Silverstone Testing - 08 & 09 July 2014

[vcs316]

De La Rosa optimistic on correlation between car and simulator

Pedro De La Rosa came in action on the first day of testing for Ferrari at Silverstone. The Spaniard proved happy to be in the car, finding good correlation between the car's behaviour and how he experienced it in the simulator.

Ferrrari completed the day testing for Pirelli's 2015 tyres. The team also used the opportunity to check the correlation between the F14 T on track and in the simulator, even though there was no real opportunity to test new performance parts during the tyre test.

Pedro de la Rosa, who shares simulator duties with Andrea Bertolini and Davide Rigon was at the wheel on track. The Spaniard did 49 laps, the fastest in 1.37.988, running with a heavy fuel load. The day came to a premature end because of a loss of coolant and solving the problem put an end to track activity for the day.

It was Pedro’s first time in the F14 T. “I am very happy to be back in the car, because no simulator can compare to actually driving a car on track. It was enjoyable getting to grips with the circuit, as I miss it and miss training in race trim. That aside, I am very pleased with the correlation we saw between the car and the simulator. That is a very important factor, as Formula 1 testing is reduced still further, obliging everyone to do more simulation. Maybe this needs a rethink, not just for the test drivers, who do too little driving, but for the youngsters and for Formula 1 as a whole.”

Today, Pedro was working in tandem with Fernando Alonso, who was running in the Maranello simulator in a reversal of what usually happens over a race weekend. “Fernando as we know is very professional, but I must say it felt a bit strange knowing a world champion was working for me while I was on track at Silverstone.”

[vcs316]

Water leak halts Ferrari’s day

Pedro de la Rosa revealed that a water leak with the cooling system ended Ferrari's day prematurely during testing at Silverstone.

Ferrari was carrying out tyre testing duties for Pirelli with de la Rosa at the wheel of the F14 T for the first time. While the morning had been productive, de la Rosa was unable to complete many laps in the afternoon session and explained that the team had been forced to cut short its program. Asked if there was a problem, de la Rosa replied: “Yes.

“It was all going fantastically well; we had a very good morning and then in the afternoon we had a water leak with the cooling system so we had to call it a day.”

More encouraging for de la Rosa however was the correlation between simulator and track, which he feels will stand Ferrari in good stead going forward.

“It was pretty good I would say. The fact that I jumped in to the car and immediately in a new car with a new regulation – because we should never forget that 2014 is very new, I am experienced but with the V8s and this is a completely new Formula for me as well – I was straight on there feeling very comfortable doing competitive lap times straight away.

“So I am pleased because of that, it means the correlation is pretty good. It still has to improve and we have to push and we have to make sure that we make it better but it's a good starting point. I'm pretty proud of the work we have done in-house.”

And de la Rosa said the day's running had reminded him personally of how much he enjoys driving F1 machinery rather than the simulator.

“It was fantastic to be back, to be able to test and also to test at Silverstone because there are many tracks but Silverstone is the most high-speed, most difficult of all. It was very difficult for the team, for myself to have a good correlation from simulator to reality. Days like today just remind me how good it was when we could test more and how much I miss testing.”

[Hornet]

We seems to be very unlucky in this year's winter testing, often having some problem that ends our running early. I hope everything will go smoothly today. Bianchi will be driving for us.

[vcs316]

Since in-season testing is so limited, I fail to understand a couple of things:

Why don't we have a spare car for testing? Is it not permitted by the FIA?
Why is Alonso working in the simulator and De la Rosa & Bianchi are doing the tests? Wouldn't Alonso add more value in terms of his input than PDLR & BIA?

[Stebandelareina]

Since in-season testing is so limited, I fail to understand a couple of things:

Why don't we have a spare car for testing? Is it not permitted by the FIA?
Why is Alonso working in the simulator and De la Rosa & Bianchi are doing the tests? Wouldn't Alonso add more value in terms of his input than PDLR & BIA?
It's important to De la Rosa test the real car to check if the feelings in the simulator matches with the track in terms of setup. The correlation is crucial. After this test he can going to maranello and work with the engineers to fix the bugs of our simulator. Once this is done
Our drivers will be able to work in the setup of the car for any GP weeks before it
Then, kim wont need the 3 FP of every GP and his test for his setups. He'll do it at maranello.

Alonso is in maranello cheking the correlation as well, with his feelings of the weekend. But I also believe he should test instead Bianchi

[Hornet]

The new 18-inch wheel tested today. I like how it looks.

http://i.imgur.com/bnYi0iq.jpg

[RedRebel40]

front wheel is good, but the rear wheel should be a little bit bigger and wider then it will be superb!

[fratelliferrari]

I think it looks OK, but it's just so different with what we are used to so I think I have to see it in real life before I can judge.

[rossopervincere]

Looks like crap , can't wait until Pirelli quits F1.
Better sooner than later !

[PURE PASSION]

5905

[PadGeT]

I want hd of these please
http://www.sutton-images.com/previews/dms1409jy129.jpghttp://www.sutton-images.com/previews/dms1409jy122.jpg
By the way, Bianchi testing the 6-element FW.
http://www.sutton-images.com/previews/dms1409jy114.jpg

[WS6TransAm01]

I think I am digging the larger wheels. But the brakes designed for the 13" rims look so silly inside the proposed wheels lol. I would assume the brakes would grow with the wheels size...

[Silent Bob]

Think 18 too big - go to 16, less rim, bit more tire.

[Nova]

Not much news...funny how the fia wants to ban fric, yet bring in 18" tires.
Compromise?
Hows Bianchi doing?

[fratelliferrari]

Is there any liveticker available or something?

[Avanzamento]

Is there any liveticker available or something?

http://www.f1i.com/live-f1/

[fratelliferrari]

http://www.f1i.com/live-f1/

Thank you!

[ferrari1.8t]

The new 18-inch wheel tested today. I like how it looks.

http://i.imgur.com/bnYi0iq.jpg

The new gen of F1 cars already sound like Indy Cars, now they have to look like them too? I think the lotus livery and gold rims are making the tires seem nicer than they really are.

[Aberracus]

Jules is good, we should hire him instead of Kimi for 2015

[Hornet]

Sky reported that Alonso's fastest time across all practice last weekend was 1.35.244. Bianchi today set 1.35.262

Although the conditions are different, Bianchi doesn't race in this car. Therefore all things considered, I think it's quite an impressive time for a rookie who drove the F14T for the first time.

[fratelliferrari]

Sky reported that Alonso's fastest time across all practice last weekend was 1.35.244. Bianchi today set 1.35.262

Although the conditions are different, Bianchi doesn't race in this car. Therefore all things considered, I think it's quite an impressive time for a rookie who drove the F14T for the first time.

That sounds seriously good :clap Would really like to see what Bianchi can achieve in a competitive car!

[NickEice]

Can't read into the times. Especially since Bianchi was doing tyre testing. He prob used a compound softer than what was available this past race.

[PURE PASSION]

Can't read into the times. Especially since Bianchi was doing tyre testing. He prob used a compound softer than what was available this past race.
I thought that we did the tire testing yesterday with De La Rosa?

[Hornet]

Can't read into the times. Especially since Bianchi was doing tyre testing. He prob used a compound softer than what was available this past race.
Well, even if we take into account different tires, fuel and track condition and say we add 3-4 sec into his time, we still have to consider that this is his first time driving the F14T, which is not exactly the easiest car to drive. If he had several races of experience with our car, he could probably extract more out of it. And it's Alonso's time we're talking about, even experience drivers could not match Alonso's performance.

I'm not suggesting he is as fast as Alonso yet, but if he can come close to Alonso's performance at this point in his racing career, then I think it says something about his potential.

[DIEK]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BsF6383CQAA55J_.jpg

http://www.carruajespedrodavid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/P1010032.jpg

:-G

[stefa]

I don't like path F1 is headed to. I am old school and all this what has been done to F1 is just stupid!
By the way new wheels are ugly!

[Kyss4k]

Getting fed up more and more with F1... these wheels are just ridiculous. I don't even remember the last time I liked some change F1 made.

[Greig]

Wheels look like wheels not sure if I care too much to turn off F1 because the wheels are 6inch bigger :-)

[Ste]

Wheels look like wheels not sure if I care too much to turn off F1 because the wheels are 6inch bigger :-)
5. :-D

[radosav]

I think Hamilton will love these 18" tyres. :-D

[Tobes]

So what if the rim is 5" bigger, for the most part that is just aesthetics if the circumference of the tyre is the same, its not really the size of the wheel that matters, its the width, make them much wider and increase the mechanical grip, at least at the rear..! :thumb

[Greig]

5. :-D

I always add an inch :-D

[Greig]

http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/ferrari-fans-18-inch-wheels

[Kiwi Nick]

I think Hamilton will love these 18" tyres. :-D

Fa shizzle, homey!

[The Architect]

Those wheels look awful. Pirelli have no business suggesting anything given their shambolic history in F1.

[killer]

I always add an inch :-D

Pahahahaha

[killer]

So what if the rim is 5" bigger, for the most part that is just aesthetics if the circumference of the tyre is the same, its not really the size of the wheel that matters, its the width, make them much wider and increase the mechanical grip, at least at the rear..! :thumb

Will sidewall durability be an issue given the considerable reduction in its size?

[NickEice]

So what if the rim is 5" bigger, for the most part that is just aesthetics if the circumference of the tyre is the same, its not really the size of the wheel that matters, its the width, make them much wider and increase the mechanical grip, at least at the rear..! :thumb

With currently constructed front ends there is a huge aero loss from the large rims. Pic said the car was 4-5 seconds slower.

[Nova]

Someone generally posts these, so here ya go. I didnt want "one" of our drivers to be replaced until today...That sound cold?

Name Team Laps Time Gap
Bianchi Ferrari 89 1:35.262 138.336 mph
Kvyat Toro Rosso 55 1:35.544 0.282
Magnussen McLaren 91 1:35.593 0.331
Van der Garde Sauber 84 1:36.327 1.065
Hamilton Mercedes 47 1:36.680 1.418
Bottas Williams 40 1:37.193 1.931
Chilton Marussia 77 1:37.359 2.097
Juncadella Force India 52 1:37.449 2.187
Vettel Red Bull 76 1:39.410 4.148
Pic Lotus 39 1:41.906 6.644
Leal Caterham 51 1:42.635 7.373

[Hornet]

Getting fed up more and more with F1... these wheels are just ridiculous. I don't even remember the last time I liked some change F1 made.

I don't see why it's ridiculous, considering that most of the automobil world have moved on to low profile tires. Even LMP1, which Ferrari is planning on joining, is using low profile tires. All of Ferrari's modern road car (as well as other companies who manufacture performance road car) are using low profile tires, so they are very relevant to road car tech, which is something (relevance to road car) Luca wanted too.

Low profile tires have it's own advantages as the thinner wall meant lesser deformation, hence it responds faster and the teams have more control over chassis movement.

[SS454]

I absolutely hate big wheels and tiny brakes. They won't increase the rotor diameter as the braking power is already so great, unless they switch to steel rotors which IMO is disastrous as F1 needs to be running the most advanced brakes.

[13njb]

I'm not completely against the proposed new wheel size, very simplistically they do look good and perhaps, with the right demographic that may bring more new long-term fans.

My problem with them is I'm not sure what the desired goal/result is in changing the wheel size? I'm not convinced that becoming closer to road cars is, of itself a worthy goal. Adding a dashboard or sound system would also do that.

There is of course a lot of cost to teams to make the change. Lastly, the wheel size constraint does IMO impel greater creativity for brake design because you have a smaller space in which to achieve your objectives.

[Senna4Ever]

Well done Jules ... solid professional :thumb

[fratelliferrari]

I think Hamilton will love these 18" tyres. :-D

:rotfl

[vcs316]

Jules Bianchi waits for Ferrari chance after impressing at Silverstone

Jules Bianchi has admitted he has no chance of driving for Ferrari next season despite impressing at Silverstone on Day Two.

Bianchi topped the time sheets as Kimi Raikkonen's stand-in on the final day of testing, but has admitted he will not be driving for Ferrari next campaign.

The Frenchman told reporters: "At the moment I know that it is not the plan for the next year because they have a plan for their drivers."

"Obviously considering I am part of the Academy I think that is the target one day so I have to show them that I am ready in any case, but at the moment they have two drivers who are doing a good job so I don't think it is the plan."

Bianchi was the main topic of conversation for track matters as he delivered an impressive showing in the Ferrari.

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/formula-1/ferrari/news/bianchi-waits-for-ferrari-chance_164306.html

[vcs316]

Adapting to Ferrari took time, says Bianchi

9 July 2014 – Jules Bianchi says it took time to get used to a Ferrari machine that is "very different" to the one he currently races for Marussia.

The Frenchman, standing in for Kimi Räikkönen, topped the timesheets on the final day of the post-British Grand Prix test at Silverstone.

But he conceded that his first few runs in the F14 T were a challenge.

"By the end of the day I got a really good feeling in the car, even if at the start, it was not so easy adapting to a car that's very different to the one I race," said Bianchi, a long-time member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

"The parameters are completely different and I spent the first runs getting used to it. Today we worked on race set-up, trying various settings, both old and new, aimed at producing improvements in the coming races."

Bianchi, contesting his second Formula 1 season with the Marussia team, added: "Putting on a Ferrari race suit is always a special feeling and I hope one day I can wear it as a race driver, even if I have a lot to learn."

[Ste]

I absolutely hate big wheels and tiny brakes. They won't increase the rotor diameter as the braking power is already so great, unless they switch to steel rotors which IMO is disastrous as F1 needs to be running the most advanced brakes.
If they make the brakes worse, and therefore increase stopping distances, someone might actually be able to out-brake another driver... ;)

[WS6TransAm01]

I think a major hurdle of a larger rim will be the reduced sidewall having less give over the bumps. This would mean the suspension would have to absorb more and move more, this would lower aerodynamic efficiency. They would have to increase the size of the break as well, otherwise it looks retarded.


I think Hamilton will love these 18" tyres. :-D

I read he was unimpressed... he would like 22" spinners...

[Tobes]

With currently constructed front ends there is a huge aero loss from the large rims. Pic said the car was 4-5 seconds slower.

Yeah, that may be the case now, all the cars running 4 secs slower doesn't make the racing better, and once the front ends are re-designed they'll get that 4 secs back and we're back to where we are now, just with 18" rims...
It seems the powers that be are obsessive about just improving the aesthetics of the sport in the hope it will attract new viewers, this is another idea on par with the titanium skid blocks, makes absolutely no difference to the actual racing...

[sweeper1101]

And that's to put the costs down every year...
by introducing new rim sizes for aesthetic purposes
which in the end will induce new costs for development of new suspension and brakes
that goes along with it...real smart aren't they/

[SS454]

If they make the brakes worse, and therefore increase stopping distances, someone might actually be able to out-brake another driver... ;)

15+" rotors are still going to slow a 1400 lb car down in a hurry. There isn't a massive amount of overtaking in Indy cars or Sports cars. Nascar which are well over 3400 lbs with 12.72" steel discs have the worst braking for top level motorsports and there is some good over taking some times. A lot of that time is because of the skill difference in drivers on the road course. You will never see that long of brake distances in F1.

[Hornet]

And that's to put the costs down every year...
by introducing new rim sizes for aesthetic purposes
which in the end will induce new costs for development of new suspension and brakes
that goes along with it...real smart aren't they/

The best way to keep cost down is to freeze development. But it's obvious we cannot do that in F1. The sport has to find the right balance of keeping cost in control while still allow technologies to be pushed forward. F1 has always been a place where new automobil technologies were discovered and developed, and the sport should keep that up. So you can't say don't do something because there's a development cost to it. Development and adapting new tech has always been a huge part of this sport.

The problem isn't having too many things to develop, it's the politics of having different teams with different aims in the sport. Some teams like Ferrari are more than happy to develop something new especially if it has relevance to the kind of road cars they produce, but there are some smaller teams who are more interested in turning profit.