Pre-Season 2016 Car Launches and Testing.

[F1Brits_90]

I know you cant take much if anything out of testing but ive tried to make some comparisons taking as many variables as I can & made this leaderboard from the chequered flag standings but only on medium tyres standings count

1) N Rosberg Mercedes 1:24.867 Day 2
2) S Vettel Ferrari, 1:24.939 Day 1
3) M Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:25.393 Day 4
4) L Hamilton, Mercedes 1:25.409 Day 1
5) K Raikkonen, Ferrari 1:25.977 Day 3
6) D Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:26.044 Day 1
7) V Bottas, Williams, 1:26.091 Day 1
8) C Sainz Toro Rosso 1:26.239 Day 3
9) F Nasr, Sauber, 1:26.392, Day 3
10) D Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:26.497, Day 3
11) F Massa, Williams, 1:26.712, Day 3
12) J Button, McLaren, 1:26.919 Day 3
13) M Ericsson, Sauber, 1:27.555 Day 1
14) E Gutierrez, Haas, 1:27.802, Day 4
15) R Haryanto, Manor, 1:28.249 Day 3
16) R Grosjean, Haas, 1:28.399 Day 1
17) J Palmer, Renault, 1:29.356 Day 1

 

[Kewee]

Il_leone ..... They're not using the engine they'll be running in Melbourne. During testing they've been doing aero work which makes it impossible to judge their performance. A shame about the last day but probably just a relatively minor component failure that stopped them. We'll know much more after the next test.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Just watched teds notebookWho knew ted kravitz was a fan of Taylor Swift but is apt as "he never goes out of style"
im here all week

 

[Greenlantern101]

Alonso asks if other teams ‘need any help’ | Sniff Petrol

 

[RasputinLives]

Kewee I love your positivity but you are starting to sound a bit like the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail -"Its just a flesh wound"

Every meida outlet and pundit is talking concern for the new Mclaren and they have already done a massive 400 laps less than Mercedes after just one test. I hope you stay positive but lets be realistic and say that Mclaren really need to show a lot at the next test session otherwise worrying times are ahead.

 

[Kewee]

Kewee I love your positivity but you are starting to sound a bit like the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail -"Its just a flesh wound"

 

[Kewee]

RasputinLives .... To be honest Ras I'm only reading things as they are. McLaren have only been doing aero work, they're not using the engine they'll be running in Melbourne and they haven't been chasing lap times. That makes it impossible to judge their performance level. Loosing the 4th day of the test wasn't helpful but the issue wasn't related to any serious design fault. As I said in my last posting, we'll all be able to judge at the end of the next test.

 

[Il_leone]

If its aero work then the lack of mileage done already is a worry

They are not 5 seconds a lap slower like last year bur the indication is they are probably about 8th best team on the grid . Both Haas and Renault made better impressions

The Honda engine is still lagging even though it has improved but it needs to find more speed

 

[Greenlantern101]

I really hope McLaren do get their shit togther and don't end up having a decade in the wilderness like Williams did. They are still one of my favorite teams despite doing all they can to make me dislike them.

I agree with Kewee It is just testing and early testing at that. Teams run different fuel loads, some do no fast runs at all and focus only on race runs. In fact based on previous testing analysis McLaren have historically ran 5 places lower than they qualify in the first race. Link.

I say wait and see. No point in writing them of too soon. It is very early days.

 

[olegg]

2016 pre-season test Formula 1 stat:

 

[olegg]

Same for teams:

 

[olegg]

Also for power-unit:

 

[olegg]

And what about compound best speed and longest stint:

 

[Kewee]

Il_leone ..... Maybe you didn't read my postings, the engine they're using in the first four days of testing is not the engine they'll be using in Melbourne. Nothing they've done so far gives any of us, including journalists, what performance level they'll be at in Melbourne, everyone is second guessing.

 

[Il_leone]

Kewee So far every time Honda has bought a so called upgraded engine they have fallen weigh short of expectations and been left with egg on their faces

The gap is 3 seconds to the fastest cars so I don;t see how a new engine can make up that gap unless Honda have performed a miracle. They had better next week show some serious improvements and that includes some serious speed work because if Mercedes are seriously holding back. It suggests the gap has gotten bigger over the winter

 

[Kewee]

Il_leone ..... Your assuming McLarens problems from 2015 are going to carry through to 2016. The 3 sec gap is meaningless as they haven't been pushing lap times, they've been aero testing and checking reliability. With the exception of a minor problem on the 4th day of the first test, which cost them dearly, reliability has been very good. You'll see a very different McLaren/Honda by the end of the second test but I'll be waiting until the end of the away races when the European season begins. I've never judged any team until they get back to Europe.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Ah yes but the reliability of the engine they won't be using in the first race may be good but as has been said, this isn't the final version of the race engine. I'm finding it hard to understand, given what absolute pile of junk they had in the back last year, why they haven't got their 2016 race engine ready to go from the first day of the first test.

What this tells me is that they are not confident enough to run their 2016 unit and need something that won't blow up for long enough to sort the aero out. It's a massive risk because if there are issues with the 2016 engine they only have 4 days of running to get it fixed otherwise the first few races of the year become extended test sessions and we get to see Alonso walk around with a face like a Bulldog chewing a Wasp.

 

[RasputinLives]

Mclaren actually have a long history of not being fully prepared when a season starts. I remember one year they were so behind on the car that they ran the previous seasons. This was meant to be for a few races but went on for two thirds of the year until the new car was ready. By this point they decided it was pointless to bring it out and didn't.

 

[The Artist.....]

RasputinLives - presumably that was the 2003 season's MP4-18 - which had significant issues, such as being unable to pass the FIA's crash tests, randomly deciding to crash for no reason during testing, and being unable to cool the engine....

At the moment, all the noises suggest that Honda have created another pup - and are almost treading water until 2017, when they can introduce a completely new power unit (due to the removal of the tokens system). Since they are starting from a base which was a crock of dung, and are only allowed to modify ~50%, it's highly unlikely that they will be able to create a peach!

 

[The Artist.....]

Il_leoneWith the exception of a minor problem on the 4th day of the first test, which cost them dearly, reliability has been very good. You'll see a very different McLaren/Honda by the end of the second test but I'll be waiting until the end of the away races when the European season begins. I've never judged any team until they get back to Europe.

The Honda has suffered from reliability issues on both day 3 and day 4. I'm not certain, but I'm fairly sure that the Mercedes engines didn't suffer from a single piece of unreliability during the entire test - and that's across multiple teams!

Essentially, Honda seem to have another slow, unreliable, engine.