Ferry_vO
Retired SOH Administrator
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-barrichello-blitzes-barcelona/
"The Brawn-Mercedes team were once again the talk of the Circuit de Catalunya paddock on Thursday, as Rubens Barrichello set a pace that nobody else could live with on the final day of the last major test of the winter.
Barrichello, who looked to be frozen out of F1 this season until Ross Brawn took over the Honda team, lapped the Barcelona circuit in a time of 1m18.926s, cutting another two-tenths off Jenson Button's quickest time from Wednesday and leaving observers wondering if the Brawn BGP001 is genuinely as quick as it has looked throughout the week."
During last years' race the fastest time in qualifying was a 1:20.5 by Robert Kubica..
"It is certainly not as fast as we would like it to be," the McLaren chairman told Reuters Television in an interview before the opening of a Formula One exhibition at London's Science Museum.
"But it's early days and we've still got quite a bit of testing to do and quite a bit of development to reflect through into our pace."
The first race is in Australia on March 29 and McLaren have only next week remaining before a season-long testing ban comes into force.
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was the slowest driver on track in testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Monday, more than 2.6 seconds behind BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, and only ninth of 11 on Tuesday.
The Mercedes-powered team had an indifferent few days before that in Jerez, with Briton Hamilton finishing seventh fastest last Wednesday and crashing on Thursday.
Some reports have suggested McLaren are wrestling with excessive rear tyre wear and the new-look rear wing, with the team using last year's version at some tests."
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-dennis-expects-mclaren-to-improve/
"The Brawn-Mercedes team were once again the talk of the Circuit de Catalunya paddock on Thursday, as Rubens Barrichello set a pace that nobody else could live with on the final day of the last major test of the winter.
Barrichello, who looked to be frozen out of F1 this season until Ross Brawn took over the Honda team, lapped the Barcelona circuit in a time of 1m18.926s, cutting another two-tenths off Jenson Button's quickest time from Wednesday and leaving observers wondering if the Brawn BGP001 is genuinely as quick as it has looked throughout the week."
During last years' race the fastest time in qualifying was a 1:20.5 by Robert Kubica..
"It is certainly not as fast as we would like it to be," the McLaren chairman told Reuters Television in an interview before the opening of a Formula One exhibition at London's Science Museum.
"But it's early days and we've still got quite a bit of testing to do and quite a bit of development to reflect through into our pace."
The first race is in Australia on March 29 and McLaren have only next week remaining before a season-long testing ban comes into force.
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was the slowest driver on track in testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Monday, more than 2.6 seconds behind BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, and only ninth of 11 on Tuesday.
The Mercedes-powered team had an indifferent few days before that in Jerez, with Briton Hamilton finishing seventh fastest last Wednesday and crashing on Thursday.
Some reports have suggested McLaren are wrestling with excessive rear tyre wear and the new-look rear wing, with the team using last year's version at some tests."
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-dennis-expects-mclaren-to-improve/
