Barcelona Testing 2019 (Circuit de Catalunya)

Interesting that the Mercedes times don't seem too frightening so far even though they are pushing on a bit more today.

 

Lewis on the C5 .maybe time to put down a serious marker?

Tuned in a bit late today ..RCT ouch!

 

Boom Riccardo goes fastest, clearly Renault have 2019 "dans le sac" !

 

It's an old argument with Ferrari fans quite happy that the Scuderia receives a financial unfair advantage (historical bonus).
I blame Bernie for introducing that just to get Ferrari onboard with the British teams at the time.
Now we have 3 teams receiving historical bonuses and 2 of them not doing great.
Really Liberty is quite right in re_assessing the situation and thinking about ending these privileges.

F1 is a business, and teams are companies; they should succeed or fail on their own merit, without any outside intervention.
I believe that's the law of market forces, or capitalism as some like to call it.

Apart from that, Ferrari in or out of F1 is another matter.
For some die-hard tifosi, F1 without the red cars is unthinkable; just like saying to a devoted catholic that his religion is going to disappear! (I exagerate)
Ferrari has left a huge print in F1, and could perfectly survive without ever entering a GP again.
F1 would suffer a blow initially, with reduced attendance, but I am sure it would recover if it offers an attractive package.
People like motor racing in general, and not only Watch Ferraris.

 

Agree'd and the descriptions of the laps dont sound as smooth as Ferrari's faster laps early in this test.

 

We know your opinion on the subject.

It just happens that I don't share it. Fine.

Yes, several teams have in fact complained about the distribution of money in the past, Sauber and Force India at least.

Also, you have no choice but accept the statutes to enter F1 as a new team. That doesn't mean you agree with them.

It's just like when you come of age of voting: that doesn't mean that you agree with the electoral system in your country.

I disgress, I know, but do you see my point?

 

You and the guy that liked your post are really strange... you guys post zillions of posts here about something you say is easily replacable with something else and when someone replies and you do not like it you get sulky... Posting in a forum without caring about other people´s opinions is stange at best...

 

The old dog!! probably partying with a bunch of stripers while keepin an eye on testing, lololo

 

Doesn't Sid do the testing afterwards?

 

lololol

 

Nice to see Alex Albon getting stuck in a bit on the C4.I thought he might struggle but he seems to be taking to F1 like a duck to water .(or a Sid to Vegas)

 

Peut-être même "dans la poche"...
("c'est dans la poche": it's in the pocket = it's in the bag; but you can also say "c'est dans le sac")
Rgds

 

Post your opinion all you want. I dont care if Ferrari leave. Its that simple. I certainly am not sulking but Im not delusional to think F1 in general cares. I can find other things to entertain myself if the worst F1 fears are realized. Move on.......................its a testing thread.

 

Or "gettin her in the sac"....a la Sid

 

Judging by the times posted so far on the 4th day out of 8 testing days .i think it is safe to say that the 2018 pole here of 1:16.173 will be obliterated during the winter test despite the changes..Quite impressive.So they are currently running at least 2 secs off the expected pace.Still fascinating though .Bit like (speed) Chess.

 

Next week will be very very interesting....

 

Yeh but she will get him in the pocket

 

Old french expression was: "il emballe", (he "wraps it up") a more or less elegant way to say that he "reaches his objective" with women...
Rgds

 

Merci.
Though its not in le sac or indeed la poche of course as we all know:
La Ferrari ha gia'il campionata in tasca

 

Going on a forum with the intention of changing other people's opinions by criticising them is opening the door to unnecessary polemics.

Time to move on !

 

Going into a discussion without any intention to change your own opinion no matter what the arguments from the other party are makes the discussion redundant and makes me question what you are actually doing here...
What are you doing in a public forum if you do not have any interest in interacting with other peoples opinions in case they do not suit you???

The opening question was why Ferrari gets extra money and the answer was because Ferrari is essential for the survival of F1 and just because you do not care about Ferrari does not change that. But if one cares about F1 (and I guess looking at your post counts you both obviously do) I do not understand why one does not care whether Ferrari leaves or not even if you do not like them. This has absolutely nothing to do with the question whether you can change anything about it in case they decide to do so or not....

 

F1 is Ferrari and the masses would agree, they leave its done.
And
We shall see what Toto squawks about early in the season to set the FIA on Ferrari's ass this year?
Strategic....perhaps, year in year out the same old crap from Merc and Toto

 

I feel bad for Russell. He was obviously the most talented (together with Albon) in F2 last year. Norris keeps getting talked up (he has a massive fanbase on social media, much more than Albon or Russell). I was really disappointed with Norris last year and IMO he really would have benefited a lot more from an extra year in F2. Based on his performance last year, IMO he's in F1 because he has a huge following rather than purely on merit. 1 win, and the first one of the season at that (others learning the car a bit, or just been unlucky)...is not enough in my opinion.

 

Honda has got a good engine here I think. It seems as reliable as any other. I know lap times don't really matter, but topping the time sheets so far, and good speed on the straights/small straights...I think Red Bulls claims a while ago, that Honda was already at 2018 Ferrari/Mercedes power levels is accurate.

Speculation right now is that Mercedes is running with their engine a little bit turned up....Ferrari is not and neither is Honda. Mercedes turning their engine up is surprising to me.

 

Valtteri Bottas believes Mercedes' main Formula 1 rival Ferrari seems to be "a bit ahead" based on pre-season testing so far. - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/141676/bottas-ferrari-ahead-of-mercedes-so-far

Ferrari's new SF90 has reliably featured at the top end of the timesheets throughout this week's first Barcelona test, as Sebastian Vettel headed the opening day and Charles Leclerc went quickest on the second.

In addition to the usual testing caveats over engine power and fuel loads, Ferrari's performances have been flattered by the fact reigning champion Mercedes has left it late in the week to run Pirelli's softer compound tyres.

But Lewis Hamilton said on Wednesday the Italian cars were looking "very, very strong", and team-mate Bottas went as far as suggesting Ferrari may have an initial edge.

"They do seem very strong," said Bottas. "No matter which kind of fuel load or engine mode they're running.

"We try to correct for that, but in any case they are quick. On short runs and long runs.

"I think we feel at this point they're a bit ahead, but obviously it's impossible to make detailed calculations."

Bottas stressed that Mercedes' results in testing did not matter to the team, as "we have our own references, and the timesheet is not the reference here".

"For sure we read something [into the times]," he said. "We look.

"But we really want to focus on the limited time of testing we have, we want to focus on ourselves and our package.

"I'm sure between the tests the teams will do a bit more analysing where we think we are. It really matters where we're going to be in Melbourne and that is down to how efficient we do these test sessions.

"Like I said before, Ferrari's looking very strong. There's no doubt about that."