2018 Pre-Season Thread

2018 Pre-Season Thread

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Discussion

Car-Matt

1,923 posts

139 months

Monday 26th February 2018
quotequote all
Good day for McLaren

Most laps in the afternoon whilst at least 6 teams spent time in the garages with cars stripped and doors shut in the afternoon.

They also reported good correlation with the sim and wind tunnel

Things are looking up

Some Gump

12,722 posts

187 months

Monday 26th February 2018
quotequote all
CraigyMc said:
No, not really.

Alonso's fastest time was set by bypassing the chicane at the end of the lap.
Alonso's time would have been fastest when the part failed.
Trackside bystanders having commented that MCL and red bull looked best handling.

Got to say that is looking up, tbh. The afternoon was 8 degrees cooler so much slower track. I can't see much bad for them right this second.

CraigyMc

16,476 posts

237 months

Monday 26th February 2018
quotequote all
Some Gump said:
CraigyMc said:
No, not really.

Alonso's fastest time was set by bypassing the chicane at the end of the lap.
Alonso's time would have been fastest when the part failed.
Trackside bystanders having commented that MCL and red bull looked best handling.

Got to say that is looking up, tbh. The afternoon was 8 degrees cooler so much slower track. I can't see much bad for them right this second.
If you're talking about his 6th lap, he wasn't even pushing. I watched the testing all day...

lbc

3,220 posts

218 months

Monday 26th February 2018
quotequote all
The halo looks awful on most of the cars, but the Renault looks the best to me.

I think the halo is going to put a lot of people off F1 this year.

It defo looks like something bolted on from Halfords.

I doubt there will be much running on Tuesday with a top temp of 5°C forecast and overnight snow..

fatboy69

9,373 posts

188 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Reported a little earlier this morning that Martini are not renewing their sponsorship of Williams beyond the end of 2018 & that they are too quit F1.

If true that’s a great morale booster for Williams. Not.

RobGT81

5,229 posts

187 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Renault is looking the best and they are looking quick out of the box for a change. Should jump them in front of McLaren,

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

153 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
CraigyMc said:
Some Gump said:
CraigyMc said:
No, not really.

Alonso's fastest time was set by bypassing the chicane at the end of the lap.
Alonso's time would have been fastest when the part failed.
Trackside bystanders having commented that MCL and red bull looked best handling.

Got to say that is looking up, tbh. The afternoon was 8 degrees cooler so much slower track. I can't see much bad for them right this second.
If you're talking about his 6th lap, he wasn't even pushing. I watched the testing all day...
To be honest I think looking at times this week isn't going to tell us anything. Yesterday will have been spent making sure everything works and is providing reliable feedback, and the rest of it will be essentially calibrating their CFD/wind tunnel results.

if McLaren are still 1.5 seconds off and two compunds softer in the middle of week 3 - the 'not looking good for them' observations will carry more weight


ETA: From Gary Anderson on Autosport

[i]The big negative about this test is the temperature isn't representative. Cooling these cars is tough, and they operate in a relatively small working window. You need to be in that window, let's say the water temperature should be in the region of 120C whether the ambient is 0C or 35C.

You can't simulate that range of conditions, you just have to run for the temperature as it is. And that can mean running a lot of blanking on the radiators to avoid over-cooling, which affects the airflow. The variation in temperature also affects the aerodynamic flow of the car both inside the bodywork and externally.[/i]

Quite interesting.





Edited by Vocal Minority on Tuesday 27th February 09:00


Edited by Vocal Minority on Tuesday 27th February 09:00


Edited by Vocal Minority on Tuesday 27th February 09:01

TheInternet

4,732 posts

164 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
lbc said:
I think the halo is going to put a lot of people off F1 this year.

It defo looks like something bolted on from Halfords.
In the spirit of boy racers aping motorsport trends I truly hope this one catches on. A fibreglass halo strapped to a Golf bonnet would entertain me no end.

I'm still astonished you can't buy a can of fake flow-viz to paint up the side of your VXR.

ajprice

27,664 posts

197 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
TheInternet said:
lbc said:
I think the halo is going to put a lot of people off F1 this year.

It defo looks like something bolted on from Halfords.
In the spirit of boy racers aping motorsport trends I truly hope this one catches on. A fibreglass halo strapped to a Golf bonnet would entertain me no end.

I'm still astonished you can't buy a can of fake flow-viz to paint up the side of your VXR.
No no, Escort Cosworth wing, turned around and put on the windscreen hehe

Anyways, so far today they are fitting the sensors to the cars and aero testing, so if there are any times posted, take no notice of them.

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

153 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Bottas is fastest by 3 seconds!!

No one stands a chance, what a write off of a season...

ajprice

27,664 posts

197 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Vocal Minority said:
Bottas is fastest by 3 seconds!!

No one stands a chance, what a write off of a season...
Vandoorne has now done a 1:20.3 lap, a second faster than all of McLaren-Honda's testing last year.
McLaren for the championship! hehe

HustleRussell

Original Poster:

24,771 posts

161 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Was wondering what was going on with Red Bull, seems they've lost most of their morning with a fuel leak.

Gary Anderson on the Autosport podcast has observed Alonso trying to get past Hartley in the Toro Rosso yesterday and failing as it was too fast in a straight line. Not sure if he was just trying to heighten the irony, if not that is hilarious and frustrating at the same time.

DS240

4,690 posts

219 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Vocal Minority said:
Bottas is fastest by 3 seconds!!

No one stands a chance, what a write off of a season...
I wouldn’t treat day 2 times as a form guide for the year just yet!

HustleRussell

Original Poster:

24,771 posts

161 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Apparently the Mercedes looks pretty tricky compared to the Ferrari, Red Bull and Mclaren

LordGrover

33,552 posts

213 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
Apparently the Mercedes looks pretty tricky compared to the Ferrari, Red Bull and Mclaren
In this context, what do you mean by tricky?

FourWheelDrift

88,656 posts

285 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Isn't Kubica scheduled to be out this afternoon?

HustleRussell

Original Poster:

24,771 posts

161 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
LordGrover said:
HustleRussell said:
Apparently the Mercedes looks pretty tricky compared to the Ferrari, Red Bull and Mclaren
In this context, what do you mean by tricky?
Autosport's trackside reporters said something along the lines of the latter cars simply looking more stable / easier to drive.

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

153 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Gary Anderson's comments was that the Ferrari, RB and McLaren turn in smartly and grip through, but the Mercedes appears to be washing out slightly on initial turn in.

Dr Z

3,396 posts

172 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Mercedes are known to run a heavier fuel load for testing than the others, which would explain some of the track side comments.

thegreenhell

15,535 posts

220 months

Tuesday 27th February 2018
quotequote all
Kubica on track in the Williams now.