F1 Testing 2014

Monochrome Bull

Seb Vettel powers down the straight, one of the best panning shots of the day was one of the first shots of the day. Typical.

Crossing the Line

The Red Bull crosses the start/finish line during the morning.

Sauber-Ferrari

The Ferrari powered Sauber chanters down the pit straight at speed. The noise is different this year for sure, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

McLaren under test

Extra probes abound on the McLaren, with a higher pitot above the driver, and an additional pitot and bulge on the rear wing too.

Daniel Juncadella

Force India's test driver had the wheel in the VJM07 at Silverstone, and is here crossing the International Pit Straight grid as I experiment with the beast of a lens I'd hired.

Blinged Wheels

Pirelli were testing their possible future F1 tyres, which are more relevant to road tyres, on the Lotus-Renault this morning with Charles Pic at the wheel. I like them!

STR9 on the Straight

Daniil Kvyat powers down the International Pit Straight in his Toro Rosso-Renault.

Those Wheels Up Close

The Lotus is testing 18" wheels for Pirelli, and while they look different it isn't as bad as it could be. More similar technology to road technology is what Pirelli are aiming for, I think it looks good.

Zoom on Kevin

The McLaren on the pit straight with the 400mm lens AND the 1.7x teleconverter. I got close. Then added a zoom effect for something a bit different.

Marussia Pilot

Max Chilton in the Marussia, close-up on the pit straight. Using the 400mm and the 1.7x teleconverter this shot was cropped a bit further, but not by very much.

Rubber Flying

You can see the chunks of rubber in the air on this shot of Max Chilton crossing the grid. Max was taking a much more conservative line out of the final corner, staying well away from the kerb to his left.

The Beast

Decided to try something completely different, and hired a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 prime lens for the day from Calumet. It only weighed 4.5kgs, chuffing huge doesn't really do justice to the size of the thing. Pictures weren't too bad, I'd need to practice some more with it though to get them just right - especially on something like F1 which I don't shoot often.

Many Odd Noses

Giedo Van Der Garde's Sauber was just one of the many strange protuberances on the front of the cars. Hopefully next year they will work on making them slightly more asthetically pleasing.

Bianchi's Nose

I'm sorry but the more I look at the Ferrari nose the more I think it just looks a bit sad and unhappy. Jules Bianchi stepped up from Marussia to drive the Ferrari after Kimi swiped all four corners (and a chunk of Armco) off his car at the weekend.

Watching

Taken to demonstrate just how far I could see with the 400mm and the 1.7x teleconver this lady was 5 rows back and about 30-40 seats along from us at the other end of the block. This is NOT cropped!

Low with the McLaren

Walking between grandstands we paused at the start of the pit straight, and despite the fencing managed a good shot of the McLaren steaming by.

Time to Snooze

The testing was still underway on the track as we ate lunch, but this lady seemed relaxed enough lying atop the knoll between us and the circuit.

Club Ferrari

Jules Bianchi in Club Corner. He got a test with Ferrari because of Kimi's monster shunt at the weekend, and hopefully made the most of it.

Turning In

Jules Bianchi mid corner.

Flo-Viz Paint

Used to check aerodynamics by seeing how the paint moves it looks messy but serves a purpose. Problem is other teams can see it too...

Merc Nose

A couple of years ago F1 decided to go back-to-basics and strip out all the excess bodywork. It's back - and more by the look of it. Such intricate details.