Formula 1 2015 - pre season testing.

The summary of today.

While the lap times don't really mean much it is quite clear that Mercedes is again not only fast but also very reliable driving long stints with a total of 157 laps.
Williams with Valtteri Bottas behind the wheel showed a similar pace during his stints, they did 73 laps today.
The surprise of the day is without a doubt Sauber who had a dramatic season last year, Marcus Ericsson clocked the second fastest time just 0.1 of the fastest time set by Sebastian Vettel with the new Ferrari.
Renault again has some difficulties, a smoking Red bull car in the morning and the Toro Rosso causing a red flag in the afternoon.
At McLaren there were problems with the sensors of the new Honda so Alonso only drove 6 laps today, hopefully Jenson Button has more luck tomorrow.

Mercedes 230 laps
Ferrari 133 laps
Renault 81 laps
Honda 6 laps

Vettel.........Ferrari........1:22.620 60 laps
Ericsson......Sauber.........1:22.777 73 laps
Rosberg......Mercedes......1:23.106 157 laps
Ricciardo....Red Bull........1:23.338 35 laps
Bottas.......Williams........1:23.906 73 laps
Sainz jr.....Toro Rosso......1:25.327 46 laps
Alonso......McLaren.........1:40.738 6 laps

It seems Ferrari has done a good job over the winter, but it is early to tell where they stand.
If the times are set with soft tires and low fuel in the tank, it is actually not that good compared to Mercedes and Williams who were running with higher fuel loads and the hard tire.

a reply to: Psynic

One of the biggest stories from 2014 has got to be the phenomenal performance of young Australian, Daniel Ricciardo who bested his teammate, reigning 4 time champ, Sebastien Vettel, time after time. Not only has he outdriven the best in the world, but done so in the classiest of good manners. I really enjoy seeing such a deserving young person doing so well.

Yes, initially i thought he would need a few races to get used to the car, but from the get go he showed that he is a future champion, maybe not this year but certainly in the coming years.
For sure he is the guy with the biggest smile

a reply to: earthling42



Tell me that McLaren-Honda doesn't sound out of this world!

I think we can put that complaint to rest now.

Thanks for posting these clips.

For anyone interested, today Red Bull TV is going to launch a 6 part documentary about Max Verstappen and his preparation for F1.

This is the trailer from it (I have no idea where we will able to see it, but I guess on the Red Bull YouTube channel)...


Max Verstappen: The Next Generation - Trailer (Red Bull TV)

Red Bull YouTube

Ferrari is again showing really fast times...1m21.884s.

From what I have read about Toro Rosso, they are going to test out a lot of different parts on the car, and the car which we see in Australia will be a combination of the best parts. So I don`t think we can derive too much from the times they are driving now.

But I`m interested to see how well the Renault engines are performing in the Red Bulls.

Summary day 2

It is again Ferrari at the top of the list with a very good time which is 2.3 seconds faster than the fastest lap by McLaren at the first test in Jerez last year.

Vettel...........Ferrari.......1:20.984 88 laps
Nasr.............Sauber.......1:21.867 88 laps
Bottas..........Williams......1:22.319 61 laps
Hamilton.......Mercedes.....1:22.490 91 laps
Verstappen....Toro Rosso...1:24.167 73 laps
Maldonado.....Lotus..........1:25.802 41 laps
Button..........McLaren......1:54.655 6 laps
Kvyat...........Red Bull no time (front wing damaged during the first lap) 18 laps

Mercedes 193 laps
Ferrari 176 laps
Renault 91 laps
Honda 6 laps

During the last hour of the day it was raining quite heavy, Verstappen, Vettel and Nasr went out on intermediates.
Vettel.........Ferrari......1:36.685
Verstappen..Toro Rosso..1:38.329
Nasr...........Sauber......1:39.607







The next generation part one.

Whoops, forgot the front wing!

That's funny.

Am I imagining something or is Christian Horner squirming in that interview?

a reply to: Psynic

They did not forget it, but the only one they had got damaged right away, so they drove without to get at least some data.

The Ferrari engine seems to be good with both them and Sauber being fast.

originally posted by: BornAgainAlien
a reply to: Psynic

They did not forget it, but the only one they had got damaged right away, so they drove without to get at least some data.

The Ferrari engine seems to be good with both them and Sauber being fast.

No they didn't forget it, just the spare.

They sent the Gulfstream back for another.

Summary of day three.

Yet again a Ferrari powered car at the top of the list, but this time it was Felipe Nasr in the Sauber Ferrari.
Honda has finally got the problem with the engine solved and Alonso drove 32 laps till the engine overheated because of a problem with the cooling.
Keep in mind that Alonso set his laptime on a damp circuit in the morning, it was 2,5 seconds slower than the fastest lap at that moment set by Rosberg.
Red Bull was again plagued with engine problems so it seems that Renault still has some work to do.

Nasr..................Sauber........1:21.545 108 laps
Räikkönen...........Ferrari........1:21.750 92 laps
Rosberg..............Mercedes.....1:21.982 151 laps
Massa................Williams.......1:22.276 71 laps
Maldonado..........Lotus...........1:22.713 96 laps
Sainz.................Toro Rosso....1:23.187 136 laps
Ricciardo........... Red Bull.......1:23.920 48 laps
Alonso...............McLaren.......1:35.553 32 laps

Mercedes 318 laps
Ferrari 200 laps
Renault 184 laps
Honda 32 laps

It seems the Renault engines aren`t up to the task compared to Ferrari and Mercedes.

14:37 Kvyat crosses the line at 266km/h - familiar range for the Renault-powered teams this week. As a comparison, Mercedes-powered Massa is also on track and was clocked at 278km/h at the same spot last time around.

Too bad, I wish they also had closed the gap with Mercedes just like Ferrari, it would have made the championship more interesting with more teams close to each other.

Summary day 4

While the day progressed and teams gathered more data about their cars, the news came that we Might see Marussia back in action this year under the name Manor Motorsport, if so, according to sources, they will be the second Honda powered team on the grid.
The auction in Januari was canceled when they found a potential investor.
The entry fee has been payed for the 2015 F1 Championship.
Räikkönen produced the fastest time today, so like in the previous days it was Ferrari on top of the list.
McLaren was finished early again because of a problem with the oilpump which had to be replaced, let's hope they'll have more luck in the second test at Barcelona.
Red Bull had a more productive day with Kvyat driving 64 laps.

Räikkönen......Ferrari.......1:20.841 106 laps
Ericsson.........Sauber.......1:22.019 112 laps
Hamilton.......Mercedes.... 1:22.172 117 laps
Verstappen....Toro Rosso...1:22.553 97 laps
Massa...........Williams......1:23.116 73 laps
Grosjean........Lotus.........1:23.802 53 laps
Kvyat............Red Bull......1:23.975 64 laps
Button..........McLaren......1:27.660 35 laps

Mercedes 243 laps
Ferrari 218 laps
Renault 161 laps
Honda 35 laps


Summary of the first per-season test

Ferrari certainly is better prepared than last year, but although they were at the top of the list in the last four days, i am quite sure that we have yet to see how fast Mercedes can go.
They have been doing long runs and concentrated on reliability of the car, not so much on producing fast lap times although they were 2 seconds faster then last year when their fastest lap time was 1:23.9
Ferrari has been doing short runs with soft tires today, Räikkönen produced a lap time of 1:20.8 in that short run, one tenth faster than Sebastian Vettel, but keep in mind that Vettel drove on the medium tire, so the Ferrari should be capable of producing at least a low 1:20.
Sauber has been doing short runs on soft tires too, so in terms of pace i think we have seen what they can do and they are at least one second slower than Ferrari.
They could well have been busy to attract sponsors, by producing fast times every day.
Renault has said that a part in the engine which has to do with the waterpomp, has prevented them from driving longer stints but also we can expect more horsepower from the engine at the next test session in Barcelona.
For Honda it is quite a dramatic start, yet they managed to do better than Renault last year.
Keep in mind that while Renault had a difficult start in 2014, they finished in second place in Melbourne Australia.

Speed

The difference in speed is a lott less this year than it was last year when the renault teams were 30 km per hour slower through the speed traps compared to Mercedes and Ferrari.
But on the other hand, a higher top speed does not necessarily mean a more powerful engine, it depends on the setup of the car (downforce) tires and fuel load.
The more downforce, the lower the top speed on the straight, with softer tires and less fuel in the tank of the car, the driver is able to carry more speed through the corner and thus able to reach a higher speed at the straight.

Top speed at the finish line.

Erricsson.......288,7
Grosjean.......281.2
Massa...........280.5
Räikönen.......280.5
Hamilton.......279.0
Verstappen....277.6
Kvyat...........270.6
Button..........265.3


Top ten fastest times

Driver..............team.........engine.......time
1 Räikkönen......Ferrari.......Ferrari....1:20.841
2 Vettel...........Ferrari.......Ferrari....1:20.984
3 Nasr.............Sauber.......Ferrari....1:21.545
4 Rosberg........Mercedes....Mercedes..1:21.982
5 Ericsson........Sauber.......Ferrari.....1:22.019
6 Hamilton......Mercedes....Mercedes...1:22.171
7 Massa..........Williams.....Mercedes...1:22.276
8 Bottas..........Williams....Mercedes...1:22.319
9 Verstappen...Toro Rosso..Renault.....1:22.553
10 Maldonado...Lotus........Mercedes...1:22.713

Because the other link doesn't work, again Ted's notebook day three.

a reply to: earthling42

STR drives still with the old engine I presume, so that 277.6 speed of Max is not that bad if the new Renault engine has more power.

It would be nice to see a lot of cars with small differences, aerodynamic wise the differences aren`t that big anymore, and if the engines are also close it will be fun to watch. There still will be a good change one team has the best package in handling, engine and aerodynamics, but I would like to see the midfield and sub top cars being close.

a reply to: BornAgainAlien

No, they use the new engine, but the new engine does not yet deliver all the horsepower because of the problem they encountered, that is how i understood it.
Max may have been driving without to much fuel in the tank because the difference in speed between Toro Rosso and Red Bull is quite big.

a reply to: earthling42

Ok thanks for that information.

Testing is always difficult to tell exactly how the cards have been dealt, but it`s good to see both Sainz and Max did a good job in keeping the car in order so they could do lots of laps, experience with the car is now the main goal.

Tomorrow, testing is resumed.
The second pre season test takes place at Circuit de catalunya Barcelona Spain.

Test schedule.
Mercedes - Mercedes
Thursday Lewis Hamilton
Friday Nico Rosberg
Saturday Lewis Hamilton
Sunday Nico Rosberg

Red Bull Racing - Renault
Thursday Daniel Ricciardo
Friday Daniel Ricciardo
Saturday Daniil Kvyat
Sunday Daniil Kvyat

Williams - Mercedes
Thursday Susie Wolff
Friday Felipe Massa
Saturday Valtteri Bottas
Sunday Felipe Massa/Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari - Ferrari
Thursday Kimi Raikkönen
Friday Kimi Raikkönen
Saturday Sebastian Vettel
Sunday Sebastian Vettel

McLaren - Honda
Thursday Jenson Button
Friday Jenson Button
Saturday Fernando Alonso
Sunday Fernando Alonso

Toro Rosso - Renault
Thursday Max Verstappen
Friday Carlos Sainz
Saturday Max Verstappen
Sunday Carlos Sainz

Lotus - Mercedes
Thursday Pastor Maldonado
Friday Jolyon Palmer
Saturday Pastor Maldonado
Sunday Romain Grosjean

Sauber - Ferrari
Thursday Felipe Nasr
Friday Marcus Ericsson
Saturday Marcus Ericsson
Sunday Felipe Nasr

Force India - Mercedes
Thursday Pascal Wehrlein
Friday Sergio Perez
Saturday Pascal Wehrlein
Sunday Nico Hulkenberg

Live timing

If i can find a stream i will post it tomorrow

It is not a good day for Fernando Alonso, he has been taken to a hospital.
It has been said that he crashed when coming out of turn 3, that is quite a fast corner.
But to my amazement, the car is parked near the wall on the inside of the corner and seems undamaged, so i think there is more to this story than what has officially been stated.






Update:

It has been said that Fernando Alonso already did not feel to well, with that knowledge it would probably have been wiser to let Jenson Button drive.

Thanks for the heads up.

Searching for more info.

Sure hope he's not badly injured.