A reason for doing a fast lap at the beginning would be to look at how the car behaved when the track still was green. And then repeat it and compare over a course of a testing week.JPBD1990 wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:00People have made a big deal of Mercedes testing program, but personally I don’t understand ferrari’s. I can’t percieve of any possible benefit of just coming straight out and spanking lap times so early. Also different to their 2018 strategy (from memory).
Can anyone speculate? Wouldn’t they just want to get a baseline of the cars aero performance first and foremost? How could introducing a whole lot of different fuel loads so early... help?
Ps I’m a Ferrari fan so don’t attack me as if I’m saying it’s wrong... just trying to learn.
Same here. It's more meaningful when the actual races begin.digitalrurouni wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:27I guess I am the only one that just follows testing because winter is so boring with no motorsports but I don't care to speculate at all. It's impossible to tell. Testing just ramps up my curiosity and interest in the cars and then Melbourne though is when my F1 intensity reaches fever pitch. it's all fun and games to read the pundit's analyses and all that of the cars. But that's it.
It's probably depressingly accurate as well. Amazing.Jester Maroc wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:14This was posted on BBC's live testing thread! Quite funny
https://twitter.com/i/status/1097857178688475137
The teams generally want a baseline, from the sensors and the paint they can see loads at given speeds and how the air flows. Generally the team will request the driver does a steady lap and then collect the data. Where we are now though they want to see how the car performs in normal operating conditions, but only the team knows the conditions. If that makes sense. They may have the engine at 80%, heavy fuel, old tyres. All can make the car look off the pace, but make the team feel positive.Wynters wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:23I don't think I'd be pushing super hard all the time (or, at all on the first day) because then the driver becomes a significant factor. If the drivers are both driving within themselves, to a Delta perhaps, then their performance is pretty much removed from that comparison, no? That would seem to be better for establishing a starting baseline of actual car performance, wouldn't it?
That would give an excellent example of Merc running to a particular laptime delta.....not that they have hit ceiling with their performance
No one has gone as fast as possible yet.djones wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:44Is it just me that finds it suspicious that the Merc's are doing very specific lap times (including fastest laps) on both days of testing?
It's like they have a target lap time, rather than the aim of going as fast as possible.
EDIT - oh I see that was kind of spoke about in the post above me.
Technically correct, every team has different target delta times....which they establish early one and then work on the cars to hit those targets...........this gives a good baselineLM10 wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:50No one has gone as fast as possible yet.djones wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:44Is it just me that finds it suspicious that the Merc's are doing very specific lap times (including fastest laps) on both days of testing?
It's like they have a target lap time, rather than the aim of going as fast as possible.
EDIT - oh I see that was kind of spoke about in the post above me.
If they closed the gap to Ferrari to a second that's still better than last year when the gap was as high as 2 seconds per lap at times.
Yea, it seems like Merc have put the PU in a low power mode and thus are well withing the limits of the engine and the chassis, and are again this year just focusing on tire testing.siskue2005 wrote: ↑19 Feb 2019, 16:40That would give an excellent example of Merc running to a particular laptime delta.....not that they have hit ceiling with their performance