2018 Car Reveal and Pre-season Testing

Jason Campbell70 said:Not necessarily. Probably not.

The track is undeniably fast and lacks any significant rubber buildup. Hul mentioned quite clearly that the circuit feels smooth now; those corners where drivers used to have to be cautious because of bumps? They’re going flat out now.

And that is all happening with temperatures sitting at 6°C, which is basically useless for getting tires up to temperature.

So, the asphalt is quick, there's more grip, and the bumps are gone. It really makes modern racing look absurd when you consider the sheer capability of these cars compared to the state of the tracks.

mellowtiger83 said:The track is undeniably fast and lacks any significant rubber buildup. Hul mentioned quite clearly that the circuit feels smooth now; those corners where drivers used to have to be cautious because of bumps? They’re going flat out now.

And that is all happening with temperatures sitting at 6°C, which is basically useless for getting tires up to temperature.

So, the asphalt is quick, there's more grip, and the bumps are gone. It really makes modern racing look absurd when you consider the sheer capability of these cars compared to the state of the tracks.

Kid, we learned this ages ago—lap times during winter testing don't mean squat. It's just a tally of laps driven. That's the only metric that actually matters.

stormytiger4 said:I’ve gotta say, I’m a little baffled by how much Ferrari is playing it safe lately. Usually, they come out swinging and absolutely crush the testing sessions. Now? It feels like they're holding back. I can't tell if they're being strategic with their approach or if the car just isn't where it needs to be yet.

Before we start blaming the Power Unit or whatever Mario thinks he knows...
Haas looks like a mess—they're missing laps, their times are mediocre at best, and Sauber isn't doing any better...

Lap times don't mean much right now, but the number of completed laps definitely does...

And regarding the Power Units (mostly reliability and actual race readiness), Renault and their customers surprisingly look like the most prepared,
aside from McLaren, who is traditionally a chaotic mess all on their own, yet they still seem way more ready than say, Ferrari, Haas, or Sauber...

Honda is even looking like one of the top two, so what the hell is going on with Mercedes and Ferrari? It's anyone's guess...
As for raw speed, we won't see anything meaningful until someone actually sets a decent time...
and if we do see any hint of real pace, it’ll probably be at the very last second of testing right before Australia.

ruggedhawk20 said:Kid, we learned this ages ago—lap times during winter testing don't mean squat. It's just a tally of laps driven. That's the only metric that actually matters.

Last year's times were actually quite relevant though.

stormybadger8 said:Before we start blaming the Power Unit or whatever Mario thinks he knows...
Haas looks like a mess—they're missing laps, their times are mediocre at best, and Sauber isn't doing any better...

Lap times don't mean much right now, but the number of completed laps definitely does...

And regarding the Power Units (mostly reliability and actual race readiness), Renault and their customers surprisingly look like the most prepared,
aside from McLaren, who is traditionally a chaotic mess all on their own, yet they still seem way more ready than say, Ferrari, Haas, or Sauber...

Honda is even looking like one of the top two, so what the hell is going on with Mercedes and Ferrari? It's anyone's guess...
As for raw speed, we won't see anything meaningful until someone actually sets a decent time...
and if we do see any hint of real pace, it’ll probably be at the very last second of testing right before Australia.

What are you talking about regarding the Power Unit status? It’s only been one day of driving. Besides, Anderson is praising Ferrari and their stability again; he was spot on last year.🙂.
Today's conditions, specifically the 2°C temperature, are what actually matter; they probably won't even go out.

What do you mean "Renault"? They just pushed the throttle a little harder than everyone else and now suddenly they're a "must-have," right!

And what's this about Honda? My god, they clocked a massive amount of laps! Super!! But those laps were roughly five seconds off the pace, which is completely irrelevant; they could have driven 1,000 laps without a breakdown at that rate.

Once Mercedes and Ferrari actually turn up the power, then we'll see what's what.🤔

We should probably move testing to Bahrain; this current setup feels like a waste of time.

Good grief, the track is so freezing that teams are actually heading out on intermediates🙂, simply because nothing else can reach operating temperature. Sainz just dropped a representative lap time that left everyone else staring at the telemetry, sitting a full 1.37—or 17 seconds—off the pace🙂
What an absolute joke of a test. It needs to be called off immediately.

mellowtiger83 said:Stop babbling about testing times because they are completely irrelevant for several reasons. The temperature was hovering around 40-45 degrees, which alone is enough reason to disregard any comparisons for the time being. Besides, it is only day one! Kimi mentioned that they weren't even attempting to push for pace; they were simply running through various setups to see how the car reacts.

Once they start clocking laps under 1.19—or better yet, dipping below 1.18—then perhaps things will become a bit clearer.

Instead, let's just gossip about how the car looks at the launch presentation...🤦

mellowtiger83 said:What are you talking about regarding the Power Unit status? It’s only been one day of driving. Besides, Anderson is praising Ferrari and their stability again; he was spot on last year.🙂.
Today's conditions, specifically the 2°C temperature, are what actually matter; they probably won't even go out.

What do you mean "Renault"? They just pushed the throttle a little harder than everyone else and now suddenly they're a "must-have," right!

And what's this about Honda? My god, they clocked a massive amount of laps! Super!! But those laps were roughly five seconds off the pace, which is completely irrelevant; they could have driven 1,000 laps without a breakdown at that rate.

Once Mercedes and Ferrari actually turn up the power, then we'll see what's what.🤔

See, I actually read the exact opposite. Word is Renault said don't even look at their lap times during early testing because they're saving the engine!

neonfox65 Asks:
Actually, I just read something quite different. My understanding was that René explicitly mentioned we shouldn't be paying any attention to their lap times during these initial tests. Because they'll be saving the engine.

It seems likely that Mercedes-Benz and Ford will be making an appearance at Daytona.🙂

Good grief, are you actually aware that any team could probably hit a 1.17 right now without breaking a sweat?

neonfox65 said:Instead, let's just gossip about how the car looks at the launch presentation...🤦

Look, the car's aesthetics are pretty much the only thing we can actually talk about right now. Those times from the first test—which, let’s be real, is being run in freezing conditions—don't mean a damn thing compared to the footage from the sponsor promo shoots.

mellowtiger83 said:

neonfox65 Asks:
Actually, I just read something quite different. My understanding was that René explicitly mentioned we shouldn't be paying any attention to their lap times during these initial tests. Because they'll be saving the engine.

It seems likely that Mercedes-Benz and Ford will be making an appearance at Daytona.🙂

Good grief, are you actually aware that any team could probably hit a 1.17 right now without breaking a sweat?

I didn't say that. My take? Everyone looks pretty nervous—Red Bull Racing seems to be the class of the field right now. Plus, they’ve clocked the most laps, which is huge...

stormytiger4 said:Look, the car's aesthetics are pretty much the only thing we can actually talk about right now. Those times from the first test—which, let’s be real, is being run in freezing conditions—don't mean a damn thing compared to the footage from the sponsor promo shoots.

And you're seriously trying to predict the championship based on how the car looks? Give me a break...

Based on how they look, I think I've finally decided which one is the winner. 😉

McLaren is currently sitting at the top of the pace charts, especially when they're running those hyper-softs 🎉🎉🎉

P.S. Honestly, engine manufacturers aren't even remotely struggling this year compared to what we saw in the past. I have a feeling Renault's power units are going to be right up there with Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz.

mellowtiger83 said:What are you talking about regarding the Power Unit status? It’s only been one day of driving. Besides, Anderson is praising Ferrari and their stability again; he was spot on last year.🙂.
Today's conditions, specifically the 2°C temperature, are what actually matter; they probably won't even go out.

What do you mean "Renault"? They just pushed the throttle a little harder than everyone else and now suddenly they're a "must-have," right!

And what's this about Honda? My god, they clocked a massive amount of laps! Super!! But those laps were roughly five seconds off the pace, which is completely irrelevant; they could have driven 1,000 laps without a breakdown at that rate.

Once Mercedes and Ferrari actually turn up the power, then we'll see what's what.🤔

Obviously, lap count is the only thing that matters. The more, the better. ☕
When it comes to pace, I’m really not convinced that having it is actually a good thing under these kinds of conditions...

Red Bull could easily be a massive headache. If their car is actually capable of getting tires up to temperature in these conditions—unlike everyone else on the grid—it might just mean they’ll overheat and shred them once things normalize. It doesn't have to happen, but it definitely could. 😉
I mean, I’m really not convinced that having a race car flying down the track like this is actually a good thing right now...

Sebastian Vettel is putting together a pretty impressive run of laps lately. I believe he’s already surpassed thirteen in a row.

Sebastian Vettel is carrying enough fuel to power an ExxonMobil tanker, and he’s already stuck on 1.21s on the Mediums by lap 15. Come on, Seb.

How can you even tell if they’ve got fuel left? I think someone mentioned it somewhere, but who knows. Either way, looks solid since they're the only one out there running the medium compound.

stormytiger4 said:How can you even tell if they’ve got fuel left? I think someone mentioned it somewhere, but who knows. Either way, looks solid since they're the only one out there running the medium compound.

It's obvious. He logged roughly 20 laps on those mediums during that stint before pitting for hypersofts—tires he didn't even manage to set a decent time on. Plus, starting at a 1.28 pace meant the rubber was just warming up while the fuel load steadily dropped. It's plain to see. electricpanther9 spends his time mocking everyone except the Mercedes crew, and frankly, Mercedes is doing the exact same thing.