Free Practice 3 – Massa & Kimi Fastest In Final PracticeFull practice report can be read here
Ferrari gave a firm hint that its upgrade package has vaulted it
back into contention by taking a comfortable one-two in the final
practice session at Barcelona.
Felipe Massa topped the session by 0.082 seconds over team-mate Kimi
Raikkonen, with championship leader Jenson Button third for Brawn,
nearly half a second down on Raikkonen’s time…
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:20.553 18
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:20.635 + 0.082 22
3. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.050 + 0.497 19
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.163 + 0.610 17
5. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:21.239 + 0.686 21
6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:21.256 + 0.703 23
7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.346 + 0.793 16
8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:21.377 + 0.824 26
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.424 + 0.871 19
10. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.499 + 0.946 17
11. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.519 + 0.966 15
12. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.594 + 1.041 20
13. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:21.629 + 1.076 19
14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.649 + 1.096 19
15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:21.685 + 1.132 18
16. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:21.689 + 1.136 18
17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:21.909 + 1.356 19
18. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.043 + 1.490 19
19. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:22.232 + 1.679 19
20. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:23.457 + 2.904 8
Breaking News & Quotes:
Rosberg rules out fighting for pole
Alonso not convinced by KERS 
Ferrari were sandbagging! Maybe, maybe not. We shall find out in two hours time! Keep Flying Kimi ~
Free Practice 2 – Williams Duo Fastest
Full practice report can be read here
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.588 43
2. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.740 + 0.152 40
3. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.781 + 0.193 36
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.843 + 0.255 39
5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.027 + 0.439 37
6. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.052 + 0.464 35
7. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.082 + 0.494 45
8. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.349 + 0.761 26
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.571 + 0.983 17
10. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.599 + 1.011 40
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.615 + 1.027 30
12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:22.670 + 1.082 32
13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.809 + 1.221 31
14. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.876 + 1.288 29
15. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.878 + 1.290 35
16. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.948 + 1.360 40
17. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.173 + 1.585 39
18. Glock Toyota (B) 1:23.360 + 1.772 46
19. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.623 + 2.035 47
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B)
Breaking News & Quotes:
Raikkonen sure Ferrari has closed gap
Button disappointed with car handling
Spain Friday quotes: Bridgestone
Hamilton says pace worse than expected
Ferrari Team Quotes: One hundred and ten laps completed by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro over the two Friday free practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix: 60 for Kimi Raikkonen and 50 for Felipe Massa. “We had a very busy day: having so many new parts on the F60, the work sheet was full and we managed to complete it in its entirety,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “It was important to be able to work without major reliability problems on an aero package which is pretty much making its track debut today. We managed it and that’s definitely a positive thing when evaluating the day. As for performance, it is always difficult to draw conclusions. We have certainly made progress, but how much when compared to the competition we will only find out as the weekend continues.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “We have definitely made a step forward in performance terms on the car: you can feel a greater level of aerodynamic downforce and that’s what we needed. Sure, it’s Friday and it’s always difficult to draw conclusions, but the feeling is that we have closed the gap to the top cars. Here, just as at the last race, the harder tyre is a bit difficult, while on the softer one, we’re reasonably good. Tomorrow morning, we’ll work on qualifying, given that today we concentrated on race preparation. All in all, I am happy with how things went today.” Yay, that’s good to hear! Keep Flying Kimi! This is so funny – a Kimi team radio moment from the practice session today. Race engineer Andrea Stella notifies Kimi about using the KERS and Kimi replies: "Yeah you don’t need to tell me every lap and every corner, I can see it from the lights". Then Andrea replies calmly: "Okay, okay, this is very important because this is our race advantage". Haha! Thank goodness he saved us the embarrassment saying "Kimi baby". We’ve had plenty of Kimi team radio moments this season already, this one goes into my collection.
Free Practice 1 – Button Quickest
Full practice report can be read here
Ferrari – Free Practice To Test Aerodynamics: Ferrari worked hard for the GP in Catalonia and the Team showed up with a new aerodynamic package, sporting also a double diffuser, the KERS and a lighter chassis for Kimi’s single-seater. The Barcelona circuit is one of the preferred tracks for the teams’ winter test sessions and also the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro worked here in Spain during the last winter. Even the other teams have been working on their cars since the last race, so it will only be possible after the first outing on the track to see the teams’ performance levels, culminating in Saturday’s qualifying. Barcelona is this season’s first race on the European continent. For a good result one needs a good position on the starting grid, because overtaking is extremely difficult on this track. Therefore strategy and grid position will be decisive for the outcome. The Scuderia’s mechanics worked last night to set up the F60 with the changes made to the chassis and the single-seaters overall project.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.799 21
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.154 + 0.355 30
3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.221 + 0.422 24
4. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.658 + 0.859 14
5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.659 + 0.860 24
6. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.667 + 0.868 26
7. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.753 + 0.954 24
8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:22.828 + 1.029 29
9. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.855 + 1.056 15
10. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.859 + 1.060 24
11. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.873 + 1.074 20
12. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.934 + 1.135 25
13. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.959 + 1.160 24
14. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.077 + 1.278 21
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.088 + 1.289 30
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.089 + 1.290 25
17. Alonso Renault (B) 1:23.157 + 1.358 18
18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.185 + 1.386 31
19. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.522 + 1.723 17
20. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.536 + 1.737 19
Breaking News & Quotes:
Rosberg expresses weight loss concerns
Vettel: We are fighting for the title
Glock wary of big teams’ reaction
Alonso: Hamilton will restore reputation
Kimi and the F60 are having their first proper test at a full circuit today, so there’s plenty of work to be done. Since only Marc Gene tried it out at Vairano in a straight line test, it’s still Kimi’s car so it’ll take time for him to get adjusted to it, or the other way round rather. Hopefully there will be no problems on track during the next two practice sessions! Kimi’s sounding upbeat about the progress but he remains cautious, as usual. And I’ve just read on our forum that Kimi will be participating in his third rally this year at the end of this month! While we wait for the second session, here are a couple of stories from yesterday:
Raikkonen: No new championship – On Thursday, the opening questions asked the Finnish driver if he felt that the Spanish Grand Prix could be the start of a new championship for him and the Scuderia.
“No, not at all. There is no new championship and we have to be realistic. We have done our best to improve the car with various developments and the figures we have seen from the wind tunnel are encouraging. But, we will have to wait and see what the other teams have done and only by the end of Friday will we get a first general idea and only after qualifying on Saturday will there be a more realistic picture of what everyone’s new developments have done to the order on the grid.
“I’m pleased the team has worked so hard to make me a lighter chassis to use as from this race. It will definitely help with dealing with the additional weight of the KERS system, which we know is a benefit to us. I weigh around ten kilos more than Felipe, so this is why I am glad to have it. This combined with the extra downforce from the new aero developments will make a difference. How much? Let’s wait and see.”
Raikkonen was reminded that the last time he won a Grand Prix was here in Barcelona one year ago. “That makes no difference to me,” he shrugged. “As a racing driver, every race is an opportunity to start again and try and win. It changes nothing for me.”
Kimi’s daily life and physical preparations: At the Catalunya box, during the impatient preparations for the upcoming race weekend, we met Mark Arnall, Kimi Raikkonen’s personal trainer. With him we discovered some very interesting facts about Kimi’s daily life and his physical preparation for the races.
Mark stays with Kimi during the test days, the GPs, but also in Switzerland and Finland, where Kimi spends most of his time when he’s not behind the F60’s wheel. “During a training day at home in the morning Kimi does some cardio fitness for one to three hours,” Mark told us. “Quite often he rides his mountain bike or does some exercises for his overall fitness. In the afternoon he likes to do some fun sport and often plays badminton, golf, ice hockey or goes jet skiing. This training helps him to strengthen his leg muscles and, in the case of jet skiing he improves balance, coordination and muscles in his upper body he needs for driving.” Mark is always very close to Kimi during when they plan the days and he has been doing this work for the last 13 years. How does Kimi’s diet look like? Does he eat anything particular? “Kimi is a very healthy eater, also because his wife Jenni likes healthy food. In the morning he has Finish porridge for breakfast, sometimes cheese, ham and eggs. He likes pasta, chicken and salads.”
And during the Grand Prix weekends, how does a usual day look like for Kimi? “On the day of the qualifying he has breakfast at around 9:45am and then he’s off to the track. After the technical meeting he goes out for the third free practice session. There’s lunch at 12:30pm, followed by the qualifying and some technical briefings and meetings with the FIA. Sometimes he gets a back and neck massage, because these are the parts stressed most from driving. Or he does just some stretching and swims a bit. On the day of the race he arrives at the track at around 11:15am, takes part in the technical meetings, has lunch at 12:50pm and then, at 2pm, there’s the race. During the race Kimi drinks around half a litre of water.” After the race there‘s a special programme lasting for two days and then it’s back to the usual programme, waiting for the next race.
FUCK ISRAEL 
GO KIMI
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was sure we could be optimistic all the same!! they had lost of work to do today and not necessary try to have the higher speed!!i’m happy!Keep flying Kimi!!
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When you take into consideration what a terrible physical performance the drivers have to complete during a race with several kilos of weight loss you cannot wonder that they always must be absolute fit and in a good condition – and in order to achieve that they must work so hard… and Kimi is so hard working – i never see him tired after a race – just having a bit red face 🙂 and wet hair… Thanks Saima, for the interview!
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Very very nice article. Very refreshing as well. Moreover Saima I am so happy for you as you met Kimi in London. Your coverage of the whole day brought tears to my eyes. It looked as if it happened to me. The coverage was so superb, i reckon you can start writing your own novels. anyway very happy to read the above article and your coverage of Kimi’s visit to London… Cheers!
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