F1 2019 Pre-Season / Testing Thread

[Everso Biggyballies]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Latest times at lunchbreak.

1 Vettel Ferrari 1m18.161s
2 Perez Racing Point 1m19.944s
3 Bottas Mercedes 1m20.127s
4 Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1m20.160s
5 Verstappen Red Bull 1m20.174s
6 Sainz McLaren 1m20.430s
7 Hulkenberg Renault 1m20.980s
8 Grosjean Haas 1m21.500s
9 Kvyat Toro Rosso 1m21.732s

And the lap count. Haas had fuel pressure problems and stopped on track after 12 laps.

Here's a lap count for the morning/very early afternoon running:

Vettel - 72
Bottas - 69
Hulkenberg - 65
Sainz - 56
Verstappen - 52
Raikkonen - 46
Kvyat - 35
Perez - 20
Grosjean - 18

[DoubleFart]

Very positive for McLaren to actually get some running in early. Doesn't matter about speed as we know it'll be a dog lol.

[kals]

So Ferrari is orange then, judging by the F1TV testing stream.

Very positive for McLaren to actually get some running in early. Doesn't matter about speed as we know it'll be a dog lol.

Until Sainz went out for afternoon laps and stopped at the end of the pitlane. Is it time that I open the 4th and 2019 edition of this thread - viewtopic.php?p=329648#p329648

[Everso Biggyballies]

I know it is only testing, (and he used the softer tyres) but Sainz ended the day second fastest, 0.4 off the Ferrari. The two Red Bull Honda teams were up there too. Ferrari doing their usual and comfortably fastest. Renault at the bottom. Mercedes yet to throw the sandbags out I suspect. Williams of course yet to turn up. But it is only day 1.

As for the teams reckoning they would be 1.5 secs / lap slower this year. They are already quicker this year on day 1 that last year week 1. Mind you last year was particularly cold, and snow interrupted so not a fair comparison.

DRIVER TEAM TIME
1 Vettel Ferrari 1m18.161s
2 Sainz McLaren 1m18.558s
3 Grosjean Haas 1m19.159s
4 Verstappen Red Bull 1m19.426s
5 Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1m19.462s
6 Kvyat Toro Rosso 1m19.464s
7 Perez Racing Point 1m19.944s
8 Bottas Mercedes 1m20.127s
9 Hamilton Mercedes 1m20.135s
10 Hulkenberg Renault 1m20.980s
11 Ricciardo Renault 1m20.983s

So in Summary:
Vettel ends day one on top, Sainz gets within 0.4s
Four drivers complete 100+ laps

lap count for today:

Vettel - 156
Verstappen - 112
Sainz - 107
Raikkonen - 100
Hamilton - 76
Kvyat - 73
Bottas - 69
Hulkenberg - 65
Grosjean - 54
Ricciardo - 44
Perez - 30

On to day 2.

[Everso Biggyballies]

DAY 2

As expected no Williams.
Albon had a bad start, spinning into the gravel as he rushed out at session start, bringing out a red flag. Apart from a lap at the shakedown last week this is his first F1 drive. Not the best way to start.

Ricciardo suffered a rear wing failure on track today.... oh well that is what testing is for I guess. Find the weaknesses.

Vettel and others were quick to blame the early spinners dramas on both days on the lower temperature this year of the tyre warmers. Kimi was more honest.... "perhaps, you know, it's really cold at 9am in February, so you have to be prepared for it."
It is nearly lunch now and Leclerc is fastest, within a tenth of Vettels afternoon day 1 time, with Gio second in the Alfa, albeit on softer (red) tyres than others (yellow) have used to date.

Nearly lunch times to date

DRIVER TEAM TYRE TIME
1 Leclerc Ferrari 1m18.247s
2 Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1m19.312s
3 Norris McLaren 1m19.489s
4 Gasly Red Bull 1m19.814s
5 Magnussen Haas 1m19.856s
6 Ricciardo Renault 1m19.886s
7 Hamilton Mercedes 1m19.928s
8 Albon Toro Rosso 1m20.232s
9 Stroll Racing Point 1m20.433s

Only two cars have notched less than near enough 50 laps this morning, (Haas and Renault have spent lengthy garage time this morning).
Leclerc and Lewis top of the laps with over 70 to date. Gasly only a couple less.

[John]

I gotta feel for Kubica and Russel, though.

[Everso Biggyballies]

I gotta feel for Kubica and Russel, though.

Re the article I posted in the Williams thread I feel more sorry for the workers at the factory. Not a happy place apparently.

viewtopic.php?p=355483#p355483

[Everso Biggyballies]

Video of Riciardo's Renault wing failure as mentioned earlier. Good save.

I wonder if this is going to be a problem with others, given the new rules allowing a wider opening DRS and the strains involved when the wing is suddenly returned to the normal position.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Morning lap count:

the final lap count:

Hamilton - 74
Leclerc - 73
Gasly - 69
Giovinazzi - 62
Albon - 61
Norris - 53
Stroll - 45
Magnussen - 33
Ricciardo - 28


Lunch break times. The Haas team must have done something dramatic! Time was set on the harder yellow rubber as well.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Gasly bins the Red Bull
An hour to go and a silly off and into the barriers for Gasly in the Red Bull. Hope he hasn't damaged too many one off parts.... certainly the end of his day though.

Magnussen has hung up his boots for the day due to a seat-fitting issue. Fittipaldi has replaced KMag and has finally emerged out on track.


Williams update:
The Williams car is still in Grove being finished, but the plan is to airfreight the car overnight to be at the track for tomorrow (Wednesday) morning and be running on track in the afternoon.

Laps run today:

Leclerc - 133
Albon - 117
Norris - 94
Gasly - 92
Giovinazzi - 76
Hamilton - 74
Hulkenberg - 72
Stroll - 66
Magnussen - 59
Ricciardo - 28

Times with just under an hour to go:

1 Leclerc Ferrari 1m18.247s
2 Magnussen Haas 1m19.206s
3 Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1m19.312s
4 Norris McLaren 1m19.489s
5 Bottas Mercedes 1m19.616s
6 Gasly Red Bull 1m19.814s
7 Ricciardo Renault 1m19.886s
8 Hamilton Mercedes 1m19.928s
9 Albon Toro Rosso 1m20.046s
10 Stroll Racing Point 1m20.433s
11 Hulkenberg Renault 1m22.601s
Fittipaldi Haas No time

[Everso Biggyballies]

[Ian-S]

air freight? wouldn't it just be cheaper and quicker to throw it in the back of a lorry and have a team of drivers drive shifts on the way down there? It's only an 8-12 hours drive iirc.

No wonder the team is up shit creek when they come up with such convoluted solutions for trivial problems, there unable to authorise the sending a part to the fab shop for making etc. what the fuck is wrong? too many cooks in the kitchen?

I could make a suggestion as to the core of the problem being something along the lines of this is what happens when you put a fucking wannabe politician in charge instead of someone with an interest in the business that knows what they are doing, however that would make me a sexist bigot saying that in some peoples' eyes, so I won't.

[John]

Hey, it work in the 1960's. How hard can it be?

[Ian-S]

I know what you're saying but in comparison Max didn't really have much to do with the day to day running of March, his main area of concern was legal and commercial, i.e. so dotting the i's, crossing the t's and chasing sponsors, he was wise enough to delegate stuff he wasn't too hot on to others that were, unlike what seems to be a social movement now of showering a person with praise and making them believe they can do everything, when in reality they should probably learn to delegate first before anything else.

Hence the comparison I made between air freight and land transport, it's gonna cost them a pretty penny to get them cars air freighted to Barcelona, yet if they used their own staff and equipment, it will only cost them the gas to get there (they're already going to be paying the drivers wages). By all accounts the team is spending money it doesn't have on vanity projects it doesn't need whilst forgetting the very basics like, erm, building a car....

Frank would never have been so irresponsible and disorganised, he often had the next years car running before the end of the present one.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Video of Riciardo's Renault wing failure as mentioned earlier. Good save.

I wonder if this is going to be a problem with others, given the new rules allowing a wider opening DRS and the strains involved when the wing is suddenly returned to the normal position.

Danny Ric is referring to the wing failure as a DRS failure citing the new rules as contributory...

Ricciardo put the failure down to new Drag Reduction System specifications for 2019.

The rear wing is now 100mm wider and 20mm higher, with a 20mm greater opening for DRS.

“It is all new bits and DRS is different to last year; there is a bigger gain on that,” explained Ricciardo.

“I am no aerodynamicist but I know that is creating more pressure and putting more force on the part. As soon as I braked, I lost the car.

“I couldn’t see in the mirror. At the time, I’m looking at the corner but I was pretty sure that I thought maybe just the flap stayed open. And then didn’t close.

“I spun and I actually went in pretty quick so I was actually just glad we didn’t go into the barriers and lose more time. It actually turned out OK.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/02/20/ri ... g-failure/

[John]

The NZ Herald isn't at all bitter about Hartley losing his seat.