F1 Testing 2018: Week 2 Barcelona (6th - 9th)

CaptainRAVE said:
So the McLaren was the problem after all, not Honda.
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Not sure why people didn't realise this before, probably because no one read what and why the problems occurred.

Honda are not some run of the mill company, they are one of the greatest engineering companies around, it's not in their nature to produce such a bad engine.

McLaren stifled them for much of their partnership, their demands for a size zero engine, which made no sense, constant meddling and attacking Honda and not allowing them the freedom to do their work the best way they see fit. Honda have that now at STR and its a much more fluid partnership now, you can see a team in STR Honda.

Honda's current engine is only a year old design, last year they were forced to bring it forward prematurely, very little in way of testing etc, hence why they had issues, but over the season after mid point improved. The engine design of the current engine follows similar philosophy to Mercedes (well its someones elses concept), which is the split turbo design, a very hard concept to put into fruition, something the Merc head said and why the other two don't have it either. Took McLaren years of research before new regs came out to produce it, which is why they are such a beast, they've mastered the design.

Honda have managed to develop and put it together in a year, which is a great achievement, thats if they are able to transition their good testing form onto raceday and improve throughout the season.

Also I think the management change at Honda F1 has helped a lot, they have two separate teams, one working on the engine, one with the team in testing and raceday, led by Tanabe san, who has lots of experience in F1.
 
1:16s are on the cards, reports were Vettel was still lifting on the start finish straight. Wouldn't be surprised to see the mercs hit that in the afternoon given the track temps are going to rise and appears to be getting quicker.
 
https://twitter.com/wbuxtonofficial/status/971707011049115648

Been chatting to a few of the spy photographers. Apparently there’s a lot of interest in Ferrari’s rear end. Some suggestions of a version of something resembling a double diffuser. Unconfirmed if it is what is thought but I found it interesting nevertheless.
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Interesting if true.

Edit - Picture courtesy of Reddit

f1-barcelona-february-testing-2018-ferrari-sf71h-diffuser-7702324.jpg
 
CaptainRAVE said:
Stunning time from Vettel, but Mercedes seem pretty confident that they don't need to go for glory.
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It's not that good when you look at Magnussen's time. Plenty still in the tank in terms of outright pace.

It's how quick Mercedes were on their race simulation that's really caught the eye. Much quicker than Red Bull on a longish stint at the same time.
 
this_is_gav said:
It's not that good when you look at Magnussen's time. Plenty still in the tank in terms of outright pace.

It's how quick Mercedes were on their race simulation that's really caught the eye. Much quicker than Red Bull on a longish stint at the same time.
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I haven't seen any long run comparisons yet. Those are the times that really matter of course. It would seem that Mercedes are only doing race simulations at the moment.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
I haven't seen any long run comparisons yet. Those are the times that really matter of course. It would seem that Mercedes are only doing race simulations at the moment.
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Bottas' race sim was 1 sec per lap quicker than Vettel and Verstappen this afternoon. Don't know fuel loads of course.

But imo pecking order seems like Merc > RBR > Ferrari.
 
this_is_gav said:
Posted on the Autosport forums earlier (might need to open in Chrome): http://www.skysports.com/iframe/widget/video/RnczZtZTE6OmwJhxOeO8gYd1wBVkmUvY

McLaren fans might as well give up now.

So much to laugh/despair at. Frankly it's a miracle they've managed to complete as many laps as they have.
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Toro Rosso have just done a 1:18:363 on the hypersoft aswell, only 1.2s short of Vettels time this morning - half a second quicker than the hypersoft time from Vandoorne this morning.

Have they dumped Honda at the worst time or was the PU not that bad all along and the problem McLaren's?
 
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