2016 Car Launch and Pre-season Testing

jadeseal7 said:That was driven in the US, so you really need to compare them using the exact same tire compounds.

Alright, here’s the breakdown including the rubber—Final test STATS 20152015:

Pos Driver Car Time Gap Day Tyres
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.792s 2 S
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m23.022s +0.230s 3 S
3. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m23.063s +0.271s 4 SS
4. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m23.262s +0.470s 3 SS
5. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m23.276s +0.484s 3 SS
6. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m23.469s +0.677s 4 SS
7. Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.023s +1.231s 4 SS
8. Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso-Renault 1m24.191s +1.399s 3 SS
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Mercedes 1m24.200s +1.408s 3 SS
10. Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.276s +1.484s 1 SS
11. Max Verstappen Toro Rosso-Renault 1m24.527s +1.735s 4 SS
12. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m24.638s +1.846s 4 S
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m24.939s +2.147s 3 SS
14. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m25.113s +2.321s 4 SS
15. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Honda 1m25.225s +2.433s 3 S
16. Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 1m25.327s +2.535s 4 SS
17. Daniil Kvyat Red Bull-Renault 1m25.947s +3.155s 1 M
18. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Mercedes 1m26.705s +3.913s 2 S

p.s.
Keep in mind the tires aren't even the same ones they used last year.🍿

Mercedes decided to order nothing but soft and medium compounds for their testing sessions. You won't be seeing any trace of ultra-soft or super-soft rubber on the track today,

It’s actually quite interesting to look at when you compare the numbers... Ferrari has definitely made some real strides forward.

jadeseal7 said:Interesting comparison... Ferrari definitely made some strides here.

Yeah, sure. Ferrari is about half a second faster at SS compared to last year, while Mercedes actually managed to be 0.2 slower at S than they were last season...
That comparison is totally accurate. 😬🤣

And for the grand finale, Mercedes basically fell apart after doing just enough laps to finish a single F1 season. 🎉🤣

You're looking at it all wrong. You can see it clearly right from the plane window.

It wasn't his engine that gave out, it was the gearbox... honestly, I'm actually surprised that thing can't just run forever. 🙂

stormybadger8 said:Oh, absolutely—the numbers suggest Ferrari is about half a second faster at the SS compared to last year, while Mercedes is actually lagging behind by roughly 0.2 at the S...
That comparison is definitely spot on 😬🤣

At least, that's what the data seems to show 😬

jadeseal7 said:The numbers don't lie.😬

That’s it... The Bear is slowing down more and more.
Look at this—while Lewis Hamilton was out today, they slowed down so much she basically hit 0 km/h.😬

I honestly have no clue what to make of all this after these tests. We haven't seen anything substantial enough to actually call it one way or the other...

It’s obvious Mercedes didn't even bother with qualifying simulations. They clearly think they're untouchable No1, so they just focused on reliability and race simulations instead...
Williams seems to be running a pretty similar program as Mercedes.
As for what Ferrari is up to, it's hard to tell. But I'm terrified they actually *did* run qualifying sims, and if they did, they're nowhere near catching Mercedes.

What really stings is seeing Ferrari trailing by half a second on mediums compared to Mercedes. That doesn't look good at all.

Force India (@SChecoPerez) just spun out at turn 10. Marshals are reporting smoke and actual flames

Does anyone have the data on how many miles this engine has actually run in the Force India?
Looks like a dead ICE to me. 🤔
If that chart at the start of this thread is right:
Test 1 total: 333 laps / 1550 km
Test 2 total: 428 laps / 1992 km
Now the big question is... are we looking at the exact same engine or what?

Even if it isn't, the total mileage is still less than 2486 miles. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that engines this year should hit about 2486 miles before they start catching penalties. 🤔
Hmm. Maybe Mercedes doesn't actually have a reliability issue with their PU after all. If they do, it would explain why they've been testing like absolute maniacs. 🤔

It seems to me that Ferrari is looking significantly more formidable this year, doesn't it? If one recalls the testing sessions held last year in Barcelona, the fastest lap on soft tires was clocked by Nico Rosberg, yet this season, that distinction belongs to Kimi Raikkonen. One cannot help but wonder, though—could reliability be the Achilles' heel for Ferrari? There is no denying they are undeniably faster than they were last year.

For those interested, here is today's race simulation for Sebastian Vettel:

http://www.formulapassion.it/2016/03...st-2016-day-8/

Let me translate that from Italian for you:

green color - fastest lap
red color - driver error or track blockage (red flag)
yellow color - pit stop

First 8 laps on softs, followed by the remaining 58 on mediums.
3 pit stops total.

Here’s a quick breakdown for anyone interested in how the race simulations look for Nico Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen, and Sebastian Vettel:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cct4AZFW4AAsOwR.jpg

I honestly think it’s pretty obvious that Ferrari is going to take the championship this year—anyone trying to argue otherwise is just kidding themselves, if you ask me. ☕

jadeseal7 said:It seems pretty obvious to everyone that Ferrari is taking the championship this year,

I'm just not 🙂

jadeseal7 said:It’s pretty obvious Ferrari is taking the championship this year—anyone saying otherwise is just lying to themselves. ☕

You are a total disaster.

Look, let me save you from the embarrassment—I’ll give you some pointers on how to actually troll properly. Only $50 an hour plus tax.

swiftmaker12 said:Translating from Italian here:

green - fastest lap
red - driver error or a red flag
yellow - pit stop

First 8 laps on softs, then the remaining 58 on Medium
3 pit stops total

Something doesn't add up here.🤔
http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...ults/race.html

Last year, FL Hamilton 1:28.270, while Sebastian Vettel is hitting 1:27.527 here...
It sounds like a massive SF if Ferrari didn't just close the gap to last year's Mercedes, but actually found a car that's about 0.750 faster than the old Mercedes.🤔

And it gets even more ridiculous—it looks like Ferrari somehow found over 3 seconds compared to their own car from last year.😵
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...stian%20Vettel
Sebastian Vettel's best time last year was 1:30.737, and now he's pulling 1:27.527 in this race simulation...

Anything can happen, I guess, but I'm not buying that they magically found 3 seconds in a single year.

stormybadger8 said:Something just doesn't feel right here.🤔
http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...ults/race.html

Last year, we saw FL Hamilton 1:28.270, while Sebastian Vettel is hitting 1:27.527 in this...
It sounds like a massive leap for the SF—it's not just closing the gap to last year's Mercedes, it looks like they've actually found about 0.750 seconds of pace over the old car.🤔

And if you want to get really crazy, it looks like Ferrari somehow clawed back over three full seconds compared to their previous machine.😵
http://en.mclarenf-1.com/index.php?p...stian%20Vettel
Sebastian Vettel's best time last year was 1:30.737, yet here he is in race simulations clocking 1:27.527...

Anything can happen, I suppose, but finding three seconds in a single year? I'll believe it when I see it.

I've seen stranger things happen...

Ferrari still struggles with reliability, even if they are fast over a single lap—which they certainly are...
Even Kimi Räikkönen is putting up quick times during these tests...

Prost.

Preseason testing.

Back in 2001

crimsonstag84 said:Well... except for the fact that Rosberg knocked out 18 laps on Medium tires during day two of testing with an average time of 26.8.

stormybadger8 said:Something doesn't quite add up here.🤔
http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...ults/race.html

Last year's race saw FL Hamilton 1:28.270, while Vettel is hitting 1:27.527 in this...
It makes it sound like a tough SF if Ferrari hasn't just closed the gap to last year's Mercedes, but actually has a car about 0.750 faster than the previous Mercedes model.🤔

Vettel's best time in last year's race was 1:30.737, yet Vettel is doing 1:27.527 in this race simulation...

Like I said before, testing times are always faster... and in that stint mentioned above, Rosberg's first lap was a 1:24.8.