who wil come out on top in jerez?

You have to consider that people are on different fuel loads and trying different bits and set ups for their car. Therefore, its not as simple as looking who is top of the timesheets. We had a situation a few years ago were Prost dominated pre season testing, but we found out when the season started that it was all flat-out, low fuel runs. They did this to try and impress potential sponsors pre-season.

However, this was a bit of an exception, and a team who consistently posts fast times at the top will have good pace. With a bit of insider information from Autosport magazine as well you can find out who is doing long runs and who is 'bluffing'.

According to testing times and Autosport, Ferrari have the car to beat so far. That is followed by McLaren. Sauber could have a very strong package and be the suprise of the season. Mercedes are up and down and they certainly won't have the start Brawn enjoyed last year. Williams are poping in some good times to. Renault are struggling with car balance but there has not been a lot of running to see how good the car is. Redbull release their car tommorow, lets see how it goes in testing and see if they can reclaim their blistering '09 pace.

The new fuel regs mean that it is nigh impossible to determine true race pace from testing this year. If teams were publishing their fuel loads, we would have a clearer picture. The one thing we can say is that all of the teams look pretty close- even with different fuel loads, teams have all been within a second or so of one another. One thing that I think is clear is that we will have more than just two teams battling it out for the top spot, especially considering how many world champions are racing this season. One thing that I find interesting is that there seem to be two different schools of thought concerning car construction this year, particularly in the nose and rear wing/engine cover areas.

If it does turn out to be as wet as expected in Jerez, I think we will see Hamilton, Sutil, and Kobayashi do particularly well. Wet weather is the main factor that brings out driver talent above car superiority. Last season was disappointing to me because of how dry it was. There are a number of races, most notably Monaco, that tend to be much better in the wet.

I think it will be Ferrari on top still but Mercedes a close second and Red Bull should do very well too.

We have yet to see Red Bull....

I think this test will be more realistic. Although it will be wet, rain is forecast.

I imagine Sauber may well be up there again. But it's too close to call.

It doesn't matter who is ultimately on top, test times are meaningless in relation to seasonal performance, due to many variables which we the fans are not privy to.

Ferrari all the way!...