Ferrari had a 1:15 in it today, but I think Mercedes *might* just have as well. I heard Lew was giving it the beans a bit especially in S3 where he was the only person to crack into the 25s. Still, advantage Fezza
Autosport agrees: "In testing it's not just about headline times. Shortly after setting his best lap, Vettel headed out on the C3-compound Pirellis and banged in a 1m16.770s. Adjusting for the two-step difference to C5s, that takes Vettel to somewhere around the 1m15.900s mark. It's the critical lap that overpowers the headline times." Too bad they lost testing time with electrical glitch. Hopefully it was a valuable lesson learned that they can get on top of before going racing.
Total lap count and mileage - Teams (all 8 days) Image Unavailable, Please Login Total lap count and mileage - Manufacturer (all 8 days) Image Unavailable, Please Login Test 2 day 4 only - Timesheet Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Summary of 2nd pre-season test - fastest times, tyres used, total number of laps - Drivers Image Unavailable, Please Login All 8 days cumulative: fastest times, tyres used, total number of laps - Drivers Image Unavailable, Please Login
It's a bit surprising that the Red Bulls were slower than the Toro Rossos, and why Kubica was so slow. But as I've said, I don't pay too much attention to times in pre-season testing; the truth will come out in Melbourne!
Or at least part of the story will. Regardless, hopefully Ferrari has the edge. I think they do have the edge, but I'm not sure it is .3-.5 seconds. Maybe more like .1-.2. But that is based on my gut more than anything concrete and given how Mercedes and Red Bull are with car development...and how bad Ferrari has been in the past with it,,,I am not holding my breath. Still, I am optimistic. Forza Ferrari!
I place Ferrari ahead by about the same margin as you do. That said I think Red Bull is being coy...I think they have a lot more in their car than they let on. Max's fast time was set on 1.2s slower tyre, with some old parts on it (due to gasly crashing) and a day cut short...I'd be a bit surprised if they're more than 3 tenths off.
New McLaren isn't completely in the weeds. I'd expect it to be #1 because Alonso always skips teams that offer him a contract the winter before they win the WDC.
My rankings after testing: Ferrari Mercedes +0.2 Red Bull +0.3 Sauber +1 Renault +1 Toro Rosso +1.1 Haas +1.3 Mclaren +1.3 Racing Point +1.5 Williams +2.2 Mid field hard to pin point where they're exactly at.
PF1 post test report. A bit “popish” but interesting- https://www.planetf1.com/news/five-conclusions-from-the-second-winter-test/
https://www.racefans.net/2019/03/02/hamilton-pirelli-should-have-brought-2018-style-thinner-tyres/ Elton moaning about the tyres brought...Just like last year! How long before Pirelli brings out a mercedes spec tyre to certain races again?
RE Gasly...I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a more relaxed Kvyat get his seat back. I hear what some will say ''Verstappen crashed plenty, too!'', but the situation is different. Verstappen is a very talented driver with some rough edges, he could ''afford'' a few crashes.. Has anyone seen the same from Gasly? Some good performances here and there for sure, but I'm not convinced he's a true top tier driver.
Don’t say things like that, the FIA will use your post as cause to ban something on our car if we turn out fastest in Australia...... they will hate it if we are quicker than the Teutonic machine this year
Rides the kerbs well, seems unruffled by direction changes and camber switches..... but the sound is ****ing awful.... F1 chasing environmentalists for love means the car sounds like a boring, metallic, grinding lawnmower on superboost, rather than a soulful scream of power from a fantastic V8, V10 or V12 - this is I’m sure part of the reason why many of us, while addicted to watching F1 through decades of interest, are actually struggling to continue to take the sport seriously and enjoy anything about it.... years ago, Im sure like many of you, the curtains got drawn, phones off, friends and family banished, and the amplifier went on full blast as the race counted down, and then we spent two hours immersed in the sounds of pure unadulterated racing, oblivious to the world as we were transported trackside...... now?, I do the ironing, bit of filing, eat and make calls while the ‘event’ is on, merely keeping one eye to see the position of the Ferrari’s and watch the very few and far between exciting bits, and the sound is now purely from the tv speakers, at a normal level because I don’t want to be disturbed by its boring sounds - might as well we listening to the sound of a motorway full of crappy Prius or renaults for all the excitement of the noise
2019 Sebastian Vettel Testing Fastest Lap vs 2018 Pole Lap of Lewis Hamilton- side by side Comparison Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date