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Fernando Alonso professed himself happy with the Ferrari F138 after trying it for the first time in Barcelona today, noting that it was a much better starting point than last year.

Alonso, who focussed on data gathering and tyre work today, finished the day with the third fastest time.

“I feel reasonably pleased with this first day,” he said. “And I can say I share Felipe’s opinion that the car is on another planet compared to the one we began with on the first day of testing last year. The programme for this first session in Barcelona is aimed mainly at improving reliability, with the target of completing more than a hundred laps every day.

“Then, at next week’s test we can concentrate on performance. Tomorrow, we will complete what we were unable to do today and we will focus on car set-up, to adapt it as well as possible to the tyres. I knew from looking at the Jerez data what sort of car I would find here today, as in fact we know more or less what we will see at the first race in Australia, in terms of what new parts we will have and how many tenths they will produce.

“This is down to all the work done over the winter in the wind tunnel and the numerous tests which confirm that the parts that are on their way will give the expected results.”

The new Williams FW35 was launched today

Sir Frank Williams is adamant that the new FW35 represents a major step forward from the car that won last year’s Spanish GP.

Williams says that the pieces are in place for a strong season.

“A group of talented people with good imagination and plenty of courage have been working together to build the Williams Renault FW35,” he said.

“We will have to wait until Australia to truly see what we have, but we believe it is step forward from last year’s car which was also a very competitive vehicle. Pastor is a delightful character who is a massively determined racer, whilst Valtteri is quieter, but still waters run deep, and he is a highly gifted driver.

“Williams has been at the top many times over the last 30 years. It’s the nature of the sport to have ups and downs, but when we are down we always fight our way back. I’m hoping that with the current team we have in place, our new FW35, the combined talent of Pastor, Valtteri and Susie, and the continued support from our partners; we will be in a position to challenge the very best.”

Williams became the last team to unveil its 2013 car when it rolled the FW35 out onto the Barcelona pit lane this morning.

The team opted to spend two extra weeks on R&D and devote the first Jerez test to data gathering with an updated FW34.

“Given the rule stability over the winter,” said Williams Technical Director Mike Coughlan, “I’m pleased with the gains that we’ve been able to make with this car. It’s a better, more refined Formula One car than the FW34 and I think everyone involved in the project can feel proud of the work they’ve done.”

“The Coanda effect is going to be a big thing for us. There’s been no rule clarification concerning this area of the car, so we’ll work closely with Renault to maximise the available gains. Use of the DRS is more restricted this year, so we’ll take some resource away from that and focus on other areas.”

Force India has formally confirmed that Adrian Sutil will test for the team in Barcelona this week as the debate over the second seat continues.

It will be the German’s first F1 mileage since his last race for the team at the end of 2011. He sat out last year but attended several races, spending most of his time in the Force India camp.

Paul Di Resta will drive on Tuesday and Wednesday before handing over to his former team mate. Jules Bianchi, who drove at the recent Jerez test, will be back in the car for the final day on Friday.

The team has indicated all winter that the choice would be between Sutil and Bianchi.

Alguersuari still has his Pirelli testing job

Jaime Alguersuari has expressed his frustration at not being able to find an F1 seat for 2013, despite apparently being close to a deal some months ago.

Alguersuari took the unusual step today of issuing a press statement to clarify his position, stating that he had a firm commitment from a team, but lost out for commercial reasons. He says that in the interim he turned down other opportunities.

The former Toro Rosso driver said: “I never imagined that after Red Bull’s incomprehensible decision not to count on me in 2012, having done my best sporting season in F1, I would have to fight so much outside the track to finally assume that in 2013 I will not be in F1.

“I assure everyone that I have been convinced most of the 2012 F1 season that my seat was secured in a team that usually scores. So they did tell me, and I believed it to be true.

“Due to this conviction I passed up other opportunities in other championships. I’ve looked in faith and longing that the value of my sporting career, and the verbal commitments received, would materialize with my return to F1 in 2013. This has not happened.

“Those who committed themselves with me have given me reasons that I must accept, but that I do not share.  F1 has become an auction.

“My sole dream is to drive for a team that allows me to finish in the Top 5. I will play all my cards the best I can and keep betting for talent, experience and background, no need so say much more.”

Alguersuari says he’s not giving up, and will continue to log F1 mileage with Pirelli.

“Is my career over in F1 at 22 years old? Despite everything, I strongly don’t think so. By waiting for F1 I lost other interesting options, but instead I must thank Paul Hembery from Pirelli Motorsport, for his unalterable confidence placed in me, by announcing that he counts on me for the development test.

“So I will continue active in Formula One, and completing more kilometres than any third driver in this discipline.

“Although Spain’s economy is in the worst shape in our modern history, and except for the Bank of Santander, no other company considers Formula One as a profitable and sustainable business, I know how old I am, I know my track record and I’m convinced that I deserve a winning car in F1. And I will keep fighting for it.”

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says that he was encouraged by the form of the new E21 on its first outing at Jerez last week.

Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen topped the times on the second and fourth days of the test respectively, although Felipe Massa set the overall best time for Ferrari.

“I would say there are a couple of things,” said Boullier. “First of all, the feedback from the drivers after their first few laps is always very important – if you see them step out with a smile on their face you know the baseline of the car should be good and it was pleasing to see that from both Kimi and Romain.

“On top of that, we managed to complete some decent mileage which is always encouraging when you bring a brand new car to the track for the first time. Finally, the general pace of the car looked promising with each of our drivers.

“Of course, lap times are not representative of the order at this early stage of the season, but to be at the front of the pack without deliberately setting out to do so is always a plus. It doesn’t mean we will be World Champions, but we know the car works well and that’s a big credit to everyone involved.

“One of the main priorities now is to ensure that the reliability of the car matches up to the demands of the season ahead. Barcelona is much more similar to the kind of format we will see throughout the year, so the information we gather here will be more relevant to our requirements at the different circuits on the calendar.

“Another focus for the team will be to continue our analysis of the 2013 tyres to give us the best possible understanding of how the car will work with them.”

Meanwhile Boullier says that Grosjean is on good form: “Romain did a good job during his first two days with the E21 and has started the year full of confidence, which is exactly what we expected from him. The difference is clear; he knows what he needs to do and the early signs look promising for the future.”

Pedro de la Rosa joined the exclusive list of those who have driven for both McLaren and Ferrari today when he had his first – and possibly only – track experience in the F138.

He stopped almost immediately this morning with a gearbox problem, but after a long delay was able to get in 51 laps by the end of the day.

The main objective of the test was to give the Spanish veteran a chance to help correlate the Ferrari simulator.

“All in all it’s been a positive day for me,” he said. “I finally got a feel for the car and that will be very important when it comes to comparing the data with the simulator as we develop the car.

“We are not yet where we want to be on our simulation and there will be a lot of work to do, but that’s why I’ve been taken on and in my own small way I hope to do my best to contribute to the progress of the Scuderia. I had a lot of mixed feelings today: I was very excited to drive the car but when I got out after the first two laps I was not exactly happy.

“All my life I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this and to see it end after just a few corners was definitely not nice, especially because I wasn’t sure that we would be able to continue with the programme. But then the team did an amazing job and it was vital to get back on track given how few days are available to us.”

Sebastian Vettel says that Red Bull is better off than it was at this time last year, when the team had issues with both reliability and performance.

Third fastest overall today, Vettel ended his running a little early after what the team described a minor problem with a test item that was being evaluated on the RB9, but otherwise the new car ran without dramas throughout the week.

“I think for the whole team it’s been quite a good test,” said Vettel. “No problems in terms of reliability and we did a lot of laps, so I’m quite pleased with the results. I feel a bit better than last year. I think we had some issues with reliability then, so it seems we have done our homework well.

“Looking ahead, I think the Barcelona test will maybe reveal a bit more, but just because people are running more and teams will play around a bit more there. So if you keep your eyes open you might spot some stuff.

“However, as I’ve said before, we just focus on what we do. In Barcelona we’ll learn more about ourselves and maybe a little bit about our rivals. It should be interesting.”

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed much better fortunes with Mercedes in Jerez today, running 59 laps in the morning before more than doubling that total by the end of the day.

Hamilton said that overall he was happy with progress, but admitted that personally he still had to lot to learn about both the car and the team.

“It’s not a bad place for us to start, we definitely need to work and understand the car more,” he said during the break. “There’s a huge amount of work for me to fully understand – I need to do a lot of studying before I fully understand the car before the season.

“Every lap that I drive it I’m learning, every change that we make, I’m learning. Every time I refer to a set-up change I’m learning. But it’s going to take some time.

“I think we’re at the level we would have hoped to have been. I couldn’t really ask for more. The guys have done a great job to add downforce to the car and understand where they’ve been and take the car in the direction that they really want it to go.

“And now they need direction, they need me and Nico to tell them where we can improve the car, and which direction to go. Is it front end that we need to improve, or is it rear end? Is it globally, is it corner entry, is it exits? All this kind of thing we are working on.”

Asked if he was clear on what that direction was, he said: “I wouldn’t say I was clear, but in time with more testing I think I’ll become more clear.”

Hamilton admitted that he has no idea what the overall pecking order is.

“I’ve asked the guys to try and predict it, but they don’t know. We don’t know what fuel loads people are running, so it would be a guess.”

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn says he’s happy with the way Lewis Hamilton is settling into the team, despite the inevitable disruptions caused by the problems the W04 encountered at Jerez this week.

After a shaky start Nico Rosberg ran 148 laps on Thursday, and Hamilton finally got some proper running in on Friday morning. Lewis has made it clear that there’s a lot of work to do.

“He’s very straightforward I have to say,” said Brawn of the team’s new recruit. “In many ways he’s very simple, very straightforward. He’s never short of detail in telling you what he thinks, and what level you need to go to.

“He’s interested in everything about the car, he’s interested in the fact the stickers might not be put properly on the bodywork. He’s got a very good eye for detail, and so I think he’s going to be a very involved member of the team, which is what we wanted.

“He is clearly a very talented driver, but F1 is about so much more. There are a lot of highly talented drivers that don’t have the rest of it, and I think he’s got the rest of it as well.”

Brawn was adamant that he wants Lewis to point out any weaknesses in the package.

“I think we’ve made it very clear to Lewis that he’s part of the solution. You have a choice in a team, are you the problem, or are you the solution. And he’s part of the solution to get us where we want to be. And I think he knows that and he understands that, and I think he’s relishing it.

“It’s correct that he gives us reference points and helps us understand what we have to focus on. I think some of it we knew already, and that’s why we restructured the aero group. I welcome that approach. It needs to be positive, it needs to be constructive. Criticism of the right sort is always helpful to a team to drive it forward.”

Brawn said he was happy with progress so far, given where the team was last year.

“The step that we have to make from the end of last year to the beginning of this year is pretty substantial, and it’s a moving target as well. From what I’ve seen it’s very encouraging. It’s the first car Aldo has designed, and the aero group seems to be working well. So, lots of encouraging signs.

“We know what we’ve got to do, and Lewis has really helped confirm it. That will be something that we will strive to do, but it won’t be overnight.”