Bahrain testing 19-22 Feb

[tifosi1993]

Cockpit-shot

http://www.formula1.com/wi/enlarge/0x0/popup/sutton/2013/dms1420fe277.jpg

[medeni73]

It seems Force India also was on supersoft on their fastest lap...

[tifosi1993]

Both Magnussen and Hulk have made their fastest laps with supersoft tyres.

[tifosi1993]

Monkey seat on the Ferrari
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg7BvSjIgAA7a26.jpg:large

:clap:thumb

[medeni73]

Rosberg on softs now...

[hrc5555]

Monkey seat on the Ferrari
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg7BvSjIgAA7a26.jpg:large

Nice to know we have some aero updates! :clap

[Hornet]

That's the end of today's session. I think Ferrari is only a few laps short of 100 laps mark

[OSS EL BOSS]

Alonso sets the fastest middle sector time on soft tyres.
It is the sector with the most corners and whre you need downforce while the first and third sector are mainly straight lines and hairpins.
So that is a very good sign!

[shamim179]

From autosport.com:

13:56 Alonso draws attention to the timing screen with a personal best first sector and an overall best middle sector...

...and despite another personal best in the final sector, his improvement doesn't move him up from third place.

[tifosi1993]

Koba ahead of Vettel. :-D

[PURE PASSION]

That's the end of today's session. I think Ferrari is only a few laps short of 100 laps mark

95!!
Bottas 1st with 114!!!

[tifosi1993]

95!!


97!

[SinanOzerS]

Good, solid test day and total 95 laps.That's great !

[PURE PASSION]

97!
Yes, they add 2 more just now!!
(the live timing i'm watching)

[OSS EL BOSS]

http://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/styles/main_image_bar_990_autoheight/public/championship_page/top_images/04-bahrain-3.jpg

[f1tomi8]

:thumb
Alonso sets the fastest middle sector time on soft tyres.
It is the sector with the most corners and whre you need downforce while the first and third sector are mainly straight lines and hairpins.
So that is a very good sign!

[Jose Lorca]

Magnussen - 1m34.910s (super soft)
Hulkenburg - 1m36.445s (super soft)
Alonso - 1m36.516s (soft)
Rosberg - 1m36.965s (?)
Bottas - 1m37.328s (soft)
Kobayashi - 1m39.855s (soft)

[medeni73]

Rosberg was on mediums on minimum 7 laps stint...

[Hornet]

Looks like another good day for us :thumb

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

Ferrari were also fastest in sector 2 and 3 at Barcelona last year yet that didn't mean they were the fastest in slower sections during the season...

[OSS EL BOSS]

So if Ferrari didnt use the full engine power like in Jerez that would clear why we were slower in the first and last sector than the Mercedes team, if not then it would mean the Mercedes engine does have a power advantage like the rumours said.

[crewskas]

From what I know, Pirelli didn't bring supersofts in Bahrain. So top times from Mc and FI are with softs too...

[OSS EL BOSS]

Ferrari were also fastest in sector 2 and 3 at Barcelona last year yet that didn't mean they were the fastest in slower sections during the season...

Of course there are other factors, but Alonso was fast in the middle sector all day today.

[stefa]

It's good that Ferrari is putting millage in new F14-T car without problems :-)

[PadGeT]

So if Ferrari didnt use the full engine power like in Jerez that would clear why we were slower in the first and last sector than the Mercedes team, if not then it would mean the Mercedes engine does have a power advantage like the rumours said.

It doesnt matter if its more powerful, what matters is its drivebility on throttle response, which will make a difference on boring slow corners

[OSS EL BOSS]

Monkey seat on the Ferrari
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg7BvSjIgAA7a26.jpg:large

It does looks too simple and too small for me compared with other cars. Maybe the final and more complex version of it will arrive for the last test.

[tifosi1993]

From what I know, Pirelli didn't bring supersofts in Bahrain. So top times from Mc and FI are with softs too...

Headline grabbing time from MacLaren and FI are with SS

http://i.imgur.com/QDYdy31.png

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg6_eD7CQAAMpD_.jpg

[gvera]

So if Ferrari didnt use the full engine power like in Jerez that would clear why we were slower in the first and last sector than the Mercedes team, if not then it would mean the Mercedes engine does have a power advantage like the rumours said.

That's one interpretation.
Another easy one would just be that Ferrari was running with more wing --> more downforce, more drag --> slow fast sectors, fast slow sector.

[stefa]

It does looks too simple and too small for me compared with other cars. Maybe the final and more complex version of it will arrive for the last test.

It doesn't mean that complex is necessary better...

[Schumyboy83]

Magnussen - 1m34.910s (super soft)
Hulkenburg - 1m36.445s (super soft)
Alonso - 1m36.516s (soft)
Rosberg - 1m36.965s (?)
Bottas - 1m37.328s (soft)
Kobayashi - 1m39.855s (soft)

So if S/S is around 2 seconds a lap quicker, nando could have easily gone top..

[OSS EL BOSS]

That's one interpretation.
Another easy one would just be that Ferrari was running with more wing --> more downforce, more drag --> slow fast sectors, fast slow sector.

I think all teams are running with very similar wing angles, you can see this on the pictures.

[Avantifer12]

It does looks too simple and too small for me compared with other cars. Maybe the final and more complex version of it will arrive for the last test.

That was my first thought too but I would like to see a view from the back to be able to judge, it doesn't have to be complicated. Most of the teams will use the monkey seat to create a upwash effect with the exhaust gasses and improve airflow from rear wing.

[Nero Horse]

So how many laps have we completed over these two days of testing in Bahrain? And how many have Merc and Macca done?

[f300v10]

I think all teams are running with very similar wing angles, you can see this on the pictures.

Completely agree. With the rules forcing a smaller rear wing, and the loss of exhaust blowing, all teams will be running the max allowed rear wing at the vast majority of tracks. The few exceptions are Montreal, Monza and Spa.

[Forzi]

A brilliant photo that shows differences in aerodynamic philosophy between the teams:
http://img5.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/19037/1903787507eb0d654a0e02c1b28d929290dd6b7b.jpg

[bondilad]

So how many laps have we completed over these two days of testing in Bahrain? And how many have Merc and Macca done?
Bahrain Test, Day Two timesheet:
1. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1:34.910, 45 laps
2. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:36.445, 59 laps
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:36.516, 96 laps
4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:36.965, 84 laps
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:37.328, 115 laps
6. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham, 1:39.855, 65 laps
7. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:40.340, 58 laps
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:40.609, 58 laps
9. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:40.717, 55 laps
10. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:41.670, 18 laps
11. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:42.511, 17 laps.

Overall lap totals by each engine manufacturer during pre-season:
Mercedes - 1416
Ferrari - 761
Renault - 445.

Overall lap totals by each team during pre-season:
Mercedes - 467.
Ferrari - 411.
McLaren - 371.
Sauber - 300.
Williams - 295.
Force India - 283.
Caterham - 209
Toro Rosso - 117
Red Bull - 93.
Marussia - 50.
Lotus - 26.

[anakin]

I think all teams are running with very similar wing angles, you can see this on the pictures.

maybe ferrari is already starting to show its cards. i think there is no point in keeping it to the last moment

[Nero Horse]

Overall lap totals by each team during pre-season:
Mercedes - 467.
Ferrari - 411.
McLaren - 371.
Sauber - 300.
Williams - 295.
Force India - 283.
Caterham - 209
Toro Rosso - 117
Red Bull - 93.
Marussia - 50.
Lotus - 26.

I like that ^^ :thumb

Not bad at all. Nice!

[hrc5555]

Bahrain Test, Day Two timesheet:
1. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1:34.910, 45 laps
2. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:36.445, 59 laps
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:36.516, 96 laps
4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:36.965, 84 laps
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:37.328, 115 laps
6. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham, 1:39.855, 65 laps
7. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:40.340, 58 laps
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:40.609, 58 laps
9. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:40.717, 55 laps
10. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:41.670, 18 laps
11. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:42.511, 17 laps.

Overall lap totals by each engine manufacturer during pre-season:
Mercedes - 1416
Ferrari - 761
Renault - 445.

Overall lap totals by each team during pre-season:
Mercedes - 467.
Ferrari - 411.
McLaren - 371.
Sauber - 300.
Williams - 295.
Force India - 283.
Caterham - 209
Toro Rosso - 117
Red Bull - 93.
Marussia - 50.
Lotus - 26.

Marussia is struggling, but Sauber is doing well so I suppose we wont be in disadvantage.

[bondilad]

Even during the last test there were rumors magnussens fastest lap was run on full engine power, so perhaps most Merc engines are doing the same now. Maybe we haven't tested our engine at full power yet ?

[ntukza]

maybe ferrari is already starting to show its cards. i think there is no point in keeping it to the last moment

I was just wondering why teams would bother designing and running inferior parts (e.g. assumptions on monkey seat) when they could just get down to business and test/develop the real thing.

[ntukza]

Two things can be said from what (little) we know so far: 1) Merc and McLaren are looking to be ahead. 2) That Merc is stunning!

[Schumyboy83]

Looking forward to the start of the season now, cant wait to hear the cars in Barcelona.... :-)

[Ste]

It all looks very good to me. Ignore reports and focus on what we know.

Times mean nothing but when we consider that we were on softs and Magnuessen and Hulkenberg were on SS tyres and we're only 1.6s off - that's pretty positive in my opinion.

Ferrari spent most of the day yesterday working on the BBW system so I presume they'll have a handle on that either now, or very soon. We're seeing the beginning of small aero tweaks (monkey seat) despite Ferrari saying they're not going for performance yet. High mileage today and pretty good yesterday.

In my eyes, everything is looking very good.

[hrc5555]

I was just wondering why teams would bother designing and running inferior parts (e.g. assumptions on monkey seat) when they could just get down to business and test/develop the real thing.

I think ours monkey seat is the same like it was last year...

[Nero Horse]

Two things can be said from what (little) we know so far: 1) Merc and McLaren are looking to be ahead. 2) That Merc is stunning!

That's not what we know, that's just what you think.

[hrc5555]

It all looks very good to me. Ignore reports and focus on what we know.

Times mean nothing but when we consider that we were on softs and Magnuessen and Hulkenberg were on SS tyres and we're only 1.6s off - that's pretty positive in my opinion.

Ferrari spent most of the day yesterday working on the BBW system so I presume they'll have a handle on that either now, or very soon. We're seeing the beginning of small aero tweaks (monkey seat) despite Ferrari saying they're not going for performance yet. High mileage today and pretty good yesterday.

In my eyes, everything is looking very good.

Agreed, but we still didnt se the Bulls in real action. They can still be in front of us, dont they?

[Nero Horse]

maybe ferrari is already starting to show its cards. i think there is no point in keeping it to the last moment


Cautious Ferrari still learning and not chasing lap times at this stage of testing.

Ferrari have admitted that fast lap times are not a priority despite Fernando Alonso finishing second fastest on the first day of the second Fomrula 1 preseason test in Bahrain, which at this stage remains a voyage of discovery as teams come to terms with the all new regulations.

Deputy chief designer Simone Resta said that hotlaps is not on the work list just yet, “That will be the next step. Now we just want to rack up the kilometres. The final updates for the Australian Grand Prix will arrive at the next test here in Bahrain and that’s when we will also start trying to get the performance out of the car.”

[Ste]

So in essence, what we can say is this:

We are doing high mileage, with good lap times and decent reliability AND we're not even testing for performance yet.

[hrc5555]

So in essence, what we can say is this:

We are doing high mileage, with good lap times and decent reliability AND we're not even testing for performance yet.


We will see next week. :rotfl

[emirBoz]

Second day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari and the last one for Fernando Alonso who tomorrow hands over the wheel of the F14 T to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Fernando and the team got through a lot of work, starting this morning with some aerodynamic tests, followed by detailed evaluation of adjustments made to all the operating systems linked to the power unit, including energy recovery and release.

Attention also centred on testing the balance of the F14 T, doing short and long runs with the various tyre compounds supplied by Pirelli.

Fernando completed a total of 97 laps, the quickest in a time of 1:36.516. Over the two days on track, he covered 161 laps and 872 kilometres.

“We are not yet at the point where we can concentrate on performance, but the important thing is to continue to rack up kilometres” – said Fernando to www.ferrari.com – “The team has done a great job of preparation over the winter for these tests, which has allowed us to do a lot of running and test all aspects linked to these new and complex technologies. At the moment, everything is going as we expected, but there are still a lot of new elements to learn about. Teams and drivers both have little time available and it will be a very big challenge for everyone to be ready when we get to Melbourne.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/872km-alonso-bahrain#sthash.5zw0xIf3.dpuf

:thumb

[Avantifer12]

A picture is worth a thousand words. Caption competition anyone?

http://oi60.tinypic.com/2r5ry1z.jpg

[Ste]

We will see next week. :rotfl
No, we can say that now. :-)

[Nero Horse]

A picture is worth a thousand words. Caption competition anyone?

http://content.worldcarfans.co/2014/1/29/big/1373781090566308407.jpg

:-D

[Kingdom Hearts]

A picture is worth a thousand words. Caption competition anyone?



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg6k7P3CQAANkX5.jpg:large

[ntukza]

That's not what we know, that's just what you think.

No, it's what we know.

[emirBoz]

Alonso: Mercedes form not a worry

"They are strong, no doubt," he said of the Mercedes teams.

"After Jerez and two days here, the Mercedes cars look to be performing in a strong position, but this is just a test.

"We don't really know how much fuel they really have, or the useage of the tyres, etc.

"So it's not a concern, not a worry.

"I think everyone will be on top of their problems more or less before Australia, so I expect the Mercedes engines will be strong in Australia, I expect Red Bull will also be strong in Australia, and Ferrari too.

"It will be a great competition."

Alonso managed 161 laps over his two days in Bahrain before handing over to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen for Friday.

He said that was enough mileage to begin to get on top of the F14 T.

"We understand it better," said Alonso. "Definitely every day it's a huge step in understanding the car, understanding the systems.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112587


:thumb

[ntukza]

I guess it's worth keeping in mind then that there's so much to learn and so much to do. If Ferrari are not panicking about their comparative lap times then I guess neither should we. As for those three pictures, they really do tell a story of their own ;)

[Bertie]

These words from Alonso are encouraging. Its not just the amount of fuel on board, its the fuel flow rate (limited to a max of 100kg/hour during the f1 season proper) and the electric boost percentage. This means that testing times are an even worse way of comparing the relative performance of the teams than in previous years. I think Alonso is not worried as we still have performance in hand. Indeed, the team says we aren't chasing performance.... yet. I'm happy so far. FORZA FERRARI!

[evo_spook]

Mercs hand might be shown tomorrow

"@tgruener: #F1 Mercedes did not order supersoft tyres for Bahrain test. Now they changed their mind. AMuS: http://t.co/q9sV3XwF8Y"

[Nero Horse]

No, it's what we know.

Nope... it certainly is not. But you can think it is, if it makes you happy. :-)

[fronaldo]

‘We are not as good as we would like’ – Alonso

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari is “not as good as we would like at this point” at the halfway stage of pre-season testing.

Ferrari has looked like the closest challenger to the Mercedes-powered cars so far in Jerez and Bahrain, with Red Bull and the Renault power unit struggling. However, while Alonso said the mileage over the first two days in Bahrain was encouraging he said there were lots of areas where Ferrari needs to improve.

“It's important to do laps; we learn things and from these two days we discovered some more issues that the car is having,” Alonso said. “Every lap there is something and in the electronic side we have so many things this year that we can tune it a little bit better or improve it. So slowly I think we are getting in to a position where we are more comfortable.

”We are not as good as we would like at this point and there are still many things to discover and to improve but at least we are able to do 160 laps in two days again without big issues in the car. This is good for the team, for the motivation of everybody.”

With a clear pecking order still unknown, Alonso admitted that the way the first six days of testing has panned out leads him to believe the first few races will be a lottery.

“It's definitely strange, definitely challenging for everyone. It's not easy to bet this year – for the people who normally bet – on Australia. I think it will be extremely tough for everyone to know and have an idea of what can happen in Australia and in the first couple of races.


“Our target should be to finish the race; if we finish the race in the first three or four grands prix then I think that automatically means a good result because not many teams will finish, and that is challenging. It seems easy but it's challenging.”

http://www.f1reader.com/news/we-are-not-as-good-as-we-would-like-alonso-92322

Hmm:Hmm

[ntukza]

Nope... it certainly is not. But you can think it is, if it makes you happy. :-)
Oh yes, it certainly is.

[Nero Horse]

It certainly is.

Ok, whatever... :lol

[Rosso Corsa]

A picture is worth a thousand words. Caption competition anyone?

http://oi60.tinypic.com/2r5ry1z.jpg

Cantona: "When the seagulls follow the trawler..."

[MRRabbit]

Oh yes, it certainly is.

explain how you know anyone is faster then anyone just by looking at a time sheet at this point.

[Nero Horse]

explain how you know anyone is faster then anyone just by looking at a time sheet at this point.

Well, obviously he JUST KNOWS, and nothing else matters. ;-)

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

Anyone seen the back of that Mercedes? The cooling outlet is absolutely huge! lol

[Ste]

I made this:

http://i61.tinypic.com/vsgjrb.jpg

[Ste]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAgMafF6VYI

[Avantifer12]

Anyone seen the back of that Mercedes? The cooling outlet is absolutely huge! lol

Well, I would like Ferrari to test a similar engine cover so we can possibly shrink our sidepod outlets and improve the coke bottle flow. But I guess Ferrari has good reasons to keep the sidepod outlets the way they are. Probably because of the radiators and intercooler but maybe they have found a way to energize the flow of hot air exiting from the outlets.

[Rob]

872km for Alonso in Bahrain.
http://i61.tinypic.com/35dclm0.jpg
Circuit: Sakhir circuit – 5.412 km
Driver: Fernando Alonso
Car: Ferrari F14 T
Weather: air temperature 21/26°C, track temperature 22/30 °C. Sunny.
Laps/Kms completed: 97/525
Best time: 1:36.516

Second day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari and the last one for Fernando Alonso who tomorrow hands over the wheel of the F14 T to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Fernando and the team got through a lot of work, starting this morning with some aerodynamic tests, followed by detailed evaluation of adjustments made to all the operating systems linked to the power unit, including energy recovery and release.

Attention also centred on testing the balance of the F14 T, doing short and long runs with the various tyre compounds supplied by Pirelli.

Fernando completed a total of 97 laps, the quickest in a time of 1:36.516. Over the two days on track, he covered 161 laps and 872 kilometres.

“We are not yet at the point where we can concentrate on performance, but the important thing is to continue to rack up kilometres” – said Fernando to www.ferrari.com – “The team has done a great job of preparation over the winter for these tests, which has allowed us to do a lot of running and test all aspects linked to these new and complex technologies. At the moment, everything is going as we expected, but there are still a lot of new elements to learn about. Teams and drivers both have little time available and it will be a very big challenge for everyone to be ready when we get to Melbourne.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/872km-alonso-bahrain#sthash.3n5pvh87.dpuf

[Rob]

http://www.f1reader.com/news/we-are-not-as-good-as-we-would-like-alonso-92322

Hmm:Hmm

I think if you read what Fernando has said...


“We are not yet at the point where we can concentrate on performance,

it seems to of been slightly changed in the press, to make out we are not 120% happy with the car and our current situation.

We, are in good shape, the final 3rd test, we will see us doing race distances, and fast laps.

[Ste]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaqQQj7p4rQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csVltGGmfTU

[Avantifer12]

Nice videos.
1. That Ferrari engine sounds awesome
2. These cars looks exciting, wagging their tails on power.

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

I wouldn't read too much into the times since Ferrari are still running a very basic configuration. Right now they are trying to establish a base model which they will use to compare against future evolutions of the car. To accomplish this they have to do a lot of set up work and try to figure out how the car is reacting with different settings. This is a tedious task but it's necessary especially when you have a new wind-tunnel and simulator. The car still has a lot of performance to gain from aero updates, this is quite obvious from the photos members have been posting in the past couple of days. Other top teams look to already have a semi- optimised aero package but you can be assured that Ferrari will be the car with the most revealing changes from now until Melbourne. I'm sure there are certain things that Ferrari will wish to hide until the very last moment and I expect these to be tested during one of their filming days which could well take place before they fly off to Melbourne.
All in all, it's hard to tell how good Ferrari or their competitors are, unfortunately for us we will only find out come Melbourne but until then nothing has been decided.

[Senna4Ever]

All in all, it's hard to tell how good Ferrari or their competitors are, unfortunately for us we will only find out come Melbourne but until then nothing has been decided.
^^
+1

[Kyss4k]

Good day overall, but what the hell is with that monkey seat?! :-E How can they put monkey seat behind the support pillars of the rear wing? Why they just don't adjust those pillars and put the wing inside? Or remove them completely? I hope this is just an interim solution and not the best we can do.

[Nero Horse]

Good day overall, but what the hell is with that monkey seat?! :-E How can they put monkey seat behind the support pillars of the rear wing? Why they just don't adjust those pillars and put the wing inside? Or remove them completely? I hope this is just an interim solution and not the best we can do.

I'm sure that the Ferrari mechanics and engineers know very well how and where to put the monkey seat.

[Jas]

Mercades change of body work, not sure jow it helps but says its inspired by red bull!
http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/478784/Did_Mercedes_take_a_close_look_at_the_RB10/

[Hornet]

Good day overall, but what the hell is with that monkey seat?! :-E How can they put monkey seat behind the support pillars of the rear wing? Why they just don't adjust those pillars and put the wing inside? Or remove them completely? I hope this is just an interim solution and not the best we can do.

It looks like just a crude add on rather than being integrated into the car design. Pictures from earlier yesterday shows that there was no monkey seat, it only made it appearance in the afternoon.

Most likely we'll see a real design later where it's integrated into the support pillar or somewhere more elegant.

[ntukza]

explain how you know anyone is faster then anyone just by looking at a time sheet at this point.

Haha that's not what I said. Calm down people, really. I said they LOOK to be ahead. Most laps, least disruptions, good lap times. In testing these are all good INDICATORS in the context of the LITTLE that we know. Merc and McLaren are AHEAD in the aspects mentioned above. Nowhere did I offer any interpretation or inference to that obvious observation. Of course, looks can be deceiving. Looks are not everything. Looks don't tell much of the story. But looks are looks nonetheless. I know we all support Ferrari and believe to be better than the rest, but that's no license to be delusional about apparent facts.

[ntukza]

I wouldn't read too much into the times since Ferrari are still running a very basic configuration. Right now they are trying to establish a base model which they will use to compare against future evolutions of the car. To accomplish this they have to do a lot of set up work and try to figure out how the car is reacting with different settings. This is a tedious task but it's necessary especially when you have a new wind-tunnel and simulator. The car still has a lot of performance to gain from aero updates, this is quite obvious from the photos members have been posting in the past couple of days. Other top teams look to already have a semi- optimised aero package but you can be assured that Ferrari will be the car with the most revealing changes from now until Melbourne. I'm sure there are certain things that Ferrari will wish to hide until the very last moment and I expect these to be tested during one of their filming days which could well take place before they fly off to Melbourne.
All in all, it's hard to tell how good Ferrari or their competitors are, unfortunately for us we will only find out come Melbourne but until then nothing has been decided.

Well said! This will be a long season. Melbourne will give us a snapshot of the pecking order but I reckon there'll be a lot of shuffling around in the first few races, with things settling down around June possibly. One hickup in testing means some time back in the pits and then on to the track again, but in a race one hickup means game over. Or does it? I wonder if teams will spend say 30mins fixing the car and send it back out again in the first few races. A team might do so and still win the race if stoppages turn out to be common.

[anialonso]

Day 3 is go..!!!

[stefa]

My view on pre season testing, at this point is that reliability is a key factor. Don't pay much attention into lap times.

[medeni73]

red flag for Marussia...I hope its nothing engine related...:)

[Sempre_Ferrari]

red flag for Marussia...I hope its nothing engine related...:)

Apparently came to a "smokey halt" so could very well be engine or cooling related

[fronaldo]

We're getting reports that the Marussia came to a smokey halt, on what was its fifth lap of the day.

[anialonso]

Almost an hour and still no Ferrari out..
I know its testing but still..

[medeni73]

Almost an hour and still no Ferrari out..
I know its testing but still..

relax...as soon Kimi finishes his Magnum he will hit the track...;)

[anialonso]

relax...as soon Kimi finishes his Magnum he will hit the track...;)

hopefully to complete a race sim by the end of the day..!!!:thumb

[SinanOzerS]

It's a long red flag period.

[anialonso]

It's a long red flag period.

Ya..They should be better equipped knowing that in testing breakdowns are a part of routine which should not hamper other's schedule.

EDIT:that said,we'r green again

[anakin]

07:23 Hamilton and Button back off to the 1m56s, while Raikkonen starts what appears to be a flying lap and then pits before he completes it.
why ferrari keeps on doing this????

[Sempre_Ferrari]

07:23 Hamilton and Button back off to the 1m56s, while Raikkonen starts what appears to be a flying lap and then pits before he completes it.
why ferrari keeps on doing this????

Cause they testing maybe? lol... But I hear what you saying, it is a bit frustrating cause even though we know times don't matter at this stage we still want to see the team blitz the rest ;-)

[diesel08]

ham 1m 35.8- strong, in what tyre compound? I believe is soft

[medeni73]

hamilton on mediums
we should take our car back on track, its beginning to be slightly worrying...

[MRRabbit]

Haha that's not what I said. Calm down people, really. I said they LOOK to be ahead. Most laps, least disruptions, good lap times. In testing these are all good INDICATORS in the context of the LITTLE that we know. Merc and McLaren are AHEAD in the aspects mentioned above. Nowhere did I offer any interpretation or inference to that obvious observation. Of course, looks can be deceiving. Looks are not everything. Looks don't tell much of the story. But looks are looks nonetheless. I know we all support Ferrari and believe to be better than the rest, but that's no license to be delusional about apparent facts.

you wrote it as u stated it as a fact, i'm not being delusional and i'm not in the belief that Mercedes for example would be ahead just by looking at the first five days of testing, if they are ahead in Melbourne then i'll agree that they are ahead, but until then we have absolutely no idea what is the pecking order for now.

[Ste]

Nothing is worrying. Why do we have to keep repeating this? Do you listen to what our drivers say at the end of each day? There is nothing wrong. We are not concentrated on performance. We have good mileage.

Everything is fine.

[mirafiori]

Kimi out on track.

[Nand0Nand0]

OMG OMG Kimi is 7 seconds off the pace. Should we forget '14 and start on our '15 car?

[medeni73]

Nothing is worrying. Why do we have to keep repeating this? Do you listen to what our drivers say at the end of each day? There is nothing wrong. We are not concentrated on performance. We have good mileage.

Everything is fine.
I agree with everything you said BUT we shouldnt forget that very same statements could be said for all other teams Mercedes teams included. They're making good mileage too and also not concentrating on performance but are still faster than Ferrari. Of course it means nothing BUT I would be really surprised if Mercedes and Maccas dont come very strong in Melbourne...

[f1tomi8]

New measuring device
http://img2.auto-motor-und-sport.de/Kimi-Raeikkoenen-Ferrari-Formel-1-Test-Bahrain-21-Februar-2014-fotoshowBigImage-14ec7a2b-756593.jpg

[PadGeT]

OMG OMG Kimi is 7 seconds off the pace. Should we forget '14 and start on our '15 car?
:rotfl

[mirafiori]

Kimi back out again, would be nice to see a longer stint.

[S1000RR]

1.34.8 for Hamilton, GPupdate suggests it is on the medium compound, impressive!

[Hornet]

Apparently came to a "smokey halt" so could very well be engine or cooling related

Yikes, I hope it has nothing to do with our power unit reliability. I don't think Marussia is aggressive with their cooling design (like Red Bull are).

[Majki2111]

Mercedes testing different set-ups.

We've sent BEN ANDERSON trackside this morning. He's near the backstraight at the moment and reports a "strange knocking noise coming from the Red Bull as it accelerates".

[Avantifer12]

Red bull still running an illegal nose, either they have some special coming or they have other issues that are higher priority, I guess for the latter but still...

[blaney1977]

It's better to make sure no stone unturned when doing the spadework/donkey work too get the data on all systems/parts in different conditions rather getting caught with your pants down half way through the season. We've always just been under the radar for me. It always interests me when you see us doing a fast sector then backing out and slowing down or retuning too the pits, think that's called not showing your hand but you know you've got something too play

[f1tomi8]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bg-_O69CUAADLlJ.jpg

[Ste]

Red bull still running an illegal nose, either they have some special coming or they have other issues that are higher priority.

Why is it illegal?

[Ste]

What I'm enjoying is that Ferrari isn't changing their program or being swayed by speculation and times. They're calmly going about their work, monitoring airflow in many different places before we step it up at the he next test.

[bluesilhouettes]

Maybe Ferrari continues aero work because windy yesterday.

[bladeswing]

hello everyone.
great to be back here after a long absence. i hope all the signs point to a good season for ferrari. as far as the mercs are concerned, i think they are going all out in terms of engine power and everything else as nikki lauda himself has said there's no point in going slow as you learn nothing from it ( well that's his opinion ). so the times being posted by hamilton might be an indication that merc is at full power. i am not sure though if ferrari is already testing the engine at full power but last time i heard, they were like in the 80ish %? of course there's nothing to worry about at this stage of testing, but it seems mercedes is going to be a contender.

[bladeswing]

definitely agree with you, ste
but i surely would love to see a ferrari blitz the field... sort of a teaser if u can call it that :)

[f1tomi8]

More from BEN ANDERSON at trackside. Firstly, he reports that the "knocking sound" from the Red Bull cleared later in that run.

He's now made his way to the end of the backstraight, where he's noticed that Hamilton and Bottas are braking "nearly 80 metres later" than Gutierrez in the Sauber at the moment.

[Avantifer12]

Why is it illegal?

No camera housings, which I think is a bit weird. It's not like you can do something special with those, the most extreme is what Merc (partly Ferrari) has done but if I remember correctly Newey said they have different solutions but why not test any of them on track?

[Hermann]

No camera housings, which I think is a bit weird. It's not like you can do something special with those, the most extreme is what Merc (partly Ferrari) has done but if I remember correctly Newey said they have different solutions but why not test any of them on track?

And that makes the nose illegal? :-E

[PURE PASSION]

All i now is that tast is very stressful!!!!Every year i keep telling to myself that i'm not gonna follow them cause i dont know that what i'm watcing is the real thing or not!!!!For example in '09 when Brawn GP was toping the times,everybody said that it was just for sponsors and you what happend that year!!!! On the other hand in '11 we where pretty good in testing,even Marko had said that we where their bigest threat, and in Australia we where 2sec off!!!!!!!!
So know i see Ham doing 34:800 on Mediums and we can only do high 36s on softs, and i dont really know what to believe!!!!
I know that times tells nothing but as i told you , sometimes it does!!!

[Rob]

And that makes the nose illegal? :-E

They must have the camera housings on at Melbourne. At the moment, if we went racing today, RBR wouldnt be able to race.

[medeni73]

1:34.263 Hamilton on supersofts

[medeni73]

All i now is that tast is very stressful!!!!Every year i keep telling to myself that i'm not gonna follow them cause i dont know that what i'm watcing is the real thing or not!!!!For example in '09 when Brawn GP was toping the times,everybody said that it was just for sponsors and you what happend that year!!!! On the other hand in '11 we where pretty good in testing,even Marko had said that we where their bigest threat, and in Australia we where 2sec off!!!!!!!!
So know i see Ham doing 34:800 on Mediums and we can only do high 36s on softs, and i dont really know what to believe!!!!
I know that times tells nothing but as i told you , sometimes it does!!!

Hamilton did that 1:34:800 on softs...

[Hermann]

They must have the camera housings on at Melbourne. At the moment, if we went racing today, RBR wouldnt be able to race.

Ah. Thanks, didn't know that. Well they can test without them, they are probably trying different solutions anyway. It might be the least of their concerns right now.

[bladeswing]

1:34.263 Hamilton on supersofts

seems they're really testing the threshold of that power unit

[Avantifer12]

And that makes the nose illegal? :-E

Yep, I forgot to write it's not illegal in testing but in Melbourne it will be.

From 2014 technical regulations

ARTICLE 20 : TELEVISION CAMERAS AND TIMING TRANSPONDERS
20.1 Presence of cameras and camera housings : All cars must be fitted with at least five cameras or camera housings at all times throughout the Event.

[PURE PASSION]

Hamilton did that 1:34:800 on softs...
Ohh, someone said that he was on Mediums.Even so it was quite impressive lap(and the McLaren's too) and i only can accept that they are going pretty match 100% and fine tuning the setup,and we are still test varius parts!!!If that the case, i'm quite satisfied!!!

[medeni73]

we're awfully quiet today, even RB has more laps than we...hopefully I will jinx it and RAI pops out immediately ;)

[mirafiori]

Come on Ferrari what are you doing, hope all is OK with the car, sorry guys just feeling anxious.

[anialonso]

Come on Ferrari what are you doing, hope all is OK with the car, sorry guys just feeling anxious.

Same here..
Today seems a bit different cause they took almost one and half hour to begin their work and now almost an hour they are in the pits..
Seems something different is going on..
Hope its not an issue.

[anialonso]

Rai out now..!!

and he pits
:-s

[mirafiori]

Same here..
Today seems a bit different cause they took almost one and half hour to begin their work and now almost an hour they are in the pits..
Seems something different is going on..
Hope its not an issue.

This is the thing, we should be out their as soon as the light goes green, we can not afford to waste time at the beginning of the day, During the day that is different the team will always make changes to the car and i appreciate it take's time to change the set up of the car. but not at the start of the day unless we had an issue, come on Ferrari sort it out.

[Avantifer12]

Kobayashi: Renault currently behind F1 rivals Mercedes and Ferrari
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112590

Some encouraging quotes from Koba.
"This is what we have in our hand right now so we have to help them to be able to fight with the other engine manufacturers"
"At the moment, we are definitely too weak pace-wise, so we give the maximum chance to them [to work] and thereafter we have to work on our car."
"During testing, we meet some other cars and clearly we can see the Mercedes cars are much quicker in the straights, 20-30km/h more"
"We had many problems on the engine side"

[SinanOzerS]

That's strange.Really strange.

[f1tomi8]

According to @ Autosprint, Ferrari changed the engine last night of your F14-T, because between Jerez and the first two days of accumulated Baréin 1900 KM

[f1tomi8]

Raikkonen civilian clothes in the paddock - the longer the treatment role F14T

[fronaldo]

Is there any problem? Still on 12 laps

[Hornet]

Saw this posted by other fans (not official news!)

German Media Reporting Kimi walking around without the Racing Suit on.
Ferrari seem to have battery problems

[PURE PASSION]

We have some more info on the situation Ferrari. In the night you changed the motor on the F14 T. via autosprintlive
For what?

[f1tomi8]

On Thursday, both Mercedes and Ferrari did race-distance simulation runs with Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso. In theory, these should give a better comparison of relative performance than one-off lap times. There are still endless variables - the spec of the engine and chassis, different tyre compounds, whether they met fuel-usage requirements, etc, and the distances were not exactly the same - Alonso did 11 more laps. And there is of course room for user (me) error. But the average lap times are fascinating. Alonso's was 1:42.84; Rosberg's 1:42.65. Less than 0.2secs difference. Alonso said on Thursday that he expected the first race to be "a great competition". On that basis, he's not far wrong. There's a proviso, though. Rosberg's fastest time of the day - a 1:36.965 - came during this period. Alonso didn't get anywhere near that until later." via Adrew Benson

[Hornet]

Now this is from Sky live update

Yes, indeed only 12 laps for the returning Finn so far this morning. Fernando Alonso, having signed off for the week yesterday, said Kimi and the team would have a lot to run through today with the team continuing to experience "small issues" with the F14 T. You can bet its a busy garage scene at the moment.

James Galloway


I guess the F14T does have it's own issues at the moment.


Edit:
And this regarding our engine in Marussia

Only one red flag so far today and that was back in the opening hour when Max Chilton pulled up with smoke emanating from his Marussia.

The car hasn't been seen out on track since and Marussia have just told us they are in the process of changing its Ferrari engine over:

"We have found an anomaly in the engine, which we are continuing to investigate. In the meantime, we are changing the engine in order to get the car back out on track as quickly as possible."

James Galloway

[medeni73]

We managed to get some more information on the situation of Ferrari, who for a while 'is closed in the box (with a shuttered). In the night you changed the engine on the car destined to Raikkonen: it was a simple rotation for the V6 turbo, whereas the previous one had already traveled about 1900 km between these tests and those at Jerez. To keep them still, however, there is a suspect gearbox problem and also some trouble with the telemetry. In fact, the transponders are causing problems to other teams, as happened for example in McLaren and Caterham yesterday.

It seems regular engine-rotation after 1900km but also some telemtry and gearbox problems too...

[piglett]

ups! Medeni posted faster...

[mirafiori]

Kimi on Track.:-)

[anuragiyer8989]

Maybe they were adding that controversial engine cover protection that Mercs and Renault were complaining about......

[Rishu]

A brilliant photo that shows differences in aerodynamic philosophy between the teams:
http://img5.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/19037/1903787507eb0d654a0e02c1b28d929290dd6b7b.jpg

It seems McLaren & RB running more rake than anybody else. I wonder why RB FW is always so low (front is lower than the trailing end)

[medeni73]

There are new rumours that it might be the seat for Kimi thats causing problems...

[S1000RR]

There are new rumours that it might be the seat for Kimi thats causing problems...

If i'm correct he was in Maranello last week for seat fitting cause it wasn't perfect in Jerez also?

[piglett]

Seems others have some "special" testing going on...:


@Lotus_F1Team: "E22 red flag test simulation complete."

Joking aside, something's not right in our pit.

[Hornet]

So did Ferrari came out on track or not?

I see Sky's live tally, it says we only done 12 laps

[medeni73]

german AMuS says its telemetry problems, italian Autosprint talks about gearbox and telemetry problems and elsewhere people say it might something to do with Kimis seat...

[Super M]

10:10 We haven't seen Kimi Raikkonen out in the Ferrari for a while. So far, he has done just 12 laps. This is because of a telemetry glitch. The team is taking a while to check and re-programme the system to ensure everything is as it should be.

[Domo-kun]

Seems others have some "special" testing going on...:
Joking aside, something's not right in our pit.

Well, on the other hand:


10:10 We haven't seen Kimi Raikkonen out in the Ferrari for a while. So far, he has done just 12 laps. This is because of a telemetry glitch. The team is taking a while to check and re-programme the system to ensure everything is as it should be.

[fronaldo]

10:10 We haven't seen Kimi Raikkonen out in the Ferrari for a while. So far, he has done just 12 laps. This is because of a telemetry glitch. The team is taking a while to check and re-programme the system to ensure everything is as it should be.

[Scuderia85]

Latest from autosport

10:10 We haven't seen Kimi Raikkonen out in the Ferrari for a while. So far, he has done just 12 laps. This is because of a telemetry glitch. The team is taking a while to check and re-programme the system to ensure everything is as it should be.

[fronaldo]

"A quick correction on Lewis Hamilton. We earlier reported the Mercedes driver was on medium tyres when he set his quick times. It now seems it was softs. So now you know. Still good times, though."

[PURE PASSION]

From inside news: The astrologer said that its not a good day for testing!!

[Hornet]

Good to know it's not engine problem. Hopefully they send Kimi out soon, we're losing time :pray

[Domo-kun]

LOL

10:15 When Raikkonen and Ferrari were out earlier, the team was being very, very careful to avoid prying eyes in the pitlane.
That might be purely because Raikkonen really, really dislikes media intrusion, though...

[emirBoz]

team is sending MSC message on twitter.

the team seems very surely :Hmm

[Senna4Ever]

From inside news: The astrologer said that its not a good day for testing!!

heard same news but for not a good day for work in general ... so :wave
:D

[f1tomi8]

Lewis Hamilton's test-best 1:34.263 lap was on softs. Magnussen's 1:34.910 yesterday was on the supersofts

[Hornet]

Some updates on Marussia

David Croft has been telling Sky Sports News why Max Chilton has only completed four laps today:

“Max managed to switch the car off before there was too much permanent damage, but there is an anomaly in the power unit which the team have not experienced before and they have decided that they need to get rid of that power unit and put another one in – and that is not the work of a moment!”

[f1tomi8]

Tobias Grüner F1 ‏@tgruener 30 mp
#F1 Raikkonen hit by telemetry trouble. Ferrari engineers hope he will go out again in 1 hour

[mihirshah28186]

How long will the Ferrari car be in the pit garage.

[peta_w]

hello everyone.
great to be back here after a long absence. i hope all the signs point to a good season for ferrari. as far as the mercs are concerned, i think they are going all out in terms of engine power and everything else as nikki lauda himself has said there's no point in going slow as you learn nothing from it ( well that's his opinion ). so the times being posted by hamilton might be an indication that merc is at full power. i am not sure though if ferrari is already testing the engine at full power but last time i heard, they were like in the 80ish %? of course there's nothing to worry about at this stage of testing, but it seems mercedes is going to be a contender.

Great to see you back man, I though you got banned. I missed reading your posts, so, who cares how you got back on, welcome back.

[Forzi]

A bit worried that Kimi ain't getting much running so far.

[tifosi1993]

RB10 correlation testing

http://i.imgur.com/vaEKzyk.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/SzysdT0.jpg

[Sempre_Ferrari]

Do any of you think that the the team might have halted testing till they find out what went wrong with Marussia's engine? Clearly teams don't give out exact details on what their issues are, and since we've had no direct information form Ferrari themselves (unless I missed it?) as to why they not running I'm beginning to wonder if it's not related in some way.

[Rosso Corsa]

Do any of you think that the the team might have halted testing till they find out what went wrong with Marussia's engine? Clearly teams don't give out exact details on what their issues are, and since we've had no direct information form Ferrari themselves (unless I missed it?) as to why they not running I'm beginning to wonder if it's not related in some way.

It's possible but we could tie ourselves in knots trying to second guess. Regardless of what it is, good will come of it for the season ahead.

[medeni73]

Apparently Kimi was seen in Ferrari garage, so it should be driving time for him soon...

[radosav]

Who is this Kimi dude?

[SinanOzerS]

Horrible day for us.

[Rosso Corsa]

Kimi on track

[medeni73]

Paolo Filisetti @paolofilise

Just sensors problems for Ferrari. Their malfunctioning hurts telemetry and put gearbox in recovery mode. Time to reset and reload system.

[Scuderia85]

Kimi on track

Thank you

[Scuderia85]

Raikkonen finally ventures back out on-track. 'The Iceman' has suffered a lengthy delay with telemetry issues on the F14 T.

[Schumyboy83]

12:09 Raikkonen finally ventures back out on-track. 'The Iceman' has suffered a lengthy delay with telemetry issues on the F14 T.

[tifosi1993]

Kimi on track

Great. :thumb

[fronaldo]

And back to pit again

[emirBoz]

i think this is installation lap

[Frank Dhont]

And back to pit again

PIT OUT, PIT IN: It's called the Red Bull short run test :)

[medeni73]

Kimi out again

[Hornet]

I hope we won't have such telemetry problem in Free Practice 3, otherwise we would have missed qualifying. Seems awfully long to fix.

[medeni73]

Kimi 1:40.385

[medeni73]

Hydraulic problems for Mercedes...

[tifosi1993]

Red flag

Edit: Maldonado has stopped on track

[medeni73]

It looks like game over for Lotus this season...

[Ferrari Man]

It looks like game over for Lotus this season...

??

[Ste]

It looks like game over for Lotus this season...
Does it? We've spent all day in the garage, is it over for us? Even Red Bull have done more laps than us.

It's too early to be saying who's had it and who's going to win. I bet we know less than 30% of the facts.

[tifosi1993]

It looks like game over for Lotus this season...

Sad to see some teams being unfortunately ****** up by something they have absolutely no control over.

[medeni73]

They've missed first test, they have no money nor people, with this seasons steep development curve there is no chance they can catch up if they dont solve their issues FAST but if its engine thats causing problems they cant do much do they?
and how on Earth can you compare Lotus with Ferrari that has more than 1000 km under the belt already???

[medeni73]

Kimi 1:40:019

[FerrariF60]

Kimi 1:40:019

Kimi's on fire....NOT!!!!

[medeni73]

AMuS: day over for RedBull, also Mercedes might not go out again today...

[Winter]

How much day there is left?

[medeni73]

I think 1 hour left...

[Winter]

thanks

[zike]

bad day for us:ouch

[Hornet]

Sad to some teams being unfortunately ****** up by something they have absolutely no control over.

I don't think Lotus can blame this one on Renault. They have been plundered by Ferrari and perhaps other teams too for key personal. Now even Eric Boullier left. It's no coincidence that all these people left at the same time, something must be going on that make them unable to retain their people.

I would be surprise if they can remain strong throughout the season.

[AfterLife]

Is there any news confirming that Marussia's white smoke problem is the same problem that Ferrari had yesterday?
Source would be appreciated if there is any :-)

[eilfff]

On what tyres was Gutierrez on his fastest lap?

[zike]

I have a feeling that we are not that good

[Winter]

And Kimi out

[medeni73]

Kimi out again

[Winter]

And in he comes :(

[mark p]

As ever impossible to say anything just gut feelings of individuals off of 2nd hand comments. Not scene any long runs whole laps on tv either but i was impressed with info on merc so far they tried a race sim.....then broke so not as impressed as i was and back to no opinion on who may be fastest. Only can say merc engines seemed to be further along development path by pushing earlier but they did break so who knows.

[Winter]

Are these engines counted in as engines to use per season, or does the counting start from the first race?

[eilfff]

According to BBC Renault engines are 100-150 bhp down on the Mercedes and Ferrari

[Ste]

http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130417202811/spongefan/images/8/89/IJLSA_Episode-Doomed.jpg

[RedPassion]

According to BBC Renault engines are 100-150 bhp down on the Mercedes and Ferrari
If its true than in two years time they have done an atrouciously terrible JOB:-E. Combine that with a bad reliability which is worse than mercedes and ferrari at the moment and with the notion that reliability decreases or is more critical if you push with the performance,than they are absolutely GAME OVER.:-??

[medeni73]

Kimi 1:37:4

[Ste]

If its true than comparing that with a bad reliability at the moment and with the notion that reliability decreases or is more critical if you push with the performance,than they are absolutely GAME OVER.
Not really. Only a fool would count out Red Bull at this stage.

[Unbannable II]

Who is this Kimi dude?

You keep repeating yourself dude. Come up with something fresh.

[RedPassion]

You keep repeating yourself dude. Come up with something fresh.

[gvera]

If its true than in two years time they have done an atrouciously terrible JOB:-E. Combine that with a bad reliability which is worse than mercedes and ferrari at the moment and with the notion that reliability decreases or is more critical if you push with the performance,than they are absolutely GAME OVER.:-??

In an Autosport article Horner explains Renault is behind because KERS, until know, was developed by the Renault teams (LOTUS, RB, etc) and not by Renault itself. They started from zero while Merc and Ferrari have been developing their Kers for years now.

[medeni73]

considering telemetry problems we will end the day with around 40 laps which isnt THAT bad...

[RedPassion]

Not really. Only a fool would count out Red Bull at this stage.
Im not writing them off,it is just objectively truth that Renault did a miserable job.......................

[FerrariF60]

Not really. Only a fool would count out Red Bull at this stage.

My words exactly; we know how strong Red Fools are and we can never count them out. They have a HUGE budget and big personnel team, just like Ferrari have and can turn around things quickly.

Everyone is praising Mercedes and Mclaren how good they are, as well as the Mercedes power unit; although we’ve seen some good signs from the Merc engine, I wouldn’t UNDDERESTIMATE the FERRARI engine, afterall Ferrari have been around for a LONG, LONG time and if anything is true about them, they KNOW how to build engines, not to forget that the all MIGHTY Enzo Ferrari MOTTO in regards to ENGINES…

We should NOT forget that this is ONLY testing; hence there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many variables at stake and all teams running through all sorts of different programs, diff. fuel loads, tires…ECT..

I’m sure Ferrari know what they’re doing and coming next (last test in Bahrain) they’ll be bringing performance parts and slowly add them to the car;

And even then we may not know the real picture or the real pace of everyone; for that we’d have to wait until Q3 in MELBOURNE.

Deep down though, I think Ferrari are in really good shape, much better than we’ve been in previous years.

Forza FERRARI!!!!!!!!!

[RedPassion]

Of course,i could be as wrong as it get but at the moment is not looking good for them,maybe they will win both championships by large numbers,but at the momenet......

[Winter]

That was day three. Worst testing day for us in this season. Hopefully tomorrow goes without problems.

My worries about Merc-teams didn't ease a bit after this day..

[Hornet]

We can say the same about counting out any team at this stage, and there will be nothing to discuss :-G

It's more fun if we can let others have their opinion, without having to jump on them saying don't count this and that out each time. At the end of the day, it's just all opinions based on observation, and faith. No harms making predictions, something to keep us occupied until the season starts ;-)

[RedPassion]

We can say the same about counting out any team at this stage, and there will be nothing to discuss :-G

It's more fun if we can let others have their opinion, without having to jump on them saying don't count this and that out each time. At the end of the day, it's just all opinions based on observation, and faith. No harms making predictions, something to keep us occupied until the season starts ;-)

And unfortunelly i have a very strong bias:-D

[ferrari4life]

i understand that a lot of this is speculations. but the way it appears, Mercedes has an advantage, if nothing else that they have a bunch of top teams running their engines.
From Ferrari's current state of management I am not going to get all excited about this season because they have proven that they can somehow turn a promising season into a disappointing one these last few years.

I hope to be proven wrong like always but Ferrari have not been able to do it for a long time now.

[mirafiori]

That was day three. Worst testing day for us in this season. Hopefully tomorrow goes without problems.

My worries about Merc-teams didn't ease a bit after this day..

True what you say maybe our worse day for testing so far but maybe a good day if we have learned something for our reliability.:thumb

[radosav]

5730
Meanwhile, somewhere in Bahrain!
Alonso : Been there done that!

[hrc5555]

My words exactly; we know how strong Red Fools are and we can never count them out. They have a HUGE budget and big personnel team, just like Ferrari have and can turn around things quickly.

Everyone is praising Mercedes and Mclaren how good they are, as well as the Mercedes power unit; although we’ve seen some good signs from the Merc engine, I wouldn’t UNDDERESTIMATE the FERRARI engine, afterall Ferrari have been around for a LONG, LONG time and if anything is true about them, they KNOW how to build engines, not to forget that the all MIGHTY Enzo Ferrari MOTTO in regards to ENGINES…

We should NOT forget that this is ONLY testing; hence there are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many variables at stake and all teams running through all sorts of different programs, diff. fuel loads, tires…ECT..

I’m sure Ferrari know what they’re doing and coming next (last test in Bahrain) they’ll be bringing performance parts and slowly add them to the car;

And even then we may not know the real picture or the real pace of everyone; for that we’d have to wait until Q3 in MELBOURNE.

Deep down though, I think Ferrari are in really good shape, much better than we’ve been in previous years.

Forza FERRARI!!!!!!!!!


I think we will not know the real pace of everyone after Q3 in Melbourne, maybe not even after Melbourne race, more likely after 2-3 races...

[zike]

I read somewhere that Alonso said that our goal is to finsh the race in Melbourne!!!!!

strange...

[FerrariF60]

I think we will not know the real pace of everyone after Q3 in Melbourne, maybe not even after Melbourne race, more likely after 2-3 races...

what i meant to say was not teh pace setter of a PARTICULAR team; what i meant to say we'll see WHO will be the quickest in Q3, because everyone will be pushing to the MAXIMUM to get that P1 (pole) and everyone will be running on FUMES to get the best possible time.

taht doesn't mean whoever gets POLE is the fastest team; there is also race pace as well as RELIABILITY which is gonna be a really BIG thing this year.

one can be super QUICK, but if you don't win the race, you go form HERO to ZERO.....we all know we've seen that happen so many times to a lot of teams

[Hornet]

I read somewhere that Alonso said that our goal is to finsh the race in Melbourne!!!!!

strange...

On Facebook, Alonso posted this. He's just saying reliability alone may allow team to get good results.


THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB IN MARANELLO
Reliability will be vital and I dare say that in the first races, getting to the finish will mean you have got a good result

http://www.fernandoalonso.com/estan-haciendo-un-gran-trabajo-en-maranello/

[Kingdom Hearts]

I read somewhere that Alonso said that our goal is to finsh the race in Melbourne!!!!!

strange...

Is the goal for everyone at this point.

[zike]

On Facebook, Alonso posted this. He's just saying reliability alone may allow team to get good results.

aha tnx :thumb

[stefa]

Is the goal for everyone at this point.

Exactly!

[Winter]

Does someboby know, are engines used in testing included in those 5 engines that are allowed to use per season?

[Rob]

Had to go out, missed most of testing. What was RBRs problem today? :clap

[diesel08]

I read somewhere that Alonso said that our goal is to finsh the race in Melbourne!!!!!

strange...

where you read that?!

[bluesilhouettes]

I doubt that if there's car can run fast lap all the time. 100kg of fuel / race means you have to use your gas usefully and efficiently. I think it's easy for team just to push the engine to 15k rpm to be top in qualification, but in the race, there's no point to push like that. Also teams must keep their engine last as long as they can, there's only 5 engines for the whole long season and every over-quota component in powertrain will cost 10 place.

So, reliability will bring good results and sometimes, your starting grid is not what you get in qualification. :lol

[bluesilhouettes]

No, they are not included in that quota.


Does someboby know, are engines used in testing included in those 5 engines that are allowed to use per season?

[Ste]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fL3kkTZi_4

[macks]

Does someboby know, are engines used in testing included in those 5 engines that are allowed to use per season?

nope. The 5 engines only apply to the race weekends. Testing is a free-for-all basically

[ntukza]

you wrote it as u stated it as a fact, i'm not being delusional and i'm not in the belief that Mercedes for example would be ahead just by looking at the first five days of testing, if they are ahead in Melbourne then i'll agree that they are ahead, but until then we have absolutely no idea what is the pecking order for now.

They're ahead in lap count, reliability and laptime. That's a fact. What it means is another story altogether. But as things stand those are facts (at least they were at the time of my writing, before day 3).

[Hornet]

Had to go out, missed most of testing. What was RBRs problem today? :clap

They just say it's a mechanical issue, didn't specify what it was :Hmm


Here's Red Bull Race Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum summing up another character-building day for the World Champions. “After yesterday’s good work we had another positive period overnight with the car build, which we’re getting quite good at, and it looked good this morning. We were focused on short runs for Daniel, as the car feels very different to the one we had in Jerez and we wanted to build things up gradually for him.

“We made more changes over lunch and in doing so we came across a mechanical issue that we hadn’t encountered before and because of its nature it means we have to take the car apart. As everyone in the pit lane is finding out this is a long process, so we decided to suspend running in the afternoon so that we can be ready for the final day. These issues are of course frustrating but this was unrelated to the others so it’s just a case of tackling each issue as it appears. A tough night in prospect but we hope to get a good day in tomorrow.”

[F2002]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fL3kkTZi_4

Have to admit that, on track and in action, the nose is more tolerable.

[ntukza]

I agree with everything you said BUT we shouldnt forget that very same statements could be said for all other teams Mercedes teams included. They're making good mileage too and also not concentrating on performance but are still faster than Ferrari. Of course it means nothing BUT I would be really surprised if Mercedes and Maccas dont come very strong in Melbourne...

Well said. I'd be careful saying things like that around some people on here though.

[radosav]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fL3kkTZi_4

You can see at 0:33 how these cars are difficult to control out of corners! Reporters from track say that cars are '' dancing '' all around the track when throtle is pushed!

[ntukza]

Have to admit that, on track and in action, the nose is more tolerable.

True. The car looks more orange than red though.

[Hermann]

Fernando looks like being all over the place on that video. Now where and when i have seen that before...

[Rob]

I read somewhere that Alonso said that our goal is to finsh the race in Melbourne!!!!!

strange...

Its the goal of every team, is what he said. And, if we finish the race, it will be a good result.

[F1NAC]

Fernando looks like being all over the place on that video. Now where and when i have seen that before...

where exactly is he all over the place? I see only at 0:33 a bit of slide

[ntukza]

This is the thing, we should be out their as soon as the light goes green, we can not afford to waste time at the beginning of the day, During the day that is different the team will always make changes to the car and i appreciate it take's time to change the set up of the car. but not at the start of the day unless we had an issue, come on Ferrari sort it out.

On that note I have a question for the learned fans. Is there some prohibition to working on the car before the test day begins? Why don't teams prepare the cars for the test day overnight so that when the lights go green they are ready to go?