Fernando Alonso managed to brighten Ferrari’s spirits before the opening test of the 2012 test concluded.
His best time in Friday’s proceedings was set with soft tyres and still shy of the promising Lotus’ earlier pace, but it nonetheless triggered sighs of relief within the Maranello ranks after a troubled early start.

“At the beginning of the test we had arrived and put our wheels on the ground and were slower than we expected,” Alonso is quoted by Italy’s Autosprint.

“We had to change the way we were working with the car and we are still learning; we will come to Barcelona more prepared.”

“In four days we went from black to white,” Alonso is quoted in Spanish by El Mundo, “but we still have a lot of work to do, particularly on the reliability.”

He is quoted by AS newspaper: “Where will we be in Melbourne? No idea.

“From what we have seen so far, the highlight of the car is that it heats up the tyres so that you can use them to the maximum from the first lap, which is something we could not do last season.

“We still have much to do in the area of the aerodynamics and, above all, the reliability.”

Alonso – like Ferrari in general – is a regular critic of F1′s testing limitations and he admitted it may be a factor in getting the all-new F2012 ready for Melbourne.

“Unfortunately there are only two more tests, which is one less than last year. At Montmelo (Barcelona) we need to be doing at least 100 laps (per day).

“At the moment we are at maybe 20 per cent of what we need to do (before the season) overall.”

After step noses and clever exhausts, the latest buzzword in the Jerez paddock is ‘Lotus’.
The former Renault team is turning heads with its new black and gold E20 car, which has been consistently the quickest 2012 car throughout the opening test of the pre-season.

“I am one of the happiest guys in the world right now,” said Romain Grosjean on Thursday after easily outpacing Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

The reigning GP2 champion was also quicker than the 2012 McLaren, steered for the first time on Thursday by Lewis Hamilton.

“The Lotus looks quite impressive,” said Briton Hamilton.

Drawing conclusions based on test results is an unreliable practice, but the body language in the Lotus garage so far is confident.

“At the moment they are quicker and more consistent.

“There are more question marks about us, Ferrari and McLaren,” said Vettel.

“For the first test it looks good,” team boss Eric Boullier admitted to Finnish broadcaster MTV3, “but still you can’t really speculate on anything.

“Between here and Melbourne, all the cars will change a lot.

“It is true that today we have a good car, we are able to drive a lot of laps and that is why we are at the front,” he added.

After watching the action trackside from a corner, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg told Auto Motor und Sport that the E20 is “a missile with an incredible amount of grip”.

“The Red Bull and the Lotus make the best impression,” agreed 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, who is also at Jerez.

Hamilton described Grosjean’s best time – 1.18.4 – as “good”, while Red Bull’s Webber wanted to know what compound of Pirelli tyre was fitted to the Lotus.

Told it was the medium, the Australian admitted: “Then it was a very good lap.”

Grosjean smiled: “The car is easy to drive and predictable everywhere, especially in the fast corners, and when you go over the limit it is easy to get back.”

Said Webber: “If Grosjean can do those laptimes then we will all have to watch Kimi (Raikkonen).”

Forecasts based on early test results are usually unreliable, but a picture of the 2012 pecking order may already be emerging.
On Wednesday at Jerez, Michael Schumacher moved to the top of the times in last year’s Mercedes, followed by Mark Webber in Red Bull’s new title-defending RB8.

“The car was pretty competitive in winter testing last year and it’s the same again this year,” said the Australian driver.

Much more than a second off the pace, meanwhile, was the radical new Ferrari, whose Felipe Massa could not conceal his negative body-language when speaking with the press.

While he said the F2012 has “enormous potential”, expert observers report that he was fighting notably with the handling of the car around the southern Spanish venue.

“There is a lot of work to be done, perhaps more than we expected,” acknowledged the Brazilian.

“It is a very, very, very different car,” Spain’s El Mundo newspaper quotes him as saying.

Italian veteran Jarno Trulli, however – a permanent fixture on the grid since the mid 90s – scoffed at those who are already picking winners and losers.

“Are you kidding?” he said in La Repubblica newspaper. “Only a fool would look at the times in the first days of testing.”

Nevertheless, the paddock rumour mill is buzzing, including with suggestions Schumacher’s best time was boosted by highly competitive components destined for his so-far unrevealed 2012 Mercedes.

Another rumour is that the W03, to also be raced by Nico Rosberg, is ready to test but Mercedes is holding back a radical secret weapon at the front of the car.

Webber, however, dismissed Schumacher’s quick time.

“With the Brazil version of our previous car I would have done a time in the 1.16s,” he laughed, apparently scoffing at Schumacher’s mid-1.18 best.

Even the seven time world champion admitted Wednesday’s result is not a sign of things to come.

“I don’t think we can realistically achieve a championship car from where we started last year,” said the 43-year-old German.

Fernando Alonso: – 4th: “It was important to get onto the front two rows, as it’s easier to fight for a good result from here. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two vertical lines of the grid because the ideal line on the start-finish straight goes down the middle, so both sides are quite dirty. In fact the dirt off the racing line could be a problem for overtaking with whoever initiates the move having to give it everything without hesitating. So far, this weekend has gone as expected and now we will try and do a good job tomorrow. It would be very nice to bring home one of the trophies that will be handed out to those who make it to the podium on Formula 1′s debut in India. I came very close to the front row, which is a bit of a surprise. In recent qualifying sessions, we have not managed to get as close as this to our main rivals and already yesterday we looked reasonably competitive. Usually, on Sunday our performance level is better but that does not automatically mean that we will be fighting for the win. There are too many unknowns, even more than usual and then, we have seen how things can change from one track to another. In Suzuka, we came within a whisker of the win and in Singapore we were not competitive. We will be doing our best, that’s for sure.”

Felipe Massa – 6th: “What happened on my last timed lap was a real shame. Today, we had the potential to secure a good placing, as Fernando demonstrated and as can also be seen from the fact my sixth best time was set with a rather slow third sector. I came into Turn 8 and went over the kerb and the front right suspension gave way in the impact with the raised orange part, which in my opinion is too high at this point. It’s a very fast corner, taken at around 215 km/h and it could be arranged differently. These are details that need improving for next year. I repeat, I am disappointed, because the car has been going well all weekend long. Now I find myself with one less set of Softs and with a broken front wing. It was the new one, which we had here for the first time and it delivered a bit extra in terms of performance. Tomorrow, overtaking will be difficult because of the dirt on track, but I think we will still see a lot.”

Stefano Domenicali: “First of all, I wish to congratulate the organisers of this Grand Prix. Bringing Formula 1 to India is a great achievement and they and Bernie Ecclestone deserve the credit for it. This country is growing rapidly, even if there are sharp contrasts, but never before have we seen our sport welcomed with such enthusiasm and interest from the general public. As for qualifying, I have to say our car’s overall performance was good: being less than a tenth off the front row – Vettel was once again untouchable – means that we are not looking too bad at this track. We are obviously disappointed for Felipe, who has been very quick all weekend: accidents like this can happen, but the important thing is that the driver is fine. Usually, our race pace is better than our outright performance in qualifying: let’s hope that is also the case tomorrow and we can leave India with a good result under our belt.”

Pat Fry: “I don’t know if our mechanics will take home happy memories of this race, because we’ve definitely given them a lot to do over the past two days. Yesterday, there was an unexpected engine change on Fernando’s car and today we have to repair Felipe’s car. As for the performance we saw in qualifying, the verdict is reasonably positive. The 150º Italia proved to be very competitive in the first two sectors of the track and given its characteristics, the performance in the second is encouraging. However, we struggled a bit more in the last one, especially when compared to Vettel’s Red Bull. The new front wing allows more room to manoeuvre when it comes to aerodynamic balance, which is always positive. The Soft tyres seem to be at their best on the second timed lap and degradation appears to be lower than expected and similar to what we saw in Korea, where the track was equally smooth. We need to find the best strategy and, in Felipe’s case, minimise the loss of one set of Softs which were damaged in the accident.”

Pastor Maldonado – 14th: The track was getting better and better every lap today so you really needed to be on track at the right time. My engineers achieved that with our qualifying strategy and the set-up we had worked. We had good race pace in the last few events, and we are close to the top ten, so tomorrow we will fight!

Rubens Barrichello – 16th: I was happy with the balance of the car on the first set of tyres and set my best time with those. When I changed to the new set, the car didn’t feel as hooked up and the grip wasn’t really there which was strange. It should be a good race tomorrow; the cars around us seem to be very close, so let’s see.

Mark Gillan, Chief Operations Engineer: Overall that was a reasonably pleasing day with both drivers doing well. Pastor managed to maximise the current performance of the car, qualifying in what will be P13, with Rubens close behind in P15.

Mercedes has not ruled out extending its contract with Michael Schumacher.

Currently, despite his disappointing return to F1 last year, the seven time world champion’s deal is not set to expire until the end of next season.

But Norbert Haug, German marque Mercedes’ competition director, admitted to Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he can imagine teaming up with the famous 42-year-old in 2013 as well.

“If Michael wants it and we can agree on a right price — with pleasure,” said Haug.

After fitting a late and major upgrade for the W02 car, Mercedes had a strong end to the 2011 pre-season period.

“Michael looks really strong,” admitted team boss Ross Brawn.  “He could surprise some people this year.”

Before leaving Barcelona where the last winter test before the Australian season opener is held, Schumacher smiled as he admitted his best time was “not bad”.

“On the favourites list, they are now climbing to the top,” admitted Red Bull’s reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Referring to the final Barcelona test, former triple world champion and commentator Niki Lauda said: “It was a big step forward.  The times were great.”

A time for “pole position”. In Sepang Dani Pedrosa , who in front of everyone in a Grand Prix in Malaysia had started in 2007-2008, the protagonist returns to MotoGP standing out just 2’00 “770 in the second day of testing. The engine of evolution “has enabled him to make a difference, pulling 6 / 10 of his first follower, the new team-mate Casey Stoner, really doing in the selection list of the times.

For the rider in MotoGP since 2006 with Repsol Honda’s possible to still improve for tomorrow, even if the time is right to be satisfied and confident the new RC212V was born well and seems almost impregnable.

” This morning, after only 4 laps I was able to do this time , “says Dani Pedrosa. ” I was not trying time, but the weather, with some fresh, allowed me to push, do not think I’ve ever shot so strong on this track.

Traveling to the limit you can understand at what point is the bike and the goodness of the changes made, and this can be met. Today I tried the new engine, chassis and shock absorber settings: tomorrow will compare the two bikes available, the goal is to get a choice of chassis and engine in preparation for upcoming tests on the calendar . “

Gary Paffett on Friday said F1′s new Pirelli tyre is “not too different” from the product supplied in 2010 by the now departed Bridgestone.

At Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit, the two-day Pirelli test began, with teams and race drivers including new world champion Sebastian Vettel getting their first taste of the sport’s new rubber.

At the end of the day, the best time was Felipe Massa’s 1.40.1 — a significant feat for the Brazilian after struggling with the Bridgestone tyre this year.

Indeed, Renault chief engineer Alan Permane reported that the Pirelli’s had suffered from “no warm-up issues”, which had been a significant problem for drivers including Massa in 2010.

Vettel was also in the 1.40s on Friday.

That is about 2 seconds slower than Daniel Ricciardo’s Bridgestone-shod time set in the Red Bull earlier this week, although it must be noted that most teams were also running with the new mandatory weight distribution setup for 2011.

“The tyres seem to be working well and not too different from Bridgestone, so a good start,” said Gary Paffett, who has tested the 2010 McLaren with both Pirelli and Bridgestone tyres this week.

Red Bull will have to keep delivering a top car to Sebastian Vettel, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has admitted.

The 23-year-old, groomed through the ranks by the energy drinks company, became F1′s youngest ever world champion against the odds in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

“He will be a world champion a few times more,” said Austrian billionaire Mateschitz on Austrian television ORG, “provided he is sitting in the right car.

“We will do our best to give that car to him,” he added.

“If we are not able to, we will have to let him go somewhere where he can be champion again,” said Mateschitz.

Vettel’s current contract runs only to the end of next year, with an option for 2012, but Red Bull has expressed interest in extending the deal through 2015.

His next agreement will be worth much more money, Willi Weber has warned.

But he thinks Vettel has missed out on F1′s headiest days of driver earning power.

“I have a feeling that Michael (Schumacher) and I had the best time in F1, with which you can no longer compare,” the famous driver manager told SID news agency.

“Today there is less money available,” added Weber.

The opening sector of the Yeongam circuit in Korea looks set to be a headache for Red Bull this weekend.

Although grounded for most of the opening session on Friday with mechanics working at the rear of his car, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton still managed to top the timing sheet.

The fastest Red Bull was Sebastian Vettel’s, half a second behind and fourth, with the now extremely-efficient F-duct on Renault propelling Robert Kubica to the second best time.

The problem for Red Bull in the first sector is the ultra-long straight, with Ferrari also proving faster there.

“Sector one doesn’t look like our home ground,” agreed Vettel, “but I think sector two and sector three should give us a possibility to catch up.”

His teammate Mark Webber, recalling August’s Belgian grand prix where Hamilton won, added: “It was the same at Spa. We knew that we were going to be quite vulnerable up the hill there.”

Indeed, in Korea, the MP4-25 reached 316kph on the long straight, nearly 10kph faster than Red Bull’s RB6.

Casey Stoner with a way for a World Champion as Jorge Lorenzo was impossible to try to beat him today in qualifying at Phillip Island official. In the race for the pole the Yamaha rider could only settle for second best time in Australia’s six tenths off pole, trying to get it right, finding a good compromise in the best way to continue an extraordinary season by winning in 6 days the world title.

“I am happy with my race pace and here is something new for me because I never went well here in MotoGP, “says Jorge Lorenzo. “I think we did a good job, especially taking into account climatic conditions.

Obviously I wanted the pole position, but the rain and Stoner not allowed me to reach this goal: Casey in particular, it is fast. However, we have the second half and this is not bad, I have a lot of confidence after last weekend when I won the championship.

Hopefully the weather is the same as today or maybe even better, there is just the rain with these conditions, however, is very risky to run, there is very cold and windy and sometimes it was hard to stay in the saddle. In any case, expect to see what happens tomorrow, I am ready and I just want to have fun. “

On the track where he began winning the World Superbike Superpole victory in Race 2, Ben Spies was also the protagonist of the official MotoGP qualifying at Phillip Island. Third time for a front row a little surprise, made-race condition in the future so as to render official Yamaha rider very confident and satisfied with this result. For tomorrow there will be an opportunity if the target is the podium, but with only two races to win the title of best rookie season of 2010.

“I am very happy to be back in the front row, although I am a little surprised, “said Ben Spies. “My race pace at the beginning of session made me happy, although every time I tried to go faster in the latter part of the track appeared to me a few drops of rain on the visor of my helmet. Each time was like this: warm up the tires, but when I arrived at the first corner to start a fast lap I realized that there was no possibility of a clean lap.

Of course I did not want to take big risks knowing they are already close to the front row, but eventually I managed to get the third best time, in fact, was obtained in race trim. I am confident because overall it was a good session, so if we can put everything together, we can point to a good result, perhaps to fight for the podium.

Here, the bike is really good, I have a good pace, I just try to render the best the whole package in anticipation of the last laps of the race. The goal for tomorrow is to make sure in advance the title of Rookie of the Year, was another box ticked in this successful season, “said Spies that just before Simoncelli stars to reach this goal.

Formula 1 is perhaps a chaotic before qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, as the meteorologists expect heavy rain. Already in the morning it rained during the 3rd Free practice without ceasing.

On the route so much water was that the pilots only partially cleared and your car does not even completed a timed lap. Under such conditions, to a regular qualifying out of the question.

At the end there were only two pilots, who are ever a time on paper. Jaime Toro Rosso 1:55.902 Alguersuari in the minutes of the “Fastest”, Timo Glock was in the Virgin followed with 11.595 seconds behind.
The only time pilots without having more than one round of Sébastien Buemi (Toro Rosso, three rounds) were Nico Hulkenberg (Williams, two laps), Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes, three rounds), Robert Kubica (Renault, two laps) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes, three rounds).

Formula 2 champion Dean Stoneman gets a prize for his title win a Formula 1 test in a Williams and a FIA Super Licence
Dean Stoneman has stood down yesterday as the new Formula 2 champion and therefore can now make the next career step thoughts. This is definitely a formula – even if only for a day. Expected at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi will be sitting in the Brit Williams.

For the FIA as a prize for the championship not only an F1 super license, but also a day of testing in the Williams does not. Last year Andy Soucek was able to enjoy this pleasure, the Spaniard was able to use his chance despite day’s best time but not in Jerez de la Frontera and missed the jump in a Grand Prix cockpit. Even his Virgin contract as test driver has now been resolved.
“To come into Formula 1,” said Stoneman, “was always my big dream. To this I am now one step closer.’s Hard to say what to expect there, but it is a fantastic opportunity, a Williams Formula to test-a-car. Hopefully I can prove myself, I’ll just fly and do what I do best: get in the car and drive as fast as I can. ”

Series Promoter Jonathan Palmer is also pleased with Stoneman, although that has beaten in the title fight just his son Jolyon: “Dean has made this season a great job and is certainly a worthy Formula 2 champion,” said the former Grand Prix driver ( 83 Rennteilnahmen 1983-1989). “He is an exceptional talent, extremely fast, a tough competitor and, moreover, very consistent.”

“I am very confident that Dean will provide the high standard of competition in Formula 2 demonstrated by the Williams test delivers an impressive performance,” shows the Formula 2 boss confidence in his new hope. “The fact that the affordable and balanced starter box, Dean has given the opportunity to demonstrate his talent, without a big budget, have certainly others will be inspired.”

A few laps of running in post-vacation, but at the end Jorge Lorenzo could not find the command of the standings after the first round of testing at Brno on the track where it has never finished on the podium in MotoGP has marked the best time the day in 1’57 “215 just found a good balance and rhythm of his Yamaha M1.

‘It’s always hard to get back on track after the holidays, especially in a circuit different from that at Laguna Seca, where we ran the last time, “says Lorenzo. “Brno is a difficult track, but when you find the pace the session was good, I felt good riding my bike had a good base setting.

Met opening, as for all the MotoGP riders are two unknowns: the tires and the meteorological conditions that appear to promise anything good for the rest of the weekend.

“I managed to try the two rear tires that Bridgestone brought here, but I need more time to choose. The rain allowed us to find all the information needed for this choice, so we have to wait until tomorrow, but I hope it is dry and that we can continue the work we begin today, “said the leader of the world.