New signings to kick off Jerez test



Both Ferrari and McLaren's respective new signings will drive their 2010 cars on the opening two days at Jerez this week, the second of four pre-season track sessions in the run up to Bahrain.

Fernando Alonso will drive Ferrari's F10 car on Wednesday and Thursday after having driven it for the first time last week. The Spaniard will test a few minor mechanical updates on the car, which appears to have an early advantage on its opponents after topping all three days of the first 2010 test at Valencia.

Ferrari say they will not introduce any new aerodynamic parts until the next Jerez test in a week's time.

Meanwhile McLaren plan to field reigning champion Jenson Button when the test - in which Red Bull, Force India and Virgin are set to join the fray with their new cars - begins on Wednesday.

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton will then take over driving duties during the final two days from Friday onwards. Hamilton and Button could only manage fifth and tenth respectively during three days' testing at Valencia, and McLaren are expected to introduce some new aerodynamic upgrades during the next few weeks.

With Thursday likely to be the only dry day of track action as thunderstorms are forecast, teams may not be able to clock as many laps as hoped, with Red Bull, who elected to miss the first test in exchange for extr...

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Kovalainen: I will turn reputation around



Heikki Kovalainen has vowed to rebuild his reputation this year after the disappointing end to his McLaren stint.

The Finn was criticised for a lack of race pace compared to Lewis Hamilton last season, and struggled to get the best out of his car on a consistent basis.

Having moved to the new Lotus team for 2010, Kovalainen says he determined to prove his racing credentials again.

"I’m sure many people had this sort of picture about myself that I’m a good qualifier but not a good racer," he told itv.com/f1.

"But my opinion is that this has only been true during my McLaren years [2008-09].

"In the other years, in the junior categories and at Renault, I’d say that my race performances were stronger than my qualifying.

"I think that at McLaren I was able to improve the qualifying performances from previous years but race performances were not what they should have been and I think I know the reasons why.

"Whether [Lotus will have] a competitive car to be up the front I don’t necessarily expect that, but the relative performance in races compared to qualifying is a bit of a point for me to prove.

"That’s one of the key targets for this year."

Kovalainen said he had shrugged off the negative comments ...

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Rossi retains top spot in Malaysia


Valentino Rossi remained on top on the final day of MotoGP's first pre-season test at Sepang.

The first half of the session was interrupted by rain, with conditions not completely dry until lunchtime. But once the track was up to speed, Rossi lapped in 2m00.925s for Yamaha, beating nearest rival Casey Stoner (Ducati) by 0.4 seconds.

"We worked on the new bike to find a better setting and I was happy to be the fastest overall - even though this is just testing this is important for me," Rossi said.

"At the next test we will have a few more new things but we're already happy because we're fast and strong.

"There is room to improve of course; Sepang is always a good track for the Yamaha so we will have to wait until Qatar to get a better understanding of our level, but we have made a great start."

After a low-key Thursday, Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo moved up to third today.

"I felt much better today and I was able to be fast straight away," said Lorenzo.

"It wasn't a big problem yesterday, it's just that after such a long break I forget how to ride a little bit! I need a bit of time, but it was much better today."

Yamaha filled four of the top seven places, with Tech 3 riders Ben Spi...

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