Formula 1
Gremlins halt Ferrari test at Bahrain
As if to prove the need for preseason tests, Ferrari reliability came unstuck Sunday in Formula One testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. Neither World Champion Kimi Raikkonen nor this teammate Felipe Massa could ...
Published: Feb 11, 2008, 6:42 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
As if to prove the need for preseason tests, Ferrari reliability came unstuck Sunday in Formula One testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.
Neither World Champion Kimi Raikkonen nor this teammate Felipe Massa could complete planned programs despite clear weather and air temperatures ranging from 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit and track temps of 75 to 90 degrees.
Despite troubles with the F2008s, the Ferrari drivers were fastest overall. Raikkonen, working on development and set-up, was stopped by an oil leak. He completed 61 laps with a quick lap of 1 minute, 30.015 seconds on the 5.412-kilometer (3.362-mile) circuit.
Massa was attempting to simulate a full race when engine problems stopped him. The Brazilian completed 70 laps overall with a quick lap of 1:30.190.
Toyota had no such interruptions to its simulations, though the Germany-based team's times, unofficial as they are, continued to lag behind Ferrari's.
Toyota ran through fake practice and qualifying sessions and staged a race distance run that included pit stops with fuel and tire changes. Strong reliability and flawless crew work marked the day's work with the new TF108s.
Drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock covered 91 and 93 laps, respectively, Trulli posting a quick lap of 1:30.944 and Glock a 1:31.213. Trulli, who qualified ninth for last year's race in the TF107 at 1:34.154, paced .754 behind the Ferraris.
"We did a lot of laps and successfully simulated a race distance without any trouble," Trulli said. "We did some set-up work this morning and the lap times show we are moving forward. We still have work to do but we are definitely going in the right direction and that is very positive."
Having been out of F1 race driving for awhile, Glock had a higher hill to climb.
"In the morning I did a qualifying run in a Formula 1 car for the first time in a few years, in our Q1 simulation, and that went really well," the German driver said. "The Q3 simulation, with a bit more fuel on board, also went well and I had good speed, but when we got to the race simulation I didn't have the ideal set-up. It wasn't quite what I wanted because the first few laps were good but then the handling dropped off a bit.
"However, it was a good experience for me and it will help us understand which direction to go in when it comes to setting up the car for a race distance. It was also useful to get experience of driving a full Grand Prix distance because I have not done that since 2004, although I am fit so it was no problem for me."
Chief engineer for races and tests Dieter Gass again praised the reliability of the TF108. He praised crew work during pit stops as well.
"It was encouraging to see the TF108 is a big improvement over the TF107 if you compare the times today with last year's race," he said. "We ran different settings during the simulation and it was positive to see how consistent the cars were during the race, especially Jarno's car. We learn about different aspects of the car's behavior during a race simulation, and we are able to compare things between the two cars so we have gained a lot of useful information.
"Again it was very good to see the TF108 running reliably, which it has done all year so far, and the pit crew did a good job with the four stops we made during the race."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Toyota Bahrain test notes 2008-02-11
Next article Super Aguri may yet make the grid in 2008
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
More from
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton buoyed by historic first Ferrari F1 pole: "I still love what I do"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
20 h
Lewis Hamilton buoyed by historic first Ferrari F1 pole: "I still love what I do"
Ferrari downplays expectations for F1 Mexico GP despite blistering Friday
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Ferrari downplays expectations for F1 Mexico GP despite blistering Friday
Latest news
What does Yamaha’s shock MotoGP boycott mean for F1 in Qatar and Abu Dhabi?
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Qatar GP
1 h
What does Yamaha’s shock MotoGP boycott mean for F1 in Qatar and Abu Dhabi?
Valtteri Bottas "pretty confident" of staying for F1 2027 amid Colton Herta rumours
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Valtteri Bottas "pretty confident" of staying for F1 2027 amid Colton Herta rumours
Rally legend Carlos Sainz drives WRC Ford Puma Rally1 to victory
Other rally
Misc Other rally 4 h
Rally legend Carlos Sainz drives WRC Ford Puma Rally1 to victory
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe