Formula One: Massa quickest in testing

The covers are off, the media briefings are finished, the tyre warmers are engaged and the engines are acquainting themselves with the stresses and strains which will become commonplace for the rest of the year. The best indicator of the ending of the off season is upon us. Testing for the 2010 Formula One Grand Prix season has began in Valencia Spain!

Massa

Felipe Massa had to remove the cobwebs from his driver seat, gloves, suit and helmet thanks to his injury inspired absence from the circuit. His recovery was a speedy one and even though he started his preparation program long ago, the true test of preparedness comes when you place your rump in the current car and compare times with drivers who command big bucks and even bigger skills.

Time sheets can’t lie, they show no bias but, they do have a lot of enemies. A timesheet will separate the men from the boys quicker than an upshift from a F1 paddle shifted transmission (which happens in significantly less than a second). Massa was quickest around the circuit at Valencia on both Monday and Tuesday, clocking 1:12.574 on Monday and 1:11.722 on Tuesday.

It should be pointed out that he covered much more ground (laps ) than the other drivers on the grid – understandably so. He sped to 102 laps on the first day and 124 laps on the second day. If Ferrari needed a sign to motivate the team, Massa’s performance thus far may just do the trick.

There is no doubt that the other teams were all busy watching each other and as such Massa’s performance would not go unnoticed. Can Ferrari with the new F10 win more than 1 race this season? 

A quick glance at the timesheets revealed something rather interesting. With only 40 laps completed, seven times World Champion Michael Schumacher, after taking the Mercedes GP machine, W01, from team-mate Nico Rosberg, was third quickest on Monday, recording a 1:12.947. Is this an indication of things to come?

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer