2013 Testing - Barcelona 2: 28 Feb - 3 Mar

[Nando]

I look at it as Red Bull has once again enjoyed the fact that their two main competitors probably have gotten it wrong again.
Hell for one of the teams when they get it right they get it wrong in other departments, not mentioning any names

But yea, i wouldn´t say it looks good for W04 but i would definitely say it doesn´t look bad.

[zoro_f1]

[iotar__]

It's interesting to see how they play with one fast lap then check and adjust laps afterwards in terms of degradation. At least that's what it looks like to me. Yesterday Red Bull did a bit of that with some cool-off laps, probing and finding how much they can push.

[LilDEF1]

Hamilton is definately preparing for a race simulation this afternoon by sorting out his qualifying pace first..

[Maelstrom]

Maldonaldo did a 1:22:305 on supersofts... thats 1.7 secs off Hamilton's best on softs. Even if he wasn't pushing to the limit and had a higher fuel load thats a significant gap.

But te way these soft tyres degrade... we might see a lot more pit stops this year. No one stopper for sure.

[kooleracer]

First real qualy lap of wintertesting in 2013

A.Sutil 1:21.627 on softs. 1 lap and then straight to the box. 1.069 of the Merc's 5 lap stint on softs.

He just did a 1:21.774 of supersofts, looks like the ss doesn't bring any improvements for SFI. Maybe the ss degrades before the lap finishes. Also 1 lap and then straight to the pits.

Mustn't forget that the SFI was leading the last race and fighting with the McLaren. So the W04 progress is immense compared to last year.

[stefan_]

Seems like Grosjean will be driving the E21 this afternoon. He arrived back in Spain.

[korzeniow]

First real qualy lap of wintertesting in 2013

A.Sutil 1:21.627 on softs. 1 lap and then straight to the box. 1.069 of the Merc's 5 lap stint on softs.

He just did a 1:21.774 of supersofts, looks like the ss doesn't bring any improvements for SFI. Maybe the ss degrades before the lap finishes. Also 1 lap and then straight to the pits.

Mustn't forget that the SFI was leading the last race and fighting with the McLaren. So the W04 progress is immense compared to last year.

Don't get carried away. Race simulations are all tat matter. At last year winter testing Mercedes had good one lap pace too.

[beelsebob]

First real qualy lap of wintertesting in 2013

A.Sutil 1:21.627 on softs. 1 lap and then straight to the box. 1.069 of the Merc's 5 lap stint on softs.

He just did a 1:21.774 of supersofts, looks like the ss doesn't bring any improvements for SFI. Maybe the ss degrades before the lap finishes. Also 1 lap and then straight to the pits.

Mustn't forget that the SFI was leading the last race and fighting with the McLaren. So the W04 progress is immense compared to last year.

Don't get carried away. Race simulations are all tat matter. At last year winter testing Mercedes had good one lap pace too.

And last year, the W03 was a top 3 car, until they stopped developing it

[Neno]

And last year, the W03 was a top 3 car, until they stopped developing it

I could say it was top 3 qualy car, first few races you could expect Mercedes in first two rows easly. In race he was average, but you could say he was in top 3.

[korzeniow]

And last year, the W03 was a top 3 car, until they stopped developing it

That's often repeated misconception.

They had stand out performances on occasion but they weren't near the top. That's last year's Spanish GP race pace of MAL, ALO, RAI and ROS: http://i.imgur.com/Dr2sckt.png

Rosberg wasn't on the pace at any point of the race, and that was the beggining of the season.

I'm not tryinh to bash Merc, I'm just not willing to jump on the badwagon untill I see their race simulation

[beelsebob]

And last year, the W03 was a top 3 car, until they stopped developing it

That's often repeated misconception.

They had stand out performances on occasion but they weren't near the top. That's last year's Spanish GP race pace of MAL, ALO, RAI and ROS: http://i.imgur.com/Dr2sckt.png

Rosberg wasn't on the pace at any point of the race, and that was the beggining of the season.

I'm not tryinh to bash Merc, I'm just not willing to jump on the badwagon untill I see their race simulation

While at Australia, Malaysia and China, they showed much better pace. Mercedes failed very early on last year to do development work.

[kooleracer]

track temp is 29C. I think a lot of teams will be doing race sims after the break. So the real comparison can begin.

[korzeniow]

That was begining of the season. At Barcelona's track is the best indication of car's strong and weak points.

[turbof1]

Hamilton also set a 1:20:8 with mediums

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105809