F1 2009 Season discussion/development thread

What's impressive about Team BrawnGP is that they seem to be quite reliable, as well as fast.

We must wait to see what happens tomorrow, but if BrawnGP finish top of the time sheets on the final day of testing, they will go into Australia with a massive boost in confidence.

What is shocking is that Hamilton is a full 2.5s slower than the top man. For sure, he will have finished the day off totally dejected. And if this is a true representation of McLaren's pace, it will be surprising to see one of the fastest car of 2008, evolve into one of the slowest cars in 2009. Is it really possible that McLaren have produced a lemon?
 
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sunama said:
Is it really possible that McLaren have produced a lemon?
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Thats what I don't get, McLaren have been 'up there' really since the days of hakkinen's double championship, yes they've had off years like 2006, but nothing like what the test times seem to portray, there doesn't seem to be any reason for such a massive change from one of the fastest to one of the slowest...
 
Countcussy said:
Big Ron has his say...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7937487.stm
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Taken from the above:

"The objective is to go to Australia and be the most competitive car there, not to come out of every single test at the top of the timesheets," he said.
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I'm pretty sure Senna, Mansell, Hamilton, etc will disagree with you on that point. Those guys are true racers who want to dominate their opponents at all times. The aim is to mentally scare your main competitors - something which happens in many different sports, including F1.

"Testing is about a disciplined approach to making the car go faster and you have to ignore the performance of the other teams."
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I think some drivers will tell you that testing is about showing the other teams whose boss and who has the biggest balls to go out and put up the fastest time.

I find it strange that McLaren personel (including drivers), repeatedly state that they are on course to have one of the fastest cars in 2009, yet their testing times are consistently showing them to be approximately 1.5-2.5s/lap slower than the leaders.

In years gone by, a car that has been this slow in testing, has also been slow in races. If McLaren are to become one of the fastest in 2009, then this will be one of the first times in decades where the slowest car in testing has been the fastest in (proper) racing.

If McLaren really do believe they have a competitive car, why dont they allow Hamilton to go full throttle and post up the fastest lap of the test? Surely this can only go on to boost morale and confidence (especially the drivers')?
 
sunama said:
In years gone by, a car that has been this slow in testing, has also been slow in races. If McLaren are to become one of the fastest in 2009, then this will be one of the first times in decades where the slowest car in testing has been the fastest in (proper) racing.
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Im not suggesting for a second they are but......

Wouldnt it be true that IF McLaren know they are testing to 70% of their car's ability - lets say - the ONLY time they would be able to effectively hide it easily is when there is such drastic changes to the car as this season

Also because of the limited amounts of testing this season, its twice as likely that any team who believe themselves to have such a huge advantage would want to completely hide it until the 1st race weekend so other teams have less chance of changing their design (esp if its a radical change)


Dont get me wrong, this is a HUGE IF - but it kind of sounds like how Ron Dennis /McLaren think in a way

I also dont personally see the merit in not testing to 100% because you dont get to find out the real life stresses without doing exactly what you would do in races. Also with the limited testing, these official tests are the few times you can really do it (ok even if straight line testing is allowed at other times, this reallly makes little difference given the amount of curbs/corrners used over a race weekend let alone a season)
 
If what they say is true, then why did Hamilton fall off the track if he wasn't going flat out? That's twice now, surely that's a big cause for concern. Out of a potential 150 odd laps, there's always room for a flying lap to give the drivers a real feel for the car and as stated, a confidence boost. Maybe McLaren prefer to test in the labs and just use the testing days for real world data and then tweak it all back on the computer.

I'm highly optimistic about the following season though. I think these new rules a step in the right direction so far.
 
FrankJH said:
I also dont personally see the merit in not testing to 100% because you dont get to find out the real life stresses without doing exactly what you would do in races. Also with the limited testing, these official tests are the few times you can really do it (ok even if straight line testing is allowed at other times, this reallly makes little difference given the amount of curbs/corrners used over a race weekend let alone a season)
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This is what I agree with.

I dont believe that McLaren are sandbagging: Hamilton pushed the car to the limit (and went off the track in doing so) and still finished 2.5s off of Button's time.

Unless McLaren are so far ahead of the opposition that they are treating these tests with disdain, I believe McLaren are struggling and in particular their rear wing is giving them serious problems.

We shall find out in Australia.
 
What worries me about their car is that it's got the bulkiest rear end. The other fast cars taper off a lot towards the back whereas the McLaren just has a huge bulk and tapers off slightly.
 
So how much bigger can McLaren make those front wheel fairings before someone important decides their car is no longer open wheeled?
 
whatleytom said:
better hurry up, the odds are quickly tumbling.
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I dont blame bookies for their optimism at Button and BrawnGP. They have shown good pace so far.

Quite literally, the car has been quick, straight out of the box, which is a very rare thing.

With regards to the title race though, I still feel that Button has next to no chance of winning the title as he just isnt good enough.

Ferrari definitely look like the team to beat, going into the first GP.
 
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