Jenson Button heads up the first day of 2013 pre-season testing
A sunny, shiny Jerez plays host to the first week of F1 testing
Published by Christine Blachford
The first day of pre-season testing got underway under clear skies in Jerez, with Jenson Button leading the timesheets by the time things drew to a close. It was an eventful session with two red flags and a handful of reliability issues as drivers tested out their brand new machinery. Nico Rosberg only managed to complete eleven laps before grinding to a halt, and Mercedes subsequently abandoned their day's running.
Max Chilton also came to an abrupt halt with a suspension failure, but the rookie racer wasn't too ruffled by the disappointing start to his 2013 campaign.
With a new car there is always the potential for something to crop up and cut the programme short, but for the morning period everything went according to plan, which is just the start we needed.
- Max Chilton, Marussia
Despite posting the fastest time of the day, Button also fell foul to mechanical trouble as a fuel pump issue saw him sit out about five hours of the session in the garage. Further down the order, Nico Hülkenberg made his driving debut for Sauber, as Giedo van der Garde made his as an official Caterham man. Pastor Maldonado finished the day ninth, but was, of course, running the 2012 car.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:18.861 | 37 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1:19.709 | 73 |
| 3 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:19.796 | 54 |
| 4 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 1:20.343 | 89 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:20.401 | 70 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:20.536 | 64 |
| 7 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | 1:20.699 | 79 |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:20.846 | 14 |
| 9 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 1:20.864 | 84 |
| 10 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 1:21.915 | 64 |
| 11 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 1:24.176 | 29 |
Felipe Massa was in action for Ferrari today, as Fernando Alonso has sworn off the first week of testing, preferring to use the time for his own personal training and resting. Daniel Ricciardo posted a reasonable time for the Toro Rosso, whilst Romain Grosjean was fast early on in the day but gradually dropped back. This time last year, Lotus were leading the way but then had to take time out of the test due to serious parts issues. Thankfully for them, the issues today certainly seemed to be elsewhere in the pit lane.
We've identified an issue with the rear suspension which requires further inspection & so we won't take part in any more running for today. After such a positive start to our test it is disappointing, but this is what testing is for and, most importantly, Max is just fine
Marussia_F1Team
The boys are running through the test programme but it takes time to do the changes....that's what happens when you can run all day!
One hour to the end of day one in testing, @NicoHulkenberg has already completed more than 60 laps. Currently working on aero measurements.
Jerez update... after identifying the cause of the problem, we will not be running again today whilst parts are modified ready for tomorrow. The part which requires modification is the wiring loom where the electrical fault originated this morning.
The testing action continues tomorrow with both Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton making their respective debuts, and we may even see some fresh faces at Force India.
oh dear mercedes. this year's team lotus?
I bet they are very glad they did not put Lewis in the car today. Last thing they need is him hanging around looking frustrated with all the media attention on him
Just a thought, but wouldn't it be an idea to compare the 2013 cars to Williams? As they are using their 2012 car. Thus, today shows that all the point scoring teams have beaten last years car??? Unless Williams weren't looking to set fast times...
Can't wait to see Hamilton tomorrow!
very tricky one that. primary issue is the new pirelli's. the old car won't have been optimised for the changes in construction, so newer cars might have an advantage in that respect.
also, williams are running some new things on that old car.
the only thing you can say for certain is that the teams at the back are still right at the back :)
To be fair, someone brought up a very good point that Lotus missed an entire test last year due to a chassis problem... but it didn't affect their season one bit.
In other words, still too early to tell.
good point.
In 1988 way before there were decent simulation tools McLaren only took their MP4/4 to the las day or two of testing before the season started. It won 15 out of 16 races and should have won the other one too.
brawn gp never attended a single public test and only ran a few laps around silverstone before decimating the competition at the first race and taking the title.
Didn't they attend the last test at Barcelona? That was the first sign that they were VERY quick.
ahh, they probably did. on par with mclaren then.
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