Testing time for F1 teams playing catch up

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Toyota's Timo Glock cannot stop thinking about his car.

"It's strange because it is in your head 24 hours a day and all you can do is try to improve."

For Glock, in his debut Formula One season, and the other drivers the three-week break between the Bahrain Grand Prix and the return to Europe means one thing: Testing.

The teams converge on Barcelona this week to test and roll out their latest developments, hoping they will add the extra speed to catch the leading trio of BMW, Ferrari and McLaren.

Glock, last year's GP2 series champion, says the level of testing has been one of the biggest changes he has had to deal with.

"In GP2 you are limited and the same with Champ Car and Formula 3, so it is a lot of work compared to those championships. You gather a lot of information in testing and you need to understand how to use that to move your set-up in the right direction.

"It is not easy to progress even though so much development is going on. If you make one tiny mistake and go in the wrong direction, you lose time."

The German said the car was also a lot more complex.

"It is more involved in terms of aerodynamics; it makes a huge difference when, for example, the wind changes. Then there are the grooved tires which require a different approach to slicks.

"There has been a lot of work to do but I am constantly developing and I'm pretty happy with how things are going."

Glock said the Barcelona test was important to the team's season.

"We are working with some new aero parts -- the first new aero package of the season -- and the whole team is determined to keep pushing to close the gap on the top three teams."

Williams, two points ahead of Toyota in the constructors' championship in fourth place, are also looking for a boost from design changes.

"We have various mechanical and aerodynamic upgrades to try, all of which we hope will give us more performance," driver Nico Rosberg said.

"We will give those new parts a baptism of fire in the Spanish Grand Prix the following weekend."

Aerodynamics is the single most important part of Formula One car design. Controlling the airflow over the car in order to maximize downforce is often the difference between the front and back of the grid.

Honda team principal Ross Brawn is hoping a "major aero upgrade" will help them progress quickly.

"Obviously most teams will also be making improvements... we hope our step will be larger than most."

However, catching the leading trio will prove beyond the reach of most.

Ominously, constructors' championship leaders BMW believe they can continue their impressive form, while Ferrari's one-two finish in Bahrain saw them finally achieve the kind of results their pre-season testing indicated were possible, if not expected.

"The car still has more potential for us to exploit, and we shall continue to do this carefully one step at a time," Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport's director said.

Meanwhile, Ferrari's Felipe Massa sent a warning shot across the bow of the competition after winning in Bahrain by saying he had not pushed his car too hard.

For the struggling Renault, now six in the constructors' championship, it all probably sounds a little depressing.

"We are aware that we must improve our performance level," Flavio Briatore, their managing director said.

Pat Symonds, Renault's executive director of engineering, was equally succinct.

"We need to provide a better package for our drivers." E-mail to a friend

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