Alvin's Formula One Blog

Monday 2nd March 2009 Pedro de la Rosa has explained that McLaren's slow pace at Jerez - which saw him beaten by a Force India - was down to the team running some 2010 specs. McLaren spent the first day of this week's Spanish test evaluating compounds and casings for Bridgestone's 2010-spec rubber. One of the requirements was to run with the upcoming restriction on tyre warmers while the second was to use a heavy fuel-load due to the ban on refuelling. And de la Rosa's lap times were proof that it is not going to be easy for the drivers as he finished seventh out of the eight runners, 2.7s behind pace-setter Seb Vettel. In fact the Spaniard was so far off the pace that even the Force India of Giancarl Fisichella was ahead of him on the timesheets. "Running without tyre blankets makes it harder to get heat into the tyre - but that's the objective for next year and that's why Bridgestone w...

Thursday 22nd January 2009 McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa says he has been surprised that the pace of this year's cars compares favourably with last year's models. De la Rosa has been testing McLaren's 2009 MP4-24 at the Algarve circuit this past week, finishing his two days of action in second place behind a 2008 car that was driven by Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi. And although the Spaniard failed to match Buemi's lap times by a few seconds, he reckons this year's cars, which feature new aero packages and slick tyres, can match the pace of their predecessors. "I'm surprised how little difference the slick tyres and the aero package have made," de la Rosa told Autosport . "The car has more grip at low speed, so we are definitely gaining time, but then losing a little bit in the high speed corners. "I think that the lap times will be very similar. What you lose...