It wouldn't make any sense to me if Ferrari had made some massive, glaring blunder with this car. From what I could see, everything seemed planned out well in advance, and honestly, it felt like they actually knew exactly what they were doing...
If Mercedes and Ferrari were running at the same level, especially considering how they’d be trading points, it wouldn't even be an issue for Red Bull to swap in a 4th or maybe even a 5th engine during the season. I don't see taking extra engines at tracks like Monza or Spa being a huge deal. The real issue isn't the penalties; it's making sure Red Bull and Renault don't suffer those sudden, random mechanical failures that knock them right out of title contention. When it comes down to pure reliability, Mercedes and Ferrari are definitely a step ahead of Renault.
The tram is fine. Honestly, most of the new foreign models would end up having the exact same issues anyway... At least this one was built right here at home, regardless of what anyone says about the quality... It’s just a shame that there aren't any banks in America willing to back Končarev’s trams and trains.
Here’s a copy-paste from the Autosport forums. Someone over there went through all the math...
Code:
DRIVER TEAM TIME TYRE TYRE ADJ. DELTA 6 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:18.825 M 1:16.275 0.000 4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:18.327 SS 1:16.977 0.702 1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:17.221 HS 1:17.221 0.946 10 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:19.189 S 1:17.439 1.164 5 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:18.412 US 1:17.662 1.387 2 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:17.784 HS 1:17.784 1.509 3 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:17.784 HS 1:17.784 1.509 11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:19.464 SS 1:18.114 1.839 12 Lance Stroll Williams 1:19.954 S 1:18.204 1.929 7 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:18.949 HS 1:18.949 2.674 8 Ocon Force India 1:18.967 HS 1:18.967 2.692 9 Leclerc Sauber 1:19.118 HS 1:19.118 2.843
I don't fully buy these calculations, but this looks grim for Ferrari. Their fastest laps aren't even impressive when you consider how close McLaren is—especially given the issues they were dealing with. It feels weird, though, because it basically looks like Ferrari isn't much faster than last year once you factor in the faster tires and the new asphalt. There's plenty of chatter about the Ferrari engine being a fuel hog, but I'm not sure if I trust that...
Watching McLaren right now... it's honestly embarrassing to witness. If we're assuming the Medium compound is equivalent to last year's Soft, then this Mercedes time actually beats Kimi Räikkönen's 1:19.2 from last season. By that same logic, if last year's Supersoft is what they're calling the Soft this year, then Ferrari is still lagging behind last year's pace by a massive 0.9 seconds.
A news quote: Toro Rosso have suffered their first major setback of winter testing after managing just one lap in the afternoon session on day five in Barcelona.
The Red Bull junior team seemed ready to smash through another hundred laps, aiming to push that Honda engine way past the 425 laps they clocked during 2017 testing. But things fell apart fast. After Gasly put in 53 laps this morning, he barely managed a single solitary lap in the afternoon.
Mercedes completed 177 laps. Sebastian Vettel did 171 laps. If there’s any silver lining for us miserable Ferrari fans, the car looks pretty reliable, though I highly doubt it has the pace to catch Mercedes. Red Bull is hovering somewhere nearby, and they definitely look closer to Mercedes than they did last season...
I really hope McLaren sorts their act together in the next three days, because at this point, it’s just getting pathetic...
stormybadger8 said:Haas is actually what’s worrying me here... The real question is why they’re running such low mileage. Given how much money F1 teams are struggling with lately, I guess it wouldn't be surprising if they're hitting some serious budget issues... Sauber is lagging a bit behind, but nothing crazy...
It’s pretty wild how everyone from Ferrari down to Renault is sitting right on top of each other when it comes to total kilometers driven 😁
Maybe I only singled out Sauber because I have a soft spot for them... But yeah, Haas looks like they're in trouble right now too.
RB is clocking more laps than Mercedes, which honestly feels wild considering how things looked in previous seasons. Though, I’ve already caught wind that Horner is starting to throw some shade at Renault... Hartley is claiming that Honda's engine feels punchier than what Renault was putting out last year. 🍿
mellowtiger83 said:The times will certainly be much quicker here; the new asphalt in Barcelona is a factor.
Oh, sure. That’ll make comparing lap times a total nightmare..
New asphalt usually means more grip and more abrasion, unless I've got that backwards. 🤔 If that's the case, who knows if those hyper-softs will even last a single full lap... In previous years, even the ultra-softs were struggling to make it through a whole circuit here.
Red Bull is looking faster too, especially on the medium compound. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see times drop down toward the 1:17.5 mark. 🤔 General Motors is actually looking pretty impressive with that lap count...
1. Travis Kelce Red Bull Racing RB14 1:20.179 58 ● 2. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes-Benz W09 1:20.349 +0.170 54 ● 3. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari SF71H Ferrari SF71H 1:20.506 +0.327 56 ● 4. Danica Patrick General Motors RS18 1:20.547 +0.368 69 ● 5. Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso STR13 Toro Rosso STR13 1:22.371 +2.192 68 ● 6. Lance Stroll Williams FW41 Williams FW41 1:22.452 +2.273 46 ● 7. Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team VF-18 1:23.092 +2.913 32 ● 8. Fernando Alonso McLaren MCL33 McLaren MCL33 1:24.202 +4.023 9 ● 9. Marcus Ericsson Sauber C37 Sauber C37 1:25.417 +5.238 37 ● 10. Mazepin Force India VJM11 Force India VJM11 1:25.628 +5.449 22 ● 11. Carlos Sainz General Motors RS18 no time 0 ● 12. Sirotkin Williams FW41 no time 0 ●
I don't know, I have to say, these cars have become pretty damn hideous. From an aerial view, they just look ugly; half the car is nothing but floor now, and the halo is basically just a cherry on top of that mess... That nonsense when they added those little penis-shaped bits to the front a few years back was nothing compared to this. Still, I’m feeling optimistic about how the season turns out. 🍿
Ferrari and Mercedes are worlds apart right now, even if most of what we’re seeing is just incremental evolution from last season. Me personally, I think the halo on the Ferrari looks absolutely hideous—it’s probably just the color scheme, though... It's also pretty wild how much the McLaren and Ferrari look like they belong to different eras. Does anyone actually know what their wheelbase measurements are?
