In Season Test 1: Mugello, Italy - 01 to 03 May 2012

[Kiril Varbanov]

McLaren simply doesn't like the in season test because they've invested heavily into their simulator & aren't as reliant on track data as some of the other teams. When a McLaren employee of Lowe's status mentions cost cutting as a reason why he doesn't want to test, it's a rubbish excuse and there's other reasons behind their opinion. Lowe: "It's a bit of a disruption and it's not necessary for us to go racing to have an in-season test. But it does gives teams an opportunity to take another step forward in development at a greater rate than before".

The bottom line is an in-season test somewhat negates the investment in and development advantage of having such a good simulation program as McLaren has. It will allow other teams to catch quicker than they would in previous years and he doesn't like it.

Sure, fine, they just don't go and that's it I still think that the track data is invaluable in the same way I'd like to get logs and metrics from a live production computer system rather than simulating it - it's always best live.

[raymondu999]

Don't get CX wrong - track will help McLaren. But because their CFD/simulator setup is great, then that maybe gets them 75% of the way, while others get 50% of the way from theirs. Track testing will mask a lot of the difference (arbitrary, random numbers, the 75/40%)

[motobaleno]

McLaren simply doesn't like the in season test because they've invested heavily into their simulator & aren't as reliant on track data as some of the other teams. When a McLaren employee of Lowe's status mentions cost cutting as a reason why he doesn't want to test, it's a rubbish excuse and there's other reasons behind their opinion. Lowe: "It's a bit of a disruption and it's not necessary for us to go racing to have an in-season test. But it does gives teams an opportunity to take another step forward in development at a greater rate than before".


The bottom line is an in-season test somewhat negates the investment in and development advantage of having such a good simulation program as McLaren has. It will allow other teams to catch quicker than they would in previous years and he doesn't like it.

It would be extremely interesting to compare the costs of developing a simulation program like macca with those of running several track tests in order to verify if the track test banning imposed by FIA has real economic advantages...

[FrukostScones]

for this test Red Bull with double its normal testing crew because they want to try out so many things. source: Helmut Marko interview in Speedweek Magazine

[raymondu999]

Are they allowed 2 cars? I can imagine them working on one car while the other is on a run. Then the driver comes in and they just switch cars

[astracrazy]

I've read on other sites Macca to stick to Button and Hamilton sitting out because they have no major updates.

for this test Red Bull with double its normal testing crew because they want to try out so many things. source: Helmut Marko interview in Speedweek Magazine

I hope Macca haven't shot themselves in the foot with Red Bull doubling the test crew because they have so many things to try. Ferrari are i guess brining a major update and i can't see Renault and Merc sitting still either.

I feel by Barcelona we might see Macca move backwards

[Chuckjr]

+1
Macca is nuts if they think they have enough. RB and Ferrari have great potential to find quite a bit of time. Macca already shows weakness in race trim. Their car is amazing in quali, but they will get eaten alive if they don't start some serious upgrades.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Are they allowed 2 cars? I can imagine them working on one car while the other is on a run. Then the driver comes in and they just switch cars

Pretty sure just one car like pre-season. Remember RB asking permission to fly in another chassis? My question, in relation to RB bringing lots of people, aren't there rules limiting the amount of mechanics in testing?

[raymondu999]

Would fall under RRA AFAIK. Yes one car on track, but are they allowed to have one running and one built? Then the driver moves to the next chassis and starts testing that. RB had another car flown in in Barca 2 preseason, no?

[Spankyham]

Are they allowed 2 cars? I can imagine them working on one car while the other is on a run. Then the driver comes in and they just switch cars

Pretty sure just one car like pre-season. Remember RB asking permission to fly in another chassis? My question, in relation to RB bringing lots of people, aren't there rules limiting the amount of mechanics in testing?

Yep, only one chassis allowed.

[marcush.]

Is it important to have the race drivers test ? don´t think so.They have someone to drive the car quick and that should be enough to wade through the options .
Funny with button saying they will try extreme changes and then in the next sentance he says it does make no sense as they have nothing new to test...

[raymondu999]

Perhaps they will be doing setup work then? Extreme setup work that is.

[ESPImperium]

I think its because they need Paffett and Turvey to go thrugh a wide range of driving styles to see the effect on the Tyres. McLaren arnt bringing any aero updates to the car, whitch says to me they must have something mechanichal on the car that needs to be tested in a wide range of styles to see if changing mechanichals will make a difference.

However when i say they wont be testing new aero parts, reports suggest McLaren have a new gearbox casing and shape on the way whitch will mean they can get more of a useable aera out of the diffuser, so i think they will only have one new aero part, a new floor and diffuser. They will want to keep the rest the same so they have a strong baseline else where on the car.

Mercedes and Williams both have new gearbox cases as well, hence why Senna never saw the flag at Bahrain, and Schumacher broke a seal on his gearbox. New cases that are shaped to get more from the diffuser and in Mercedes case, lighter so they can be lighter on the rear tyres in terms of degredation.

I think that teams are looking at how light they can be on the tyres theese days as if you have a car that isnt as hot on rubber you can make a 2 stopper and not a 3 more of a viable option.

[godlameroso]

Or if they are going 3 stopper, how can they extract the most pace, and try to see how the tires degrade. Maybe see if they can tune the suspension to give better balance as the tire degrades, and hope the driver can cope with a slightly unbalanced car while the tires are fresh. Someone that prefers oversteer in their car could possibly get away with such a setup.

[N12ck]

Not sure if this has been posted or not, but here are the lineups:

http://thef1times.com/news/display/05909