It’s just testing, it’s just testing, it’s just testing.
Still, Ferrari has to feel at least OK with things as Fernando Alonso topped the first day of testing at Mugello — a track Ferrari ought to do well at, I realize.
The cars were running on a rain-slicked track, so that maybe tosses some more uncertainties into the mix.
Nevertheless, here’s the results via the official Formula 1 site:
Unofficial Tuesday test times from Mugello:
1. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:22.444, 46 Laps
2. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:23.648, 24 Laps
3. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:23.891, 32 Laps
4 Jerome D’Ambrosio, Lotus, 1:24.048, 40 Laps
5. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:24.100, 49 Laps
6. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:24.736, 48 Laps
7. Oliver Turvey, McLaren, 1:25.303, 30 Laps
8. Jules Bianchi, Force India, 1:25.475, 19 Laps
9. Rodolfo Gonzalez, Caterham, 1:27.197, 35 Laps
10. Charles Pic, Marussia, 1:27.359, 45 Laps
11. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:29.179, 28 Laps
12. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:50.898, 4 laps
13. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes, no time, 5 Lap
Alonso certainly is putting a damp tone on the results.
“It’s a shame about the rain, which complicated the running of this first day of testing and a shame for the spectators who deserved to see more of a show,” Alonso told the F1 site. “We had a pretty busy work programme, but we only managed to get through a part of it.
“Therefore, it’s impossible to give a serious evaluation, especially as we did so little dry running. I can only say that, for me, it was a pleasure to be driving at this track again: the first and only other time was back in 2001, when I was testing for Minardi. It’s a spectacular track and it would be nice to be able to race on it!”
As we all know, Ferrari needs some serious evaluation if it is going to get its car in order and hope to compete on any playing field that isn’t leveled due to Alonso’s skill. (Seriously, what might he have done last year in the Red Bull, do you suppose?)
