Pre-Season Winter testing : 2014 Season

[Greenlantern101]

Bahrain F1 test 2: Combined results

1. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 1min 33.258secs (3)
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 33.278secs (4)
3. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 33.484secs (3)
4. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Mercedes 1min 33.987secs (4)
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 34.280secs (4)
6. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes 1min 35.290secs (1)
7. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 35.426secs (3)
8. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Force India-Mercedes 1min 35.577secs (4)
9. Jean-Eric Vergne France STR-Renault 1min 35.701secs (4)
10. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 1min 35.743secs (2)
11. Kevin Magnussen Denmark McLaren-Mercedes 1min 35.895secs (3)
12. Daniil Kvyat Russia STR-Renault 1min 36.113secs (3)
13. Adrian Sutil Germany Sauber-Ferrari 1min 36.467secs (4)
14. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Ferrari 1min 36.835secs (4)
15. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1min 36.901secs (2)
16. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari 1min 37.087secs (3)
17. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1min 37.303secs (4)
18. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1min 37.468secs (4)
19. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault 1min 38.083secs (3)
20. Kamui Kobyashi Japan Caterham-Renault 1min 38.391secs (4)
21. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1min 39.302secs (4)
22. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Lotus-Renault 1min 40.599secs (1)

 

[Lewywo4]

Encouraging performances from Williams, during these test sessions.

 

[Bill Boddy]

But do we know which tyres were used for these times?

 

[no-FIAt-please]

I think Massa used the super soft, while Rosberg used the soft. Not sure which tyre Hamilton used.

 

[Mephistopheles]

McLaren had an engine failure, it is reported the the engine had high mileage on it this prevented them evaluating the Melbourne spec front wing.

Does anyone know how many miles the engine had done before it let go? I only ask because the teams only have five engines for the season and it may mean that the Merc engine isn't as bullet proof as it appears to be...

 

[Westy]

Excellent point Mephistopheles

 

[Westy]

Does anyone have the data showing the total number of laps completed by each team? I'd just like to see those comparisons. Thanks.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Westy

http://www.f1times.co.uk/news/display/08566#sthash.x7MLCoyo.dpuf

 

[sushifiesta]

Mephistopheles Mercedes changed their engine on the third day after it had completed almost 2700 km. That's 540 km per race weekend across five races, which is probably cutting it a bit fine when you factor in the practice sessions and qualifying.

 

[LifeW12]

Never thought I'd see the day but its happened. I cannot believe it

 

[Quintessentially]

I think people are speaking too soon. Aerodynamically the standout cars for me are the Redbull and McLaren. I hope I'm wrong but it looks like Mercedes have once again gone for a lot of mechanical grip and I won't be surprised if they start having serious rear tyre overheating issue again, exacerbated by the turbo. Ferrari are difficult to judge but if the rumours about their engine being down on power is true, then it could be another season playing catchup.

 

[teabagyokel]

Get your excuses in early, textbook.

 

[The Pits]

With the engines homologated, the teams had better be hoping that any performance deficit can be rectified through the use of mapping etc, as if there is a fundamental issue with the engine, it could prove costly.

 

[LifeW12]

There is no way anyone would have been sandbagging for 3 tests. Red Bull will struggle in Melbourne, its a certainty. They are only ahead of Lotus (who missed Jerez of course) and Marussia (who missed a few Jerez days) for least km covered. These cars are new, you can't expect Vettel to walk the race. They don't have enough running with the car. It could be a fast car but the engine isn't ready. Whether Red Bull will be as embarrass as many think (including myself) is a wait and see. I say they score points.

The pecking order is definitely going to change for sure. I think its Mercedes' race to lose in Melbourne tbh. They have been consistently fast.

 

[Quintessentially]

Nothing is certain.

 

[The Artist.....]

Mind... based on the pace at the final test, with Massa fastest overall, and Hamilton 2 hundredths behind, would anyone like to bet on a Massa vs Hamilton rematch.... (The first person who mentions rain, Toyotas, gifting, Interlagos etc in a meaningful sentence gets cast down with all the wrath available on this board!)

 

[Kewee]

Massa'a lap was a low fuel run on the supersofts, no other driver tried to duplicate that.

 

[The Artist.....]

Massa'a lap was a low fuel run on the supersofts, no other driver tried to duplicate that.

Although there has been some suggestion that Mercedes were attempting qualifying simulations too. They may not have been on the supersofts, but based on McLaren, there doesn't seem to be much difference around Bahrain for an absolute lap on the softs and the supersofts.

Day 3 of Bahrain test:

14:17: Nico Rosberg pulls out a lap of the very top drawer to go fastest. TheMercedes driver clocks a 1:33.484 on what looks like a qualifying simulation run.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26389925

I should point out we don't know what anyone was doing in terms of fuel loads, so stating as a fact that a lap was on low fuel is utterly meaningless. The first chance we will get to see for certain how fast the cars are on low fuel is Q3 in Melbourne.


Also from Andrew Benson

Could Williams be staging one of the most remarkable revivals in Formula 1 history? After the worst season in their history last year, the Williams has looked quick and reliable all winter. Felipe Massa was fastest of all on Saturday, his final day of work before Melbourne. It was a qualifying-simulation run on super-soft tyres, yes, but works Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was out at the same time doing a similar thing, and he was more than 0.2secs slower"

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26400625

 

[Greenlantern101]

Williams were my favourite team when I was a youth. Still have a special fondness for them. I would be Sooo happy if they can bring the fight to the top teams.

Worth a fiver on Bottas for WDC ?

 

[The Pits]

I feel the same.

Maybe the fresh leadership from Claire has injected new impetus? They seem to have attracted some strong talent, and some cash. Maybe some new thinking has helped them link everything together finally.

Heres hoping.