2020 Pre-season Testing Thread

[SS454]

Oke guys I just had contact with my very very very secret source and it seems we have a hidden update!!!

Yes it's true we've added sandbags for the first time since long onto our car!

They will come of in Melbourne so they said .

I would be surprised not to see a new nose and/or front wing next week.

[ferras]

Oke guys I just had contact with my very very very secret source and it seems we have a hidden update!!!

Yes it's true we've added sandbags for the first time since long onto our car!

They will come of in Melbourne so they said .

I see a new hydraulic(i think) front suspension. I think the suspension is a major upgrade.

[SilverSpeed]

I see a new hydraulic(i think) front suspension. I think the suspension is a major upgrade.

Yeah and the bubble near the tyre is also a Mercedes copy.

[ferrari1.8t]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/l...t-day/4688285/

Leclerc: Day 1 test times reflect new Ferrari approach

Charles Leclerc says his Ferrari Formula 1 team has "changed a little bit our approach" to pre-season testing, after he finished only 11th-fastest on the opening day of 2020 running.

Leclerc, who received a call from Ferrari at 6.45am to replace his unwell teammate Sebastian Vettel for the first day, completed 131 laps on the day but was over a second down on the pace-setting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton - despite having set his best time on a softer tyre than the reigning champion.

This was in stark contrast to the first day of testing last year, in which Vettel set the pace, before Leclerc himself then went quickest on day two.

But Ferrari's strong showing in Barcelona testing last year did not translate to the start to the season that had been expected, and Leclerc has admitted the Italian team is consciously holding off on performance work this time.

"Of course I think we changed a little bit our approach compared to last year," Leclerc said. "Last year the testing was great but the first race was a bit less great.

"And yeah, I think we've learned a few things on this, and this year we decided to focus more on ourselves, trying to learn the car as much as possible in these first few days, and then focus on performance a bit later on, and we'll see if that pays off."

Leclerc added that Wednesday's work was "more about correlating the numbers from the factory and the track", which means it mostly benefits engineers whereas drivers "don't learn much" about how competitive it is.


"Still, driving a new car, I still try to push at the limit of the car," he continued. "We haven't pushed the car, but I'm pushing myself to try and know this car better.

"So, the more laps that we do with it, the more confident I'll arrive in Melbourne, so on that side, on the driving side, I've learned a lot, and then the different tests we've performed today, I think they've been very positive."

Leclerc suggested that Ferrari was unlikely to take a page out of Mercedes' book from 2019 in bringing a very different car to the second week of testing.

Asked whether the SF1000 has accomplished team principal Mattia Binotto's stated aim of prioritising downforce compared to its predecessor, Leclerc said: "It's quite difficult to see that at the moment. Of course I feel quite quick in the corners, but it's always difficult to compare one year to the other.

"I think the good benchmark will be at the first race when the tyres will be in the right window. It's still very cold now, and the downforce has quite a big effect on tyres. So it's all about having the aero that puts the tyres in the right window. And for now we can't really know, so we just focus on ourselves."

[Tony]

man, did Binotto get it all wrong this year?? he must have slapped WAY TOO MUCH downforce and drag on the sf1000......no wonder we got no top end speed and down at the bottom of the list.....LOL

Downforce and drag are not the same thing... this tells us Ferrari ran conservative engine modes....

[Silent Bob]

Downforce and drag are not the same thing... this tells us Ferrari ran conservative engine modes....

I think Ferrari had to turn down their engines... if they came out guns blazing and lit up the speed traps then ol' Marko would be protesting to the FIA. Let them find out our real speed in Australia.

[Brembo]

It's very comforting to read how Charles interprets the testing so far. He is really a top driver on and off the track with his tremendous interest and effort . He knows what he's talking about!! Ferrari needs to give him the best they can and Lewis will have a problem !!

[Cevertmyhero]

I'm not panicking yet, it's way too early but I have my fingers and toes crossed that the car is a huge improvement on 2019s.

I will put my cards on the table and be honest. If Ferrari can't beat Merc this year, I hope red bull do. Ham CANNOT be allowed another "cruise" to the title and equal Michael. That would be an utter travesty

[FerrariF60]

I'm not panicking yet, it's way too early but I have my fingers and toes crossed that the car is a huge improvement on 2019s.

I will put my cards on the table and be honest. If Ferrari can't beat Merc this year, I hope red bull do. Ham CANNOT be allowed another "cruise" to the title and equal Michael. That would be an utter travesty

as much as it PAINS ME TO SAY IT.....i TOO really hope mad max will take the championship this year if either one of our boys won't/can't due to car inabilities.....can't see Hamster be equal in WDC's with Michael......

we'll see, time will tell

[google]

I think Ferrari had to turn down their engines... if they came out guns blazing and lit up the speed traps then ol' Marko would be protesting to the FIA. Let them find out our real speed in Australia.

So then he can complain in Australia.. what's the difference ?

[From Treviso]

Guys, relax about the nose, as its impact on the car is obviously aesthetical rather than performance. Ferrari would have no doubt evaluated it and have decided to keep its familiar design over the Benz shape, while the German team has finally conceded that Ferrari's much-copied side pod design was the best path to go down.

[SS454]

Guys, relax about the nose, as its impact on the car is obviously aesthetical rather than performance. Ferrari would have no doubt evaluated it and have decided to keep its familiar design over the Benz shape, while the German team has finally conceded that Ferrari's much-copied side pod design was the best path to go down.

The slim nose design isn't for aesthetics. It improves the airflow to the bargeboards and the cape. It also makes it easier to control the Y-250 vortex off the front wing.

[jgonzalesm6]

LIVE Formula 1 Testing - Day 2 - Morning Session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bfoQRkrBrk

[subfire91]

whats up with that steering wheel trick on W11 ?

is that even legal ?

[jgonzalesm6]

So it seems Lewis's steering wheel moves in and out while going into the corner to adjust the toe of the wheels......legal or illegal??

[subfire91]

https://twitter.com/jronkain/status/...385620992?s=20

[Frank Dhont]

So it seems Lewis's steering wheel moves in and out while going into the corner to adjust the toe of the wheels......legal or illegal??

Direct link between AMG safety car and cockpit?
When they Pull the wheel: safety car needs to come out.
When they push the wheel: safety car comes in.

:)

[chinmay]

Leclerc's yesterday notes read "Understeer in the middle of the curve of elongated slow curves"

AMuS asks "Is there still missing downforce on the front axle?"

[Schumiklub]

Do we have an issue with the car? Charles has been in the pits for a while now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[h3ro]

Quite ingenious by Merc if it is indeed legal. What I'm more concerned with is that if this is something they are so open in showing on Day 2 of testing, then what else have they done that they still keeping up their sleeves!?

I'm sure the media will shove this thing down our throat for the rest of testing though. Even the official F1 twitter account is posting banter about it. I'm already tired of hearing about it on the streams


Edit: Wow this is drastic!
https://twitter.com/jronkain/status/1230437658385620992
Check out how much the wheel toe in!

[ferrari1.8t]

So it seems Lewis's steering wheel moves in and out while going into the corner to adjust the toe of the wheels......legal or illegal??

You would think it’s illegal...not necessarily aero, but it’s a moveable device. It’s Merc, so it will be deemed legal anyway. Also, I doubt Merc would have invested into a solution that was illegal. Time will tell.

[ferrari1.8t]

Perez topping the timesheets in the W10, what a joke. Now that should be deemed illegal.

[jgonzalesm6]

TECH INSIGHT: Have Mercedes just changed the game with new steering wheel system?

F1 fans’ eyes were drawn to onboards of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W11 on Day 2 of 2020 pre-season testing at Barcelona, as footage appeared to show him moving his steering wheel in the car to effect a change in the W11’s attitude. Mark Hughes analyses what’s going on inside the new Silver Arrows machine…

Mercedes created a stir on the second day of testing as an on-board camera showed Lewis Hamilton pushing and pulling on the steering column, using a mechanism that appeared to change the alignment of the front wheels.

Hamilton would pull the wheel back on the column as he drove down the straight (which had the effect of straightening-out the usual ‘toe-out’ of the wheels) and would then push it back down just before the corner, at which point the wheels would adopt their conventional ‘toe-out’ setting.

Typically an F1 car will be set up so that its front wheels are aligned with ‘toe-out’, which simply means that they splay out at the bottom away from the centre of the car, with the top pointing inwards.

The reason they are set in this way is to create a tiny delay in the front tyres loading up as the car is turned in so that the rear tyres do not have too sudden an instantaneous load placed upon them, which would make the car feel unstable on turn in.

However, this means that on the straight the outer edge of the tyre’s tread surface is being heated up more than is the remainder of its width.

With the Mercedes mechanism the tyres will be heated more evenly across their width as they run fully upright, but the benefits of toe-out can still be deployed into the corner. It will be of particular benefit on circuits with long straights.

It’s a fully mechanical device, likely using the column movement to activate a lever acting upon the wheel hubs. It will add a whole new dimension to the tools available to the driver in trimming the balance of the car and looking after the tyres.

The full picture of how exactly Mercedes’ system works will doubtless become clearer in the next few days. But one thing is clear: the reigning world champions certainly haven’t been taking their foot off the gas over the winter break…


https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...taFZPCKC4.html

[jgonzalesm6]

LIVE Formula 1 Testing - Day 2 - Afternoon Session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bfoQRkrBrk

[bondilad]

So when merc said they started on the 2020 car back in 2018, this is probably one of the things they developed.

[jgonzalesm6]

So when merc said they started on the 2020 car back in 2018, this is probably one of the things they developed.

They never rest. They're always raising the bar to that next level...innovatng.

This steering wheel innovation will be the talk in the paddock, social media and so on for the 1st half of the season.

[bondilad]

They never rest. They're always raising the bar to that next level...innovatng.

This steering wheel innovation will be the talk in the paddock, social media and so on for the 1st half of the season.

If deemed legal, Is it something that can be copied easily or has to be part of the whole package ?

[sxviper698]

So pulling the reigns like on a horse when he pulls on the steering wheel? I think it should be illegal!!

[RicRac]

System has been approved by FIA... https://www.gptoday.net/en/news/f1/2...t-in-barcelona

[jgonzalesm6]

If deemed legal, Is it something that can be copied easily or has to be part of the whole package ?

I'm gonna say it will take 6 months to develop...possibly the whole year.


BTW, the system is called DAS.....which possibly stands for Dual Axis Steering (from James Allison in this meeting during the lunch break)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EROELxjUwAAoUQs.jpg