2010 Winter Testing

[segedunum]

The articles from various websites I've been reading seem to think the STR5 is a pretty swift car....

I don't think you can interpret them times in any other way.

[segedunum]

I think the Toro Rosso is faster than the RedBull. On the graph Buemi's long stint was right down there with Massa's.

I doubt it. Good long runs indicate that a team will be there or there abouts, but it's no indication of where they are in the pecking order because you can hide an awful lot of things. They simply haven't done the raw times the Red Bull is capable of.

[Giblet]

I think the Toro Rosso is faster than the RedBull. On the graph Buemi's long stint was right down there with Massa's.

I doubt it. Good long runs indicate that a team will be there or there abouts, but it's no indication of where they are in the pecking order because you can hide an awful lot of things. They simply haven't done the times the Red Bull is capable of.

Even if they are quicker, the mileage the engines get will make a huge difference. Interesting to see if the Renault engine has upped its power at the expense of mileage, or of the Ferrari engines have just improved their power and mileage. It wasn't a good engine last year, and the whole "high mileage testing" engine thing throws in another possible small variable. Not sure if they are getting brand spanking new engines this year. I also don't know if that affected them at all last year.

How long do you guys think we will have to wait to find out how much engine equalization has gone on? Maybe 3 races we should be pretty sure.

The %2.5 percent number is either an extra ~17.5 hp on a 700hp engine, or 5 kg of fuel that doesn't need to be carried on a 200kg tanked car.

[segedunum]

Even if they are quicker, the mileage the engines get will make a huge difference. Interesting to see if the Renault engine has upped its power at the expense of mileage, or of the Ferrari engines have just improved their power and mileage.

Difficult to say. The Renault didn't seem to be as bad as many said last year (and RB were certainly at a disadvantage versus KERS), and the one very interesting thing we won't get to see the effect of until the races start is the fuel economy. That's a real hidden variable we know will come into play. RB do still seem to be carrying some engine related problems though that Renault don't have, so I'd expect a few DNFs even if they are as fast as they might be.

[jddh1]

Back to the pit stop car jack question:

What if they find a solution similar to the V8 Supercars series?

Check out the photo below:


Note those two pins by the rear tires, which are controlled by the driver. Basically he pushes a button when the car stops and the rear end is a few centimeters off the ground, enough to give the mechanics room to change the tires.

For an F1 car I wonder if installing two like rods in the back of the car and one in the front somewhere might make stops faster. It could be a way to manage ballast in the front if done properly (heavier materials in the front?).

I don't know, I'm just having these crazy thoughts. Discuss away.

[WhiteBlue]

How long do you guys think we will have to wait to find out how much engine equalization has gone on? Maybe 3 races we should be pretty sure.

As of the last F1 Comission meeting in January there will not be an engine equalization. The FiA requires the engines with excess performance in power or fuel economy to be detuned. The performance leader naturally did not agree to that.

Horner has publicly continued to ask for equalization, but he is not getting it supported by enough FOTA teams to happen.

So all they can do is change some auxiliary parts and their mappings.

[Fil]

With the teams all seemingly running almost identical 65-odd lap simulations in the afternoon on the 27th, F1Fanatic put together a great graph comparing the big 3 out there.. the most enlightening comparison thusfar i think.

[horse]

With the teams all seemingly running almost identical 65-odd lap simulations in the afternoon on the 27th, F1Fanatic put together a great graph comparing the big 3 out there.. the most enlightening comparison thusfar i think.

Tight as a ducks bum, you might say.

[outer_bongolia]

Can I read this as Nico changed his tires 3 times while Jenson and Fernando did it only twice?

[WhiteBlue]

With the teams all seemingly running almost identical 65-odd lap simulations in the afternoon on the 27th, F1Fanatic put together a great graph comparing the big 3 out there.. the most enlightening comparison thusfar i think.

That is not an accurate representation. Nico did much more laps and did alot of quali runs. I can drop the other traces and do just the three. You will see that the true picture looks much different.



This is the real McCoy. You can see the long and the quali runs.



and a version with Vettel. He lost a lot of time with defects today.

[tok-tokkie]

WB Those last 2 graphs of yours really make the pecking order apparent. If Vettle can string consistent good laps together he looks like the leader but Button's consistency there makes him the leader. (OK so it is only 1 driver for each team.)

But first they have to qualify well. The post on the Ferrari thread saying they seem to think it is worth the advantage of doing qualy on soft tyres and living with the disadvantage of having to start the race with full fuel load on the soft tyre. It looks like a fascinating season ahead because the teams have to work out what the optimum strategy is with the significant rule changes.

EDIT: Vettel was NOT the fastest. We do not know what fuel load he was running because he did not run nearly as many laps as the others. If they all started with similar fuel loads then he was quickest with heavy fuel load.

[Mysticf1]

Is Vettel testing today? I thought Webber was scheduled after 2 days of running for Vettel??

[WhiteBlue]

Circuit status: Air temperature: 15 ° C
Track temperature: 21 ° C
Test times Updated: 09:32
driver team Drive time difference #
1. F. Bulk Ferrari F60 1:23.296 6 pit
2. K. Kobayashi Sauber C29 1:23.978 +0,682 9 pit
3. M. Schumacher Mercedes GP W01 1:24.384 +1,088 8 pit
4. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing RB6 1:26.397 +3,101 6
5. H. Kovalainen Lotus F1 T127 1:26.913 +3,617 11 pit
6. L. Di Grassi Virgin Racing VR-01 1:28.358 +5,062 12 pit

sunny with clouds. all the sites say Vettel. Perhaps they give him some time in the morning to finish his long run and switch to Webber then.

sarahholtf1 The mystery of why Mark Webber isn't back in the Red Bull has been solved by Ted Kravitz. Vettel will run first with Webber after lunch.
1 minute ago by Sarah Holt, Journalists

[Mysticf1]

Kewl, thanx WhiteBlue.

[chasefreak]

it's been 50 minutes and no Lewis on track wats going on