08 | 12 | 09
Following Brendon Hartley and Mirko Bortolotti's tests in Spain, we caught up with chief engineer Laurent Mekies for his reaction to the three days.
“We tried to build a running plan that gives us the opportunity to compare Brendon and Mirko, to give them the opportunity to give some feedback on the car under different conditions, in a way that they can see how good their feeling and feedback is," said Laurent. “The second part of the programme is more technical. Every time we can, we test new elements that will be actually fitted onto the new car. So this can be mechanical or aerodynamic components, so that’s why you see us doing a lot of straightline passes, a lot of aerodynamic measurements.
“Another very important aspect is next year’s big rule change: the refuelling ban. The car will run much heavier, so we simulated the car with a very high mass. We don’t add the fuel, the monocoque is not big enough, but we added ballast to be more or less the weight of next year’s race start.”
Which was the main target for this test?
“The driver is the priority for this test. With the new testing rules, new drivers don’t really have a chance to drive a F1 car.”
How do you evaluate them?
“We have a similar programme for both and it's a simpler programme to our racing drivers'. For example, when we evaluate new components or a new set-up, we try to only change one item at a time, so they have a chance to understand what a tyre change is, what kind of feedback is required, what an aerodynamic change is, etc.”
What is the most important thing?
“To be honest, the most important thing will always be the speed, lap time.”
What about consistency?
“Yes, consistency is important. But you always prefer a driver who has very good speed, because you hope that – especially with young drivers – consistency comes with experience. Of course, there is consistency and the ability to give proper feedback, but all these things will come with experience. Speed also comes with experience, but to a lesser extent.”
Do you sometimes lie about set-up changes?
“No, we don’t tell lies! Sometimes we don't tell the driver about the changes we've done. It’s natural, if you know what you should expect, then you're already prepared to feel that. So sometimes we do blind tests, but this is for the team's and the driver's benefit.”
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Friday, 4 December 2009
Jerez Test – Day 3
03 | 12 | 09
Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera - 4.423kms; Driver: Mirko Bortolotti/Brendon Hartley; Chassis: STR4-03; Best time: 1:23.271, 34 laps/1:22.493, 50 laps
The final day of this session, aimed at young drivers saw Mirko Bortolotti at the wheel of the STR 4 in the morning, with Brendon Hartley taking over for the afternoon. The three days produced plenty of aero measurement data for our engineers to work on for next year and, although frustrating for the drivers, as it affected their lap times, the car was run in heavyweight configuration for most of the time, in order to assess the impact of running heavy fuel loads next year.
“I am very happy to have been given this opportunity by Red Bull and it was an honour to drive for Toro Rosso,” said Mirko Bortolotti. “I felt comfortable with the team where everyone made me feel welcome. It was a very interesting experience, especially testing some things that might be used on next year’s car. It’s a shame that it started to rain today, which prevented me using a new set of tyres, but that’s the way it is.”
“I was really happy with this half day,” said Brendon Hartley. “We did a lot of running and I think my pace was pretty good, when fuel-corrected, so from my side I’m quite happy. It was interesting for me to work with so many people, with such a big team, as I am used to working with just one engineer. It was a great experience and I really want to say thank you to Red Bull.”
“Both drivers did a good job,” commented Franz Tost. “They are talented and if they do well in other racing categories in 2010, I think they have a good chance of being up to the required standard to make it into Formula 1 in 2011. We completed many laps and we achieved our main targets, namely to get an impression of both the drivers and to carry out some tests aimed at next year.”
.Related ArticlesQ&A With Mirko Bortolotti
03 | 12 | 09
The second of our drivers at the Jerez test is Mirko Bortolotti. Here’s [...]
Read the full article
Q&A With Brendon Hartley
Jerez Test - Day 2
Jerez Test - Day 1
All The Young Dudes
Bourdais Leaves Scuderia Toro Rosso
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Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera - 4.423kms; Driver: Mirko Bortolotti/Brendon Hartley; Chassis: STR4-03; Best time: 1:23.271, 34 laps/1:22.493, 50 laps
The final day of this session, aimed at young drivers saw Mirko Bortolotti at the wheel of the STR 4 in the morning, with Brendon Hartley taking over for the afternoon. The three days produced plenty of aero measurement data for our engineers to work on for next year and, although frustrating for the drivers, as it affected their lap times, the car was run in heavyweight configuration for most of the time, in order to assess the impact of running heavy fuel loads next year.
“I am very happy to have been given this opportunity by Red Bull and it was an honour to drive for Toro Rosso,” said Mirko Bortolotti. “I felt comfortable with the team where everyone made me feel welcome. It was a very interesting experience, especially testing some things that might be used on next year’s car. It’s a shame that it started to rain today, which prevented me using a new set of tyres, but that’s the way it is.”
“I was really happy with this half day,” said Brendon Hartley. “We did a lot of running and I think my pace was pretty good, when fuel-corrected, so from my side I’m quite happy. It was interesting for me to work with so many people, with such a big team, as I am used to working with just one engineer. It was a great experience and I really want to say thank you to Red Bull.”
“Both drivers did a good job,” commented Franz Tost. “They are talented and if they do well in other racing categories in 2010, I think they have a good chance of being up to the required standard to make it into Formula 1 in 2011. We completed many laps and we achieved our main targets, namely to get an impression of both the drivers and to carry out some tests aimed at next year.”
.Related ArticlesQ&A With Mirko Bortolotti
03 | 12 | 09
The second of our drivers at the Jerez test is Mirko Bortolotti. Here’s [...]
Read the full article
Q&A With Brendon Hartley
Jerez Test - Day 2
Jerez Test - Day 1
All The Young Dudes
Bourdais Leaves Scuderia Toro Rosso
Reserve Driver Change
Fancy A Trip Around The Factory?
Trofeo Bandini
Meet The New GuyRelated Links .
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Q and A With Mirko Bortolotti
03 | 12 | 09
The second of our drivers at the Jerez test is Mirko Bortolotti. Here’s the Italian’s take on the week and moving on up to F1…
What was the experience like to be back in an F1 car?
“It’s a great opportunity and experience for me after last year’s test. The programme was quite different, we had some parts to test, but it’s still a Formula One car and it’s great. It’s great to be here.”
What’s the difference between a Formula One car and a Formula 2 car?
“There are so many differences, you can’t even imagine. It’s completely different. You cannot compare a F1 car to any other car. It’s a different world. Everything is different, you have more power, more brake power, more grip, so you have to change your driving style and try to drive the F1 car as best as possible, which is not the same way as you would drive another car.”
Is there pressure on you to perform better than at last year’s test with Ferrari?
“No, of course I always try to push myself to the limit. But the tests have been different, you focus on different things, like lap times or you try new parts, etc.”
Were you satisfied with your performance today?
“Yes, considering what happened. Of course, I am not completely satisfied, because there was the potential to improve our performance.”
What’s your goal for the next year, next two years? To move up to test driver?
“Yes, that would be very nice. But of course that’s a big point. For now I will just focus on next year, even though I don’t know what I am going to do next year, but as soon as I know I will concentrate and prepare myself for that in the best way and try to be competitive in that series where I will race. My target is to win everywhere I am racing.”
What’s the best option for you?
“I don’t know at the moment, there are so many categories. You always know this kind of thing after the season! The most important thing for me today was the chance to work in Formula One with the team. I enjoyed it a lot, because you have the chance to do a lap, come in the garage, change some things, go out again and see how the car changed. That is very important for young drivers and for me it’s a great experience.
“I’m really trying to concentrate, because there is just so much to do and focus on in the car, the cockpit has so many switches and buttons, you have a lot of work to do in the car, which is probably the biggest differences to other racing cars.”
The second of our drivers at the Jerez test is Mirko Bortolotti. Here’s the Italian’s take on the week and moving on up to F1…
What was the experience like to be back in an F1 car?
“It’s a great opportunity and experience for me after last year’s test. The programme was quite different, we had some parts to test, but it’s still a Formula One car and it’s great. It’s great to be here.”
What’s the difference between a Formula One car and a Formula 2 car?
“There are so many differences, you can’t even imagine. It’s completely different. You cannot compare a F1 car to any other car. It’s a different world. Everything is different, you have more power, more brake power, more grip, so you have to change your driving style and try to drive the F1 car as best as possible, which is not the same way as you would drive another car.”
Is there pressure on you to perform better than at last year’s test with Ferrari?
“No, of course I always try to push myself to the limit. But the tests have been different, you focus on different things, like lap times or you try new parts, etc.”
Were you satisfied with your performance today?
“Yes, considering what happened. Of course, I am not completely satisfied, because there was the potential to improve our performance.”
What’s your goal for the next year, next two years? To move up to test driver?
“Yes, that would be very nice. But of course that’s a big point. For now I will just focus on next year, even though I don’t know what I am going to do next year, but as soon as I know I will concentrate and prepare myself for that in the best way and try to be competitive in that series where I will race. My target is to win everywhere I am racing.”
What’s the best option for you?
“I don’t know at the moment, there are so many categories. You always know this kind of thing after the season! The most important thing for me today was the chance to work in Formula One with the team. I enjoyed it a lot, because you have the chance to do a lap, come in the garage, change some things, go out again and see how the car changed. That is very important for young drivers and for me it’s a great experience.
“I’m really trying to concentrate, because there is just so much to do and focus on in the car, the cockpit has so many switches and buttons, you have a lot of work to do in the car, which is probably the biggest differences to other racing cars.”
Q and A With Brendon Hartley
03 | 12 | 09
The first of our young drivers to take to the track in Jerez was New Zealander Hartley. Here’s what Brendon had to say on Wednesday about F1, rugby and his time testing.
How did it feel to be back in Formula One car?
“It was nice to be driving a F1 car again. You always forget a little bit how fast the car really is, it’s the fastest car on the planet, so always a special feeling to be enjoying so many forces on the body and to be going so fast. Quite an experience.”
What went wrong on Tuesday morning?
“Actually we were doing aero testing and so there was no temperature in the tyres, and they put the hard ones on just to use them and they said it’s going to be quite slippery but I think we underestimated it a bit, the tyre temperatures were quite low, it was like driving on ice actually, and Daniel had exactly the same problem, and spun on the same corner. I think I had 20% throttle. And the car spun, it was a bit unfortunate to start the day like that. But in fact there was not so much damage, I touched the wall very slightly. But we lost a lot of time. It was not the best way to start the day, it was like driving on ice. So lesson learned.”
Did you manage to finish the programme?
“Yes, I think we missed one run, but for the testing and for what they needed to achieve, we achieved almost everything.”
Have you driven the Renault 3.5 car?
“Yes, I think I did 5 races with it this year. I took pole position at the Nurburgring and a few good results.”
How does a F1 car compare to that?
“Obviously it’s a lot faster. I mean there’s a lot of similarities if you look at the car. The general public would probably not see the difference. I think driving there, you learn a lot to drive here. It’s just another level here, the forces on the body, the braking distances, the speed that your mind needs to work is a lot higher and I think more importantly you work with a lot more people. There’s a lot of people in the team and you need to understand how to communicate with everyone and also the controls and procedures, which are going on inside the cockpit. There’s a lot more to take on.”
Last year you gave up being the third driver to race, do you think that was the way to go?
“Yes, it was disappointing because Jaime took the racing seat. But I don’t think I was really ready, I didn’t have the good results, so if I had arrived in Formula One with the results I had, it would have been short-term. I want to arrive there when I proved myself, so I am planning on a good season next year racing with Tech1 in World Series and I think they’ve god a good opportunity to win races, they are a good team. So I think if I do a good job, I get the same opportunity again.”
Daniel will be your team-mate next year?
“Yes, exactly.”
How well you know him?
“I know him very well. We have been living in Milton Keynes together, so we were training together the whole time: cycling, tennis.”
Any Aussie-Kiwi rivalry there?
“Yes, for sure. There’s always a bit of rivalry there. But we are good friends, in the end on the track we will be enemies. But I think outside the track we can still be friends.”
So do you talk more about motor racing or cricket and rugby?
“I think on the outside life you need to separate a little bit. We are going to be team-mates next year, so I think it’s good to have someone that you can speak to not just about motor racing.”
Is the World Series a good stepping stone into Formula One?
“Definitely, you have the paddle shift, you have a big car to drive, big sets of tyres, teaches you a lot, you have pit stops in the races, all these things that make a difference when you get thrown into F1, where you to do the same things.”
How is your neck here?
“It’s pretty tough. I’m not going to lie. It’s very difficult to prepare for driving a Formula 1 car. I’ve been training a lot with the neck, but the best training is just driving.”
.
The first of our young drivers to take to the track in Jerez was New Zealander Hartley. Here’s what Brendon had to say on Wednesday about F1, rugby and his time testing.
How did it feel to be back in Formula One car?
“It was nice to be driving a F1 car again. You always forget a little bit how fast the car really is, it’s the fastest car on the planet, so always a special feeling to be enjoying so many forces on the body and to be going so fast. Quite an experience.”
What went wrong on Tuesday morning?
“Actually we were doing aero testing and so there was no temperature in the tyres, and they put the hard ones on just to use them and they said it’s going to be quite slippery but I think we underestimated it a bit, the tyre temperatures were quite low, it was like driving on ice actually, and Daniel had exactly the same problem, and spun on the same corner. I think I had 20% throttle. And the car spun, it was a bit unfortunate to start the day like that. But in fact there was not so much damage, I touched the wall very slightly. But we lost a lot of time. It was not the best way to start the day, it was like driving on ice. So lesson learned.”
Did you manage to finish the programme?
“Yes, I think we missed one run, but for the testing and for what they needed to achieve, we achieved almost everything.”
Have you driven the Renault 3.5 car?
“Yes, I think I did 5 races with it this year. I took pole position at the Nurburgring and a few good results.”
How does a F1 car compare to that?
“Obviously it’s a lot faster. I mean there’s a lot of similarities if you look at the car. The general public would probably not see the difference. I think driving there, you learn a lot to drive here. It’s just another level here, the forces on the body, the braking distances, the speed that your mind needs to work is a lot higher and I think more importantly you work with a lot more people. There’s a lot of people in the team and you need to understand how to communicate with everyone and also the controls and procedures, which are going on inside the cockpit. There’s a lot more to take on.”
Last year you gave up being the third driver to race, do you think that was the way to go?
“Yes, it was disappointing because Jaime took the racing seat. But I don’t think I was really ready, I didn’t have the good results, so if I had arrived in Formula One with the results I had, it would have been short-term. I want to arrive there when I proved myself, so I am planning on a good season next year racing with Tech1 in World Series and I think they’ve god a good opportunity to win races, they are a good team. So I think if I do a good job, I get the same opportunity again.”
Daniel will be your team-mate next year?
“Yes, exactly.”
How well you know him?
“I know him very well. We have been living in Milton Keynes together, so we were training together the whole time: cycling, tennis.”
Any Aussie-Kiwi rivalry there?
“Yes, for sure. There’s always a bit of rivalry there. But we are good friends, in the end on the track we will be enemies. But I think outside the track we can still be friends.”
So do you talk more about motor racing or cricket and rugby?
“I think on the outside life you need to separate a little bit. We are going to be team-mates next year, so I think it’s good to have someone that you can speak to not just about motor racing.”
Is the World Series a good stepping stone into Formula One?
“Definitely, you have the paddle shift, you have a big car to drive, big sets of tyres, teaches you a lot, you have pit stops in the races, all these things that make a difference when you get thrown into F1, where you to do the same things.”
How is your neck here?
“It’s pretty tough. I’m not going to lie. It’s very difficult to prepare for driving a Formula 1 car. I’ve been training a lot with the neck, but the best training is just driving.”
.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Jerez Test - Day 1
Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera (4.423kms) Driver: Brendon Hartley; Chassis: STR4-03; Best time: 1:21.325, 69 laps
It is 'kindergarten week' at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain as several Formula One teams are taking part in a three day session specifically aimed at young drivers. The criterion for taking part in the test is that a driver should not have driven in more than three Formula One grands prix.
Today, Brendon Hartley was at the wheel of the STR4. His programme did not get off to the best of starts, as he spun at the fast right hander, following the chicane, having just switched to different aero settings on the car. The damage was repaired in time for the New Zealander to get back on track by the end of the morning. His programme had three main elements: aero measurement testing in view of 2010, running the car with ballast to simulate the weight of next year’s cars on full tanks, as refueling is banned, and carrying out some brake testing.
“Apart from going off the track early on, I was generally happy with the way the day went, as I had not driven an F1 car for a while, so now I’m looking forward to making the best of Thursday when I get another run.”
Tomorrow, the STR4 will be entrusted to Mirko Bortolotti.
It is 'kindergarten week' at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain as several Formula One teams are taking part in a three day session specifically aimed at young drivers. The criterion for taking part in the test is that a driver should not have driven in more than three Formula One grands prix.
Today, Brendon Hartley was at the wheel of the STR4. His programme did not get off to the best of starts, as he spun at the fast right hander, following the chicane, having just switched to different aero settings on the car. The damage was repaired in time for the New Zealander to get back on track by the end of the morning. His programme had three main elements: aero measurement testing in view of 2010, running the car with ballast to simulate the weight of next year’s cars on full tanks, as refueling is banned, and carrying out some brake testing.
“Apart from going off the track early on, I was generally happy with the way the day went, as I had not driven an F1 car for a while, so now I’m looking forward to making the best of Thursday when I get another run.”
Tomorrow, the STR4 will be entrusted to Mirko Bortolotti.
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