Posts by mellowtiger83

Timothy Castillo6 said:1:17.182 - Ferrari are now nearly one second clear of what Red Bull produced on the same compound 24 hours ago.

So, now we just sit tight and wait to see how the Blue and Silver teams respond, not to mention how they'll react to that absolute nonsense Ted Kravitz was spouting yesterday.

It seems to me like Toto Wolff is trying to sync his brain with both hands at once, considering he was praising Red Bull's pace yesterday, yet today's times look completely unrealistic compared to Ricciardo's time from yesterday.

Though I am convinced they can go much faster.

copperdrifter26 said:From what I gather, Vettel knocked out 11 laps on the HS (plus those 5-lap bursts on the US and SS) without needing a fuel refill. That means on those SS tires, he likely had enough gas for at least 20 laps minimum. My gut feeling? Haas might just be a much lighter car...

Plus, Vettel was only 0.03 seconds slower in S3 on that final lap using the hyper tire. Hmm... if you look at the pure ultimate pace, we're probably looking at the low 16s.

So this German trash is actually lifting too.😁

Vettel, what on earth? Ferrari is absolutely flying!! I mean, seriously, how much more speed are they hiding under the hood?

Kyle Edwards5 said:Haas is actually faster than Ferrari on the SS 🤔

And they’re doing that with a driver who feels significantly slower than Vettel??

Haas?? What on earth... nothing makes sense anymore. A 1:18.300 on tires that are two compounds harder than Vettel's? It looks like Ferrari has finally started running their engine properly, especially since even Sauber is starting to pick up speed more and more every lap.

Let me clarify this once more for those who seem to be struggling to grasp the concept: we are talking about the hard compound paired with track temperatures sitting at a cool 50 degrees Fahrenheit!

Vettel 1.18.666 on the red tires under much harsher conditions than yesterday—track temps sitting at about 54 degrees Fahrenheit🙂

This is exactly my point. Ferrari clearly has the raw pace, they're just running their own specific agenda

Update 1.18.414🙂. The prophets are out in full force now, acting like this is some miracle, yet those hard compounds are actually performing better than when Ricciardo was out there yesterday with the asphalt at 54 degrees. What do you think, Tibac He He? Let's go, Seb, let's go

When you factor in all the variables—the rubber, the track state—this looks like a significantly better lap time

So, we won't see McLaren out on the track until after lunch—if they even bother! It seems their mechanics just don't have the stomach for it today.🙂

Matthew Murphy91 said:The season hasn't even kicked off yet, and everyone is already acting like they’ve seen the future. It's pretty obvious to me. Mercedes is going to be even more dominant this year than they were last season. ☕

It’s easy to talk nonsense when you don't see the full picture. They still have plenty of pace left, especially Ferrari, given how they've been running their specific testing program.

northerncobra31 said:We aren't sure which tires they used since they weren't marked.

But it doesn't really matter; Mercedes is still the best.

Someone just pulled over on the track and there's smoke coming from the car—I'd give you 1.01 odds if you wanted to bet on who it is.

We know, we know. Those unmarked ones were just Mediums from a different factory with identical performance—keep up. Besides, the fastest lap wasn't even set on those unmarked tires; it was on the official white Mediums.

Matthew Murphy91 said:Lewis Hamilton is absolutely flying around the track.
We’re looking at some seriously impressive times here. Everything we've seen up until this point? You can basically throw it all in the trash.

And he’s doing it on the white tires, which is quite fast—honestly, it's enough to make the competition nervous.

I haven't been following the testing sessions closely; I've only glanced at the final times, which are frankly laughable given the actual potential here and completely useless for drawing any meaningful conclusions.

It appears McLaren is struggling, though I suspect they'll sort it out because the package seems quite fast—not that I feel like explaining why.

Besides, we saw this exact same pattern during the first and second days of the initial test before they eventually made up ground.

As for Mercedes and Ferrari, their lap times—or rather, the numbers themselves—look promising.

ruggedhawk20 said:It's the same deal with Audi and Porsche—they both just do whatever VW tells them to. I mean, they even pitted them against each other at Le Mans.

So what now? Are we going to see two Fiats competing in F1, or will one just serve as a glorified test bed for the other?

ruggedhawk20 said:What "work" does Alfa even have left? They handed over the cash and the decals—boom, job done.

It’s actually Ferrari and Sauber who need to get to work.

Ferrari and Alfa Romeo are essentially just two sides of the same coin, dancing to whatever tune Fiat decides to play. Do you actually follow that logic? It’s simple. Want me to let you in on a little secret? Fiat built nothing but absolute garbage.

The boys have some testing coming up in Austin in a few days. Perhaps we’ll actually gain some insight this time, though let's be honest—right now, none of us have any clue what's actually happening.

Well, I’ll just say this: America is going to prove who was right eventually. So, let's just sit tight and wait.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I get what you're saying, but he's bringing up those fastest sectors like they mean something. To me, he was just tearing it up at Sonoma. It still doesn't change the fact that the overall performance was underwhelming.

And what about those qualifying laps then? Who actually knows their fuel loads or what engine mode they were running?

McLaren is going to be flying in Australia. Mark my words. The car looks absolutely lethal on track—that's what the insiders are saying, specifically Anderson, who clearly has some sort of inside track.

Besides, we won't really see the true picture until the next test session when they start simulating race stints and all that.

stormybadger8 said:And they were pretty slow while they were at it...
It’s obvious they spent the whole day chasing sponsors and playing around on Hypersoft tires, probably too scared to touch the frontrunners who were running much harder compounds...
I just hope that exhaust issue keeps giving them hell and they were stuck in some aggressive safe mode, otherwise they're in real trouble...

Anyway, McLaren didn't get nearly enough laps in...
Laps (by engine manufacturer)
# Team Laps
1. Honda 324
2. Ferrari 256
3. Mercedes 249.33
4. Renault 247.33

Laps (by constructor)
# Team Laps
1. Toro Rosso 324
...
7. McLaren 260

The race in Barcelona was about 60 laps total...
Honda managed to survive about 5 races worth of mileage😉
And no, it didn't die; everything worked perfectly without a single hiccup... so it'll likely be plenty reliable...
Based on what we've seen so far, that's the engine with the most miles on the grid, so let's call it the "most reliable" one for now...

That doesn't mean Renault won't be solid too, but it definitely means McLaren isn't a factory team anymore. It looks like McLaren seriously screwed up by ignoring Alonso's insistence that Honda was junk...
This might just end up being another one of Fernando Alonso's legendary boneheaded moves...

You are completely mistaken. McLaren wasn't just chasing sponsors; they were essentially lifting and driving significantly slower than their potential, utilizing softer tires due to the temperature, just as I previously noted.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Alonso actually put together a lap today where he was the fastest of everyone through the first two sectors, only to drop off and go over two seconds slower than his own best time in that third sector. I'm not sure how closely you all follow these testing sessions, but even someone like Gary Anderson—who isn't exactly known for being a McLaren fanboy—is actually giving their car some serious credit.

I noticed that too; he lifted about 2 seconds in that final sector 🙂, which says everything about how much they are chasing the McLaren pace.

McLaren looks incredibly sharp. They’ll be a threat in the midfield with a clear trend toward the front of the pack. Once Alonso really gets stuck in, things will get interesting. The kid lacks a bit of grit—he's a bit soft—but he's finally getting a car that actually has potential after three years of absolute misery.

Honestly, Honda is surprisingly decent right now. Hard to believe they haven't blown up yet, though nothing is certain. Every single car still has plenty of surprises left in the tank. My sense is that Honda is running their engine harder than anyone else during these tests. We shall see.

As for McLaren, I'm not worried. You can tell from the eye test that they have a top-tier car. They only used those ultra-soft tires because the track was cold and they didn't feel like working for tire temperature. It's possible the car is just gentle on its rubber, which could actually turn out to be a massive advantage.

How many laps did McLaren actually put in earlier today??? I recall someone here mentioning they’d be stuck redesigning the exhaust and the floor plating🙂.

Obviously, lap times don't mean a thing. Yesterday we watched Vettel struggle, today it's Hamilton, and that's just how it goes.