F1 Bahrain Test - 10-12 March 2022

RedBull comes out late on Day 3. It's got new sidepods.

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Marko seemed happy after PErez did his lap...

 

I am blown away at the major changes some of these teams are doing. Mercedes is a B spec, and the Red Bull pretty much is too. A big update used to be a front wing and some winglettes, now the entire sidepods are changed including tighter packaging under the bodywork.

 

Didn't we guys bring any updates? Kinda feel left out.

 

Minor ones. A change to the kick ups on the floor and a sort of strake at the leading edge of the tunnels.

 

Ferrari stated they weren’t bringing updates to this test. Next week may be a different matter…

 

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Zeltweg most likely.

 

Martin Brudle's thoughts on the Ferrari pair:

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I normally do not comment in the F1 section but I wanted to provide my thoughts into what is happening. My background is engineering within the automotive sector (OEM) which I did for a couple decades before going into another area. Ferrari has essentially used the same car for all testing. IMHO, they have gained the most knowledge about their car and most likely, has correlated their CFD/wind tunnel testing with the actual data. This provides a strong baseline that they can use to make future modifications and have high confidence that what they are seeing from simulations will translate into very similar gains on the track.

Given that RedBull and Mercedes are making significant changes, more than likely, they have not generated as much data and therefore I anticipate that their learning curve will be longer. This could provide an advantage to Ferrari at the beginning of the season. I would also suspect that RedBull and Mercedes will take a little longer to catch up.

Now this is not to say that RedBull and Mercedes won't be competitive, but rather they'll come on stronger later on. Ferrari will still need to advance as the season progresses and hopefully the new engine is as good as rumored and they can make consistent incremental gains as well.

Again, just my take on the situation which is exactly worth "zero".

 

It is a worrying prospect. IF Ferrari is the fastest, but lets say Red Bull close, how is Ferrari going to manage it? I think they (everyone to be fair) underestimated Sainz' quality. If Sainz and Leclerc are taking points of each other, Ferrari risks losing the (driver) title to Max (or another team that is close).

 

s/n 5893 GT also ran at le Mans in 1968(Gregory/Kolb) retired in the 18th hour, had been running 10th; and incredibly in 1969(Posey/Zeccoli) finished 8th. Old soldiers never die . . .

 

A good problem to have. We should be so lucky.

 

Absolute. Much better problem to have than being 1.5 seconds off the pace....

 

So true. Now Ferrari get to see how much fun 2 even capable drivers are to manage. No matter the harmony there will be some friction. Especially with a potential for wins now - hopeful!

 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ha...t-now/8928537/

Hamilton: Mercedes not in hunt for F1 wins right now
Lewis Hamilton believes that Mercedes is not currently in a position to fight for Formula 1 race wins in the wake of its ongoing test struggles.

 

Well said. Need to set the management policy in place now. Supposed this is done per the press not too long ago. Probably good to update that again. I think the pace is real and consistent. Not a bad situation if the problem is drivers and not the car lol

 

How much of a challenge can Perez bring this year. He needs to progress and really challenge or is it time for the Marko initiated exit after this year...........

 

Duckbill Platypus

 

If Perez continues to mix it up with Ham his seat will be safe.
If the RB is upto the job ofcourse

 

Max does a 1:32.645. Fastest time of the week so far.

 

So far the Scuderia and its drivers are showing solid form. Where are all of the naysayers who disparaged the hiring of Sainz and were calling for Binotto's head?

 

Might he (Sainz) surpass Chuck in the pecking order? He really started to assert himself at the end of last season.

 

One has to be impressed with Zhou at Alfa Romeo.

 

I think Merc and RBR are just simply late with their developments due to having spent time last year developing their last year’s car and we’re basically watching a normal development cycle play out on track instead of the wind tunnel.

So, Ferrari have 3 to 5 days more track time on their definitive configuration, so basically, 1 or 2 race weekends ahead. Now, if their design is better and the engine is better that’s going to be even more catching up needed for the others but those are big ifs.