2024 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain International Circuit, Feb 21 - 23

[Cs98]

My post contained errors, I updated it after posting.

Yeah... your math is wrong. Think about this logically. If Ferrari improved by 1,46s and RB improved by 2,5s, they would be 1s faster provided Ferrari and RB were equal in 2023. They obviously weren't equal in 2023, RB was much faster, probably by a whole second in Bahrain.

Let me copy my edited post here:

SF-24 appears to be 0.6s faster than Max's race, on trimmed down Ferrari engine. So it would need to be a 1.6s improvement to be ahead of Ferrari by 1s. Still seems a lot.

That is mathematically sound provided those data points are indeed correct, which I have my doubts about. Ferrari probably had some engine mode reserves as you say, but I also know Max was driving to a delta. I think SF24 is faster than RB19, maybe 0,5s is a sound expectation, but not much more.

[dren]

That's some impressive maths on display boys.

[f1isgood]

I think comparing actual race trim with testing race trim might not be the best indicator of performance gains, especially for 2023. Although it is very clear that Ferrari have made a clear step up in terms of performance. The reason is I believe Red Bull were managing a gear shifting issue and I can recall Max discussing with GP about how fast he wanted to go if Perez pushed. I also recall Max pulling out massive gaps in the first few laps before the race settled down.

If I am not mistaken, the RB19 had better race trims during testing than during the actual race day. Anyone have a comparison between actual race-day racesim vs testing racesim for 2023? RB and Aston especially would be interesting to compare with.

[dialtone]

I think comparing actual race trim with testing race trim might not be the best indicator of performance gains, especially for 2023. Although it is very clear that Ferrari have made a clear step up in terms of performance. The reason is I believe Red Bull were managing a gear shifting issue and I can recall Max discussing with GP about how fast he wanted to go if Perez pushed. I also recall Max pulling out massive gaps in the first few laps before the race settled down.

If I am not mistaken, the RB19 had better race trims during testing than during the actual race day. Anyone have a comparison between actual race-day racesim vs testing racesim for 2023? RB and Aston especially would be interesting to compare with.

Nobody is saying SF-24 will beat RB-20 in Bahrain next week. It's simply a discussion about whether Ferrari is 1s behind or less given what some other teams have said. I believe it's going to be less than 1s, whether it's 0.5 or 0.3 or some other value I don't know, but 1s seems excessive.

[f1isgood]

I think comparing actual race trim with testing race trim might not be the best indicator of performance gains, especially for 2023. Although it is very clear that Ferrari have made a clear step up in terms of performance. The reason is I believe Red Bull were managing a gear shifting issue and I can recall Max discussing with GP about how fast he wanted to go if Perez pushed. I also recall Max pulling out massive gaps in the first few laps before the race settled down.

If I am not mistaken, the RB19 had better race trims during testing than during the actual race day. Anyone have a comparison between actual race-day racesim vs testing racesim for 2023? RB and Aston especially would be interesting to compare with.

Nobody is saying SF-24 will beat RB-20 in Bahrain next week. It's simply a discussion about whether Ferrari is 1s behind or less given what some other teams have said. I believe it's going to be less than 1s, whether it's 0.5 or 0.3 or some other value I don't know, but 1s seems excessive.

Yeah I tend to agree with the SF24-RB20 comparison. I expect the gap to be small in qualifying, like 23, and around 0.3 to 0.5 in the race.

[AR3-GP]

I think comparing actual race trim with testing race trim might not be the best indicator of performance gains, especially for 2023. Although it is very clear that Ferrari have made a clear step up in terms of performance. The reason is I believe Red Bull were managing a gear shifting issue and I can recall Max discussing with GP about how fast he wanted to go if Perez pushed. I also recall Max pulling out massive gaps in the first few laps before the race settled down.

If I am not mistaken, the RB19 had better race trims during testing than during the actual race day. Anyone have a comparison between actual race-day racesim vs testing racesim for 2023? RB and Aston especially would be interesting to compare with.

Nobody is saying SF-24 will beat RB-20 in Bahrain next week. It's simply a discussion about whether Ferrari is 1s behind or less given what some other teams have said. I believe it's going to be less than 1s, whether it's 0.5 or 0.3 or some other value I don't know, but 1s seems excessive.

1 second qualifying gap? 1 second race pace gap? Both?

[dialtone]

I think comparing actual race trim with testing race trim might not be the best indicator of performance gains, especially for 2023. Although it is very clear that Ferrari have made a clear step up in terms of performance. The reason is I believe Red Bull were managing a gear shifting issue and I can recall Max discussing with GP about how fast he wanted to go if Perez pushed. I also recall Max pulling out massive gaps in the first few laps before the race settled down.

If I am not mistaken, the RB19 had better race trims during testing than during the actual race day. Anyone have a comparison between actual race-day racesim vs testing racesim for 2023? RB and Aston especially would be interesting to compare with.

Nobody is saying SF-24 will beat RB-20 in Bahrain next week. It's simply a discussion about whether Ferrari is 1s behind or less given what some other teams have said. I believe it's going to be less than 1s, whether it's 0.5 or 0.3 or some other value I don't know, but 1s seems excessive.

1 second qualifying gap? 1 second race pace gap? Both?

Ferrari will be true to their quali performance this year. Tire dropoff is gone by the looks of it in testing, so both is your answer.

[TeamKoolGreen]

For the sake of an entertaining season I hope it isn't the case. I do find it odd both Perez and Marko are saying it's relatively close but that could just be them playing mind games

It is unfortunate that Perez is still in the #2 Red Bull. He was beat today by Sainz. That's strike one already. If he struggles (highly likely) the plan seems to be for Riccardo to take the seat. He might be better but still wouldn't be the same as a Lando Norris or something in that car.

[gshevlin]

Testing is merely indicative.
The upcoming race weekend will be definitive.

[Sevach]

From McLaren team principal Andrea Stella:

McLaren had a small problem with the fuel tank today, but it has been resolved.

In terms of performance, the car is meeting expectations at the moment, nothing negative.

But Stella commented: "There is a car that has made a big step forward. Unfortunately, this is the fastest car from last year."

Wow. Just straight out admission there. I mean, it doesn’t really need to be spelled out anymore. Shame, but the reality of how this regulation panned out. An utter domination.

When people talking about reading their faces, this is GP Lambiase after Max smashed the times day 1.

[dialtone]

Do we need to add a 2024 season of gloating thread to pair up the season of moaning, or will the RBR team thread suffice?

[AR3-GP]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is how the Pirelli tire itself may provide an upper limit to useable performance, vs the performance that is available in theory. At the end of the day, load generates heat. More load, more heat. It's great if you've built a car that is 5 seconds faster, but will the tire allow you to access that performance without degradation? I doubt it.

Perhaps performance convergence will be attained due to this. In 2020, Mercedes had so much downforce that they killed the tire in Silverstone and had to drive more slowly at the second Silverstone race. I don't think we'll see issues of that kind (hopefull), but in terms of tire deg, running a 1.27 lap in Bahrain is probably going to take some life out of the tire no matter what so it might not make sense to run at that pace.

[chrisc90]

Who's first out in the morning for RBR?

[Juzh]

Sainz's fastest lap
https://streamable.com/rjqvjn


I think C4 tyre is giving him serious amount of grip. 136 km/h in last turn is super fast. He gains 2 tenths on 2023 pole just in that one corner (2020 mercedes 132 km/h). I reckon this C4 is about a second up on C3 in terms of pure performance, maybe even more.

[AR3-GP]

Who's first out in the morning for RBR?

Perez