F1 testing week 3 Catalunya
- Thread starter arknor
- Start date
Seems like everyone is unanimous in saying that McLaren needs a fair bit of work..
Yeah probably about 10 races worth before they either re-build it or get it dialled in. Then the regs will change and they can start 2012 from behind as well
Lewis will spend races complaining about the tyres going away after 3 laps and Jenson will use what air time is left to complain about balance and rear grip.
Basically the gear box is tiny and points at a much bigger angle to the drive shaft (14-17 degrees opposed to the 7 I believe) so they have a stupidly compact back end (that ends a it sooner than everyone else's and has a really exposed suspension set up for the first time in years)
The rear wing (as pictured in the last page) is more like a free standing element of the car than an extension of the body work (well that's my description of it) which creates a different sort of airflow onto it (along with the back end).
In theory it could be really different and good but so far they have just been pounding the laps in and most observers have said it'll be a good midfield challenger so far.
The picture above is of the rear wing with a new set up for this test as I assume that the original design wasn't quite strong enough or they are evaluating a second setup idea for how it should work. I think its pretty cool
basicly there is less stuff in the way of the rear wing allowing much more air to hit the rear wing meaning lots of downforce rather than the air beeing guides by loads of bod work blocking the rear wing as usual
Caporegime
I don't think there's much to be learnt from who sets the fastest time. But Ferrari have been consistently quick and reliable so far - I think they've got a really good car to start the season with, although perhaps a little behind the Red Bull.
The main thing going for Ferrari is that they haven't had any mishaps or unexpected things go wrong during the testing. Ferrari keep telling us that everything is going according to plan and this bodes well for them.
RBR seem to be in a similar position to Ferrari...which bodes well for them.
McLaren, in contrast seem to have had numerous problems, so far, with the team basically saying that their car is a work in progress.
RBR seem to be in a similar position to Ferrari...which bodes well for them.
McLaren, in contrast seem to have had numerous problems, so far, with the team basically saying that their car is a work in progress.
Caporegime
ok ok
For the most part... Ferrari have ran without problems. This is testing after all so it is quite normal for teams to experiment with various settings and push the boundaries of their engines. This may cause exploding engines and breaking cars.
The team keep saying though, that everything is going according to plan and I don't see any reason to doubt them.
Soldato
The sleek, red, fast looking bit is Ferrari. The bit that is on fire and smoking is Fiat
Anyway, they've just about stopped the 458 from spontaneously combusting now, haven't they?
Button has stated that it is a work in progress. And that more testing is required. Hamilton has also stated that the car needs more testing miles.
All is not well at McLaren, right now. The car is behind RBR and Ferrari, right now.