2018 pre-season testing thread

[JPBD1990]

Just my opinion on testing. The definitive conclusion by all media outlets is that Mercedes is ahead. Their advantage may not be as great as in 2015 but its definitely more than last year. Red Bull and Ferrari are close but RB seem to have pushed ahead of the Scuderia. Even though Vettel's race sim was faster than Verstappen's, Ferrari may be running the PU at a higher power level than RB because Renault have turned down their PU for reliability reasons. Max also spun during his last stint. So his overall race time was slower. Ferrari do not have a bad car. Its just that they are running a high rake and are not yet understanding how to get the best out of it. I'm sure or atleast I hope that they are able to do so. But for Australia, it will be Merc, RB & Ferrari.

Are there any people in this forum who can tell what Italian media sources are reporting regarding Ferrari? I really want Ferrari to win atleast one championship this year. Its a dream to see the German & then Italian anthems playing on the podium, just like the times of Schumacher. If not, atleast RB should fight Merc. Anyone but Merc. Getting tired of their dominance.

Again I just don’t understand how people are making the assessment that redbull is ahead of Ferrari. Even excluding Verstappen’s spin, the Ferrari was consistently lapping faster. Now the new rumour is they had to drive to a delta to save fuel - but were still faster than redbull. Something just isn’t adding up... it’s been a weird preseason.

[Vettelswonmeover]

Just my opinion on testing. The definitive conclusion by all media outlets is that Mercedes is ahead. Their advantage may not be as great as in 2015 but its definitely more than last year. Red Bull and Ferrari are close but RB seem to have pushed ahead of the Scuderia. Even though Vettel's race sim was faster than Verstappen's, Ferrari may be running the PU at a higher power level than RB because Renault have turned down their PU for reliability reasons. Max also spun during his last stint. So his overall race time was slower. Ferrari do not have a bad car. Its just that they are running a high rake and are not yet understanding how to get the best out of it. I'm sure or atleast I hope that they are able to do so. But for Australia, it will be Merc, RB & Ferrari.

Are there any people in this forum who can tell what Italian media sources are reporting regarding Ferrari? I really want Ferrari to win atleast one championship this year. Its a dream to see the German & then Italian anthems playing on the podium, just like the times of Schumacher. If not, atleast RB should fight Merc. Anyone but Merc. Getting tired of their dominance.

Again I just don’t understand how people are making the assessment that redbull is ahead of Ferrari. Even excluding Verstappen’s spin, the Ferrari was consistently lapping faster. Now the new rumour is they had to drive to a delta to save fuel - but were still faster than redbull. Something just isn’t adding up... it’s been a weird preseason.

There are two factors at work in this assessment of RB being ahead of Ferrari. 1) Ferrari driving to a delta to save fuel & 2) Renault running their power units turned down. Ferrari is having issues in fuel consumption. The new oil burning clampdown has hit them the hardest. This may be a big issue and Ferrari will need time to find a fix. Renault too will run the PU turned down for quite a few months till they get their own ERS. However, RB will have a great upgrade package for Australia. Ferrari I'm not so sure. Many media guys (reliable ones) are saying that Ferrari are not yet fully on top of how to run the car with that High Rake. This again would need time to find a fix. RB and Merc are known to run heavy in testing. Ferrari not so. Hence, the consensus is RB is ahead of Ferrari. I hope not but i am pretty convinced about this.

[Restomaniac]

Just my opinion on testing. The definitive conclusion by all media outlets is that Mercedes is ahead. Their advantage may not be as great as in 2015 but its definitely more than last year. Red Bull and Ferrari are close but RB seem to have pushed ahead of the Scuderia. Even though Vettel's race sim was faster than Verstappen's, Ferrari may be running the PU at a higher power level than RB because Renault have turned down their PU for reliability reasons. Max also spun during his last stint. So his overall race time was slower. Ferrari do not have a bad car. Its just that they are running a high rake and are not yet understanding how to get the best out of it. I'm sure or atleast I hope that they are able to do so. But for Australia, it will be Merc, RB & Ferrari.

Are there any people in this forum who can tell what Italian media sources are reporting regarding Ferrari? I really want Ferrari to win atleast one championship this year. Its a dream to see the German & then Italian anthems playing on the podium, just like the times of Schumacher. If not, atleast RB should fight Merc. Anyone but Merc. Getting tired of their dominance.

Again I just don’t understand how people are making the assessment that redbull is ahead of Ferrari. Even excluding Verstappen’s spin, the Ferrari was consistently lapping faster. Now the new rumour is they had to drive to a delta to save fuel - but were still faster than redbull. Something just isn’t adding up... it’s been a weird preseason.

There are two factors at work in this assessment of RB being ahead of Ferrari. 1) Ferrari driving to a delta to save fuel & 2) Renault running their power units turned down. Ferrari is having issues in fuel consumption. The new oil burning clampdown has hit them the hardest. This may be a big issue and Ferrari will need time to find a fix. Renault too will run the PU turned down for quite a few months till they get their own ERS. However, RB will have a great upgrade package for Australia. Ferrari I'm not so sure. Many media guys (reliable ones) are saying that Ferrari are not yet fully on top of how to run the car with that High Rake. This again would need time to find a fix. RB and Merc are known to run heavy in testing. Ferrari not so. Hence, the consensus is RB is ahead of Ferrari. I hope not but i am pretty convinced about this.

I'm not sure it's the high rake they are struggling with but the longer wheelbase. When I saw what they had done I was surprised. Why give up your best advantage on some tracks?

Have they just conceded them to RB? Are they now a jack of all trades but master of none? This of course before we even talk about the smoke bellowing out of the back of all the Ferrari engines which can never be a good thing.

On that point I'd like to know what the FIA think about that. Consistently blowing oil out of the back of the car possibly dumping in on the track/visors can't be good.

[Vettelswonmeover]

Again I just don’t understand how people are making the assessment that redbull is ahead of Ferrari. Even excluding Verstappen’s spin, the Ferrari was consistently lapping faster. Now the new rumour is they had to drive to a delta to save fuel - but were still faster than redbull. Something just isn’t adding up... it’s been a weird preseason.

There are two factors at work in this assessment of RB being ahead of Ferrari. 1) Ferrari driving to a delta to save fuel & 2) Renault running their power units turned down. Ferrari is having issues in fuel consumption. The new oil burning clampdown has hit them the hardest. This may be a big issue and Ferrari will need time to find a fix. Renault too will run the PU turned down for quite a few months till they get their own ERS. However, RB will have a great upgrade package for Australia. Ferrari I'm not so sure. Many media guys (reliable ones) are saying that Ferrari are not yet fully on top of how to run the car with that High Rake. This again would need time to find a fix. RB and Merc are known to run heavy in testing. Ferrari not so. Hence, the consensus is RB is ahead of Ferrari. I hope not but i am pretty convinced about this.

I'm not sure it's the high rake they are struggling with but the longer wheelbase. When I saw what they had done I was surprised. Why give up your best advantage on some tracks?

Have they just conceded them to RB? Are they now a jack of all trades but master of none? This of course before we even talk about the smoke bellowing out of the back of all the Ferrari engines which can never be a good thing.

On that point I'd like to know what the FIA think about that. Consistently blowing oil out of the back of the car possibly dumping in on the track/visors can't be good.

Agreed completely about the long wheelbase philosophy. The lwb has led to them losing the advantage they had in corners. Why did they not play to their strengths and play into the unknown. Maybe Ferrari have the DIVA car now. RB with Newey is always dangerous and their development rate through out the season is extraordinary. I worry for Ferrari.

Regarding the smoking Ferrari engine, it does seem weird. I guess the FIA will clamp down on this soon.

If the first few races are a Merc walkover, I'll stop watching till the second half after the mid-season break. If after that too Merc wins at a canter, I'll stop watching F1 till we have more competition and unpredictability. This would be the first time I would be compelled to do this since I started watching in 1999.

[JPBD1990]

Just my opinion on testing. The definitive conclusion by all media outlets is that Mercedes is ahead. Their advantage may not be as great as in 2015 but its definitely more than last year. Red Bull and Ferrari are close but RB seem to have pushed ahead of the Scuderia. Even though Vettel's race sim was faster than Verstappen's, Ferrari may be running the PU at a higher power level than RB because Renault have turned down their PU for reliability reasons. Max also spun during his last stint. So his overall race time was slower. Ferrari do not have a bad car. Its just that they are running a high rake and are not yet understanding how to get the best out of it. I'm sure or atleast I hope that they are able to do so. But for Australia, it will be Merc, RB & Ferrari.

Are there any people in this forum who can tell what Italian media sources are reporting regarding Ferrari? I really want Ferrari to win atleast one championship this year. Its a dream to see the German & then Italian anthems playing on the podium, just like the times of Schumacher. If not, atleast RB should fight Merc. Anyone but Merc. Getting tired of their dominance.

Again I just don’t understand how people are making the assessment that redbull is ahead of Ferrari. Even excluding Verstappen’s spin, the Ferrari was consistently lapping faster. Now the new rumour is they had to drive to a delta to save fuel - but were still faster than redbull. Something just isn’t adding up... it’s been a weird preseason.

There are two factors at work in this assessment of RB being ahead of Ferrari. 1) Ferrari driving to a delta to save fuel & 2) Renault running their power units turned down. Ferrari is having issues in fuel consumption. The new oil burning clampdown has hit them the hardest. This may be a big issue and Ferrari will need time to find a fix. Renault too will run the PU turned down for quite a few months till they get their own ERS. However, RB will have a great upgrade package for Australia. Ferrari I'm not so sure. Many media guys (reliable ones) are saying that Ferrari are not yet fully on top of how to run the car with that High Rake. This again would need time to find a fix. RB and Merc are known to run heavy in testing. Ferrari not so. Hence, the consensus is RB is ahead of Ferrari. I hope not but i am pretty convinced about this.

Only time will tell I suppose. No doubt merc and RB both ran heavy, but I don’t think ferrari’s “quali sims” were done with 3 laps of fuel either. I think the fuel consumption issue is the most pressing, but again they have managed better pace in a race sim despite that.

I’m all for a 3 horse race, and I hope it is. I’m only struggling to reconcile the data with what is being reported. Granted the Ferrari is getting through its fuel - it still went faster than the RB?!

[JPBD1990]

There are two factors at work in this assessment of RB being ahead of Ferrari. 1) Ferrari driving to a delta to save fuel & 2) Renault running their power units turned down. Ferrari is having issues in fuel consumption. The new oil burning clampdown has hit them the hardest. This may be a big issue and Ferrari will need time to find a fix. Renault too will run the PU turned down for quite a few months till they get their own ERS. However, RB will have a great upgrade package for Australia. Ferrari I'm not so sure. Many media guys (reliable ones) are saying that Ferrari are not yet fully on top of how to run the car with that High Rake. This again would need time to find a fix. RB and Merc are known to run heavy in testing. Ferrari not so. Hence, the consensus is RB is ahead of Ferrari. I hope not but i am pretty convinced about this.

I'm not sure it's the high rake they are struggling with but the longer wheelbase. When I saw what they had done I was surprised. Why give up your best advantage on some tracks?

Have they just conceded them to RB? Are they now a jack of all trades but master of none? This of course before we even talk about the smoke bellowing out of the back of all the Ferrari engines which can never be a good thing.

On that point I'd like to know what the FIA think about that. Consistently blowing oil out of the back of the car possibly dumping in on the track/visors can't be good.

Agreed completely about the long wheelbase philosophy. The lwb has led to them losing the advantage they had in corners. Why did they not play to their strengths and play into the unknown. Maybe Ferrari have the DIVA car now. RB with Newey is always dangerous and their development rate through out the season is extraordinary. I worry for Ferrari.

Regarding the smoking Ferrari engine, it does seem weird. I guess the FIA will clamp down on this soon.

If the first few races are a Merc walkover, I'll stop watching till the second half after the mid-season break. If after that too Merc wins at a canter, I'll stop watching F1 till we have more competition and unpredictability. This would be the first time I would be compelled to do this since I started watching in 1999.

I’m intrigued about the smoking engine. It’s an odd thing, as is what appears to be oil escaping from their wastegate all the way around the track. No other engine is doing that, so I don’t understand the possible reason for it...

also, with oil burn restrictions, how will ferrari remain under the 0.6 per 100km rule when it looks like they’re losing oil constantly? Unless it’s somehow intentional to make the measurement of the 0.6 harder by making it harder to understand how much was burned vs exhausted... I dunno, but it’s super weird.

[johnny comelately]

I'm not sure it's the high rake they are struggling with but the longer wheelbase. When I saw what they had done I was surprised. Why give up your best advantage on some tracks?

Have they just conceded them to RB? Are they now a jack of all trades but master of none? This of course before we even talk about the smoke bellowing out of the back of all the Ferrari engines which can never be a good thing.

On that point I'd like to know what the FIA think about that. Consistently blowing oil out of the back of the car possibly dumping in on the track/visors can't be good.

Agreed completely about the long wheelbase philosophy. The lwb has led to them losing the advantage they had in corners. Why did they not play to their strengths and play into the unknown. Maybe Ferrari have the DIVA car now. RB with Newey is always dangerous and their development rate through out the season is extraordinary. I worry for Ferrari.

Regarding the smoking Ferrari engine, it does seem weird. I guess the FIA will clamp down on this soon.

If the first few races are a Merc walkover, I'll stop watching till the second half after the mid-season break. If after that too Merc wins at a canter, I'll stop watching F1 till we have more competition and unpredictability. This would be the first time I would be compelled to do this since I started watching in 1999.

I’m intrigued about the smoking engine. It’s an odd thing, as is what appears to be oil escaping from their wastegate all the way around the track. No other engine is doing that, so I don’t understand the possible reason for it...

also, with oil burn restrictions, how will ferrari remain under the 0.6 per 100km rule when it looks like they’re losing oil constantly? Unless it’s somehow intentional to make the measurement of the 0.6 harder by making it harder to understand how much was burned vs exhausted... I dunno, but it’s super weird.

re FerrariSmokegate: do they have a throttle butterfly and where is it positioned?

[Restomaniac]

I'm not sure it's the high rake they are struggling with but the longer wheelbase. When I saw what they had done I was surprised. Why give up your best advantage on some tracks?

Have they just conceded them to RB? Are they now a jack of all trades but master of none? This of course before we even talk about the smoke bellowing out of the back of all the Ferrari engines which can never be a good thing.

On that point I'd like to know what the FIA think about that. Consistently blowing oil out of the back of the car possibly dumping in on the track/visors can't be good.

Agreed completely about the long wheelbase philosophy. The lwb has led to them losing the advantage they had in corners. Why did they not play to their strengths and play into the unknown. Maybe Ferrari have the DIVA car now. RB with Newey is always dangerous and their development rate through out the season is extraordinary. I worry for Ferrari.

Regarding the smoking Ferrari engine, it does seem weird. I guess the FIA will clamp down on this soon.

If the first few races are a Merc walkover, I'll stop watching till the second half after the mid-season break. If after that too Merc wins at a canter, I'll stop watching F1 till we have more competition and unpredictability. This would be the first time I would be compelled to do this since I started watching in 1999.

I’m intrigued about the smoking engine. It’s an odd thing, as is what appears to be oil escaping from their wastegate all the way around the track. No other engine is doing that, so I don’t understand the possible reason for it...

also, with oil burn restrictions, how will ferrari remain under the 0.6 per 100km rule when it looks like they’re losing oil constantly? Unless it’s somehow intentional to make the measurement of the 0.6 harder by making it harder to understand how much was burned vs exhausted... I dunno, but it’s super weird.

As far as I understand, it doesn't matter how it disappears the most they can lose is 0.6l per 100km. Burning it, spitting it out the back, the driver drinking it, etc it doesn't matter.
Has the rule on recycling air torpedoed Ferrari? Was that how they closed the gap on Mercedes last season by cleverly working around the regs by using recycling and has the reg stating that only 1 oil is now allowed not helped either?

[George-Jung]

Regarding the smoke- didn’t the Merc’s had that too in previous years when they fired up their power unit?

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Again I just don’t understand how people are making the assessment that redbull is ahead of Ferrari. Even excluding Verstappen’s spin, the Ferrari was consistently lapping faster. Now the new rumour is they had to drive to a delta to save fuel - but were still faster than redbull. Something just isn’t adding up... it’s been a weird preseason.

There are two factors at work in this assessment of RB being ahead of Ferrari. 1) Ferrari driving to a delta to save fuel & 2) Renault running their power units turned down. Ferrari is having issues in fuel consumption. The new oil burning clampdown has hit them the hardest. This may be a big issue and Ferrari will need time to find a fix. Renault too will run the PU turned down for quite a few months till they get their own ERS. However, RB will have a great upgrade package for Australia. Ferrari I'm not so sure. Many media guys (reliable ones) are saying that Ferrari are not yet fully on top of how to run the car with that High Rake. This again would need time to find a fix. RB and Merc are known to run heavy in testing. Ferrari not so. Hence, the consensus is RB is ahead of Ferrari. I hope not but i am pretty convinced about this.

Driving to delta, is what every team has been doing, not just in testing, but in all races for last few years. You might have a lot of power (PU + Chassis capabilities), but you have to be mindful of the fuel and tyre usage. So, in essence, what you see in races, is what you have seen in testing! You either use full power available for a few laps and go a whole lot slower for the remaining, or drive to a delta! Either ways, your performance averages out.

With the throttle % increase since last year, due to additional down force available and with the teams adding more downforce this year (as part of development), the throttle % is going to increase further, which means, you are going to consume a hell lot more fuel than ever. So, driving to Delta is going to be even more critical! With increase in fuel economy as the combustion technology continues to improve, the problem would get reduced over time, not eliminated! So whatever race sim numbers we have seen, even if is driving to delta, is the optimum utilization of resources to the maximum. That is the reality of a car and nothing more to the story.

Regarding Renault having turned down their PU for the reliability sake, it would be interesting to see where they stand with fuel consumption, when they fully resolve their reliability issues and unleash full power. However, the extra grunt should definitely help in qualifying.

[Restomaniac]

Regarding the smoke- didn’t the Merc’s had that too in previous years when they fired up their power unit?

That was normally oil sat at start up/idol. Never to this level and not during running/a race.

[johnny comelately]

Regarding the smoke- didn’t the Merc’s had that too in previous years when they fired up their power unit?

I think it was the Mercs that smoked a lot on the grid.

[marvin78]

Yeah but with Mercedes everything is a feature not a bug

[Restomaniac]

Yeah but with Mercedes everything is a feature not a bug

Yes because the tiny amount of smoke at certain times from the Mercedes PU is exactly the same as what the Ferrari PU is doing currently.

I think we all remember the press being able to say 'Oh look smoke, a Mercedes PU must have started'...........Don't we?

[LM10]

Mercedes' biggest weapon remain their engine, "weapon of an engine" as Horner said. It really isn't easy to outperform a car with the most powerful and at the same time most efficient engine in the back. Being able to use less fuel and more percentage of throttle is a big advantage.

The hybrid era seems to have suited Mercedes the most. The experience on that topic which they had started to gain already years before 2014 might have helped them most among the teams. Also efficient engines are something Mercedes is known for generally. I don't know if this makes sense though, just some amateurish thoughts.

Nonetheless I hope Ferrari and RBR can seriously challenge the silver arrows throughout the season. By further developing and in case of Ferrari somehow solving their fuel saving problem which at the moment seems to be their biggest one.