2021 Pre Season Testing [12-14 March]

[PURE PASSION]

Hey Guys!

This is a quote from Palmer, "Looking at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc did a very strong lap early on today in better conditions, but that's been the only glimpse of something strong from the team. But some of the long runs haven't looked so good and I think they don't look like they've caught up a great deal – maybe they're a bit further ahead than they were last year, but I don't think they're anywhere near the top teams.”

I know that most of the British "PUNDITS" love trashing Ferrari and dry-humping Hamiltons nut****.
Also, we aren't supposed to make assumptions based on testing results.

But, I have a feeling there's some truth to his statement.

What do you guys think?

Well from what i have seing ,there is nothing to back up his statement !!! He speaks about long runs,ok then let him tell us who has done better long runs and by a lot to justify this statement ???!!!!

[Toothlessrage*]

Once again Palmer is a failure in the sport and therefor can't be taken serious. The conditions weren't better earlier, they were worse because track temps have since cooled and the track has rubbered in more. He's an idiot much like the rest of the commentators mentioned earlier.

Man, the commenting on the 2018 British GP drove me over the edge.
Looking back at races through the 90's and the 2000's, they always were against Ferrari.
So much for un-biased reporting. (I know its rare)

[MSC Fan]

Mark Hughes estimation for ultimate speed:

Mercedes - 1m28.3s
Red Bull - 1m28.5s
McLaren - 1m28.65s
Aston Martin - 1m28.7s
AlphaTauri - 1m29.1s
Alpine - 1m29.5s
Ferrari - 1m29.5s
Alfa Romeo - 1m30.4s
Williams - 1m31.3s
Haas - 1m32.45s

I'm willing to bet good money that Mark is way off the mark here.

[Noquarter]

And only .5 seconds ahead of Russell!

But faster than Lewis :-) It's only testing

[TTRSMAD]

The Mercedes looks like a handfull to drive at the limit. They don t look dominant like last year. Red Bull looks good and Alpha look like a good all around performer.
Yuki looks awsome for a rookie. Ferrari engine is good, the problem is the medium speed corners. The S2 was not all impressive needs to improve if we are to compete at the front.

[Warp]

Kimi and Sainz almost crashed during the last lap. I have no idea what Sainz was doing there and why he got so angry.

Clip : https://streamable.com/jlersq

[gump1480]

Sainz already in Seb mode:
https://streamable.com/jlersq

[Noquarter]

See the race stints of Ricciardo in McLaren...that some ominous race pace !!
Sainz long runs looks very good. Very consistent.

[MSC Fan]

Man, the commenting on the 2018 British GP drove me over the edge.
Looking back at races through the 90's and the 2000's, they always were against Ferrari.
So much for un-biased reporting. (I know its rare)

It is only Murray Walker and James Allen's love for Michael that made the Ferrari bashing way less than it traditionally was. Once he was gone, they once again started to hate Ferrari. In 2007, they went so far that they completely laughed off Kimi's chances in winning the championship as early as the Sunday morning of the Chinese GP. When Kimi finally won the title in Brazil, they were this close to crying.

[gump1480]

Sainz long runs looks very good. Very consistent.

So is Ricciardo's...3rd stint in low 1:34s consistently...on an average his every stint was about a sec faster than Sainz.

[PURE PASSION]

Sainz long runs looks very good. Very consistent.

Indeed Ric runs where faster but it was a smaller race sim and on the very end of the test with a bit better conditions i think. In the end its so furstrating to try and "decode" all this thinks laps,tires,track conditions,engine modes etc and in the you probably gonna be way off !!!!! Time will tell and we will be here every Saturday-Sunday to comment the results witch are the most certain thing !!!!

[330 p4]

And only .5 seconds ahead of Russell!

Alpha Tauri C5 so was Rusell. Sainz was C4 same as Max so Sainz was 2nd fastest on C4. McLaren etc were 0.5 behind on C4 from Sainz.

[tifosi1993]

Alpha Tauri C5 so was Rusell. Sainz was C4 same as Max so Sainz was 2nd fastest on C4. McLaren etc were 0.5 behind on C4 from Sainz.

I was only kidding, hence the exclamation mark at the end of my post. Testing times, whether it's short run or long run, don't mean much to me.

But I'm happy with our progress. Apart from some small issues and car seems reliable. And the Ferrari engine seems solid as well, both in terms of reliability and power.

[MSC Fan]

Kimi and Sainz almost crashed during the last lap. I have no idea what Sainz was doing there and why he got so angry.

Clip : https://streamable.com/jlersq

lol what was that? Both Sainz and Kimi are the cleanest drivers on the grid. Extremely strange behaviour from both of them.

[Warp]

lol what was that? Both Sainz and Kimi are the cleanest drivers on the grid. Extremely strange behaviour from both of them.

Kimi went wide and Sainz thought he would let him go (Sainz was on personal best lap).

[MSC Fan]

Kimi went wide and Sainz thought he would let him go (Sainz was on personal best lap).

Ah, makes sense.

[PURE PASSION]

If you read anything to it :

I took a good look at Sainz’s lap and although they did not send all the onboard, it must be said that he rode in "neutral mode". No differential adjustment even in curves where doing it improves the car sliding (T9-10 and T14-15) for example # F1Testing

[wisepie]

Testing was only 3 days this year and despite some negative comments about Ferrari from the usual sources, it's not all doom and gloom, Charles and Carlos did some good times in changing conditions and the car seems reliable, but I'm not getting too excited about our chances. The Honda power unit looks so strong, the Mclarens are quick (probably my least favourite team for historical reasons, along with Merc!), and Alpha Tauri must have a disguised RB16B under their drivers, with Tsunoda looking the real deal. This won't be an easy season for any team and I wonder if Italy going back into lockdown will hinder Ferrari more than the other teams. We'll get some answers in two week's time.:Hmm

[Noquarter]

Testing was only 3 days this year and despite some negative comments about Ferrari from the usual sources, it's not all doom and gloom, Charles and Carlos did some good times in changing conditions and the car seems reliable, but I'm not getting too excited about our chances. The Honda power unit looks so strong, the Mclarens are quick (probably my least favourite team for historical reasons, along with Merc!), and Alpha Tauri must have a disguised RB16B under their drivers, with Tsunoda looking the real deal. This won't be an easy season for any team and I wonder if Italy going back into lockdown will hinder Ferrari more than the other teams. We'll get some answers in two week's time.:Hmm

I don't think Honda have great engine. RB and AT run with smallest rear wings in the pack. RB chassis made the difference.

[TTRSMAD]

I don't think Honda have great engine. RB and AT run with smallest rear wings in the pack. RB chassis made the difference.

Nonetheless, we need to improve in the medium speed corners. We need to make the floor and diffuser work better. The drivers are going to have to make the difference.

[tpe]

Let's see what package will have in 2 weeks.
Then we will know.
But my uneducated prediction is that we will fight with AT and AM. For 4th. RB will fight for the championship this year and I really hope that LH looses cleanly from any one, I don't care even if it's Max.

[paolo lalli]

From testing only at this point 4th or 5th at best looks like we have moved possibly 2 places up the grid.Red bull looks good will definitely take the fight to mercedes and probably win.Lets see what ferrari provide in 2 weeks time as there race number 1 package.

[330 p4]

Alpine boss has said theres not a midfield this year theres a field. Could be similar to the 1st half of 2013? I see Ferrari fighting for 3rd best but at any given track could be anywhere from 5th to missing q1, same for the others. RB appear great but Ferrari have finished testing where they are just for Merc to squash them. One team I think will fall short of expectation is Aston Martin, I think they will fight Alfa Romeo behind the rest except for William's and Haas.

[ntukza]

We'll definitely have updates in two weeks' time. Let's hope it's a good car.

[MSC Fan]

Alpine boss has said theres not a midfield this year theres a field. Could be similar to the 1st half of 2013? I see Ferrari fighting for 3rd best but at any given track could be anywhere from 5th to missing q1, same for the others. RB appear great but Ferrari have finished testing where they are just for Merc to squash them. One team I think will fall short of expectation is Aston Martin, I think they will fight Alfa Romeo behind the rest except for William's and Haas.

Missing Q1 would be horrific, mate. Even the worst qualifying performance last year (Vettel at Monza 2020) was better because he didn't actually get knocked out on merit and only due to the shenanigans in qualifying.

[MSC Fan]

https://i.redd.it/mf7xmhvih4n61.jpg

Aston Martin is acting way too smug for a team that couldn't manage 1 day of testing without reliability issues.

[stefa]

We'll definitely have updates in two weeks' time. Let's hope it's a good car.

And you know that how?

[Toothlessrage*]

We'll definitely have updates in two weeks' time. Let's hope it's a good car.

Is this a statement or an assumption?

[MSC Fan]

Binotto said in one of the testing days interview that there were yet some parts that they would run and would also expect others to run but will only do that since the start of the season.

[Toothlessrage*]

Binotto said in one of the testing days interview that there were yet some parts that they would run and would also expect others to run but will only do that since the start of the season.

Oh cool!
Hope it works out!

[PURE PASSION]

Is this a statement or an assumption?


Binotto said in one of the testing days interview that there were yet some parts that they would run and would also expect others to run but will only do that since the start of the season.

He said that we can't make any predictions from these 3 days of testing and that the cars will change for the 1st race. Was he talking about us too ,or just the others , we will know in 2 weeks!!!

[330 p4]

Missing Q1 would be horrific, mate. Even the worst qualifying performance last year (Vettel at Monza 2020) was better because he didn't actually get knocked out on merit and only due to the shenanigans in qualifying.

Meant Q3.

[jgonzalesm6]

Some helpful videos from Jolyon Palmer

F1 Explained: Testing Technology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea2YKsWWJgM

F1 Explained: How Does Telemetry Data Help Teams Go Faster?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW31u4gFFeE&t=483s

[MSC Fan]

Meant Q3.

:thumb

[Warp]

A reliable source reported (Giuliano Duchessa),

- Ferrari recovered more than 40 hp.
- Mercedes is very sensitive to the setup
- Redbull is the most ready team (so far)



Also, please dont look at testing times. AT was on C5 tyres and they were running DRS even before the pitentry

[tifosi1993]

A reliable source reported (Giuliano Duchessa),

- Ferrari recovered more than 40 hp.
- Mercedes is very sensitive to the setup
- Redbull is the most ready team (so far)



Also, please dont look at testing times. AT was on C5 tyres and they were running DRS even before the pitentry

I trust Duchessa. He's the only Ferrari insider who actually has some reliable source.

40HP+ gain from the ICE alone is an impressive improvement. Then there are things like better cooling, better thermal efficiency, fuels and so on that add more performance.

[MSC Fan]

A reliable source reported (Giuliano Duchessa),

- Ferrari recovered more than 40 hp.
- Mercedes is very sensitive to the setup
- Redbull is the most ready team (so far)



Also, please dont look at testing times. AT was on C5 tyres and they were running DRS even before the pitentry

Ha, twice as much as that fraud Martin Brundle reported it out to be. The Shell optimisation is worth 0.1 second which again is roughly equivalent to 10hp of extra power. That's effectively 50hp.

[MSC Fan]

A reliable source reported (Giuliano Duchessa),

- Ferrari recovered more than 40 hp.
- Mercedes is very sensitive to the setup
- Redbull is the most ready team (so far)



Also, please dont look at testing times. AT was on C5 tyres and they were running DRS even before the pitentry

Ha, twice as much as that fraud Martin Brundle reported it out to be. The Shell optimisation is worth 0.1 second which again is roughly equivalent to 10hp of extra power. That's effectively 50hp.

[stefa]

Let's be patient and wait two more weeks to see the packing order!

[jgonzalesm6]

Let's be patient and wait two more weeks to see the packing order!

yep!!!!! Qualifying will be key. Engines turned up with limited fuel.

[FerrariF60]

Ha, twice as much as that fraud Martin Brundle reported it out to be. The Shell optimisation is worth 0.1 second which again is roughly equivalent to 10hp of extra power. That's effectively 50hp.

So let’s say arbitrarily that we did gain 50hp with the new engine and new shell fuel.....how much did the so called “experts” were saying that we were trailing the Merc last year ??? Was it 50hp or 60??

If it was 50, and we’ve heard the rumours that Merc has improved the engine by 20hp for 2021.....that means we’re still down 20 ponies this year compared to them.....

Big question is how will our new engine compare to Honda??. As we all know that they have brought forward the 2022 spec sooner in 2021....$o will our new engine have about the same power as theirs, or more or maybe less.....

Thoughts??.

[Silent Bob]

My thought is that Ferrari would not benchmark 1 year old engines. I think that they have set their goals based on what HP manufacturers will bring this year. If Binotto thinks they have met all their goals and that they would not be the worst engine, then they need to be in very close range to the Mercs.

[jgonzalesm6]

A reliable source reported (Giuliano Duchessa),

- Ferrari recovered more than 40 hp.
- Mercedes is very sensitive to the setup
- Redbull is the most ready team (so far)



Also, please dont look at testing times. AT was on C5 tyres and they were running DRS even before the pitentry


I trust Duchessa. He's the only Ferrari insider who actually has some reliable source.

40HP+ gain from the ICE alone is an impressive improvement. Then there are things like better cooling, better thermal efficiency, fuels and so on that add more performance.


Ha, twice as much as that fraud Martin Brundle reported it out to be. The Shell optimisation is worth 0.1 second which again is roughly equivalent to 10hp of extra power. That's effectively 50hp.


So let’s say arbitrarily that we did gain 50hp with the new engine and new shell fuel.....how much did the so called “experts” were saying that we were trailing the Merc last year ??? Was it 50hp or 60??

If it was 50, and we’ve heard the rumours that Merc has improved the engine by 20hp for 2021.....that means we’re still down 20 ponies this year compared to them.....

Big question is how will our new engine compare to Honda??. As we all know that they have brought forward the 2022 spec sooner in 2021....$o will our new engine have about the same power as theirs, or more or maybe less.....

Thoughts??.

This reliable source stated "ALLEGED greater than 40hp" and I stress the word ALLEGED.

Nothing definitive. So IMO it's a maybe or a guess.

As Stefa mentioned, let's wait till qualifying.

[paolo lalli]

My guess at pecking order Red bull, mclaren mercedes ferrari the make up of the top four closely followed by Aston Martin , Alfa Hass,etc to start the years f1 procession.

[FerrariF60]

My guess at pecking order Red bull, mclaren mercedes ferrari the make up of the top four closely followed by Aston Martin , Alfa Hass,etc to start the years f1 procession.

WOW, you actually think that Red bull is better than Mercedes??. You’ve got another thing coming and you’re gonna be pretty disappointed come first race.....

And yiu also think that McLaren better then Mercedes also???


You’ve got it all wrong mate....I think it’s Merc, Red bull, McLaren, Ferrari, AM, and then the rest which I don’t really care

[paolo lalli]

Time will tell iam sure that you do not pocess a crystal ball so I turn mate as we say down under you may have it completely wrong your self, but we must admit it is fun guessing.

[Brembo]

My thought is that Ferrari would not benchmark 1 year old engines. I think that they have set their goals based on what HP manufacturers will bring this year. If Binotto thinks they have met all their goals and that they would not be the worst engine, then they need to be in very close range to the Mercs.

Bob you are saying Binotto shows optimism ! That does it for me !! Podiums for sure. Ferrari can never do a repeat of 2020. Charles has to be feeling stronger than ever with his car.

[MSC Fan]

So let’s say arbitrarily that we did gain 50hp with the new engine and new shell fuel.....how much did the so called “experts” were saying that we were trailing the Merc last year ??? Was it 50hp or 60??

If it was 50, and we’ve heard the rumours that Merc has improved the engine by 20hp for 2021.....that means we’re still down 20 ponies this year compared to them.....

Big question is how will our new engine compare to Honda??. As we all know that they have brought forward the 2022 spec sooner in 2021....$o will our new engine have about the same power as theirs, or more or maybe less.....

Thoughts??.

The 2017 car was 20hp down as well and suffered from reliability issues. If SF21 has a good aero and is reliable, it has the potential to fight for wins. A championship might be too far fetched though.

[jgonzalesm6]

On Mercedes

Marc Surer says Mercedes has a balance issue.

“The car will be fast, it will stay fast,” he told Formel1.de.

“My theory is this, a flat car like the Aston Martin or the Mercedes has the centre of downforce nicely centred under the car. Because of the cut, they lose downforce in the rear and the centre of downforce moves forward as a result. This puts the car out of balance.

“For me it’s just a balance problem that they need to get to grips with. Pressure has moved forward. And now the cars have oversteer. That means the rear end is getting loose as a result.”

[Shadowfax84]

My guess at pecking order Red bull, mclaren mercedes ferrari the make up of the top four closely followed by Aston Martin , Alfa Hass,etc to start the years f1 procession.

Someone hasn't learned any lessons since 2014 I see. Mercedes are masters of sand-bagging and come Bahrain will be 1 second faster than the rest. Happy to be proved wrong, but I have had too much optimism past pre-seasons only to be squashed come the first race.

[MSC Fan]

On Mercedes

Marc Surer says Mercedes has a balance issue.

“The car will be fast, it will stay fast,” he told Formel1.de.

“My theory is this, a flat car like the Aston Martin or the Mercedes has the centre of downforce nicely centred under the car. Because of the cut, they lose downforce in the rear and the centre of downforce moves forward as a result. This puts the car out of balance.

“For me it’s just a balance problem that they need to get to grips with. Pressure has moved forward. And now the cars have oversteer. That means the rear end is getting loose as a result.”

Poor Vettel. Just as he joined a team known for a good downforce in the rear, they lose that feature.

[jgonzalesm6]

Poor Vettel. Just as he joined a team known for a good downforce in the rear, they lose that feature.

On the contrary, Wolff and team will e-mail their findings to AMRF1 overnight......problem fixed.:-D

[jgonzalesm6]

Max and Yuki hot laps...side by side comparison.

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1371569140348112896

[jgonzalesm6]

Sainz and Kimi ALMOST clash.....Kimi's onboard


https://twitter.com/Peke_Formula1/status/1371411387059208192

[paolo lalli]

Dreaming is a beautiful natural thing.As long as they are not nitemares.Iam totally over the word sand bagging I hope that redbull really come out firing the reason I say red bull is because they have had the better in testing out of all the teams including ferrari.

[330 p4]

Well it's going to be RB or Merc that wins. If it's either of them that means those that 2 teams (once Tyrell and Stewart) would have won 12 straight titles, they are already on 11 straight 1 better than McLaren and William's 84-93. Think Williams won constructors in 94 so they are equal on 11 straight. 98-04 Ferrari and McLaren won 7 straight constructors.

Edit: Merc was Brawn which won 2009 so that's 12 straight between them this year will be 13.