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

Skeeter · 27 Feb 2016 at 15:06

What engines are Sauber running? That visualisation says 2015 but I'm just catching up on Ted's Notebooks and he said they were running the 2016 engine along with Haas and Ferrari themselves.

Edit: ah, no, my bad. They are a 2016 engine customer, but are running last years car in this first test so the KMs are obviously on a 2015 engine.

MeEsH BaKkA · 2 Mar 2016 at 08:15

I've been watching videos of the McLaren specifically "F1 2016 dirty sound" on youtube and have been trying to work out why it sounds like it does... Any chance Honda could be trying to use the wastegate as a crude mechanical TC system, the loud bark the car makes similar to the old EBDs sounds to me like the unsilenced engine sound i.e wastegate opening.

Skeeter · 2 Mar 2016 at 08:22

Ted mentioned in one of the early Notebooks that the MGUH should be performing most of the job that a wastegate does, so if working well, F1 V6 engines shouldn't really be using the wastegate.

So if we assume the noisy Honda engine is related to the wastegate being open, then its either done on purpose for a reason, or the MGUH is broke (still).

Or, it could be something completely different.

tummelv · 2 Mar 2016 at 08:23

^Thanks for clearing that up!

this_is_gav · 2 Mar 2016 at 08:47

To be fair to Honda (not often we've been able to say that in the past year) the Ferrari sounded pretty much exactly the same as it when they were on part throttle at the first test. The same grumbling sound that the Honda has been renowned for.

visibleman · 2 Mar 2016 at 15:02

Skeeter said:
Thats exactly who they should be giving it too. Offer a cut price deal to Manor or Sauber and they would snap it up.

Whilst i agree that Honda needs more mileage on their PU and you may have had a point if this was pre-last season, but i don't think anyone, regardless of deal, would take a Honda PU now......not even Sauber.
I'm overly sure if any team would have take one anyone due to the unknown.

Either way, i'm a firm believer that Ron is right in that you need to be a works team to win WDC/WCC's (arguably there have a been a few exceptions to this like Brawn) and if they stuck with Merc then they would have ended up as another Williams - up there in the pack but highly unlikely to win a WDC/WCC.