Overwhelmed by the last pre-season tests at Barcelona!

Me watching Vettel testing his SF15T at Circuit de Catalunya on Feb 26.

When the Formula 1 season 2014 ended and it had been confirmed that Sebastian Vettel was moving to Ferrari as Kimi Räikkönen´s team-mate I had one dream only: I wanted to see this line-up live! I had travelled to Barcelona to watch the F1 winter tests back in 2011 (that´s how this blog got started by the way) but Kimi wasn´t driving F1 back then because the Iceman was participating in WRC in 2010 and 2011. As Kimi´s current contract covers this year only (though there´s an option for one more year) I thought this might possibly be my last chance to see Kimi at the wheel of an F1 car! Every year since 2011 I´ve dreamt about the possibility to go and watch the winter tests again but this year it finally came true!

I waited for the trip so badly that I couldn´t sleep properly the whole week before my departure! When I was on the plane on my way to Barcelona early on Thursday morning I felt absolutely unreal. It was hard to believe that I was about to see Kimi and Sebastian driving in front of my very eyes...

On Friday Feb 27 I saw Kimi driving an F1 car for the first time in my life!

Me and my twin sister Laura arrived at Circuit de Catalunya by taxi on Thursday afternoon right after the lunch break. There had been some light rain just before the break but luckily the track hadn´t turned too damp and there were many cars on track right away. McLaren´s misfortune seemed to continue as Button had managed to complete only 7 laps in the morning session until he faced a hydraulic leak which ended the Briton´s test day so no McLaren on track in the afternoon. I had looked forward to hearing the sound of the Honda engine for the first time so I was slightly disappointed that Button didn´t make it on track in the afternoon. Hamilton had also faced a technical failure in the morning as the MGU-K of his FW06 had failed so Hamilton´s testing for the day was also over. I was a bit surprised that Mercedes was hit by this kind of a technical issue as the FW06 had seemed quite reliable in the previous test sessions. I can assure that it was absolutely overwhelming to see Kimi on track for the very first time in my life at the wheel of the SF15T! I enjoyed every second that I got to spend on the track! Luckily I had my sister with me: Laura concentrated on taking photos as I was so emotional that I was almost shaking like a leaf ;) The weather got better by the last hours of the test day and it was absolutely awesome to sit in the grandstand opposite the Ferrari pit garage and watch Kimi leaving the pits and heading to the track!


On Friday it was Sebastian Vettel´s turn to test the Ferrari. I had seen Sebastian driving his Red Bull back in 2011 but still it was so fantastic to watch this talented German driving the Prancing Horse! This was also the day when Mercedes showed their true pace: Nico Rosberg set a lap time 2,4 seconds faster than which entitled to pole position at Spanish GP last year claimed by his team-mate Hamilton. There were really dark clouds lurking over the Circuit de Catalunya in the morning but surprisingly there was no rain. The day was the warmest so far in testing and the track temperature got as high as 29 degrees Celsius. It was awesome to sit by the track and wait for the thrilling moment when Sebastian came out on track again. Valtteri Bottas was also testing his FW37 and it was such a pleasure to see the Finn drive in front of my eyes as Bottas wasn´t involved in F1 four years ago. I was so so happy that Ferrari didn´t face any technical issues during the day but Sebastian ended up covering most mileage of all the drivers on that Friday (143 laps) :D Force India managed to bring their new challenger on track for the first time and Hulkenberg managed to get 77 laps behind his belt, which was a great start for the team.

Valtteri Bottas drove his FW37 on Friday as well.

Saturday was my last day at Circuit de Catalunya as I had to head back home on Sunday. Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful: blue skies and sun shine and it felt so warm compared to the Finnish weather (+1 degrees Celsius and raining). Towards the afternoon the weather turned cloudy and more chilly but it didn´t bother me as I was enjoying the F1 action from the bottom of my heart. Kimi had a hugely successful test day as the Iceman drove 136 laps altogether. In the afternoon he drove a race simulation. Hamilton in his Mercedes proved his pace by setting a sweeping lap time! Mercedes is predicted to be at least half a second per lap faster than their closest rivals Ferrari, Williams and Red Bull. Saturday turned out to be a good training day for me as well: switching places to watch the on-track action during the day lead to over 16 500 steps for me on that day! ;)

Sebastian Vettel followed by Felipe Nasr in his Sauber.

I have to write a few lines about the engine sound, which has caused such a huge fuss last year. Those cars driving live sounded absolutely brilliant to me. The only difference to the year 2011 was the fact you didn't need ear plugs if sitting in the grandstand! But still I have to say after sitting an hour there my ears were ready to switch places 😉 But I do agree that when you watch the F1 action on TV the engines sound pretty tame. And what caught my ear as well was the fact that the Honda engine sound differed from that of their rivals so it was easy to hear when McLaren was approaching.


On Saturday evening I sat in a jacuzzi in my hotel room thinking about everything that I had experienced during these three days. Somehow I felt so so bitter sweet as I knew it was all over but at the same time I was so so happy: nothing can ever take these experiences away from me! I know many people think I´m nuts going to Barcelona and not to visit any sights but to spend the entire three days at a Formula 1 track. But for me it was absolutely a dream come true and the most perfect way to relax, enjoy life and cherish the moment. The only thing I feel sorry for is that I didn´t happen to sit in the grandstand on Saturday when the Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene and Ferrari´s reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez chose to come and sit in the grandstand as well!!

McLaren´s Fernando Alonso was unable to attend the last pre-season tests at Barcelona as the Spaniard had crashed into a wall in the first test session at Barcelona and suffered a concussion. He had spent three nights at hospital and today I read in the news that Alonso will miss the season-opener in Australia! Can´t help wondering if there´s something more than just a concussion... Hopefully it´s nothing more serious but just a precaution. I´m anxiously waiting for the new season to start -which will luckily happen already next week! It´s great to be back updating my blog as well :)