Sebastien Buemi may come across as a cocky sod (he nominated Jenson Button as his preferred team-mate at Toro Rosso, even though he has yet to secure a seat with the team), but he clearly knows how to drive, so we’ll let him off.
The Swiss youngster continued to impress in testing at Jerez, setting the pace for the fifth day in a row. He was quickest around the Spanish circuit last week on each of the three days when he tested for a seat at Toro Rosso. And so far this week, in his day job as Red Bull’s test driver, Buemi has again proved untouchable (not all the teams were testing, admittedly).
“It’s been a very good test so far, we’ve been improving with every lap, which is really good for next season and I’m happy,” he said.
“We’re learning more about the slick tyres too, which is important. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and trying to improve myself more.”
Sebastian Vettel made it a 1-2 for Red Bull on Tuesday as he finished just under two tenths behind Buemi. The two Sebs were followed by the BMW Sauber pair of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, with Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima in fifth.
The FIA carried out random anti-doping tests during testing at Jerez last week (In 2005, F1 improved its drugs testing programme to meet World Anti-Doping Agency standards).
On Thursday at the Spanish circuit, Ferrari’s two race drivers, McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and Toro Rosso new boy Sebastien Buemi had to report to the FIA transporter to supply urine samples, the Swiss newspaper Blick reported.
Buemi revealed that he was also tested at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, when he was a test driver for Red Bull.
“Some weeks later two physicians arrived at my parents’ house in Augle (Switzerland) at six in the morning and asked me for another sample.”
As far as we know, no F1 driver has ever failed a doping test. In 2002, F3000 driver Tomas Enge tested postitive for cannabis (yeah, that helps you drive faster); the points he was stripped of cost him the F3000 title that year.
Mark Webber topped the timesheet at Jerez yesterday, to compete another strong day for the Red Bull team; Seb Vettel - who will team up with Webber in 2009 - set the pace for Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior team, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Steady Webbo was pleased with his team’s efforts in Spain:
“The car ran pretty reliably, and we’ve clocked up some good mileage. Today we were mostly getting ready for Budapest, as well as looking at developments for a little later in the season. Yesterday we were focusing more on ‘09, and it was quite a challenging day. Today was better in terms of what we learned mechanically and aerodynamically. It’s been a hot week for the guys working here, and they’ve done a good job.”
In scorching conditions, Seb Vettel again was the man to beat in F1 testing at Jerez. He was the only driver to dip below the 1:19.00 mark, beating the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg.
In preparation for the new regulations in 2009, Vettel ran on slick tyres all day, and with reduced downforce. Red Bull, Honda, Williams and McLaren also sent thier drivers out on Bridgestone slicks.
Seb Vettel was quickest at Jerez yesterday, although he was one of only two grand prix drivers to test - Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was the other. Vettel and Trulli apart, Tuesday was a chance for the test drivers to do what they’re paid for.
A BMW Sauber mechanic suffered a major electric shock as the team started testing its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on the first day of testing at Jerez in Spain.
Test driver Christian Klien was sent out to complete three laps with the KERS device in place before returning to the pits. When Klien’s car returned, mechanics moved towards the car but the first team member to touch the sidepod received an electric shock which saw him fall to the ground in pain.
Here’s a short clip of MotoGP rider Anthony West showing off the new “screamer” powered Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR in a post-race test session at Jerez. Sounds awesome.
TECH TALK A “screamer” engine fires its cylinders at regular intervals, whilst a regular, “Big Bang” engine fires its two cylinders close together, followed by a break, then the other two cylinders in close succession.
