2014 Testing - Bahrain 27 Feb - 2 Mar

[Coulthard's Jaw]

Kimi's 1:35, was that still part of his race sim? How many laps had he done on these tyres by the time he got to that lap?

He was on super softs.

Ferrari look in an awful position, worried for them.

[RicerDude]

Kimi's 1:35, was that still part of his race sim? How many laps had he done on these tyres by the time he got to that lap?

That was a qualifying sim.
kimi managed 47 laps for his race sim.

[Ral]

Ouch..

[kooleracer]

I think Mercedes can go quicker, because Nico did 1:33:283 on soft and he said it wasnt a clean lap. Now with supersoft he does a 33,4 I think Mercedes is sandbagging.

[mclaren_mircea]

Even if it was on soft Magnussen's time is very slow It seems that even Force India and Williams are faster than Mclaren. Where are those updates? How is that possible when all the team had plenty of parts on the car for the final two days, they can't take the update package

[kooleracer]

Even if it was on soft Magnussen's time is very slow It seems that even Force India and Williams are faster than Mclaren. Where are those updates? How is that possible when all the team had plenty of parts on the car for the final two days, they can't take the update package

I don't think a upgrade package can close a 2.6 gap to Williams. But i think and hope that McLaren can go faster. Because nobody expects McLaren to be the slowest Mercedes powered car on the grid.

[mclaren_mircea]

Does anybody know how many laps had the stint when Kevin did his best time? I'm really sad, where are the updates???

[diemaster]

Kimi's 1:35, was that still part of his race sim? How many laps had he done on these tyres by the time he got to that lap?

That was a qualifying sim.
kimi managed 47 laps for his race sim.

that lap is not a qual. sim.

[mikeerfol]

Even if it was on soft Magnussen's time is very slow It seems that even Force India and Williams are faster than Mclaren. Where are those updates? How is that possible when all the team had plenty of parts on the car for the final two days, they can't take the update package

I think Button implied that there will be some updates in Melbourne as well, since not all the updates will be available in Bahrain...

[mclaren_mircea]

Even if it was on soft Magnussen's time is very slow It seems that even Force India and Williams are faster than Mclaren. Where are those updates? How is that possible when all the team had plenty of parts on the car for the final two days, they can't take the update package

I think Button implied that there will be some updates in Melbourne as well, since not all the updates will be available in Bahrain...

After 1 month and a half since the launch of the car, how can be possible that the update package is not ready for the final two days? Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams and Force India all had more parts than Mclaren
Can it be an excuse that they travell to Germany for the wind tunnel work?

[mclaren_mircea]

How many laps had the stint when Magnussen achieved his time on softs?

[bauc]

What is wrong with Mclaren? Magnussen did a 1:36:1 on a short stint of 5 laps and on SUPER SOFT tyres. It's very, very disappointing.

The answer to your question is in the post right before yours:

[...]Massa and Rosberg claim that the track conditions are terrible today. A lot of dust and sand and wind. If it doesn't change substantially in the afternoon we won't see qualifying sims.

It's very windy.

"Es ist nicht leicht, das Auto auf der Strecke zu halten. Der starke Wind ist besonders tückisch in den schnellen Bergab-Kurven, weil er da von der Seite kommt." - Hülkenberg

-> "It's not easy to keep the car on track. The strong wind is especially treacherous in the fast downhill corners because it's coming from the side"

DId you forget that Magnusen did 1:34:9 in the first Bahrain test?! They can and will go faster, will they be the fastest team in Melbourne? ....No but they wont be the slowest Merc powered car either

[f1316]

Kimi's 1:35, was that still part of his race sim? How many laps had he done on these tyres by the time he got to that lap?

That was a qualifying sim.
kimi managed 47 laps for his race sim.

that lap is not a qual. sim.

It's obviously not, since he at least three timed laps in a row (probably more). More likely it was about assessing the ss tyre and seeing how it drops off, as I don't think they'd tried it before

[BorisTheBlade]

What is wrong with Mclaren? Magnussen did a 1:36:1 on a short stint of 5 laps and on SUPER SOFT tyres. It's very, very disappointing.

The answer to your question is in the post right before yours:

[...]Massa and Rosberg claim that the track conditions are terrible today. A lot of dust and sand and wind. If it doesn't change substantially in the afternoon we won't see qualifying sims.

It's very windy.

"Es ist nicht leicht, das Auto auf der Strecke zu halten. Der starke Wind ist besonders tückisch in den schnellen Bergab-Kurven, weil er da von der Seite kommt." - Hülkenberg

-> "It's not easy to keep the car on track. The strong wind is especially treacherous in the fast downhill corners because it's coming from the side"

DId you forget that Magnusen did 1:34:9 in the first Bahrain test?! They can and will go faster, will they be the fastest team in Melbourne? ....No but they wont be the slowest Merc powered car either

That's one bold statement considering that both FI and Williams had some strong showings in recent days. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying they will be.

[ACJJ619]

I think it's worth noting that historically, Williams have always been quite good in testing. Granted - it's only testing and times shouldn't be taken seriously. Having said that, Williams do have a habit of going well in the pre-season tests.

Plus, Rosberg's best time from the last test was a 33.2 on soft tyres on a lap he claimed wasn't clean, so I wouldn't see those supersoft times today and think Williams are right up there with Mercedes.

Bearing in mind the unreliability of laptimes in testing, I still think a vague idea can be had. The Mercedes has shown on a few occasions that the raw speed is there and in doing so many miles, the odd reliability issue is bound to arise. The number of laps completed to car-failure ratio is still probably better than most if not all, so I wouldn't worry about the reliability there.

McLaren too has shown some decent raw pace on occasion but the long runs have been inconsistent. Some showed massive tyre wear indicating that maybe their clever rear suspension could be creating a pocket of hot air around the rear of the car, overheating the tyres and wearing them down too quickly. Only a guess from my armchair though.

Ferrari have been difficult to judge. At first they appeared to be quietly going about their testing, consistently being there-or-thereabouts on the pace, but in recent days the laptimes haven't quite been there. Could be heavier on fuel than the rest though.

Williams have shown great pace fairly often and decent consistency in the long runs but this is to be taken with a pinch of salt as history shows that they're often quick in pre-season testing, and not so much once the season starts.

My general gut feeling is that Mercedes are probably the team to beat with McLaren up there giving them a nuisance and Williams/Ferrari scrapping for the remaining podium place(s).