MB's new serrated board in greater detail. Note the leading edge of the floor below the sidepod intake directs air 'caught' by the serrated board and draws it under the car to the diffuser. I suspect MB will run a bit less rake so to take advantage of this. Really outstanding innovation. Mercedes are calling it the 'W floor'. I believe that can probably mean the 'I win' floor New MB front wing coming today and new nose tomorrow which Toto calls 'innovative' Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mclaren may be piling up the laps but the engine is a dog. Again. Less unreliable so far though, and bound to be an improvement, but definitely not where they need to be apparently.
Honda is just testing one new component at a time to make certain each component works and that there are no heat issues. We haven't seen them at anywhere near full whack yet. They repositioned pretty much everything so I have high hopes for them to be mid field for the first part of the season, then perhaps moving up the field later.
I think everyone can go home. The stint times on similar tires are not looking good for anyone compared to W07 which remains .500+ ahead of the nearest competitor, which is Ferrari. Sadly, we're in for another dominant season.
I dunno, when you can beat last year's pole time by nearly 2 seconds and be fastest on the track for 2 days in a row...how is it that W07 is dominating exactly? Vettel sets the pace again in 2nd day of f1 preseason tests
Seb set that lap on the new ultrasoft tires which are some 1.5+ seconds quicker than the soft compound used last year to set pole. Look at the stint times set by everyone on mediums. MB are creaming everyone, and they haven't even brought their new front wing, nose, nor other goodies. Ferrari have a new engine spec for Melbourne coming, but it won't bring that much. It's terrifying how much MB brought with W07.
People, we do have to take a bucket of salt with all these lap times, fastest laps or stint. They're meaningless. We haven't a clue how much fuel is in any car. That said, it does appear that the Merc remains the car to beat.
No one is sandbagging this year, per Vettel. I have to agree, there's no point to it with basically no alterations to the formula this season. Next year however, we will see lots of sandbagging.
Laps completed today: Rosberg, 172 Bottas, 134 Vettel, 126 Verstappen, 121 Alonso, 119 Ricciardo, 112 Ericsson, 108 Perez, 101 Gutierrez, 79 Wehrlein, 71 Palmer, 42 Seems reliability is quite good with the Ferrari, too.
I know we've had this debate before. It doesn't matter what the formula is, IMO at least there is *zero* reason to go testing unless you're pushing. You're not going to learn a damn thing unless you're pushing. Sure, some of them may be running super light (no scrutineering, at least when I was doing it) & others may be hiding their hand somewhat by always running full tanks, but even that's a dodgy approach..... Car balance changes with fuel load. We go testing to learn, not to sandbag. I don't care what the formula, they *all* want to go quicker than the other guys at some point - Same as qualy - empty the tanks and see what we can do relative to the others. Otherwise you're just not learning anything about what it does 'on the limit'. They're still racers after all. +1 They may still be down on power, but at least the thing isn't expiring on its out lap! Cheers, Ian
Hmmm.... Thanks for that. Looks at least a little promising. Even if the 'ultrasoft' is worth 1 1/2 seconds it still appears Ferrari is right in the ballpark versus the Merc. Final day tomorrow, right? Those times will give us a better idea - As already noted, at some point they'll all go balls out - they just can't resist. Bolt on these ultrasoft things, empty the tanks and go for it. I suspect we may be depressed, but I'd say 'so far so good'. Cheers, Ian
Alonso saying McLaren could have the best chassis by the European season. I'll believe it when I see it.
My question is 1.5 seconds compared to what? Vettel had the fast tire (ultra soft), but Nico was on the medium...with the soft and the super-soft between them. If the ultra is worth 1.5 vs. the super-soft, Ferrari is screwed. If it's compared to the medium, they might be okay. I guess that's why they'll start racing in a few weeks. Two more days, I think...Wednesday and Thursday.
+1 with you and F-pilot. Mercedes are doing their program, unrelenting it is. I hope Ferrari are close and others as well. I wanted to post what F-pilot did above yesterday. I was having those thoughts after testing on day 1. Mercedes have a complete package ready and further items for race 1. Lets hope Ferrari will do the same, if not as soon but sooner rather than later. Very excited F1 has started again no matter the situation with Mercedes appearing to be the top marque again. Someone normally is lol!
