F1 Testing 2015: Week 2 Barcelona (19th - 22nd)
- Thread starter Shimmy
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Alonso is going to be mad.
Soldato
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Sorry, no. It's the on-circuit CCTV they're watching in the media centre. I'm just reposting photos I found on the Autosport forums.
I'm really trying to not get my hopes up but the pace is there...Too many years of disappointment has made me quite cynical.
Caporegime
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It's a shot from cctv that most of the live blogs posted, no live video because they suck. Even though the fans only want live video and frankly a timing sheet/current stint lap count tv people think fans only want video with lots of idiots talking constantly and they don't want to pay for the people to talk all day and the people behind them to come up with content... so they don't do it.
Only 'top' team doing fastest runs, they should be fastest. Keep in mind Hamilton poled on a basically identical time but in the race the Merc stints started in 1:31-32's and the third stint was 1:29-30's. Those doing longer stints and race simulations will be in the 1:28 and above bracket. The other teams WILL do fast runs at some point over the two tests here, just not necessarily on the same days, conditions or the car may simply break, ie they plan to do two days of quali runs end of next test but the car breaks. In general they will all plan and likely do some fast runs and we'll get a relatively decent comparison.
I hope that Ferrari or even RBR are more competitive to make it a bit more interesting(and make it harder for Rosberg to almost sneak the title
), but I sincerely doubt they will have moved up enough to genuinely be even on par with Merc let alone ahead. Also remember that not everyone has put all their performance parts on the engines yet, some hints that Mercedes were running with reliability updates in Jerez and leaving quite a bit of power for other updates.
Soldato
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They've no suddenly shot past Mercedes, so don't bother thinking otherwise. Judging by the 2014 Spanish GP qualifying times they were 1.8 seconds behind Mercedes, so they'd have to make that up, plus the time Mercedes have made over the winter, just to get close.
They'll be closer than last year (they'd struggle not to be), but it's never going to happen.
Speaking of Mercedes, they're fast running out of drivers. Hamilton might not run again this test if his high fever/flu doesn't calm and Rosberg couldn't run today due to an inflamed nerve. Wehlein could be a busy man if Rosberg's neck doesn't sort itself out.
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Soldato
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I am the exact same, it just sounds to good to be true right now after all the years of average cars they have produced.
Caporegime
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Also Merc saying Rosberg not driving because of a sore neck
Remember he complained about it a bit after the first day at Jerez, 150 laps is damn hard on the neck regardless of how fit you are, a lot of g-forces with very little resting throughout the day.
EDIT:- I doubt Rosberg literally couldn't run today, but if they planned on him doing 100-150 laps tomorrow and another 100-150 laps on Sunday then asking him to do today as well is asking a lot. I think it's more protection than anything else, just being sensible about it.
Remember he complained about it a bit after the first day at Jerez, 150 laps is damn hard on the neck regardless of how fit you are, a lot of g-forces with very little resting throughout the day.
EDIT:- I doubt Rosberg literally couldn't run today, but if they planned on him doing 100-150 laps tomorrow and another 100-150 laps on Sunday then asking him to do today as well is asking a lot. I think it's more protection than anything else, just being sensible about it.
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Lets not get ahead of ourselves it's likely merc are still out on top but the gap may be a lot closer.
Supposedly we are not running the updated Aero package this week but rather next week.
I think we'll know the rough pecking order by Saturday next week.
Which is why I am not getting my hopes up!
Caporegime
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Article in some german magazine saying Marussia has registered for a March crash test on a 2015 spec car and that FI has passed their crash test finally. Marussia to help FI and Mclaren look good this year then?
Sky Sports are running the same story, going to be running under the guise of Manor F1
Hehehe.
Real, on track testing (not simulations on a computer or a test lab), is what pushes cars to their limit. This is also the reason why I couldnt see how Honda stood any chance of competing with Merc/Renault for 12-18 months.
Drunkenmaster on this forum has highlighted a huge problem in that Renault and Merc were able to improve their engine because they had many cars running the same engine and so had more data. Honda unfortunately only have 1 car to test the engine with and that car barely runs. 11 laps (or whatever they managed) is laughable. Its like a porn actor who can't get an erection on-set. Embarrassing.
Is it too late for McLaren to switch back to Merc engine? I remember BrawnGP switched very late on, from Honda to Merc and won the title in 2009. I'd be very tempted to do the same. Perhaps after more lab testing, Honda can introduce their engine in 12 months?
To remind everybody, The Australian GP is less then 1 month away.
This is exactly what I was thinking.
If this happens, Alonso will be one of the most unluckiest drivers on the grid.
The track modifications were for all car events, not just F1.
Caporegime
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Yes, look at them, one they were the dominant team of the previous 4 years and instead only won races when Merc beat themselves and were poor in multiple races. They went from dominant first to also rans, lucky to get a few wins and often fighting in the middle of the pack... that is a big warning not some kind of positive sign for Mclaren. Mclaren didn't end 2014 anywhere near as strong as RBR finished 2013, they didn't have the most advanced, fastest car on the grid.
Likewise, who had 3 other teams doing HUNDREDS of extra laps for Renault when RBR couldn't. Again I'll break out the first test stat last year, RBR did 21 laps, Renault did 150, with a similar result at both the second and third test. Where do you think RBR would be if Renault got 1/10th of the data/testing/running they did, if they found 1/10th of the problems with the engine, and tried 1/10th less settings, engine maps, throughout testing last year? Because imagine that and then realise that the best team on the grid had a disastrous test with and were bailed out by the other teams helping them and that Mclaren have no one to bail them out... but also starting from a far far weaker less tested car than RBR did(not engine but packaging, aero, electronics, everything else).
Caporegime
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Wolff crashed, was it her or Nasrs fault?
yup
It's not totally clear, but Wolff says it wasn't her fault. Probably a bit from each of them led to the collision. Things looked better for McLaren-Honda though (even if this problem has now wiped out a fair chunk of testing), as issues like these are best found in testing and as said (I believe it's in the MP4-30 thread) they're probably going to be looking at making a fast car reliable. Then sweep up in 2016.
