Ferrari's Fernando Alonso conceded that the new F2012 is "quite complex to understand", but that the Italian marque is gathering more information every time the car takes to the track.

"It is true that we keep getting information about the car, information that sometimes we should already have in our pocket, but the car seems quite complex to understand and we need to keep understanding better what is the behaviour," said the Spaniard after his second, and final, day in the car for this test.

Alonso also stated that speed is the ultimate gain over reliability. "I remember last year in the first tests we did a race distance on the final day and we were 1.5 seconds behind Red Bull in Australia", he said to the waiting press, "So a race distance is always welcome, but I prefer to have a performing car and to find reliability, than to have a strong car that is slow."

"At the moment we don't know exactly where we are. I think maybe we are not the fastest but definitely we are not the slowest – so we need to wait and see, especially in the final test. With hotter temperatures in Australia etc we will see how the cars work and in Q3 there is the time to see where you are in Melbourne."

Felipe Massa will take over the running of the car for the last two days of the Barcelona test.

This article "Alonso: "We're not the fastest, or the slowest"" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

The second day of testing in Barcelona saw Lewis Hamilton complete an epic 121 laps, some of which he spent pseudo-battling with Vettel.  Hulkenberg, Perez and Ricciardo all posted very quick times, although the Toro Rosso had issues yet again with the car coming to a halt at the exit of the pit lane.

Ferrari are still either sand-bagging or just not very confident about their 2012 car whereas there seems to be an air buoyancy around the Williams team - sure we can't expect podiums, but Senna seemed happy yesterday and their test driver Bottas was similarly upbeat today, so maybe come Melbourne, Frank will have something to smile about.

Here's a gallery of images from the on-track action today, provided by Octane Photos (@OctanePhotos on Twitter).  One thing's for sure, when the cars are travelling at speed on track, the 'step' noses don't really figure, they all still look fast.

This article "Gallery: Barcelona Testing Day 2" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

Thanks to the lovely folk at Caterham we had the chance to interview Heikki Kovalainen after the first day's testing in Barcelona.  We wanted to know more about one of the most popular and charming chaps on the grid, including what it's like being an F1 driver at a test, what he likes for breakfast, whether he has any plans to grow a beard and far more besides...

Cool, calm and upbeat, it's Heikki!

Tricky day today, how are you feeling?

We couldn't get everything done today, with the rear suspension failure on the left side which took a while to fix and we've just got a temporary fix for today with new parts being flown in over night, ready for Vitaly to go out tomorrow.

After today's issues are you and the team on the backfoot?

No, not really - we have the next three days and we have plenty of tyres and time to get the laps in to complete our programmes.  It's not ideal having a bad start, but it's not by any means a big deal.

From a drivers point of view, do you enjoy testing?

Yes, absolutely. Driving is the best part of the job - and these days its less and less so it's great to get out on track whenever we can.

So are there any downsides to being at testing as a driver?

Not driving - hanging around and not being able to go out while the other driver is out in the car for the day.

Speaking of the other driver, how are you getting on with your new team mate?

I've seen him briefly and he seems fine. I know him from the past, so we'll work well together to take the team forward just as we did with Jarno.

Drivers these days spend a lot of time in the simulator, how does it compare with actual track testing?

In the simulator you get basic guidelines - gear ratios and downforce levels, whereas at the track you get a better measure of the tyres and of grip levels which are not easily modelled in the simulator.

You seem very upbeat - which is great - but when will we see Heikki on the podium?

In 2012?  Haha! [gasps] I don't think that would be a realistic goal for me this year, but scoring points and being in the midfield is definitely achievable. If there are some unusual situations then it's possible, but unlikely.

There's a lot of talk about the new tyre compounds for 2012, what are your thoughts?

There's less difference between the compounds so we'll see different tactics this year - rather than having one good and one bad tyre.  For us, the rears are stronger than the fronts.

Enough about testing, let's learn more about Heikki...

Heikki: always clean shaven

There's some impressive facial hair amongst the drivers, have you ever considered growing a beard?

[Laughs] No not really.  Sometimes I grow one but it takes so long to grow and I have no time to trim.

What's your favourite breakfast?

Porridge - I have a special porridge from Finland, which is for kids and I have it every day.

Favourite cheese?

None really, I hate cheese, except maybe parmesan on pasta.

Tea or coffee?

Tea.  No coffee at all and only a bit of tea.

What's your ideal Sunday afternoon, when you're not driving an F1 car?

Be at home.  Have a workout in the morning, lunch and then 18 holes of golf before spending time with my girlfriend and my friends.

If you could race in any previous season which would it be?

I don't really have any preference and I'm not a fan of old cars - if someone asks me which car would I like to drive, I'd say the 2011 Red Bull.

So you don't have a preferred car from history - do you have a driving hero?

Not really.  I used to follow rally and liked Markku Alén - he was always entertaining, driving on the limit and crashing a lot.  I followed F1 properly when Hakkinen joined McLaren.

And that concludes our chat with Heikki - we hope you enjoyed it! Where else could you learn about an F1 driver's shaving habits and cheese preferences?!

Many thanks to Tom Webb (@TWCaterhamF1 on Twitter) for organising the interview and, if you're not already, you should follow Heikki on Twitter - he really is most entertaining.

This article "When Badger Met Heikki" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

New Williams driver Bruno Senna was upbeat after the first day's testing in Barcelona on Tuesday, but still thinks the Williams FW34 will get better.

"Today I don't think we managed to improve as much as I think we need to," he said after completing his work for the day, "there is still room for improvement."

The Brazilian completed nearly 100 laps in total, and went into more detail on how the car was handling. "Our car seems to be consistent on the medium and high-speed corners, but on the slow speed we still need to work."

"We'll have to wait and see if the changes we make are going to be enough to mitigate the issue that we have. I didn't have enough time today to try enough stuff to see."

But, Senna seemed confident that reliability is strong for the team, putting it on a good front foot for 2012. "We did a lot of laps today and again, reliability seems to be in a good place," he said. "The tyres are behaving differently here than they were in Jerez so we need to understand what we are doing, but overall we have learned a bit about the car."

Following the announcement that Alex Wurz would be the team's driver's coach for the new season, Badger's own Adam Mills asked if any words of wisdom had been shared, Senna responded with "no, not yet, he was late getting here!"

Bruno meets Adam

This article "Senna: "Still room for improvement"" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

Mercede's Michael Schumacher was positive after his first day's testing in the new W03. The seven-time World Champion gave a brief press interview at the end of the afternoon session - and Badger was on hand to hear his thoughts.

The resident German legend stated the he was "resonably positive" about the fact that he managed 51 laps and 6th place, before hydraulic failure ended his time in the car early. "It has good potential. I had a good feeling inside the car. It's difficult to say what that feeling is worth because of the rule changes, but the potential is good."

Schumacher spoke about the new Pirelli compounds, which he feels are "more like an F1 tyre in comparison to last year", as well as the fact that Mercedes has plenty of data to use thanks to spending the Jerez test using their 2011 car.

When asked about the challenges facing returning drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Pedro De La Rosa, the German stated that the main challenge is "to get used to the team around you, as well as tailor-making the car to be more to your liking as time goes on".

Finally, the question about the 2012 cars and the implementation of the "ugly rule" didn't faze Michael, as long as he's sitting in a quick car. "For us it's very transparent. The main point is that the aero numbers are good and there are different ways of interpreting the rules. We'll find out what is the better way. For us it's not really anything special. The most important thing is what we see on the clock and that is what I'm looking at."

This article "Schumacher: "We have good potential"" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

Here's a collection of images from the first day of the Barcelona test, focusing on some of the details of the new cars, especially around the all important front-wing, rear and exhaust design.

The shots of the Lotus are the last we'll see this week, following the team pulling out of the test after day one with a broken chassis - their second chassis also had the same fault, so they're now busy back at Enstone.  See the video here of when they literally pulled out of the test.

And finally, our favourite banner of the day - fans missing Jaime. We miss him too!

This article "Gallery: Barcelona Testing Day 1" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

With Rubens Barrichello now all but confirmed as an IndyCar driver for 2012 we got to thinking: which other ousted F1 racers have made a successful switch to American open-wheel racing? The Badgerometer investigates (and for the purposes of doing so we're lumping the Indy Racing League, Champ Car, CART, USAC et al under one giant motor racing umbrella). 

Mark Blundell

When Mark Blundell gone and realised that the F1 weren't not no good for him no more he done gone and booked himself a ticket on a plane to America - what is, in fairness, abroad from England - and done gone to do some racing over there, specifically, if you is wondering, for the PacWest team, what done raced in CART (what also was known as Champ Car, IndyCar and other things).

Mark done found himself very good at this, particularly in his second season (1997) when he only gone and won three races and finished sixth in the championship, what is very impressive for someone what had, in fairness, only previously been to America to visit Orlando, Florida, what is a mecca for English tourists.

Then in 1998 Mark wasn't as good and in '99 he done had a very nasty accident what done broken his legs, which is the second most important limb for driving, and he never done recovered fully. 2000 was also a bit rubbish and then he left CART to take on the big world of telly, which would eventually beat him too.

Mark's team-mate for this time was another former F1 driver, Brazilian Mauricio Gugelmin. We could have gone and made him number five instead, what would have been fair given that he beat Mark in the 1997 standings, but that would have meant writing this like a normal person, what would, in fairness, have gone and done been far less fun.*

Teo Fabi

After a nightmare first year in F1 (seven DNQs from 14 attempts) Teo Fabi nipped over to America in 1983 to try his hand at IndyCar. He was a sensation, winning four times and ending the season just shy of title winner (and genuine U.S legend) Al Unser. This also involved beating the likes of Michael Andretti, Bobby Rahal and Rick Mears, and thus marked Fabi out as the series' new star.

But unfortunately he couldn't get F1 out of his mind and continued trying to crack grand prix racing, even when it cost him his IndyCar seat and meant racking up more air miles than Biggles. What do you mean you don't know who Biggles is?

Things didn't work out for Fabi in F1 and his IndyCar form never returned. He took just one more win in the States and had what was, at best, an unremarkable stint in grand prix racing.

Nigel Mansell

Since shaving off his facial hair Nigel Mansell spends a fair bit of time reminiscing about his stint in the land of the moustache: America. His version of events differs slightly from reality (Our Nige claims to have discovered the American continent whilst trying to find a passage to India) but the truth of the matter is he isn't far off Chris Columbus (the explorer, not the Harry Potter director) as he conquered the States quite convincingly.

Joing IndyCar in '93 Mansell won first time out, grabbed a few more podiums, took third at Indy and then won in Milwaukee. Further triumphs in Michigan, New Hampshire and Nazareth saw him capture the title from another former F1 man in the shape of Emerson Fittipaldi.

What's most impressive about Our Nige's title triumph is that four of his five race wins in '93 were on ovals. Take heart, Rubens - even an old dog can learn new tricks.

Emerson Fittipaldi

You've won two world titles and then thrown your F1 career down the pan by joining your brother in trying to set up a new team. What do you do next? Why, you conquer America of course. In 1984, a full four years after leaving F1, Emerson Fittipaldi rocked up in IndyCar. By '85 he was a race winner and in 1989 he took a storming title win - and the Indy 500. He would finish as runner-up in '93 and '94, taking his second 500 in the former, to earn as much respect in America as he did in F1 circles.

Alex Zanardi

If ever a man could tame the sheer animal power of a mid-nineties Champ Car it was Alex Zanardi. His manhandling of those Honda-powered Reynards was as close to artistry as one could get in such a beefy machine. It was like watching a man wrestle a bear - and somehow win every time.

After a troubled and at times injury affected stint in F1 Zanardi decamped to the U.S in 1996, signing for Chip Ganassi. After picking up his maiden win that season he'd follow up with two dominant titles in '97 and '98, landing him a drive with Williams (which would be a disaster, but we're not here to talk about that).

What counts is that Zanardi won two Champ Car titles at a time when the series was packed with top-line drivers who rightly counted themselves as stars - and Alex shone brighter than the lot. His return to the series in 2001 would end in tragedy when he suffered the infamous accident that cost him both legs but, in the intervening decade, Zanardi has shown incredible spirit to not only return to motor sport but also succeed in a new discipline, hand-cycling. He is, ladies and gentlemen, a bona fide legend.

* I am indebted to the brilliant Sniff Petrol and their seminal work D.I Blundell for the style of this piece, what I have done gone and copied a bit in a way (though I like to think of it as a homage). 

This article "F1's Top Five IndyCar Converts" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

Mercedes have become the last of F1's big hitters to launch their 2012 racer by taking the covers of their WO3 in Barcelona this morning.

Rated by many as the car that could return Michael Schumacher to winning ways, and help Nico Rosberg finally break his victory duck, the car features one of the most dramatic platypus noses seen on the 2012 cars, but otherwise bares plenty of resemblance to its predecessor.

Credit: AMG Mercedes GP

The team shook the car down last week, leaving Schumacher pleased with his new motor.

"Already last week, when we were driving the F1 W03 for the very first time, it instantly gave us good feedback and sensations," the seven-time champ said during today's launch, before adding that taking the wraps off a fresh machine had lost none of its thrill.

"I have done quite a few roll-outs and launches of new cars, but even after all these years, I must say it still feels special," said Schumacher. "Days like this are precious moments, as they are always filled with hope and anticipation."

Meanwhile team boss Ross Brawn has admitted that the team must make progress in 2012 following two successive fourth place finishes in the constructors' standings.

"We have to go forward," said the Englishman. "None of us are happy with a recurring fourth place. That is not why any of us are here. We have to go forward, but I am quietly confident with the strength we have got, the resources we have got and the team we are building that we can do that."

Credit: AMG Mercedes GP

This article "Mercedes unveil the silver platypus" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

Podium or Pits is Badger's weekly guide to what's hot and what's not in Formula One. Stay tuned for a CBE, politics, some iron being pumped, staff movements and Petra...

Mansell's made it - Forget the considerable Formula 1 and IndyCar success, it's only now we can say he's finally arrived. That's right, our Nige has picked up his CBE for his charity work. Look, there's even an article in the Birmingham Mail about it.

The bit that caught POP's beady eye was:

'His CBE was bestowed less than a year after Mansell, a self-proclaimed proud Brummie, was added to the Birmingham Walk of Stars last August.'

• Number 1 - such a proud Brummie he chose to live on the Isle of Man?
• Number 2 - the Birmingham Walk of Stars?

----------------

In other charity based news, Jake Humphrey's been doing his bit.

Barred-rain? - Yep, it's that time of year again. You know, that time in February and early March when Bernie Ecclestone tries to make us think that the reason he wants the Bahrain grand prix to go ahead isn't the massive wedge of cash he's trousered from the royal family.

All POP has to say on this subject can be found on the BBC website.

Buff - We're sure some POP readers won't mind these pictures, so here they are.

All we have to say about it is that Lewis Hamilton can't really pull it off.

Oh yeah, and it's a Polish website. That's how far we go to find you stories. Poland. And no further.

Is this actually a promotion? Mike Gascoyne always tends to get shunted out of the way - is this another one of those moments or is it actually a Good Thing?

Mad as a box of frogs - We spoil you. We know we do, so have a look at this monument to ghastliness. Good grief, just look at it.

This article "Podium or Pits? It's Grand Prix POP!" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine

Looking through some old photos the other day, trying to find material for a Badger piece, I chanced upon some stuff from Jerez last year. Appropriate, obviously, as currently that's the main topic of conversation amongst F1 fans: do testing times mean anything?

To start with, let's look at a snap I took of a timing screen at the end of the first test we were at. It's a rubbish shot, but much easier than jotting down the times or waiting for an official timing sheet. Looking at it now, what do we see? A Ferrari in first place and a Red Bull in third - clearly not where they finished in the championship, and, interestingly, not dissimilar to the final day of testing at Jerez this year. In both cases, there is a rookie back of the grid interloper splitting them (Perez last year, Vergne in 2012) - from 2011 race results it's clear that we really shouldn't read too much into this.

Down at our end of the grid, the focus was on reliability and systems. Each day I was desperate to hear over the radio that we were going out on the softer tyres with low fuel, but it just didn't happen. Each team has it's philosophy of how to gain as much information as possibile, and looking at the times, it's quite probable that those philosophies haven't changed.

It's out on track where you get to see the cars cornering that you begin to get a fuller appreciation of what's going on. Who has to lift mid-corner, who looks planted and so on. One of the downsides about working in the garage (yes, there are are downsides - but really, really tiny ones!) is that you don't get to see the cars on track that much. But at Jerez, I went out briefly to took a look at the cars, and it's quite obvious which cars are running well, and which aren't. I was a bit disappointed about number 24, to be honest.

I took a couple of (rubbish) videos on the iPhone at turn 1, and I think these two videos show quite clearly the difference between front and the back of the grid.

Webber seems to be much more confident in the car, even though it's obviously out of shape - something that will be dialled out with set-up. Timo, is struggling though, unable to really attack the corner due to lack of all-round grip.

I can't recommend going to a test enough. My favourite used to be the pre-Monza tests, where there was always a great crowd, but you could still walk the entire circuit. Nowadays, Spain is pretty much your only option. There's still time to get out to Barcelona for one of the next two tests, and Badger are looking to be present at both. If you're lucky, you might even get close enough to the armco to take a video like this - but yours will be better quality though!

This article "Testing Times" originally found on Badger GP - The F1 Webzine