Link to live testing...Autosport

I don't give a hoot about non F1 races: Whether it is gokart or ROC, there are too many other variables and reasons for why a driver is fast/slow.

Otherwise midfielders like Massa and Kovalainen would already be WDCs.

 

Forgive my possibly ludicrous bravery, but I believe Mclaren will clean up this year. They are the only team to really make good use of their exhaust system by exploiting the Coanda effect. This effect has in essence allowed the blowing of their diffuser once again as is now 100% confirmed today by all the heat stickers positioned on their diffuser flow just inboard from the rear brake ducts.

A CFD model at 134mph has yielded the following results showing just how Mclaren are getting their exhaust down in that direction.



Meanwhile Red Bull are blowing their beam wing making good use of their exhaust velocity and are of course minus the large hump Mclaren has in the area of the exhaust which of course aids aero in the coke bottle section. And Mercedes are also relying on the Coanda effect to move the exhaust gases in direction of the beam wing similar to Red Bull. The difference with both of these teams is that neither are getting down to the diffuser which is where the most difference is made. Whether it's enough of a difference to make up for the large exhaust hump Mclaren has we will find out, but I believe it's just that important and beneficial that things will go very well for them
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Alonso is on a race sim at the moment as is Grosjean. The Lotus is a little easier on tires and a couple tenths quicker.

Alonso:
1:30.705
1:30.829
1:30.330
1:30.308
1:30.992
1:31.092
1:30.920
1:31.285
1:31.216

Grosjean:
1:30.421
1:30.107
1:30.033
1:30.381
1:30.258
1:31.319
1:30.837
1:30.935
1:30.812
1:30.890
1:31.932

 

Here's what we've learned so far:

Red Bull are quickest on medium turns and light on all tires yet continue to have poor top speed, not that top speed matters much.

Mclaren are quickest in high speed turns and so so on tires. If they get their brains around their tires I believe they can beat the Bull as their corner exit speed and top speed are just superior.

Mercedes are quick everywhere but rough on tires, specifically the rears now (last week the fronts were the issue). If they figure out their tires they will win races.

Ferrari are reasonable in most areas but still rough on tires, but are best on medium compounds.

Lotus are as quick as the Ferrari in most areas but are easier on tires, especially soft tires.

Force India, Williams, and sometimes Lotus are looking racey. The midfield is going to be a great battle. They are sort of all over the place in terms of what they are doing.


Australia should be a good one as the circuit itself is not particularly hard on tires, unlike Barcelona which is utter madness on tires.

 

Word in Spain is that McLaren are enduring a major setback on its car. It seems that today's lack of laps is due to their tunneled exhaust. It seems now that the parts of the floor are desintegrating, especially parts around the rear wheel.

Even more so, looking at the tyres, we've seen the rears of the McLaren are quite badly damaged in comparison to all tyres that we have seen yesterday.

 

Ferrari ran their race sim today on used tires

 

thats why is called testing....hopefully everyone will sort their issues and we'll not have to endure another 2011.

 

I dont think this car is going to be very good in Melbourne. I hope Im wrong but this sounds rather down more than up.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97804

 

Sounds like to me the Bull is better sorted. Id say early on most are still playing catch up to Red Bull.

 

This could be true, but I see the Mclaren as having more potential. Their exhaust outlet is great and the team Mclaren resolve to make a car fast is remarkable. We shall see right. RB will no doubt be the fav for Aust

 

http://planetf1.com/driver/18227/7559678/Brundle-The-Ferrari-looks-a-handful

 

Micheal's none too happy with the Merc it seems;

4 seconds in 8 laps!

Cheers,
Ian
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97809

 

Merc are sorting the rear tire issue and it is better than it was last week, but not a lot. Word is it is roasting the rear tires. My guess is due to the geometry being set up to heat the tires very quickly, as you notice the degredation takes places hastily after the first hot lap to the tune of nearly a second loss immediately following. The front right is still graining a bit but that's not as bad either, and also being at Barcelona with a ton of hard core right handers doesn't help either

 

They want results and that means better Q3. Its all about 1 lap performance to gain a start advantage. Im sensing some pressure on the team.

 

Merc tire problems don't look good...

 

During the previous tests MB did a race simulation "against" Webber and they lost about half a second per lap. So this new data confirms the previous data point.

 

I hope Ferrari suprises us (in a positive way) in Australia. They still have some work to do.

 

You're compared Nico's race sim to Webber's race sim which took place the day prior which I have poured over. This comparison is difficult to compare as the Mercedes was carrying about 11 laps worth of fuel more than a race distance, as you will notice they ran 77 laps on their sim opposed to Red Bull's 66. Regardless, at the beginning and directly after fresh tire changes the lap time stints were very competitive and at times quicker. The issue is of course their tires giving way until after just a few laps. What's amazing though is for that brief time they are indeed competitive with the Bull. A major step.

 

Should be an interesting session this afternoon. Everyone in 1:22's except Button and KimI. Expect to see more qualifying runs this afternoon. So far KimI is a dud. Weather cooler now than this am here so that will definitely have a tire effect after lunch. From the side the Ferrari is definitely the "odd" one out with that shovel looking nose. Ferrari and Force India are running those elongated mast pitot tube thingies from off their cars.No HRT car is not ready.

Carol

MB having degradation issues.

 

Red Bull have finally unveiled their new exhaust arrangement which is very similar to W03, only Red Bull have clearly made a channel which feeds the exhaust in a similar way Mclaren have. Red Bull are definitely giving up some CFM around the sidepods in the name of channeling their exhaust in a certain area. I hope they're not burning floors like Mclaren were.
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Interesting. Both Red Bull and Mclaren are experiencing tire degradation issues, especially Red BUll with this update

 

And Ferrari have reverted to the previous floor. Evidently the new 'Byrne' floor was not working out.

 

I think the three top teams have a 1:20 or slightly lower lap time possibility in them for qualifying type runs. The mid packs teams are seeing low 1:22s with Sauber getting a 1:22 flat.

 

Cars back on track now for afternoon session - FYI the best seats at this circuit is G2 top row end!!! We've sat in several sections at these test days and this gives the absolute most views of cars from one location!

Carol

 

Now this session has become fun more cars out at the same time. New RB was twitchy as it went past. new RB just went off into red run off area, thing sounds off.