F1 2020 Pre-Season Testing Thread

[Sanchit f1fan]

Finally, some evidence to say that Ferrari is ON PAR with Mercedes! Vettel's first stint in what appears to be a race sim, is almost similar to that of Hamilton. The only difference is, Lewis did his race stint on 20th Feb, whereas Max and Vettel did their stints on 21st FEb which was a much better day in terms of track conditions. But nevertheless, some clarity on Ferrari after all the smoke screen. (Ignore the average times as Vettel only did a first stint, which obviously shows the average to be higher than that of Hamilton. Just look at lap by lap comparison.)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERZFbCrXkAA ... ame=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERY3CutX0AA ... ame=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERfIaqPXYAA ... me=900x900

Well on the Race Sim Even McLaren was Literally Quite Close to Mercedes

Err.. No.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERd4xW2WoAA ... ame=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERezaC9WoAA ... ame=medium

Errr yes
Sainz On C1 last Stint 21.5s
Verstappen on c2 last Stint 21.4s
Hamilton on C2 last Stint 20.4s

I guess McLaren has th best race pace compared to Everyone Par Mercedes
Even F1 official race pace data Suggest this and Pink Mercedes is just Overrated

[Sanchit f1fan]

And yeah average time of Sainz .6 sec slower than redbull cause sainz used c1 for first stint compare it to c2 of verstappen

[bosyber]

Talking about Racing Point, and the pink Mercedes. What if (I know its like 99% unlikely) but what IF , they actually made the car better than the W10 ? Its not impossible, and with the tighter PU packaging, it could have unlocked the W10's full potential

I think that might make for a good comparison of what Mercedes gained by redesigning their W11 (bet that team would love to have data on that!
) though RP probably cannot be expected to develop as quickly as Mercedes, and we do not know how for sure well they copied.

[GPR-A]

And yeah average time of Sainz .6 sec slower than redbull cause sainz used c1 for first stint compare it to c2 of verstappen

Dude, 0.6 difference is in qualifying conditions. In races, with full tank, that comes down to 2 to 3 tenths.

[Sanchit f1fan]

And yeah average time of Sainz .6 sec slower than redbull cause sainz used c1 for first stint compare it to c2 of verstappen

Dude, 0.6 difference is in qualifying conditions. In races, with full tank, that comes down to 2 to 3 tenths.

I'm talking about the Average Race pace time On the Graphics

[HungarianRacer]

I'd really like to see some onboard footage of the Ferrari going through the last sector.... According to the official F1 website, only 2 turns are considered slow on the Barcelona Circuit (Turn 10 and Turn 15 presumably), at these sections - on a step harder tyres and undoubtedly carrying more fuel - Ferrari's car have supposedly been around 4 tenths quicker than Mercedes, in just those TWO bends, I emphasize... Saying that it's difficult to believe would be quiet the understatement... How is that not a sought-after footage already?

[Vasconia]

Ok.
.
.
.
Can i assume with above stints of perez that RP is on Ferrari level and if Ferrari is on Mercedes level, then you know!!
Also is Ferrari 1:17.5 is extrapolation from their C4 time which is 1:18.1?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERUaNFcXUAM ... ame=large?


I think, better lets wait and see after test two.

RP is the Real Dark Horse in all this! I wouldn't be surprised if that car start the season as the third best car. The team is struggling to cover their excitement. Based on what Allison was telling in yesterday's W11 introduction video, the HPP has found a "lot of fresh horses" in the new engine, which could propel RP to podiums in the first few races if Checko does a good job. Not to be surprised with them and if that happens, the question is, will they hold on to such performance for the rest of the season.

I wouldn´t be surprised at all. This team usually does a great job and if they receive an additional 'help' from Mercedes and they copy which was the best car in 2019, I am pretty sure that Checo can reach the podium in some races.

[Vasconia]

No offense, but hiding true pace doesn't make sense. So what if you hang a 1:13.7?

What help is that to the other teams watching?

If I recall, Brawn was 1 sec faster than anyone in 2009 testing. Can anyone tell me how that hurt them?

I think big teams like to use this as a psychological warfare, you hide your potential and then you shock your competence with your true potential. You can also make them think you can still be fast because even in your bad days because they will still think that you are hidding something.

[KiLLu12258]

No offense, but hiding true pace doesn't make sense. So what if you hang a 1:13.7?

What help is that to the other teams watching?

If I recall, Brawn was 1 sec faster than anyone in 2009 testing. Can anyone tell me how that hurt them?

I think big teams like to use this as a psychological warfare, you hide your potential and then you shock your competence with your true potential. You can also make them think you can still be fast because even in your bad days because they will still think that you are hidding something.

but brawn gp had a good reason to show everyone how strong they are, as they were still searching for sponsors.

[Just_a_fan]

No offense, but hiding true pace doesn't make sense. So what if you hang a 1:13.7?

What help is that to the other teams watching?

If I recall, Brawn was 1 sec faster than anyone in 2009 testing. Can anyone tell me how that hurt them?

I think big teams like to use this as a psychological warfare, you hide your potential and then you shock your competence with your true potential. You can also make them think you can still be fast because even in your bad days because they will still think that you are hidding something.

but brawn gp had a good reason to show everyone how strong they are, as they were still searching for sponsors.

Also, Brawn allowed people to think their pace was from the double diffuser when it was really from their outwash front wing design. I remember Brawn himself saying in an interview during the early season - "they're looking at the wrong end of the car for our performance" (or similar, I forget the actual wording).

[DChemTech]

No offense, but hiding true pace doesn't make sense. So what if you hang a 1:13.7?

What help is that to the other teams watching?

If I recall, Brawn was 1 sec faster than anyone in 2009 testing. Can anyone tell me how that hurt them?

I think big teams like to use this as a psychological warfare, you hide your potential and then you shock your competence with your true potential. You can also make them think you can still be fast because even in your bad days because they will still think that you are hidding something.

but brawn gp had a good reason to show everyone how strong they are, as they were still searching for sponsors.

It also depends very much on the situation. Before the start of this year, everyone was talking about Mercedes finally being challenged. This would finally be the year with true competition. So I can image Mercedes just want to rub into everyone how good they really are and demotivate others from the get-go.

RB and Ferrari on the other hand, as challengers, may not want to give their real hand away yet. You saw how that worked for Ferrari last year - if you act like you're the fastest in preseason testing, but can't deliver the rest of the year, you're going to be the butt of jokes.

Lack of sponsorship can indeed be another aspect to up your game during testing, especially as a mid/rear-fielder. Or, if preseason expectations are low, maybe you just can't wait until Melbourne to prove the critique wrong There's reasons both for showing and sandbagging, but there are definitely cases where one is more appropriate than the other.

[Vasconia]

No offense, but hiding true pace doesn't make sense. So what if you hang a 1:13.7?

What help is that to the other teams watching?

If I recall, Brawn was 1 sec faster than anyone in 2009 testing. Can anyone tell me how that hurt them?

I think big teams like to use this as a psychological warfare, you hide your potential and then you shock your competence with your true potential. You can also make them think you can still be fast because even in your bad days because they will still think that you are hidding something.

but brawn gp had a good reason to show everyone how strong they are, as they were still searching for sponsors.

Indeed, they had a good reason, they needed money. Ferrari or RB don´t need to do this.

[KiLLu12258]

I think big teams like to use this as a psychological warfare, you hide your potential and then you shock your competence with your true potential. You can also make them think you can still be fast because even in your bad days because they will still think that you are hidding something.

but brawn gp had a good reason to show everyone how strong they are, as they were still searching for sponsors.

It also depends very much on the situation. Before the start of this year, everyone was talking about Mercedes finally being challenged. This would finally be the year with true competition. So I can image Mercedes just want to rub into everyone how good they really are and demotivate others from the get-go.

RB and Ferrari on the other hand, as challengers, may not want to give their real hand away yet. You saw how that worked for Ferrari last year - if you act like you're the fastest in preseason testing, but can't deliver the rest of the year, you're going to be the butt of jokes.

Lack of sponsorship can indeed be another aspect to up your game during testing, especially as a mid/rear-fielder. Or, if preseason expectations are low, maybe you just can't wait until Melbourne to prove the critique wrong There's reasons both for showing and sandbagging, but there are definitely cases where one is more appropriate than the other.

Exactly

This week we will see how it goes. At some point every team has to test out some real hotlaps.

[SiLo]

I'd really like to see some onboard footage of the Ferrari going through the last sector.... According to the official F1 website, only 2 turns are considered slow on the Barcelona Circuit (Turn 10 and Turn 15 presumably), at these sections - on a step harder tyres and undoubtedly carrying more fuel - Ferrari's car have supposedly been around 4 tenths quicker than Mercedes, in just those TWO bends, I emphasize... Saying that it's difficult to believe would be quiet the understatement... How is that not a sought-after footage already?

I think that data is just wrong. I saw another one on Reddit which shows very different slow corner times which I would expect are much more accurate looking at the S3 times.

[HungarianRacer]

I'd really like to see some onboard footage of the Ferrari going through the last sector.... According to the official F1 website, only 2 turns are considered slow on the Barcelona Circuit (Turn 10 and Turn 15 presumably), at these sections - on a step harder tyres and undoubtedly carrying more fuel - Ferrari's car have supposedly been around 4 tenths quicker than Mercedes, in just those TWO bends, I emphasize... Saying that it's difficult to believe would be quiet the understatement... How is that not a sought-after footage already?

I think that data is just wrong. I saw another one on Reddit which shows very different slow corner times which I would expect are much more accurate looking at the S3 times.

Thanks for posting this.