2018 pre-season testing thread

[dans79]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13484 ... re-in-test

Interesting comment from Toto saying the gaps between the different compounds were extremely small and not what Pirelli suggested. If this is true it would throw off a lot the "analysis" done of the testing times.

it depends if he is talking about the gaps listed in technical data teams received prior to testing, or the gaps that were calculated based on testing data. You also need to keep in mind, that track conditions during testing, are nothing like they will be during the actual season. Not to mention that Barcelona being resurfaced tosses another variable into the mix.

[ME4ME]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13484 ... re-in-test

Interesting comment from Toto saying the gaps between the different compounds were extremely small and not what Pirelli suggested. If this is true it would throw off a lot the "analysis" done of the testing times.

Toto can say that, and it might be true for Mercedes but that hasn't neccesarily to be the case for other teams. Also, the steps between compounds might be very different in warmer conditions and/or rougher track surfaces.

[SameSame]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13484 ... re-in-test

Interesting comment from Toto saying the gaps between the different compounds were extremely small and not what Pirelli suggested. If this is true it would throw off a lot the "analysis" done of the testing times.

Toto can say that, and it might be true for Mercedes but that hasn't neccesarily to be the case for other teams. Also, the steps between compounds might be very different in warmer conditions and/or rougher track surfaces.

It's irrelevant whether or not the compound gaps change in different conditions. I am speaking about the gaps suggested during testing conditions.

If you read the article he mentions that for example Williams hardly saw a difference; so clearly it was not just limited to Merc.

[SameSame]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13484 ... re-in-test

Interesting comment from Toto saying the gaps between the different compounds were extremely small and not what Pirelli suggested. If this is true it would throw off a lot the "analysis" done of the testing times.

it depends if he is talking about the gaps listed in technical data teams received prior to testing, or the gaps that were calculated based on testing data. You also need to keep in mind, that track conditions during testing, are nothing like they will be during the actual season. Not to mention that Barcelona being resurfaced tosses another variable into the mix.

I don't think either of the data they received would indicate such small gaps as mentioned in the article. And as I mentioned above the gaps may well be different in different conditions; but I'm speaking specifically about the analysis done on the testing times based on Pirelli's "estimated gaps" i.e. 2.5 seconds between medium and hyper soft.

[Monster Hesh]

Maybe Toto is just trying to deflect and promote false hope? Maybe he is just referring to the that Mercedes posted on each compound:

M: 1:18.658
S: 1:19.300
SS: 1:18.752
U: 1:18.400

Where other team had noticeable time improvement on softer compounds, Mercedes , similar times across the compounds, potentially denotes heavy sandbagging.

[TAG]

Karun Chandhok

1. Mercedes vs 2. Ferrari

Last year, Ferrari looked like they were a real match for the Mercedes in pre-season testing and when we got to Melbourne, that certainly proved to be the case. This year however, the Brackley squad seems to have taken another good step forward.

Visually the car is a logical update on their 2017 championship winner, but it’s obviously had all the right changes to make it much more user-friendly. Watching Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas out on track, they are able to metronomically hit the same line lap after lap with remarkable consistency. And speed.

Mercedes have been very smart about not showing their hand with the faster tyres, but make no mistake – a quick look at the race runs shows very clearly that they’re a step ahead of the pack. I reckon that gap is about four-tenths of a second at the moment, and unless they have some dramatic chassis imbalance when they use the softer tyres – high unlikely – they are unquestionably on top.

Watching at the very fast Turn 9 right hander, Bottas carried an unbelievable amount of speed through the apex without even a full lift of the throttle on the medium tyres, with fuel on board. In contrast, when watching either the Ferrari or the Red Bull on the long run, they just didn’t have the grip to carry the same speed through.

[media]https://twitter.com/C4F1/status/972121613352292352[/media]

The change of direction with the front end seemed to be a good step forward from last year. When you watch either between Turns 2 and 3 or further around the lap in the final sector, the Mercedes drivers are able to change direction incredibly sharply when they have a sequence of corners.

This allows them to just open up the line to the second part of a sequence and carry more apex speed than anyone else.

This is particularly worrying for the opposition, as the one opportunity that they had last year was on slower, twistier circuits like Monaco or Budapest. Clearly that area of weakness has been focused on and dealt with.

[media]https://twitter.com/C4F1/status/972124874985455619[/media]

The headlines from the last week of testing show that Ferrari were fastest on three days and Red Bull on the other one. However, come qualifying in Melbourne, I think the entire paddock will be pretty shocked if anyone other than a Mercedes is on pole position.

Watching the Ferrari out on track, it’s clearly a fast car. Last year in pre-season testing it looked like an easier car to drive than the Mercedes, but this time whenever the drivers try and lean on it a bit more and extract some more speed, it just doesn’t seem to be there.

Watching at Turn 4, for example, Kimi Raikkonen would charge in and try to get the nose to bite, but it just doesn’t dig in and pivot in the same way the Mercedes does. That rotation that they need mid-corner to get the car to turn while carrying the apex speed they want just isn’t there in the medium and slow-speed corners.

Watching at Turns 11 and 12 shows the stark difference between the lazier Ferrari and the sharper Mercedes in changes of direction.

[JPBD1990]

Karun Chandhok

1. Mercedes vs 2. Ferrari

Last year, Ferrari looked like they were a real match for the Mercedes in pre-season testing and when we got to Melbourne, that certainly proved to be the case. This year however, the Brackley squad seems to have taken another good step forward.

Visually the car is a logical update on their 2017 championship winner, but it’s obviously had all the right changes to make it much more user-friendly. Watching Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas out on track, they are able to metronomically hit the same line lap after lap with remarkable consistency. And speed.

Mercedes have been very smart about not showing their hand with the faster tyres, but make no mistake – a quick look at the race runs shows very clearly that they’re a step ahead of the pack. I reckon that gap is about four-tenths of a second at the moment, and unless they have some dramatic chassis imbalance when they use the softer tyres – high unlikely – they are unquestionably on top.

Watching at the very fast Turn 9 right hander, Bottas carried an unbelievable amount of speed through the apex without even a full lift of the throttle on the medium tyres, with fuel on board. In contrast, when watching either the Ferrari or the Red Bull on the long run, they just didn’t have the grip to carry the same speed through.

https://twitter.com/C4F1/status/972121613352292352

The change of direction with the front end seemed to be a good step forward from last year. When you watch either between Turns 2 and 3 or further around the lap in the final sector, the Mercedes drivers are able to change direction incredibly sharply when they have a sequence of corners.

This allows them to just open up the line to the second part of a sequence and carry more apex speed than anyone else.

This is particularly worrying for the opposition, as the one opportunity that they had last year was on slower, twistier circuits like Monaco or Budapest. Clearly that area of weakness has been focused on and dealt with.

https://twitter.com/C4F1/status/972124874985455619

The headlines from the last week of testing show that Ferrari were fastest on three days and Red Bull on the other one. However, come qualifying in Melbourne, I think the entire paddock will be pretty shocked if anyone other than a Mercedes is on pole position.

Watching the Ferrari out on track, it’s clearly a fast car. Last year in pre-season testing it looked like an easier car to drive than the Mercedes, but this time whenever the drivers try and lean on it a bit more and extract some more speed, it just doesn’t seem to be there.

Watching at Turn 4, for example, Kimi Raikkonen would charge in and try to get the nose to bite, but it just doesn’t dig in and pivot in the same way the Mercedes does. That rotation that they need mid-corner to get the car to turn while carrying the apex speed they want just isn’t there in the medium and slow-speed corners.

Watching at Turns 11 and 12 shows the stark difference between the lazier Ferrari and the sharper Mercedes in changes of direction.

Could be that Mercedes ran on the medium tyres to disguise their pace while Ferrari ran with full tanks. There’s no context if your post about stint length, etc from when the footage was taken. We could be looking at the merc from a 7 lap stint and the Ferrari from a 15 or 20 lap stint. Or vice versa. I’m not trying to say it’s wrong, only that once again this observation can be caused by several things.

[Moose]

Maybe Toto is just trying to deflect and promote false hope? Maybe he is just referring to the that Mercedes posted on each compound:

M: 1:18.658
S: 1:19.300
SS: 1:18.752
U: 1:18.400

Where other team had noticeable time improvement on softer compounds, Mercedes , similar times across the compounds, potentially denotes heavy sandbagging.

Or, it potentially denotes that they don't get much gain from each tyre. Historically, Mercedes have got more out of Harder tyres than other teams, and less out of Softer tyres. They've also gone on record as saying they think that the gap between compounds is between 0.0 and 0.4 seconds, not the 0.8-1.2 that Pirelli claim.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Maybe Toto is just trying to deflect and promote false hope? Maybe he is just referring to the that Mercedes posted on each compound:

M: 1:18.658
S: 1:19.300
SS: 1:18.752
U: 1:18.400

Where other team had noticeable time improvement on softer compounds, Mercedes , similar times across the compounds, potentially denotes heavy sandbagging.

Or, it potentially denotes that they don't get much gain from each tyre. Historically, Mercedes have got more out of Harder tyres than other teams, and less out of Softer tyres. They've also gone on record as saying they think that the gap between compounds is between 0.0 and 0.4 seconds, not the 0.8-1.2 that Pirelli claim.

Toto is lying flat out if he means that difference is in quali trim. Pirelli's projection, with all their calculation, of compound difference denotes the difference on one lap pace. Toto is trying to play down the advantage that his team is having.

Mercedes' struggles on softest range of compounds, is more evident in races, but in qualifying, they have remained miles ahead of everyone else, regardless of which compound they use in Q3. Their cars have managed to switch on the tyres and get best out of one lap from every compound. So, to see the car doing 1m18.xxx on all types of compounds, clearly points to sand bagging. Come Satiurday afternoon, when they pull down the pants, everything would be evident.

I would say that, Melbourne would most likely be the ONLY RACE where we would witness the true qualifying pace from Mercedes and "IF" they are dominant, then they will turn down the engine to keep a 3 to 4 tenths in qualifying for the rest of the season, just like in 2015 and 2016.

[aleks_ader]

Could be that Mercedes ran on the medium tyres to disguise their pace while Ferrari ran with full tanks. There’s no context if your post about stint length, etc from when the footage was taken. We could be looking at the merc from a 7 lap stint and the Ferrari from a 15 or 20 lap stint. Or vice versa. I’m not trying to say it’s wrong, only that once again this observation can be caused by several things.

Yeah i also think that. We should had data from all laps to access average car position to make this sort of observation somewhat relevant. I also dont say that he is wrong but any observation should be taken with huge reserve.

Even AMUS gps data tracing is more reliable. But its source is questionable. Because it could be manipulated (wrong or mix samples from different days, interpreted wrong). Even if they are real it should not be totally representative of how will car perform with tires and different temp, asphalt conditions etc. I feel we had 2013 season before us. I mean not necessary in that order. Just with same "out of window" car behaviors from track to track).

It is hard but guys wait and see glimpses of car performances in 1 week time. So street circuit, stop&go, fuel limited...

[PlatinumZealot]

Albert Park is not a good indicator of the pecking order. But it will show who did their setup homework.

[aleks_ader]

Albert Park is not a good indicator of the pecking order. But it will show who did their setup homework.

It is not, Right! Even history shows that. But we will see the groups of cars and its first characteristics. I agree.

How car responds to setup changes and how it adapt to (if it is totally dry) thorough weekends improving track conditions. You add rain in Saturday witch wash out the track (after qualifying) and you had in Sunday potential problems. Heck team even don't know exactly how will tires responds. So yeah maybe some obscure result like Haas on the podium.

[NathanOlder]

I totally agree PZ but what we will see is everyone on the same track, at the same time , all running on the best tyres available , with the minimum amount of fuel possible , engines turned up as high as possible, with drivers pushing as hard as they dare.

This has to give us some kind of pecking order as they will be giving out points come sunday evening.

Cant wait any longer.

[McHonda]

It'll give an idea of pecking order for the top 3 but behind that will change every race until Spain as usual. Haas were clearly 4th best in Melbourne by a mile last year,half a second clear of Williams.

Very next race they were joint 8th with McLaren, couldn't get in Q3 and were half a second behind Williams in 4th. The midfield pecking order changes dramatically because of different rates of development and driver influence. The top teams develop at similar rates and all have consistent top drivers so changes less race to race.

This year with FI,McLaren and Renault it'll shake up a lot over the first 5/6 races and hopefully after Spain STR can get involved too.

[NathanOlder]

The pecking order back there changes every single race. Teams update the cars so often and tracks suit different chassis or PU's that the pecking order will never settle. The "pecking order" is really a load of rubbish, i think the only real pecking order is the result in the last race each time. Providing people don't suffer crashes or DNF's.
So after Melbourne, the pecking order will infact be the result. Simple.