2013 Testing - Barcelona 2: 28 Feb - 3 Mar

[clipsy1H]

we have to wait first 3-5 races of the year.... last year Mercs looks strong in first 2-5 races races but after .
We know Brawn fails to upgrade car over season.... Button almost lost title in 2009... even if Mercedes looks good at start, they must come with upgrades throughout the year (and i don't know if they can! in last 4 years not an improve after upgrades over the season)
But to be honest till now i'm impress . Lewis looks so strong =D> also Rosberg

[LilDEF1]

"Past performance not indicative of future results". It's interesting how most assume this car can't be faster than any leading teams just because they couldn't before. There is no law that states a mid field team cannot perform equal or greater than the front runners. The rules are the same, so anyone can equally develop a faster car than anyone else...

[FoxHound]

@Wesley

Running the car underweight will not be good for Brawn come Oz.
Expectations have been managed well with the W04, today they unleashed it a little. If they are running underweight, the pressure from the times will have raised expectancy. And if this expectancy is not met, the pressure on Brawn will have ratcheted up a notch. In summation, not a good idea.

As for the car itself, it looks very good in the change of direction. Quick and wieldy, which is a positive sign. Allied to this the car still appears to be squating and leaning as the W03 did last year, which seems to suggest they could still be running the suspension as they have last year, front and back as well as left to right cross linked. Looking good so far.

[Guisson]

Sombrero wrote:
I stick to Red Bull then Lotus, Mercedes, Ferrari and Mc Laren. Guess who will set the fastest time tomorrow probably under 1'20'' ?


i think RBR can do easily but they will sandbag tomorrow

I won't say that they've got work to do as Webber said , and they aren't sandbagging ..they had some issues today , they could be hiding a lack of performance just like last year ...However they do seem competitive in race sims , still the one lap pace is not very significant ( so many ups & downs) Tomorrow will be a 'judgy' day before Melbourne ( imo judgments have to be made after FP3 NOT after pre season tests)

[Ferraripilot]

Shame they don't publish weights.

Yes and no. Merc ran with a light load, that much was obvious. It was certainly enough for Lewis to bang a 1:20 and then do 7 more laps. I'd say a starting load of around 15-20kg?

It's possible someone will crack a 1:19 tomorrow for the simple benefit of keeping everyone curious.

[beelsebob]

"Past performance not indicative of future results". It's interesting how most assume this car can't be faster than any leading teams just because they couldn't before. There is no law that states a mid field team cannot perform equal or greater than the front runners. The rules are the same, so anyone can equally develop a faster car than anyone else...

Don't be daft – RedBull are performing exactly as they were 5 years ago.

[windtravels]

Am I the only one who thinks red bull are not seriously sand bagging? This merc does look fast.

Everyone thought RedBull were sand bagging last year, and got a surprise when they were roundly beaten in the first few races. My bet is RedBill is not sand bagging, just like last year.

Maybe it's not Red bull that is sandbagging, but Merc running underweight? I could imagine them doing so, as for example there were rumors around Brawns job.

I really wish Merc the best, but somewhere in the whole picture, things arent right. I certainly do believe McLaren are sandbagging and Merc is running light. Red Bull seems to be sandbagging a little, only Lotus seems about right to me on pace.

No way they are running light. Thats just a very silly thing to do with a race in two weeks, and would do nothing with regards to Brawns job. I think its more to do with the fact that the other top teams have not done a similar low fuel-level flyer yet for us to compare todays time to.

[LilDEF1]

"Past performance not indicative of future results". It's interesting how most assume this car can't be faster than any leading teams just because they couldn't before. There is no law that states a mid field team cannot perform equal or greater than the front runners. The rules are the same, so anyone can equally develop a faster car than anyone else...

Don't be daft – RedBull are performing exactly as they were 5 years ago.

And that means what exactly? They'll be forever fast? Anyway I'm not talking about any particular team, I mean thing do change from time to time. I guess most people were worried Mercedes were gonna perform poorly this year as last year. I remember on AutoSPORT Live last year they always pointed how bad the car was with their tires. There was massive degradation, even though they were initially fast. This time at least they don't seem any worse compared to the Red Bulls and Mac. I guess that's what got most people hopeful. There is nothing wrong with that for sure.. I mean really now

[beelsebob]

"Past performance not indicative of future results". It's interesting how most assume this car can't be faster than any leading teams just because they couldn't before. There is no law that states a mid field team cannot perform equal or greater than the front runners. The rules are the same, so anyone can equally develop a faster car than anyone else...

Don't be daft – RedBull are performing exactly as they were 5 years ago.

And that means what exactly? They'll be forever fast?

It means, please retune your sarcasm detector.

Check up on exactly how fast RedBull were 5 years ago, and you'll understand.

[Neno]

And that means what exactly? They'll be forever fast? Anyway I'm not talking about any particular team, I mean thing do change from time to time. I guess most people were worried Mercedes were gonna perform poorly this year as last year. I remember on AutoSPORT Live last year they always pointed how bad the car was with their tires. There was massive degradation, even though they were initially fast. This time at least they don't seem any worse compared to the Red Bulls and Mac. I guess that's what got most people hopeful. There is nothing wrong with that for sure.. I mean really now

Dont be like that, every once when regulations change one team become top dog, it was ferrari, then renault, now red bull and this going sometime until regulations change again, and new team become top dog. It's not something you should worry about, Mercedes will NEVER win championship in this regulation era they were too far last season to win championship this year, also 3 more teams are better then them and beat them directly in devolopment area last year.
Most of us this is hard to reckognize, but this is absolute truth. And please never compare Red Bull to Mercedes, it's like you comparing 3-dimensional team with 2 dimensional. Not even Hamilton can make that progress, he couldnt do it even in Mclaren.

[Unc1e_M0nty]

I just don't buy all this stuff about the teams not knowing what fuel levels they're all running, they time the intervals between gear changes and always have, it's that simple.

This is a GP track, they know the how long each gear change takes in qually from previous years, they also have in car footage throughout the whole race, my guess it that they guess within 5 maybe 10 litres, it's only us and the media that,s in the dark.

[JimClarkFan]

And that means what exactly? They'll be forever fast? Anyway I'm not talking about any particular team, I mean thing do change from time to time. I guess most people were worried Mercedes were gonna perform poorly this year as last year. I remember on AutoSPORT Live last year they always pointed how bad the car was with their tires. There was massive degradation, even though they were initially fast. This time at least they don't seem any worse compared to the Red Bulls and Mac. I guess that's what got most people hopeful. There is nothing wrong with that for sure.. I mean really now

Dont be like that, every once when regulations change one team become top dog, it was ferrari, then renault, now red bull and this going sometime until regulations change again, and new team become top dog. It's not something you should worry about, Mercedes will NEVER win championship in this regulation era they were too far last season to win championship this year, also 3 more teams are better then them and beat them directly in devolopment area last year.
Most of us this is hard to reckognize, but this is absolute truth. And please never compare Red Bull to Mercedes, it's like you comparing 3-dimensional team with 2 dimensional. Not even Hamilton can make that progress, he couldnt do it even in Mclaren.

Hamilton just posted a lap 1.2 seconds faster than the pole last year and there is a lot of development time between now and Spain this year. An even rosier picture emerges when you look at the rest of the cars in the field from Maldonardo down who weren't on low fuel - Hams time is then 1.8 seconds faster. And we have no idea if they were all out in quali trim.

Merc have taken off some serious time since last year, well over 2 seconds and look pretty good if you ask me.

The big unknown for me is Macca, they are complaining about not understanding the car but yet look pretty quick.

[LilDEF1]

"I think it's important to bring
everyone back down to earth and
realise that we've still got a lot of work to do." - Hamilton

No stress the guy did just that over here... Moving on

[Mandrake]

Remember, McLaren, Ferrari and RedBull developed their 2012 car nearly up to Brazil. Merc have probably been working seriously on their '13 car for much longer.

Merc have also had their first full year with a lot of new technical staff, who will have brought with them a lot of the tricks of the top teams. I have no doubt that they could have gained a very significant amount on the top teams.

Well Bob, that's what MGP have done for how many seasons now? MSC topped the timesheets in BCN last year as well didn't he? Didn't do them too good later in the season....
I can understand that your feelings for Hamilton make you hope the pace is genuine, but I wouldn't jump conclusions too early.

[BlackMercedes]

And that means what exactly? They'll be forever fast? Anyway I'm not talking about any particular team, I mean thing do change from time to time. I guess most people were worried Mercedes were gonna perform poorly this year as last year. I remember on AutoSPORT Live last year they always pointed how bad the car was with their tires. There was massive degradation, even though they were initially fast. This time at least they don't seem any worse compared to the Red Bulls and Mac. I guess that's what got most people hopeful. There is nothing wrong with that for sure.. I mean really now

Dont be like that, every once when regulations change one team become top dog, it was ferrari, then renault, now red bull and this going sometime until regulations change again, and new team become top dog. It's not something you should worry about, Mercedes will NEVER win championship in this regulation era they were too far last season to win championship this year, also 3 more teams are better then them and beat them directly in devolopment area last year.
Most of us this is hard to reckognize, but this is absolute truth. And please never compare Red Bull to Mercedes, it's like you comparing 3-dimensional team with 2 dimensional. Not even Hamilton can make that progress, he couldnt do it even in Mclaren.

It's all about having the right tools for the ight job Lewis in 2009 had a bad car but managed to win a race reliability issues last year in my mind he should of won the championship