Well, the only way was up! I still think they were showboating but, on the other hand, maybe the James Allison influence is having an effect. I can't remember who else they have hired or fired, there were so many. Anyway, it was all Alonso's fault that they were **** 'cos Ferrari said so. They should never have let him design their mythical wind tunnel back before he joined the team. Or let him loose on the power train. Fernando and Ron never really fell out in 2007, it was all a cunning plan to ruin Ferrari's prospects. Now he's back at McLaren 'cos he was found out. With that evil saboteur out of the way, Ferrari will be double champions this year for sure.
So far I think the pack is sorted as: Mercedes Williams Ferrari Lotus Red bull Sauber STR Mclaren Force India Manor
True! I agree the only way was up for Ferrari. Plausible theory about mythical (quantum?) wind-tunneling too. Certainly the timing of Ferrari's turn-up seems uncanny; strangely close to simultaneous with the departure of a particle. Karma in the quarks?
Just seen this, same engine, very different packaging. please log in to view this image Ferrari have a history of 'glory runs' at the first test, but they may come good this year. One of their big problems last year was the ERS which just gave up supplying power for the second half of the straight. If that is fixed and then mated to a good car they could be a contender.
I like this game, I'll tentatively predict: Mercedes Williams Red Bull Lotus/Ferrari/Force India McLaren/Sauber Toro Rosso Manor I am a bit worried about Force India, tbh, but if they can finish their car, and based on last year, there's no reason why they shouldn't be competitive, whereas McLaren will take time to develop and Sauber and STR will likely struggle to develop due to having inexperienced drivers; Toro Rosso will be further hamstrung by having to move over every time there's a Red Bull in the vicinity I will admit that both Lotus and FI may be wishful thinking on my part but I cannot see Ferrari beating Red Bull, even with an improved power train; they just have too much to resolve throughout the team, IMO. I suspect this is preparation for the end-of-year 'Things I Got Wrong' thread.
Their whole balance seemed to be be a pile of doo doos last year though, not just the engine. I wonder how much seemingly moving the driver forward has sorted out the general balance.
Mercedes Williams, Ferrari, RBR Lotus Mclaren TR, Sauber FI For me at least. I can't see RBR not being able to compete for 4th to 5th out of the box.
Can't judge McLaren at all tbh, their engine will have been down at minimum just to get the things working first. Even then, in the inter running they were pretty much on the pace (probably mostly due to everyone else turning the engines down at first because of the conditions). The fact that the one time they had an equal run, they showed up well bodes fairly well for the car itself IMO. Remains to be seen what the difference is when everyone is running full power. The Mercedes IMO is an absolute rocket ship. They have done zero performance runs and been sandbagging with fuel. Both drivers have said as much.
The big worry for me is Merc being about 2-3 seconds faster than anything come March. They seem to have strolled along at Jerez, havent even pushed and they are comfortably within Ferraris striking distance. I really hope that is not the case but that thing looks a monster. McLaren Honda getting it right is a case of when, not if. Whether they can be ready to challenge Merc though is another thing all together. I hope so but don't expect so.
I am almost certain Mclaren will just be competing for small points come Australia, actually to be honest probably getting out of Q1 will be a hassle. Ferrari basing the car entirely around Kimi this year may have been a help as Eddie mentioned above, seen as though catering for Alonso got them nowhere.
It does, they have done absolutely no fast laps and allegedly have not gone out with anything less than pretty much a full tank of fuel and half power, they have been running their "endurance" modes to try and break the car. Ferrari on the other hand have been running light. If you look at day 4's gap between Mercedes and another sand bagger, Red Bull, it's at 1.8 seconds. I reckon that is realistically where they are. 1.5-2 seconds clear of everybody else.
F1 testing analysis: Jerez speed traps expose Mercedes advantage SPEED TRAP FIGURES Jerez F1 test, February 1-4 1 Felipe Massa (Williams-Mercedes) 307.6 km/h 2 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 307.6 km/h 3 Pastor Maldonado (Lotus-Mercedes) 306.8 km/h 4 Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso-Renault) 303.3 km/h 5 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber-Ferrari) 303.3 km/h 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 300.8 km/h 7 Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull-Renault) 294.2 km/h 8 Jenson Button (McLaren-Honda) 277.6 km/h Had a look around and I think the Williams grabbed the fastest speed last year at 304kph
The Red Bull is likely to be down to areo, if you compare the Torro Rosso - McLaren is the one that needs to be watched. The first test last year I recall that alot of the engines were running at reduced revs (I seem to recall Merc not going above 11k RPM - correct me if I'm wrong) so if the same can be said for Honda then I dont think its too shabby - at this stage.
Petr Hlawiczka @hlawiczka 26m26 minutes ago #F1 #ForceIndia sends old car (with new livery) to Barcelona, VJM08 should debut at final test please log in to view this image Force India has confirmed that its 2015 Formula 1 car will now not make its debut until the final Barcelona test. The Silverstone-based outfit had hoped a final push at its factory this week would allow it to have the VJM08 running next week at Barcelona, but it has not hit its targets. With cars needing to leave for Barcelona, a team spokesman said on Friday that it is sending its 2014 VJM07 to the next test, which starts on February 19. A decision on its driver line-up for the week will be made in the days before the test. Although there are only a few days between the end of the next Barcelona test and the final test that starts on February 26, Force India is hopeful there is enough time to get its VJM08 finished. Force India's absence from the first tests with its 2015 car has prompted speculation that the team is at risk of missing the start of the season. Deputy team principal Bob Fernley has made it clear that while it has not been an ideal start to the year, the outfit will definitely be ready for the beginning of the campaign. "We will be in Melbourne for the start of the season, there's no doubt about that," he told AUTOSPORT recently. "Yes, testing time with the new car will have been limited, but we are doing everything possible to make sure we arrive in Australia in reasonable shape and with as many miles on the car as possible."
