Ferrari Completes First Week of Testing in Valencia

Fernando’s fastest time was 1.13.307,but that does not tell us much given that it is impossible to know what fuel loads and tires the other drivers were using out on track.

“I am happy with the work we did in these two days,” said the Spanish driver “Yesterday we concentrated mainly on the systems on the car, on checking that everything was okay, while on the second day we were able to go deeper into our understanding of its behavior, even with different fuel loads, making the first changes to the set-up. For example, we tried to deal with the oversteer and to find ways of dealing with tire degradation over a long distance”

On February 3th, third and final day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, it was Felipe Massa’s turn to continue development work on the F150; he too was concentrating on acquiring an understanding of the car and the Pirelli tires. Unfortunately, Massa was unlucky and on his very first run during the morning, his F150 suffered an oil leak, which caused an off-track incident and a started a fire on the car. It took around four hours to carry out the necessary repairs. After this was finished, Felipe completed 80 laps, the quickest in a time of 1.14.017.

“Shame about the time lost,” said Felipe “We had a problem right at the start of the morning, when I was out on very old tires,” explained Felipe. “It was not nice having to stop pretty much before I’d started the real work, but then, it was a relief to find out it was nothing that serious. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time and, in the afternoon I tried to make up for it and get a feeling for the new car. I am pleased with how the Pirelli behaved,” continued the Brazilian. “I think that the fact there is a definite level of degradation is a positive thing in terms of the spectacle. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to do more laps, but the feeling I had was similar to the one from Abu Dhabi, even if that was at the wheel of a very different car. In my opinion, there is not that much that needs changing and I think Pirelli is working in the right direction. We did not try the hardest tire here, because this track is not best suited to them; when we have done that, then it will be possible to give a more complete evaluation of them.”

At the end of the three days of testing on Valencia’s Circuit Technical Director Aldo Costa said “Looking at our own work, we can be pleased with what we have done,” said the engineer. “We are more or less where we expected, even if there is still work to do to have a full understanding of the handling of the car, especially when it comes to aerodynamics and tires. However, if we had to say where we are compared to the others, then it would not be possible to give a precise answer. Then, you have to remember, this is only the start: for our part, we know that between now and Jerez we have a good basis on which to work on the mechanical side. When it comes to aerodynamics, we will not see the final version of the F150 until we get to Bahrain. And I think that’s pretty much the case for everyone”

By February 4th, Alonso was back in Maranello and spending a long time in the simulator.
The mechanics and the F150 will already be on their way again, this time to Jerez de la Frontera where testing resumes on Thursday 10 February.