2018 Car Reveal and Pre-season Testing

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.

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.

James Kay’s making the point that Honda isn't actually lagging behind Renault as much as everyone thinks. He says there's this huge misconception that even the Lan issue was somehow their fault, when they were really just getting blamed for things they didn't even do.

http://www.planetf1.com/news/key-hon...hind-renaults/

mellowtiger83 said:What’s with this sudden McLaren meltdown? Did they just get blindsided out of nowhere? Stoff put in 110 laps and Alonso is still out there grinding. Bravo, I guess.

And all that with a burnt engine cover. They certainly seem confident.

mellowtiger83 said: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.

Gary Anderson is a complete fool. He’s been peddling nonsense and publishing totally wrong theories for years now.
In short—he's a total clown.

But that doesn't apply to Tim Goss or Peter Prodromou.
I don't doubt them, especially the latter.

It's similar to what I said about Mercedes...
They have a great driver, they have a great aerodynamicist, and if the engine holds up—McLaren will be fighting for podiums.

(In that scenario, Red Bull will be fighting for wins, but that's a different story entirely.)

mellowtiger83 said: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.

Yeah, right. 🙂
Red Bull and everyone else had totally different temperatures than McLaren, yet they're the ones who supposedly need to chase sponsors and lap times 🙂
give me a break with this nonsense...
Hypersoft
Ultrasoft
Supersoft
Soft
Medium

The gap between a Medium and a Hypersoft is barely two seconds. McLaren didn't even close that tiny gap, let alone catch the top teams...

The only way this crew jumps from 9th straight into the top spot or at least the top three is if there’s a massive rule change, which isn't happening this year. As things stand, McLaren is looking at a best-case scenario of 7th or 8th in qualifying in Austin, unless we get some rain...

mellowtiger83 said: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.

Regardless of the fuel load or whatever engine mode they were running, it doesn't change the fact that they set those fastest laps on Hard tires.
Mercedes was on mediums.
Do you honestly think they were running full tanks and lifting through half the corners on the softest compound? I highly doubt it.
By the way, if we're following any kind of logic—and I'll use yours here about them saving tires and being a fast car—wouldn't it make more sense for them to use medium tires? Longer stints, easier to hide their true pace.
You don't need to chase lap times on Hards to know how fast your car is. The guys in the pit box aren't stupid. They can see the correlation against the rest of the field even while running on mediums.

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

Man, I hate to say it, but Sauber looks like they’re nowhere near being competitive. The only silver lining here is seeing Haas struggling just as much—maybe that means they won't be stuck fighting for the dead last spots right out of the gate.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Regardless of the fuel load or whatever engine mode they were running, it doesn't change the fact that they set those fastest laps on Hard tires.
Mercedes was on mediums.
Do you honestly think they were running full tanks and lifting through half the corners on the softest compound? I highly doubt it.
By the way, if we're following any kind of logic—and I'll use yours here about them saving tires and being a fast car—wouldn't it make more sense for them to use medium tires? Longer stints, easier to hide their true pace.
You don't need to chase lap times on Hards to know how fast your car is. The guys in the pit box aren't stupid. They can see the correlation against the rest of the field even while running on mediums.

No matter how much they "lift," the fact remains that Alonso’s times kept getting wiped out (starting from day one...).
Hey, hold up. Lewis cut straight through the chicane instead of going through it, shortened the track, and clocked a great time.😁

Now the question is: why???
Probably because he was pushing at absolute maximum.
I highly doubt the car is such a wreck that it can't handle a chicane.🤷
And there's zero chance that was an error on Alonso's part while cruising around... he's way too experienced for a rookie mistake like that.

It also felt like his times would pop up and then vanish toward the end of the last day...
So it's totally possible he was cutting chicanes again, rather than lifting to hide his pace.

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.

mellowtiger83 said:Aside from Alonso, there's Leclerc—wish him luck, though I guess the Sauber-Alfa team still has plenty of work to do.

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.

stormytiger4 said:Man, I hate to say it, but Sauber looks like they’re nowhere near being competitive. The only silver lining here is seeing Haas struggling just as much—maybe that means they won't be stuck fighting for the dead last spots right out of the gate.

"To your sadness"?

As far as I can tell, you're an Alpine fan

Look, I’ll be the first to admit it—I’m a total sucker for the underdogs. 🙂
Right now, Sauber is sitting right at the top of my list, alongside Renault and Haas. 🙂

As far as drivers go, my favorites are definitely Kimi, Sainz, and Ocon. 🙂

mellowtiger83 said:everyone else can just grab whatever scraps are left,

Max?

MOST LAPS COMPLETED BY TEAM (ALL 4 DAYS)
Team Engine Laps
1. Toro Rosso Honda 326
2. Mercedes Mercedes 305
3. Ferrari Ferrari 298
4. Sauber Ferrari 284
5. Williams Mercedes 277
6. Renault Renault 273
7. McLaren Renault 271
8. Red Bull Renault 211
9. Haas Ferrari 187
10. Force India Mercedes 166

Honda🙂

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.

mellowtiger83 said: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.

That doesn't change the fact that Alfa provided the decals and maybe even chipped in some cash.

mellowtiger83 said: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.

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.

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?