Lotus F1 Team had a curtailed day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona today. Power steering issues in the morning and rain in the afternoon limited track time for Kimi Räikkönen to 43 laps.

“It was good to get in the E20 after missing testing last week. We had an issue with the power steering in the morning then we didn’t run in the wet, so it was quite a short time for me in the car today. At least we got some runs. The car was reliable when on track meaning we gained some good data for the team. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow and we can complete more laps.”

Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus F1 Team Race Driver:

“Aside from the time we lost early on it was clear that we were running a different programme from the other teams today. We were hampered by power steering issues in the morning, which took some time to rectify. Once on track, we steadily improved the car balance through the day. We opted not to run in the rain which meant we completed fewer laps today than would otherwise have been the case.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:

Fast facts:

Track: Barcelona, Spain, 4.7km
Chassis: E20-01
Weather: Sunny, air 10-19°C, track 11-24°C
Programme: System checks, temperature monitoring, data correlation, set-up changes.
Laps Completed: 43
Classification: 10th, 1’25"379
Interruptions: Power steering investigation and steering rack change.
What’s next? Kimi Räikkönen will complete the final day of pre-season testing working on set-up work and a race simulation.

Romain Grosjean put Lotus on top as the second morning of in-season testing at Mugello came to a close.

In contrast to the torrential weather which blighted the opening day, conditions were dry almost from the outset, allowing teams the chance to catch up with their disrupted programmes.

Many therefore opted to run with periscope gauges or various aero sensors rather than chase times.

Such priorities would not diminish Grosjean's pace, however, as he pulled clear of the field after barely an hour in and never looked under threat thereafter. He ended the morning on a 1m21.603s.

Mark Webber, in the Red Bull for this morning before handing over to reigning champion Sebastian Vettel for the final day and a half, ended the morning as Grosjean's nearest challenger.

Kimi Raikkonen put Lotus at the head of the order on the final morning of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona on Sunday.

The Finn, who had worked through a programme of five-lap simulations on soft and medium rubber during the early hours, completed a number of single-lap runs in the final hour and set the pace in 1m22.030s - the best time achieved at Barcelona during pre-season running.

Raikkonen, who finished the morning with 41 laps to his name, was 0.220s faster than home hero Fernando Alonso, who completed 63.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97836

"According to Sky Sports pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz, the engineers found differences between Raikkonen’s and Grosjean’s telemetry, indicating that something was indeed wrong with the steering. “The engineers checked the telemetry data and saw that there was indeed something not quite in keeping with Romain Grosjean’s steering data from the previous two days. So they checked the system over, bled the hydraulics, checked for air bubbles etc and then sent him out again,” said Kravitz.

However, Raikkonen was still wasn’t happy with the steering when the team sent him out again so the mechanics set to changing the steering rack for Raikkonen, fitting the one he used at the first test in Jerez. Raikkonen had already reported that he was not happy about the steering in Jerez last month and the team had already brought a new steering system to Barcelona. “Lotus mechanics are replacing the entire steering rack; that’s quite big job and time is ticking away, which is unfortunate as Lotus couldn’t wait to hear what Kimi had to say about their car around Barcelona, given Romain Grosjean’s time-topping performances over the first two days,” Kravitz reported. Raikkonen ended the morning session 10th, +3.526 seconds off the pace.

According to Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, Raikkonen prefers to have a light steering which allows him to correct the rear when it slides."

http://www.f1zone.net/news/raikkonen-pl ... ona/12722/

"Kimi was much more comfortable with the steering on the last run. All sorted now, plenty of work to do this afternoon."

https://twitter.com/#!/Lotus_F1Team/sta ... 9025591296

Kimi Raikkonen arrived to the Barcelona track in the afternoon and had a long meeting with his Race Engineer Mark Slade, who started in the team at the beginning of March, about the program of his two day test.

http://www.ts.fi/moottoriurheilu/f1/318022.html

The Finn responded to the hype surrounding his return with four fast stints, and occupied the top spot on the timesheets from the minute he first left the garage.
His fastest time so far, a 1m19.670s, set on his third run using medium Pirelli tyres, was faster than any testing laps at the Spanish track throughout 2011.

Yesterday morning the times were very high due to the track being damp from cleaning. For two hours the laptimes were in the 1:50's. Little by little they went down, with Raikkonen eventually setting the best time of the day: a 1:33.350.

After 15:00 there was a hydraulic problem that forced Raikkonen to be sidelined for 1,5 hours.

FERRARI'S Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will be sharing testing duties in Bahrain next week.

This was confirmed to the GDN last night by Ferrari public relations manager Luca Colajanni.

The Formula One world champions will be testing at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) alongside BMW and Toyota. They will be on the track in two four-day sessions - first between February 10 and 13, and then between the 16th and 19th.

"Raikkonen and Massa will be committed to drive four days each. Only one car per day, as per testing agreement," Colajanni told the GDN.

The team will be working on general development and reliability of their F60 car, as the world championship opener in Melbourne draws closer.

"We are on schedule with regards to our [development] programme," added Colajanni.

Ferrari were the first F1 team to unveil their 2009 car this pre-season. The F60 features a lower, wider front wing and a taller, narrower rear wing, in line with revisions to F1 regulations. Its name commemorates what will be the team's 60th campaign in F1.

Raikkonen and Massa will be joined by fellow Grand Prix drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld of BMW, and Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock of Toyota, in testing. BMW reserve driver Christian Klien is also set to get track time.

The three F1 teams are reportedly spending more than £300,000 (BD164,000) each in coming to Bahrain compared to what they would have been required to spend testing in Europe, according to an official.

"We've never gone to Bahrain testing because the delta between staying in Europe and going out there is well over £300,000, so it's not really conducive to saving costs," Williams technical director Sam Michael told the autosport.com website.

"Most of the time, the weather is not bad through February and March. January is normally the worst month, so we just get on with it as we are. It doesn't affect normal development rate, it just affects your normal set-up progression."

Ferrari, however, like BMW and Toyota, expect Bahrain's warmer temperatures and drier conditions will benefit them in their preparations. Their most recent tests in Mugello, Italy, held last month were occasionally disrupted by rain.

"Weather was the crucial factor which addressed our decision [to come to Bahrain]," Colajanni said.

[via Gulf Daily]