..So do i...go Felipe!!!!:)
Felipe stops on track. I believe he started this run on lap 44. Barcelona is 66 lap race, which would put race distance at 110. He stopped on lap 112 or 113, so I'd guess it was a "low fuel" test.....
Ferrari and Merc are about identical in wet conditions today. Red Bull hasn't shown anything today other than a 1:23.863 they just banged out a minute ago, Mclaren are very quick in the wet.
Lewis #2 behind the Red Bull with a 1:24.348, and Lewis had a good few laps of fuel on board, he's banged out 8 so far after. A little under half a second off RB who went out and did a single lap banger and immediately went back in. Webber just poked out for another one for the last 5 minutes of the day
Lewis beaming like a schoolgirl during his interview with Sky. Webber quite pleased as well obviously.
Here's a slip of the gitty schoolboy himself. He can't keep a straight face, I love it lol. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkLxFWP8P-g]F1 Test 2 at Barcelona Day 1 2013 - Lewis Hamilton Interview - YouTube[/ame]
Good day for Ferrari and Red Bull. Red Bull looking strong. Gary Anderson still saying the Ferrari rear end 'gives up'. Mclaren showing alot of understeer.
Sergio Perez is doing better than many expected... including Button . Looking forward to the beginning of the season. Have a good one folks.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkVpDv0W1UI]F1 Test 2 at Barcelona Day 1 2013 - Teds Mini Notebook Day 1 - YouTube[/ame] always good
BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson in Barcelona: "The Red Bull looks well balanced with lots of grip. The McLaren and Sauber have understeer (a lack of front grip) and the Lotus is well balanced but not as planted as the Red Bull. The Ferrari lacks rear grip. It really has no traction in the wet."
BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson in Barcelona: "Red Bull have been running their version of a 'passive DRS', a system that gives extra downforce reduction by triggering automatically at a given pre-set speed. They have an inlet duct just in front of the rear lower beam wing so I think they are using the low pressure under the centre section of the beam wing to get the initial airflow. They then have a vertical tube to the lower surface of the upper wing. It appears to connect to the wing as opposed to having a gap like the Lotus and Mercedes versions. Using the pressure differential across the lower beam wing should be more consistent than the other versions we have seen which just use the low pressure at the rear of the car. The system is notoriously difficult to make work properly but if anyone can it is Red Bull."
Ferrari testing a new exhaust which ramps downward a bit more obviously than the prior exhaust. Revised front wing as well. I've noticed today that this car is running less rake and not as much front wing angle. Some problems with this car..... but when it's sorted it will be a rocket. Lots of potential. Revised rear brake ducts and more slots in the floor in front of the rear wheel. Why is this car lacking rear grip?? And of course a breakdown. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nico out there driving today, track finally drying out a bit. I don't see Nico driving this car quicker than Lewis actually. Nico doesn't look to be as confident. Mclaren banged a 1:23.9 then ran a good number of laps about 20 minutes ago. Mclaren looking good on tires too. Alonso's laps are a bit all over the place, I'm looking at what is definitely a high fuel run and cannot deduce what they were going for as the lap times are both fast and slow. I don't think they're really hiding their hand, my guess is Nando is only testing the car and putting it through its paces at certain parts of the track where they perhaps need to understand the car more. Ferrari's sidepod exit just in front of the rear suspension has grown larger, I suspect heat issues were the reason. Their lower exit in that area isn't the best solution IMO, rather it should exit further back.
Fernando out on hards doing what I'm sure is a high fuel run, tire wear looks good, speed looks fair. My guess is Ferrari and Mercedes will be having it out during the beginning part of the season at least. Red Bull testing a DRD today.... Mclaren looking very nice, they are going to give RB a real run. I'm hearing that Lewis' and Nico's set ups are night and day different.
Interesting. And not a good thing IMO....... Sure, they'll typically diverge some on the details as the week(end) progresses, but "chalk & cheese" isn't good - Little shared data with the cars set to behave differently. A recipe for confusion....... Cheers, Ian
+1 I'm working on a model of the 2012 car and have a new found interest in those odd bits and pieces behind the engine. Those chicken bones actually seem to be meaningful...
You all are fueling my obsession, not sure how my wife may feel about that. My pleasure and kind thanks to everyone here though. Nando seems a bit more confident about the Ferrari today singing its praises compared to last year, obviously. The Lotus is quick, but it's missing something all the top teams have this year which may be important. Everyone has integrated their lower rear suspension arm to become a driveshaft cover thus removing the Magnus effect provided by the spinning driveshaft. If Lotus area really wanting to split hairs and come out on top I believe that shaft cover is worth something. Mclaren looked completely different today in a good way. In other news, Lewis has a private jet, must be rough. Honda have had their V6 on the dyno since mid 2012 per motorsport-total.com some time ago. Honda here: Gilles Simon working on F1 engine for Honda | News | Motorsport.com stated further that they expect to be back no later than 2015. I get the feeling Honda making engines will cause more competitors to come to the grid.
