We look back on last week's Mugello test and what we have learned after three days of running.
A look back on what we learnt from the Mugello Test
Formula 1's first in-season test since 2008 took place in Mugello last week, giving the teams an opportunity to test new parts outside of the limited running on race weekends.
Ferrari were one of the teams who pushed the hardest for an in-season test this year, and after a difficult start to the campaign the three days running in Tuscany became critical.
Fernando Alonso has outperformed the car in the opening four races, even taking a race win at the rain-hit Malaysian Grand Prix to keep Ferrari in the hunt after the opening long-haul segment of the calendar.
Rumour was rife that the Scuderia would bring a brand new rear-end for the F2012, but there were no radical changes on the car in Mugello - something that surprised Ted Kravitz when he saw the car in the pit-lane.
"I thought 'is that it?'" Kravitz said on
The F1 Show.
"When the new exhaust appeared it was not the big change many Ferrari fans wanted or expected.
"Because of the way Ferrari's sidepods were built around their original and now rejected exhaust system, any change to a McLaren or Sauber style exhaust necessitates new radiators and new side impact crash tests.
"So instead we have more of a copy of a Mercedes style exhaust layout, but still with the Ferrari bodywork. Further modifications are promised for the Spanish Grand Prix."
Radical
Sky Sports F1's Johnny Herbert was also surprised, adding: "I thought it would be more radical than what we saw, we will have to see exactly what the effect of it is. It looked ok in testing, but we will have to see how it is at a race. I think Fernando could get very, very frustrated."
McLaren were the only team taking part that didn't take at least one of their race drivers to the Italian track, which raised a few eyebrows.
The Woking-based team brought very few modifications and spent most of their time conducting aero tests and focussing on tyre setup with Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey at the wheel.
However Jenson Button, who was in Budapest carrying out a street demonstration, feels that even if the team had a major upgrade package, there was no need for himself or team-mate Lewis Hamilton to be present.
"I think even if the updates were big, I don't think it would have been necessary for the race drivers to be there because a lot of the work is just going to be aero testing," Button said.
"Gary and Oliver have spent many days driving around Mugello on the simulator, and then on the track, and now they will head back and spend more days on the simulator driving round Mugello, so it's important they see how accurate the simulator is."
No brainer
That view was in stark contrast to Red Bull's Mark Webber, who commented: "It was an absolute no brainer for us to be here (in Mugello). There was never any consideration that the race drivers wouldn't come to this test.
"Mileage is so limited these days, it's good for me to be in the car today and every opportunity we get to drive the car in the real world we'll do."
Three-time race winner Herbert agreed with Webber that it was important for the race drivers to be at the wheel during testing.
"I think it's great for drivers to get behind the wheel and feel where the car is," he said.
"They can then try a few different things on setup and experiment. Simulators are great but nothing beats the real thing."
Regret
Another driver to skip the test was Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn was never a fan of testing, particularly during the era of unrestricted running, and Lotus opted to let him sit out the Mugello event.
His team-mate Romain Grosjean went quickest on both days of dry running, and Anthony Davidson feels Raikkonen may regret missing out.
"Grosjean out qualified him in Bahrain and Melbourne," he said.
"I think at the moment Grosjean has outright speed over Kimi in qualifying. If I was Kimi I would have wanted to be there."
