There were no bold statements at Valencia after Tuesday’s opening day of pre-season testing.<\/p>\n
The usually furtive 2010 runner-up Fernando Alonso tested at the wheel of Ferrari’s new F150 and claimed to have not even looked at reigning champion Red Bull’s 2011 challenger.<\/p>\n
“I followed Vettel for a while and noticed he had the same colours as before,” joked the 29-year-old to the Spanish press.<\/p>\n
Mercedes’ new W02 did not seem fast and broke down on its tenth lap with an hydraulic problem.<\/p>\n
“I’ve had cars that started off great and became troublesome, and troublesome cars that became great,” said team boss Ross Brawn.<\/p>\n
Vettel was Tuesday’s quickest, but Alonso ridiculed anyone who took that accomplishment seriously.<\/p>\n
“I remember last year at the last test we were sixth fastest with Sauber and Force India ahead of us.\u00a0 At Sakhir we lapped them,” said the 2010 Bahrain winner.<\/p>\n
“Testing is like watching Real Madrid or Barcelona play against (reserve teams) Castilla or Barcelona B.\u00a0 One or the other could win but it doesn’t mean anything,” insisted Alonso.<\/p>\n
More interesting at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit this week are some of the innovations, including Renault’s exhaust, and the heavily undercut roll hoop and waist of the new Williams FW33.<\/p>\n
“It’s gorgeous, the rear of the car is fantastic,” gushed Rubens Barrichello.<\/p>\n
“At the moment you look at the times and it’s bad for us, but there is a three second difference between an empty fuel tank and what we are using,” he told Globe Esporte.<\/p>\n
Another notable innovation is aboard the newly launched Toro Rosso, with Auto Motor und Sport saying it is a reminder of Ferrari’s ‘double floor’ of 1992.<\/p>\n
And arguably the least radical of the new cars is Vettel’s currently chart-topping RB7.<\/p>\n
“It is the third generation of the RB5 family,” admitted designer Adrian Newey.\u00a0 “It’s an evolution.”<\/p>\n
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