F1 2020 Pre-Season Testing Thread

[NathanOlder]

I'm amazed that people still need to clarify that winter testing isn't representative of any team's performance, especially on day 1.

rrr. Because you can tell a lot from testing mate. It is actually very much representative for the majority of the teams for the most of the time.

That's why Ferrari destroyed Mercedes last year after being faster all throughout winter testing.

Did they really destroy Merc though ? Maybe the first test yes. And then the second test was Mercedes first test with the new car. Fastest laps last year were almost identical. Ferrari were I think 0.003 faster than Mercedes.

[NathanOlder]

Why is redbull using screens and renault closing the box door?

RedBull getting some more value out of their screens

[F1Fan2018]

From Sky F1

Mercedes on new 'DAS' system, confident it's legal
Mercedes' new 'trumbone' steering wheel system created quite the debate in the morning session, and technical director James Allison spoke to the media in the lunch break about that device.

The main headline quotes were that it's called a 'DAS' system - which Sky Sports has learnt is an acronym for Dual Axes Steering - and that there are no concerns about its legality.

"We have a system in the car, it's a novel idea and we've got a name for it, it's called DAS," said Allison. "It just introduces an extra dimension in the steering for the driver which we hope will be useful during the season.

"But precisely how we use it, why we use it... that's something we'll keep to ourselves."

On the legality questions, he added: "This isn't news to the FIA, it's something we've been talking to them about for some time. The rules are pretty clear about what's permitted on steering systems and we feel confident that it matches all of those requirements."

[Vasconia]

rrr. Because you can tell a lot from testing mate. It is actually very much representative for the majority of the teams for the most of the time.

That's why Ferrari destroyed Mercedes last year after being faster all throughout winter testing.

Did they really destroy Merc though ? Maybe the first test yes. And then the second test was Mercedes first test with the new car. Fastest laps last year were almost identical. Ferrari were I think 0.003 faster than Mercedes.

And last year´s case was particuarly weird as almost everybody thought Ferrari was the fastest, or at least, equally fast to Mercedes. It was hard to expect the problems of the Scuderia during the first races.

[sAx]

So the rules say fixed steering wheel but don't mention what fixed means. I think the spirit of the rules is the wheel should be only rotated and translation shouldn't be in its degrees of freedom.

No, that's not what Rule 10.2.1 says. It says that "With the steering wheel fixed, the position of each wheel centre and the orientation of its rotation axis must be completely and uniquely defined by a function of its principally vertical suspension travel", i.e. IF you fix (don't move) the steering wheel then wheel movement must be defined by the suspension travel. It does NOT say that the steering wheel has to be fixed in any way.

The spirit of the rules is the position of the tires should be unique for a given steering angle only problem is they didn't see mercedes using translation and not rotation for controlling the car.

The requirement of the regulation rather than the spirit, i.e. how the device as operated manages to avoid the illegality of 10.4 Steering, specifically 10.4.1 Any steering system which permits the re-alignment of more than two wheels is not permitted. However F1 intellectualism as it is, would have pondered very deeply the meaning of 're-alignment' as it would apply to the system placed on the car.

[Sevach]

That's why Ferrari destroyed Mercedes last year after being faster all throughout winter testing.

Did they really destroy Merc though ? Maybe the first test yes. And then the second test was Mercedes first test with the new car. Fastest laps last year were almost identical. Ferrari were I think 0.003 faster than Mercedes.

And last year´s case was particuarly weird as almost everybody thought Ferrari was the fastest, or at least, equally fast to Mercedes. It was hard to expect the problems of the Scuderia during the first races.

Mercedes definitely "clicked" the last 2 days, i'd say their launch spec with in wash endplates and conservative sidepods was bad for real.

It does bring to question what Ferrari was doing and their testing methods, they used same spec all winter, looked very comfortable taking it to the flyaways, and they didn't work out they had tire warm up/management problems? That maybe a more positive front would improve the car? I hope they figured out why they misjudged everything last year.

[Restomaniac]

I can’t be the only person who is amazed by the human brain at times.

DAS is once again a human sitting there when a lightbulb goes off. Just like the internal combustion engine, the aeroplane, the invention of steel, the invention of the bridge, etc. It ALWAYS amazes me.

[bosyber]

Did they really destroy Merc though ? Maybe the first test yes. And then the second test was Mercedes first test with the new car. Fastest laps last year were almost identical. Ferrari were I think 0.003 faster than Mercedes.

And last year´s case was particuarly weird as almost everybody thought Ferrari was the fastest, or at least, equally fast to Mercedes. It was hard to expect the problems of the Scuderia during the first races.

Mercedes definitely "clicked" the last 2 days, i'd say their launch spec with in wash endplates and conservative sidepods was bad for real.

It does bring to question what Ferrari was doing and their testing methods, they used same spec all winter, looked very comfortable taking it to the flyaways, and they didn't work out they had tire warm up/management problems? That maybe a more positive front would improve the car? I hope they figured out why they misjudged everything last year.

Well Leclerc confirmed they now have a car that is much more versatile in how they can set it up, and that they changed their testing to, well, test how it responds to that - seems a bit odd they couldn't have thought of that before it blew up last year, but, hey, at least they seem to have learned from it, so that's a positive.

[bosyber]

I can’t be the only person who is amazed by the human brain at times.

DAS is once again a human sitting there when a lightbulb goes off. Just like the internal combustion engine, the aeroplane, the invention of steel, the invention of the bridge, etc. It ALWAYS amazes me.

Yeah, it seems like it is legal in a similar clever 'technically not illegal' way as the double diffuser's undefined-side is not-illegal-hole, and even more so the F-duct, when they realised the steering wheel was a way for the driver to move the suspension (just as a driver's actions were allowed to influence the aero), so they added a 2nd degree of freedom to it - Dual Axes Steering, indeed.

edit:
I do have to say that I actually really like to have visible innovations to 'mechanical' bits of the car, rather than us talking about what a specific aero bit does or doesn't, and what nose is more effective.

A lot of teams have worked on their suspension already last year, and this year again (Ferrari changed theirs, McLaren - like earlier years - changed theirs, Red Bull and AT, you name it - but usually it seems too 'technical' to get a good and clear discussion about it in the media, which means that it is hard to get clear images/footage so even here people that do know their suspensions lack information to discuss it.

[oT v1]

We have been robbed of technical innovations (in the true sense of the word, not counting aero tweaks) that can be viewed by the public since the engine era. Bravo Merc!! So nice to see something a bit radical, very ‘2012’ of them :p ducting etc

[Sevach]

And last year´s case was particuarly weird as almost everybody thought Ferrari was the fastest, or at least, equally fast to Mercedes. It was hard to expect the problems of the Scuderia during the first races.

Mercedes definitely "clicked" the last 2 days, i'd say their launch spec with in wash endplates and conservative sidepods was bad for real.

It does bring to question what Ferrari was doing and their testing methods, they used same spec all winter, looked very comfortable taking it to the flyaways, and they didn't work out they had tire warm up/management problems? That maybe a more positive front would improve the car? I hope they figured out why they misjudged everything last year.

Well Leclerc confirmed they now have a car that is much more versatile in how they can set it up, and that they changed their testing to, well, test how it responds to that - seems a bit odd they couldn't have thought of that before it blew up last year, but, hey, at least they seem to have learned from it, so that's a positive.

Indeed.

Last year the car seemed great and Ferrari was content with patting itself in the back, "job well done", instead of keep pushing, keep improving...

[Cuky]

Last year the car seemed great and Ferrari was content with patting itself in the back, "job well done", instead of keep pushing, keep improving...

And to compare that with Schumacher era when on first test of F2004 it was so good that they were certain that car was underweight or that they set it up incorrectly. Only after lots of checks were done and drivers couldn't take their smiles away they believed that the car was actually that fast

[f1jcw]

Can people stop saying "goes against the spirit of the rules"
There is no such thing

[f1rules]

merc is just so on top of things insane how dominant they have been and how they continue to push

[waynes]

i dont know why but i get the feeling this is distracting people from Merc hiding something else.