Live pre season testing

I'm sorry...I was incorrect. They will have 32 tokens available this year. The same as 2014...not the same as last year. 2016 was originally intended to have 15 tokens and some "off limits" components. Tokens more than doubled and no off limit components.

 

Dude look at the token allocation, most of the power plant stuff folks only get 1-2 chances to get it right...by any definition of the word, it's really limited & offers little chance for "teams to catch up" as originally intended.

And since everything is so closely tied together a change to one part could very likely have an adverse and unplanned effect on another and the house of cards tumbles...the tokens are gone just like that w no shot of recourse and your stuck back at square one like McLaren Honda was last season...and they only got half the tokens since they were a 1st year manufacturer.

 

Ferrari have allegedly gone through 3 power units already, problems are due to the PU shaking itself to bits due to vibration.

 

they do seem to have some dificulty in driving arund for may laps in a row, hope they will fix that soon....but i am more concerned about speed than reliability...that i know they will sort out, speed it's a bit harder to find....

 

Wow...ok!

 

Officially Ferrari are saying they have only used one engine up to the end of yesterday and have just put a new one in for today: Ferrari insists its engine has no problems

Jonathan

 

14:33 Sebastian Vettel was chatting to reporters over the lunchbreak, and acknowledged that Ferrari could do with more time to get ready to Melbourne:
Ferrari needs more time to be ready for 2016 F1 season - Vettel
Autosport.comFerrari needs more time to prepare for the new Formula 1 season says Sebastian Vettel, but he hopes they will be ready for the opening grand prix in Melbourne

 

Mclaren are supposed to be testing some major new aero bits today but I haven't seen any yet. Pick up is much better and the car looks more stable. What's most interesting is the Mclaren chassis clocked a speed second quickest to Nico's qualy sim in the heavily aero sector. Mclaren have a great chassis, they just need a bit more power and they will cause real problems.

 

Nice to see that. Really want them to move up!

 

Word on the street is Lewis doesn't like the new soft tires, or at least how W07 reacts to them

 

Yet another dominant Merc performance to reinforce their ownership of the 2016 WDC and WCC crowns.

Good to see Williams doing well today with Bottas top of the time sheets, albeit on super softs and only marginally ahead of Merc on softs.

Ferrari got good mileage in today. I just get the feeling that the car will not be as reliable as it needs to be early in the season, but the package is reasonable, if not championship winning material.

McLaren - i just don't know. They seem to be ok on reliability, but their pace is not convincing - they can't get within 1.5 seconds of Merc, and are mostly bottom half on lap times. Does anyone know if the Honda PU is race spec yet, or is it pending more upgrades before Melbourne? They are miles off the pace in the speed traps, but the chassis seems good. If only...

 

Ferrari speak on the engine and rumors of problems - Ferrari insists its engine has no problems

 

It seems that they´re having some cooling issues. I´ve seen some pics of the mechanics blowing air with a fan through a hole in the left hand sidepod every time the car stopped at the pits.

 

I read that he says they fall off after only 6 laps or so. That's definitely a step backwards.

 

... sounds like a tyre good for a one stopper in Sotchi

 

Those Mercs...well sad to say, it's gonna be another boring, long year ahead.

 

According to Teds Notebook there are rumors of 9 different failure on Ferrari power plants between Ferrari, Haas, Sauber, and Toro Rosso.

 

Better to have the failures now than when it matters.

'This is why we go testing'....

They're (hopefully) learning lots at least.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Agreed. The good news was Vettels 151 laps. That sounds like they've got it figured out.

 

No, but I'd expect them to be a Renault level at best. According to Button they haven't done any set-up work yet either.

 

"This is why we watch."

Not long to go now..... A new season is always a wonderful thing - Hope springs eternal.

Again, it looks like Merc are the class of the field, so the other guys need to up their game. Not easy, but neither should it be.

Cheers,
Ian

 

They may not be anywhere near Mercedes, but they're definitely not anywhere near the bottom end either. Lets not act like McHonda are breaking down every day after single digit laps like last year.

 

Ted's notebook reports that there are rumors up and down the paddock amongst Ferrari customers that the Ferrari pu's are experiencing the same issues w the turbos and fuel pump, 9 failures to be exact. The teams are not allowed to publically say anything tarnishing against Ferrari allegedly.

Also, the fact that Ferrari went out of their way and replaced their entire fuel tank doesn't seem to inspire much confidence either.

 

Kimi gets to try a Halo system this morning ! http://images.scribblelive.com/2016/3/3/9708afc6-42af-43c1-a24a-2dea29f061fe_800.jpg removed after one lap

 

6 kg of steel tubing covered in carbon fibre.
I'm not sure if that is disturbing the view tremendously or is actually fine... I am keen to play it on the PS4

The top view makes me wonder how they can fiddle the arm rests through.

RBR is going to test 'their' Halo with window screens later this year.
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