2012 Testing - Barcelona 2: 21-24 Feb

[Mr.S]

Lewis Hamilton pitted 4 times. He had a 1.47 lap before which he pitted. I substracted 16s from that because I refuse to believe tyre degradation can cause a 16-17 second degradation after a stint suddenly.

Lewis's Average Lap Time is 29.52. Vettel's is 28.2 & Nico's is just shy of 28.2. Hamilton & Nico did 57 laps whereas Vettel did 54.

Vettel's & Hamilton's time would increase by 0.3-0.4s as they made 1 pitstop more than Nico Rosberg. If this DOES not show that W03 will be Super Competitive I dont know what does.

[beelsebob]

Button??? I dont expect anything less of him. I was talking about Hamilton.

But this is misleading. On 1 lap Nico rode Kerb 13 & Button avoided 1ce or a few times & that tells the whole picture. Fuel Loads,Tyres play a huge role in this. Otherwise it is useless to say who rode the kerb & stuff. You cant ride kerbs aggressively at Full Tanks & Worn Tyres.

BTW I checked Vettel's race simulation & Nico's & its clear to me that Mercedes have a competitive car.

You've started trying to draw concrete conclusions from testing. That immediately tells me that what you're saying isn't grounded in reality.

Mercedes certainly look like they have something competitive on their hands, but again, testing... Remember, last year, Williams looked like they had something competitive on their hands.

[Mr.S]

Button??? I dont expect anything less of him. I was talking about Hamilton.

But this is misleading. On 1 lap Nico rode Kerb 13 & Button avoided 1ce or a few times & that tells the whole picture. Fuel Loads,Tyres play a huge role in this. Otherwise it is useless to say who rode the kerb & stuff. You cant ride kerbs aggressively at Full Tanks & Worn Tyres.

BTW I checked Vettel's race simulation & Nico's & its clear to me that Mercedes have a competitive car.

You've started trying to draw concrete conclusions from testing. That immediately tells me that what you're saying isn't grounded in reality.

Mercedes certainly look like they have something competitive on their hands, but again, testing... Remember, last year, Williams looked like they had something competitive on their hands.

I know I am completely overdoing it. Its not easy seeing your favourite driver return after years & not get a podium for 2 years & get shitted on by critics. I am a fan in heart so I am taking a hugely optimistic view. Vettel/Hamilton could have used worn tyres/carried more fuel/not used KERS.

But what I meat was Mercedes's long runs are fantastic,the times are great. I think Mercedes can get in the podium from the 1st race itself. I dont even see race wins or stuff,just that is a COMPETITIVE car after a DOG last year.

[Pup]

Mercedes certainly look like they have something competitive on their hands, but again, testing... Remember, last year, Williams looked like they had something competitive on their hands.

Yeah, but Williams and Sauber are sort of famous for that. I think Merc's pace is genuine, but I don't think its where they need it to be.

[dan_f1]

Merc is going to be good, but they are not going to be competing for the team or driver titles. They say as much themselves.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97677
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97686

[Mr.S]

Merc is going to be good, but they are not going to be competing for the team or driver titles. They say as much themselves.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97677
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97686

Do you think Ross Brawn would say that he has the fastest car if he has it. Ross Brawn openly said it they are looking for Michael's return & Nico's 1st victory this season. I dont expect them to fight for WDC or WCC. Really dont.

But even if they have the fastest or 2nd fastest car there is no way they would declare themselves after doing this blunder 2 years in a row & not having an idea how quick the opposition are. This statement has nothing to do Mercedes not being quickest.

[raymondu999]

Brawn has already said the W03 isn't a winner

[Mr.S]

Brawn has already said the W03 isn't a winner

Which does not matter. He says it is not ready to WIN YET & it is too early to judge if they can challenge RBR.That & W03 is not a winner are completely different things. After testing last year who thought last year's Mclaren will win 6 races??

Brawn would say the same even if he has the fastest car,if he says We are the team to beat after RBR like he said last year,then there is something to be worried about. W03's long run pace is Absolutely Fantastic.

[dan_f1]

Honestly I don't understand why so many people here think they can glean information about the performance level of the cars from the testing lap times. No one knows what the teams are really doing, or what they are testing.

[dan_f1]

W03's long run pace is Absolutely Fantastic.

Can you base this on anything other than your own personal opinion and bias? Average lap times from testing mean nothing.

[Ferraripilot]

I wouldn't be surprised if W03 were similar to RB5 in some ways as RB5 was very much a breakthrough car for Red Bull, or, "seeing the light" if you will. RB5 of course birthed the brilliant RB6.

If Merc has a good 2nd or 3rd place WCC this year it will be a major milestone as simply breaking through to that category is quite an achievement and acts as a springboard to further developement. MB has so much that is different on their car compared to Mcl and RB which I believe is key to MB being a winner. Don't try and out-Red Bull the Red Bull because it won't happen.

[Pup]

Whitmarsh...

I suspect the big boys at this end could probably go two or three seconds a lap quicker if they really tried, but that's not the name of the game.

Yep.

Pay no attention to the lap times - they aren't an indicator of true pace. Some teams may 'take it easy' at a quicker pace than others, but those lap times don't say a thing about who's car has the most reserve waiting to be unleashed.

[Ferraripilot]

Honestly I don't understand why so many people here think they can glean information about the performance level of the cars from the testing lap times. No one knows what the teams are really doing, or what they are testing.

Actually a trained eye on the sidelines of the track can determine a heck of a lot. A driver on the track can determine just as much about the car they are next to a lot of the time, braking points, entry speeds, when a car can get back on an accelerator, and they are usually so intuitive they can know when a car is on a decent load of fuel. You'd be amazed at the knowledge these guys have just from standing there watching. I recall the commentary from Hulkenburg in a German magazine last year during preseason, it was as if he knew what was going to happen in the season already. Quite amazing. Last year they were saying Red Bull was indeed the car, and it was. The year before they were saying again that Red Bull was the car to beat. So yes, lap times don't matter a whole lot, but driver opinion and expert opinions for those at the track with good knowledge of racing cars do indeed have an opinion that carries a bit of weight.

[Ferraripilot]

Whitmarsh...

I suspect the big boys at this end could probably go two or three seconds a lap quicker if they really tried, but that's not the name of the game.

Yep.

Someone down there can crack a 1:20 is my guess.

[dren]

He said it isn't a winner in its current form. It may luck into a win. It will possibly be about where the Ferrari was last year. James Allen says it is a podium challenger but not a race winner.