Bahrain Test Day Four: Massa Ends Test On Top

The final day of testing at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit drew to a close earlier with Felipe Massa returning his Ferrari F60 to the top of the timing sheet. The Brazilian driver enjoyed a busy afternoon that involved set up work and reliability testing. Nick Heidfeld posted the second fastest lap in the new BMW F1.09 after completing 122 laps and overcoming two mechanical issues. Fellow German Timo Glock could only manage 65 laps in the Toyota TF109 before suffering from a hydraulic problem.

Although we lost some time due to a sandstorm last week, the long test in Bahrain was very productive. We could work with the cars in temperatures we would not have encountered in Europe at this time of the year, making it good preparation for the first races of the upcoming season.

We worked mainly on the general set-up of the BMW Sauber F1.09, trying numerous solutions on the mechanical and aero side of the car as well as gaining experience with the three available tyre compounds.

We also made good progress with KERS. Overall we reached our target of collecting as much data as possible about the car’s reactions to changes in the set-up. Willy Rampf.

Today the track conditions were the best they have been all week. We could already try a couple of improvements. The car reacts to changes as planned, so I’m confident we are working in the right direction. Nick Heidfeld.

Despite putting in the lion’s share of laps this week, Toyota ended the test on a slight low, having lost track time today due to a hydraulics issue. However, the team has gathered a lot of information since Tuesday when this week’s test began and Timo Glock was suitably upbeat.

Today we missed much of the day’s action due to a hydraulics problem so it was a shame to lose running time. But the mechanics did a good job and when we made it onto the track we put in some useful work.

Overall we have put a lot of miles on the TF109 this week. We’ve made good progress with set-up and I’m confident that this can continue. Timo Glock.

As the test in Barcelona didn’t happen this week, the next time the cars are expected to be in action is at the Jerez circuit in Spain between the 1st and 5th March.

Bahrain Test Day Four Results Table		Lap Time Fastest Time Set	Laps Set Number Laps Set
1.	Felipe Massa Ferrari	1m32.126s	113 Laps
2.	Nick Heidfeld BMW	1m32.225s	122 Laps
3.	Timo Glock Toyota	1m32.445s	65 Laps