The opening of the 2010 Formula One testing programme in Valencia marked impressive comebacks by the former Ferrari team-mates Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher. Massa proved he has fully recovered from the head injuries sustained during qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix last August by being fastest for most of the day, the Ferrari driver lapping the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in 1min 12.574sec.
But the story of the afternoon was the 41-year-old Schumacher’s return to the cockpit after a three-year absence. The seven-times world champion made his first appearance at 3.30pm and settled in immediately by lapping faster than his new team-mate Nico Rosberg, who had driven the Mercedes for 39 laps in the morning not long after its unveiling at the Spanish track. As Schumacher became accustomed to the car and the latest generation of tyres, he reduced his lap time to 1min 12.947sec, the third fastest of the day.
“In a way it’s like 91 again [when the German made his debut],” said Schumacher, after completing 40 laps. “I was shocked and excited then [and it was the same today]. I felt like I had a toy in my hands. For the first day, the team have done a superb job.” Guardian.co..uk
Second quickest was Pedro de la Rosa for BMW Sauber. De la Rosa, who has opted to forsake his long-held test role at McLaren for a chance to race at the Swiss team, will no doubt be pleased with the maiden showing of his C29, after he ended the day just over two-tenths down on Massa’s Ferrari.
“For me it was a very positive day,” said De la Rosa, who hands over to team mate Kamui Kobayashi on Tuesday. “The car was reliable right from the beginning, which meant we could follow our programme perfectly without wasting any time. Also the car reacted to our changes very well. For me it was a day to get used to not only the new car but also to the team with all the people. And, of course, driving-wise there’s more to come from me as this was only my first day after a long break.”
Nico Rosberg, posted the day’s fourth-fastest time during the morning session.
Fifth quickest was McLaren tester Gary Paffett, who was charged with giving the MP4-25 its maiden run and completed 86 laps. The principal focus for the day was putting mileage on the new car. McLaren’s programme started with a number of shorter five-lap runs to establish a benchmark for the day. Into the afternoon, the team were increasingly confident with the car’s reliability and conducted some longer runs, looking at a greater variety of set-up configurations. Paffett, who hands over to Lewis Hamilton on Tuesday, declared himself happy with the car’s balance and handling.
Paffett was the last runner to make it under the 1m 13s mark, with Rubens Barrichello ending the day in sixth following his first day in the new Williams FW32. Barrichello covered 75 laps for his new team, concentrating on initial systems, performance and reliability checks. Formula 1
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