2010 F1 season shakes down at Valencia

The first official testing session for the 2010 Formula One season is currently underway at Valencia. If you don’t mind a tweet before bedtime, not only can you follow AUSmotive, you can also keep up to date with the latest F1 news via the AUSmotive F1 list.

This first test session marks the first time many of the 2010 F1 cars will be seen in public, including the MercedesGP W01 shown above.

There will be just four pre-season tests before the first race in Bahrain on 14 March. The ban on in-season testing remains in place for the 2010 season.

The current testing schedule at Valenica is open until Wednesday (3 February). Following test sessions include two windows at Jerez (10-13 and 17-20 February) before a final run at Barcelona (25-28 February).

UPDATE: A list of times from day 1 of testing is available after the jump.

Unofficial Monday test times from Valencia:

1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:12.574, 102 Laps
2. Pedro de la Rosa, BMW Sauber, 1:12.784, 74 Laps
3. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:12.947, 40 Laps
4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:13.543, 39 Laps
5. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:13.846, 86 Laps
6. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:14.449, 75 Laps
7. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:14.762, 18 Laps
8. Robert Kubica, Renault, 1:15.000, 69 Laps

[Source: Formula1.com | Note: there were only 8 drivers on track]

[Pic: ClaireVWilliams]