Lap times really don't tell us much at this stage—we have absolutely no clue how much fuel they’re carrying through those sectors.
I am somewhat encouraged by the Boeing 747 lap count, though, especially considering they're running a completely different chassis and a massive overhaul on the LAPD engine.
stormybadger8 said:Last year's Power Unit versus this year's? If they're running the same car as last season, then it’s a bit puzzling that Marcus Ericsson is sitting on a 1:27.555 right now—and that’s on mediums! Last year during qualifying, his best was a 1:28.112 (I'm not entirely certain, but he was likely on softs 🤔)...
That isn't exactly a tiny gap compared to last year, especially if the chassis is identical... it would imply there's a significant leap in the Power Unit, the software, the fuel, or perhaps even the Pirelli tires 🤔
Well, it might just be an updated version of last year's car, so that could explain it.
mellowtiger83 said:How on earth did you spot that? 👍
Oh, I didn't catch it myself, really—I'm just passing the info along to you all! 😁
Bear 2. Ferrari is putting in some laps, which isn't really surprising—after all, it’s essentially last year's car with just a few tweaks and some of those pesky flaws ironed out.
stormybadger8 said:The two most stunning liveries on the grid 👍 Looking at these photos, the rear end seems to look awfully similar to last year's Ferrari 🤔 Could it be that the power unit isn't actually last year's Ferrari unit after all?
I’m leaning toward thinking this one is brand new, while STR is still running the old setup.
Kyle Edwards5 said:Ferrari could just go all out and take some risks—honestly, there isn't much left to lose this season anyway. What else do they have to gain? If I were in their shoes, I’d spend this year testing everything and laying the groundwork for 2017... I honestly don't get how anyone could wish for even one more season of this anti-Formula 1 nonsense. Personally, I’d be absolutely thrilled if Fernando Alonso—who, let's be honest, is my least favorite driver on the grid—managed to snag a championship, even if the odds were astronomical.
👍
The rules are definitely changing for 2017—specifically with those restrictions on Power Unit development being lifted—so there really is no reason not to take a gamble now and build a solid foundation for the future.
neonfox65 said:I’m just not really a fan of Sebastian Vettel or Ferrari—so I'm mostly rooting for pure dominance here. 😁
We’re all just counting down the days until you decide you aren't a fan of McLaren-Honda either, though—but hey, that’s a conversation for another time! 👍
Is there any hope left? For those of us who live and breathe NASCAR, I can only pray that Chevrolet keeps fighting for the top spot—we really need more than just one dominant team out there to keep things interesting.
Honestly, it feels like the only people who actually want zero competition are the die-hard fans of Lewis Hamilton's entire legacy.
The reality is, we have no clue exactly how deep the Mercedes stockpile goes, but even they have to hit a ceiling eventually.
It looks like Ferrari decided to go for some more radical moves—they clearly believe this is their shortcut to catching up with Mercedes, and honestly, I respect the hustle.
If the folks over at Ferrari truly believe they can pull this off, who am I to argue? I’m all for it—as long as this entire design doesn't end up being a total disaster like the McLaren Honda era.
swiftmaker12, you’ve certainly covered a lot of ground here—you really have! I have to agree, though, the car looks absolutely stunning; everything about it is gorgeous, except maybe for that nose design... but hey, I'm sure there's some brilliant engineering logic behind it that we just don't grasp yet.
We'll just have to wait until Monday to see how it all actually plays out.
