Bahrain testing 27 Feb-2 Mar

[OSS EL BOSS]

"Some have shown to be a little bit ahead of the others, but let's wait and see when it counts."

[Nero Horse]

Button was 4,8 seconds behind the best time today...so where is the "Alarm bells ringing at Mclaren" article??? When we were 2 seconds behind yesterday then there was immediately an article "Alarm bells ringing at Ferrari" LOL. So I want to know where is the same article about Mclaren today???

[ManFromMilan]

This does not sound like he is actually saying we are behind. He just states that there are people that had done more km's so they should be seen as better prepared because of the km's done.

And "how to extract the best from its new power unit" could also just mean the drivers have to go to the simulator and the engineers need to fine tune the ERS capability to ensure the best power to fuel management strategy is achieved. They have done a lot of distance and i am sure that that data can still be very important in how will be implemented still before Aus.

[ManFromMilan]

Button was 4,8 seconds behind the best time today...so where is the "Alarm bells ringing at Mclaren" article??? When we were 2 seconds behind yesterday then there was immediately an article "Alarm bells ringing at Ferrari" LOL. So I want to know where is the same article about Mclaren today???

For now the only people discounting Ferrari in F1's pecking order are crap reporters and people dumb enough to hang on to their words.

[evo_spook]

Wrong choice of words there Stefano.

They might be bigger in terms of the size of the company, but we MUST be bigger and are bigger because we're Ferrari and besides we've been in F1 much, much longer than Merc has. So no, please don't start using this "size of the company" talk as an excuse Stefano. That's not the way to go.

Well technically Mercedes was in F1 before Ferrari

[dongtea]

Keep calm.... we have ALo. What more do we require... I'm optimistic'

[AfterLife]

Hi all! I wasn't home for about 10 hours so no info about today's test. Did we do race simulation today? if yes how many laps? Source would be appreciated.

[shamim179]

Or it could be a clever way of stopping the planned protest by Mercedes and Renault by making them think that Ferrari do not have an advantage but instead are still busy trying to understand the engine. Probably wishful thinking!

[Ferris]

Short gears means more power/better acceleration but less top speed. Longer gears means worse acceleration, but with longer gears there is less wheel spin so it is easier for drive to control engine power. I think with V6 turbo is better to have long gears.

We could be forgetting one thing. The longer gearing also provides for better fuel consumption... If the rumours of the Ferrari PU being a little more thirsty than Merc then perhaps this is just part of their solution to mitigate this issue?

[mirafiori]

Well technically Mercedes was in F1 before Ferrari

Nero Horse did not say who was first in F1, he quite rightly said Ferrari have been in F1 much longer than Mercedes.

[stefa]

Keep calm.... we have ALo. What more do we require... I'm optimistic'

It wouldn't harm if Ferrari could give him great car. After all he is not a miracle man!

[Laferrari]

I think some of you need to cancel his username...this threat is so negative that it should be. This is anew era of formula1. The one who will win is the one who will have the best developping ,we have the best wind tunnel some key people like allison so . I do not write of someone because the gain will be big , i remeber mclaren in 2009 3 sec off the pace in the beginning and in mid season it was one of the best car...so let s be positive. One thing we need to know also is that he have the 2 best race driver...they will extract everything on the car.

[PURE PASSION]

The funny thing with some people here ,and in other sites, is that when Ferrari say that we have to work some things up and make it work better, we are doomed and propably the 4th-5th best!!!! But when the same people talk about RB and even Lotus who on this test are horrible on reliability and lap times, they say oohh no they have some issues now but when they will fix them they will be on top !!!!!!!!!

[Nero Horse]

Well technically Mercedes was in F1 before Ferrari

Uhmmm...no, Ferrari was in F1 already in the first season in 1950 and Merc came into F1 in 1954. So I don't quite understand what you're talking about?

[steferrari]

That journalist Paolo Filisetti just told me on Twitter that we might be 0"5 behind Merc & Williams, but only in qualifying.

https://twitter.com/...177257269567488

[shamim179]

The funny thing with some people here ,and in other sites, is that when Ferrari say that we have to work some things up and make it work better, we are doomed and propably the 4th-5th best!!!! But when the same people talk about RB and even Lotus who on this test are horrible on reliability and lap times, they say oohh no they have some issues now but when they will fix them they will be on top !!!!!!!!!

It's because they have confidence in their teams but we don't have us much as them which is understandable given how things have panned out over the last few years. But we must look to the future. Ferrari have taken numerous measures recently to compete at the top. So it might be too early to judge how good well get from here based on past performance alone. But it's not a given that we'll improve considerably.

[shamim179]

The funny thing with some people here ,and in other sites, is that when Ferrari say that we have to work some things up and make it work better, we are doomed and propably the 4th-5th best!!!! But when the same people talk about RB and even Lotus who on this test are horrible on reliability and lap times, they say oohh no they have some issues now but when they will fix them they will be on top !!!!!!!!!

It's because they have confidence in their teams but we don't have us much as them which is understandable given how things have panned out over the last few years. But we must look to the future. Ferrari have taken numerous measures recently to compete at the top. So it might be too early to judge how good well get from here based on past performance alone. But it's not a given that we'll improve considerably.

[RedPassion]

Reliability is key to every season, and so far Merc and Williams have been better than us in that department too. So no consolation there.

Right,but the meaning of the world reliability changes.Reliability in 1999 would mean 15 aspirated engines per GP,no penalty whatsoever if you have a failure,spare car,no park ferme,no omologations,no freezing of parts,free testing.
Or in 2004 1 aspirated engine per weekend and free testing,or 2013 8 aspirated engines per year,gear ratios limited to 30 per year,or 2014 when you have 5 hypercomplicated turbo power unit and a maximum of 8 ratios per year with very strong limitations.Reliability can have many meanings
So ,yeah this year RELIABILITY(with the capital R) is absolutely fundamental.

[Ed Harley]

It wouldn't harm if Ferrari could give him great car. After all he is not a miracle man!

It is my understanding that they try to accomplish to produce a great car as a team. Drivers play a fundamental part in that by providing the vital feedback from track.

[PURE PASSION]

It's because they have confidence in their teams but we don't have us much as them which is understandable given how things have panned out over the last few years. But we must look to the future. Ferrari have taken numerous measures recently to compete at the top. So it might be too early to judge how good well get from here based on past performance alone. But it's not a given that we'll improve considerably.

As i recall, our main problem for the bad developent was the wind tunnel and everybody says that the new one working fine so.....!!!

[tifosi1993]

"But they are a monster and we are smaller, and we want to show that even if we are smaller we can do a fantastic job."

No Stefano, Maranello is much bigger than Brackley.

[Hermann]

As i recall, our main problem for the bad developent was the wind tunnel and everybody says that the new one yorking fine so.....!!!

It was. They might have found something else that isn't working as expected.

Jokes aside, its much too early still to be all doom, all other teams had their quirks too here and there, RB blew up brake discs and engines, its not like its all going 100% smooth elsewhere. And Williams, they often looked really good in the first testing days, and fell back soon after the races started. Not that i wish them anything bad- of course. Just saying.

[Nero Horse]

As i recall, our main problem for the bad developent was the wind tunnel and everybody says that the new one working fine so.....!!!

Yes, a properly working wind tunnel is definitely a huge plus. I just hope it does work 100% the way it's supposed to be working.

[Kyss4k]

As i recall, our main problem for the bad developent was the wind tunnel and everybody says that the new one working fine so.....!!!

EVERYTHING is in people. No excuses. Do we have a "bad" car again? Our guys did a bad job. Simple as that. Oh yeah, I'm sure they are working hard, but doing bad job while working hard is not an excuse.

And Stefano saying "they are monster and we are smaller", that's just... How can he say that out loud? This is just another from his excuses. After all that talk, after Red Bull "out of the way", how could we fail again? I sincerly hope he is just messing with us.

[RedPassion]

No Stefano, Maranello is much bigger than Berkeley.

Bracley(aero department)+Brixtworth(engine department)+Stuttgart(Mercedes HQ)
Ferrari is just Maranello,you cannot count FIAT because there is no know how transfer.

[Hornet]

As i recall, our main problem for the bad developent was the wind tunnel and everybody says that the new one working fine so.....!!!

IIRC, last year's car was developed using Toyota's wind tunnel, and the mid season development left a lot to be desired, we still saw new parts that made things worse. So I think the problem was more complex than just a bad wind tunnel.

Of course since then, we have hired new talents to the design team along with some other changes, so hopefully our mid season development woes will be solved.

[wisepie]

The funny thing with some people here ,and in other sites, is that when Ferrari say that we have to work some things up and make it work better, we are doomed and propably the 4th-5th best!!!! But when the same people talk about RB and even Lotus who on this test are horrible on reliability and lap times, they say oohh no they have some issues now but when they will fix them they will be on top !!!!!!!!!

The recent seasons have shown that our development didn't keep up with other teams, usually there was an excuse offered (wind-tunnel correlation, traction issues etc), but in theory with the new tunnel and staff on board, we should be able to develop the car quickly, once all the systems are understood and maximum potential is exploited. Before all that, pray for reliability and enough performance to keep up with the Merc-powered brigade. The rest is unknown at this stage and the last car running in Melbourne will probably win! The technology has overtaken the reason for motor-racing, IMO, and it's going to turn people off.

[Nero Horse]

And Stefano saying "they are monster and we are smaller", that's just... How can he say that out loud?

That surprised and frustrated me too. This is NOT the kind of talk that should be coming from a Ferrari F1 team boss. I'm sure that Luca will have a few words with him about that. I'm always behind Stefano and I like him, but that was a really bad choice of words from him this time.

[tifosi1993]

“There are a lot of things to learn with the use of the power unit to improve the performance of the car and we are not yet where we want to be"

I take it that the gap is mainly due to engine driveability, but its not a big issue though, they can sort it out with better engine mappings.

[Sempre_Ferrari]

The funny thing with some people here ,and in other sites, is that when Ferrari say that we have to work some things up and make it work better, we are doomed and propably the 4th-5th best!!!! But when the same people talk about RB and even Lotus who on this test are horrible on reliability and lap times, they say oohh no they have some issues now but when they will fix them they will be on top !!!!!!!!!

This! +1000