JEREZ Testing F138

F138 scorching its bodywork. W04 is as well but not quite this bad. I suspect it has more to do with the paint than the components so I'm not concerned for either of them.


F138 blew its gearbox today.
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F138 fire today. Not bad, nothing serious IMO
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Move along, move along.
Those rear wing end plates are something else. I'd like to see how that's made.

 

Ferrari simulator needs 'a lot of work' - Pedro de la Rosa | Ferrari | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

Lets hope Ferrari makes progess with their simulator.

 

amazing how they car now can package everything so neat and tight at the back, like a lovely ass on a hot lady

i still think ferrari got alot of work to do, redbull and mclaren taking things easy but will be mighty fast

 

F1 : Paddock whispers suggest Alonso sitting out first Formula 1 test due to rib ache

 

His thin Russian model girl worked him over? And I thought LH was tough on him at Mclaren!

 

Massa saying the cockpit gets very very hot

 

From the look of those pix it seems like the whole thing is getting very hot!

IIRC, this was reported after the very first day; Something about "we've got to improve cockpit cooling".

I wonder if it's the KERS behind his back making it toastier than usual?

Cheers,
Ian

 

Phil hot?
Whooda thunk it

 

FIRST PRE-SEASON TEST, DAY THREE, JEREZ, SPAIN, FASTEST TIMES
1. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:17.879
2. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:18.766
3. Sebastian Vetttel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 1.19.052
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus-Renault 1:19.200
5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:19.247
6. James Rossiter (GB) Force India-Mercedes 1.19.303
7. Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.603
8. Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.934
9. Max Chilton (GB) Marussia-Cosworth 1:21.454
10. Valtteri Bottas* (Fin) Williams-Renault 1:21.5785
10. Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham-Renault 1:22.352
11. Paul di Resta (GB) Force India-Mercedes 1:23.729

 

Day 3 was 3 days ago...

 

day 4 Jerez!
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I'm thinking "merge".
I'm thinking "merge".
I'm thinking "merge".

 

Mods alerted.

 

Button has stated the new Mclaren thus far is slower than last year's car. The car is believed to have more understeer than any top car out there so far. Problems, nothing they cannot handle IMO.

Lauda out stating Mercedes can compete in the top 3 as well, but the Red Bull looking to be the most handy car so far.

 

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OMG. My respect for Lauda just took a severe hit.

Has he now become another company yes man?

 

Who knows. He was at the tests so who knows what he witnessed.

 

You know Lauda, he just says things without any regard for seemingly anything at times. That said, if Lotus are ahead of Mercedes I would be surprised. The Lotus have its tires a thrashing during long runs.

 

Three days or ten days, Massa was fastest.

 

I always respected Lauda for being a straight shooter who never flinched to speak the truth.

This rarah statement sounds more like he is toting the corporate line. Pitty.

 

You could be right, but then again what if he's right? He was the guy you applauded when he stated Michael should never drive and F1 car again, so apparantly you do agree with him at times and I know you praise his blunt trauma statements. Stay with me here, I'm only saying it's a bit early to declare him the corporate puppet just yet. Per the data and conjecture available, W04 looks good and very reliable completing 300 laps in two days, Ferrari looks good, Red Bull as always looking good, Lotus is ok, and Mclaren is tough to say now with Button whining about oversteer, but we all remember MP4-26 in preseason testing so Mclaren are hardly ever out, often down though. I wouldn't throw the towel in on W04, it's a very bland machine compared to the Ferrari and all its bells and whistles already attached yet it's about as fast. I would chew on that for a bit, evolution-wise, where are they going to go? Same as Red Bull, where are they going to go with what they have now?

You forget W03 was a very good car at the beginning on the season, but even during testing we saw it ate tires (see? testing is good for something for fans), and fans such as myself were hoping they deduced a fix before Melbourne. The solution ended up being killing the aero of the car, which they did in order to make the tires last a bit longer. If W04 is an evolution of what W03 should have been had it been easier on tires, then they will be in good shape. Costa is behind it, and he is a mechanical genius as far as I'm concerned.


Regarding F138, great car but mark my words, it will not be fast at tight circuits and non-traditional track circuits. Monaco, Singapore, forget about it. I'm still undecided regarding just how good it is though, I just know its CoG compromises and exhaust height compromise will kill it at tighter circuits and possibly even simple chicanes. It's been pretty even on tires though.

 

BBC Sport - Number crunching gives early F1 form guide - Gary Anderson


Gary Anderson crunching the numbers, interesting write-up.

 

I hear you and yes there is the chance that Lauda is once again speaking the truth.

If you know his email address pls pass it on: I'd love to bet some beers with Niki.

 

From that chart, you'd be inclined to believe that the F India is easiest on its tires, followed by the Mercedes on it's later runs.