Pre-Season 2012 Testing: Barcelona

I wonder why we aren't seeing any reports on the low amount of running from Ferrari? Not that I am worried about that team, they have an amazing technical department that has shown that they can produce the results. This does seem like a worrying trend for the team though. Could they be slipping back to where they were pre-Schumacher?
 
I wonder why we aren't seeing any reports on the low amount of running from Ferrari? Not that I am worried about that team, they have an amazing technical department that has shown that they can produce the results. This does seem like a worrying trend for the team though. Could they be slipping back to where they were pre-Schumacher?
I doubt it having Alonso on board, I bet they will win a race this year
 
usual top teams
1: McLaren
2: Red-Bull
3: Ferrari

Usual top drivers
1: Hamilton
2: Button
3: Webber
4: Vettel
5: Alosno

Team and driver with most laps: Williams and Hamilton

Massa has 245 laps more than Alonso

Your stats say Koboyashi has more laps than Hamilton?

Also, am I just missing something or.... Alonso has done more than 106 laps so far during testing?

At Barca he did 75 and 87. At Jerez he did 67 and 39
 
Good interviews on Sky. There's one with Whitmarsh with a video too:- http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7544747/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

He seems in pretty good spirit and comes accross with reserved confidence about how McLaren are doing. What I find most interesting is how he says:-

"I suspect the big boys at this end (of the pit lane) could probably go two or three seconds a lap quicker if they really tried, but that's not the name of the game.

"We're not trying to win the winter world championship, we are trying to gather data and be prepared so that we can be strong for the season."

I doubt he'd say that if he thought Red Bull, etc could go 2 to 3 seconds quicker and McLaren couldn't so to me that suggests McLaren can and obviously he expects the other big teams could too. I imagine he would obviously ask the engineers how much quicker they could go if they wanted to. So this seems quite positive to me as a McLaren fan.


Another interview without a video is from a Sauber representative who talks about how they were running qualifying simulations today and therefore that is why they set such a low time. It at least gives a bench mark to the other teams as to what a mid-field team can put together:- http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7543294/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
 
Thanks Zbob, I refer to this sight and the BBC for my up to the minute F1 news. This sight has been the most useful I must say. Thanks for everyone's input.
 
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/02/29/driver-lineup-confirmed-final-preseason-test/
F1 teams have confirmed their driver line-up for the final test ahead of the new season.
The four-day test starts tomorrow at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Ten teams have confirmed they will be present with their 2012 F1 cars, including Lotus, who abandoned their running in last week’s test after discovering a problem with their E20 chassis.
Here is the full list of who will be driving:
Team Car Thursday 1st Friday 2nd Saturday 3rd Sunday 4th
Red Bull RB8 Mark Webber Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber Sebastian Vettel
McLaren MP4-27 Jenson Button Lewis Hamilton Jenson Button Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari F2012 Felipe Massa Fernando Alonso Felipe Massa Fernando Alonso
Mercedes W03 Nico Rosberg Michael Schumacher Nico Rosberg Michael Schumacher
Lotus E20 Romain Grosjean Romain Grosjean Kimi Raikkonen Kimi Raikkonen
Force India VJM05 Paul di Resta Nico Hulkenberg Paul di Resta Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber C31 Sergio Perez Kamui Kobayashi Sergio Perez Kamui Kobayashi
Toro Rosso STR7 Jean-Eric Vergne Jean-Eric Vergne Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Ricciardo
Williams FW34 Pastor Maldonado Bruno Senna/Pastor Maldonado Pastor Maldonado/Bruno Senna Bruno Senna
Caterham CT01 Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Kovalainen Vitaly Petrov Vitaly Petrov
 
I like this picture from the first Barcelona test of flow viz paint on the new Mercedes, you don't often see an F1 car this dirty!

Michael-Schumacher-Mercedes-Flowvis-2_2723110.jpg


There's a few nice pictures here actually, including someone from Marussia painting the flow viz stuff on with a paint brush and some marshals holding a burnt and grubby bit of Force India.

Also, does the fact that HRT are not on that list mean they're not testing this week, or is it just a case of no one knows at the minute?
 
I agree with sportsman, and Bonesy. We still haven't been informed truly by the Hornerati what caused the Vettel retirement in 2011.
Lotus have now oficially confirmed that the problem was the the upper rear wishbone mounting in th front suspension.
They are confident that the problem is now fixed.The fact that the car did not need to undergo crash testing again indicates that it was not a major monocoque issue.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97730 Lotus technical director James Allison is optimistic having missed the second pre-season test will not be a big setback for the team as it prepares to get back on track tomorrow.
The team decided to pull out of the Barcelona test last week after it found a problem with its chassis right after Romain Grosjean took to the track for the first time.
"We saw immediately that we had a problem with the mounting of the upper front wishbone rear arm."
 
I like this picture from the first Barcelona test of flow viz paint on the new Mercedes, you don't often see an F1 car this dirty!

Michael-Schumacher-Mercedes-Flowvis-2_2723110.jpg

You can see from this that Mercedes has made a good job of directing the airflow down so that it will effect the flow of the exhaust gases.Ferrari and McLaren are also using this: http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/launch-analysis-ferrari-f2012/

It seems quite odd that Mercedes alerted the FIA to the loophole in the engine mapping... :? http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97746
 
Red Bull are being very quick to cover the car when it enters the pits.

Gamesmanship or have they got something to hide?
 
Or hiding the fact that they have nothing to hide? (says he, thinking wishfully)

or hiding nothing in order to make people think they have something to hide whilst all the time they have nothing to hide at all.

Unless its a tripple bluf and there hiding it to make people think they're only hiding it to bluf them and theres nothing wrong with it when in actual fact they have major problems they need to hide!

I guess we'll find out in Australia.
 
My money is on Vettel pole, Vettel win in Oz but I don't think his run to a third consecutive title will be as easy as 2011.
 
Not that odd snowy, remember, Ross has got previous for asking these awkward questions. :)
Very true.Ross was the person who flagged up the diffuser rules in 2009.He said they were capable of different interpretations and offered to clean them up.No one else wanted this and guess what he turned up with a double diffuser and beat the pants of everyone until they developed their own versions.
 
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