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Virgin: Hydraulic issues have cost us dear

Virgin technical director Nick Wirth has lamented the reliability problems which have severely limited his team's pre-season testing. Drivers Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi managed to cover just 144 laps between them at last week's four-day Jerez test, after the VR-01 repeatedly succumbed to hydraulic issues. To put that figure into context, fellow 2010 newcomers, Lotus, racked up 315 laps during the test at the Spanish track, with driver Jarno Trulli covering 141 laps on Friday. Ferrari, meanwhile, have completed 1,235 laps over the three test sessions they have attended so far this year.

Alonso quietly confident of Ferrari's potential

He may not have figured at the top end of the timesheets, but Ferrari's Fernando Alonso believes the team are very much on the right path with the new F10, following last week's test at Jerez in Spain. During two days in the car, Alonso completed almost 1,200 kilometres, and although his fastest lap was well over a second down on the session best set by McLaren's Jenson Button, Alonso insists he is happy with his pace as Ferrari prepare for the final pre-season test in Barcelona...

Jerez day four - Button ends test on top

McLaren's Jenson Button leapt to the top of the timesheets, as this week's four-day test in Jerez drew to a close on Saturday. Button lapped the Spanish circuit in 1m 18.871s to finish over two-tenths of a second ahead of Robert Kubica in the Renault. The British driver spent the day evaluating set-ups and assessing tyre durability in the MP4-25, and covered 108 laps. Kubica, meanwhile, completed 117 laps, as he carried out long runs in the R30...

Q&A with Red Bull's Mark Webber

Whilst his Red Bull team mate, Sebastian Vettel, spent Wednesday and Thursday dodging rain showers at Jerez, Mark Webber enjoyed a much drier day of work in the RB6 at the Spanish track on Friday. After setting the session's best time, Webber answered questions from the assembled media...

Kolles in charge as Campos takeover confirmed

Doubts over the participation of Campos in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship faded on Friday with confirmation that existing shareholder Jose Ramon Carabante has taken a controlling stake in the new team, originally founded by ex-F1 driver Adrian Campos. Spanish businessman Carabante has appointed former Force India boss Colin Kolles as team principal and says they fully expect to make their race debut in Bahrain next month...

Jerez day three - advantage Webber and Red Bull in Spain

The sun finally shone at Jerez on Friday, and the 11 teams in action at this week's test took full advantage of the calmer conditions at the Spanish circuit to rack up mileage in their 2010 cars. Mark Webber ended the day as the fastest runner for Red Bull, clocking a best time of 1m 19.299s in the RB6. Second quickest was Fernando Alonso, who covered 132 laps in Ferrari's F10. Alonso carried out set-up work with a variety of fuel loads and tyres and will continue to test for the Italian team on Saturday. McLaren's Jenson Button finished in third after a fruitful day in the MP4-25, during which he completed 101 laps...

Q&A with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel

With rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, the weather at Jerez this week has been dire, and the dry and consistent conditions that are so important to teams testing have been in very short supply at the Spanish track. But even though his running over the last few days has been limited, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel is still feeling upbeat, and is pinning his hopes on a last push at next week's final pre-season test at Barcelona…

Heikki Kovalainen Q&A: New Lotus has promise aplenty

So far the Lotus T127's first test has been going pretty well. The reliability seems to be there and it was only the enthusiasm of driver Heikki Kovalainen that cut short their Thursday session at Jerez, after he spun the car into the barriers at the Spanish circuit. With no spare nose available, Kovalainen was forced to wait until Friday to return to the track, but that didn't dampen the Finn's mood when it came to the T127's prospects…

Jerez day two - Barrichello puts Williams on top

The 11 teams in action at this week's Jerez test endured another frustrating day on Thursday, as rain showers continued to blight their running at the Spanish circuit. Williams' Rubens Barrichello ended the session as the fastest driver after clocking a best time of 1m 27.145s in the FW32. Although Barrichello's best lap was almost seven-tenths of a second quicker than the Renault of Vitaly Petrov in second, it was a over four seconds adrift of Sebastian Vettel's quickest time in the Red Bull on Wednesday. With the track wet for the most of the day, nobody covered 100 laps...

Q&A with Lotus's Mike Gascoyne and Fairuz Fauzy

If you're a new team testing amongst your rivals for the first time, you'd be expecting a few mishaps to come your way before you finally found your footing. But as Lotus's T127 made its debut at Jerez on Wednesday it was largely plain sailing for the Norfolk-based team. With a car that appears sleek, stylish and - most importantly - reliable, chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne and test driver Fairuz Fauzy were all smiles as they met the media following Lotus's maiden session…

Exclusive Adrian Sutil Q&A - Force India could fight for podiums

Force India are definitely one of the dark horses for 2010. Given their impressive progress last year, and the fact that the top ten finishers will take points this season, Vijay Mallya's men could feasibly score at every race. Adrian Sutil has seen the team go through many changes and believes now could indeed be the time for them to show their true colours. The aim is fifth in the constructors' championship and Sutil feels his first podium is on the cards…

Jerez day one - Vettel sets test benchmark

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets as this week's four-day Jerez test began at the Spanish circuit on Wednesday. Vettel's best time, a 1m 22.593s, was just over four-tenths of a second faster than the quickest lap from second-placed runner Lewis Hamilton for McLaren. The 11 teams in action spent the day dodging showers, as the poor weather that afflicted last week's running continued. Even so Vettel managed to complete 104 laps in the RB6...

Testing underway once more at Jerez

The third of four pre-season tests began on Wednesday morning at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. After wet weather limited running at the same track last week, the teams are no doubt hoping for a little sunny respite, but the forecast looks just as bleak and rainy for this week's four-day session. One bright spot will be provided by Lotus, who will test for the first time amongst their rivals following the T127's launch in London last week...

Lotus appoint deputy team principals

Following the unveiling of their new car on Friday night, Lotus Racing have announced they have strengthened their senior management team, with two shareholders, S M Nasarudin and Dato' Kamarudin Meranun, joining team principal Tony Fernandes as his deputies. “Our goals and objectives are clear but, as mentioned earlier, there is still a huge task at hand,” explained Fernandes. “We have 19 races to go through and, with the three of us assisting each other in our roles, we believe that the management has all the necessary resources to bring the team to the forefront...

Kubica: Renault already feels like home

Robert Kubica may have spent the last four seasons at BMW Sauber, but he's already feeling settled in to his new team, Renault. Kubica, who joined the French team following BMW's withdrawal at the end of 2009, believes they all share the same aim of returning the outfit to the front of the field after three difficult seasons. “It already feels like home and it's a nice group of people to work with,” the Polish driver told Renault's official site. “I had an idea of what Renault would be like before I joined and it has been just as I expected. The team is very motivated and looking forward to the big challenge we have ahead of us to bring Renault back to the front of the grid. Everybody is working hard...

Exclusive Sebastian Vettel Q&A: The teams are very close out there

He may have been hindered by the rainy conditions that dominated last week's four-day test at Jerez, and a few technical glitches, but Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was well satisfied with his first outing in the RB6. While Vettel admits that a lot could change in the run up to the season opener in Bahrain next month, and there's still a lot to discover about his competition, the young German feels that with enough hard work he could well have a car to put him in contention for the titleÂ…

Exclusive Schumacher Q&A: This was a chance I couldn't resist

Never say never again! The phrase may have been coined for James Bond, but the same also goes for a Formula One driver, especially when that driver is seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher. Not just the most controversial man in F1 history, Schumacher, at 41 years-old, is also the oldest driver on the 2010 grid, with a full three years' absence from the sport to make up for. However, if his recent test times in the Mercedes count for anything, he's still the same as he always was...

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