F1 Testing 2016: Week 1 Barcelona (22nd - 25th)

No fast times, not awesomely fast times from Merc this week then. Apparently they only have medium tires for the first test, medium and soft for the second test. no supersofts, no ultrasofts, not even hards which seems a bit odd. Barca is a medium/hard tire track recently because the soft compounds suck here so I can see limited usefulness of soft compound running data as the tires just aren't designed for track surfaces of this type.

Still, would be surprised to see a sub 1:21 now for sure. 1:22.8 on a soft last year, I hope they can get into the sub 1:22 on softs.
 
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https://twitter.com/F1/status/702809830281519104


Hamilton has done so many laps he was joking with the pit crew.


https://streamable.com/2wg7

trolling a photographer as well.

Finished on 99 laps for the morning session.... working hard. Will Merc hit a 200 total for the day, very very possible.

Alonso still on 3 I think, coolant leak apparently this morning, fire yesterday, killed an engine on day 2.... going well then.
 
The_Abyss said:
If it was on par with others or ahead, you'd therefore expect him to actually work up until he was 60 then, handing over as he went, not leave early.
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I would sooner expect that Honda might let him go before the season starts so they don't have to cope with a management changeover in mid-season. Especially since his retirement is only being brought forward by a month.
 
drunkenmaster said:
https://twitter.com/F1/status/702809830281519104


Hamilton has done so many laps he was joking with the pit crew.


https://streamable.com/2wg7

trolling a photographer as well.

Finished on 99 laps for the morning session.... working hard. Will Merc hit a 200 total for the day, very very possible.

Alonso still on 3 I think, coolant leak apparently this morning, fire yesterday, killed an engine on day 2.... going well then.
Click to expand...

Pity there isn't away to find who the photographer (012) is working for.
I would have run him over :)
 
Mate of mine is there at trackside watching and walking around different places and has a good eye having raced well himself. His view is the Ferrari has some issues mid corner with understeer even though it's quick not without need for work. The Merc is a lot quicker than the times show and is not trying for a whole lap, but when timed at certain parts is fastest. The Manor is TERRIBLE, Force India looks well sorted across the lap, HAAS doing a fair job and looking OK.

He said Hamilton just looks on it, but not for full laps. He is coming into one part, full commit carrying massive speed and time compared to all else, but is not taking that to the next corner, which is interesting and reflective of previous years I believe.
 
That is just what they do in testing. As a driver he's focusing on one corner, getting the entry/exit right, working to improve himself. The team aren't looking to post big times and want to get laps and distance work done but within that a driver can do a few corners fast per lap but keep the tire temps down by going slow in other corners.

Otherwise there is absolutely no point to having Hamilton/Rosberg in the car, make 5mil selling the drive to any idiot who can just circle easily and a slow speed.
 
Housey said:
He said Hamilton just looks on it, but not for full laps. He is coming into one part, full commit carrying massive speed and time compared to all else, but is not taking that to the next corner, which is interesting and reflective of previous years I believe.
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I don't understand that aspect of testing at all. They're not going to fool the other teams as they will have spotters around the track too, and they're not fooling the hardcore fans who know they'll be at or very near the top throughout the season, and the lesser hardcore fans probably aren't following testing times at all. Why bother?
 
Its probably because they are testing a setup based on a certain corner type.

The whole "sandbagging" thing is a myth. No team sets out to deliberately hide their pace. They just do what they need to in order to test what they need to test, and people just interpret that as sandbagging because they are desperate for something to go on about.

I bet if you ask your mate Housey he will confirm that Hamilton was pushing through the same sector on every lap through a run.
 
this_is_gav said:
I don't understand that aspect of testing at all. They're not going to fool the other teams as they will have spotters around the track too, and they're not fooling the hardcore fans who know they'll be at or very near the top throughout the season, and the lesser hardcore fans probably aren't following testing times at all. Why bother?
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Per my post, the team needs a specific per lap time to measure tire wear, engine heat, etc. The driver himself wants to improve so he's staying within the lap time but rather than blindly do lap after identical lap, he'll go a touch slower for part and pick a corner he feels he's not doing well and attack it full speed at various angles.

This is a way for drivers to practice and improve specific corners while the team gets the running it needs. It's not about sandbagging, for one thing their lap times for a given stint are smashing the pants off everyone else. Even if Hamilton attacked every corner in a lap full out he wouldn't produce a qualifying level lap just a bit faster and all he'd do is ruin the tire life and prevent them getting good testing data.

As Skeeter said it can also be that the team feels the car struggles in a certain corner so is asking the driver to focus on that corner. Basically whoever wants it, you can either go out and do a single lap just to attack one corner, then a different lap to do deg/stint/reliability work... or you can do it all within one lap and gain more useful data per lap if that is data the team needs of the driver wants for a specific corner doesn't really matter.
 
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