Post by blacktulip on Feb 20, 2009 8:40:51 GMT
From ITVF1.com 
Felipe Massa rounded off the fortnight-long Bahrain test on a positive note for Ferrari by setting the fastest time in sunny but windy conditions on Thursday.
After reliability glitches disrupted its programme on Wednesday, the Maranello squad suffered another setback early on Thursday when the F60 ground to a halt on the circuit.
But the problem turned out to be nothing more serious than a faulty cable and Massa soon returned to action to post the day’s best time of 1m32.162s – 0.06s slower than the benchmark set by team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on Tuesday.
Massa logged 113 laps and completed the bulk of the team’s planned programme, which included experimenting with several aerodynamic solutions, in-depth set-up evaluation work and testing the reliability of the engine and gearbox.
The three teams at Sakhir have been closely matched all week and that trend continued on the final day, with BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld lapping just 0.063s slower than Massa.
The German’s progress was interrupted by a pair of mechanical failures but he still clocked up the highest lap tally of the day (122) as he focused on aerodynamic and suspension work.
“Today the track conditions were the best they have been all week,” Heidfeld reported.
“We could already try a couple of improvements.
“The car reacts to changes as planned, so I’m confident we are working in the right direction.”
BMW’s technical coordinator Willy Rampf added that, after the weather-induced disruption last week, the long trip to Bahrain had eventually proved worthwhile.
“Although we lost some time due to a sandstorm last week, the long test in Bahrain was very productive,” he said.
“We could work with the cars in temperatures we would not have encountered in Europe at this time of the year, making it good preparation for the first races of the upcoming season.
“We worked mainly on the general set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09, trying numerous solutions on the mechanical and aero side of the car as well as gaining experience with the three available tyre compounds.
“We also made good progress with KERS.
“Overall we reached our target of collecting as much data as possible about the car’s reactions to changes in the set-up.”
Wednesday pacesetter Timo Glock slipped to the bottom of the timesheet after a hydraulic problem in the morning restricted him to a relatively meagre 65 laps.
Nonetheless the German, whose best time was 1m32.445s, felt the test had been positive overall.
“It was a pity that our last day of work here was disrupted but this has still been a very successful test for us,” he said.
“Today we missed much of the day’s action due to a hydraulics problem so it was a shame to lose running time.
“But the mechanics did a good job and when we made it onto the track we put in some useful work.
“Overall we have put a lot of miles on the TF109 this week. We’ve made good progress with set-up and I’m confident that this can continue.”
The team’s chassis chief Pascal Vasselon was equally upbeat about the TF109’s potential.
“This was a difficult end to what has otherwise been an excellent week’s work,” he said.
“This morning we suffered from hydraulic oil contamination and it took time to find out which component was causing the problem.
“Nonetheless this test has gone extremely efficiently.
“The weather has been good despite the wind and the sand and we have been able to use the full mileage on the parts that we brought to Bahrain.
“That shows we have good reliability and we can approach the start of the season with a very good database.”
Testing times from Bahrain (Thursday 19 February)
1. MASSA Ferrari 1m32.162s
2. HEIDFELD BMW 1m32.225s
3. GLOCK Toyota 1m32.445s
Felipe Massa rounded off the fortnight-long Bahrain test on a positive note for Ferrari by setting the fastest time in sunny but windy conditions on Thursday.
After reliability glitches disrupted its programme on Wednesday, the Maranello squad suffered another setback early on Thursday when the F60 ground to a halt on the circuit.
But the problem turned out to be nothing more serious than a faulty cable and Massa soon returned to action to post the day’s best time of 1m32.162s – 0.06s slower than the benchmark set by team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on Tuesday.
Massa logged 113 laps and completed the bulk of the team’s planned programme, which included experimenting with several aerodynamic solutions, in-depth set-up evaluation work and testing the reliability of the engine and gearbox.
The three teams at Sakhir have been closely matched all week and that trend continued on the final day, with BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld lapping just 0.063s slower than Massa.
The German’s progress was interrupted by a pair of mechanical failures but he still clocked up the highest lap tally of the day (122) as he focused on aerodynamic and suspension work.
“Today the track conditions were the best they have been all week,” Heidfeld reported.
“We could already try a couple of improvements.
“The car reacts to changes as planned, so I’m confident we are working in the right direction.”
BMW’s technical coordinator Willy Rampf added that, after the weather-induced disruption last week, the long trip to Bahrain had eventually proved worthwhile.
“Although we lost some time due to a sandstorm last week, the long test in Bahrain was very productive,” he said.
“We could work with the cars in temperatures we would not have encountered in Europe at this time of the year, making it good preparation for the first races of the upcoming season.
“We worked mainly on the general set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09, trying numerous solutions on the mechanical and aero side of the car as well as gaining experience with the three available tyre compounds.
“We also made good progress with KERS.
“Overall we reached our target of collecting as much data as possible about the car’s reactions to changes in the set-up.”
Wednesday pacesetter Timo Glock slipped to the bottom of the timesheet after a hydraulic problem in the morning restricted him to a relatively meagre 65 laps.
Nonetheless the German, whose best time was 1m32.445s, felt the test had been positive overall.
“It was a pity that our last day of work here was disrupted but this has still been a very successful test for us,” he said.
“Today we missed much of the day’s action due to a hydraulics problem so it was a shame to lose running time.
“But the mechanics did a good job and when we made it onto the track we put in some useful work.
“Overall we have put a lot of miles on the TF109 this week. We’ve made good progress with set-up and I’m confident that this can continue.”
The team’s chassis chief Pascal Vasselon was equally upbeat about the TF109’s potential.
“This was a difficult end to what has otherwise been an excellent week’s work,” he said.
“This morning we suffered from hydraulic oil contamination and it took time to find out which component was causing the problem.
“Nonetheless this test has gone extremely efficiently.
“The weather has been good despite the wind and the sand and we have been able to use the full mileage on the parts that we brought to Bahrain.
“That shows we have good reliability and we can approach the start of the season with a very good database.”
Testing times from Bahrain (Thursday 19 February)
1. MASSA Ferrari 1m32.162s
2. HEIDFELD BMW 1m32.225s
3. GLOCK Toyota 1m32.445s