Live pre season testing

You are exactly right. Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn, and Jean Todt won the 2000 championship with an inferior car. They beat McLaren fair and square through determination and a hunger to win.

 

I think a hungry Vettel trumps a lazy Hamilton by more than three tenths. I can't wait to see what kind of mind games Vettel plays with Nico and LewHam...that alone could be worth three tenths.

 

Obviously not

+2

This just may be a fine season.

+1

Sure, Merc remain the favorites, but I too am sure it's not going to be the walkover of the recent past. Put them under pressure & we know they crack. Looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Agreed. Vettel was messing with these guys hard during 2015. If he is even closer in 2016, his mind games will show definite results on-track.

I am certainly looking forward to it.

 

I'm thinking we may just be in for a great season....

With all due respect, anyone claiming it's all over already is a fool.

Cheers,
Ian
F1 testing round-up: Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari lead on raw pace - F1 - Autosport

 

Thats why we watch Race 1 cant get here soon enough!

 

+1

Couldn't have said it better!

Another old cliche; 'when the flag drops, the BS stops.'

Anyone here going to the Aus race? If so, it's your *duty* to keep us updated......

Cheers,
Ian

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh--- mennnnnn!

 

Spot on.

 

And another point is that this is the first Ferrari that Vettel has had input on it so it's going
to be to his liking (and Kimi from what it looks). They'll be able to push the development
in that direction. I'm not sure how close they to Merc, but this is going to be a very
different Season for Ferrari. I'm looking forward.

 

A nice summary if all 8_days

Formula 1's 2016 pre-season testing in numbers

Sorry if this is a repeat post

 

I'm not so sure; It seems the, as usual, outspoken as ever Jos Verstappen is that fool, with all due respect ofcourse

"Verstappen declared on march 2nd, 2016 "the only thing we can safely say is that Mercedes is by far the fastest again."

Jos Verstappen optimistisch over STR11|Autosport| Telegraaf.nl

 

I think for 90% of the tracks, Mercs will be up front.

P3-P5 will be a battle between Ferrari & Williams, with the remaining 10% for P1-P2 shared amongst them when one or both mercs experiences a failure or other anomaly. Just like last season, Ferrari was able to occasionally put up a strong battle for a race win, but never really was in the race to wdc & wcc.

P6-P10 should see a close battle amongst Force India, McLaren-Honda, Redbull and Toro Rosso.

Everything else will be settled amongst Renault, Haas & Manor.

Lets see how the first 3-4 races pan out. The pecking order is usually pretty clear by then, and we can revisit this discussion and see who got it right

 

Good find. Thanks.

"13 drivers posted times better than last years pole time."

That's development folks! Half the field are now quicker than the mighty Merc was less than a year back! OK, tires & temps helped, but still, think about that.....

I'm so bored of the 'it's boring' argument!

If you find this boring, or all over before its begun, may I suggest something like watching paint dry. Probably more to your taste.

Cheers,
Iam

 

I'm looking forward to it as well, but;

Given the fact that engine and aero are so important these days and most drivers (if not all) lack any form of engineering degree (let alone experience other than as a racing driver) I feel that that part of racing car development is always overated a bit.

Or is Vettel/etc. suddenly giving masterclasses to engineers in aerodynamics and powertrain efficiency...

I guess the thing that they have a big role in, is setting up a car for that final tenths of a second, to be able to adjust/steer development to their respective capabilities and requirements given engine mapping, suspension setup and tyres used.

 

Yep.

And given they're all pretty much covered by a second or so, those last few tenths are the difference between hero & zero....

The 'greats' have always been better at extracting those last few 10ths. It's now a lot about providing good feedback to the engineers so they can take it in the 'right' direction.

But guess what?... it's *always* been so!

Cheers,
Ian

 

I very much agree. He's grown on me quite a bit. Likeable and charitable like Michael.

 

I feel you, but sometimes romance, history or both, seems to runoff with the facts and uplifts some drivers from reality making them go down into history as half engineering a car, wenn their actual engineering role is far less pronounced.

 

Oh, don't get me wrong - very few of 'em are even *close* to being any kind of engineer.

But, the good ones can provide accurate feedback that the guys can use to improve the thing.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Anyone catch the Rosberg interview where he stated 'we know it's very close with Ferrari, but we're not certain if we're slightly ahead or slightly behind'? This morning, Toto is already suggesting they will put their energy behind one driver in order to deal with the Ferrari challenge. (Which will make a tense situation dramatically worse between the drivers)

I doesn't really sound like "this thing is over..."

 

Less than 2 weeks to go until all will be revealed… including the comedy of the new quali format. Can't wait!

Fingers crossed for some non Merc upsets and wins!

 

We all know they want to make it look like it's going to be difficult, nobody want's to brag they will win it easy and in the end get beaten....i honestly make no idea were we stand....until race starts, we can only guess....but, if we are 2, 3 tents behind max, i think we have a chance, cause we have a better driver, and because i firmly believe our chassis as more potentila to develop than the merc one....in terms of Pu, i think Ferrari is on pair with merc.

 

The current time sheets tell us different......

OK, it's just testing, but experience tells me they *all* try & go quickly at some point. There's really no point in being out there otherwise.

It's possible Merc ran on full tanks the whole time, but I very much doubt it. Even they need/want to learn what their car does in different configurations.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Interesting reading...


Could Mercedes' dominance of the V6 turbo era finally be under threat? Testing often presents a distorted picture of the season to come, but if two weeks at the Circuit de Catalunya taught us anything it's that Ferrari has made another big step over the winter.

The Italian team has been making fast progress since it was shuffled down the order by new regulations in 2014. That season it struggled to break out of the midfield and, on average, qualified 1.22s off the dominant Mercedes at the front of the field. The mistakes of 2014, specifically on the power unit side, were addressed the following year, halving the average qualifying gap to Mercedes to 0.67s over the 2015 season. This year it was the turn of Maranello's chassis department to make big changes and it looks entirely possible that a similar gain has been found ahead of the 2016 season. Mercedes, quite understandably, is worried.

"They have been very quick for sure," Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg said after the final day of testing. "All the teams have their strategists so we know more or less what fuel the other teams are running and they know our fuel. So we know more or less where we are compared to Ferrari -- which is why I say for sure it is close. But we are not sure if we are ahead or behind."

All lap times in testing are best analysed with caution due to varying fuel loads and track conditions, but at the final test Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen offered lap times that begged for a comparison. The times were set on different days -- Rosberg's on day one when track temperatures were warmer and Raikkonen's on the slightly cooler day three -- but both were set on soft tyres and relatively low fuel. They were split by 0.013s ... in Ferrari's favour.


Sutton Images
The two teams ran very different testing programmes this winter, with Mercedes refraining from using the ultra-soft or super-soft tyres during both weeks, instead focusing on a staple run-plan of heavy fuel and medium tyres. The world champions did, however, conduct a couple of quick qualifying simulations on soft tyres, and it was during the first of these on Tuesday morning that Rosberg set his soft-tyre benchmark of 1:23.022. But just to underline how rough a guide these lap times provide, Lewis Hamilton was 0.6s off Rosberg on his qualifying simulation the following morning -- a gap bigger than we have ever seen in a competitive qualifying session between the two team-mates over the last two years.

"We were doing qualifying practice this morning," Rosberg explained after his 1:23.022. "It's all the more enjoyable, to take the car to the limit. We took some fuel out for once and it was nice for me to get in to it and to be able to push some more, so we put down some lap times and it was a good feeling."

Ferrari was more eager to experiment on low fuel over the two weeks and indulged in a number of quick laps on Pirelli's two softest compounds to set the outright fastest laps in both tests. Those ultra-soft laps stole the headlines, but it was Raikkonen's lap on soft tyres on Thursday morning -- a 1:23.009 -- that has been used for our comparison and hints at the battle brewing at the front of the field. For Raikkonen, however, it was still not perfect. "In many ways we could have done faster lap times if we wanted to," he said afterwards. "But I think it was one of the best days that we managed to do."

Flying laps are one thing, but points and championships are won on Sunday afternoons over longer runs with heavy fuel loads. Analysis of the race simulations tips the balance back towards Mercedes, but not by the margins seen in races over the last two years. What's more, the Circuit de Catalunya has been one of Mercedes' happiest hunting grounds in the V6 turbo era, with gaps of over 45 seconds to their nearest rivals over a race distance in both 2014 and 2015. On different types of circuits, the long runs seen in testing could put Ferrari even closer to Mercedes.


Mark Thompson/Getty Images
However, in terms of pure mileage there was only one winner this winter. Mercedes completed 1,294 laps, which is more than 19 race distances and the equivalent of two return trips from its factory in Brackley, Northamptonshire to the Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona. Aside from the obvious reliability advantage the W07 Hybrid appears to have, all that track time offered more data and more set-up time that could be crucial to unlocking the very best from its car at the opening races. Ferrari by comparison completed 13 race distances and would have pulled up short at the Clement Ferrand circuit in central France on the second of its Brackley to Barcelona runs.

But even if Ferrari's improvements do not extend to race-winning pace at a circuit as aero-sensitive as the Circuit de Catalunya, the one-lap pace exhibited still represents a step forward. Ferrari's deficit since 2014 has always been bigger in qualifying than races and the early signs are that it has reduced that gap significantly.

Anticipation ahead of the first qualifying session of the 2016 season in Melbourne a week on Saturday is high. Let's just hope it extends to Sunday morning once the true one-lap pace of the W07 Hybrid and SF16-H has been revealed.

 

I think it'll be interesting.

Im actually looking forward to McLaren moving up in the world. They're showing promise in their pace and speed. I think they'll be more on par with williams this season.