I'm sure they've tested some new parts away from most of the eyes of the paddock, and needed the car at 100%HPD wrote: ↑03 Mar 2019, 22:18One of the reasons why they did not race on the last day of the tests was to ensure that the car was in perfect condition for the day of filming. Max said it in some interview.
Why? I do not know..
We all know that filming days are used to check things on the car ... it's never for publicity.
Waste gates are different due to the rear suspension work being different.
Not much concern, really. I'm sure that won't affect the aero or the bodywork, but they had to test some things first. If you look at ToroRosso, they did an amazing job at the tests
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hond ... l/4347008/
A bit blown out of context. Just a redesign of heatshields needed....due to tight packaging from some car designer....“We don’t have a serious problem with the current installation, but we found some issues because of the tight packaging,” said Tanabe.
“The shape was a little bit too aggressive, so we need to make it a little bit different.
“It’s not a big concern.”
Honda applied some fixes at the track but will also amend the design at the factory to introduce a “permanent countermeasure” in time for the season-opening Australian GP on March 17.
“So far, it’s not serious,” Tanabe said. “It means we can be ready for the first race, with the items we have issues here.”
It's interesting, Tanabe made specific mention it was "too sharp". I'm going to probably assume his biggest concern was either the exhaust manifold or the main turbo air intake (interestingly, these particular parts were compromised by McLaren demands and only after STR granted them the space did they make improvements. Compare the intake piping shape and angle and the exhaust manifold piping size and design between the RA617 and RA618. Very noticeable how restricted the former was.
To me it seems Tanabe was talking about PU packaging, not packaging in the car!Espresso wrote:https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hond ... l/4347008/A bit blown out of context. Just a redesign of heatshields needed....due to tight packaging from some car designer....“We don’t have a serious problem with the current installation, but we found some issues because of the tight packaging,” said Tanabe.
“The shape was a little bit too aggressive, so we need to make it a little bit different.
“It’s not a big concern.”Honda applied some fixes at the track but will also amend the design at the factory to introduce a “permanent countermeasure” in time for the season-opening Australian GP on March 17.
“So far, it’s not serious,” Tanabe said. “It means we can be ready for the first race, with the items we have issues here.”
Red Bull has “definitely" closed the gap to Formula 1 rivals Mercedes and Ferrari heading into the 2019 season, according to team boss Christian Horner.
“I think we have definitely closed that gap. We will see not just in Melbourne, because that's a little bit of a unique track, but look over the first three races and then ask me again then how we're faring.”
https://www.crash.net/f1/news/914789/1/ ... nd-ferrari"The engine change has stimulated the whole team - and particularly Adrian," Horner explained.
"He sees that the engine is now getting closer and closer to the performance of the front-running teams. That's really motivated him and he's working very hard with all the guys and girls back in Milton Keynes.
If they say they've closed the gap, I'm inclined to believe they have. no point in making things up, especially after testing.Capharol wrote: ↑05 Mar 2019, 16:37Red Bull has “definitely" closed the gap to Formula 1 rivals Mercedes and Ferrari heading into the 2019 season, according to team boss Christian Horner.“I think we have definitely closed that gap. We will see not just in Melbourne, because that's a little bit of a unique track, but look over the first three races and then ask me again then how we're faring.”https://www.crash.net/f1/news/914789/1/ ... nd-ferrari"The engine change has stimulated the whole team - and particularly Adrian," Horner explained.
"He sees that the engine is now getting closer and closer to the performance of the front-running teams. That's really motivated him and he's working very hard with all the guys and girls back in Milton Keynes.
not much news but they keep claiming they closed the gap, wondering if they would keep doing that when they hadn't closed the gap.
guessing the lines would be more vaguely, shouldn't it?
I don't want to name drop or pretend I'm some kind of insider, but when I was at the test I paid for the opportunity to go inside the Red Bull garage on Day 6 at about 3:30. It was right at the time that they were changing the gearbox on Verstappen's car which was lucky for me.
While I was in the garage I had a chat to Jos. Max is happy, and they know they have a good car. But for them, they don't think they can win the first few races. They're holding out for a few things to come (not sure whether it's Honda or aero), but the important thing is to make a good start. They will be happy with podiums or even top 4 finishes which is a change of approach from last year where what happened to Max was out of frustration Jos said. We spoke a little more about Max's driving style etc and he won't be changing anytime soon, and neither should he. Jos was great to talk to and he gave me the time as well which was really nice of him.
The gearbox on the Red Bull had an oil leak which they couldn't spot from the outside. The gearbox had done 2300km which i guess is about half what it is required to do so they weren't too happy but that's testing.
