stormybadger8 said:Someone nailed this in a comment over on Jergin's site🤣 I didn't even wrap my head around it until then.😂
That commenter actually hit the nail on the head.😁 Rosberg didn't ban Rosberg from overtaking Lewis Hamilton, nor was there some official team order issued.😂 Actually, it was Rosberg who asked Rosa if he "could" overtake Lewis Hamilton and basically begged him to let him through.🤣 And Rosa just coldly said "no."☕
I mean, since when does an equal driver have to ask permission to pass his teammate?🤣
My take is that it's all baked into Lewis Hamilton's contract—he likely demanded to be the undisputed number one in the team. It makes sense. He’s moving to what's considered the "weaker" outfit, so he probably wouldn't want to deal with any ego battles with Nico Rosberg on the track.
Something weird is starting to happen with Nico Rosberg's car out of nowhere... feels like déjà vu. :deja vu:
And honestly, he’s great for that. He’s one of the few who actually speaks up publicly about how there isn't a designated number one driver in the team...😁
Personally, I don't find them particularly interesting; the jokes feel a bit too juvenile for my taste. I was actually hoping for more sarcasm—maybe some witty banter regarding the Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry.
What a miserable downpour... does anyone know what the forecast looks like for the next couple of days? I really hope this rain isn't planning on sticking around.
They shut his channel down... what a mess. I noticed he listed "54bucks" on his profile page. I honestly never even caught that before... maybe that's where he's moving his content.
Honestly, Grosjean is just missing that tiny bit of mental composure needed to really dominate. In my opinion, he’s just one step away from greatness, but that last little piece of the puzzle isn't there yet. He’s definitely got the speed, but he’s missing the reliability and the stability to actually back it up. Everyone else is making strides right now, so I don't see why he couldn't catch up too. Honestly, I’m starting to fear the Lotus more than the McLaren.
I'm not worried about McLaren at all. Alonso proved a few times last season that he can outdrive Button, even when the car isn't performing perfectly. It's Vettel and Lotus that have me concerned... plus, I suspect Hamilton will have a solid package right out of the gate this year.
And the actual racing hasn't even kicked off yet. 😂
Young Sergio is also noting some unexpectedly high tire wear.
"It's extreme. It's very, very difficult the degradation - it's a big surprise," Perez told reporters.
"Normally we see in winter testing a lot of degradation, but never this much. We are going to have sometimes cold races like here, so it's a bit of a worry, but we are still learning about the tyres and once we go racing I hope things can change with the tyres."
Is it the new Pirellis, or the new MP4-28? Maybe it's both.
What can I say? His balance is mediocre at best. Based on how much he complained during testing, I can only imagine what his radio transmissions sounded like. 😁
The Williams car looks stunning. The rear end design is particularly intriguing... my first thought was that the lack of certain surfaces might trigger turbulence since the airflow loses its path so abruptly. But clearly, the engineers at the factory know exactly what they’re doing. The front wing also feels quite distinct compared to the rest of the field.
An expert from the racing world made a sharp observation regarding the air inlet located beneath the Ferrari nose. http://f1grandprix.motorionline.com/...O_2013_057.jpg
On top of that, there was quite a bit of scrutiny on Ferrari during day three. Every time they pulled into the garage, they seemed to be hiding the diffuser behind those yellow panels.
It looks like Massa wasn't running on a light fuel load after all... at least according to James Allen’s take. Meanwhile, the folks over at Lotus are insisting they didn't run with low fuel once during the entire testing session. 🤷 Valtteri mentioned that most of the drivers actually did run with nearly empty tanks a few times during the tests... so I guess it's up to you to decide which story holds water.
It’s a real shame, honestly. Today is such a critical day because we were expecting DL Rosa to drop some intel regarding how closely the car's actual track performance aligns with the simulator data. But hey, I'm sure they'll have something figured out by lunchtime.
Yeah, I have all his channels bookmarked; I follow his work religiously... Just a heads-up, though—his streams constantly get taken down due to some kind of copyright issues. If I recall correctly, this is at least his tenth channel...
Mercedes really turned up the heat today... we're already at 123 laps. It seems those rumors about them pushing toward the 300-lap mark during these final two days of testing might actually be on the money.
During these initial winter tests in Austin, the team from Maranello is focusing strictly on gathering mechanical and aerodynamic data to compare against wind tunnel and simulator results, rather than chasing outright speed. The true potential of the Ferrari won't be revealed until we hit the tracks near Barcelona.
The folks back at headquarters are telling everyone to ignore the early alarmism, and for now, they have good reason to be calm. During this session in Texas, the Scuderia is running a program that isn't focused on raw performance yet, so while the lap times might not look sensational, they aren't a cause for concern either.
Back during the car's unveiling, the lead designers emphasized that these opening tests are vital for validating the core foundation of the project before they commit to a specific development path.
Throughout this current session, the F138 is essentially being "clothed" in sensors and fluorescent paint. The goal is to verify if the data gathered in the wind tunnels in Germany actually translates to the real car. Yesterday, Felipe completed sixty-four laps at a steady pace, primarily to validate the F138's aerodynamic profile.
It’s not just about downforce, though. Massa has already provided early insights into the chassis structure and the Coanda-effect exhaust positioning. He noted that the 138 feels significantly more balanced, stable, and offers much better traction than last year's model. These checks will continue throughout the Texas testing, though Pedro De la Rosa, who takes over the F138 tomorrow, will have a very different objective.
The Spaniard's job is to compare the physical car's behavior against the "virtual" F138 produced by the advanced simulators in Maranello. The data he collects will be crucial for the engineering team led by Simone, especially since they can't rely solely on track time to drive development.
Once we move on to the Barcelona tests with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, we'll finally see what the F138 is truly capable of. By then, the car will feature significant changes—both visible parts like the wings and sidepods, and internal components. For now, Ferrari fans should just enjoy the sound of that V8 and wait for the Spanish tests to judge where the team actually stands in the championship hunt.
At this rate, Mercedes might as well stop showing up to the track altogether. https://twitter.com/intent/user?scre...013.php?rev=on It was a solid start for Lewis, though😁.
fadedwalker18 said:Goodness, honestly. 🤦 It really makes you wonder—do they honestly have to constantly reinvent themselves or scramble for new gimmicks just to keep pace with the competition? 🙂 What a total disaster. Are we officially entering panic mode yet? 🙂
🤦
Look, I don't think that first test is such a big deal anyway. Most of the cars heading to the season opener in Austin will have already undergone updates. The first session is really just about making sure the car is functional—checking the brakes, the electronics, the cooling systems... the basics. It’s a shame the exhaust and sidepods won't be ready by the second test, though. Last year, the top teams like McLaren and Red Bull spent the third test mostly running simulations on days three and four rather than bolting on new parts.
http://www1.skysports.com/formula1/g...stops-on-track McLaren is already hitting some bumps in the road. They're dealing with a fuel pump issue. As of right now, there's no word on when they might actually get back out there.
The Caterham looks sharp. That front wing is actually quite creative for them; it’s nice to see they put in some genuine effort instead of just obsessively copying everyone else.
As for Marussia, it’s already pretty obvious they’re stuck at the back of the pack. In my opinion, that nose design is a mess... and the sidepods and coke bottle shape don't look any better.
stormybadger8 said:Look, even if the RB9 doesn't look drastically different from the RB8, I can see something special under the hood here—something that’s going to be a nightmare for anyone else to replicate... Honestly, this car looks more dominant than any Red Bull we've seen yet. If my gut is right, we're looking at an incredibly boring season ahead... just another fourth title handed to them solely because their car is on another level. 😢
We'll see. It's entirely possible McLaren put together a seriously impressive car, considering they held a slight edge over Red Bull at the end of last season. It’s unlikely they're significantly behind Red Bull in terms of pure pace now. The real issue is that McLaren doesn't have a Lewis Hamilton who can pull off those legendary drives like he did in Austin and fight Sebastian Vettel for the win. Drivers like Jenson and Sergio just aren't built that way. They don't possess that same level of quality or the ability to shut out the competition the way Lewis did in Abu Dhabi—you know, those weekends where they just dominate everyone.
fadedwalker18 said:Goodness, honestly. 🤦 It really makes you wonder—do they honestly have to constantly reinvent themselves or scramble for new gimmicks just to keep pace with the competition? 🙂 What a total disaster. Are we officially entering panic mode yet? 🙂
"The initial spec car used for the first test didn't see much wind tunnel time since we finalized it right after the season ended—we were still grinding away on the F2012 back then. That said, I'm confident we'll have a much more competitive package ready by the third test and the opening race."