2023 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain International Circuit, Feb 23 - 25

[Xyz22]

This is going to be a long season for non RB and Max fans lmao

[DGP123]

This is going to be a long season for non RB and Max fans lmao

I think everyone knows that, but doesn’t want to admit it yet. Like Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton before him, this is the RB/MV era.

[LM10]

2023 car affected as well, the thing is they use resources available extremely smartly. the penalty period started at 26 oct 2022, 4 months in already. 8 months left.

We can’t know which resources have been used smartly to which extent. The only thing we know is that the amount they overspent in 2021 was the amount some of the smaller teams use for the whole in-season development. Looking at it from that perspective that’s a massive advantage they’ve had and we don’t know how much of that advantage went into the RB19.
What I’m curious about is if they’ve overspent last season again since they must have continued with the same interpretation of the budget cap.

What? 430k is what small teams use for the whole in-season development?

£432k , if they would have applied their tax credit correctly, which they didn’t, so it was about £1.9m.

[Cs98]

We can’t know which resources have been used smartly to which extent. The only thing we know is that the amount they overspent in 2021 was the amount some of the smaller teams use for the whole in-season development. Looking at it from that perspective that’s a massive advantage they’ve had and we don’t know how much of that advantage went into the RB19.
What I’m curious about is if they’ve overspent last season again since they must have continued with the same interpretation of the budget cap.

What? 430k is what small teams use for the whole in-season development?

£432k , if they would have applied their tax credit correctly, which they didn’t, so it was about £1.9m.

Accountants world championship it should be called.

[Cs98]

The Mercedes appears to have far more upward mobility in terms of development than RB, which has been honed to a very high degree already with it just being an update from last year's car. Mercedes is just beginning to unlock this package.

Well this is what people have been saying from day one with the zeropod. I’m not sure it has any genuine facts behind it, rather people just feel it ought to be the case because they’re behind and the car looks radical.

[organic]

[Rikhart]

The Mercedes appears to have far more upward mobility in terms of development than RB, which has been honed to a very high degree already with it just being an update from last year's car. Mercedes is just beginning to unlock this package.

Personally I see it more as a very stubborn team refusing to admit they went on a completely dead path, and still insisting to remain on that very path for this year. they will probably change direction sometime this year, by which point both this year and next one as well will be compromised.

[MV8]

[fourmula1]

This is going to be a long season for non RB and Max fans lmao

I think everyone knows that, but doesn’t want to admit it yet. Like Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton before him, this is the RB/MV era.

Totally. I think they are going to walk away with it. That said they will not finish a minute down the road not because they cant but because they wont need to. At least during the early Merc days the teammates were battling hard as hell.

[AR3-GP]

Are we sure the quick Ferrari lap was with the higher downforce wing? I'm pretty sure they removed it because the DRS failed.

[f1316]

This is going to be a long season for non RB and Max fans lmao

I think everyone knows that, but doesn’t want to admit it yet. Like Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton before him, this is the RB/MV era.

I really think it’s far too early to say. Ferrari don’t have the same baseline to work from that Red Bull do and are literally ‘testing’ - ie trying things out. The Red Bull seemed the faster car during the test but then, having the fastest car at a test isn’t actually the aim - the sim is generating the data that enable you to have the fastest car in the races. That’s a different thing.

Now, it may also transpire that Red Bull still has the fastest car at the first races, but I don’t think anyone can be sure of that. I don’t think folks should sleep on the times Leclerc was putting in on soft tyres during the hottest conditions and with an apparently turned down PU. Presuming there’s also a more optimised wing configuration they could use for this circuit, I’d say there’s significant margin there.

[organic]

This is going to be a long season for non RB and Max fans lmao

I think everyone knows that, but doesn’t want to admit it yet. Like Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton before him, this is the RB/MV era.

I really think it’s far too early to say. Ferrari don’t have the same baseline to work from that Red Bull do and are literally ‘testing’ - ie trying things out. The Red Bull seemed the faster car during the test but then, having the fastest car at a test isn’t actually the aim - the sim is generating the data that enable you to have the fastest car in the races. That’s a different thing.

Now, it may also transpire that Red Bull still has the fastest car at the first races, but I don’t think anyone can be sure of that. I don’t think folks should sleep on the times Leclerc was putting in on soft tyres during the hottest conditions and with an apparently turned down PU. Presuming there’s also a more optimised wing configuration they could use for this circuit, I’d say there’s significant margin there.

Nobody is pushing the engine. RB hit 319 maximum today after hitting 328 on thursday. It's largely pointless to look at these laptimes under scrutiny but you can see the mood in the team, the confidence of the drivers etc. Perez was asked about the performance of the car and he started praising the work of the team over the winter... to me that sounds like a driver who knows the car is very good

[chrisc90]

Whats the new F1TV commentary lineup?

[AR3-GP]

I think everyone knows that, but doesn’t want to admit it yet. Like Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton before him, this is the RB/MV era.

I really think it’s far too early to say. Ferrari don’t have the same baseline to work from that Red Bull do and are literally ‘testing’ - ie trying things out. The Red Bull seemed the faster car during the test but then, having the fastest car at a test isn’t actually the aim - the sim is generating the data that enable you to have the fastest car in the races. That’s a different thing.

Now, it may also transpire that Red Bull still has the fastest car at the first races, but I don’t think anyone can be sure of that. I don’t think folks should sleep on the times Leclerc was putting in on soft tyres during the hottest conditions and with an apparently turned down PU. Presuming there’s also a more optimised wing configuration they could use for this circuit, I’d say there’s significant margin there.

Nobody is pushing the engine. RB hit 319 maximum today after hitting 328 on thursday. It's largely pointless to look at these laptimes under scrutiny but you can see the mood in the team, the confidence of the drivers etc. Perez was asked about the performance of the car and he started praising the work of the team over the winter... to me that sounds like a driver who knows the car is very good

link to interview?

[organic]

I really think it’s far too early to say. Ferrari don’t have the same baseline to work from that Red Bull do and are literally ‘testing’ - ie trying things out. The Red Bull seemed the faster car during the test but then, having the fastest car at a test isn’t actually the aim - the sim is generating the data that enable you to have the fastest car in the races. That’s a different thing.

Now, it may also transpire that Red Bull still has the fastest car at the first races, but I don’t think anyone can be sure of that. I don’t think folks should sleep on the times Leclerc was putting in on soft tyres during the hottest conditions and with an apparently turned down PU. Presuming there’s also a more optimised wing configuration they could use for this circuit, I’d say there’s significant margin there.

Nobody is pushing the engine. RB hit 319 maximum today after hitting 328 on thursday. It's largely pointless to look at these laptimes under scrutiny but you can see the mood in the team, the confidence of the drivers etc. Perez was asked about the performance of the car and he started praising the work of the team over the winter... to me that sounds like a driver who knows the car is very good

link to interview?

It's in f1tv's live "post-test" show I'm not sure it's available standalone yet