2014 Bahrain GP: Free Practice whinging thread

[Rishu]

:ferrarifl

[Reikai]

Has anyone got nice stream?

FORZA KIMI FORZA FERNANDO !

[Hornet]

This one is working for me at the moment
http://www.vipboxasia.co/motorsports/183234/1/f1-grand-prix-tv---practices,-qualifying-and-races-live-stream-online.html

[Senna4Ever]

Let it Roll ...

[shamim179]

This will be a difficult race for us. Williams are confident of a podium results. They used substantially less fuel than others in Malaysia so they fueled their car too much.

I expect the pecking order to be:

Mercedes >> Williams >> Red Bull >> McLaren >> Ferrari

This track will expose our weaknesses even further. Don't know if McLaren are bringing updates for this race or not but if they do and work they should be faster than us even though we were faster than them in Malaysia. However, they may still have cooling issues so at best we can be the 4th fastest team. We need to have a perfect weekend.

[shamim179]

We are very close to Red Bull in terms of race pace. I estimate 1-2 tenths off based on the performances in Malaysia.

[Reikai]

Is that true that we used only 70% engine in Australia,80 in Malaysia and now we are expecting to use 90%?Also we are expecting to use full power+updates on car in China/Barcelona?

[SinanOzerS]

Is that true that we used only 70% engine in Australia,80 in Malaysia and now we are expecting to use 90%?Also we are expecting to use full power+updates on car in China/Barcelona?

I don't think so.There's no reason that we weren't use the full power of our engines.

[zike]

I don't think so.There's no reason that we weren't use the full power of our engines.

we did use the full power of our engine, but not the full power of ERS

[Reikai]

Reason is that we COULDN'T use it,no that we don't want that.It's according to pitwalltalk.


Retweeted PitLaneTalk (@pitlanetalk):

Ferrari could run the MGU-K at 60% in Melbourne, and at 70% in Sepang. 80% expected in Bahrain, but full potential only for Barcelona.


Retweeted PitLaneTalk (@pitlanetalk):

There will not be any major aero upgrades for Ferrari until China or Barcelona. Focus is now on optimizing MGU-K and power delivery.

[Jas]

God I love back to back races, expecting a difficult weekend, but my god I cant wait!

[fratelliferrari]

Let's go! Forza Ferrari :ferrarifl

[Jas]

This one is working for me at the moment
http://www.vipboxasia.co/motorsports/183234/1/f1-grand-prix-tv---practices,-qualifying-and-races-live-stream-online.html

Is yours still working...not showing anything atm for me

[Reikai]

Yeah its working.Just refresh if few times.

[WS6TransAm01]

Streaming no workie on ipad :-(

[Reikai]

According to pitlanetalk we will have 100% ERS and new upgrades in Spain so if we don't improve our position in Barcelona that would really means that this season is over...

[Jas]

yh it still doesn't appear to want to work, never mind, I hope you guys will keep me informed :)

[shamim179]

Another 10% increase in our ERS output will bring us around 2 tenths. It should also improve our straight line speed so we can attack and defend better. We should be extremely close to Red Bull. Ironically, the characteristics of our car are quite similar to them.

[Jas]

hmmm 2 tenths isn't quite 7tenths tho! maybe they just have an inherently significant PU which no software fix can do!

[Reikai]

I hope we can beat Redbull on this circuit ! Their engine sucks,there is many straight so I hope that another ERS increase help us to beat them.

Rosberg has a problem.Good for us ;)

[LAROSA SpA]

These streams never work on iOS :-s

[fratelliferrari]

Smedley!

[Jas]

God dammit link, why u not work waaaaaaaaaaaa:-(

[DJTaurus]

Working
http://sportcategory.tv/moto_gp/f1-grand-prix-bahrain-bahrain-fs41b78#

Any from skysports?

[Reikai]

I expect Force India are going to be strong here...Maybe even first team behind Mercedes.

[Ed Harley]

I don't know what their secret is but the RBR looks just completely stable at turn in, mid corner and corner exit as well.

[shamim179]

Red Bull bringing more updates? Flo vis paint on their car. They did this Malaysia. They are extremely confident and bullish about their prospects heading into the European leg of the championship.

Whereas we are still fiddling around with our ERS. We better hurry up!

[Unbannable II]

Adrian Newey is their secret.

[Jas]

Sky F1 analyst Hughes has learnt that, in a highly complicated engineering feat, the team have successfully packaged their turbine and air compressor at either end of the W05's engine.

The innovative design - which, like the best ideas, sounds simple, is vastly complex and brilliantly effective - is believed to have been conceived over two years ago.

The revelation is also the best explanation yet for why the W05 has so far proved unbeatable in 2014, with Nico Rosberg's cruise to victory in Australia followed by Lewis Hamilton scoring F1's version of a hat-trick - pole position, the fastest lap of the race and victory - in Malaysia on Sunday.

Hughes has learnt that the Brackley team's ties with Mercedes High Performance Engines gave them a critical headstart at the start of F1's new turbo age.

F1 2014 - The Power Train
Looking to achieve the most aerodynamically efficient car possible, the Mercedes team had significant influence over power unit design created at the German manufacturer's engine base in Brixworth.

Writing in Motorsport magazine, Hughes discloses that Mercedes' breakthrough 'innovation is having the turbo's compressor at one end of the engine and the turbine at the other, linked by a long shaft through the vee of the engine'.

The 'trick turbo layout' triggers a series of critical performance benefits. A reduction in turbo lag means less power needs to be be harvested from the car's ERS unit to keep the turbine spooled off throttle. That in turn improves the efficiency of the car, with more power reserved for performance gain and less fuel consequentially used up.

Mercedes' customer teams all have the same advantage. However, because McLaren, Williams and Force India only took delivery of their power units relatively recently, they have had less time to work the layout into their respective car designs.

Live on Sky Sports

Live Formula One
2014 Bahrain Grand Prix: Qualifying
April 5, 2014 3:00pm

Get a Sky Sports Day PassUpgrade to Sky Sports
But for the works outfit, the benefits of the W05's innovative layout has proved multifaceted.

With the compressor further away from the turbine - which is spun by hot exhaust gases - the W05 has a smaller intercooler, meaning Mercedes are running with smaller sidepods which boost aerodynamic performance.

Furthermore, with the compressor in front of the engine, Mercedes have also moved their car's gearbox forward, improving its centre of gravity and therefore, in theory, its handling.

But while Mercedes' rivals are aware of the championship leaders' secret, they are essentially powerless to react. The engines for 2014 are now in lock-down, with February 28 marking the agreed homologation date by which all the teams had to register their design for the new season with the governing body, the FIA.

The Mercedes power unit has been widely credited as being the critical performance differential in their victorious start to the new season. Red Bull boss Christian Horner claimed in Malaysia that his team was one second slower along the straights, with trackside observers estimating that the Mercedes unit boasts anything between 50 and 70 extra horsepower over the rest of the field.

[Senna4Ever]

Red Bull bringing more updates? Flo vis paint on their car. They did this Malaysia. They are extremely confident and bullish about their prospects heading into the European leg of the championship.

Whereas we are still fiddling around with our ERS. We better hurry up!

their speed of development is just frustrating ... :-(
and it never feels that something new put on the car not paid off ...

[Jas]

I don't think its just red bull, McLaren, mercades also brough upgrades to Malaysia, very frustrating how we arnt agrressive enough!

[Reikai]

OMG did you see that guys?

[Ed Harley]

FA exiting with one soft and three mediums. Oops.

[Ferrari Man]

Had they their eyes closed?? :-ZZ

[Schumyboy83]

OMG I have seen it all now, Alonso had one soft tyre on.... :lol

[RedRebel40]

The RedBull chassis is very good aerodynamically, the Ferrari one is not so its not a real suprise that they are recovered very quickly.

[Hornet]

Alonso got sent out on wrong tires?

[Reikai]

How do we supossed to be on the top if we even can't wear the same tyre haha :D

[Ed Harley]

Things just happen.

[Senna4Ever]

Alonso got sent out on wrong tires?

:ouch :giveup

[Red is Best]

Damn even that they can't do right.

[sachin]

:doh

[fratelliferrari]

I think our crew was still in sleep mode :rotfl

[SinanOzerS]

Concentration loss.

[Hornet]

Seems like vipbox stream is not working for me anymore.

Anyone got working stream pls. Thanks

[Jas]

Seems like vipbox stream is not working for me anymore.

Anyone got working stream pls. Thanks

http://sportcategory.tv/moto_gp/f1-grand-prix-bahrain-bahrain-fs41b78#

[Jas]

not English though, vipbox never worked for me

[Laferrari]

oh dear , we are a joke.

[Hornet]

Alright, thanks. At least there's something to watch :thumb

[Reikai]

Our mechanics look at Kimi's floor because he hit curb at turn 4.

[fratelliferrari]

Our mechanics look at Kimi's floor because he hit curb at turn 4.

Hopefully no serious damage.

[Laferrari]

first 5 places are mercedes....than renault and ferrari....:-(

[Jas]

Alright, thanks. At least there's something to watch :thumb

no problem

[Reikai]

Kimi has 8 laps,Fernando 6...

[Nero Horse]

oh dear , we are a joke.

It was an honest mistake, so just relax for crying out loud.

[Laferrari]

It was an honest mistake, so just relax for crying out loud.

I don t care about the problem with the tire , it s about the pace man.
Slower than mercedes and renault car

[Jas]

Kimi has 8 laps,Fernando 6...

do we have a problem?!?

[Hornet]

Wow, Lewis out of his car wearing his cap backwards. Such confidence the team have

[SinanOzerS]

Wow Nando.

[fratelliferrari]

Fernando P1

[Hornet]

Is Alonso on same tires as Merc fastest time? :-E

[Reikai]

Nice,but did you see how Fernando fought with car in every turn?

Lol kimi forgot to brake :D

[SinanOzerS]

Is Alonso on same tires as Merc fastest time? :-E

They're all on mediums. Also Alonso did some mistakes on this lap, so there's a lot of time to find.

[Ed Harley]

FA nice lap but car is horribly unstable. KR locking brakes badly.

[sachin]

just hope we done have the same story as Malaysia where we especially kimi was looking promising but screwed up in quali and race:roll
Go Ferrari:thumb

[Nero Horse]

FA nice lap but car is horribly unstable.

Less wing on the car maybe... :Hmm

[sachin]

We seriously need a stable car,loosing too much time ..also pointed by sky f1..
hope we have smooth running car atleast by spain.

[Reikai]

Rosberg and Hamilton are on soft now?

[Ed Harley]

And the Messerschmitts are back at it again.

[Reikai]

Their car is just flying.No problems on the turns.

[Ed Harley]

Nope. No need for steering corrections or such - just pick your line and go.

[f300v10]

Mercedes typically runs heavier than Ferrari in FP1 and FP2. Ferrari has a tendancy to run lighter than many of the other teams on Fridays.

As far as the car being twitchy, wouldn't any car being driven on the limit look twitchy, unless it was perfectly balanced? Clearly FA is pushing hard, but then he always does.

[Rishu]

Car looks handful sadly

[Jas]

love the "ghost shots" of turn 12...not that representative but still! yh car looks a handful, very slow on the power

[radosav]

Nice video of Hulk - Alonso comparison! Hulk hitting apex ,Alonso going wider!

[RedPassion]

Car looks handful sadly
I think it would be far worst if our car was perfectly balanced and still doing that pace.

[Nero Horse]

Alonso in front of Hulkenberg again...so will it be Alo VS Hulk part 3 on Sunday lol?

[SinanOzerS]

No words needed for Hulkenberg.

[Hornet]

I don't think these times are representative... BUT if they are, it may indicate that Ferrari have recover some performance for the engine, but it still lacks drivability. The car looks twitchy under acceleration out of corners. If we can improve the power unit drivability, we may just get closer to the Merc :Hmm

[izybluffen]

Here is a good stream for Free Practice............. Sorry its a bit late.

http://www.eplsite.com/f1.html

[Rishu]

I think it would be far worst if our car was perfectly balanced and still doing that pace.

Yeah, as mentioned by some members, F14 T has potential but if we can't be competitive Barcelona onwards, it will be a long season.

[Jas]

Here is a good stream for Free Practice............. Sorry its a bit late.

http://www.eplsite.com/f1.html

Is it English...will use it for P2 if that's the case

[WS6TransAm01]

I think we are ramping in the boost too quickly, possibly to compensate for the lack of full ERS power. When Kimi would come out of the corner, he would light up his tires when the car was going strait. It looked like a sudden hit of boost.

What are they using to control boost in these cars? I know you can ramp it in with controllers to improve traction, not sure what they use do to it, but it looks like a tuning issue to me.

[izybluffen]

Is it English...will use it for P2 if that's the case

Yeah its English. I always use it for FP sessions.

[mark p]

Speed trap figures? Where do Ferrari stand?

Interesting alot of people call disaster when Ferrari are not near top of the times and when they are it's all about the car being unstable. Only focus on the negatives but that is of course everyones right. If car is up there and looking unstable it bodes well for when its sorted. A bit like the old football saying, a top team wins when they are playing bad. Sounds alright so far with lots of potential for improvement. 1st stage is to get clear of the pack on the way to catching Merc which knowone can be shocked we have not at this race weekend.

[Alessandra]

I love P1 & 2 - I just know we're on for at least one podium every time!:-D

Hamilton says that this year's Merc is specially designed for him:-E Does Rosberg know that!

[Kiwi Nick]

Adrian Newey is their secret.

Newey is a SECRET??????????

[f1tomi8]

Top speed's
Nico Hulkenberg 15:21:28 327.8 km/óra
2 Lewis Hamilton 323.3
3 Felipe Nasr 323.1
4 Nico Rosberg 322.7
5 Sergio Perez 321.1
6 Kevin Magnussen 320.9
7 Jenson Button 320.6
8 Felipe Massa 320.1
9 Daniil Kvyat 318.2
10 Jean-Eric Vergne 315.1
11 Daniel Ricciardo 313.5
12 Marcus Ericsson 313.3
13 Robin Frijns 313.1
14 Fernando Alonso 310.6
15 Giedo van der Garde 310.6
16 Romain Grosjean 14:24:23 309.2
17 Pastor Maldonado 15:24:30 309.0
18 Kimi Räikkönen 15:14:53 308.3
19 Max Chilton 14:22:16 306.2
20 Jules Bianchi 15:17:31 305.4
21 Sebastian Vettel 15:00:16 303.2
22 Adrian Sutil 14:20:17 302.5

[f300v10]

FA lost the time to LH in the first sector only, which is explained by the speed trap numbers above. Same time in S2, very close in S1.

[Hornet]

So we're 10kmph slower than Merc on top speed, twitchy car, but only 0.45s slower than Merc. That doesn't look as bad as past races :Hmm

[Jas]

So we're 10kmph slower than Merc on top speed, twitchy car, but only 0.45s slower than Merc. That doesn't look as bad as past races :Hmm

make that 17km

[fronaldo]

Maybe Ferrari ran with low fuels than Mercedes

[f300v10]

Maybe Ferrari ran with low fuels than Mercedes

Most likely yes, as that tends to be the case on Friday practices.

[Hornet]

make that 17km

:oops

Yeah, I guess it could be different fuel too

[fronaldo]

FP is not representative of our true pace..maybe in race pace we can see that..

[Nova]

End of FP1? We r 3 n 6?

[Kristof_F40]

The thing I don't get, during winter testing we were topping the top speed in Bahrain, now we are 20kph slower than then, it could be explained by downforce, but why would we have run so low on downforce during testing??

[f300v10]

Kimi checking if flying the F14T is faster:

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

This explains why they checked his car over. :)

[f1tomi8]

PitLaneTalk ‏@pitlanetalk 2 p
Kimi Raikkonen says car handles well with new suspension, but it needs more setup which he couldn't complete because of broken floor. #F1

[f300v10]

The thing I don't get, during winter testing we were topping the top speed in Bahrain, now we are 20kph slower than then, it could be explained by downforce, but why would we have run so low on downforce during testing??

I have wondered about this as well. From what AMUS said during testing, Alonso got to a very high top speed on 4 occasions, and we never saw the car with a low downforce wing. All I can figure is they ran the PU in some form of max power mode that they just can't use during a race weekend.

[Kristof_F40]

I have wondered about this as well. From what AMUS said during testing, Alonso got to a very high top speed on 4 occasions, and we never saw the car with a low downforce wing. All I can figure is they ran the PU in some form of max power mode that they just can't use during a race weekend.

oke, but why would they do that? To try and stress the PU as max as possible for reliability?

[Kyss4k]

:oops

Yeah, I guess it could be different fuel too

We were close to the top in previous FP's as well. Even closer. This session is not telling us anything.

[windwaves]

what impressed me the most during FP1 was LH and KR reaction when FA improved to first.

Both reacted to FA best time with amazing authority.

LH at least appeared to be done, out of the car, but as soon as FA came in first he got back into the car and voila, went faster and topped the charts. Same for KR, made second best time, relegating FA to third. They just have speed to sell !! oh well, so it seems.

[Kyss4k]

what impressed me the most during FP1 was LH and KR reaction when FA improved to first.

Both reacted to FA best time with amazing authority.

LH at least appeared to be done, out of the car, but as soon as FA came in first he got back into the car and voila, went faster and topped the charts. Same for KR, made second best time, relegating FA to third. They just have speed to sell !! oh well, so it seems.

KR?

[gvera]

I have wondered about this as well. From what AMUS said during testing, Alonso got to a very high top speed on 4 occasions, and we never saw the car with a low downforce wing. All I can figure is they ran the PU in some form of max power mode that they just can't use during a race weekend.

It might also be that Merc weren't running full power at the tests...

[Kingdom Hearts]

It will be so cool to be the second team in this race, but I guess not, probably we are the 4th or 5th :(

[Ed Harley]

I hope they get the floor repaired in time for FP2.

[fratelliferrari]

Kimi checking if flying the F14T is faster:

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

This explains why they checked his car over. :)

That looks like a massive jump :lol

[fratelliferrari]

KR?

I think he wanted to say NR?

[radosav]

KR?

NR probably!

[AfterLife]

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

What a disaster. Even with these new regulations the possibility of uplifting is apparently high. :doh

[Alonsomaniac]

Car nr 14 is lighter than car nr 7.......because Alonso is biting pieces out of the steeringwheel every lap in his hunger for faster times.:-D
Should there be an investigation?:Hmm

[Jas]

wowwww, all the elements on red bulls wing is gone!! Make up for top speed, yet their still amazing in the corners...that's what we call a good chassis!

[Jas]

also thank you izybluffen for the link!

[Mimo966]

Hello guys, P2 is live now for about 15 mins so far Mercs are as usually in the front while Fernando is half a second behind. I don't know about Kimi he is almost 2 sec back?

[Jas]

because they have so much downforce...what a luxury

[Jas]

Red bull fuel sensors fail again....hmmmm...seems this is all for the trial!

[khizerk]

Car nr 14 is lighter than car nr 7.......because Alonso is biting pieces out of the steeringwheel every lap in his hunger for faster times.:-D
Should there be an investigation?:Hmm

Is car 7 Kimi? If yes, could be because of new suspension bits for Kimi.

[Alesi1]

Kimi checking if flying the F14T is faster:

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

This explains why they checked his car over. :)

Gary Anderson was right, the front creates lift :lol

[Alesi1]

Caterham apparently not fast enough to be in top 6 of gp2 grid. What a joke!

[fratelliferrari]

Caterham apparently not fast enough to be in top 6 of gp2 grid. What a joke!

That's ridiculous indeed!

[SinanOzerS]

That's fast.

[Jas]

Lewis on softs

[radosav]

didn't see that alonso used DRS on his fast lap

[Hornet]

Looks like the gap is back to "normal" 1sec to Merc

[SinanOzerS]

1 second.Perfect is the word.

[Mimo966]

Like the race is between 3rd and 22th pilot... Even when red bull were dominating the gaps where not that huge. Isn't that suspicious?

[Jas]

Like the race is between 3rd and 22th pilot... Even when red bull were dominating the gaps where not that huge. Isn't that suspicious?

not really, in 2009 with new regs the gaps were also big, and as the years go by the gaps close due to copying etc!

[sachin]

Oh my...
Ferrari powered cars engine again:roll

[Hornet]

Looks like a Sauber has stopped too. I hope this isn't a PU problem

[WS6TransAm01]

Did Kimi do a Quali-esque run? 1 second slower than 'Nando... get your butt in gear Kimi!

[pluto]

Kimi looks worse than Massa.

[shamim179]

Ferrari engine cars having failures. Doesn't look good. The complaints will only get worse if things don't improve. At least with Renault they worked really hard and made a significant turn around.

[JacKy]

Both Mercedes's race sim speed are around 1.39.500 to 1.40.000 on soft tyre.

Alonso's race sim around 1.40.300-1.41.000 on soft

Vettel just run 1.41.500-1.42.000 on medium tyre.

[Jas]

totally agree, credit to Renault, can only imagine the state Ferrari would have been in if we were in such a position, we just seem very slow to react over past few years, always waiting till Europe and british gp!

[Red is Best]

Kvyat :rotfl

[Gerhard Berger]

Kimi looks worse than Massa.

Kimi is worse than Massa, we already saw that some years ago. Another bonehead move from Stefano to hire him again.

[WS6TransAm01]

our long run times seem significantly slower than Merc... oye

[Jas]

Kimi is worse than Massa, we already saw that some years ago. Another bonehead move from Stefano to hire him again.

hmmm Raikonen was looking pretty amazing past two years!

[Jas]

coming from a huge massa fan...anyways that's for another thread! Alonso on 18 lap stint

[Kyss4k]

Alonso was just overtaken by Hulk in race pace. And we look slower then Bulls again. So no possitive magic happened.

[Hornet]

How's our race pace comparing to others

Heard Ric was told he have better tires degradation than Alonso?

[fronaldo]

Alonso doing mid 1.41s while Ric mid 1.40s

[sachin]

Damnit..we are slow in the race sim also..
So much for the rule changes...:lou

[Apocaly]

Massa, the guy who finished behind Romain Grosjean in 2013 with one podium in 19 races?

[pluto]

Kimi is worse than Massa, we already saw that some years ago. Another bonehead move from Stefano to hire him again.

I agree. why on earth would you hire the driver you got rid of to replace the driver who beat him? lol

Stefano bought into the mainstream nonsense that Massa was no longer the driver he used to be, rather tha accepting Alonso really is that good.

[Hornet]

Massa, the guy who finished behind Romain Grosjean in 2013 with one podium in 19 races?

Why are you comparing two drivers in different car?

[pluto]

Massa, the guy who finished behind Romain Grosjean in 2013 with one podium in 19 races?

Yes Massa who was driving the far inferior Ferrari.

[killer]

Car looking well-behaved compared to MAL. We are still down on power; traction weak but not as much as I feared so far.

[F1NAC]

we are poor in race sim. Clearly in race : 1. Mercedes 2. RB 3. Ferrari etc

[Kyss4k]

Mercedes will get double here with two fingers in the nose... Holy **** they are a second faster then Bulls, who are another .5 faster than us.

[JacKy]

our long run times seem significantly slower than Merc... oye

http://i.imgur.com/pduZk1v.png

1 sec. slower than rosberg. ( we have 2 lap older tyres )

[Apocaly]

Räikkönen = 390pt en 2012-2013, 15 podiums, 2 victoires.

Massa, combien de podium, de victoire, et de point en 2012 et 2013 ? : Lol Lol Lol

EL today. No qualification, and yet the race.

[killer]

Alonso was just overtaken by Hulk in race pace. And we look slower then Bulls again. So no possitive magic happened.

No one promised anything magical.

[radosav]

finally we overtook Caterham :thumb

[fronaldo]

And Massa now p5 now..

[Apocaly]

Lotus was not necessarily superior to the Ferrari. If Massa takes the door, not for nothing.

[Rob]

Fear Merc, if we dont get our fingers out will do Brawn 2009.:ouch

[Hornet]

Mercedes will get double here with two fingers in the nose... Holy **** they are a second faster then Bulls, who are another .5 faster than us.

At the moment, I think Merc will continue to dominate all the way to European races, maybe even 2-3 races in Europe if not more. With all the restrictions, what can anyone do. Engine frozen before anyone could respond to them.

I just hope we can keep our 3rd place in the championship until Ferrari is able to find an answer to Merc.

[Alonsomaniac]

The difference between FA en KR is way too big.
It must be the car......or we have big problem with Kimi, which I refuse to believe.

[killer]

Lotus was not necessarily superior to the Ferrari.

So you're saying Grosjean is a better driver than Alonso?

[fronaldo]

Great race pace from Ric..21 laps still in early 1.41s

[pluto]

The difference between FA en KR is way too big.
It must be the car......or we have big problem with Kimi, which I refuse to believe.

shows how crap our cars have handled. I bet Kimi misses those nice lotus cars already.

[Kyss4k]

No one promised anything magical.

Never said someone did. Just there is always the chance, the magic could happen :-D

[Apocaly]

Why Ferrari fans on one of our pilots since last September?

Raikkonen is not welcome at Ferrari by 3/4 of the people here . Soon it will not make big lap , critics will rain?

In Malaysia , I saw no message of support for Kimi to have been faster than Alonso on the entire length of EL .

I am not a fan of Kimi ni Fernando especially , I 'm a fan of Ferrari, and have seen racing at Lotus Kimi , he did not attack hard in EL , difficulties in qualifying but in the race , the very good most of the time . Kimi never had the potential to fully express themselves since the beginning of the season. In Australia, it is not comfortable with the car, even the Ferrari says , and Malaysia, Magnussen rotten him the race. Possible to wait at least races before yell at one of our pilots and world champion ?

Sorry for my very bad English , I'm French and I use Google Translate .

[killer]

So F1 goes green but adds another night race where you need a boatload of generators to light up the track. Fantastic.

[sachin]

OK,we got nothing much to do in 2014 season and it is 2011 with Mercedes taking place of the Bulls.

[Hornet]

So F1 goes green but adds another night race where you need a boatload of generators to light up the track. Fantastic.

:lol So true.

[Winter]

There were not so much compairing our divers practice performances in Malaysia where Kimi was faster in every session..

[killer]

Never said someone did. Just there is always the chance, the magic could happen :-D

Ahh. Well, hope dies last, mate. Who knows? It just might.

[fratelliferrari]

So F1 goes green but adds another night race where you need a boatload of generators to light up the track. Fantastic.

:rotfl

[killer]

Why Ferrari fans on one of our pilots since last September?

Raikkonen is not welcome at Ferrari by 3/4 of the people here . Soon it will not make big lap , critics will rain?

In Malaysia , I saw no message of support for Kimi to have been faster than Alonso on the entire length of EL .

I am not a fan of Kimi ni Fernando especially , I 'm a fan of Ferrari, and have seen racing at Lotus Kimi , he did not attack hard in EL , difficulties in qualifying but in the race , the very good most of the time . Kimi never had the potential to fully express themselves since the beginning of the season. In Australia, it is not comfortable with the car, even the Ferrari says , and Malaysia, Magnussen rotten him the race. Possible to wait at least races before yell at one of our pilots and world champion ?

Sorry for my very bad English , I'm French and I use Google Translate .

Sure it's too early to judge Kimi just yet, but why the attack on Massa? He's with Williams now.

[WS6TransAm01]

Fear Merc, if we dont get our fingers out will do Brawn 2009.:ouch

I'm fairly certain this is already a forgone conclusion.

[Apocaly]

+1.

[killer]

There were not so much compairing our divers practice performances in Malaysia where Kimi was faster in every session..

The vibe I get, mate, is that most TSN Tifosi want to see Kimi do better and are not necessarily just outright blindly bashing him.

[F1NAC]

So F1 goes green but adds another night race where you need a boatload of generators to light up the track. Fantastic.

lights are powered by solar energy..

[killer]

+1.

Merc forum is second door to the right, "Ferrari Fan".

[killer]

lights are powered by solar energy..

Ah, I see. Sorry--did not know. Surely manufacturing the lighting system had a considerable carbon footprint anyhow?

[Apocaly]

Massa was not good for Ferrari in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Not bashing . Just a fact . Ferrari the ledge. And resumes Räikkönen , who made ​​two excellent seasons for Kimi . and has a very good side even if some one here is hard to recognize it . Most tifosi mouth because it does not digest that Kimi leave Ferrari with a big check for $ 25 million . I do not speak a lot here but I look at the forum for some years . And attacks against Kimi fills me for some months.

If you look good two seasons with Lotus Kimi , it is often back in the EL compared to Grosjean, or even the main competitor in the race , however , it was often present . Not because Alonso rolls one second faster in EL he will roll one second faster in the race of course. Different program ? Concerns on the F14T Kimi ? Waiting to hear the reactions of drivers or team before leaving arms.

I hope my English translation made ​​in Google will not horrible : D

[JacKy]

Merc ridiculously fast in first sector. there are 2 turn in first sector , how the hell they can fast 0.5 sec from everyone.. even other merc engine cars...

[Apocaly]

Killer: my "+1" is the comment about Sachin Mercedes. I'm a fan of Ferrari. So I have the right to comment on here right?

[macks]

With all the restrictions, what can anyone do. Engine frozen before anyone could respond to them.

Just like when the V8s came in and got frozen at the start of the year, the FIA will let the other engine manufacturers make changes to theirs "for the good of the sport"
The FIA know that if Merc are constantly 1 second faster because of the engines then they'll have to allow changes or the other engine manufacturers may leave. Not allowing any change would also put off any new engine manufacturer coming in. This change will come sooner or later, same would happen if Ferrari or Renault came up with a superior engine.

[killer]

I'm fairly certain this is already a forgone conclusion.

Not just yet. Not this early. 2007, Hamilton was surely going to win it... RIC had a podium in Australia and was running a strong third in Malaysia...

Point is a lot can happen in 50-60 laps, a lot more over 16 races.

[killer]

Killer: my "+1" is the comment about Sachin Mercedes. I'm a fan of Ferrari. So I have the right to comment on here right?

Of course--not even my place to say. I can also call you out on your comments. What's Sachin Mercedes?

[tifosi1993]

FP2 Best Sector Times

(http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=results&gp=916&s=7326&p=3)FP2 Lap Chart (http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=chart&gp=916&s=7326&graf=3&dr1=Fernando%20Alonso&dr2=Kimi%20R%C3%A4ikk%C3%B6nen)

Mercedes are way too dominant here, there is absolutely no stopping them....

Not feeling confident about our long run pace,..tyre deg is huge....

[killer]

Massa was not good for Ferrari in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Not bashing . Just a fact . Ferrari the ledge. And resumes Räikkönen , who made ​​two excellent seasons for Kimi . and has a very good side even if some one here is hard to recognize it . Most tifosi mouth because it does not digest that Kimi leave Ferrari with a big check for $ 25 million . I do not speak a lot here but I look at the forum for some years . And attacks against Kimi fills me for some months.

If you look good two seasons with Lotus Kimi , it is often back in the EL compared to Grosjean, or even the main competitor in the race , however , it was often present . Not because Alonso rolls one second faster in EL he will roll one second faster in the race of course. Different program ? Concerns on the F14T Kimi ? Waiting to hear the reactions of drivers or team before leaving arms.

I hope my English translation made ​​in Google will not horrible : D

Like I said earlier, I'd like to see Kimi do well for Ferrari. However, he did not come cheap and there is that performance clause levied against Ferrari. Given all available options Ferrari had, Kimi BETTER do well.

[Apocaly]

Average time:

HAM 40.335
ROS 40.452
VET 41.227
RIC 41.303
ALO 41.459
RAI 41.452
HULK 41.68

So no, Kimi is not far from Fernando. It just does not have to attack.

[Apocaly]

Killer : Sachin's comment that says: "OK,we got nothing much to do in 2014 season and it is 2011 with Mercedes taking place of the Bulls."

I'm OK with it, then I give him a +1 but I forget to mention x)

[Winter]

Apocaly, are those average long stints or what?

[gjoko-mkd]

The new "V upside down" rear wing at RB

http://img4.auto-motor-und-sport.de/Red-Bull-Formel-1-GP-Bahrain-Sakhir-4-April-2014-fotoshowBigImage-70a32d4b-769595.jpg

[PadGeT]

The new "V upside down" rear wing at RB

http://img4.auto-motor-und-sport.de/Red-Bull-Formel-1-GP-Bahrain-Sakhir-4-April-2014-fotoshowBigImage-70a32d4b-769595.jpg

Strange .. no gurney!!
Maybe tip votices darg reduction to account for i guess in the upside down orientation:Hmm

[Apocaly]

FA and KR are both in the same time race simulation in 1'41'450 ... Hamilton rolls almost 1.5 seconds faster! Ouch ...: ( :-(

[JacKy]

Average time:

HAM 40.335
ROS 40.452
VET 41.227
RIC 41.303
ALO 41.459
RAI 41.452
HULK 41.68

So no, Kimi is not far from Fernando. It just does not have to attack.

I calculate 41.865 for VET. He was on medium tyres..

[Kiwi Nick]

So F1 goes green but adds another night race where you need a boatload of generators to light up the track. Fantastic.

Shhhh! You weren't supposed to notice.

[fratelliferrari]

Massa was not good for Ferrari in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Not bashing . Just a fact . Ferrari the ledge. And resumes Räikkönen , who made ​​two excellent seasons for Kimi . and has a very good side even if some one here is hard to recognize it . Most tifosi mouth because it does not digest that Kimi leave Ferrari with a big check for $ 25 million . I do not speak a lot here but I look at the forum for some years . And attacks against Kimi fills me for some months.

If you look good two seasons with Lotus Kimi , it is often back in the EL compared to Grosjean, or even the main competitor in the race , however , it was often present . Not because Alonso rolls one second faster in EL he will roll one second faster in the race of course. Different program ? Concerns on the F14T Kimi ? Waiting to hear the reactions of drivers or team before leaving arms.

I hope my English translation made ​​in Google will not horrible : D

It is horrible to read...

And as said before there is no reason at all to bash Felipe! Felipe has done very much for Ferrari in his 8 years at the team so he deserves full respect!

[stefa]

Damage limitation mode this weekend...?

[Hermann]

So it seems Mercedes found a new gimmick?

[JacKy]

Damage limitation mode this weekend...?

Damage limitation mode for whole season...

[Apocaly]

fratelliferrari : sorry for my english , I try to do my best but with Google Trad unable to correctly translate my French : Furieux

I respect Massa for his record , but it is not good in recent years . Therefore changes Ferrari driver.

Kimi deserves a second chance at Ferrari. Very good return with Lotus , why not with Ferrari ? Kimi was outstanding in 2007 ( the last 10 races this season , 9 podiums including five wins) , we have help for the 2008 title with 75 good point. In 2009, the fair beginning of the season but finished well , with victory in Belgium and Monza podium . Ferrari has two very good drivers , which are both in the top 5 drivers to have made ​​the most of the story podium with a large number of victory. Kimi does not beat Fernando, he has to return the good points for Ferrari , Malaysia has not had any luck with Magnussen .

Why Kimi critical to have 1 second behind Nando ? In race simulation , it is as fast as him. If Kimi had a good race Bahrain , I hope he has good reviews on it. : Pouce

[fratelliferrari]

fratelliferrari : sorry for my english , I try to do my best but with Google Trad unable to correctly translate my French : Furieux

I respect Massa for his record , but it is not good in recent years . Therefore changes Ferrari driver.

Kimi deserves a second chance at Ferrari. Very good return with Lotus , why not with Ferrari ? Kimi was outstanding in 2007 ( the last 10 races this season , 9 podiums including five wins) , we have help for the 2008 title with 75 good point. In 2009, the fair beginning of the season but finished well , with victory in Belgium and Monza podium . Ferrari has two very good drivers , which are both in the top 5 drivers to have made ​​the most of the story podium with a large number of victory. Kimi does not beat Fernando, he has to return the good points for Ferrari , Malaysia has not had any luck with Magnussen .

Why Kimi critical to have 1 second behind Nando ? In race simulation , it is as fast as him. If Kimi had a good race Bahrain , I hope he has good reviews on it. : Pouce

Well I got nothing against Kimi but I think he just got some bad luck that Felipe had a lot too the last few years, sadly. I just hope he can get some good points this weekend because he and the team needs that.

[Hornet]

So it seems Mercedes found a new gimmick?

Most probably their power unit. It is a solid car, but their power unit have an advantage in terms of power and drivability, and being a manufacture themself, they are getting the most out of the PU. They are so smooth accelerating out of corners, the only problem I've seen of them is sometimes the driver locks up the brake. But other than that, the car is fast, and no horrible twitching when accelerating out of corners. With such a smooth car, it will be good for the tires in the race, so their advantage just stacks up.

[Kyss4k]

Most probably their power unit. It is a solid car, but their power unit have an advantage in terms of power and drivability, and being a manufacture themself, they are getting the most out of the PU. They are so smooth accelerating out of corners, the only problem I've seen of them is sometimes the driver locks up the brake. But other than that, the car is fast, and no horrible twitching when accelerating out of corners. With such a smooth car, it will be good for the tires in the race, so their advantage just stacks up.

The Merc car is what you get, when you have great engine with great aero. Nobody else checked both of these points. Red Bull has even better aero package, but their engine sucks. We? Well, our engine is down there with Renault's and our areo is worse then both, Red Bull and Mercedes.

[Majki2111]

The Merc car is what you get, when you have great engine with great aero. Nobody else checked both of these points. Red Bull has even better aero package, but their engine sucks. We? Well, our engine is down there with Renault's and our areo is worse then both, Red Bull and Mercedes.I won't be so sure abput that. I would say that F14T aero is very good and maybe better than Mercedes.

[Senna4Ever]

FP2 Best Sector Times

(http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=results&gp=916&s=7326&p=3)FP2 Lap Chart (http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=chart&gp=916&s=7326&graf=3&dr1=Fernando%20Alonso&dr2=Kimi%20R%C3%A4ikk%C3%B6nen)

Mercedes are way too dominant here, there is absolutely no stopping them....

Not feeling confident about our long run pace,..tyre deg is huge....

right ... Long run pace seems really screwed ... but one thing: watched some laps onboard of Fernando (it was when Hulk passed him then). I got the impression that he was shifting up and break very early. And not squeezing the max.

[f300v10]

It would appear the F14T is not as kind to its tires as the last several Ferrari have been. Alonso's tires went off early in the first stint in Malaysia, and again here the degridation appears worse than the RedBull when comparing Riccardo's run also on the soft compound.

On the plus side, the top speed gap in P2 is down from P1. Only 7 KPH off from Lewis, vs 17 in P1. I believe Ferrari typically turns the engine down in P1 to extend the life of the PU.

1 11 Sergio Perez 19:15:26 327.0
2 27 Nico Hulkenberg 18:37:21 326.8
3 44 Lewis Hamilton 18:34:33 326.1
4 26 Daniil Kvyat 18:35:09 324.2
5 6 Nico Rosberg 18:31:26 324.1
6 25 Jean-Eric Vergne 18:45:03 323.2
7 22 Jenson Button 18:35:05 322.8
8 77 Valtteri Bottas 19:08:28 322.3
9 19 Felipe Massa 19:16:57 321.9
10 20 Kevin Magnussen 18:40:56 321.4
11 10 Kamui Kobayashi 18:35:12 320.0
12 9 Marcus Ericsson 18:36:14 319.3
13 14 Fernando Alonso 18:34:58 319.1
14 7 Kimi Räikkönen 18:35:24 318.1
15 13 Pastor Maldonado 18:06:47 317.5
16 1 Sebastian Vettel 18:47:42 316.6
17 3 Daniel Ricciardo 18:41:25 315.2
18 4 Max Chilton 18:08:11 314.7
19 99 Adrian Sutil 18:02:34 314.1
20 21 Esteban Gutierrez 18:23:52 310.9
21 17 Jules Bianchi 18:03:57 310.5
22 8 Romain Grosjean 18:27:06 308.8

[bonzo]

At the moment, I think Merc will continue to dominate all the way to European races, maybe even 2-3 races in Europe if not more. With all the restrictions, what can anyone do. Engine frozen before anyone could respond to them.

I just hope we can keep our 3rd place in the championship until Ferrari is able to find an answer to Merc.
Years to find an answer to RB, now also some years to find an answer to Merc. Who is next? We are bound to be the "answering machine" and that hurts us a lot...

[Winter]

Average time:

HAM 40.335
ROS 40.452
VET 41.227
RIC 41.303
ALO 41.459
RAI 41.452
HULK 41.68

So no, Kimi is not far from Fernando. It just does not have to attack.

If those times are correct, Kimi should be above Fernando :)

[bonzo]

Damage limitation mode this weekend...?
The last six years, you mean?

[Jas]

answering machine certainly...atleast where consistent...always second best!

[f300v10]

Omnicorse is reporting Ferrari have made their one allowed gear ratio change for the year this weekend:

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/36346/f1-gp-bahrein-la-ferrari-cambia-i-rapporti-gioca-il-bonus

[Jas]

Omnicorse is reporting Ferrari have made their one allowed gear ratio change for the year this weekend:

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/36346/f1-gp-bahrein-la-ferrari-cambia-i-rapporti-gioca-il-bonus

another example of getting something wrong!

[Jas]

Fernando Alonso says that the different conditions due to driving under the floodlights in Bahrain means Ferrari is 'starting from scratch'.

Alonso was third quickest during the second practice session underneath the lights but reckons that the team has to learn a lot, despite completing two pre-season tests at the circuit.

"After many daytime races, it was really strange to be running here in the dark even if it was not very different to the other night time races, so we just have to get used to it" he said.

"From this aspect, today was very useful, especially FP2, to learn about the behaviour of the tyres and the car.

"Even if we did a lot of running here in winter testing, now it’s like starting from scratch and one has to adapt to the new indications coming from the differing track conditions."

Alonso urged Ferrari not to overreact to their one second deficit to Mercedes during the second session.

"We know our strong points and the areas we must focus on to improve, but we must not overreact in trying to close the performance gap," he said.

"At the moment we must make steady progress while still keeping an eye on reliability, which has brought us a good points haul in the first couple of races, which is always very important."

[Jas]

Uncomfortable Raikkonen laments difficult day

By Editor on Friday, April 4, 2014

Kimi Raikkonen says that he was not comfortable with the Ferrari F14T across the two practice sessions for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Raikkonen was 14th quickest in the second practice session, having been sixth quickest during the opening practice session, in which he ran wide and briefly got some air.

"Overall, this was a difficult day, because I didn’t feel comfortable with the car in either session," he said.

"In the first one, I damaged the floor on the kerb at turn 4 and this meant I had to pit. The team did a super job, because they got me back out on track in a short time, but then, because of a problem with the brakes, I was unable to complete the programme.

"In the second session we concentrated on looking at the two Pirelli compounds and with the Soft it was definitely better than the Medium.

"Now we will get down to analysing all today’s data, especially regarding the immediate change in the track from day to night and we will try and improve for qualifying and the race."

[Kyss4k]

I won't be so sure abput that. I would say that F14T aero is very good and maybe better than Mercedes.

Just watch some onboards. Merc is way easier to drive´in every situation. That's not just about the power distribution, their areo is superior then ours. Maybe not by a massive margin, but it is.

[Majki2111]

Just watch some onboards. Merc is way easier to drive´in every situation. That's not just about the power distribution, their areo is superior then ours. Maybe not by a massive margin, but it is.Ferrari wind tunnel is now working properly and I just don't want to belive that Ferrari is in form only to build 3rd best Aero on the grid. Even Hulkenberg stated F14 T is ver very good in corners.

[Winter]

Omnicorse is reporting Ferrari have made their one allowed gear ratio change for the year this weekend:

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/36346/f1-gp-bahrein-la-ferrari-cambia-i-rapporti-gioca-il-bonus

This new ratio seem to be quite short, we were 1 of the rare, if not even the only one to use 8th gear.
Is this just another way to compensate lack of horsepowers, or why this option was used so early?

[Ed Harley]

Even if a wind tunnel is working properly or better than before that does not automatically mean that an aero package as a result is good. A wind tunnel is a tool among other tools.

[Bertie]

This new ratio seem to be quite short, we were 1 of the rare, if not even the only one to use 8th gear.
Is this just another way to compensate lack of horsepowers, or why this option was used so early?

The article says that we have changed parts of the transmission as allowed under article 28.6d which states:

Change gears and dog rings (excluding final drives or reduction gears) may be changed under supervision for others of identical specification at any time during an Event provided the FIA technical delegate is satisfied there is evident physical damage to the parts in question and that such changes are not being carried out on a systematic basis.

For 2014 only, on five occasions per driver, a competitor need not provide evidence of physical damage in order to carry out these changes. Furthermore, the use of parts of identical specification will not be necessary when the changes are being made in accordance with Article 9.6.2 of the F1 Technical Regulations.

[Winter]

Even if a wind tunnel is working properly or better than before that does not automatically mean that an aero package as a result is good. A wind tunnel is a tool among other tools.

But on the other hand, bad wind tunnel is huge handicap. And developing aero with one is like shooting to the dark.
At least, now there's a working tool to make some progress.

[Winter]

The article says that we have changed parts of the transmission as allowed under article 28.6d which states:

Change gears and dog rings (excluding final drives or reduction gears) may be changed under supervision for others of identical specification at any time during an Event provided the FIA technical delegate is satisfied there is evident physical damage to the parts in question and that such changes are not being carried out on a systematic basis.

For 2014 only, on five occasions per driver, a competitor need not provide evidence of physical damage in order to carry out these changes. Furthermore, the use of parts of identical specification will not be necessary when the changes are being made in accordance with Article 9.6.2 of the F1 Technical Regulations.

No. That's not the case, at least if my google translator works.

Replacing damaged parts is not the same thing as changing gear ratios, whitch is allowed to do once in this season and only in this season, next year there isn't that opprtunity.

[Jas]

Fernando Alonso: "After many daytime races, it was really strange to be running here in the dark even if it was not very different to the other night time races, so we just have to get used to it. From this aspect, today was very useful, especially FP2, to learn about the behaviour of the tyres and the car. Even if we did a lot of running here in winter testing, now it's like starting from scratch and one has to adapt to the new indications coming from the differing track conditions. We know our strong points and the areas we must focus on to improve, but we must not overreact in trying to close the performance gap. At the moment we must make steady progress while still keeping an eye on reliability, which has brought us a good points haul in the first couple of races, which is always very important."

Kimi Raikkonen: "Overall, this was a difficult day, because I didn't feel comfortable with the car in either session. In the first one, I damaged the floor on the kerb at turn 4 and this meant I had to pit. The team did a super job, because they got me back out on track in a short time, but then, because of a problem with the brakes, I was unable to complete the programme. In the second session we concentrated on looking at the two Pirelli compounds and with the Soft it was definitely better than the Medium. Now we will get down to analysing all today's data, especially regarding the immediate change in the track from day to night and we will try and improve for qualifying and the race."

Pat Fry: "Today's two sessions were very different to one another, as was predicted, partly because of the programmes we ran and partly because the track was cleaner in the second one. In general, the second session was more representative, just because the temperatures were more similar to what we can expect in the race. Work on both cars concentrated on set-up, aimed at improving stability under braking. In the earlier session, Kimi's programme was interrupted when the floor on his F14T was partly broken after he hit a kerb at turn 4, but we had no problems with Fernando. Then tonight, we did a long run test and now we must look closely at tyre performance, which is a key factor this weekend along with fuel consumption. It will be interesting to see how the hierarchy will change between tomorrow and Sunday, because the technical characteristics of this track mean the gaps between some of the teams could close up."

[Stormsearcher]

The Merc car is what you get, when you have great engine with great aero. Nobody else checked both of these points. Red Bull has even better aero package, but their engine sucks. We? Well, our engine is down there with Renault's and our areo is worse then both, Red Bull and Mercedes.

lol, on what basis are you saying that. If you see the onboards, our car only twitches coming out of slow corners. I think our aero is fine, perhaps not as good as RBR, but quite close.
Our engine again, is not as good as the merc, but better than renault.

if you put them together, we have a decent package. Not the best, but definitely not the worst.
we have on our side two of the best drivers in the pit lane. With constant upgrades we should be able to catch them. And with some luck (merc engine blowing up.. brakes catch fire.. etc)... we can take the fight to them.

I dont think the season is going to be a walk in the park for merc. This is just the third race. Wait and watch. :-)

[Stormsearcher]

hmmm Raikonen was looking pretty amazing past two years!

Maybe its too early to judge a Alonso vs kimi thing.. but am thinking, kimi was looking amazing cause he was racing Grosjean for a team mate and that car must have been really good.
I didnt (still dont) expect him to beat Alonso in the whole season, but i didnt think he would lag like this.
maybe the car is not suiting him at all. Hopefully he will have it sorted soon, or we are no closer to the WCC as we hoped to be by bringing him in.

[Stormsearcher]

Alonso was just overtaken by Hulk in race pace. And we look slower then Bulls again. So no possitive magic happened.

I dont like hulk. :furious Hes been stuck by Nandos side all three races.

[Rob]

I dont like hulk. :furious Hes been stuck by Nandos side all three races.

he will be in our car in couple years.:thumb

;-)

[Rob]

Maybe its too early to judge a Alonso vs kimi thing.. but am thinking, kimi was looking amazing cause he was racing Grosjean for a team mate and that car must have been really good.
I didnt (still dont) expect him to beat Alonso in the whole season, but i didnt think he would lag like this.
maybe the car is not suiting him at all. Hopefully he will have it sorted soon, or we are no closer to the WCC as we hoped to be by bringing him in.

onced he has the car to his liking, there will be races where he is ahead of Fernando and beating him, and same as Fernando beating Kimi. Its bit of early days, lets not write anything off just yet.

[Stormsearcher]

I agree. I guess i expected that to happen a lot sooner.

[Winter]

Maybe its too early to judge a Alonso vs kimi thing.. but am thinking, kimi was looking amazing cause he was racing Grosjean for a team mate and that car must have been really good.
I didnt (still dont) expect him to beat Alonso in the whole season, but i didnt think he would lag like this.
maybe the car is not suiting him at all. Hopefully he will have it sorted soon, or we are no closer to the WCC as we hoped to be by bringing him in.

Grosjean did win something before he came to F ones. He is known to be very fast, but does a lot of mistakes.

Kimis first race was hampered due douple pit stop, before that he was in position to fight Alonso. And in second race, after being faster in all practice sessions, there was rain during qualifying which didn't help him, started 6th position. In race it self he got a puncture and driver who made it was penalized. Not Kimis fault.

And is it a suprise that car suits better for Fernando, because it's been build around him for last four years? They have quite different driving styles, understeer vs oversteer. It might take couple of races to get Kimis car more to his liking.

[Kyss4k]

lol, on what basis are you saying that. If you see the onboards, our car only twitches coming out of slow corners. I think our aero is fine, perhaps not as good as RBR, but quite close.
Our engine again, is not as good as the merc, but better than renault.

if you put them together, we have a decent package. Not the best, but definitely not the worst.
we have on our side two of the best drivers in the pit lane. With constant upgrades we should be able to catch them. And with some luck (merc engine blowing up.. brakes catch fire.. etc)... we can take the fight to them.

I dont think the season is going to be a walk in the park for merc. This is just the third race. Wait and watch. :-)

So by saying our aero is close to Red Bull's you are saying our engine is an absolute crap. Nope. We are only third best when talking about aerodynamics. Red Bull is known to be the best and Mercedes's advantage can't be just the engine, as there are other teams using it and they are nowhere near them. So their aero has to be great as well. And watching the onboards, we are fighting the car more then them just about everywhere, not just the slow corners. The aero we have is are good, don't get me wrong, but their's is a bit better.

[Stormsearcher]

And is it a suprise that car suits better for Fernando, because it's been build around him for last four years? They have quite different driving styles, understeer vs oversteer. It might take couple of races to get Kimis car more to his liking.

Isnt this the new era of F1 racing. Complete change in regulations. New cars, new engines, new everything.. and the same for all.
Everyone starts from scratch.

I think kimi is very fast and will run Nando close over a period of time. But lets not use this 'car built around him' excuse, which is total BS.
Alonso joined Ferrari in 2010 and immediately took charge, won the first race and Massa never saw the light of day after that. The same massa who beat Kimi in 2008 and was doing so in 2009 before his accident. Am pretty sure that car was not built around Alonso.

I do not want to squabble on inter team rivalry. Its pointless and Like said earlier, its too early to judge anything. For all you know, KR will find the right balance tomorrow and suddenly beat FA in the race. You never know.

[Bertie]

No. That's not the case, at least if my google translator works.

Replacing damaged parts is not the same thing as changing gear ratios, whitch is allowed to do once in this season and only in this season, next year there isn't that opprtunity.

I used google translate (which is never accurate) and then looked up the regulation to which they referred.... seems preety obvious that they have not changed the gear ratios but have changed bits and pieces of the gearbox due to damage/wear similar to vettle at the end of last season.

[shamim179]

he will be in our car in couple years.:thumb

;-)

He should have been in this year's car. He has proven himself time and time again in many different cars. Kimi will have to do well to save Stefano's face and it will only be worse if Hulkenberg performs well this year and Kimi doesn't. Luca was well impressed by Hulkenberg last year and so was Alonso.

[Stormsearcher]

So by saying our aero is close to Red Bull's you are saying our engine is an absolute crap. Nope. We are only third best when talking about aerodynamics. Red Bull is known to be the best and Mercedes's advantage can't be just the engine, as there are other teams using it and they are nowhere near them. So their aero has to be great as well. And watching the onboards, we are fighting the car more then them just about everywhere, not just the slow corners. The aero we have is are good, don't get me wrong, but their's is a bit better.

My point was our aero is not bad at all. When you compare it to the last 4 yrs where we were definitely lacking in good aero, this car seems to be pretty good.
Mercedes is good because along with a dam strong engine, good aero.. they also have a very well balanced chassis with mechanical downforce and stability. Which is why the rest of the merc engine teams are not as good. The works team has had the advantage of building the car around the engine, whereas the customer teams have had to integrate the engine in their car design. I think that makes a big difference.

So its a car that has no significant draw backs. But is not excelling in any one given area. A jack of all trades if you must.

There is hope. :-D

[Stormsearcher]

He should have been in this year's car. He has proven himself time and time again in many different cars. Kimi will have to do well to save Stefano's face and it will only be worse if Hulkenberg performs well this year and Kimi doesn't. Luca was well impressed by Hulkenberg last year and so was Alonso.

I was under the impression it was Luca who hired Kimi and not stefano. Is it the other way round?

[Kyss4k]

Red Bull's already at 2nd engine.
http://f1news.cz/pictures/article/2014/04/04/bah_pa_pu-soucasti-1396622278.png

[shamim179]

So by saying our aero is close to Red Bull's you are saying our engine is an absolute crap. Nope. We are only third best when talking about aerodynamics. Red Bull is known to be the best and Mercedes's advantage can't be just the engine, as there are other teams using it and they are nowhere near them. So their aero has to be great as well. And watching the onboards, we are fighting the car more then them just about everywhere, not just the slow corners. The aero we have is are good, don't get me wrong, but their's is a bit better.

Our engine is the worst at the moment though. That's not to say it will stay that way. Once we sort out our ERS issues fully we'll be extremely competitive. Based on pre-testing form Renault were looking the 3rd worst and by a long way but look how quickly they improved and overtook us. There is a lot to be gained in the PU front for us but we're moving at a snail's pace.

Our aero is very good right amongst there with Red Bull and Mercedes.

[Kyss4k]

Our engine is the worst at the moment though. That's not to say it will stay that way. Once we sort out our ERS issues fully we'll be extremely competitive. Based on pre-testing form Renault will looking the 3rd worst and by a long way but look how quickly they improved and overtook us. There is a lot to be gained in the PU front for us but we're moving at a snail's pace.

Our aero is very good right amongst there with Red Bull and Mercedes.

I don't think our engine is worse then Renault's. I won't believe that, until Ferrari alone says they are. Surely we could not do such a bad job at it, after all thoso talks. That would be an embarrassment.

[Winter]

Omnicorse is reporting Ferrari have made their one allowed gear ratio change for the year this weekend:

http://www.omnicorse.it/magazine/36346/f1-gp-bahrein-la-ferrari-cambia-i-rapporti-gioca-il-bonus


I used google translate (which is never accurate) and then looked up the regulation to which they referred.... seems preety obvious that they have not changed the gear ratios but have changed bits and pieces of the gearbox due to damage/wear similar to vettle at the end of last season.

That was the post I was answering and that was the source I "google translated". When translated to finnish, only conclusion I can make is that gear ratios were changed.

[Winter]

Isnt this the new era of F1 racing. Complete change in regulations. New cars, new engines, new everything.. and the same for all.
Everyone starts from scratch.

I think kimi is very fast and will run Nando close over a period of time. But lets not use this 'car built around him' excuse, which is total BS.
Alonso joined Ferrari in 2010 and immediately took charge, won the first race and Massa never saw the light of day after that. The same massa who beat Kimi in 2008 and was doing so in 2009 before his accident. Am pretty sure that car was not built around Alonso.

I do not want to squabble on inter team rivalry. Its pointless and Like said earlier, its too early to judge anything. For all you know, KR will find the right balance tomorrow and suddenly beat FA in the race. You never know.

You don't want to "squabble on inter team rivalry" and still you say things like "Maybe its too early to judge a Alonso vs kimi thing.. but.........."

And yes, engines are new, some aero parts are new, but it's not like the car is so completly different that four years experience of previous cars doesn't give him a head start.

I also do not think that Massa was the same Massa who almost won the championchip in 2008. Has he been even close since then?

I still don't mean that Alonso hasn't done suberb work at Ferrari.

[Bertie]

That was the post I was answering and that was the source I "google translated". When translated to finnish, only conclusion I can make is that gear ratios were changed.

The important part is the rule 28.6d if you google it you may change your conclusion (it was in my post but you must of missed it :roll).

[windwaves]

lol, on what basis are you saying that. If you see the onboards, our car only twitches coming out of slow corners. I think our aero is fine, perhaps not as good as RBR, but quite close.
Our engine again, is not as good as the merc, but better than renault.

if you put them together, we have a decent package. Not the best, but definitely not the worst.
we have on our side two of the best drivers in the pit lane. With constant upgrades we should be able to catch them. And with some luck (merc engine blowing up.. brakes catch fire.. etc)... we can take the fight to them.

I dont think the season is going to be a walk in the park for merc. This is just the third race. Wait and watch. :-)
OMG Not the best not the worst? I mean are we talking marussia here ?

[Winter]

The important part is the rule 28.6d if you google it you may change your conclusion (it was in my post but you must of missed it :roll).


I translated it to English now.. Ok, you're not totally wrong,maybe even right :goodpoint

Either my english fails me, translator is miss leading, or the guy who wrote that article should check his facts.

[Jas]

Red Bull's already at 2nd engine.
http://f1news.cz/pictures/article/2014/04/04/bah_pa_pu-soucasti-1396622278.png

whats "CE" because Renault have sure gone through a lot of them

[Kiwi Nick]

whats "CE" because Renault have sure gone through a lot of them

Control electronics...

[Winter]

Red Bull's already at 2nd engine.
http://f1news.cz/pictures/article/2014/04/04/bah_pa_pu-soucasti-1396622278.png

Maldonado has the BINGO! RedBulls have lots of hits too :-)

[pluto]

Massa and Kimi were evenly matched as team mates, so why would anyone with a brain have expected Kimi to perform better than Massa did now? Only those people who bought into the nonsense that Massa was effected by his accident and all other silly excuses peddled by the media like Autosport editor EDD STRAW, who recently wrote an article called 'will the real massa stand up?'. Well EDD time for a new article, called 'will the real kimi stand up. Or you can just accept that Alonso really is THAT good and stop making pathetic excuses, and admit your judgement of drivers was wrong after all these years.

[Hornet]

Control electronics...

If I'm reading the graphics right, Caterham has used all 4 of something for the CE. Are we talking changing the hardware, or the software?

[Kristof_F40]

Massa and Kimi were evenly matched as team mates, so why would anyone with a brain have expected Kimi to perform better than Massa did now? Only those people who bought into the nonsense that Massa was effected by his accident and all other silly excuses peddled by the media like Autosport editor EDD STRAW, who recently wrote an article called 'will the real massa stand up?'. Well EDD time for a new article, called 'will the real kimi stand up. Or you can just accept that Alonso really is THAT good and stop making pathetic excuses, and admit your judgement of drivers was wrong after all these years.

Agree with you, Felipe is a very good driver, the big difference with Fernando, in my opinion, was first of all the consistency of Fernando at a very high level, Felipe can match Fernando, but not every race, he isn't consistent enough for that. Second, Fernando is brilliant with strategy, I mean, if you look at live timing, then you saw him sometimes backing of,s aving tyres, than, 2 laps or so before his stop push like hell and take someone with the undercut + when he was in traffic or so, he most of the time immediatly passed them, whereas Felipe often was stuck behind someone, therefore his strategy didn't work, therefore the result was a lot worse than Fernando. The only reason why we would have chosen Kimi is because of his consistency at Lotus, because with new engine/reliability etc. you don't whant a driver to perform inconcistent. Still, I don't get the move. I mean, I have nothing against Kimi and I'm happy with him, but I'm not so sure whether it will make such a difference + there's no long term in it..

[Kingdom Hearts]

Massa and Kimi were evenly matched as team mates, so why would anyone with a brain have expected Kimi to perform better than Massa did now? Only those people who bought into the nonsense that Massa was effected by his accident and all other silly excuses peddled by the media like Autosport editor EDD STRAW, who recently wrote an article called 'will the real massa stand up?'. Well EDD time for a new article, called 'will the real kimi stand up. Or you can just accept that Alonso really is THAT good and stop making pathetic excuses, and admit your judgement of drivers was wrong after all these years.

The problem with Kimi is that he needs to hit that tiny sweet spot to perform at his highest level, with the cars that Ferrari is producing, is very difficult.

[Majki2111]

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