AUTOSPORT Live: Test day one - F1 Barcelona second 2015 test
I think the Ferrari improved a lot. Kimi is only 2 seconds of last years pole time having only just got into the car in cold conditions and a very green track (both contributing to less grip).
Mclaren won't run til Saturday due to problems. I'm shocked at how ill-prepared they are, although I wouldn't bet against them in the long run. I would have thought they would have thrown the engine in a mule and done laps in japan to avoid these teething problems-perhaps the thin rear end is causing problems ...
McLaren will run again on Friday - but with the risk of a repeat blow up to today. Revised parts not available till Saturday. They will probably find other ways to blow up regardless...
Raikkonen running faster than the pole lap from last year's GP, clocking 1:25.167 (pole was 1:25.232). It's only winter testing, but it seems like Ferrari has something to work with. Both Ferrari and Sauber consistently are at the top of the time sheets during winter testing, so I would assume the engine is more powerful. Mercedes being at the bottom tells me they aren't too concerned. Them banging out 191 laps (so far) to Ferrari's 115 gives an indication where their focus is.
That quickly? He ran 11 laps and then stopped driving around 1:00a PST...no way he could be in NYC (I would think).
What he said. McLaren are switching Button out tomorrow and bringing in Alonso for driving duties, even though Alonso was scheduled for Sat-Sun. They want to be fair to both, so they switched days. Just from the runs so far, sounds like McHonda are doing much better, albeit with some reliability issues. Button had several purple sectors and was behind Raikkonen on the charts before his run came to a halt. Can't wait to see/hear videos of the MP4/30 on youtube. It's gotta be running smoother and sounding better now compared to Jerez.
He might have been in NYC earlier in week as they did not give a day for his visit but said he snuck out of a club with some blonde
I know it's just testing but it is clear that Ferrari has a good car. Alonso has to be on suicide watch.
After this weekend, we'll def have a better idea where McHonda is at. Their pace this morning was leaps better than Jerez. It's funny to see Pascal Wehrlein's name twice on the board. Even funnier to see he was faster in the Force India! lol
I wonder if some of the improvement is because Ferrari no longer have to accommodate Alonso's preferred driving style. I've read many times he likes a car setup with quite a lot of understeer built in. This seems the opposite of most drivers and having Kimi and Vettel with styles that are more similar to each other is bound to benefit Ferrari.