2017 F1 general testing thread

[f1316]

I have to say i'm surprised by what Mercedes is doing, last year they never touched the SS(don't even mention the ultra), barely any short runs, a whole lot of mediums... and were still pretty much on pace.

Why the change?

If I can recall things correctly, the harder the compound was, the bigger the difference to the chasing pack and the softer the compound was, the closer the chasing pack became to Mercedes. On UltraSoft, the difference between Merc Pole and the chasing pack was almost negligible. As they based their car more on Mediums, probably that was the outcome. For majority of the season, it was the Soft rubber that was used. So, this time, they are basing their car on Softs and it's probably a good idea to have a reference towards SS and US as all their make is becoming different. That's my two cents.

I also believe that with the tyres predicted to last much longer, it's better to always use the softest tyre opposed to a tyre which balance off peak performance with durability.

These tyres are also (supposedly) much easier to get in the 'window' - which is a problem some of the teams (most notably Ferrari) had on the harder compounds in the Pirelli era.

It may be that that whole thing is out the window and, of course, they need to try everything out or how will they know?

[WaikeCU]

I have to say i'm surprised by what Mercedes is doing, last year they never touched the SS(don't even mention the ultra), barely any short runs, a whole lot of mediums... and were still pretty much on pace.

Why the change?

Because tire measurements haven't changed since 2011?

[Sevach]

I have to say i'm surprised by what Mercedes is doing, last year they never touched the SS(don't even mention the ultra), barely any short runs, a whole lot of mediums... and were still pretty much on pace.

Why the change?

If I can recall things correctly, the harder the compound was, the bigger the difference to the chasing pack and the softer the compound was, the closer the chasing pack became to Mercedes. On UltraSoft, the difference between Merc Pole and the chasing pack was almost negligible. As they based their car more on Mediums, probably that was the outcome. For majority of the season, it was the Soft rubber that was used. So, this time, they are basing their car on Softs and it's probably a good idea to have a reference towards SS and US as all their make is becoming different. That's my two cents.

Pirelli is taking US to Australia this year, last year SS was the qualifying tire we might see a general tendency to go one step softer on a lot of places.

I still don't know how much you can learn about the US by driving it at Barcelona, even with the more durable compounds that has got to be iffy.

[FrukostScones]

LOL
GA:

Grosjean is struggling a little with the rear end of the Haas turning in to Turn 10. Perhaps someone should tell him he is braking about two car lengths later than everyone else? As Eddie Irvine used to say, he could brake later than the car could...

http://www.autosport.com/live/commentar ... -day-three

[Logie]

Is it true Sauber are using 2016 PU? Is that the plan for the 2017 season or just first test? Would be a shame as the car looks tidy.

NM found a news article about it, Sauber can spent more money on Aero with cheaper engines in 2017

[Thunder]

Sauber will use the 2016 Ferrari PU for the whole Season.

[Fulcrum]

I get the impression Ferrari are focusing all of their attention on the Medium's performance, while Mercedes are focusing far more time on the softer compounds; both their relative bugbears from last year.

This being the case, is it because of last year's issues, or more a case of focusing on your intended usage for this year?

If the former, are the tyres that similar to last year that you can focus your time on one and assume traits from last year?

If the latter, Mercedes opting for the softer compound is interesting. How often can the Soft tyre be run relative to the Medium. I.e. At what percentage of races will the Soft appear relative to the Medium? Also perhaps signals some intent for their general approach to race strategy - more pitstops and faster stints than Ferrari?

[FrukostScones]

some paydrivers win races, some ruin testing for the team.

GA:

It's not completely surprising to see Stroll in the gravel again. Watching him trackside he looks OK, but isn't completely confident in the car and he keeps on fidgeting with it trying to fix the problems that aren't really there. He's correcting when the car will sort itself out, so he needs to relax a little bit and not white knuckle it. You could say he's got too tight a grasp on the steering wheel.

seems Jr. is scared.

[Quantum]

As the tyres are not degrading as quickly through harder use, time drop off is less. So softer compounds can be used for longer, and more often at more venues.

[jonas_linder]

some paydrivers win races, some ruin testing for the team.

I was laughing my ass of reading your comments considering which driver you have as an avatar

[CriXus]

GA:

It's not completely surprising to see Stroll in the gravel again. Watching him track side he looks OK, but isn't completely confident in the car and he keeps on fidgeting with it trying to fix the problems that aren't really there. He's correcting when the car will sort itself out, so he needs to relax a little bit and not white knuckle it. You could say he's got too tight a grasp on the steering wheel.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Is it true Sauber are using 2016 PU? Is that the plan for the 2017 season or just first test? Would be a shame as the car looks tidy.

NM found a news article about it, Sauber can spent more money on Aero with cheaper engines in 2017

Why spend money on Aero R&D, when the new PU could potentially deliver similar performance, if the same money is paid to Ferrari? It's a chicken headache situation. You pay money to buy more power and settle with compromised Aero OR compromise with power and spend on Aero R&D.

[GrayGreat]

I have to say i'm surprised by what Mercedes is doing, last year they never touched the SS(don't even mention the ultra), barely any short runs, a whole lot of mediums... and were still pretty much on pace.

Why the change?

My Thoughts:

We know that the tires are going to be more durable this year. They are wider, plus Pirelli is lowering the minimum tire pressure limits. This means more grip and less degradation, so there is a good chance that this year's soft will equate to last year's medium, perhaps even better.

Another thing to note is that the soft(yellow) tire is going to be available at every gp, because of the 3 tire compound rule. Now because the tires are going to be more durable, Pirelli might go one step softer for some GPs which means that some races where medium was available last year, might not be available this year so perhaps Mercedes is trying to optimize their car around the tire that is going to be used mostly.

[Shaddock]

Is it true Sauber are using 2016 PU? Is that the plan for the 2017 season or just first test? Would be a shame as the car looks tidy.

NM found a news article about it, Sauber can spent more money on Aero with cheaper engines in 2017

Why spend money on Aero R&D, when the new PU could potentially deliver similar performance, if the same money is paid to Ferrari? It's a chicken headache situation. You pay money to buy more power and settle with compromised Aero OR compromise with power and spend on Aero R&D.

Except the 16 engine now has to last an extra race and more time on full throttle, so will they have to run it in a lower average power setting than Ferrari last year? And that's before the 17 engines move further away from them with their development.

[Xero]

Why spend money on Aero R&D, when the new PU could potentially deliver similar performance, if the same money is paid to Ferrari? It's a chicken headache situation. You pay money to buy more power and settle with compromised Aero OR compromise with power and spend on Aero R&D.

You could argue that in Sauber's case there is much more performance to unlock from the aero side of things. In all honesty, I think the 2016 Ferrari engine will stand up fairly well to the 2017 one. Sensible decision on their part for me.