http://grandprixmotorracing.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=216 For those interested in F1 from now all the way back. Some awesome pics
Seems like Merc stopped sandbagging Lewis time on mediums is just 0.3 seconds behind the red bull on softs. Enough anyone who thought the car was not quick was probably kidding themselves.
Predicting another mercedes stroll to the championship Merc [team] seem to be sandbagging... Ferrari seem to be trying to make the car look better than it is [imo]... Renault are still playing catch-up... ...and not even Honda know wtf is up with the McLaren
They compared lewis and Daniels race sims in a real race Lewis would of been 53.5 seconds down the road. He was 0.8 seconds ish faster per lap. I expect a stroll for them in truth, Ferrari looks quick over 1 lap but they have not run long at any point in the test. Redbull will be the best of the rest again. McLaren need a miracle between now and Ausi or they may not even make the grid. Similar situation to lotus last year who up till ausi were super touch and go. I'd expect one of Lewis or Nico to be world champion. Merc have spent the winter on reliability testing and the car looks bulletproof.
Mclaren will qualify fine, whether they see the end of any races in the first third of the season remains to be seen. Their total lack of major sponsors beyond Honda is embarrassing, they style themselves as a top team, but can't attract a high value sponsor. Even with Mr ALonso I see Button's Brazil 2012 win remaining their last for some time to come.
Alonso/McLaren in the wall Looks like he's OK, but possibly a headache for McLaren if it's a car failure.
End of test 2 feelings Merc will walk it Anyone still dout anything but a Mercedes for drivers and constructors title should probably look away at nicos time on mediums. 0.2 seconds behind the car on super softs which are 1.5 to 2 seconds a lap quicker. Lewis race sim been pretty much a second a lap faster than rbr. The best of the rest might be closer. McLaren look in big trouble. McLaren looks in a very tough spot 3 times less mileage and now worrys over Alonso it's not been a good 8 days for them. Doesn't matter how fast or slow it is if it can't do the race distance. Lotus , Ferrari are having better pre seasons wether either will compete at the front remains to be seen. Red Bull who really knows where they are the race sim run suggests they are behind but we have little other data. Similar story with Williams off doing there own thing and no real idea where they are.
Merc looks set to get competition from Williams, but not many others. Williams have been spending a whole day practising pit stops, and word is that the car is an improvement from last year. Rosberg saying that "according to their data" his fast lap wasn't impressive is probably making a few engineers and team bosses curse right now. Red Bull has taken a step forward. I expect to also be sandbagging a bit. McLaren/Honda is in trouble right now, so time will tell what's what. They've not run anywhere near the limit yet IMHO. The Ferrari engines... hmmm. Sauber seems to be glory-running a good bit. But then - they need sponsors (loads of open space on that car). Ferrari itself seems to have moved forward, and I am somewhat expecting to see at least good single lap pace.
I think Ferrari will be much closer to the front this year. For all his abilities as a driver Alonso's preference for understeer led Ferrari (and Massa, Raikonnen) down a lot of performance dead ends.
If anyone's interested the Formula-E final round will be held in London's Battersea Park, on 27/28 June.
Their schedule is 1 race per month or so. Before London, they still have to go to:- Miami - 14th March Long Beach - 4th April Monaco - 9th May Berlin - 23rd May Moscow - 6th June
Williams set a 1.23.5 today on soft tires. Merc's fastest so far is a 1.24.321 on mediums. I'd say Williams will probably be a lot closer to them this year, even though both teams probably have a little more pace they don't want to show McLaren really need some reliability now. They have had numerous issues with the engine, and have yet to run at full power. They might have some good pace , but reliability will probably cost them this year. I'm really not sure where Lotus, Red Bull and Ferrari stand. They have all done some quick laps, but with the softer tires. They seem to be fairly reliable too. Force India will be using the new car tomorrow. Torro Rosso will inevitably be somewhere in the mid-field, probably with similar pace to Force India. Sauber looks to have a reliable car, but I don't think they will be in the points, or Q3, too much. I'm hoping they can at least battle with the mid-field. Speaking of qualifying, I presume there will be a shake up of the number of cars eliminated from each session, given there will be less cars than last year. Any news on this? I'd assume no announcements will be made until the races Manor/Marussia attend are confirmed.