Formula One Testing Underway at Jerez

Drawing conclusions from the first test of the new F1 season is never a simple task, but has been made all the more difficult this year by a raft of new regulations in the most comprehensive overhaul of the rulebook in recent times.  James Newbold takes a look at the goings on in Jerez.

It’s a new look and new sound for Formula One in 2014, as out go the well-established and reliable howling V8 units, in favour of the torquey V6 turbos.  As the sport attempts to move with the times, enhanced energy recovery systems (ERS) play a more prominent role than ever before, producing around 160bhp extra boost, which, combined with reduced aerodynamics and new-spec tyres from Pirelli, makes the cars something of a handful to drive; a fact Sauber’s Adrian Sutil would discover to his chagrin on Thursday...  Meanwhile, impact safety requirements deem that the front noses have been lowered in an attempt to prevent cars launching into the air – as Mark Webber did at Valencia in 2010 – dramatically altering their appearance in the process.  Several cars, the Toro Rosso and Force India especially, have been singled out for criticism for their vulgar anteater-style noses, with Ann Summers even taking to Twitter to mock F1’s new look.

The sight of an RB10 running cleanly
was a rarity at Jerez. (Credit: Octane Photographic)

At this early stage, laptimes are largely irrelevant as the teams get their new mounts up to speed, with the Ferrari and Mercedes powered teams benefiting from favourable reliability to rack up the mileage and gather as much data as possible. But whilst Mercedes, despite a front-wing failure which pitched Lewis Hamilton into the barriers on Tuesday, were able to complete over 300 laps, Red Bull-Renault suffered a disastrous start, with myriad overheating issues restricting four-time champion Sebastien Vettel and Toro Rosso graduate Daniel Ricciardo to just 21 laps over the four days.  Considerable updates are expected from design guru Adrian Newey ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16^th. 

Felipe Massa showed there is life
after Ferrari after all. (Credit: Octane Photographic)

Jerez was the first chance to see some of the new team and driver combinations in action, albeit with the exception of Lotus, who were forced to skip the test and will inevitably be playing catch-up with only 8 days of testing remaining before Melbourne.

2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen got his second Ferrari career off to the best possible start with the fastest time on the opening day, despite being forced to stop on his very first lap out of the pits in the morning, while the man he replaced at the Maranello as Fernando Alonso’s team-mate, Felipe Massa, bedded in well at Williams-Mercedes by topping the times on Friday.  

After their worst season in thirty years in 2013, McLaren were quickest on Wednesday and Thursday with 2009 champion Jenson Button and rookie team-mate Kevin Magnussen respectively, although the Dane, a long-time McLaren protégé who won the Formula Renault 3.5 championship in 2013, blotted his copybook with a crash on the final day.  The Woking-based team also confirmed former Lotus team principal Eric Boullier as Racing Director, following the dramatic news that Ron Dennis will return as Group CEO.

Nico Rosberg completed the most number of
 laps, 188, for Mercedes. (Credit: Octane Photographic)

Elsewhere, GP2 graduate Marcus Ericsson and the ever-popular Kamui Kobayashi made their Caterham debuts, the latter after a year away from F1 racing for Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship, with cash-strapped star of the future Robin Frijns also making his third driver bow in the green machine.  Highly-rated DTM racer Daniel Juncadella did likewise at Force India, who welcome back Nico Hulkenberg back into the fold after a year’s hiatus at Sauber, with McLaren refugee Sergio Perez replacing Paul di Resta in the second car.

Perennial tailenders Marussia also unveiled their new mount at Jerez, and will be hoping that the retained partnership of Ferrari protégé Jules Bianchi and Britain’s Max Chilton can capitalise on others unreliability in the early races to score the team's first ever points.

The next test takes place in Bahrain on February 19^th, where patterns should start to emerge…