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2017 Pre-Season Testing: Barcelona

Discussion in 'Formula 1' started by TopClass, Feb 25, 2017.

  1. moreinjuredthanowen

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    Interesting that they so far seem very wedded to that little t wing above the rear wing.

    their shark fin is very short compared to others.
     
    #41
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  2. allsaintchris.

    allsaintchris. Well-Known Member

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    Those fins can't be good if there is a strong wind blowing across the track.

    I wonder if they will be seen at every circuit, or some teams may run without them depending on characteristics?
     
    #42
  3. moreinjuredthanowen

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    good question.

    They seem to be doing it to smooth airflow from the front of the car onto the lower rear wing and for stability but you would wonder about any track where strong winds occur.

    The lower rear win seems to be forcing this obsession.
     
    #43
  4. Smithers

    Smithers Well-Known Member
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    I think Sgt just caught half way through his chainsaw promise.
     
    #44
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  5. moreinjuredthanowen

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    Lewis Hamilton is still pounding around. He's closing on 20 laps completed and has just vaulted into fourth place with a 1:23.398.

    Superb reliability for Mercedes so far. Are they sand-bagging on pace?

    ..............................

    don't you hate when someone feels the need to state something blindingly obvious as they've nothing else to say.

    For the record hamilton hasn't even got within 0.5s of last years top times in a car that's 5 seconds a lap faster when it counts <laugh>
     
    #45
  6. Smithers

    Smithers Well-Known Member
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    Last year they ran race sims on harder compounds and rarely featured at the top, so no real surprises.
     
    #46
  7. moreinjuredthanowen

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    Massa: 1:22.727 Day 1 time faster than all of last years testing in a williams....

    the lap record here was 1:21.670 by kimi in 2008. I'll be disappointed if this is not beaten by most i nthe coming days as a result of just this first day.

    btw fastest ever lap was quali in 2010 mark webber 1:19.995

    (if no track changes since of course)

    It might be a bit steep to ask for in testing but i reckon that might even be broken in the quali this year.
     
    #47
  8. El_Bando

    El_Bando Can't remember, where was I?
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    If Mercedes get vortexes from their sharkfin.... does that make it a sharknado?
     
    #48
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  9. El_Bando

    El_Bando Can't remember, where was I?
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    suddenly, the force india paint scheme looks a lot better:

    please log in to view this image
     
    #49
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  10. BrightLampShade

    BrightLampShade Well-Known Member
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    McLaren..... disappointed. 8 days of testing, missing 1 is huge.
     
    #50
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  11. TopClass

    TopClass Well-Known Member

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    Shiiiite day for McLaren.

    Ferrari very solid- on the mediums all day and bang on the early pace. As we know though, we should be seeing another 3 seconds shaved off so no one is going mad just yet.

    Just mileage for Ferrari and Merc by the looks of it.
     
    #51
  12. allsaintchris.

    allsaintchris. Well-Known Member

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    Alonso just dropped in a very respective 1:25.6 on hard tyres
     
    #52
  13. Smithers

    Smithers Well-Known Member
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  14. SgtBhaji

    SgtBhaji Well-Known Member

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    Too soon to be getting a little excited about the Ferrari?
     
    #54
  15. moreinjuredthanowen

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    1.Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:21.765, 51 laps

    2. Vettel (Ferrari) 1:21.878, 102 laps

    3. Massa (Williams) 1:22.076, 86 laps

    4. Bottas (Mercedes) 1:23.169, 79 laps

    5. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:23.372, 32 laps

    6. Perez (Force India) 1:23.709, 39 laps

    7. Sainz (Toro Rosso) 1:24.494, 51 laps

    8. Magnussen (Haas) 1:24.496, 39 laps

    9. Alonso (McLaren) 1:25.586, 13 laps

    10. Hülkenberg (Renault) 1:25.773, 39 laps

    11. Ericsson (Sauber) 1:26.841, 64 laps

    IMO its positive for ferrari. Thats a very good days work for vettel, 102 laps is really good stuff on day one. The mercedes having 130 is good for them too but... well given williams is running merc engines and did 86 too is quite good.

    I think merc will have a lot left so i doubt we can say if ferrari are within 0.5s yet.

    If red bull can get in 100 laps tomorrow then all will be better.
     
    #55
  16. moreinjuredthanowen

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    Newey:

    Red Bull’s design staff, including Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, chatted with reporters this afternoon in the paddock. Newey was asked what he thought of some of ideas on the other new cars.

    “I have not had a chance to have a really good look, I have just seen the launch pictures,” he said. “The new regulations are open to different interpretations, which is what one might hope for with a new set of regulations. In particular, the Mercedes looks like a reasonably complicated car. It has got lots of parts on it which will be all about trying to manipulate the vortices to transition the flow structures around the car.

    “The Ferrari has a very complicated looking sidepod transition, which I haven’t quite managed to work out yet from the pictures I’ve seen.

    “Mercedes and Toro Rosso have gone for a high-top [front] wishbone, which kind of looks like a Lotus 49 with its in-built high kingpin…which is I would imagine aimed at trying to get the bottom wishbone higher, and also get the top wishbone higher to clean up the brake duct area.
     
    #56
  17. Piebacca

    Piebacca Well-Known Member

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    Yes.
     
    #57
  18. SgtBhaji

    SgtBhaji Well-Known Member

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    Just only a little. I promise!
     
    #58
  19. moreinjuredthanowen

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    and populist as ever.

    Red Bull team boss Christian Horner just met with the media here at the track, and he had this to say about the shark fins on the bodywork which are now legal again for the first time since 2010:

    “I think the cars look fantastic. What lets them down is the shark fins, proportionally. It is something that we raised at the Formula 1 Strategy meeting last year, to ask that all teams remove them because it is pretty marginal, the performance gain that they offer.

    "In the interests of aesthetics, it was requested that they be removed. That went to the Formula 1 Commission, and unfortunately it was immediately rejected by the majority of the teams.

    "Hopefully it is something that can be addressed for next year because the cars look great, it is just a shame that this shark fin has crept in through another loophole in the regulations.”
     
    #59
  20. moreinjuredthanowen

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    willimas has the merc mini wing too

    please log in to view this image
     
    #60

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