Official Pre-season testing thread

i don't know why people are finding it so hard to see why Mercedes are so far into front , apart from the obvious engine advantage. They've had superior mechanical grip than the Red Bulls for a couple of years now, because they've invested heavily in FRICs and suspension (you only have to look at their suspension to see it's more developed, and the fact they've been quicker than the Red Bulls around Monaco and tight twisty sectors of tracks), where as other teams like Red Bull have focused on Down Force and things like Blown Exhausts, all of which have now conveniently been banned or gimped at the rear of the car leaving Mercedes with a significant advantage (as well as removing an advantage Red Bull had, which ironically may of made this season slightly more interesting). simple as that.

Mercedes will either be the same distance or possibly even further ahead this weekend, the only thing that will close the gap is wet conditions, as the limited down force becomes more important.

 

They'll be further ahead, the track is too slow for Red Bull's Aero advantage to be relevant, it comes down to the mechanical grip advantage that Mercedes have (as you said). If anything, i fear the mercs could lap the entire field if they want to.

 

I pretty much expect a Merc walkover in Monaco aswell. The rest anyone else can hope for is the Mercs taking each other out or mechanical failure. Could be wrong though and hopefully not as dominant as I fear.

 

I think the Mechanical grip that they have demonstrated for a number of years (Schuey poled it in the Merc), the power unit and the key fact that they have two very competitive Monaco drivers adds up to a simple win.

 

OK, so which team has the 2nd best level of Mechanical grip? It's up to them to fight for 3rd and 4th, whilst the Mercs go to "ludicrous speed"

 

Wasn't Rosberg fastest in every single session last year?

 

yep, i agree. Though i'd laugh so hard if getting caught out lapping traffic cost one of them the win, what a pity that would be

If Rosberg ends up ahead i still think this could be the one where they collide. One can hope anyway.

 

I'd pay good money to see the Merc drivers smash into each other, and Rosberg decks Hamilton.

 

I think so, either way the car and the drivers have always gone well there.

 

Hope they collide? I don't... don't need any injuries.

 

What a bloody stupid thing to say, idiot.

 

Got to remember these guys literally can't take Hamilton being vaguely faster than anyone else, it does their brains in.

 

Not so my friend, not so.

 

I think it is probably the Red Bulls. Massa may spring a suprise and the McLaren may look more competitive but I think the RB's will make a step forward and the power differential will be less noticable. I hope to see a balls out battle between the two Mercs and similar one between the two Red Bulls with another name mixing it in there for the final podium place. When team mates are close it always boils over here with strategy and the like so could be really interesting.

I expect to see a few more gamble on setup and strategy etc

 

Yawn

 

Ferrari's test line-up was supposed to be:

Tuesday - De La Rosa
Wednesday - Raikkonen

However Raikkonen is still recovering from his crash so Bianchi will take over. I find it strange that Alonso isn't taking his place. Ferrari say he will be in the simulator tomorrow while De La Rosa is driving but don't say anything about Wednesday. Maybe he has other duties that we don't know about but even if that's the case, why don't they keep De La Rosa in the car or bring in another simulator driver like Rigon. I don't see what Bianchi will bring to help them with the F14T and/or the simulator. I can't help but wonder if this is an audition for Bianchi. Why else would they have him drive? Having Bianchi in the car will allow them to better assess Kimi's performances and find out if he is out of his depth or whether the car is really that bad.

 

Silverstone in-season test

Red Bull: Tuesday - Daniel Ricciardo; Wednesday - Sebastian Vettel.
Mercedes: Tuesday - Nico Rosberg; Wednesday - Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari: Tuesday - Pedro de las Rosa; Wednesday - Jules Bianchi.
Lotus: Tuesday - Pastor Maldonado; Wednesday - Charles Pic.
McLaren: Tuesday - Stoffel Vandoorne; Wednesday - Kevin Magnussen.
Force India: Tuesday - Sergio Perez; Wednesday - Daniel Juncadella.
Sauber: Tuesday - Adrian Sutil; Wednesday - Giedo van der Garde.
Toro Rosso: Tuesday - Jean-Eric Vergne; Wednesday - Daniil Kvyat
Williams: Tuesday - Felipe Massa; Wednesday - Valtteri Bottas.
Marussia: Tuesday - Jules Bianchi; Wednesday - Max Chilton.
Caterham: Tuesday - Will Stevens; Wednesday - Rio Haryanto and Julian Leal.

 

At least he drives the Ferrari first, otherwise that Marussia would feel like a proper donkey on the day after.

 

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[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 15%, align: center"]Pos[/TD]
[TD="width: 35%"]Driver[/TD]
[TD="width: 35%"]Time[/TD]
[TD="width: 15%, align: center"]Laps[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD]F. Massa[/TD]
[TD]1:35.242[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]33[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]2[/TD]
[TD]N. Rosberg[/TD]
[TD]1:35.573[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]46[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]3[/TD]
[TD]J. Bianchi[/TD]
[TD]1:36.148[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]93[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[TD]D. Ricciardo[/TD]
[TD]1:36.551[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]29[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]5[/TD]
[TD]S. Pérez[/TD]
[TD]1:36.589[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]50[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[TD]J.-E. Vergne[/TD]
[TD]1:37.176[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]26[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]7[/TD]
[TD]P. Maldonado[/TD]
[TD]1:37.368[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]61[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]8[/TD]
[TD]P. de la Rosa[/TD]
[TD]1:37.988[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]48[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]9[/TD]
[TD]S. Vandoorne[/TD]
[TD]1:38.554[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]33[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD]A. Sutil[/TD]
[TD]1:39.150[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]31[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]11[/TD]
[TD]W. Stevens[/TD]
[TD]1:40.998[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]56[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]