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F1 Pre-Season Test Week 4: Barcelona 8th - 11th March
- Thread starter Shimmy
- Start date
Soldato
Yeah we feel the same 
Caporegime
Hmmm.... I don't buy that. Even if the tyre degradation was as bad as seen in the cold tests, 5 or 6 laps at 5s off the pace is 25-30s, you can do a pit stop in that tie, and any following car could easily blast past a car going that slow.
Also, if you saw the 'race sim' data from the 10th; the cars were managing decently long stints without showing particularly huge drops in time.
Soldato
so RB are going to finnish 1,2, 30 secs ahead then, are they really?
may be they are, but it's far from certain, particularly given RBs' penchant for self distruction, of course if you're certain otherwise, place your bets.
Soldato
prey, please show this evidence to the world
Soldato
Dont know, missed the part where anybody mentioned that.
Caporegime
Which bit? The times from 'race sims'? Can't I'm afraid. The only lap-by-lap testing data I know of is f1tests.mine.nu (linked in the OP) and they don't seem to store the data from anything but the most recent day's testing anywhere.
Soldato
well you seemed to be implying that somebody new what was going to happen, and as you work for RB, I assumed it was you.
sorry
Soldato
well I followed all the tests pretty closely and there did appear to be about 5 secs drop off due to fuel and tyres.
I think they will all suffer in broadly the same way, however it may take a few races until the optimum combination appears if at all. Of course KERS and the rear wing will encourage more tyre changes.
I'm sure all the teams have a VERY good idea of where they are, in relation to the rest of the pack. They cannot be 100% certain, but they have a good idea.
The general consensus is that RBR are fastest, followed closely by Ferrari. After the final test (given that Merc finished top, after their mock qualifying runs), my guess would be that Merc could be in 3rd place, followed by the rest.
The above applies to car performance only, which means that if a car is driven by a better driver, a poor car may place higher.
McLaren have good drivers, so expect them to be able to (possibly) compete with Mercedes for 3rd place. While Ferrari (arguably) have the best driver in F1, so even if RBR open the season with the fastest car, they may be vulnerable to getting beaten by Alonso/Ferrari.
Vettel is fantastic at time trials (ie. make him do 50 laps on a dry track, with no other car on the track and he is up there with Alonso/Hamilton), however, his race-craft isn't as good. If Alonso could possibly put Vettel under pressure and not allow him to pull away from pole position, Vettel could be vulnerable.
Caporegime
In the earlier tests, yes, but in the warmer conditions on the 10th, it was much lower. These are probably closer to race conditions.
I'll go along with that.
I think those drivers who usually push to the limits will continue to do so and if they need to take an extra pit stop, they shall do so. I fully expect Hamilton to be pushing like mad (to date, I have never seen him drive slow on purpose and somehow, in 2011, I don't think he is going to start doing so).
Furthermore, even the drivers who aren't known for aggression (Heidfeld, Button, etc): if they have a car driving right behind them, would they have it within themselves, to allow that car past, all the time knowing that they are capable of going an extra 5s/lap faster?
Also, what do people think about MSc's chances this year? He is highly decorated, holding virtually every F1 record that exists. He hasn't come back into F1 to make up the numbers. Do people think that MSc will win a race (or even the title) this year?
Depends entirely if he has a championship winning car.
Soldato
On his own merit no, If we have a crazy race where everyone ends up out of place and their comfort zone. I can see him taking full advantage of it. I would like to see him win one race at least.
They are saying this year will not be about outright pace, more decent management of pace. If you go all guns blazing on these tyres you will not win. It's too much of a risk to push harder and have an extra stop or two, traffic is too much of a gamble and you lsoe too much time.
People say that hamilton never runs anything other than flat out, he will have to. He already is having to adapt, hence his whinging about tyres and it not being racing.
People say that hamilton never runs anything other than flat out, he will have to. He already is having to adapt, hence his whinging about tyres and it not being racing.
In some respects the same as Vettel - he wont want to be anywhere near the pack at all, he could push the tyres too much in the first few races
Caporegime
I'm not sure. He seems to have been happier in the car than Rosberg through testing, and he always had a gift for managing both complex strategy and in-car widgets and wotsits (I remember in-car footage showing him adjusting brake balance in the middle of a 120mph corner), so the KERS, etc. should suit him. If the Mercedes is near the front I can see him winning a race or two.
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