Christian Horner has admitted Red Bull is keeping its cards close to its chest ahead of the 2012 season.
Under the glare of the F1 world’s eyes, the title-defending RB8 has been in action for four days at Jerez recently.

But when the Adrian Newey-penned car was officially launched, the team refused to host a traditional unveiling ceremony, instead releasing a short animated video.

“We didn’t want it photographed at the first opportunity from every side by our competition,” admitted team boss Horner to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Amid Red Bull’s meteoric recent success, rival teams have copied the blown diffuser and flexible wing concepts, and this year’s ‘step’ noses are all the result of yet another Newey design philosophy beneath the chassis.

“At last year’s launch at Valencia there were 100 photographers all doing their shots from the roof of the pits,” Briton Horner exclaimed.

“In no time at all, everyone knew every dimension of our car.”

So, in 2012, some mysteries about the RB8 continue to exist — one is the real or secondary function of the letterbox-style nose slot, and another is an unlaunched development of the exhaust layout.

“Last year we had to have the blown diffuser out early,” explained Horner, “because we had to find out how the exhaust gases affected the tyres.

“This time, the secret is in the detail, and you don’t want to give your competition too much of a helping hand,” he smiled.

With a completely dry Jerez circuit, all the cars are now unveiling in dry.  However, during the morning, the times started to drop.  Button, Alonso and Webber are competing to clock the fastest lap.  McLaren is currently leading at the top of the timesheet with 1:20.394 – a second faster than the best time we have seen in Jerez up to now.

A mechanical failure of Webber, just after 12:00 PM, affected the Red Bull program and caused the red flag of the fifth day.  On the other hand, Di Grassi did not arrive to the party on time, because by the beginning of the morning he had not finished a complete lap and is again 11 seconds behind the best time.  Lotus is the only racing team that has not timed to this moment, but hopes its gearbox problem is solved and his pilot is determined to take the track this evening.

Williams has begun its box stop testing, and reports point out that Hulkenberg will do a simulation race this evening if the sky remains so clear.

Everything is trouble-free with Mercedes:  Schumacher arrived late to the circuit, and ran few laps.  At lunch time, Toro Rosso had completed most of the laps (64) while Kobayashi in the Sauber the least (6).  This is contrary to the announcement made that said that the racing team was waiting for good weather to run many miles.

MORNING TIMES
.1. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:20.394 (50 laps)
.2. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:21.684 (46)
.3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:21.771 (72)
.4. Robert Kubica (Renault) 1:21.915 (49)
.5. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 1:21.919 (37)
.6. Adrian Sutil (Force Inidia) 1:21.985 (39)
.7. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) 1:22.973 (64)
.8. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) 1:23.634 (77)
.9. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:25.818 (6)
10. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 1:26.327 (20)
11. Lucas di Grassi (Virgin) 1:31.670 (22)

In the evening, Ferrari has hurried to clarify that the F10 problems had nothing to do with the new chassis that Felipe Massa unveiled yesterday.  As a matter of fact, they declared it was time to prepare for Bahrain, making clear that the initial tests were surmounted.

After Massa slid off the track, Vettel improved his time (1:28.162), leaving Red Bull in the third position of the timesheet.  After that lap, the red flag stopped everything; the marshals had to clean the racetrack a bit because when Massa slid off his car, the racetrack received some gravel.

A severe rain showered the racetrack again, with strong winds of 50km/h. which enjoyed the passing by of the single-seaters through the Jerez de la Frontera single-seaters.  Timo Glock did not let the command go as had been rumored and he rolled during the evening, which Lotus could not do, after Kovalainen’s incident where the front wing of the single-seater was destroyed.

Again, under the rain, Barrichello’s Williams was the one that ran more and better in the curvy racetrack of Jerez.  Meanwhile, Buemi, Hamilton, Pretrov and Glock went out to the circuit to take advantage of the last minutes of the day.

Nonetheless, they were not lucky, because again, there was a severe rainstorm that made it impossible to roll at too much rhythm.  So much so that Glock’s Virgin stopped at the first curve, finishing his session before the time.

Another day marked by the rain that altered the programmed unveiling plans and the single-seaters evolution.  Forecast are not better for tomorrow.

Thursday’s Final Times in Jerez

1. Barrichello 1:271.45 (74 lap)
2. Petrov 1:27.828 (34 lap)
3. Vettel 1:28.162 (49 lap)
4. Massa 1:28.879 (46 lap)
5. Rosberg 1:28.964 (41 lap)
6. De la Rosa 1:29.691 (8 lap)
7. Di resta 1:30.344 (33 lap)
8. Glock 1:31.557 (41 lap)
9. Hamilton 1:31.692 (44 lap)
10. Buemi 1:32.678 (43 lap)
11. Kovalainen 1:33.554 (30 lap)

Today, Thursday, the unveilings have restarted with rain after yesterday’s unpredictable day.  A of 10 AM, rainstorm limited the unveilings at Jerez; none could complete 30 laps.  A little while after 11 AM, the severe storm caused stagnant water in the racetrack generating a red flag.

As a result, times are even more diverse than yesterday’s, with Felipe Massa leading the timesheet previous to the rainfall.  The only team that made a remarkable progress was Virgin, with Timo Glock driving up to 26 wet laps.

On its part, Lotus, seems to have stepped backwards and no time has been registered up to now.  For a few moments, at the Lotus box, fire was seen coming out from under the engine’s cover, but the team has not yet announced the reason.

Renault has not established a lap time neither at the beginning of the session.  Vitaly Petrov continues his second consecutive testing day under the rain.

The teams gathered again on a wet racetrack on the second testing day and more precipitation is expected for tomorrow.  The programs were fractured yesterday by two severe rainstorms and five red flags, and it seems that today is not going to be different.

Felipe Massa went directly to the top part of the timesheet with a time of 1:28.879 at the beginning of his second successive testing day.  The only teams that changed their UPS line were Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg behind the steering wheel, and Lotus, that made the first test with Heikki Kovalainen with the el T127.  Paul di Resta continues in Force India, but it is expected that in any moment, he will be substituted by Tonio Liuzzi.  Lucas di Grassi, today will share his single-seater ,Virgin with Timo Glock.

Just before a break for lunch, the racetrack began to improve and that allowed some time modifications.  Barrichello placed himself first at one thirty with a best time of 1:28.499 in a rather long session (he remained in the track for 20 minutes straight.) Hamilton clocked his best personal time of the day with 1:31.833, but very far from the morning’s best times.  Afterwards, the Brazilian in his Williams stopped the chronometer in 1:27.145, using all the fuel.

Right now, Petrov with his Renault went back to the racetrack and placed himself second with 1:27.891.  The track is drying, although there are still some pools.  Ferrari has not explained its long stop at the boxes.  It has been rumored that it had an electrical problem.  At the end of the morning session, only the Russian pilot, Petrov and Barrichello have dropped off from 1:28.9.

The rain that affected the programs of the teams on Friday was still pouring down at the beginning of the session.  However, dry conditions as of mid-morning allowed the single-seaters to roll out with more confidence on this test day at Jerez (this week), where Rubens Barrichello, did best time with 1:22.319.

Robert Kubica was the first to start out to a wet racetrack, with Sebastien Vettel in the Red Bull and Barrichello behind the wheel of the Williams FW32 following his trail.

Nonetheless, it was Felipe Massa, who did the first timed lap of the day with the Ferrari F10.  In his first attempt, the Brazilian made a time of 1:29.534, but little by little he found the rhythm until his car stopped on the grass of the pit-lane entrance.  It seems as though the team is pretending to go the limit.  There was the rumor that the car was deliberately left without fuel to confirm the tank’s capacity.

Michael Schumacher, Massa’s ex-team mate was slightly shaky during the first moments, achieving the best lap with 1:29.768 before taking his Mercedes GP W01 to boxes, where it remained the rest of the morning.  The spectators were surprised.

The changing weather conditions forced the teams to the difficult task of choosing tires.  Even though the pools of water in different parts of the racetrack were drying, the teams decided to play it safe and made pauses, waiting for the track to dry.

Barrichello informed through the radio that the driving and visibility conditions were quite good and hoped that the team could realize an evening session “to its fullest.”  Lewis Hamilton was glad with these news, who seemed distraught after he began his work with Jenson Button’s McLaren MP4-25, on Friday.  He declared that the day had been a waste of time, since neither him nor McLaren had been able to make a remarkable progress on their test program due to the wet racetrack.

On the contrary, Nico Rosberg, was filled with confidence after his second day with the Mercedes W01 GP, despite the fact that he was not allowed to drive in dry during two sessions.  He announced feeling comfortable with the car and to be sure that the Silver Arrow “will be near the racing pole positions when the competition begins in Bahrain, on March 14^th.”

“We have some valuable data, like all the procedures.  It’s difficult when you change teams; there is so much to learn.  It’s like airspace science, you know?  Two days ago I did four dry laps, and a one and a half today.  I felt extremely comfortable with the car, as if I could really up.  That gives me a lot of confidence, so I’m not worried with the fact that there was not much time to roll in dry” Nico assured.

The first appearance of the red flags came when Vettel skidded out of the racetrack and left the Red Bull trapped at the circuit end.  Yet, the delayed caused by this incident was minimal, thanks to the quick response of Jerez circuit recovery team.  In 15 minutes, the RB6 was back in the boxes.

At the end of the morning session began to improve quickly.  Barrichello did 1:22.319 after 39 laps and Massa stopped the chronometer at 1:22.697 after 94 laps.  The red flag indicated that Barrichello reached midday as time leader, three tenths faster than Massa.

Under a sunshine that the ‘scuderias’ in the racetrack were thankful for, the second session of unveiling began in the Jerez circuit.  With the absence of Virgin Racing in the tracks, because there were no spare parts to repair the single-seater, most of the pilots ran for long periods of time.

Today restarted the work that could not be done yesterday due to bad weather.  The teams have collected more data and have been playing the cat and the mouse.  Buemi’s Toro Rosso stopped the chronometer at 1:20.026, getting the best time of the day.

Many tests and many data, would be the balance of the day, where the expected Valencia time duel did not happen.  The media were left with the feeling that the duo reserved for later on.  However, tomorrow if the climate allows it, there will be new unveiling with other pilots.

Time classification

1. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:20.026 (121 laps)
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:20.618 (83)
3. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) 1:21.565 (67)
4. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 1:20.754 (80)
5. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 1:21.083 (122)
6. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:21.377 (100)
7. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:21.424 (129)
8. Robert Kubica (Renault) 1:22.003 (101)
9. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:22.043 (29)
10. Timo Glock (Virgin) 1:29.964 (11)

At 9:30 the single-seaters began to go out to the racetrack of the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, during the first day of the 2010 season’s second official unveiling.

In the morning, Fernando Alonso, started to try out the new parts that arrived all the way from Maranello, with the intention to verify mechanical elements performance, for next week when they expect to have new aerodynamic components.

The rain did not miss the appointment.  Even though it was not intense, it certainly was annoying enough during the performance checkup of the F1 racing cars.  When the rain pour began, all the single-seaters had to be taken to the boxes to make wet condition adjustments.

By the time the cars started to go out again, it was almost 10 AM and Nico Rosberg, with his Mercedes GP, was the leader of the first timesheets, even though it was not significant because he was one of the few who made some time before the rain began to fall.  Later on, the pilots were around 12 seconds higher.

Time went by without any interesting event.  In the circuit were: Ferrari, Mercedes GP, Williams, Red Bull, Force India, Toro Rosso and BMW Sauber. The Virgin VR01 must not be prepared for rain for it did not make any lap.

At midday the rain was heavier and the only thing that caught our eye were again the hard-working mechanics running to cover the diffusers to avoid photographers from pleasing us with the latest in aerodynamic novelties.

It was almost 12PM and nothing interesting happened.  There were almost no single-seaters in the racetrack and everything was extremely quiet.  My laptop (mini) seemed to say, “it’s enough for today.”  “I think a diving suit would be a good idea,” I thought and looked for shelter waiting for the rain to stop.

To speak of a duel between Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) may sound exaggerated, but the truth is that again they will be the center of attention during the four pre-season test days in Jerez de la Frontera Circuit.

It was only a few days ago that we saw them rolling with almost a difference of a second in favor of the pilot from Asturias, but none of them mentioned the other, making it more than evident that there is rivalry between them.  To stress this point, it would be sufficient to ask the child to whom Schumacher denied an autograph… and all because he was wearing a Ferrari cap.

Even though the “Kaiser” tried to clarify this incident, it is apparent that “it is not the right moment.”  Schumacher’s appetite has returned and according to a statement by Ross Brawn, they are showing up at the circuit with some changes to improve their presentations and performance in the racetrack.

The two pilots will only concur in the circuit of Cadiz on Thursday, because Alonso will roll tomorrow and day-after-tomorrow, while the ‘Kaiser’ on Thursday and Saturday, according to the provisional plan submitted by the circuit’s press department.

For these second unveiling events, ten teams will roll the first week: McLaren, Ferrari, Sauber, Renault, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Williams, Force India, Mercedes GP and Virgin GP -.

Together with them, the news at Jerez during these days will be the presentation of the new Red Bull and Force India single-seaters, as well as the first car presented by the new Virgin GP ‘scuderia.’

The ticket prices for these events are five Euros general admission and 10 Euros in VIP grandstand –exactly in front of the boxes-.  The audience will be able to access the circuit from 10.00 AM onwards.  Tests finish at 5:00 PM.