Thought I'd pop along to the F1 test at Jerez this year - not usually my bag this, but with such
profound rule changes
the chance to see these new technologies and designs was too much to ignore.
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Back in Britain, Wednesday 1000h
For reasons unknown, the trip I was on left the circuit at 2.30pm yesterday to return back to the UK. At that point in the test I'd guess less than 30 laps had been completed by the entire field. The track was silent and the spread of opinion on whether this was a good or bad spectacle for F1 was broad.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolf wasn't remotely worried. "Everybody needs stuff to write and this situation gives stories!"
Probably the best view of the Force India
I'm not sure I shared his positivity. Another senior figure who wished to remain nameless was visibly befuddled the whole thing: "It's like Bentley inviting you to drive a new model and it not being there when you arrive. It's madness. It's terrible for the sport."
In many ways I agree, but it was still fascinating to see all this new technology in its embryonic stage. But I stand by the suggestion that the teams and sport in general would have benefitted from several days private running at somewhere like Paul Ricard to work through this slightly laborious round of infernal installation laps and allow the first public test to actually display moving cars.
Mercedes did just this on Friday at Silverstone completing around 35km in the damp with Rosberg behind the wheel, leaving them best placed to run at Jerez. Two short runs are allowed in the testing regs. Accordingly, for much of the time I was there only Lewis was running - save for Kimi's tragically choreographed half lap crawl and subsequent arrival to the pits in a SEAT.
What does 2014 hold for McLaren?
It looked to be Merc's day. And then Lewis's front wing fell off, he shunted at turn one and Kimi went on to complete 31 of the 93 laps run during the day. Only five cars ran, and, wouldn't you believe it, Kimi was fastest of all.
Such is Formula 1. Whatever happens, it'll be an interesting season.
For now, hats of to all the boffins that make these cars work. In six weeks they have to be racing flat-out in Melbourne. From what I saw yesterday that looked like a completely improbably outcome, but you just know they're going to make it happen.
See Mercedes' technical guide to F1 2014 here
VIDEO: Chris has grabbed a few seconds of the Mercedes W05 at Jerez. See it
here
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