Review: 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix

From now on, in every week before a race we will review a past race from that Grand Prix, be it the last years race or one from 40 years ago. Hopefully we will have an article for all races of the season (except for the Korean Grand Prix, for obvious reasons). To gear us up for the season opener we will take a look at one of Bahrain’s most action packed races from the 2008 season.

Debate: should USF1 have got the spot?

Unlike USF1, The Art of F1 is not dead. It’s just that like everyone else on Earth, we have priorities and sometimes writing turns out to be impossible. But despite our almost two weeks break, we are getting back to work on full speed, with two new features!

Firstly, you must have noticed the new header and new colours. Every week before a Grand Prix, we will update the header with an image from the previous winner of that Grand Prix, adding an aesthetic feature to the blog. This means the blog will be constantly changing, giving it a renewed look every two weeks.

Secondly, we will start a new series of posts, named “Debate”, where we will pick a subject in which we have opposite points of view and, as the name suggest, debate about it. In this debate, Stephanie and I will talk about on either USF1 should have been granted an entry in the first place, and if the FIA has any fault on it.

Why the rain should keep pouring for testing

Despite Massa's mammoth amount of laps, he's spent a fair bit of his time in the wet

It’s not only us Brits who seem obsessed with the weather but the entire F1 world thanks to the majority of testing being a wash out. Personally I think it is brilliant.

Venues for testing can only be changed if there will be rain every day, Friday looks to be dry so it appears the teams are stuck at Jerez, there could well be discussion to test elsewhere when it’s Barcelona’s turn to play host however.

The continually damp conditions are a headache for the teams who are desperate to get dry running and understand where and how they need to develop. This will be particularly painful to the new teams, although only Lotus and Virgin Racing have made an appearance.

However, there are some benefits; with testing being all over the place it creates even more mystery as to who will be on the pace and the teams won’t have the clearest of ideas about where the opposition is. This could lead to some surprises at Bahrain. It’s unlikely to make a major impact and the pace of the teams is hard to predict anyway when it comes to the tests, but a little more of the unknown and a more unscripted development race can only add a touch more madness.

The teams still get to try out their cars, the rookies still have the opportunity to try to settle in and get the mileage under their belts but there is still the potential for a surprise. I sympathise with the new teams who need all the data they can get but they are unlikely to be competing regularly with the established order regardless.  So I’m not going to complain at the situation when it has the-albeit small-possibility of throwing us a surprise.

The new teams-just how healthy are they?

The Virgin line up will have to survive without Parente who was let go as a reserve driver when a sponsorship deal fell through

USF1

Widely expected to fail within weeks, USF1 have failed to make any kind of positive impression. Perhaps they have been criticised far too much as they never had an easy task ahead of them. The US has little interest in F1 since the last time it tried to crack America (remember the Indianapolis 05 farce?) so trying to rouse up sponsors, project a positive image from such a long distance, never mind the usual problems facing a new team, was always going to be a lot for the team to take on.

Things started well; they had Chad Hurley, the founder of YouTube, onboard which was a great PR boost. Sadly though it appears that this relationship hasn’t really lived up to its potential; the USF1 website has barely been updated and although there have been a few clips of the squad on YouTube it has mostly been pretty silent on the media front – not what you would expect from the founder of an extremely popular media site. Speculation about the hopeful outfit’s future didn’t die down at all even when they confirmed Lopez would pilot one of their cockpits. The fact that as soon as Lopez was confirmed, there was an immediate denial that he was hired for his money and his rather lacking CV pretty much said it all really.

Nothing is certain yet but it appears more realistic that USF1 will fail to make Bahrain than not. If this is the case then it is a massive shame for F1’s chances of selling its product in America anytime soon. The right steps were all in place – bring back Montreal, have a national team to bring interest, maybe an American driver and this could provide a stable platform to bring back the US Grand Prix and actually get a solid fan base. F1 has always struggled against America’s home motorsport competition particularly against NASCAR and Indycar which was a worsened situation when only 3 teams would compete in the 05 race. This was a real opportunity to get America involved again.

It’s sad when a team appears in such dire straits but this reaches far beyond just one team failing. From a business point of view, if USF1 have failed then this has been a big blow to conquering the States, but it wasn’t unexpected. You have to wonder if F1 will ever be able to get the right conditions and momentum to be able to sell to this crowd.

Campos Meta

This team appears almost as shaky as the US team but Autosport is reporting that they are now set for a takeover by majority owner Jose Ramon Carabante. There have been many reports of late stating that Campos were looking at a deal to guarantee their future. There have even been articles stating that Senna has been in contact with the plucky Stefan GP thinking they would be more likely to make the grid than his team who have actually been granted entry.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, Campos are supposedly technically advanced but just lacking funds which was apparently the opposite situation to USF1. This isn’t a disaster for the Spanish squad then as it’s easier to find money in time than it would be to have to build and design a car with such limited time. That there is so much fervour over the idea of a deal already being looked at isn’t the worst thing in the world, it shows action and that Campos can be saved. There does seem to be the potential for solution whereas USF1 seemed all out of ideas.

Yet even if they do make it, Campos has still missed all the tests which will be a major setback but right now just surviving has to be the first thought.

Virgin Racing

They’ve set their challenge: whoever finishes behind between Virgin and Lotus their boss has to dress up as one of Branson’s airhostesses. This isn’t just about F1 now, it’s about pride.

The VR-01 has been designed using only CFD which is a bit of an extreme approach and mainly in place for cost cutting. It could be a revolution for car design but most of the top guys have dismissed the idea of being naive at best. The Virgin does look more like a GP2 car but it doesn’t really matter so long as it can take the fight to their main rivals.

Virgin should be applauded though, they quickly struck a deal with Manor and it was a clean deal with no mess and kept stability with the team. They are using a minimalist budget which fits in life with the idea that F1 needs to cut costs and they have actually turned up to the tests even if there have been a couple of problems like front wings falling off.

The positive images just keep coming when you take a look at their partners and sponsors; they have managed to bag BMW’s FXPro sponsorship, Oxigen Investments and Carbon Green’s support both of which are environmentally friendly. Getting all the green sponsors they can will win much support and make their cars appear more ‘relevant’.

Lotus

They didn’t get much support at first by practically causing an outcry that the ‘Lotus’ name should be used for a team which didn’t have Chapman and then had ideas of relocating to Malaysia. Now the team seems to be delaying any emigration to Malaysia and has gone for the retro green and yellow livery they seem to have won much more fans.

They have the best driver line up out of the new teams, both Heikki and Jarno have the experience of working with top teams and Kovalainen in particular will be desperate to show his talent again after two years of being soundly beaten by Hamilton at Mclaren. I like Heikki and think that Mclaren was just a step up to soon, his race pace needed some work at times but he was a great qualifier.

When it comes to qualifying though Trulli is the master, he can get the sweet spot with the car and drum out every tenth he can over a lap. This will be a crucial skill to a new team but he tends to be fragile in a race so let’s see what he can do. Working with Gascoyne again will make this team even stronger.

Stefan GP

This team doesn’t even have a place on the grid but they still have a car and are bringing the parts to Bahrain. It could only happen in Formula 1.

Stefan GP seem convinced that a new team will drop out (they seem to have a point on that front) and they can grab the grid spot. It isn’t that simple as the FIA have to grant permission but Bernie seems to like this squad and the FIA have been less than clear so it’s hard to work out what will happen.

It seems that the Serbian team even have a driver line up with Nakajima being heavily linked as they wanted someone with two years of recent F1 experience and Villeneuve has remerged as a candidate for a drive in the elite series.

The squad have used Toyota’s design to build their car so it’s basically the 2010 Toyota which is a really strong base for the team. It’s a mystery why none of the other new teams bought this design, Toyota may not have been the best team but they were close to the front on a good few occasions.

So who do you think will fill up the grid spaces? Does Stefan GP deserve a shot? Have your say in the comments below.

A look back: Gilles Villeneuve

1979 Dijon

A brief history

Gilles only started racing in his teens (he had previously borrowed the family car and sustained a rather large crash on a public road but this did not deter him) competing in drag races but that could not satisfy his thrill for racing so he quickly jumped onto snowmobiles.

By the age of 19 he was dominating the snowmobile scene, already proving to have a natural raw speed and inherent bravery that few could rival.

Soon he was dreaming of racing cars and switched to Formula Ford. He found the skills he learnt from snowmobiles were transferrable to four wheels. It also influenced his style very much and he tackled the car in much the same way as he did when racing on snow; he was brave but liked to slide and scythe his way through the field. Racing on snow also taught him how to feel for grip which stood him in good stead when faced with a wet track.

Gilles quickly found his rhythm and in his rookie year he won the FF Championship, with a two year old chassis which was a remarkable feat and so progressed to Formula Atlantic.

Villeneuve’s first year at Formula Atlantic with Ecurie Canada in 1974 saw mixed results and it was a frustrating time made worse by that he would suffer a heavy crash at Mosport Park which would break his leg in two places.

Gilles at first refused treatment believing it was not so bad an injury but eventually caved to his wife’s protestations and visited the hospital thinking that they would send him home anyway. They did not. It was confirmed his leg was broken and that put a temporary halt on racing matters, although Gilles didn’t take it lying down and fought to get back into the car as quickly as possible.

However, being out of action meant he lost his place in the team and he had to use his own funds to purchase a chassis and run his own team for the remainder of the season.

For the next season he was unable to find another drive with an established team so pursued in managing his own team. It paid off when he managed a win in wet conditions at Gimli and saw the season out by securing 5^th in the championship.

This strong showing in less than ideal circumstances meant that the French- Canadian was now catching the attention of the guys at the top. He spent the winter back on the snow and raising further funds that way but during this time he had several good offers from leading teams in Formula Atlantic but it was once again Ecurie Canada that was gifted with his signature.

It wasn’t only those who worked in Formula Atlantic that had been amazed by Villeneuve, he had also attracted interest from F1 team owner Ron Dennis who then invited him to participate in an F2 race at Pau. In typical Gilles Villeneuve fashion he was going well and pushed above and beyond the limit to the point where the automobile overheated at that was the end of that.

After taking part at Trois Rivieres, where he was up against several F1 drivers, including the soon-to-be World Champion James Hunt, his talent shone. It was this that triggered his move to Formula One; Hunt had been so surprised and in awe that he went back to his Mclaren team and informed Dennis that this was a driver he needed.

So Villeneuve was promptly signed up for the ’77 season in a third driver role and piloting an M23 compared to teammates Hunt and Mass who were both in fresh M26 models.  Despite this hindrance Villeneuve still out qualified Mass at his first attempt and finished a solid 11^th place even though he had suffered with a mechanical fault (problem with the temperature gauge) for two laps.

Yet it was Patrick Tambay who was offered a chance with the squad for the 1978 season; Tambay showed similar promise and Villeneuve strength of pushing further than anyone else brought with it one huge flaw: he drove very hard meaning the car was usually run ragged and in tatters at the mercy of a manic driver.

The ambitious driver was left without any firm commitments until a phone call came from Mortara (who spoke for Enzo Ferrari) asking if Gilles would be interested in driving for the Italian team.

For a moment negotiations were halted – Mclaren wouldn’t let Villeneuve make any plans until his contract had expired and there was the worry that Ferrari wouldn’t wait forever. Ferrari knew a good driver when he saw one however…

“When they presented me with this ‘piccolo canadese’, this minuscule bundle of nerves, I immediately recognised in him the physique of Nuvolari and said to myself, let’s give him a try.”

— Gerald Donaldson, from the book ‘Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of a Legendary Racing Driver’

Mclaren released the relieved driver and a contract with Ferrari was signed making Villeneuve the 71^st driver for the outfit and he contested in the final two races of the 1977 for the red team.

Ferrari number one Lauda wasn’t happy at the new appointment and it sparked his decision to quit. It had been a successful pairing claiming two world championships but Villeneuve was the new star in the wings.

The honeymoon period was soon over when at the Japense GP Villeneuve and Ronnie Peterson banged wheels and the Ferrari became airborne. The car landed where spectators were gathered in an area which was not allowed, it resulted in the death of one spectator and one marshal with nearly a dozen people injured. It was a difficult time but Villeneuve was never blamed nor did he accept responsibility.

The 1978 season saw 6 retirements and an embarrassing false start at the Italian GP which was not something the tifosi wanted to see. The Italian media was quick to express disappointment in Villeneuve but they were swiftly silenced when Gilles scored his maiden F1 win at his home and is still the last Canadian to win at home.  After his death the circuit at Montreal would be named after him.

Villeneuve was partnered with Scheckter for the following season and it was a year that would see Gilles take three further wins.

The French Grand Prix was to be one of the most thrilling races of all time thanks to the antics of Villeneuve and Arnoux. The video opening the article shows just how brave Villeneuve could be and how dogged he was in the chase for success. After a long battle at Dijon, Villeneuve secured the second place with Arnoux on the bottom step of the podium.

Villeneuve under team orders allowed his teammate through to finish ahead at the Italian Grand Prix thus ending his own title ambitions so Scheckter took the crown but Villeneuve’s talent was clear for everyone to see and made even more apparent in the US.

For the practice of the US GP, the track was soaked but Villeneuve still posted a time at least nine seconds quicker than anyone else. It was one of his most stunning drives which left many in total awe. It was one of the biggest demonstrations of his single mindedness and bravery which would allow him to become one of F1’s greats. Undoubtedly his sanity was at times questioned by those closest to him – as was Nuvolari’s – just how could a rational being repeatedly go beyond the limit without a second thought?

The 1980 season is best to be brushed over as Ferrari did not have a handle on their car at all. The car was a dog and collectively the Ferrari line up could only score 8 points with Villeneuve claiming 6 of those 8.

1981 saw the first Ferrari turbo car, it’s handling was poor but it did have the power. Villeneuve grappled with the car at Spain claiming an incredibly close victory.

He would also win in Monte Carlo, both were unusual and magnificent wins given that straight line speed doesn’t count for much in the tight twists of Monaco.

At Canada Villeneuve’s front wing became eskew after an accident and it hindered his sight which was already suffering due to the wet track. Fortunately the wing eventually came off and Gilles flew home to third with the nose still absent.

1982 started well enough with Ferrari producing a car worthy of victory which was plain when Villeneuve led the Brazilian Grand Prix although he later retired.

Imola was to prove a controversial weekend. First only Renault was truly opposition to Ferrari as a result of FOCA teams refusing to participate in the race due to the FISA-FOCA war.

Then both Renault drivers retired and so Ferrari ordered their drivers to save fuel so that they could score the one-two. However, teammate Pironi who was in his second season with Ferrari passed Villeneuve. Gilles saw this as a betrayal believing that the order to save fuel meant the pair had to maintain positions.

Villeneuve set about passing Pironi and retaking the lead but it was not to last as the Frenchman aggressively and absolutely overtook Villeneuve on the final lap and clinched victory.

Pironi claimed innocence and that there was no fault in what had occurred. It seemed that the orders had simply been interpreted different but it left Villeneuve furious and bitter and the relationship between the two completely disintegrated and Villeneuve was determined to beat his rival.

At the Belgian Grand Prix held at Zolder circuit on May 8 1982 Villenueve died after colliding with Mass in qualifying. Mass had moved off the racing line to let Villeneuve through but at the same instant the Ferrari driver also moved right to pass the slower car of Mass. Villeneuve was take to the University St Raphael Hospital where he died at 9.12pm.

The legend remembered

Gilles was helplessly possessed by racing and was driven by a desperate hunger to be the quickest through this he managed to capture the very souls of millions of fans.  If he was possessed by racing then the fans were utterly owned by him.

He was known as one of the most honest and sincere racers to have graced the Formula One paddock but he was absolutely capable of doing what he needed to secure his racing future. To be able to afford to race he sold his home without telling his wife. Joann was obviously furious with her husband but it was a battle she had no chance at all of winning; Gilles had to race. Villeneuve refused to ever give up and combined with his positively optimistic outlook on life and a total self-confidence it meant that he believed he would always be able to make things right he persisted on with his dream which would eventually lead him to win six Grand Prix.

He’ll always be looked back at with affection. His aggressive and flamboyant style won intense levels of devotion. Villeneuve was always excited and was always up to something on the track. The fact that he only won six Grand Prix and never the championship but is talked about with such adoration like Ayrton Senna is a tribute that shows how highly he was valued as a racing driver. He may not be remembered as a champion but to many he was certainly ‘the one that should have been’ had his life not been cut short. It’s very telling that he is perhaps the only driver to be known by his first name but that was Gilles.

Gallery

The new teams and the safety question

The VR-01: two days of testing and only 16 laps completed

Back in 12th of June, when the FIA released the entry list for the 2010 season, many raised eyebrows when they saw the name “Manor GP” there. At that time, Manor was believed to be out of contention, with names like Epsilon Euskadi and Prodrive being considered the most serious applicants. The entry list was released, and it didn’t take too much time for people to say that Manor was probably the least capable of the three outfits. The picture changed, however, when Manor signed an established driver in Timo Glock and then being taken over by Richard Branson’s Virgin company. The team was rebranded Virgin Racing and another three drivers were announced along with a vast portfolio of sponsors.

So, it is quite obvious that Virgin Racing is, along with Lotus, the most serious, capable and well funded new team. But the incident on today’s test season at Jerez makes you think if being just “capable” is enough to be a Formula 1 team.

While driving, the front wing detached from Glock’s car, meaning that the test season had to be red-flagged until the track was clear. Shortly after people were making fun of the incident, saying that “it’s a virgin after all – it’s natural for something to go wrong in the first time”. However, this matter is not one to make jokes about; it’s a matter about the safety in the sport.

Whatever you may think about Max Mosley, you can’t deny the fact that safety improved up to stratosphere-high levels during his mandate, and if Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa are still alive today, they should thank Max Mosley’s administration. However, it was also during his time as FIA president that smaller teams were strangled out of money, being forced to leave the sport and paving the way for the manufacturers and their deep pockets. It’s not wrong to say that this was a key factor on the sport’s safety improvement.

Although we all love small teams and their true-racer spirit, it’s an utter truth that the more money is invested, the higher quality the product will have in the end (not that it means the car will be fast, just look at Toyota). When Formula 1 had its solid cluster of money-burning manufacturers, the standards rose up to a point where every team had to build a state-of-the-art car, and its quality and integrity was not even questioned.

But with lower budget teams, we may again see under-developed and problematic cars. When a car’s front wing detaches all by itself and the team does not even have a spare one to replace it, something is wrong. In his last year as president, Mosley forgot his own obsession with safety in a quest to field independent teams on the grid. Failing to give the entries more capable applicants was another blunder by the FIA.

And if that wasn’t enough, the picture gets even scarier when I think about Campos and USF1 – considering that they will even make it to Bahrain – widely known as the teams with the most difficulties in building their cars. When they were accepted into the 2010 season, these teams didn’t have even a base, personnel, machinery or funds for that matter. What was the criteria used to choose them then? Cosworth engines?

It is in times like this where we ask ourselves “what is needed for a team to be good enough for F1?” In my opinion, we need teams which are at least able to participate in all races during a season and capable of building a car as safer as a Ferrari or a McLaren.

Do you remember who was and what happened to the last driver to drive a car designed by Nick Wirth when the front wing of the car broke off while he was driving?

He was Roland Ratzenberger. And he died.

Is the era of sponsor-based liveries over?

The Art of Formula 1 guest writter and The Bull Run editor Tom Bellingham shares his thoughts on how car liveries changed in the past decade, from distinctive colours to mostly white cars splashed with corporate logos.

Virgin Racing launch their VR-01

 

The VR-01 definately ticks the right boxes when it comes to livery

Virgin Racing has launched their 2010 hope after more than an hour of technical delay.

It won’t have been the great start the outfit were hoping for and surely must have been hugely frustrating to have their big day delayed by technical issues. The livery looks superb, perhaps a little less red would do but it has some very detailed design and is a beauty.

The RBR style nose is predictably there but it doesn’t seem as raised as many other cars. The long wheel base is standard now due to the large fuel tanks the cars need. They also join Ferrari’s design of not having the shark fin engine cover stretching to the rear wing like the majority of the cars unveiled so far.

The VR-01 has been designed by solely using CFD and has had no wind tunnel time. A conservative approach and more rounded one would be to also use the wind tunnel but it will be fascinating to see how this car performs after solely been created from data by CFD. It will have saved costs and if the car is in the mix with the new teams then they can have a laugh at being able to get results but with less financial strain. If it is very effective then we could enter an era where design is a lot more based on CFD and super computers but that will be some time off.

 However, the front wing looks rather simplistic to what we have seen so far and it could turn out that with the emphasis on aero then wind tunnel data is crucial meaning Virgin could suffer.

Virgin are also looking to achieve their goals on a minimalist budget. Many have scoffed at this but look at Toyota; they threw all the money they could at F1 but couldn’t get a victory. It isn’t how much you spend but rather how you use it so if Virgin is managed well then they could be setting an example for cost cutting in F1. As for sponsors they have managed to bag BMW’s FXPro sponsorship as well as Oxigen Investments and Carbon Green both of which are environmentally friendly. Getting all the green sponsors they can will win much support and make their cars appear more ‘relevant’.

Virgin Racing has a pretty strong line up too. Glock was highly rated after 08 and added to his podium collection twice in 2009. He can make a one-stop strategy work very well too which will be vital to a new team. Di Grassi has taken a while to get into F1 which doesn’t immediately impress and he has never won the GP2 title despite four attempts. He does have some talent and Virgin wouldn’t have promoted a rookie if they didn’t believe he had a chance. He has also enjoyed a comfortable relationship with Renault as their test driver so will have that experience of working with a big team. Virgin will be looking forward to the launch of Lotus to see how their main rivals have design their car. These two teams have the potential for an interesting battle ahead and Branson and Fernandes have agreed that whoever loses has to dress up as an air hostess on one of Branson’s flights.

Watch the launch here

Diffuser Row 2010?

Ferrari have allegedly seen enough

Another diffuser row could be brewing between the teams due to the regulations still not being clear (nor closed up).

This time it is Mclaren who are the centre of focus and rumours suggest it is Ferrari who is riled by Mclaren’s extreme diffuser.

Again this comes down to an interpretation of the rules and you have to wonder why there still is the potential for another squabble after last year’s debacle.

Ferrari has a reputation of complaining and asking for rule changes whenever they are caught out.

Ferrari has a lot to prove; the F60 was a very poor car and last year they were also amongst the teams who were found wrong footed in the diffuser row of 09 believe the DDDs to be illegal and left furious when they were in fact declared legal.

The spotlight is on the team and whether they have been caught short again.

Massa specifically commented upon the better levels of downforce showing an improvement and that there was a lot of work to come with the car.

I think everything went in a very good direction for the first day but it’s not enough. There’s still a lot to improve until the first race, which is the most important thing.”

It seems Ferrari aren’t going to be complacent and they may well have detailed plans in the wings but if Mclaren has found a way to best the squad then this row isn’t likely to go away.

Ferrari may have plans of their own regarding the issue. At the tail end of 2009 the Italian team hired Azzollini. Azzollini was a senior CFD engineer with Toyota who had developed their diffuser extremely well and Ferrari thought they would benefit from his expertise.

According to Allen, Azzollini was meant to have brought a radical design to the squad but it was too late in the day for Ferrari to develop it with the car without compromising their car design. This is reminiscent of last year when Ferrari developed the diffuser late and it was built into the car rather than being a fundamental part and the car being built around it.

There have been suggestions that Ferrari hasn’t been entirely satisfied with the F10 and that work has already begun on a B-spec car.  If so then this radically designed diffuser could make an appearance for Bahrain given there is enough time.

Ferrari did top the time sheets of the test yesterday and there does seem to be a big improvement from last year’s car. The problem with testing times is we rarely know what fuel every team has onboard, what parts they are using, their testing tactics and where they are with set up so although there has been an improvement it is impossible to know how much.

The situation is ambiguous to say the least and it’s a waiting game to see how things play out. Ferrari could complain, delay/inconvenience Mclaren and try to get their own way or they could just push on with developing a B-spec car. Neither of these is ideal and it does suggest that no matter where Ferrari are with pace, once again they are in a far from ideal situation regarding the diffuser. However this unfolds it is unlikely to be as big a mess as 2009 but they have to get on top of the F10 as there will be fierce competition this year and time could be of the essence

The STR5 is launched and tested

STR Ferrari going it alone

Toro Rosso has unveiled their 2010 car. It’s their first attempt at building their own chassis which could prove to be a tough task, particularly with the rule changes.

It’s pretty much along the same lines of the 2009 car, which isn’t surprising given the they had RBR’s and Newey’s help with last year’s car. The biggest change actually appears to be the livery but that isn’t exactly radical; there just seems to be a covering of red around the nose.

The Red Bull had the best handle on the new aero rules so Toro Rosso can take comfort and knowledge from the partnership the year before with the Milton Keynes based squad.

To cope with their new independence Toro Rosso have expanded their workforce but the day’s testing got off to a shaky start due to a gearbox issue which kept them busy off-track for over an hour.

Buemi eventually slapped out a time of 1:14.762 seconds after only 18 laps. It was just over two seconds off Massa’s time who was the quickest man out there.

The problem with testing is that nothing is for certain. We can never know what fuel load is being used; it is the first day so set ups will be all over the place – STR use two fairly inexperienced drivers so set up may take slightly longer than some other teams – and the track will eventually become quicker as more rubber is put down. Therefore, there are a lot of influencing factors on pace so fans should try not to read too much into the times.

Toro Rosso is unlikely to have a stunning year like 2008, this year needs to show them standing on their own feet and beginning to move forward rather than falling. Buemi can surely keep the team together on track while Jaime gets up to speed but Toro Rosso has to take charge behind the scenes.

An ironic point is that after all the controversy surrounding Jaime’s appointment to F1 without testing, this has actually been his first F1 test despite debuting over half a year ago.

To keep up-to-date with Toro Rosso news a recommended site is Forza Toro Rosso.

Here are some pictures from Toro Rosso’s time in Valencia (click to expand):

Images (C) Red Bull/Getty