F1 testing has been going on this past weekend in Spain and while I try not to pay too much attention to the times being set by the drivers taking part (I still check Schumacher’s to see how he’s running even though I know it means very little) it is worth looking at who seems to be running well consistently and who is struggling. It should come as no surprise that McLaren are looking good, that the teams you expect to be steady are indeed steady and that the new teams that have actually made it to testing – Virgin and Lotus – are struggling with a bit of reliability.

Only two weeks from next Sunday until the start of the season so we really are at the point of getting it right now for the teams.

Seeing Lotus and Virgin testing away is great, but there is more concern around the Campos and USF1 teams which have yet to run any testing yet and have been the speculation of rumors on whether they will actually make it to the start of the season. At the time of writing Campos appeared to have found a new owner that will ensure the team does make the season opener with concern now turning to how they will actually preform with no testing done. Expect to see them use the first couple of races almost as test sessions to see exactly where they are at. Young Bruno Senna really is coming in at the deep end.

Then there is USF1 whose status is still very much up in the air. They have confirmed this weekend that they have applied to F1 to start the season four races into the season in Barcelona instead of attending the flyaway races when they are far from ready. I’m not sure that will be allowed but it’ll all come down to how badly F1 wants them on the grid. There is another team supposedly lined up to join if they don’t make it – how ready they will be with no testing themselves also remains to be seen – but F1 will likely give USF1 every chance to make it to Bahrain and if they cannot be left deciding whether to allow them into the championship four races along.

Winter testing for the 2010 Formula One season is officially underway and the greatest sight of all is that of Michael Schumacher back behind the wheel of an F1 car regardless of the fact that it seems strange not seeing him in a Red Ferrari. Actually, I wonder how many people look at the Ferrari garage waiting for him to emerge only to catch themselves on?

The session at Circuit Ricardo Tormo also marked the comeback of Felippe Massa who returns from a serious head injury that at one point was not just career threatening, but life threatening and he proved there is no rust by setting the fast time of the day at 1 minute 12.574 secs.

Schumacher was on the pace from the get go, getting used to the latest brand of Formula One car and finished the day with the third fastest time of 1 minute 12.947 secs after 40 laps completed.

“In a way it’s like 91 again,” said Schumacher, “I felt like I had a toy in my hands. For the first day, the team have done a superb job.”

Still, you cannot read too much into the times set by drivers on the first days of testing. Many drivers are running many different set-ups and fuel loads and so the timings can be off for various reasons. An example of this is the fact that Pedro de la Rosa in his Sauber (great to see that name back) set the second fastest time and he has been out of the F1 racing game since 2006 (and he ain’t no Schumacher).

Often smaller teams use these tests as a chance to lighten up the car and put in a few quick times to potentially pull in sponsors while other more stable teams will immediately get ready for race type situations which this year will include no re-fueling and therefore very different handling cars compared to previous years. Don’t however expect it to take long for the runners and riders to get used to the new styles of the cars, these guys adapt very quickly as has been seen in previous years when rule changes have changed the dynamics of the cars.

Seven of the expected 13 teams took part, none of the four newcomers put in an appearance.

It isn’t easy to win in F1, even with a entire winter to test and develop your team with everyone in tune with what is going on. It is harder still to win if you are a brand new team to the sport. But what might be hardest of all is confirming your place on the grid less than a month before the stat of the season with a car under developed and un-tested, with a staff of workers who spent the entire winter not knowing if they had a job the following week.

So when Ross Brawn finally took on Honda and the hit the track this past weekend, not to much was expected. At the very least it could be mid-season before they come even close to putting in a good race.

Right?

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