2012 Winter Testing - Jerez: Day1

Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time in the first day of Winter Testing for the 2012. The Lotus driver, who is returning to F1 after two years out of the sport, beat Paul Di Resta and Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes drivers of Rosberg and Schumacher were in the 2011 car, but all other 10 drivers where in new cars. Mark Webber could only manage the fourth fastest time in his Red Bull, while Jenson Button was eighth, 0.3 seconds faster than Felipe Massa. 

Pos - Driver - Team - Fastest Time - Laps

1 - Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus - 1:19.670 - 75

2 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 1:19.772 - 101

3 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1:20.219 - 56

4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 1:20.469 - 54

5 - Daniel Ricciardo - Toro Rosso - 1:20.694 - 57

6 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 1:20.794 - 42

7 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber -1:21.353 - 106

8 - Jenson Button -  McLaren - 1:21.530 - 62 

9 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 1:22.815 - 69 

10 - Heikki Kovalainen - Caterham - 1:23.178 - 28 

11 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 1:23.371 - 25 

12 - Pedro de la Rosa - HRT - 1:23.676 - 44

To make the Winter Testing that little bit more exciting, we have the Mock Winter Testing Driver Championship, and the Mock Winter Testing Constructors Championship to keep us entertained. The points given out are the same as in races, and hopefully it should give us a good image of who was the fastest after the 12 days of testing.

Mock Winter Testing Driver Championship

Pos - Driver - Team - Points

1 - Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus - 25

2 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 18

3 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 15

4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 12

5 - Daniel Ricciardo - Toro Rosso - 10

6 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 8

7 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 6

8 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 4

9 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 2

10 - Heikki Kovalainen - Caterham - 1

Mock Winter Testing Constructors Championship

Pos - Team - Points

1 - Lotus - 25

2 - Mercedes - 23

3 - Force India - 18

4 - Red Bull - 12

5 - Toro Rosso - 10

6 - Sauber - 6

7 - McLaren - 4

8 - Ferrari - 2

9 - Caterham - 1

 

Latest F1 News

Grosjean Signs For Lotus
Romain Grosjean will join Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus GP next year. The Swiss driver was chosen ahead of Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna. Romain has raced in F1 before, competing in seven races for Renault in 2009. After one year away from F1, it will be interesting what he has learnt. This news through, may course disruptions further down the grid. News is that Vitaly Petrov may now sign for Marussia F1, replacing Timo Glock. Glock has a contract with Virgin/Marussia, but he may be aloud to move to a big team. Williams, Toro Rosso, HRT and Force India are the only teams with spaces, but do any of them count as a big team? There is now a question mark over Bruno Senna as well. Their was not been much talk about his future, and it looks possible that he may have to settle for a test driver role, or a seat in a lower formula?

Maldonado Stays At Williams
Pastor Maldonado will get a second year in F1, after Williams confirmed that he would be racing for them next year. There is now news on who will partner the Venezuelan, only the fact that Valtteri Bottas will remain as their test driver for next year as well. A whole flurry of drivers have been rumoured with a Williams seat. Names include Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello, Timo Glock, Kimi Raikkonen and really, anyone who is, or was, looking for a seat in F1. However, those seats are filling up. There are now only six seats left -

 2 Seats at Force India
  - Either Adrian Sutil, Paul Di Resta, or Nico Hulkenberg
2 Seats at Toro Rosso
 - Either Jaime Alguersuari, Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastien Buemi & Jean-Eric Vergne
1 Seat at Williams
 - Either Rubens Barrichello, Adrian Sutil, Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov or Timo Glock
1 Seat at HRT
 - Either Dani Clos, Jaime Alguersuari or Narain Karthikeyan.

In the coming months, we are expecting definite news from both Force India and Toro Rosso. When their decision are made, there are bound to be some unhappy drivers, and hopefully, one or two surprises as well.

Latest F1 News

Raikkonen Signs For Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen was signed a 2 year contract with Lotus GP. The 2007 World Champion had been discussing a return with Williams, but when negotiations broke down, Lotus was his next option. Raikkonen's arrival means that 2012' grid will include 6 former World Champions (Vettel, Alonso, Button, Hamilton & Schumacher). It is yet to be seen who will join Kimi at Lotus GP. It seems that it will be a battle between Petrov & Grosjean. Both bring money to the team, and both have prospects, but it is unsure who currently leads the race.

Only 5 European Races In The Future
Bernie Ecclestone has said that in the near future, there may only be 5 European races on the calendar. There are currently 8 races in Europe - Spain, Europe, Monaco, Britain, Hungary, Italy, Belgium & Germany. Many of these races have been under threat from races further a field for some time. However, it looks like the hard times are not over, as Bernie is hoping for more races at Russia, South Africa & Mexico, but he is restricted with the 20 race limit. Unfortunately, whichever decision Bernie makes, he will upset someone. However, here at F1Ranks, we believe that there should be more European races than in other continents. F1 was founded in Europe, with all the races in the early seasons being held at European circuits.

Latest F1 News

De La Rosa to HRT
Hispania Racing Team have confirmed that Pedro De La Rosa will race for them next season. The 40 year old Spaniard (41 in February) has signed a two year contract, and he becomes the first Spaniard to sign for the Spanish team. He will also be HRT's 8th driver in its 3 year history. Pedro did race at this years Canadian GP, replacing the injured Sergio Perez. He also drove for Sauber in 2010, but on got 1 finish in the top 10. He is a well known figure in the paddock, and he should supply HRT with plenty of F1 knowledge. It is unknown who will take the second seat at Hispania. Vitantonio Liuzzi had seemed keen, but after this signing, will they now want a young driver who could bring in sponsorship money?

Pic to Virgin?, and Grosjean to Lotus? and more...
The rumour mill has started to kick in, with next years driver line-up starting to fill up. The main rumours are at Lotus. Obviously, their decision rests on Robert Kubica's fitness. However, as the days go by, it is surely looking less and less likely that he will return for the first race next season. To fill in his shoes, it looks like Romain Grosjean will get another go at F1. The Swiss driver drove for Renault after replacing Nelson Piquet Jnr, but he was shunned after only half a season. But, after good driving down the formulas, he looks to have caught the eye of the Lotus' bosses.

Another driver looking even more likely to return is Kimi Raikkonen. It now seems only a matter of time before Williams announce next year's driver line-up, and Kimi looks set to take one of the space. If that means that they let go of Rubens Barrichello, it is yet to be seen. However, it is reported that Raikkonen's Williams team mate would be Pastor Maldonado.

Marussia seemed to have decided on next year's drivers as well. Partnering Timo Glock seems to be Charles Pic. He impressed for them in last weeks Abu Dhabu Young Drivers Tests, and he seems likely to replace Jerome D'Ambrosio in the final spot on the grid.

Latest F1 News

Razia & Rossi To Drive For Lotus
Luiz Razia and Alexander Rossi will both driver for Lotus at the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test. Brazilian Razia has been racing in GP2 this year. His best performance being second place at Valencia. American Rossi has just finished racing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He finished third in the championship, with 2 race wins.

Robert Wickens To Pratice For Vigin
Canadian driver Robert Wickens will get to test drive for the Virgin team at next weekends Abu Dhabi grand prix. He will replace Jerome D'Amborosio for the first free practice on the Friday. A good performance could really help Robert's push to get a race seat next year.

Name Changes
3 teams will get a change of name for next season. As mentioned here before, the Lotus Renault battle will be over. Renault will take the name Lotus, while Tony Fernandes' Lotus will instead be called Caterham. Also, Virgin will be changed to main sponsor Marussia. The changes have to be approved by the International Automobile Federation, but there should be little quibbles.

Latest F1 News

Teams Block Name Changes
Ferrari, Sauber and HRT have stopped Lotus and Renault from changing their names for next year. Team Lotus want to become Caterham, while Renault want to change to Team Lotus. If they want to change, they need 18 votes for them from the F1 commission. This is made up of the teams, the FIA, Jean Todt, Bernie Ecclestone, reps from the engines supplies, sponsors, and track promoters. It is unclear why the 3 teams will not allow the change, but the requested that the decision to be discussed at he next commission meeting.

More Trouble For The Bahrain GP
More doubt has been cast of the Bahrain grand prix scheduled for 2012. Teams and drivers are worried by reports of more unrest in the country, and with the possible grand prix only about 6 months away, a decision has to be made fairly soon. This years Bahrain GP has a lot of coverage, due to being postponed, then the calendar was adjusted for it to fit in. Then it was finally cancelled, with teams not preparing to race into December. If next years race is cancelled, and we do not see Bahrain until 2013, then we could see the Turkish Grand Prix filling the gap.