2013 Car Reveal & Winter Testing Kickoff

steelmaker83 said:Of course the car is better than it was this time last year. That’s a given. The real question is how it actually stacks up against the rest of the field.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

I don't bother with all the predictions, nor do I track the weather per race weekend. Why? Because we won't know anything concrete until we hit Melbourne. Honestly, I wouldn't even say we'll have a clear picture until the final qualifying sessions in Melbourne.

On another note:


Fix It Again Tombazis 😂

Lewis clocked a phenomenal time during today's testing 😲—fingers crossed that Mercedes actually has the pace to shake up the favorites.
Let's go, Chevy! 😁

P Driver Team Time

1 Hamilton Mercedes 1m20.558s
2 Massa Ferrari 1m21.266s +0.708
3 Sutil Force India 1m21.627s +1.069
4 Maldonado Williams 1m22.305s +1.747
5 Bottas Williams 1m22.468s +1.910
6 Gutierrez Sauber 1m22.553s +1.995
7 Webber Red Bull 1m22.658s +2.100
8 Perez McLaren 1m22.694s +2.136
9 Vergne Toro Rosso 1m23.223s +2.665
10 Grosjean Lotus 1m23.380s +2.822
11 Valsecchi Lotus 1m23.448s +2.890
12 Bianchi Marussia 1m24.028s +3.470
13 van der Garde Caterham 1m24.235s +3.677

Marussia is about 2.5 seconds faster than they were in Q1 last year 😲

Not bad, I guess. 🙂

Jason Campbell70 said:Wheel came loose on the F-150😁


Ford🙂

I once had a wheel fly right off my Audi, so now I'm feeling a bit cautious about it... 🙂

Here’s some statistical ammunition from the testing sessions—if anyone can actually make sense of this... feel free to weigh in.

Unofficial test mileage (Drivers):

1. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber - 2,768
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - 2,640
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 2,584
4. Sergio Perez, McLaren - 2,538
= Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber - 2,538
6. Max Chilton, Marussia - 2,536
7. Paul di Resta, Force India - 2,520
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso - 2,455
9. Charles Pic, Caterham - 2,364
10. Valtteri Bottas, Williams - 2,352
11. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari - 2,351
12. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull - 2,343
13. Felipe Massa, Ferrari - 2,336
14. Romain Grosjean, Lotus - 2,270
15. Mark Webber, Red Bull - 2,265
16. Pastor Maldonado, Williams - 2,218
17. Giedo van der Garde, Caterham - 2,149
18. Jenson Button, McLaren - 2,091
19. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso - 2,051
20. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus - 1,182
21. Jules Bianchi, Force India/Marussia - 1,165
22. Adrian Sutil, Force India - 1,159
23. Luiz Razia, Marussia - 500
24. James Rossiter, Force India - 270
25. Pedro de la Rosa, Ferrari - 226
26. Davide Valsecchi, Lotus - 74

Unofficial test mileage (Teams):

1. Sauber - 5,307
2. Mercedes - 5,224
3. Ferrari - 4,913
4. McLaren - 4,629
5. Red Bull - 4,608
6. Williams - 4,570
7. Caterham - 4,513
8. Toro Rosso - 4,506
9. Force India - 4,481
10. Marussia - 3,669
11. Lotus - 3,527

917 sets of Pirelli tires were used during pre-season testing:
30 sets of supersoft spec
190 sets of soft spec
383 sets of medium spec
221 sets of hard spec
61 sets of intermediate spec
32 sets of wet spec

Longest runs per compound in Barcelona:
Supersoft - 16 laps
Soft - 31 laps
Medium - 36 laps
Hard - 24 laps
Intermediate - 47 laps
Wet - 48 laps

Unofficial aggregate times from both pre-season Barcelona tests:

1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:20.130
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:20.494
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:20.588
4. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:21.266
5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:21.444
6. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 1:21.541
7. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:21.627
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, 1:21.658
9. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:21.664
10. Sergio Perez, McLaren, 1:21.848
11. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1:22.188
12. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:22.197
13. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:22.305
14. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:22.468
15. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:22.553
16. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:22.658
17. Charles Pic, Caterham, 1:23.115
18. Jules Bianchi, Marussia, 1:23.167
19. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:23.223
20. Davide Valsecchi, Lotus, 1:23.448
21. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:23.628
22. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:24.103
23. Giedo van der Garde, Caterham, 1:24.235

I think it’s finally time to lay this thread to rest. Only time will tell if those preseason numbers were actually a true reflection of how things would turn out, right?

I guess I'll go ahead and lock this thread

ruggedhawk20 said:Man, I've been saying this for months—that Lotus car is absolute garbage. Just total junk. This year is basically a dead heat between Red Bull and "Lotus."

Look at him right here—on mediums, sitting 0.3 behind Ferrari after grinding out 119 laps, the most of anyone.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps Tyre
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.875s 97 Soft
2. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1m22.160s +0.285 91 Soft
3. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1m22.188s +0.313 119 Medium
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.611s +0.736 108 Soft
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m22.675s +0.800 79 Soft
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m22.826s +0.951 68 Hard
7. Jenson Button McLaren 1m22.840s +0.965 71 Soft
8. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m22.877s +1.002 78 Soft
9. Mark Webber Red Bull 1m23.024s +1.149 108 Medium
10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1m23.366s +1.491 106 Soft
11. Max Chilton Marussia 1m25.690s +3.815 58 Soft
12. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1m26.177s +4.302 93 Soft

And Williams is a disaster. Bottas is nearly a second back on hards.

But hey, that's what I've been preaching. The real surprises this season are "Lotus," Williams, and Sauber at Monza.

The guys at Sauber basically gambled everything to build a car specifically for Monza.

Reminds me of when they were BMW back in 2008. Too bad it rained, otherwise they would've absolutely swept Monza.

ruggedhawk20 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Well, Christopher, you’ve certainly cracked the code on that one.

Just a month ago, everyone was obsessed with:
- how incredibly gentle the E21 was on its tires
- its impressive race pace
- the supposed inability of the E21 to squeeze out a single qualifying lap

Lotus
Speed: A-
Degradation: A

Over the course of the three days, the Lotus showed superior long-run pace and tire management compared to the rest of the grid. Expect them to be fighting for podiums once we hit Melbourne. Grosjean's race simulations held up beautifully against Webber's and remained remarkably steady.

The primary concerns regarding the E21 remain reliability—given the hiccups Raikkonen faced during the first two days—and a slight deficit in raw single-lap speed against the elite teams. Still, the indicators are highly encouraging, and the team is justified in feeling confident about the upcoming season.

http://formulaoneanalysis.blogspot.c...-22022013.html

It’s almost funny. We could have read all of this right here on this forum.

Jason Campbell70 said:Well, Christopher, you’ve certainly cracked the code on that one.

Just a month ago, everyone was obsessed with:
- how incredibly gentle the E21 was on its tires
- its impressive race pace
- the supposed inability of the E21 to squeeze out a single qualifying lap

Lotus
Speed: A-
Degradation: A

Over the course of the three days, the Lotus showed superior long-run pace and tire management compared to the rest of the grid. Expect them to be fighting for podiums once we hit Melbourne. Grosjean's race simulations held up beautifully against Webber's and remained remarkably steady.

The primary concerns regarding the E21 remain reliability—given the hiccups Raikkonen faced during the first two days—and a slight deficit in raw single-lap speed against the elite teams. Still, the indicators are highly encouraging, and the team is justified in feeling confident about the upcoming season.

http://formulaoneanalysis.blogspot.c...-22022013.html

It’s almost funny. We could have read all of this right here on this forum.

Up until March 17th around 8:00 AM, this entire board was busy predicting Red Bull would shift the season schedule just like Ferrari did back in '02 and '04.

Then, in a sudden thirty-minute window, everyone suddenly acts shocked by the "miracle." I’ve been saying all winter that Lotus is the one that's going to struggle.

ruggedhawk20 said:Up until March 17th around 8:00 AM, this entire board was busy predicting Red Bull would shift the season schedule just like Ferrari did back in '02 and '04.

Then, in a sudden thirty-minute window, everyone suddenly acts shocked by the "miracle." I’ve been saying all winter that Lotus is the one that's going to struggle.

Evidence? ☕

ruggedhawk20 said:Up until March 17th around 8:00 AM, this entire board was busy predicting Red Bull would shift the season schedule just like Ferrari did back in '02 and '04.

Then, in a sudden thirty-minute window, everyone suddenly acts shocked by the "miracle." I’ve been saying all winter that Lotus is the one that's going to struggle.

Sure. And you aren't the only one; plenty of F1 fans are saying the exact same thing.

I provided the evidence in my previous post. ☕

Jason Campbell70 said:Evidence? ☕

Sure. And you aren't the only one; plenty of F1 fans are saying the exact same thing.

I provided the evidence in my previous post. ☕

Ferrari fanatic. said:Red Bull’s absolutely crushing it—Ferrari’s just sitting there doing nothing, and McLaren’s looking mid at best.

And what the hell is up with this Chevy Astra constantly jumping all over my screen? Absolute disaster — seriously.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Look, Ferrari never tries to pull any smoke and mirrors—if they're struggling in practice, they're gonna struggle in the race. It’s been the same old story for the last 3 or 4 seasons...
Ferrari’s okay in sector two—but they're totally gutless in sectors one and three, which is a pretty bad sign.
Sector 2 is lightning fast—quick turns all around—and Ferrari looks alright there, but they’re bleeding way too much time in the slow and medium stuff.
Same old story as last year—nothing's changed.

Mercedes looks like the easiest ride—RB is right there breathing down their necks... Ferrari’s got way too much understeer, though.

shadowstag10 said:Looks like Ferrari and McLaren basically just swapped places since last year—Mercedes actually stepped it up, while everyone else is just stuck exactly where they were. ☕

swifttiger75 shadowstag10 said:I’m with you—that fine-tuning, that extra tenth of a second per lap, that’s all down to the driver. Honestly, looking back at Schumacher’s era with Ferrari, he’s probably the best example we've seen lately.

I dig the McLaren vibe—and honestly, the driver lineup is pretty likable—but I’ve got a bad feeling they're just gonna be sitting ducks this season.

They’re gonna be faster but way less reliable—so honestly, I'm not expecting anything even remotely spectacular from them to kick off the season.

Ferrari’s got serious horsepower—maybe even two engines worth. Expecting them to actually show up in qualifying this year. If they don't blow up, Red Bull’s gonna have a fight on their hands.

Red Bull just walked in and snatched the trophy right out of everyone else's hands—good luck to the rest of them.

Lotus is looking pretty shaky to me—any rain during qualifying or the race is probably gonna expose how much they're struggling.

Bottom line? I'm still calling it: Ferrari and Red Bull are the ones to watch for both titles. But when it comes to pure aero, Red Bull's got the edge.

and finally this

darkmarlin16 said:With power levels like this, we're gonna cruise to the championship without breaking a sweat.

there you go—just Friday, March 15th, 2013.

you want me to start digging through the history books or what?

ruggedhawk20 said:

Ferrari enthusiast. said:Red Bull owns this. Ferrari? They’re just stuck in neutral. McLaren is looking solid.

What is even going on with this Astra? It keeps jumping all over my screen. A total disaster.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Look, Ferrari doesn't play games when it comes to smoke and mirrors. If they're struggling during Free Practice, they’re going to struggle on race day. That’s been the pattern for the last three or four seasons now, hasn't it?
Ferrari looks decent in sector two, but they’re struggling through sectors one and three. That’s a bad sign, isn't it?
Sector two is all about pace and quick transitions. Ferrari looks decent there, but they're bleeding too much time through the slow and medium-speed corners. Why can't they find that extra tenth?
Just like last year.

Mercedes feels like the easiest one to handle. Red Bull is right there on their heels, though. As for Ferrari? They seem to be struggling with way too much understeer.

shadowstag10 said:It looks like Ferrari and McLaren just swapped places from last season. Mercedes made some real progress, while everyone else? Stuck exactly where they were.

I agree. That fine-tuning—those tiny tenths gained per lap—is exactly what defines a driver. If you look at Michael Schumacher during his Ferrari years, he’s probably the best recent example of that.

I like McLaren. I really do. And that driver lineup? Pretty likable. But am I the only one worried they’re just sitting ducks this season?

They’ll be faster, sure, but less reliable. Should I expect anything spectacular from them at the season opener? Probably not.

Ferrari’s got some serious horsepower under the hood this year—maybe even two horses for the race. I’m expecting them to show up much stronger in qualifying. If they can just stay reliable, Red Bull is going to have some real competition on their hands.

RB throws his ace on the table right out of the gate. Let everyone else scramble to catch up.

I'm feeling a bit foggy about Lotus. I suspect that if we get rain on the track during qualifying or the race itself, it might take away from the actual experience.

I’m sticking to my guns: I still think Ferrari and Red Bull will be the main players fighting for both championships. When it comes to front-end grip, though? Red Bull has the edge.

I'm not sure if you caught it, but these posts are actually referring to the Australian news broadcasts.
It’s not really surprising, honestly, considering they were written under that thread about the Australian Grand Prix. 🙂

So, there's really no point in wasting my time dissecting statements like that. Why bother? Same story as last year. Red Bull is going to swoop in and take this.
ili Red Bull just threw their ace on the table right out of the gate. What are the rest of you supposed to do with that?

So, if you’ve actually figured that out. Will Red Bull pull off a move like Ferrari did back in 2002 and 2004? Can they actually shift the entire season's momentum like that?, OK.
I’m fine with the freedom to draw my own conclusions. Even if I end up being wrong? Perhaps.

ruggedhawk20 said:And finally, this one

darkmarlin16 said:With a power dynamic like this, we're going to breeze through winning the championship.

I highly doubt darkmarlin16 was referring to the Red Bull drivers. ☕ I doubt it.
Really, I do. ☕
☕

Jason Campbell70 said:

I'm not sure if you caught it, but these posts are actually referring to the Australian news broadcasts.
It’s not really surprising, honestly, considering they were written under that thread about the Australian Grand Prix. 🙂

So, there's really no point in wasting my time dissecting statements like that. Why bother? Same story as last year. Red Bull is going to swoop in and take this.
ili Red Bull just threw their ace on the table right out of the gate. What are the rest of you supposed to do with that?

So, if you’ve actually figured that out. Will Red Bull pull off a move like Ferrari did back in 2002 and 2004? Can they actually shift the entire season's momentum like that?, OK.
I’m fine with the freedom to draw my own conclusions. Even if I end up being wrong? Perhaps.

I highly doubt darkmarlin16 was referring to the Red Bull drivers. ☕ I doubt it.
Really, I do. ☕
☕
Well, you certainly have your doubts ☕