Williams’ official launch took just five minutes in the Jerez pitlane on Tuesday, before the new Renault-powered FW34 had a difficult birth.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately testing was cut short with a couple of initial teething problems which we are currently investigating,” said engineer Mark Gillan.<\/p>\n
Official testing action burst into life in 2012, with every team except Marussia – and nine all-new cars in action for the first time – kicking off their campaigns.<\/p>\n
Returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was fastest all day.<\/p>\n
“The lap times don’t matter today,” Lotus’ Finn insisted.<\/p>\n
“I do have a good feeling, and that was not always the case in my career after the first day of testing,” he told Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.<\/p>\n
“But I would rather be P1 at the end of the first race than at the end of the first test day,” smiled Raikkonen.<\/p>\n
Red Bull’s Mark Webber, with the team’s brand new title-defending car only the third quickest of the 2012 runners, agreed.<\/p>\n
“If what we saw today happens in Melbourne, then we’ll talk again,” he laughed, explaining the missed morning of testing as due to a crucial part being held up at an airport shrouded in fog.<\/p>\n
The Guardian also reports that a Red Bull truckie was stopped for speeding.<\/p>\n
Lotus team boss Eric Boullier, however, is convinced Raikkonen’s speed is real – and his motivation intact – after two years away.<\/p>\n
“Believe me, he is there.”<\/p>\n
Agreed technical director James Allison: “You can tell Kimi is a class act.”<\/p>\n
Like fellow top team Red Bull, the new McLaren also had a low-profile day, with Jenson Button just eighth quickest.<\/p>\n
But he didn’t accuse Lotus and Raikkonen of showboating.<\/p>\n
“Maybe he (Raikkonen) was running heavy,” said the 2009 world champion.\u00a0 “We maybe haven’t seen eye to eye a lot of the time when we’ve been racing, but he’s a very quick driver, a world champion.<\/p>\n
“He’s obviously in a very competitive car, and whatever they did today – low fuel or whatever – it was still quick.”<\/p>\n
Struggling on Tuesday was Caterham, whose new car could not be restarted following damage to the engine starter shaft, and Toro Rosso with an oil leak.<\/p>\n
And Felipe Massa was just ninth in the new Ferrari.<\/p>\n
“It is obviously too early to say if this year we will be able to win or not,” said designer Nikolas Tombazis.<\/p>\n
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