2012 Testing - Barcelona 2: 1 - 4 March

[retpog55]

"his trip over the gravel" and "no damage to the car" suggests driver error.

I was watching a few testing videos yesterday on tube and it really hits home about how little we can actually learn about the "rankings" of the teams. You have a Force India taking it easy around the corners and then blasting down the straight with the DRS open on one lap, right behind them is a Williams riding the kurbs but not using DRS at all. Throw in the different tyres, fuel loads, it really makes establishing a rank incredibly difficult.

The only real info we can learn is how quickly a teams tyres drop off and at the moment the red bull looks to have the edge here. If you watch footage of the testing the most noticable thing that stood out to me was how "passive" and safe the cars are when taking corners, no one really seems to be attacking the circuit as such.

[Lorenzo_Bandini]

Red flag, Vettel

[retpog55]

....and lunch.

[Trocola]

Dry fuel runs should be done at the end of the day, not at will. 7 red flags on less than 4 hours are too much with so limited testing teams have


Trocola

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

the most noticable thing that stood out to me was how "passive" and safe the cars are when taking corners, no one really seems to be attacking the circuit as such.

Could be that the Pirellis are dropping off very quickly if you push too hard on them initially.

Basically it's what Mercedes and I believe Ferrari where trying out in the first test and yesterday. Hammer the tyres hard on your first timed lap, then settle into a groove to see what the drop off rate is.
Once you have calculated how much time loss you get from smashing the tyres in the first few laps, you do it again on a different compound. Then you reverse the compounds to see which would get you the quickest race distance.

I saw Mercedes do some very consistent 6-8 lap runs in the1m 29s with a deviation of about 0,4. This could show that they wanted a back to back run and see how to deal with the initial stages of using the tyre.

And it would also explain some of the graining we have seen from both Ferrari and Mercedes.

Not saying all of this is what is happening, I just think it is plausible given they arent looking at one lap pace.

[Mr.S]

It may well be, because he's back out.

Soft tyres, low fuel run, and the best he did was 1m25.520s.. That doesn't sound right.

I refuse to believe this. Mercedes did a 1.23.5 on Hards in a 10-12 Lap without DRS. Where did all that pace. If 1.25.520 is the best they will do they will fighting with HRT & Marussia. Besides in last Barcelona test they looked good for a mid 1.20 to high 1-20 atleast.

How did they loose 5 seconds of time in between 1 test??

[beelsebob]

It may well be, because he's back out.

Soft tyres, low fuel run, and the best he did was 1m25.520s.. That doesn't sound right.

I refuse to believe this. Mercedes did a 1.23.5 on Hards in a 10-12 Lap without DRS. Where did all that pace. If 1.25.520 is the best they will do they will fighting with HRT & Marussia. Besides in last Barcelona test they looked good for a mid 1.20 to high 1-20 atleast.

How did they loose 5 seconds of time in between 1 test??

Jesus Christ, will you ever learn THIS IS TESTING. Times are not representative of what the teams can actually do. Different runs happen on different fuel loads, different engine settings, different aero devices strapped to the car, different orders given to the driver to take corners in certain ways, to coast down straights, to maintain constant speeds at certain times, different .........

YOU CAN NOT INFER A TEAM'S PACE FROM THE TIMES THEY PUT UP IN TESTING.

[Schurcedes]

@ Mr.S: You don't have to believe it because it's not true. Read the rest of the thread and all will be revealed..

[radosav]

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson

"I've been watching the cars out on the track this morning, down at the chicane at Turns seven and eight. The Ferrari looks particularly difficult to drive - Fernando Alonso has caught a couple of lurid slides when he lost rear-end grip. He's trying to drive the car he wants to have rather than the car he has. Felipe Massa was also struggling yesterday, but the way he drives the car looks nervous. Alonso just makes it slide. The Red Bull looks neat and tidy, although it does build up a bit of understeer. The Ferrari looks like it has very 'peaky' grip whereas the Red Bull looks more comfortable to drive. I suspect if the drivers were to really have a go, the pace of the two cars would be close, but you'd be less likely to make a mistake in the Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton has not done many laps - and when he has been out the McLaren has looked heavy with fuel."

[aduka11]

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson

"I've been watching the cars out on the track this morning, down at the chicane at Turns seven and eight. The Ferrari looks particularly difficult to drive - Fernando Alonso has caught a couple of lurid slides when he lost rear-end grip. He's trying to drive the car he wants to have rather than the car he has. Felipe Massa was also struggling yesterday, but the way he drives the car looks nervous. Alonso just makes it slide. The Red Bull looks neat and tidy, although it does build up a bit of understeer. The Ferrari looks like it has very 'peaky' grip whereas the Red Bull looks more comfortable to drive. I suspect if the drivers were to really have a go, the pace of the two cars would be close, but you'd be less likely to make a mistake in the Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton has not done many laps - and when he has been out the McLaren has looked heavy with fuel."

Which means...you can easily push RB more than you can Ferrari.

[Ferraripilot]

I suspect if the drivers were to really have a go, the pace of the two cars would be close, but you'd be less likely to make a mistake in the Red Bull. ."

The RB is tons quicker. I don't know what Gary's talking about in that regard. The Ferrari does indeed appear to be a handful to drive though

[radosav]

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson

"I've been watching the cars out on the track this morning, down at the chicane at Turns seven and eight. The Ferrari looks particularly difficult to drive - Fernando Alonso has caught a couple of lurid slides when he lost rear-end grip. He's trying to drive the car he wants to have rather than the car he has. Felipe Massa was also struggling yesterday, but the way he drives the car looks nervous. Alonso just makes it slide. The Red Bull looks neat and tidy, although it does build up a bit of understeer. The Ferrari looks like it has very 'peaky' grip whereas the Red Bull looks more comfortable to drive. I suspect if the drivers were to really have a go, the pace of the two cars would be close, but you'd be less likely to make a mistake in the Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton has not done many laps - and when he has been out the McLaren has looked heavy with fuel."

Which means...you can easily push RB more than you can Ferrari.

yes, red bull has great balance these last few years, while others have been more or less strugling

[retpog55]

Once sky realise the facts and see that only a few people like ourselves tune in to watch the testing, they may start having words with the FIA. "How can we improve testing as a spectacle?" to attract more viewers.

I believe Sky may already have had some sort of influence on Red Bull and Ferrari being forced to take part yesterday due to television coverage. It would hardly bode well for Sky to cover their first day of testing and have two of the biggest teams not taking part. This time next year we could well be watching all of the cars having to do mandatory same fuel, same tyre qualifying runs on a Friday afternoon or something as equally entertaining.

It would certainly boost viewers which is basically what it all boils down to.

[illario]

11:39 Again.

11:39 Red flag.

11:38 The Mercedes immediately sets a new personal best in sector one.


HOPE IT NOT MICHAEL AGAIN !!!!

where do you get info on sector times?
Thank you.

[raymondu999]

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson

"I've been watching the cars out on the track this morning, down at the chicane at Turns seven and eight. The Ferrari looks particularly difficult to drive - Fernando Alonso has caught a couple of lurid slides when he lost rear-end grip. He's trying to drive the car he wants to have rather than the car he has. Felipe Massa was also struggling yesterday, but the way he drives the car looks nervous. Alonso just makes it slide. The Red Bull looks neat and tidy, although it does build up a bit of understeer. The Ferrari looks like it has very 'peaky' grip whereas the Red Bull looks more comfortable to drive. I suspect if the drivers were to really have a go, the pace of the two cars would be close, but you'd be less likely to make a mistake in the Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton has not done many laps - and when he has been out the McLaren has looked heavy with fuel."

Which means...you can easily push RB more than you can Ferrari.

Not quite in that sense. It just makes it easier to drive qualifying laps in the race.