WhiteBlue wrote:tuj wrote:Rumor has it that Renault failed to test the powerplant as a whole unit on the dyno, something that just baffles me. Apparently this lack of integrated testing was why they didn't find the vibration issues. The Renault teams are saying they are suffering from turbo lag so there is something wrong in the software that they haven't addressed yet.
The obvious deficit we know about is the field testing in a car. Ferrari did it for sure and I bet my last € on Merc having done the same. You always find things when you run such complicated systems in a real environment.
Marko now says that Red Bull are two months behind. That is probably a bit exegerated but close to the time that Merc and Ferrari have won by mule testing.
I think the McLaren P1 was partially developed for that very purpose, as a power train 'concept' mule for F1.
The technology overlap is extremely important and you can see the similarities.
It is probably why the P1 is slightly slower than the Porsche 918 hybrid which IMO was partly another hybrid development mule for the 919, which is also 4 wheel drive using superior front axle pure electric drive..
Merc and Ferrari of course have multi million dollar in house hybrid development to draw from.
Remember Alonso spinning La Ferrari at Fioranno?
It would be interesting to find out what Hamilton tested with and where.
I bet Williams were involved and that is why Williams is my choice for this years championship they developed lots of the tech that went into Porsche's hybrid programs.