Now that we’ve got a bit of testing out of the way I can begin to see how things may unfold. My big word is “may”. Most teams have put a lot of testing miles on the new cars using both primary drivers as well as test drivers. Weather has been a factor in some sessions (as it should be). There have been long and short stints, simulated qualifying sessions etc.

Since day 1 when Ferrari launched their car and put it through a shakedown, little has gone wrong. They have consistently been at or near the top of testing times with all drivers performing well and the F108 appearing to handle just about every specific test they throw at it. Both Kimi and Felipe are by all accounts happy with what is taking place in their camp and are itching to get the season under way.

The latest from Bahrain has Kimi Raikkonen on top enjoying another good and productive day.

Barring a complete meltdown at Ferrari, this team is going to be tough to beat this year.

McLaren have also for the most part been breezing through testing with no real surprises. The MP4-23 seems to be where they expect it to be at this time. Short testing, long reliability stints, tires, and the car remains at or near the top. Lewis has had a few hiccups, but nothing worth speaking about. Heikki Kovalainen seems so happy to be at McLaren, he can hardly contain himself. That enthusiasm is really showing on track and he has been at the top in testing consistently as well.
Martin Whitmarsh seems happy but predictably subdued:

“The progress we are making is quantifiable and the drive within the team to continue to push remains high.”

BMW-Sauber came out of their launch with a lot of expectations of the F1.08. A balance issue revealed itself early and just short of a month later the going is a bit rough. All throughout testing they have been chasing a balance issue making the car very difficult to drive. Nick Heidfeld has been the most vocal and isn’t shy to say that at this point, last years car is faster and easier to drive. So ‘balance’ is the word around BMW Sauber.
Isn’t it ironic that they are suffering from this balance problem when the car was designed with this particular issue in mind.

“Last year (at this stage) things seemed better to me.” “Last year the balance was there quicker and we were more where we expected to be.”

“There are some parts still in the wind tunnel which are not on the car yet. But even without those, we expected to have a car that had a nicer balance.”

There are more teams to talk about, and I will touch on them in the coming days. We are still a little while away from Australia and there is still time for BMW-Sauber to make progress although things are getting a little tense.

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