2018 pre-season testing thread

[godlameroso]

How long was that engine swap? Takes me 2hrs to swap a B series motor.

[marmer]

How long was that engine swap? Takes me 2hrs to swap a B series motor.

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

[bauc]

How long was that engine swap? Takes me 2hrs to swap a B series motor.

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

5 hours for the swap, and yeah the pit stop will remain a internet meme for a long long time

[Redragon]

How long was that engine swap? Takes me 2hrs to swap a B series motor.

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

[rogazilla]

Any chance we see some Qualy mode testing at the end of the day? Push the engine to 100%?

[adb]

http://www.espn.co.uk/video/clip?id=22700243
Vettel's demeanor and body language here are worrying.

What did he say, and what about his body language was so worrying? In the Paddock Uncut bit he seemed to be quite confident and playing things down

[marvin78]

How long was that engine swap? Takes me 2hrs to swap a B series motor.

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

They did practice that more often, to be honest

[cyclon]

How long was that engine swap? Takes me 2hrs to swap a B series motor.

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

5 hours for the swap, and yeah the pit stop will remain a internet meme for a long long time

One hour less than the previous time!

[dren]

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

5 hours for the swap, and yeah the pit stop will remain a internet meme for a long long time

One hour less than the previous time!

Last time it took them an hour to figure out they were trying to put a wheel on backwards.

[Redragon]

They are better at engine swaps than put stops at the moment

5 hours for the swap, and yeah the pit stop will remain a internet meme for a long long time

One hour less than the previous time!

Maybe is plan of the test, this is testing they need to improve in all areas

[Phil]

To everyone who has been doubting or arguing against reports that Ferrari are behind, here is what AMuS just posted on their ticker:

"Wir bekommen über unsere Social-Media-Kanäle gerade sehr viele Rückmeldungen von enttäuschten Ferrari-Fans, die unsere Analysen zum aktuellen Kräfteverhältnis nicht wahrhaben wollen. Dazu nur eine kurze Anmerkung: Wir hätten nichts lieber als eine spannende WM mit vielen Autos, die um die Spitze kämpfen. Gerne würden wir dieses Jahr über enge Duelle zwischen Vettel, Verstappen und Hamilton berichten. Aber wir wollen Ihnen ja auch keine falschen Hoffnungen machen sondern neutrale Analysen anbieten, die auf unseren Informationen und Beobachtungen an der Strecke basieren. Wir haben kein Interesse daran, Ferrari grundlos schlecht zu schreiben."

Translated:
We are receiving lots of feedback through our social-media channels from disappointed Ferrari fans who have been following our analyses and reports and don't want to believe them. Just to clarify: There's nothing we would rather have than an exciting season ahead with many cars fighting at the front. We would love to report over competitive duels between Vettel, Verstappen and Hamilton. But we also don't want encourage false hope, but much rather offer neutral analysis that are based on our information and observations from the track. We are not interested in writting off Ferrari without reason.

Note by me:
One has to consider that all reports are only reporting on what is happening at Barcelona during Winter testing and what the teams are showing. No one is saying there is no room for improvement or that at Melbourne (which will be a completely different track) things will look the same. As I said previously, Barcelona already suited Mercedes well last year. That they may indeed remain strong therefore is not a huge surprise. However the reports that Ferrari may again have a higher fuel usage may be worrying given Mercedes already supposedly had an advantage last year in this area. Also, Renault are focusing on engine stability and reliability. Reports are that they are still holding back a little of the engines potential. This could make RedBull stronger than they already appear to be.

[Fede90]

Why do you hope to have another boring champioship? I hope to have MB, RB, Ferrari and McLaren at the same level

No, no you haven´t understood me. I mean, if Mercedes is so dominant(something I do hope it won´t happen) we will need Bottas to be, at least, at Nico´s same level if we want to have some excitement.

Oh sorry, I misunderstood.

[Vanja #66]

According to f1debrief's times, Bottas had an avg lap of 1:20.5 yesterday across 62 laps, Ham today 1:21.5 across 59 laps. Similar track and air temps, similar stint lengths.

If I was a Hamilton fan, I'd be very worried.

Come to think of it, maybe not. It's testing, not racing.

[PhillipM]

Hamilton is just practising driving slower so it looks like Ferrari are closer

[motobaleno]

According to f1debrief's times, Bottas had an avg lap of 1:20.5 yesterday across 62 laps, Ham today 1:21.5 across 59 laps. Similar track and air temps, similar stint lengths.

If I was a Hamilton fan, I'd be very worried.

Come to think of it, maybe not. It's testing, not racing.

the computation for bottas are macroscopically wrong: you can tell this easily by eye (provided that the laptimes reported in the previous page are right)