. "Together with Max, we are fielding a young but incredibly ambitious pairing and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve."
Razia will get his first taste of Marussia's new MR02 chassis on Wednesday morning, with the team managing to recover from the rear-right suspension failure suffered by Chilton on the first day of testing.
Razia has tested for Virgin Racing (Marussia), Team Lotus (Caterham), Toro Rosso and Force India during dedicated Formula 1 test days over the past three seasons.

Hamilton crashes on first day at Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton crashed during his first official day of testing for Mercedes at Jerez, with the 2008 World Champion losing rear brake pressure at the wheel of the new F1 W04 on the approach to the Dry Sack corner. It is currently unclear whether or not the Briton will be able to make it back out on-track in the afternoon session.
"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 after the accident.
Moments before the crash occurred, Hamilton had posted his personal best time of the day, which stands as a 1:19.519. Locking up after the long back straight due to his now confirmed brake issue, the former McLaren driver slid uncontrollably through the gravel and hit the trackside barriers head-on. He stepped out of his car unharmed, but there was notable damage to the front wing and suspension setup of the F1 W04.
Hamilton's off-track moment follows on from team-mate Nico Rosberg's Tuesday gremlins, when a panel at the rear of the team's new car set alight. This was later put down to a wiring loom issue, which restricted the team's Day 1 running to just 11 laps .

Pirelli has done a great job, says Button
Jenson Button has praised Pirelli for doing 'a great job' with its new tyre compounds, explaining that the company's target of increasing temperature operating windows has beeen accomplished. The McLaren driver, who topped the opening day of pre-season testing at Jerez, says optimal lap times are now much easier to achieve.
"It will be tricky again in terms of laps and degradation, but Pirelli has done a great job getting a wider range for the tyres," Button told the official Formula 1 website after driving the MP4-28 for the first time. "One thing that I have noticed - you are able to go fast immediately, even on lap one. That is something that we couldn’t do last year." Button also mentioned the high level of degradation he experienced on Tuesday, with Pirelli vowing to remove the possibility of one-stop races throughout the 2013 season.
"When I ran the Super Soft doing some basic installations I was graining the tyres after one lap, so yes, this compound deserves the name Super Soft!" he added. "We also ran the Medium and Hard tyres and it’s a different feeling compared to last year." Button, who has brought his motorhome to the Circuit de Jerez for the duration of the test, will be back behind the wheel of McLaren's latest design on Wednesday.

Mercedes to sit out rest of second day
Mercedes has been forced to finish early for the second day in a row at Jerez, with the team needing to carry out repairs to its F1 W04 after Lewis Hamilton's crash. The Briton, who was completing his first offcial laps for the team, suffered a loss of rear brake pressure before the Dry Sack bend and slid into the barriers.
After inspecting the F1 W04, which was returned to the pit lane on a flat-bed truck, Mercedes mechanics confirmed damage to front-left aerodynamic elements and suspension arms. Although this could be fixed in time for the afternoon session, a more serious hydraulic issue was also picked up and has ruled out further running.
Hamilton had completed a total of 15 laps at the wheel before his accident, which occurred shortly before 11am local time (GMT +1). Following on from new team-mate Nico Rosberg's troubled 14-lap debut with the F1 W04 on the first day of the Jerez gathering, the grand testing total for Mercedes currently stands at just 29 laps.

'My feeling is very positive' – Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton was left encouraged by the pace of the new Mercedes F1 W04 at Jerez on Wednesday, despite being restricted to just 15 laps behind the wheel. The Briton, who described his initial feeling in the car as 'very positive', ended his day in the barriers after a rear brake failure on the run down to the Turn 6 hairpin.
"We had a good start but then unfortunately we had a failure which brought our day to an early end," explained Hamilton, who finished sixth on the timing screens. "These things happen and it's all part of testing. Of course, it's better that we get these small issues out of the way sooner rather than later, and the guys are working really hard to overcome them.
"From the few short laps that I completed this morning, my general feeling was very positive. I got a good understanding of where the base of the car is and, whilst we need to do work in certain areas, it was good to have some laps to get a feel for what those areas are. I've told the guys that we just need to keep pushing and I know we all will be doing that."
Hamilton, who clocked a best time of 1:19.519, will hand the car back to team-mate Nico Rosberg on Thursday, before returning to the cockpit for the final day of the test.

Successful second day for Hülkenberg
Nico Hülkenberg enjoyed more trouble-free running in Sauber's new C32 chassis on Wednesday, racking up a total of 438 kilometres (272 miles) at the Jerez circuit. The German, who finished fifth on the timesheets with his best effort of 1:19.502, spent the majority of the day focusing on comparisons with Pirelli's tyre compounds.
"For the second day in a row it was pretty successful," Hülkenberg commented. "We went through a lot of items and did a comparison of the compounds - Soft, Medium and Hard - which was quite interesting. "Otherwise I continued my familiarisation with the car and I did some long runs. Like yesterday, it was a positive day."
Hülkenberg will now make way for Mexican team-mate Esteban Gutiérrez, who is set to complete the remaining two days of the opening pre-season test for Sauber.

Car changes delay Ferrari's progress
Felipe Massa spent more time than he had initially anticipated confined to his garage on Wednesday, with the Ferrari driver being given the task of working through a range of aerodynamic and exhaust configurations on the new F138 chassis at Jerez. Having to wait for significant changes to be made on numerous occasions, Massa was unable to complete a flying lap until the afternoon session. However, according to the Brazilian, the final few hours of track action yielded three 'very important' runs.
"We concentrated 100 percent on the aerodynamic side and on the exhausts," Massa said of his day. "In the morning, I didn’t even do a flying lap because we used the time available to do constant speed runs and to analyse various aerodynamic solutions.
"All the changes to the car took longer than planned, but in the afternoon, I managed to do three long runs which were very important in order to understand which direction we need to follow in the coming days."
Massa finished his day at the wheel eighth fastest, completing a total of 78 laps. He will get behind the wheel of the F138 for the third time this week on Thursday, before Ferrari's new development driver, Pedro de la Rosa, takes over for the final day.

Grosjean upbeat after Jerez performance
Romain Grosjean has been filled with optimism after completing two successful days of pre-season testing for Lotus at the Circuito de Jerez, with the Frenchman handing over to team-mate Kimi Räikkönen as the 2013 pace-setter at the Andalusian circuit. Despite admitting to a small amount of uncertainty over the new Pirelli tyres, Grosjean says he instantly felt comfortable in the E21 chassis; guiding it to a time of 1:18.218 on Wednesday afternoon, 0.643 seconds faster than Jenson Button's previous best.
"It was good today; the programme went to plan and we showed good reliability," explained Grosjean, who racked up 149 laps at Jerez. "For me, the whole test has gone well which bodes well for the year ahead. My feeling in the car is good and it was great to be at the top of the times. Even if it doesn't mean anything during testing, it's still good to be at the front.
"We used the Soft, Medium and Hard compounds and whilst we're not 100 percent yet on the differences between each we have a good idea. Kimi will be working on this area so we'll have a better understanding when we head to Barcelona (for the second pre-season test). It's not easy to understand everything about the car and tyres yet, but I think we're working quite well and it's up to us to find the best solutions."
Räikkönen will conduct the final two days of testing for Lotus at Jerez this week, where he is set to work with new Chief Race Engineer Ciaron Pilbeam for the first time.

Red Bull 'in a better position' than 2012
Red Bull's Mark Webber believes his team is in a better position than it was at this stage last year, describing two 'very good' days behind the wheel of the RB9 at the Circuito de Jerez. The Australian will make way for team-mate Sebastian Vettel on Thursday and is confident that the German driver will inherit a well prepared car.
"I think in terms of consistency it’s great," explained 36-year-old Webber, who ended up fourth quickest at the end of Wednesday's track action. "I’m very happy with the car and myself. I might have bombed a few laps here and there, but I’ve done 170 or more, which is a good total for the first two days with a new car. Overall, it’s been very good. The car gives me the confidence to push pretty hard and that’s always an indication that you have something you can build on.
"We’ve learned a lot more since yesterday and I’m sure that will continue tomorrow with Sebastian. I think we’ve put the car in a good position for him. If you ask me where I think we are compared to this time last year, I’d say we’re in a better position, but of course a lot of that is down to a lack of regulation changes."
Webber completed the first two days of testing at Jerez with new race engineer Simon Rennie, the man who served the same role for Kimi Räikkönen at Lotus in 2012.

Williams hoping to make up for lost time
Williams is looking to claw back lost mileage at Jerez later this week, with its 2012 car suffering a clutch problem on Wednesday. Opting to launch its new design at the second pre-season test in Barcelona, the Grove-based outfit has been focusing on tyre and aerodynamic evaluations with Pastor Maldonado over the past two days.
"We had a clutch installation problem this morning which was a bit disappointing considering it was the same as we ran last season," explained Technical Director Mike Coughlan. "We quickly remedied this but it lost us time during our aero evaluations. We will look to recover this time over the next two days.
"This afternoon the focus was back on tyre work; we also made some set-up changes which has given us a good direction for the new car. The new technical team is working well and we will now prepare to change drivers with Valtteri (Bottas) taking over for the final two days, something he is very much looking forward to."
Williams will launch its new car, entitled the FW35, at the Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday 19 February, shortly before the second pre-season test gets underway.

Pérez instantly feels MP4-28's potential
Sergio Pérez says he felt ‘good potential’ from McLaren’s new MP4-28 as soon as he left the pit lane at Jerez on Wednesday, with the Mexican getting his 2013 testing programme underway at the Spanish circuit. The 23-year-old notched up 81 laps on his way to seventh on the timesheets, 1.5 seconds off Romain Grosjean’s lead pace.
"The feedback is good straight away," he said. "When I drove out of the garage and did the first laps I knew that this car has good potential. We don't know how competitive we are, but the car feels quite good.
"We've got a lot of work to do during the next five days (of testing) that we have. We have to keep our heads down as I think we are going in the right direction. Today we managed to do a good programme and hopefully we can do the same over the next five days for the start of the season."
Pérez went on to explain that it is almost impossible to compare the MP4-28 with Sauber’s 2012 car due to the new Pirelli tyres and the unique nature of the Jerez circuit, but admitted that McLaren is in good shape mechanically and aerodynamically.
"It's difficult for me to compare the cars right now because we have different tyres and Jerez is a very different type of circuit," he added. "But I think the mechanical grip is good and also the aero is very complete, so I'm happy with the car I've got."
Pérez will hand the MP4-28 chassis back to new team-mate Jenson Button on Thursday, before stepping into the cockpit again for the final day of the Jerez gathering.

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Shaky-Schumi