Vettel on softs only doing 1:25's at the moment, 1.8s off Williams soft time yesterday. Have they really closed the gap, or was it just looking good for them whilst Mercedes and Williams were not chasing times in earlier tests?
Ferrari were planning on doing race runs this test weren't they? Correct me if I am wrong. 12:10 BEN ANDERSON: "Spent some of the morning watching the cars trackside. "The Mercedes looks a joy to drive, smothered in grip, and the Williams is also impressive - much more consistent and stable at the rear than last year's car. "The Ferrari wasn't turning in well at low speed, and couldn't carry the same momentum through Turn 3 as the Mercedes, but Vettel was on long runs, so it's possible the car was simply fat with fuel.
please log in to view this image P Driver Team Time 1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.792s 2 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m23.995s +1.203 3 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m24.071s +1.279 4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m25.339s +2.547 5 Jenson Button McLaren 1m25.590s +2.798 6 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m26.705s +3.913 7 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m26.766s +3.974 8 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m26.965s +4.173 9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1m28.412s +5.620 Laps Vettel - 143 Maldonado - 140 Nasr - 141 Verstappen - 139 Rosberg - 106 Button - 101 Bottas - 90 Kvyat - 84 Hukkenberg - 77 please log in to view this image
What's their fastest time to date around Barcelona though? Still well off the pace by the looks of it.
The worst fears for competitive racing fans may be being realised. Remember Merc were managing their pace in 2014- let off the leash I suppose this kind of gap was to be expected. All we can hope is that development tokens help. Williams looks really solid though so hopefully theyll develop more agressively this season. Great to see a McLaren Honda doing 100 laps too. A small step on their long journey.
Remember Bahrain last season when they were let off the leash? Pulled away at 2.5s a lap whilst taking time off each other :/ I fear Mercedes held back to look after the PU last year. Just hope Ham and Ros have another year long tussle. EDIT: Just read that Rosberg didn't open DRS for his fastest run.... joy.
Pastor has been getting his eye in this morning, bit of personal prep please log in to view this image
Looks that way, Rosberg sounded happier and on the time sheets as well. Interesting fact: if both Ricciardo and Vettel in 2014 gave their future selves in 2015 a head start with testing distance, they would be finishing the Spanish gp in comparison. In short they both have 5 more GPs worth of distance entering this season.
"The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them." – Samuel McChord Crothers. Perhaps he should have added that only some of them are interesting! Back to the present, I omitted Toro Rosso in my last post. I shouldn't have. I've been very impressed with Max Verstappen. Yes, it's only been testing so far but he has shown a maturity belying his very tender age. Father Jos is justifiably proud. As I type, I can see above Silver's post to Eat Sleep's link and comment. In terms of this season's Constructors' Championship, it is very difficult to see beyond Mercedes. Whilst such predictability might seem dull, we should be thankful that the team has repeated its vow to allow real fighting all the way through the season between its drivers. I've not read the link but at this stage, I would agree that Rosberg has an early advantage. Not only has he claimed the fastest lap, he has clocked up a very considerable mileage; far more than Hamilton who has experienced almost all of the niggles with the car. Hamilton is also struggling to find a set up, but Rosberg had it dialled in right from the start and has continued to fine-tune it. Behind Mercedes, we should find some very entertaining rivalry between teams. Testing is notoriously difficult to extrapolate from but Williams has had very little trouble and arguably has the next best car, although Ferrari and Red Bull may also be challenging for wins when Mercedes trip up (inevitable at some point). I do not see Force India being able to maintain the necessary rate of development to keep up with those it currently may be matching, and predict relative deterioration towards the end of the season, with Toro Rosso, Lotus and Sauber all likely to finish ahead on points. McLaren is the great unknown. Testing has been about as bad as it gets. Alonso has become a mystery and Button philosophical. I believe Honda have played by the rules in not having had an power unit in a secret test mule at a semi-secret venue (unlike a red team not so long ago(?!)). The fact (there you are Silver ,I got one too!) that Honda have only McLaren to run its engine is a compounding disadvantage. However, the mighty organisation will probably get things sorted out and be scoring points before …err, Silverstone? Season opener now just around the corner. I for one will find it very interesting.
Can't beat a good fact Over three days, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez collectively clocked up 365 laps in the VJM08 - just 15 fewer than McLaren did across 12 days.
Both Barcelona test numbers, please log in to view this image 8 days cumulative - Best times (colour = tyre compound) & Lap counts
