Barcelona Testing 2019 (Circuit de Catalunya)

Crashes while being followed by a Mercedes. Being pulled out of the barriers by another Mercedes is the cherry on top

At least the safety car didn’t have to come out...

 

EDIT: I just reread Seb's comments. I previously thought he had stated front suspension. Anyone care to comment on redesigns on SF90 vs SF71 suspension components? Obviously lots of laps last week, unfortunately NDI etc may have missed something.

 

Could've been a hairline fracture that finally failed. I know Leclerc has been off track a few times, Vettel I think last week once as well.

 

Mercedes’ new penis nose though...

 

Ferrari is getting back to its usual unreliable state.

 

We just took sandbagging to a hole new level

 

By the way, today i caught an old interview with Alain Prost, and he said one time, he and Gilles had arranged to go spend the afternoon on a boat, (don't know if racing or what)...and Gilles was testing in France, at "Le castellet", so Gilles stuffed the car on purpose just to get out!! (the car was probably **** anyway!

 

I’m thinking the left wing support gave out, lost downforce and had no steering as a result.

 

Been super busy with work lately!

Anyway, all the flow conditioners on the MB are a bad sign meaning flow is not remaining attached where required. Issues with the rear end are said to be abundant as well in that the diffuser is not working as it should. Very Williams' ish problems.

Red Bull look fantastic though. I'd say they aren't more than 2 or 3 tenths off Ferrari.

 

Some 'correlation' issues potentially wind tunnel to actual track data.....

 

Last week: Wow Ferrari is back!
This week: Wow Ferrari sucks!

 

I’m curious about these mentions of a rear steer on the Merc.

 

LOL.

 

They are measuring stress and flex of the front wing at different speeds and conditions.

 

All great news...Imagine Mercedes a good step back! Music to my ears.

 

I just want there to be competition among 3-4 solid teams this year. When was the last time we genuinely had a season where 3 or 4 drivers had an honest shot at the WDC? Someone here can probably comment on that.

 

The year Grosjean drove into the back of Alonso, killing his WDC campaign. (Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren were all in the position to win in 2011 I think?)

 

We won't know Mercedes pace until June/July, they like to sandbag during testing and the first few races

 

They are running a somewhat complex set up that includes rear-wheel steering (reportedly). I get the sense that it's a little more complex than they assumed and has made the car a bit unpredictable. My guess is that they will either make it work soon or move to a more conventional rear wheel set up. Not certain how much that will hurt the car's overall performance.