F1 Testing 2014: Week 1 Jerez

Red Bull will be disappointed not to of got more out of the test, but they will of extracted enough aero data to work with it, and they now know they have a heat issue. Something which would be a lot worse in some of the other tracks. They will no doubt have a solution for this already, but they will have to balance the fix with cooling capabilities, and aero performance loss.

Renault will no doubt change what they can, but I would expect the fault isn't with the engine. They are a magnificent team, with a lot of talent. They'll be annoyed about this, but it isn't the end of the world for them. If they are still suffering major issues at the next test then it might be a cause for concern.

What we do know, is Mercedes have created a reliable package, and Ferrari haven't done a bad job either.
 
Red bull pack up. Really not looking good for them, I wonder how bug the issue is, if things are packed into tightly, they might have to remodel pretty much the entire car.
Can't just make the sidepods bigger as all the other front end aero would not be optimised for the bigger side pods.
 
As Red Bull always tell us, it's all about the package as a whole. Teams can't just copy a single feature to catch them up. At this point, that works against them.
 
Not sure how much aero data they got, they didn't even manage a wet weather full speed level of lap. I think they did a what 1:45 fastest, don't forget that of the almost no laps they did, most were well, the car breaking down on the track somewhere, or crawling back to the pits. The fastest lap was 20+ seconds off the fastest laps, and 10+ seconds off fast wet track times and again that was like 2-3 laps total in reality with any speed.

EDIT:- Rosberg got very lucky in that this morning and day two (when he was generally out on day two anyway) had very few/no red flags. Hamilton I think judging by times is trying to do a similar race run as Rosberg, but red flag will mean he has to come in.

Sutil again, we'll see if this one ends his day as well.
 
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Another red, times coming down but not fast compared to the best times so far. Get the impression everyone is trying to do longer stints and we are seeing times coming down lap by lap as fuel comes out.

No idea who caused the red this time, not even sure what happened to Sutil, big/ickle crash, back out soon or car done for the day.

EDIT:- Magnussen cause of red flag...... parked at a chicane.... crash, spin, fuel, car broken, who knows. Sounds like he spun it, quite a long hold up.

An hour left, Hamilton only has 30 laps so won't come close to what Rosberg did. Hamilton hasn't had an awful lot of luck but yet has still got a pretty large amount of running done and some time between them to think, talk with engineers and make changes.

Magnussen had already done 102 laps when he spun so even if they don't go back out(if only a spin/stall, no reason not to) he's had a huge amount of time in the car now. Judacello has done over 60, Alonso over 90, Massa has done over 60 to add to an okay count before and the car looks not bad. Caterham getting over 50 laps is pretty impressive.
 
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Just got back from the circuit, was there from about 9.30 - 3pm (Spain time).

First thing that struck me is how quiet the cars are now, really no need for ear defenders at all. Some interesting whistles / turbo whine going on, along with an old school engine sound, but...muted. Both macca and Ferrari drivers were being quite tail happy on certain corners, Rosberg looked fast and consistent, Massa too which bodes well for Williams at the moment. Track was properly drying out when I left, but combination of overnight weather, rain nearby and few cars meant it stayed damp all morning.

As for Red Bull, saw the car go out, and back in again. Garage then closed and stayed closed...
 
Bianchi just went round fast enough to beat Red Bulls 1:38 best time....

really has been a very bad weekend for Red Bull, as someone else said, sounds like it could potentially be a massive job to fix the car. though, while making huge sidepods might ruin the aero they've designed.... it's a damn site better than not being able to run because the car catches fire after half a lap so that might have to be their short term solution. If they do need a huge redesign to fix cooling issues then it could be quite a while before they have a tuned chassis/aero combo.
 
While I don't favour a particular team it is nice to see red-bull with their back against the wall. Its a great opportunity for them to fight back and show everyone how good they really are.
 
Toro Rosso re-emerge for a late day showing, and moments later there is a red flag..... wouldn't be surprising if it was a Renault car :p


I think the interesting thing is, with an engine freeze in place for years the development has been 100% aero and RBR have/had the best team for that. It's probably why they were willing to let some aero guys go, to budget wise maybe bring in some engine guys.

But it means RBR's strength has to be balanced with the engine side of the car which is obviously going to be huge for at least this year, but probably for the next 2-3 years at least.

If this was a 100% aero season I'd say RBR would find their problem and fix it and improve throughout the season but now I'm less sure they'll be able to fix all their problems. We'll see.

While I like Hamilton as I feel he's the most exciting/aggressive driver on the grid, I don't much care who wins, just that when I watch a race there is some competition and some good action. If that is 1 guy 40 seconds outfront but a brilliant battle between 4 cars in 5-9th place, as long as the camera's follow the action I'm fine with that. Obviously there is something extra when it's guys fighting for the lead but, F1 has sucked because there has been very little action anywhere.

For me I don't find say Hulk driving a train of cars that can't match high speed down the straight "action", I think it's a consequence of car design/track design and luck. PUtting your foot down hard at hte start of a straight isn't really exciting to me, if guys had the tyres/car/skill to stick it down the inside and pull a brilliant move, sure, that is where tyres ruined last season. If someone did that, locked up, they'd lose more over the stint than gained by passing one car briefly.

It will be nice to see RBR not dominate, and while my preference is for Hamilton to win, anyone else is fine, just let there be some competition somewhere on track with some real and not artificial driving.
 
Spunkey said:
It would be quite ironic if Red Bull start the season terribly and Vettel ends up winning the WDC using double points at the last race.
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Somebody will have to sacrifice their car for the greater good if that was the case :p


They are saying Magnussen lost it again but the Toro Rosso may have been involved, maybe also stopped on track.

Pretty much time up, I'd love to see 5 mins left they all go out and do a fast lap but I doubt anyone wants to show their real pace yet.
 
875 laps for Mercedes Engines at the end of the 1st test.
444 laps for Ferrari Engines.
151 laps for Renault Engines.
 
OldCoals said:
How does that work then!
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That's been the rule since the freeze came in. If a part doesn't work reliably, teams can change it. Ferrari's engine was clearly buggered at the start of 2011 I think it was, but they improved it.

I've not checked, but as far as I was aware they're relatively free to increase engine performance this year, though the engines still have to last 5 races.

Engine development will be restricted more and more each season for the next few seasons though.



Red Bull aren't in too bad a shape yet. Clearly they need to sort out their reliability issues, but every team's aero package will change before Melbourne, so there's still plenty of flexibility for them to adapt future updates to free up a bit of space under the engine cover.

Jerez was only for sorting out the basics. If Red Bull arrive in Bahrain and can get miles on the car, they'll be fine. If they do half of the running of Mercedes and Ferrari, they'll have to do some catching up over the fly-away races at the start of the season.

But given that every team will be putting out frequent aero updates this year, I'm sure pace won't be an issue. Over the year Vettel will still be fastest overall.

Ultimately, this season might already rest on whether Bernie gets his 3 double-points races, or if it's just the one.
 
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