F1 testing in Spain

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Originally Posted by Knock-on

Lot of "we hope" and "faith" in that statement. Reading between the lines, I think he's expecting to be fighting for 5/6th with Mercedes.

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For Ferrari, I would love to see them fight for 13th-14th places in races, I mean that would be just so funny, if only for the reaction of the ferrari fans and true justice for mr.car developer 6 tenths, but I can't see them being that bad (as AMuS and Gazzetta dello Sport predict)

Well, Grosjean has been quickest for Lotus on Monday:

1. Grosjean Lotus 1m23.252s 73
2. Button McLaren 1m23.510s +0.258 64
3. Perez Sauber 1m23.820s +0.568 118
4. Webber Red Bull 1m23.830s +0.578 102
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.992s +0.740 128
6. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m24.216s +0.964 113
7. Di Resta Force India 1m24.305s +1.053 98
8. Massa Ferrari 1m24.318s +1.066 105
9. Petrov Caterham 1m24.876s +1.624 123
10. Maldonado Williams 1m25.587s +2.335 58

Does anyone know what Ferrari have been up to? Have they pulled off any long runs, or just short runs as they have been doing in the previous tests? If they don't show anything special before Saturday, I'll have to conclude that they're screwed.

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Originally Posted by N4D13

Well, Grosjean has been quickest for Lotus on Monday:

1. Grosjean Lotus 1m23.252s 73
2. Button McLaren 1m23.510s +0.258 64
3. Perez Sauber 1m23.820s +0.568 118
4. Webber Red Bull 1m23.830s +0.578 102
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.992s +0.740 128
6. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m24.216s +0.964 113
7. Di Resta Force India 1m24.305s +1.053 98
8. Massa Ferrari 1m24.318s +1.066 105
9. Petrov Caterham 1m24.876s +1.624 123
10. Maldonado Williams 1m25.587s +2.335 58

Does anyone know what Ferrari have been up to? Have they pulled off any long runs, or just short runs as they have been doing in the previous tests? If they don't show anything special before Saturday, I'll have to conclude that they're screwed.

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Ferrari did a 39 lapper today, average drop per stint was 1.6secs, the Red Bull dropping just 1 sec over a stint.

Buttons fast time set on the hard compound in the morning!

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Originally Posted by SGWilko

Ferrari did a 39 lapper today, average drop per stint was 1.6secs, the Red Bull dropping just 1 sec over a stint.

Buttons fast time set on the hard compound in the morning!

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Well, thanks for that. That might be actually good for Ferrari, as they are just starting to do long runs and, well, the car doesn't seem to be that bad. But then again, the picture of what is actually going on is just as clear as mud, as usual.

When you look at length of stints and tyres on the Ferrari, it's not fr off the pace of the Bull. Anyone expecting them for be fighting to make the top 10 will be dissapointed I think.

Kovalainen has now done a 1:23.8 in the Caterham, much faster than they've gone previously. I guess that was a full-on qualy simulation. Vergne has gone to the top of the time sheets with a 1:23.1. I wonder if we'll start seeing some teams' true pace now. If Caterham can do a 1:23.8 you have to wonder what kind of mind-boggling speeds the top teams have in their pockets.

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Originally Posted by AndyL

Kovalainen has now done a 1:23.8 in the Caterham, much faster than they've gone previously. I guess that was a full-on qualy simulation. Vergne has gone to the top of the time sheets with a 1:23.1. I wonder if we'll start seeing some teams' true pace now. If Caterham can do a 1:23.8 you have to wonder what kind of mind-boggling speeds the top teams have in their pockets.

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Caterham's race pace has been great so far, the addition of KERS certainly has helped them

Merc have come up with mini-DD! Note the vis-flow on the brake lights. The sidepods, coke bottle and exhausts aim straight into the starter hole cum diffuser.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/7...rcelona010.jpg

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Originally Posted by jens

I think it is a bit of an illusion that someone may successfully fool the rest of the field. Insiders and teams have a lot of data, they are working next to other teams, see them all the time and I think they have a pretty good idea, where does anyone stand and what is really going on - including someone plays tricks. The only people, who can be surprised, are us, the fans, who do not have enough information available. :) Would an F1 team really sandbag just to catch out some F1 fans? Nah...

I think some engineers in the paddock have a very good idea, how does the current pecking order look like. But us, the fans on forums, keep discussing and wondering, how good each team might be and what could it all mean. We are merely guessing due to lack of information. And this generates all kinds of random views (like sandbagging) without a serious rationale behind it.

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Testing is a guessing game between teams. There is different fuel loads, tyre compounds, car specifications, testing programs.

This time last year Ferrari were highly rated due to their low tyre degradation. Now it turns out that the F150 Italia was seriously flawed.

Is it any wonder that there is sandbagging? As I said earlier, RBR have done this before and we know how fragile and compromising Newey's cars can be.

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Originally Posted by wedge

Testing is a guessing game between teams. There is different fuel loads, tyre compounds, car specifications, testing programs.

This time last year Ferrari were highly rated due to their low tyre degradation. Now it turns out that the F150 Italia was seriously flawed.

Is it any wonder that there is sandbagging? As I said earlier, RBR have done this before and we know how fragile and compromising Newey's cars can be.

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At this time, it looks that the new Ferrari is eating its tyres up in no time. The tyre drop-off is looking rather high - but then again, this is the first time they're trying to do long-ish runs. Perhaps they'll manage to treat their tyres better, although it looks that the new car is pretty much the opposite of last year's when it comes to tyre usage.