Three weeks ago in Spain the new V6 turbo Formula 1 cars were
struggling to turn a lap
. Last week in Bahrain at the second Formula 1 test, Nico Rosberg was within a second of his own pole time at last year's race in his Mercedes-Benz F1 W05. This tells us a lot.
McLaren not bemoaning final year with Merc power
Firstly, that for all the sport's marketing and media front we should never lose sight of the fact that the pace of development and the level of engineering involved are second to none. And that the way the drivers adapt is incredible. It's called Formula 1 for a reason.
Case in point: first time out in Jerez Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari returned to the pits on a flatbed when the Finn had to park it after half a lap - this time round in Bahrain he put in a healthy total of 126 laps.
Secondly, we learnt that the Mercedes engine is emerging as the strongest and most reliable power unit on the grid. Merc motors powered the fastest five cars in Bahrain, with the three-pointed star sitting atop the cam covers of seven of the top 10. Rosberg was fastest on a 1:33.283, while Lewis was 0.989 seconds back of Nico in second. Youngster Magnussen and teammate Button were third and fourth in the McLarens respectively.
"Leave me alone I know - ... oh."
Bear in mind that this year's cars also have an appreciably smaller wingspan over the
2013 screamers
- the 125mm narrower front wing bleeding away a significant amount of downforce - and produce much more torque, for the Mercedes to record a lap less than a second off last year's pole time is impressive. Especially when you realise Rosberg's run was on soft tyres. The team reckon he could have equalled his 2013 lap on a set of super softs. According to some drivers the 2014 F1 cars are too slow - maybe the blame should be laid a bit closer to home?
We also learnt that Renault is way off the pace and getting a little hot under the collar in more ways than one. The extreme demands placed on cooling through turbocharging and extra energy recovery in 2014, combined with Newey's compact packaging design for the RB10, has caused Red Bull major headaches. Rosberg has covered more miles in testing on his own than both Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo put together.
But the Renault engine issues haven't solely been limited to the pointy-fingered one and his new Aussie teammate. Toro Rosso had to cut its final day of testing short due to a "major issue" with the motor.
Red Bull car spotted out on track shocker
When teams using Renault power managed to get it working, the best they could manage was over 5.4 seconds off the pace, Pastor Maldonado putting in a 1:38.7 in his Lotus.
It's getting better for the French engine manufacturer, but having logged just 2,497 miles in testing compared to Mercedes' 6,264 miles worth of data, Renault is at a distinct disadvantage. Still, don't write it off.
A few other interesting points to note from scouring YouTube for footage of the new growling, force-fed V6 single-seaters: expect some odd gear shift strategies this season. Due to the way the electric and petrol motors combine to produce maximum output and the tuning of this torque curve, it's about finding the right time for an upshift, incorporating a hit of ERS, and not necessarily the right revs.
The drivers had to be crawling all over the 18,000rpm rev limiter of the 2.4-litre V8s to extract maximum performance. With engine rotations capped at 15,000rpm for this season and a slug of instant torque from the electric motor filling in any lag from the single blower, the 'optimum' moment - and F1 loves anything optimised - for an upshift will probably be different from first to second than it is from seventh to top.
Rosberg came away with reasons to be cheerful
In fact, the extra torque will dominate everything. The battle against wheelspin in the traction zones (less downforce, more torque) and managing tyres will once again be key as Pirelli aims to restore some faith by further improving reliability and making each compound comparably harder for 2014.
If you want a 360-degree view - and sound - of Merc's 2014 car in action they were filming more than just Harris and Hamilton skidding about in E63s. Check out the lap of Silverstone with Rosberg here or below for the embedded version.
Torque could destroy engines and gearboxes, too. And it means we'll see more spins, crashes and racing driver excuses. Kimi found out why on the exit of T4 on day four in Bahrain, catching a kerb with the rear wheel of his F14 T and burying the car in the tyre wall. And we thought he knew what he was doing? Seems as though the Iceman was getting a bit warm in the desert.
Click and drag for a 360-degree view of the Mercedes F1 car at Silverstone