F1 Testing week 2 @ Jerez

Duke · 13 Feb 2011 at 09:10

OP updated with timing links, final day at Jerez.

Wonder if anyone will dip into the 1m 19sec time.

Edit: Barrichello has done a 1m19.832s

Type_R · 13 Feb 2011 at 09:38

This is quite telling of the times we have seen so far:

09:31 Some analysis of Barrichello's run from @TeamAnglais:

"Rubens Barrichello's 1m19.832s this morning has bettered the fastest laps of the first three days of this test (Massa 20.7, Schumacher 20.3, Heidfeld 20.3).

"The time came on the first of an eight-lap stint and the drop-off (1.5s slower seven laps later) suggests he wasn't on the super soft tyre.

"No disrespect to Williams, but if the FW33 can do a 19.8 without resorting to super low fuel and super soft tyres, it makes the 20.3s from earlier in the test look pretty meaningless. You have to wonder how quick the front runners could go if they really went for it."

Mr Jack · 13 Feb 2011 at 09:56

Type_R said:
This is quite telling of the times we have seen so far:

I'm not convinced that's particularly accurate. Schumi's time was set at the start of a ten lap run so he there's no reason to think he was on "super low fuel" any more than Rubens, although the tyre difference is more telling we don't really know how much faster the Super Softs are than the Softs but it's unlikely to be a huge margin. Another thing to consider is that the track itself will have rubbered in significantly and will likely be delivering faster lap times.

Still, it does go some way to explaining why Schumi was continuing to talk down his lap time.

Also: Rubens time was faster than the qualifying time set last year!

Glaucus · 13 Feb 2011 at 09:59

1 month to go

Type_R · 13 Feb 2011 at 10:21

Mr Jack said:
I'm not convinced that's particularly accurate. Schumi's time was set at the start of a ten lap run so he there's no reason to think he was on "super low fuel" any more than Rubens, although the tyre difference is more telling we don't really know how much faster the Super Softs are than the Softs but it's unlikely to be a huge margin. Another thing to consider is that the track itself will have rubbered in significantly and will likely be delivering faster lap times.

Still, it does go some way to explaining why Schumi was continuing to talk down his lap time.

Also: Rubens time was faster than the qualifying time set last year!

Lol I think you completely missed the point. Thats exactly what the quote was saying, even though RB has posted the fastest time so far teamAnglais feel no-one has really gone out and out for a fast time yet!

Kerming · 13 Feb 2011 at 13:56

Pete19s said:
Some great photos and one in particular I found rather interesting. Mercedes having some heat issues? Bodywork looks burned just before where the exhaust exits.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/schu_merc_jere_20113.jpg

i thought fessa's are the ones which catch fire?

gord · 13 Feb 2011 at 14:03

Mr Jack said:
Also: Rubens time was faster than the qualifying time set last year!

Qualifying time? Hamilton did a 1:19.583 in testing last year on a green Jerez track.

Button did a 1:18.871 on a rubbered in track.

Mr Jack · 13 Feb 2011 at 14:42

gord said:
Qualifying time?

Yeah I was having a really special moment when I wrote that...

Mr Jack · 13 Feb 2011 at 15:22

Interesting comparison from AutoSport's live timing feed:

It's taken most of the day, but we now have some long run data to look at Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren against one another. Again, we don't know the tyre compounds (as similar as they appear) or the excess fuel loads, so it's only a vague comparison at best.

Vettel and Alonso did 13 and 16-lap stints respectively. The times jumped around a bit and Vettel's is slightly shorter, but if you follow their general pace it's pretty similar.

Vettel
26.4, 23.1, 22.2, 22.6, 23.0, 23.0, 28.5, 23.3, 24.6, 23.7, 23.5, 23.9, 34.1

Alonso
23.1, 23.1, 23.1, 24.2, 25.1, 23.7, 23.3, 23.7, 24.1, 24.2, 24.2, 24.3, 24.8, 25.2, 25.3, 25.5

Then we have Alonso and Button on 20 and 19-lap stints - the first long stint we've seen from the McLaren MP4-26. They start out very evenly matched, then the McLaren hangs onto faster times for longer but plummets further than the Ferrari.

Alonso
25.0, 25.0, 25.0, 25.2, 24.9, 25.6, 25.7, 25.7, 25.8, 26.0, 26.0, 26.1, 26.1, 26.5, 26.6, 26.8, 27.7, 27.2, 27.7

Button
24.5, 24.9, 24.9, 25.0, 24.9, 25.1, 25.3, 25.7, 25.7, 25.3, 25.5, 25.5, 25.7, 25.8, 25.8, 26.0, 28.6, 28.5, 29.7

Make of that what you will.

sunama · 13 Feb 2011 at 15:28

From the comparison between Button and Alonso, it looks like the McLaren is tougher on tyres. Keep in mind that the teams could be using different tyres, so its a little premature to draw any conclusions.

One thing we saw last year is that Alonso manages his tyres better than any other driver (as confirmed by Bridgestone) and this includes Button (who allegedly is good with tyres...although there seems to be little actual evidence to show this - his tyre wear was similar to that of Hamilton, who is notoriously tough on tyres).

We can also see that the McLaren does seem to be competitive.

Type_R · 13 Feb 2011 at 16:19

Something interesting to look forward to:

12:14 AUTOSPORT news editor @glenn_autosport is back from a trip trackside: "Very interesting spell trackside - one team in particular clearly holding something back. Will reveal all in tonight's AUTOSPORT.com blog"

Duke · 13 Feb 2011 at 16:39

That'll be Red Bull if you look at their positions.

Shimmy · 13 Feb 2011 at 18:08

Red Bull's pace so far looks ominous.

CaptainRAVE · 13 Feb 2011 at 18:10

Shimmy said:
Red Bull's pace so far looks ominous.

Very, their long stint pace is crazy and it looks as if they are holding plenty back too.

sunama · 13 Feb 2011 at 18:43

RBR may well have the best car, entering the first race of the season. But, Ferrari also seem to have a decent car (consistently running at the front) + they have Alonso.

At this point I see no reason to change my pre-season prediction of Alonso being 2011's World Champ (though I am not too sure if McLaren have a car which can give Hamilton a chance to finish in the top 3).

Tweaker · 13 Feb 2011 at 19:03

Hopefully McLaren have an ace up their sleeve, this is the time when they really need a good car, 2 world champions, lots of money, if they cant do it now, when will it happen.....

Duke · 13 Feb 2011 at 19:03

Red Bull and Ferrari have the most conservative looking cars so far, must have some good bits we can't see

Type_R · 13 Feb 2011 at 19:13

What looks ominous is that Mclaren nor Mercedes were mentioned in the article about exits from high speed corners. Hope its not a 3 way fight between RB/Ferrari/Renault!!

Shimmy · 14 Feb 2011 at 01:38

Type_R said:
Something interesting to look forward to:

Turns out his blog requires premium membership, so as I'm tight I googled it elsewhere

When you're on the ground at a Formula 1 test, the most common question you receive – from friends, colleagues, and fans – is "what can you tell about the competitive order?"

There are so many variables in F1 these days that can skew performance to a huge degree. Last year, the return of fuel tanks capable of doing a full race distance made the 2010 pre-season much harder to judge than its predecessors. This year, we have four tyre compounds from Pirelli that are more spread out performance-wise than we ever had from Bridgestone.

Timesheets can be – sorry, are – a misleading source of information at tests. So with that in mind, I ventured out trackside today to see if there was anything to be learned from seeing the cars up close.

And how's this for a stat? The car that impressed the most in sector one at Jerez (that's Turns 1 to 4, so a good variety) was only eighth fastest today. For those that haven't memorised the times yet, that car was – surprise, surprise – Red Bull's RB7.

Once you've finished groaning with disappointment, we'll move on. Sebastian Vettel was mind-blowing on corner entry into Turns 1 and 2. In comparison to its rivals, the Red Bull looked like it was accelerating towards the corners in the braking zones.

With the outrageous entry speeds dealt with, the only word to describe the RB7 once it was thinking about leaving a corner is 'planted'. The cars from Renault and Ferrari didn't seem too far behind, but neither looked like it was glued to the road.

Vettel was even able to get the adjustable rear wing slot open almost as soon as he was on the power exiting Turn 2. It then stayed open throughout Turns 3 and 4; both quick left handers.

The Renault wasn't too far behind with the use of its new toy, whereas Fernando Alonso had to wait until he was on the straight between the two quick lefts to get his slot open, and then closed it to have a bit more downforce for Turn 4.

Vettel seemed to have more than enough grip in the quick stuff, even with the wing open the whole time, which tallied with some useful information on the timing screen. Sector one ends on the exit of Turn 4, meaning we've had figures all week revealing which cars are getting spat out of the fast stuff at the highest speeds.

Only the Red Bull and the Renault could consistently clear 270kph through this speed trap. The Ferrari wasn't far behind, but you could see Fernando Alonso forcing the car to do something it would have rather not.

Hardly conclusive, but still ominous for those hoping to dethrone Christian Horner's troops.

sunama · 14 Feb 2011 at 02:10

If the RBR is once again the fastest car by far, Alonso will have to replicate the form he showed in the 2nd half of last season, for the entirety of the 2011 season.

McLaren must try and give Hamilton a car which can at least get close to the RBR. If they can, Hamilton can use his pace to perhaps force Vettel into a mistake or even overtake the RBR car (using the movable rear wing).

The problem last year was that in some instances, the RBR was so much faster than the rest, Hamilton/Alonso could do nothing to put Vettel under pressure. Vettel would treat his races as a time-trial and wouldn't even have to worry about the drivers behind him. This allowed him to race, his own race, in a relaxed fashion.

Alonso and Hamilton have to put Vettel under pressure, bring him out of his comfort zone and force him to tense up. This will may lead to mistakes and generally slower lap times from the RBR.

Anyway, there is still plenty of testing to be done and we all know that while on an open track Vettel is great, if he is not leading he tends to struggle. Vettel is a great time trialist, but doesn't possess the race craft of many other drivers on the grid.