This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
why does Ferrari have aero rake ( think thats what its called) have it in weird shape? where as every other team has them in neat rows and Column and so they able to fit more pitot tube, where Ferrari have lot less of them...
Ferrari's aero rakes are actually quite innovative. They use metal 3D printing technology, so it allows them to align the probes and the bracings with the airflows from CFD. It reduces the aero disturbance that the rake has on the measurement.
Morning session is complete. Hamilton P4 with a best time of 1.36.433 and 52 laps total. On the lower end for laps completed
From on track reports he seemed to struggle with some instability. Some abandoned laps due to lock ups and a small spin at the start. But that's what testing is for, no sweat in my opinion though I'm sure some people will start overreacting anyway
From on track reports he seemed to struggle with some instability. Some abandoned laps due to lock ups and a small spin at the start. But that's what testing is for, no sweat in my opinion though I'm sure some people will start overreacting anyway
Instability and spins aren't good that's one thing we know for sure. The slight cause for concern is that the spies in Barcelona mentioned he was going through the same issues there as well, so for the issue to have carried over is not great news. If Charles is going through the same in the afternoon it would be concerning, but either way in the end we know nothing, they could be testing the most extreme of setups.
Hamilton is doing a mini press con right now. He said it was very windy and they were working on the basic setup, so it was a difficult session but he still had fun.
Interestingly he said he's working on bonding with his "new colleague" (engineer) - not sure who exactly he's referring to but does this mean his permanent RE has been decided?
He mentioned they're still trying to figure out the energy management and this is their current weakness, that being said a lot of teams are feeling this way since it's new to everyone.
According to journalists he said multiple times during the interview that these cars have less downforce so they feel more slippery. While the loose rear has been highlighted, he also felt it in the front today. And as already mentioned it was very windy which didn't help the inherently lower grip.
The team is feeling positive as both in Barcelona and today's morning session they've been able to carry out their plans uninterrupted.
Hoping Autoracer or FUno posts the entire interview transcript later, maybe once both drivers have spoken to the media.
Can anyone confirm the rumor in the Italian media that only the official Ferrari and Mercedes teams had the luxury of testing the new 2026 fuels, and that was done on their last day of testing, only in the morning session? The reasons were that both teams wanted to finish the program they were testing in Barcelona, firstly, and secondly, to have data for the second test session in Bahrain, when everyone will be required to use the new fuels. ...
And regarding the postponement of the approval of these new fuels, it is true that the FIA ordered this at the request of Shell, who complained about the inconsistency in energy densities in their biofuel from one fuel batch to another, due to the inconsistency/different molecular structure of the raw material used in the production of this biofuel?
He seemed pretty upbeat in the interviews he gave today
Lewis Hamilton post-testing: “It’s still way too early to say anything. In general, the new cars have much less downforce. We came here from Barcelona; it's much hotter and windier here. So finding the right balance is much harder. The wind was very strong today, and compared to Barcelona, we're sliding a lot more here.”
“We are still on basic settings; we test tyres, aero package, driving height and mechanical stabilisation. I didn't feel great outside today because of the wind, but in general it's more fun to drive these cars.”
“So that's detrimental to me too. A season where you want to arrive with people that have done multiple seasons, that have been through thick and thin - and I can't.
“But it is the situation that I'm faced with and I'll try to do the best I can. The team is trying to do the best they can to help make it as seamless as possible.”
“We’re slower than a GP2 car at the moment, it’s very very low downforce. It’s like Monza downforce everywhere, so you’re sliding around, on top of the tyres, so it doesn’t feel particularly great.”
“In some corners it feels good, because of the wind, because you’ve got headwind and then most corners you’ve got tailwind and crosswind and it’s just… yea… it’s a moving goalpost.”
