February 28, 2010 
Here are the combined times from the last F1 test before the 2010 season gets under way. The top three teams are not very surprising, however some teams may still be playing their cards close to their chest. For example, Mercedes will not test their 2010 diffuser design until the first race two weeks from now. Perhaps they do not want others to see it and have time to copy their ideas. The surprise teams may be Williams and Sauber, especially if the Cosworth engine is more fuel-efficient and gives them a weight advantage (i.e. not having to carry as much fuel).
| Pos | Driver | Team | Best | Laps | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th |
| 1. | Hamilton | McLaren | 1:20.472 | 227 | – | 1:22.152 | – | 1:20.472 |
| 2. | Webber | Red Bull | 1:20.496 | 168 | 1:21.487 | – | – | 1:20.496 |
| 3. | Massa | Ferrari | 1:20.539 | 228 | – | – | 1:22.344 | 1:20.539 |
| 4. | Sutil | Force India | 1:20.611 | 160 | – | – | 1:22.606 | 1:20.611 |
| 5. | Hulkenberg | Williams | 1:20.614 | 180 | 1:22.407 | 1:20.614 | – | – |
| 6. | Alonso | Ferrari | 1:20.637 | 208 | 1:24.170 | 1:20.637 | – | – |
| 7. | Vettel | Red Bull | 1:20.667 | 252 | – | 1:21.258 | 1:23.123 | 1:20.667 |
| 8. | Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:20.686 | 235 | 1:22.514 | – | 1:20.686 | – |
| 9. | M.Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:20.745 | 207 | – | 1:21.689 | – | 1:20.745 |
| 10. | Barrichello | Williams | 1:20.870 | 184 | – | – | 1:21.975 | 1:20.870 |
| 11. | Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:20.911 | 172 | – | – | 1:26.216 | 1:20.911 |
| 12. | de la Rosa | Sauber | 1:20.973 | 187 | 1:23.144 | 1:20.973 | – | – |
| 13. | Liuzzi | Force India | 1:21.056 | 154 | 1:24.064 | 1:21.056 | – | – |
| 14. | Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:21.413 | 193 | – | – | 1:21.413 | 1:22.135 |
| 15. | Button | McLaren | 1:21.450 | 205 | 1:23.452 | – | 1:21.450 | – |
| 16. | Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:21.571 | 215 | 1:24.869 | 1:21.571 | – | – |
| 17. | Petrov | Renault | 1:22.523 | 141 | 1:24.173 | – | 1:22.523 | – |
| 18. | Kubica | Renault | 1:23.175 | 159 | – | 1:24.912 | – | 1:23.175 |
| 19. | Trulli | Lotus | 1:25.059 | 172 | – | 1:25.524 | 1:25.059 | – |
| 20. | Kovalainen | Lotus | 1:25.251 | 65 | – | – | – | 1:25.251 |
| 21. | Glock | Virgin | 1:25.942 | 83 | – | 1:25.942 | 1:26.305 | – |
| 22. | di Grassi | Virgin | 1:26.160 | 78 | 1:27.057 | – | – | 1:26.160 |
| 23. | Fauzy | Lotus | 1:28.002 | 76 | 1:28.002 | – | – | – |
The two new teams that managed to turn up to the test (Virgin and Lotus) seem around 2 seconds off the pace. It will be interesting to see whether they can make some rapid gains during the season to catch up. I suspect that Virgin may well do, but I have my doubts about Lotus as their design is obviously less sophisticated to the naked eye.
Alistair Milne 
No comments yet... Be the first to leave a reply!