Teams bring new parts to the track whenever they are ready. That's what Friday free practice is for these days. People read to much into quotes given by drivers in press conferences. The truth is, they know very little of what is going on back at the factory or what parts are due and when.
F1 Testing 2010
- Thread starter Duke
- Start date
I wasn't talking about Jenson I was talking about Brawn. He later admitted they did no updates despite promising them after every race post turkey IIRC.
I find it incredible hard to believe that the team principle isn't keeping the drivers informed when new bits are coming. Granted they don't need to know the exact details of the parts but I'm pretty sure Jenson would have been badgering Ross all season long to find out what was coming.
I can't imagine MS didn't have a clue about what was coming at Ferrari.
Danny. I find it hard to believe that not a single change was made, aerodynamically to the car, for such a long duration.
MS is the sort of person who wants to know everything about everything. It's his nature/personality. Kimi Raikonnen on the other hand...
does this apply to test drivers? I would have thought they would have had an integral part of the improvement process. Otherwise what do they do nowadays, just sit around and drink tea, spend umpteen hours in the simulator?
...just wants to know when the ice cream is being restocked in the fridge.
or when he can anounce to the world he was "having a ****" sounds like hit
Associate
lol
Just for that, if I were one of the McLaren boys, I would've brought out the longest lens camera I could lay my hands on, with tripod and started taking pics of the rear end of the Ferrari's latest F1 vehicle.
Final pre-season testing times (added to OP)
Code:
[b]Pos Driver Team Time Laps[/b]
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.472 134
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.496 59
3. Massa Ferrari 1:20.539 113
4. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:20.611 99
5. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:20.667 76
6. M.Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:20.745 122
7. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:20.870 83
8. Kobayashi BMW-Sauber 1:20.911 67
9. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.135 87
10. Kubica Renault 1:23.175 106
11. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:25.251 65
12. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:26.160 47
i think the goal was to simply annoy the ferrari guys, my choice would have been a ladder to stare over the barriers.
i would have brought out a big sign that said "design your own car"
Soldato
LOL that video was brilliant. Why did they even bother with the screens?!
Take two steps to the left. Continue staring.
Take two steps to the left. Continue staring.
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LOL that video was brilliant. Why did they even bother with the screens?!
Take two steps to the left. Continue to staring.
maybe to make them feel like spies stealing other peoples designs
Its all show anyway, as there are high resolution photos of the back of all the cars al over the internet anyway.
Its mainly a bit of fun and a joke about the whole 'secrecy' around something thats very visable anyway. Like the Toyota mechanics on the grid last year sheilding the diffuser from Brundle on his grid walk.
If anything, the Ferrari guys are making themselves out to look like ****'s by taking it all to seriously anyway.
Its mainly a bit of fun and a joke about the whole 'secrecy' around something thats very visable anyway. Like the Toyota mechanics on the grid last year sheilding the diffuser from Brundle on his grid walk.
If anything, the Ferrari guys are making themselves out to look like ****'s by taking it all to seriously anyway.
The Top 3
So, as expected, Hamilton finished the test as No.1 (was there ever any doubt?) and RedBull, Ferrari and McLaren finished up as the top3.
2010
Last year I stated that 2010 will be all about Ferrari vs McLaren and Alonso vs Hamilton. After seeing the above test times, I shall be sticking to my prediction.
Vettel
No disrespect to Vettel - he is a great driver - but I just can't see how he will be able to compete against Alonso or Hamilton, if those 2 are fighting for the title, without extraordinary events to assist him. Many people felt Vettel came of age last year - I would disagree mainly because the 2 best drivers in F1 (Alonso and Hamilton), were not in the game during the 2009 campaign.
2010, will finally see the return of Alonso, Hamilton, Ferrari and McLaren and if Vettel can mix it with those guys when they all have decent cars, he would have to be considered a genuine challenger for future titles. At this point though, I cannot class Vettel in the same category as Alonso and donot expect him to challenge for the 2010 WDC. Stranger things have happened though.
2010 WDC Prediction
1st/2nd: Alonso and Hamilton will finish in the top 2 places - in which order, I don't want to say, as I feel Hamilton/McLaren and Alonso/Ferrari are too closely matched.
3rd/4th: I think Massa and Vettel will fill the next 2 places - in which order, I don't want to say. Massa is fiercely competitive, committed and fast, while Vettel is "naturally" fast. In 2011, I think Vettel will be a better driver than Massa, but in 2010 - I'm not sure.
5th: Michael Schumacher: the most decorated driver in F1 history. He has had a few years out of F1 (driving), but even at the age of 41, is still going to be a titan. I dont believe he is as good as Alonso or Hamilton, though he is still good for a top5 finish in a car which isnt the best. MS will get the most out of the car, without getting frustrated or overdriving the car (something Hamilton often does, when given a slow car).
6th/7th: Webber and Button: IMO these 2 drivers are closely matched in ability and will probably fight during the course of the season for the same positions on the race track, while their team-mates battle for the leading positions.
These being test times and the top eight being within half a second of each other tells us nothing of their relative performance in my opinion. You're welcome to your predictions but I don't think the test data can't be used to support them in any way!
Yup.
Or a Pogo stick...McLaren 1 - Ferrari 0
I loved that the Renault guys were laughing as well - no barrier in front of them...
i dont see why you rate hamilton so highly already when he hasnt really proved anything other than he could win when he had easily the best car i certainly wouldnt be comparing him to alonso or schumacher.
all hamilton proved last year was that he could push when he didnt need to and not finish because of it.
frustration will get the better of him and he wont suit heavy fuel loads at all imo, he doesnt seem the type to take it easy and collect points never mind the type to settle into a race pace that conserves the tyres and brakes.
where ms is the exact oposite , he knows how to look after tyres , hes used to long stints from his ferrari days anyway and his driving style suits heavy fuel loads a lot.
hopefully we will get quite a few wet races like last year so he can show webber how a pro can drive in the wet instead of beeing scared of a bit of water
Agree totally. Until the end of the 1st race we won't know for sure who currently has the best car.
For one, the teams won't know the true effect of the tyre degradation for each other during race distances. They will know what their own car is like but only at the first race will they find out what the other teams are like. Whilst one team may be quick over a few laps, it may well suffer more than others towards the end of a stint.