Valencia Testing Times

He's showing signs of mellowing and we can't have that

 

I wouldn't count on that. My personal F1 guru Keke thinks that 30 kilos is 1 second per lap in Valencia. To me that is very significant.

 

1s/lap is indeed very significant in quali - As we know, last year that difference covered maybe 8-12 cars on occasion.

But, I stick with my original guesstimate - The bad guys will be ~15kgs [=0.5s according to your guru ] heavier at the start. That is not enough to allow you to overtake..... Hound the guy, maybe force a mistake, but not enough to get by.

But I could be wrong.....

 

Kubica said that it was the heaviest car he has ever driven. Later he stated that he doesn't think that they're very far from Ferrari. But time will tell.

 

+100.

For many years now the Catalunya circuit has been seen as the true barometer of a car's performance due to it's outstanding blend of high speed corners, low speed corners, short straight, long straights etc.

This is why it has been the traditional venue for winter testing by the teams for many years now.

Valencia is a much slower circuit by comparison. The choice of Valencia was highly political and not as good a barometer as Catalunya due its overall slower layout.

The true speed of the cars will be displayed when they start pounding Catalunya...

Frank

 

Just wait til the first sign of Maxxx at a race weekend. That should bring the universe back into alignment

 

When are those test dates Frank?

 

Good morning Joe - Frank must not be up yet! Barcelona is 25 - 28 February. Here's a link to bookmark that has some results for those test already concluded. Hope it helps and have a great day.

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/test-sessions/

Carol

 

Damn Carol you ARE on the ball ;-)

 

HAHAHA is there any doubt why I always praise her contribution? Thanks!

 

+1! You are really very well informed Frank: Much more than lots of local F1 followers

 

Thank you very much for the kind compliment!

I have been following F1 since 78 when Mario Andretti won the WDC in the Lotus 79 (the black and gold JPS livery is still beautiful to this day). Too bad his son didn't quite have the same success (quite the understatement).

Here is a pic of some of my F1/sportscar books. Some are lent out at the moment.

The best are Cahier's incredible The Great Encyclopedia of Formula 1 (2 volume set) as well as my Autocourses. You can see them on the bottom shelf. As you can see the 88,89,90 are water damaged from flood damage (in 92 my at the time fiancee flooded the bath when she went off to do something. AARGH!). I was unable to save my earlier volumes

When I usually post I've got one of my Autocourses in front of me. That way I know I've got things accurate...

I am glad I've been a fan for so many years since it gives you a perspective to draw from.

Frank
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A mere newbie

I was (unfortunate enough) to be working for Surtees in F1 that year.....

+1

Mario was also one of the few jockeys that Colin (RIP) trusted implicitly - I was BS'ing with a buddy at Lotus (things were more "relaxed" back then!) and he came in and asked for "a half turn more camber on the rear" - Colin simply had his guys dial it in and he indeed went quicker.....

Having said that, as good as Mario was, the 79 was simply head and shoulders above anything else - Plus it looked *awesome*.

Then there was Ronnie - But that's another story

Cheers,
Ian

 

What happened to Ronnie was tragic He had incredible car control and showed nothing but class when he was teamed with Mario. He had such respect for Mario that even though everyone acknowledged he had more raw speed, he let Mario take the laurels. Mario was a great development driver.

It was a great moment when Mario stepped in and got the pole in 82 Monza. After the tragic loss of Gilles and Didier (I don't blame Gilles for being p***** after Imola) it was an incredible display for Mario to go out and plant the car on pole and then to finish the race on the podium...

 

thanks for the compliments David and Joe, always very much appreciated

Carol

 

Hell yeah

I was actually laid off just ahead of Monza - Only that & the Canadian & US flyaways left in the season and Surtees didn't take a third car - I was "last in, first out" and was pissed. Then that happened and I was really glad I wasn't there - I *adored* Ronnie.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Ha! I'd been and gone from Surtees by then! 75/76/77 for me. then Hesketh/Arrows, Ensign and ATS.

 

Nice collection. I don't see any of Piola's F1 annual tech analysis though. I find them to be the best tech review even if they come out well after the season has ended.

 

+1. I agree. They are absolutely outstanding!

Frank

 

I was getting ready to work. It's about an hour drive from Forney to Irving so I have to be out the door at 7a to be there at 8a.

Thanks for looking out for me Carol!

 

Believe me an eternity in the company of Beelzebub and all his hellish minions would be a picnic compared to me ...If I hear or see from that cretin Mosley in F1.

I have to say Toad Todt is having a calming effect on me, he is keeping quiet and seemingly letting guys that know what there doing handle things.

 

Today, test day at silverstone

Timo Glock (75km) and Lucas di Grassi (65km) both drove the VR-01

pics : http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/gallery/index2.php?fID=42

Gotta love the crew outfits matching the car livery
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saw that on F1 website..love the livery!!!

 

i'm just realising i've posted that in the wrong place (facepalm)

 

An eternity with Beelzebub and his hellish minions has nothing over a week-end with my in-laws.
We'l be cleaning up from Max for quite a while.