2013 Car Reveal & Winter Testing Kickoff

stormybadger8 said:Where on earth did you get the idea that anyone is underestimating Alonso?
In this whole mess, Alonso is the least likely person to be blamed for why he wasn't a serious threat... that's squarely on Ferrari's shoulders.☕

Sure, that Ferrari was incredibly reliable, which let them scoop up everything everyone else messed up... but in my book, that's not exactly top-tier strategy, especially when the team's whole vibe is basically "let's just hope someone else's engine blows up."
You're supposed to work hard and be fast enough to win when your team actually has a good day, not sit around praying for everyone else to screw up...
And God help us when that's the actual driver's mindset. When the bosses and engineers start relying on luck instead of doing their jobs, I don't even know what to call it.

Championships aren't won by collective whining, chanting, and playing nice within the garage. They're won through the grind of the entire team and brilliant ideas from elite individuals...

Edit:
Has any testing stream or satellite broadcast popped up this season?
Or are we still stuck with zero track footage?😢

🤦 It’s a bit much, honestly.

Reliability isn't just a feature; it's a strategy.
Ferrari’s whole strategy seems to be nothing more than finding new ways to screw everyone else over. 😱

A little preaching, a lot of yelling... looks like the election campaign season has officially kicked in.

Who's actually to blame here? 🤷

Here’s the Austin schedule just so we can all get on the same page:

Tuesday 5th
Wednesday 6th
Thursday 7th
Friday 8th

FERRARI
F. Massa
F. Massa
F. Massa
P. de la Rosa

McLAREN
J. Button
S. Pérez
J. Button
S. Pérez

FORCE INDIA
P. Di Resta
P. Di Resta (AM) / J. Rossiter (PM)
J. Rossiter (AM) / P. Di Resta (PM)
J. Bianchi

CATERHAM
G. Van der Garde
G. Van der Garde
C. Pic
C. Pic

MARUSSIA
Max Chilton
Max Chilton
TBA
TBA

TORO ROSSO
D. Ricciardo
D. Ricciardo
J. Vergne
J. Vergne

RED BULL
M. Webber
M. Webber
S. Vettel
S. Vettel

SAUBER
N. Hulkenberg
N. Hulkenberg
E. Gutiérrez
E. Gutiérrez

LOTUS
R. Grosjean
R. Grosjean
K. Raikkonen
K. Raikkonen

MERCEDES
N. Rosberg
L. Hamilton
N. Rosberg
L. Hamilton

WILLIAMS
P. Maldonado
P. Maldonado
V. Bottas
V. Bottas

Drew Bennett68 said:I’ve dropped a bunch of testing photos right here—definitely take a close look at those incredibly slim sidepods on the Sauber car:

http://www.motorsport-magazin.com/fo...0,11312,0.html

Man, these are great. Seriously, thanks 🙏



🙂

shadowstag10 said:Journalism at its absolute peak 🤦

thank God that wasn't the actual headline—"McLaren absolutely smoked the competition" would've been more accurate 🙄

So, what’s the deal with those orange tires?😕
Saw Button put in a time on some kind of new orange compound🤷

No clue what anyone else was running... but looking at the photos it looks like Lotus, Red Bull, and Ferrari were mostly sticking to the whites or those hard compounds

New hard compounds for 2013. Any thoughts?

The tires. Any thoughts?
They’ve introduced "new structures and softer compounds." What does that actually mean for us?
Engineered specifically to "accelerate thermal degradation." In short?
They’re aiming to guarantee a minimum of two pit stops. Is that really necessary?
Stops per driver per race. I'm looking at these numbers, hoping to find a way to boost the efficiency. Any thoughts?
More overtaking. More action. Isn't that what we all actually want? Increased entertainment is the goal.

Pirelli is raising concerns about tire degradation again. It seems like a recurring theme, doesn't it? They’re looking closely at how much surface wear is happening during races. Is the current compound setup actually holding up under pressure? We might see some adjustments soon.

Hell yes. 🙂

If that lap was set on hard tires while everyone else was struggling on mediums—which, honestly, looks like the case—and he’s still that much faster 😲
Then we're all pretty much screwed... Perez for World Champion, I guess 😬

If we were discussing the weather conditions from the third quarter of 2013 in the States, I’d be right there with you. 😁

Autosport reported that Button set his fastest lap using the hard compound.
But aren't those orange and red tires basically the same thing? 😁
Plus, Button had DRS active for the entire lap.

Besides, we’re just talking about day one of testing. Some drivers were out there on wets as recently as yesterday. 😁

We are all feeling that initial spark of excitement as these first tests roll around, finally breaking up this grueling winter drought. But if you ask me how much these sessions actually tell us about the upcoming season? Well, their predictive power is about as reliable as a groundhog's shadow in that movie *Groundhog Day*. 😁

Of course they don't mean a thing, but they’re incredibly telling... I’d say McLaren clearly hit the nail on the head here.
Besides, they basically just overhauled the car, and it's obvious the results aren't bad.

But yeah, it wouldn't hurt if Perez actually gave that three-time world champion a run for his money, I'll give you that.

Jason Campbell70 said:If we were discussing the weather conditions from the third quarter of 2013 in the States, I’d be right there with you. 😁

Autosport reported that Button set his fastest lap using the hard compound.
But aren't those orange and red tires basically the same thing? 😁
Plus, Button had DRS active for the entire lap.

Besides, we’re just talking about day one of testing. Some drivers were out there on wets as recently as yesterday. 😁

Doesn't matter how similar they look... that photo was snapped right at the end of day one, immediately after Button clocked that time while heading back to the pits. Those tires were definitely the orange ones, not red.

Look, I know these times don't mean much, maybe nothing at all... but it's still a massive gap even before you factor in the tire difference.
And since McLaren ended the season as the fastest car on the grid, it looks like they're the ones everyone's going to be chasing.

And another thing...
2012 Season:
7 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27 1:19.464
18 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27 1:20.688

2013 Season:
1. Jenson Button McLaren 1m18.861s

stormybadger8 said:Doesn't matter how similar they look... that photo was snapped right at the end of day one, immediately after Button clocked that time while heading back to the pits. Those tires were definitely the orange ones, not red.

Look, I know these times don't mean much, maybe nothing at all... but it's still a massive gap even before you factor in the tire difference.
And since McLaren ended the season as the fastest car on the grid, it looks like they're the ones everyone's going to be chasing.

And another thing...
2012 Season:
7 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27 1:19.464
18 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27 1:20.688

2013 Season:
1. Jenson Button McLaren 1m18.861s

McLaren started and finished last season with the fastest car, which also meant they had the "fastest" driver on the grid. The result? Zero.

steelmaker83 said:McLaren started and finished last season with the fastest car, which also meant they had the "fastest" driver on the grid. The result? Zero.

Facts.☕
But look, their number one guy is Button now... and unlike certain other drivers, once he grabs the lead in the championship, he doesn't just let it slip away.
People love to underestimate him, but Button is the only driver who actually beat Vettel and Red Bull.

As far as I'm concerned, he's threat number one. The only thing that might tip the scales in our favor is Perez.😁
I’ve got this nagging feeling he might end up taking out his own teammate while trying to make a pass.😬

stormybadger8 said:Facts.☕
But look, their number one guy is Button now... and unlike certain other drivers, once he grabs the lead in the championship, he doesn't just let it slip away.
People love to underestimate him, but Button is the only driver who actually beat Vettel and Red Bull.

As far as I'm concerned, he's threat number one. The only thing that might tip the scales in our favor is Perez.😁
I’ve got this nagging feeling he might end up taking out his own teammate while trying to make a pass.😬

In a dominant McLaren, Button can definitely take the title. If circumstances look anything like last year, though, it’s going to be incredibly, incredibly difficult.

It looks like even though Grandpa's gone, the gremlins are still running the show.😬

steelmaker83 said:In a dominant McLaren, Button can definitely take the title. If circumstances look anything like last year, though, it’s going to be incredibly, incredibly difficult.

But does the car even need to be dominant? Not necessarily. Last year, McLaren was arguably the fastest on the grid most of the time, yet it wasn't Button's car, and the team was too busy tripping over their own feet with internal politics. If they could just manage their own egos—and assuming they aren't complete idiots, which I hope is true—and if the car were actually tuned to suit his driving style, Button could be a much more serious title contender than he was last season, even without total dominance. At least, that's my take.

William Bennett53 said:We are all feeling that initial spark of excitement as these first tests roll around, finally breaking up this grueling winter drought. But if you ask me how much these sessions actually tell us about the upcoming season? Well, their predictive power is about as reliable as a groundhog's shadow in that movie *Groundhog Day*. 😁

By the way, that groundhog is only right about 40% of the time. 😁

Pre-season testing, especially those very first runs... I doubt they tell us anything useful. 😁

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😁.

Tire choices for the first test got you scratching your head? Pirelli is more than happy to walk us through it:
...
"Yesterday's fastest lap belonged to Jenson Button on the new orange hard compound. He clocked in at 1m18.861s. For comparison, the fastest time from day one last year was 1m19.670s, which was done on a medium tire.

"Essentially, the initial trend suggests this year's hard compound is outperforming last year's medium—exactly what we were aiming for."

Bottom line: they're faster, but they'll probably shred even quicker.😁
Great. Just what we need—ultra-exciting races right at the start of the season. My heart can barely take it.😬
If these testing times actually mean something, maybe it's finally time for STR to grab another win this season.👋
Man, if I could just nail which driver wins which race, I’d be sitting on a mountain of cash right about now.🤣
It's been ages since an American stood on the top step of the podium... might be time to put some money on Vergne.😳
Anyone know what the odds are on a long shot like that?

Grosjean 1:18.2

If RG stays this distracted—and let's be honest, he likely will—Lotus easily boasts the strongest driver lineup on the grid this season.

1. Romain Grosjean 1.18.218, 65 laps

If the early morning predicts anything... looks like we’ve got another solid year ahead with Lotus coming up...