Discussion
Yes, because it's the first test and they mean very little.
Hamilton was doing 1.22's at the end of a race sim on softs and he looked like he could have been on his phone at the same time for the all the effort he was having to put in.
Same with the fast times, they're 2 seconds off the outright pace at the minute.
And Ferrari have a bit of a history of being fast in testing...
Hamilton was doing 1.22's at the end of a race sim on softs and he looked like he could have been on his phone at the same time for the all the effort he was having to put in.
Same with the fast times, they're 2 seconds off the outright pace at the minute.
And Ferrari have a bit of a history of being fast in testing...
Edited by PhillipM on Thursday 2nd March 13:46
RobGT81 said:
When everyone is on the same tyres, the Ferraris look quicker than the Mercs. Are people ignoring the timing screens?
In reality, we simply don't know yet - Merc are most likely sandbagging and have something left in reserve. Ferrari have been quite open about the fact that they're doing what they intended to and are very happy with progress. Make of that what you will, but they appear to at the very least, have a very good platform to build upon, whereas in recent years, the car was flawed from the get go and the season was spent working around inherent flaws. This week has gone well for them, both drivers seem happy - Seb in particular comparing it to his 2010 RB in terms of chuckability.
I have high hopes they'll be giving Mercedes a hard time, as it would be good for the sport. The elephant in the room at this point is Red Bull, who haven't shown any of their cards and are likely to have built a monster in the RB13.
This week has been about system checks and correlation of data against simulators given the upheaval in design due to the regulations. Q2 and Q3 in Melbourne will be an indicator of who's where I expect.
VolvoT5 said:
hairyben said:
My opinion on pastor was that he was properly naturally quick, but struggled to recognise when he was on the limit. His win owes at least a little to the jackpot comedy clown car tyres of that time.
I agree he was certainly fast. The issue is he was on the limit the whole time. The best drivers seem to be able to be on the limit when it is absolutely necessary but have the capacity to operate consistently at 9/10 the rest of the time. Having to over drive a car is a sure fire way to the gravel. Lewis was a lot more exciting to watch IMO when he wasn't in the best car by a mile.
Vocal Minority said:
I'm sorry to keep banging on about this. But I think everyone decided Mercedes were a mile out in front before a wheel was turned, and evidence is just being moulded around this conviction instead of influencing it
OK have a friendly bet then. £10 to charity of choice that I think Merc will be 1-2 come Melbourne and making the rest look like Class B cars...again.RobGT81 said:
Crafty_ said:
I wonder if Ferrari have/are working on that instead of outright speed
When everyone is on the same tyres, the Ferraris look quicker than the Mercs. Are people ignoring the timing screens?
We have no idea how much engine's are turned up, how hard they are pushing, what out they do/don't have on cars and so on, a car doesn't ev3n need to be legal at these tests.
When I said 'recently' I meant the last couple of years. They've looked good in tests and when conditions have suited them but quite average otherwise. Last year they were some way off the red bulls at times.
My point was I wonder if they've worked on widening the window of the cars ability this year.
Vocal Minority said:
I'm sorry to keep banging on about this. But I think everyone decided Mercedes were a mile out in front before a wheel was turned, and evidence is just being moulded around this conviction instead of influencing it
I think most are making the assumption based on the fact that Merc typically run with 70-80% fuel loads (as they did at testing last year). Ferrari have historically run lighter loads and set what look like fast times that don't translate.
Merc are running this week with the engine turned down.
fuelracer496 said:
RobGT81 said:
When everyone is on the same tyres, the Ferraris look quicker than the Mercs. Are people ignoring the timing screens?
The rule of thumb is that when Ferrari looks strong, it's down to low fuel or softer compound tyres, or Merc drivers taking it steady. When Mercedes put in a strong lap, it's deemed to not be because of low fuel or softer tyres. The Beeb in particular take this view, as if it's not physically possible for a team to have caught up to Mercedes.If I'm remembering correctly, Ferrari were timing ahead of Mercedes this time last year and indeed the year before. In neither case were they able to mount a serious challenge for the constructor's championship or even win a significant number of races.
I'd love to be proven wrong, but in terms of times everything we've seen so far this year has been the same as the last couple of years.
In past years I would agree. But Ferrari are usually grandstanding and doing low fuel runs on soft tyres, as well as talking the car up. This year they appear to be doing middling length stints on middling tyres.
The only thing that is similar to last year are the superficial headlines
As such, I think they are playing the same game as Mercedes. I'm not saying they are ahead.
I am saying I think Ferrari are right up there with them.
The only thing that is similar to last year are the superficial headlines
As such, I think they are playing the same game as Mercedes. I'm not saying they are ahead.
I am saying I think Ferrari are right up there with them.
Vocal Minority said:
You're on.
I will settle for a Mercedes 1-2 as that is easy to define.
We can then have a friendly debate about what constitutes a class B car!
The bet is £10 I give to charity if another car gets on front row, or if it is Merc 1-2 you give £10 to charity.I will settle for a Mercedes 1-2 as that is easy to define.
We can then have a friendly debate about what constitutes a class B car!
You seem to be saying you don't think Merc will be the car to beat again.
tommunster10 said:
Vocal Minority said:
You're on.
I will settle for a Mercedes 1-2 as that is easy to define.
We can then have a friendly debate about what constitutes a class B car!
The bet is £10 I give to charity if another car gets on front row, or if it is Merc 1-2 you give £10 to charity.I will settle for a Mercedes 1-2 as that is easy to define.
We can then have a friendly debate about what constitutes a class B car!
You seem to be saying you don't think Merc will be the car to beat again.
Yeah, go on, deal.
I'm sticking to my guns on this.
I am saying I think the Mercedes and Ferrari will be on a par. I expect neither to have a definitive advantage
Edited by Vocal Minority on Thursday 2nd March 18:32
I still think Red Bull are the dark horse, I don't think they've shown anything like their true speed and will be very surprised if (on the whole) they aren't closer to merc this year than they were last year.
Ferrari - who knows, maybe they'll get it right, but they struggled badly last year and I'm not sure how effective the design team are after Allison left.
I think the midfield (Renault, FI, Williams, STR) is going to be a good battle this year.
Ferrari - who knows, maybe they'll get it right, but they struggled badly last year and I'm not sure how effective the design team are after Allison left.
I think the midfield (Renault, FI, Williams, STR) is going to be a good battle this year.
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