Official Pre-season testing thread

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I can't believe that Renault have made such huge errors. The negative publicity will not be making them happy.
If Red Bull can't even make 2 laps before issues then it must be a big error. As people have said it's not like it's massively hot in Jerez.
Renault must have some decent dynos so if they are getting vibrations surely it must just be a faulty component?
Sounds like they have had a last minute dash to get something that resembles an engine to the teams so they are not in breach of contract.

I am surprised that the engine manufacturers didn't mount a test engine in some sort of rolling test bed. It's what car manufacturers do, they stick a development engine in an old car and run it round with lots of sensors.
Is there something in the rules that prohibits track testing of an engine?
 
Can't the Renault powered teams ask Mercedes/Ferrari or Cosworth for help? Or is that a stupid suggestion?>
 
[TABLE="class: results, width: 590"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Lewis Hamilton[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Mercedes[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Mer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]W05[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1:23.952[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]56[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]2.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Jenson Button[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]McLaren[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Mer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]MP4-29[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]1:25.030[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]1.078[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]40[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]3.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Fernando Alonso[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Ferrari[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Fer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]F14 T[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1:25.495[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1.543[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]47[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]4.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Kevin Magnussen[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]McLaren[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Mer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]MP4-29[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]1:26.348[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]2.396[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]19[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]5.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Felipe Massa[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Williams[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Mer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]FW36[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1:26.435[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]2.483[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]39[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]6.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Nico Hulkenberg[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Force India[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Mer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]VJM07[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]1:29.803[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]5.851[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]14[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]7.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Adrian Sutil[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Sauber[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Fer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]C33[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1:30.161[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]6.209[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]32[/TD]
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[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]8.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Jean-Eric Vergne[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Toro Rosso[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Ren.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]STR9[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]1:45.525[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]21.573[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]22[/TD]
[/TR]
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[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]9.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Robin Frijns[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Caterham[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Ren.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]CT05[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]-[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]-[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]10[/TD]
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[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]10.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Daniel Ricciardo[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Red Bull[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]Ren.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede"]RB10[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]-[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]-[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #dedede, align: center"]3[/TD]
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[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]11.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]
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[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Max Chilton[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Marussia[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]Fer.[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef"]MR03[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]-[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]-[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: #efefef, align: center"]1[/TD]
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Lol, chav!


14:29 Hamilton's Mercedes whistles down the pitlane. Lewis says he has been preparing for 2014 in a slightly unusual way:

"It has probably been the shortest winter I have ever had out of the car. I spent Christmas and New Year training in the mountains and I even put a turbo on my snowmobile, so that I could get used to the feel of a vehicle delivering power in that way, which was pretty awesome."
 
Turbo on snowmobile so he could get used to the feel!!!
Don't make me laugh, the turbos on F1 have electric motors to remove lag and control boost pressure. The turbo power delivery should not be anything like a traditional turbo installation.

Or have I missed something?
 
Ted Kravitz has been discussing Red Bull’s problems on Sky Sports News:

“It has been another dreadful day for Red Bull and it couldn’t have come at a worse time because the Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz has turned up as has Helmut Marko and they are here to witness the continuation of a poor test. They have only had a few laps, no real running, no real learning about the new car, persistent overheating problems. Some indication as to whether those problems are down to the over aggressive packaging of Adrian Newey on this car or whether it is actually a problem with what Renault have supplied them is not working with their packing – that is going to be an argument that is down to fine details and it doesn’t really mate because what it means is that Red Bull, the reigning World Champions, have not been able to use the first test in any meaningful way and that is going to put them on the back foot for their season preparations.

“The old dentist drill is going on in garage 22, so they are working on the car and seeing if they can change it and change the bodywork and make it work because they have this track time available. A day extra spent working here or an extra day in the factory in Milton Keynes probably won’t make that much of a difference. There are two weeks between the end of this test and the beginning of the Bahrain test and that will probably shrink to a week and a half because they have to fly the car out to Bahrain. So I don’t think they would be better served calling it a day right now and you never know they might achieve some good things with the dentist drill and at least get the car to run five laps, ten laps, something like this. But we believe they are not going to run for the rest of the day – Day Three in Jerez and still no meaningful running for Red Bull. We will see if the drilling gets them anywhere tomorrow.”

As for whether it is a Red Bull or a Renault problem:

“It is a problem for them both, but it is a bigger problem for Red Bull as it is their job to take all the elements from Renault, the battery, the battery control system, the transformer and then the energy recovery systems and package it in a way that it isn’t going to overheat. I think ultimately it is Red Bull’s fault – they get all the equipment in from a supplier and it is their job to make it work together and they haven’t.”
 
BrightLampShade said:
Adrian Newey and C Horner flying from Jerez to Milton Keynes now, AN to work on probs. RIC staying, mechs trying to put a fix in for tomorw
Click to expand...
Sounds like Newey has a LOT of work to do.
Maybe quick fix is to remove rear body panels so they can get a few laps in. But then that gives everyone the ability to study the packaging and learn things.

How many weeks to next test?
 
Remember this?

TheJudge13 said:
Today TJ13 has learnt that Renault are having trouble with their engine, specifically the crankshaft and it was described as a flaw. For months now TJ13 have been hearing rumours of a certain team having problems with their engines and that they just could not make it last.

This has to do with the internal vibrations that a V6 engine creates as apposed to a V8, the latter running much more smoothly. Add in the complexity of the turbo harvesting power as well as KERS… Tomorrow we may see Renault (and perhaps other engined teams) circulating at relatively low speeds so if track times appear slow, it is because they are ;)
Click to expand...

TheJudge13 said:
As I commented last night, TJ13 has learned that Renault Sport F1 have dropped a huge bollock as their crankshaft allegedly is not fit for purpose. My first reaction was that this would be utterly incredible when you consider the new Renault powertrain has been in the making for approaching 2 years.

We predicted no running for the RB10 today, which in reality was the case. Noticeably the Toro Rosso, the only Renault powered car to set a proper time, was nearly 10 seconds slower than the Mercedes and the Ferrari and 7 seconds slower than Bottas – as it tip-toed around seemingly concerned about pushing too hard. After 15 laps, the Toro Rosso eventually broke down and wasn’t seen again.

Sebastian Vettel smiled for the assembled photographers at the car launch and was his usual amiable self at the press conference, but off camera this morning he had a dark look about him, as presumably he knew he was getting little time behind the wheel today.

Having delved a little deeper into the Renault problem, it appears thankfully for fans of their teams that the issue is not one of fundamental design. There seems to have been a problem in the batch of crankshafts manufactured for the engines produced for the tests. For those less technically minded, the crankshaft is a rod which translates the up and down motion from the pistons into a rotational motion which eventually turns the wheels.
Click to expand...

TheJudge13 said:
TJ13 learned today that prior to the test, Renault instructed their teams not to run each engine at this test for more than 250 kilometres – that’s just 56 laps. Further, there are no multiple powertrains for each of the teams to use in Jerez, hence the paucity of Renault teams mileage.
Click to expand...
 
If Red Bulls season is looking like it is now I bet Vettel will be looking to get out of there for 2015 if they don't sort their act out, as he will always have an escape clause for the last year in his contract if Red Bull **** it up. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari look to be the next best steps this early on.
 
'and perhaps other engined teams) circulating at relatively low speeds so if track times appear slow, it is because they are'

I guess that means Ferrari then since Sauber have been going pretty slowly over these last few test days
 
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