2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

[SiLo]

I think Hamilton is just in the right place at the moment, all drivers have them. Except Ricciardo, he seems permanently happy no matter what is happening, the man is infallible.

[Pierce89]

Hmmm, Rosberg again, qiuet a bit behind Hamilton's pace. Not a good sign. Bahrain, should be a "Rosberg" track on paper.
If he can't hold Hamilton's speed here, he is in for a long season.
Hope he can find some pace tomorrow [-o<

Why should Bahrain be a "Rosberg track"? I'd love to see him do well, but I don't see why any track would favor one driver over the other.

[Afterburner]

Why did they do so few laps ? Preservation ?

I guess all teams are worried about making the 5 engines last all season

Last year the lack of running was about saving tires so they now get a spare set for FP1, now they're worried about running up the mileage unnecessarily

Another reason TK mentioned was the time to change engines during night, from his words it may be too complex to change engines like they did on past years.

[efuloni]

I'm expecting a good race for Massa. He likes the track, made the best time of it in the pre-season and won two times there. I can see no reason why ppl think Bottas will be ahead of him this weekend.

[marcush.]

A driver would not show his cards in Free practise Sessions if he was confident ... So why making your teammate aware of something you can do with the Car already on friday ? in days of DA and Analysis it is Even less necessary to produce the Ideal Time already in Free practise Sessions. You would deliberately ease the Car in some Areas to stay out of your competitions Focus .

[321apex]

Is Williams saving engines already? Very little running with no apparent problem...

I made the prediction back around the first test in Jerez, that this years championship will be determined by the penalties for PU component replacement. Williams seems to be heeding this wisdom already.

I would also venture another statement. In that MB powered teams do not get the same as what MB got in terms of PU. Primarily I suspect software and not the hardware, since it is harder to prove. The reason being, that MB team are no chassis geniuses and I have no other way to explain the 1 sec difference at this time while assuming that they are not "sandbagging".

[myurr]

I would also venture another statement. In that MB powered teams do not get the same as what MB got in terms of PU. Primarily I suspect software and not the hardware, since it is harder to prove. The reason being, that MB team are no chassis geniuses and I have no other way to explain the 1 sec difference at this time while assuming that they are not "sandbagging".

All teams are responsible for their own software so that is guaranteed to be a differentiator and it's much of a stretch to assume that Mercedes have the best software / hardware combination. But that just means they've done a better job than the others as they all have the same overall opportunity, albeit with three teams having the benefit of being works teams.

Last year Mercedes proved that they can produce a very good car, they also proved it in 2009 although that applies to a lesser degree. If you listen to the track side assessment of Brundle and Davidson during FP2 they say that Mercedes and Red Bull are streets ahead of the others through the corners with the Mercedes probably being even ahead of Red Bull. They have thrown the kitchen sink at building an absolutely cracking car and they are as far ahead as they are not because of any one thing but because their entire car is more refined and well thought out than their competition. Even the turbo layout provides a weight distribution benefit on top of improving internal airflow (thanks to a smaller intercooler) and more power and less turbo lag (again thanks to less impediment on the air on its way to the engine).

Even if Renault magically give Red Bull engine parity I still think Mercedes would have the edge due to greater aerodynamic efficiency if not absolute downforce. This benefits fuel usage on top of giving greater straight line speed.

[marcush.]

Hmmm, Rosberg again, qiuet a bit behind Hamilton's pace. Not a good sign. Bahrain, should be a "Rosberg" track on paper.
If he can't hold Hamilton's speed here, he is in for a long season.
Hope he can find some pace tomorrow [-o<

Why should Bahrain be a "Rosberg track"? I'd love to see him do well, but I don't see why any track would favor one driver over the other.

One cannot deny that some drivers excel at certainly Tracks , One example Berger in Hockenheim Old Track and Rosberg seems to go well in China.
if a Tracks Flow and Rhythm suits your personal style and abilities You sure have a Head Start in a similar Way to have öden an Lot of driving on that particular Track.
this does not necessarily translate in results as These are all very talented guys so in the Race the advantage Maybe still there but dramatically reduced.

[Harsha]

Remi, you introduced on two of your teams today a second generation of engine. Does this apply for all six components or was only part of the components new?
RT: I think you will have the answer quite soon from the FIA papers that you will receive maybe tomorrow. It is of course a brand new V6 we introduce but I will not go into details at that moment. You will know tomorrow.

Do this mean Renault gave 2nd Power unit to the respective teams or Engine with some new upgraded Software ?

[321apex]

I would also venture another statement. In that MB powered teams do not get the same as what MB got in terms of PU. Primarily I suspect software and not the hardware, since it is harder to prove. The reason being, that MB team are no chassis geniuses and I have no other way to explain the 1 sec difference at this time while assuming that they are not "sandbagging".

All teams are responsible for their own software so that is guaranteed to be a differentiator and it's much of a stretch to assume that Mercedes have the best software / hardware combination. But that just means they've done a better job than the others as they all have the same overall opportunity, albeit with three teams having the benefit of being works teams.

Do you mean that Mercedes just delivered hardware and for example Williams writes all of their own software managing MGU-H/K power flow function along with rear braking?

[iotar__]

Rosberg's injured - toe
Force India looks very good based on FP2 times, maybe Hulkenberg can get another 5th place after which Brundle will declare him the greatest driver in F1
Ricciardo looks good too, he might get too close to Vettel again and Red Bull will have to invent another self-destruct procedure ["we recommend 4 s gap to not stress out Seb" "what? Last race it was 2 s "]

[myurr]

I would also venture another statement. In that MB powered teams do not get the same as what MB got in terms of PU. Primarily I suspect software and not the hardware, since it is harder to prove. The reason being, that MB team are no chassis geniuses and I have no other way to explain the 1 sec difference at this time while assuming that they are not "sandbagging".

All teams are responsible for their own software so that is guaranteed to be a differentiator and it's much of a stretch to assume that Mercedes have the best software / hardware combination. But that just means they've done a better job than the others as they all have the same overall opportunity, albeit with three teams having the benefit of being works teams.

Do you mean that Mercedes just delivered hardware and for example Williams writes all of their own software managing MGU-H/K power flow function along with rear braking?

Yes. Mercedes will provide a specification and possibly reference software but each team runs its own control software managing MGU-H/K. Hence Red Bull asking for help from Torro Rosso with getting their brake by wire software working properly, for example.

[iotar__]

Old live timing still in GP2 - oh nostalgia - gaps, pitstops and sector times.

[oT v1]

Old live timing still in GP2 - oh nostalgia - gaps, pitstops and sector times.

Vandorne (sp) is going to kill it this season

[SilverArrow10]

Watching the gp2. What a pair of drivers McLaren have created. Nice to hear a new anthem as well.

Anyway don't know why im saying this but Prediction time!!! pole and podium please.

Ham

Ham
Ros
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