2015 pre-season testing thread!!!

Hamilton had reliability problems in the 2014 pre-season tests and then in the opening race but he still dominated Rosberg. It was also Rosberg who needed Hamilton's data after Malaysia to understand why he lacked pace. We all know that Rosberg is quick over 1 lap too and yes he has proved that again during the tests but it's his race pace that needed improvement.

 

Bored so this happened....


2014

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2015

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Comparing to 2014 and 2014 Mercedes

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Interesting to see in 2015 Merc team actually did less laps on each successive test!!! Doesn't bode well for reliability, although that might be due to the fact they used the same engine throughout the tests.
I still can't quite believe how poor the McHonda show has been. You would have thought that after the stick Renault received last year they would have used a test mule as much as possible to iron out all the little niggles. Really does sound like they are actually 6 months behind.
Looks like it's going to be a tough first 6 months for McHonda. Hoping that the main reason for their lack of running is that they have not compromised on power over reliability. Like they used to do.

 

Oops Double post. Sorrry

 

Torro Rosso and Sauber must show that their extra mileage has paid off somewhere in Australia.

In terms of Rosberg, he will want to have improved somewhere after last season. Will he able to beat Lewis over a full season? No I reckon sadly.

 

Double-post. Please see below.

 

"…somewhere in Australia"?
I'll go further. High-mileage teams might get pay off in the country's smallest mainland state: Victoria. Maybe narrow it further to a public park with a lake in Melbourne? Perhaps even the very same city we might find 'Rosberg victorious in Victoria' on its many fabulous sea-food menus? (Rumour has it this is where Kimi first clammed up )

 

Sorry, my dissertation writing has taken a toll on my English... tired.

 

Hey man, sorry if my response didn't come out right! I was agreeing with everything you'd said but just playing with words.

I think you are correct that high mileage teams need to take advantage of their early advantage, as it were. And I agree that Hamilton is the more likely victor in the long-run. In a sense, the two proposals you make are similar; like the teams you mention, Rosberg really needs to capitalise on the early part of the season because Hamilton will get stronger rather than weaker.

 

theres something fishy about that statement...

 

Another rumour is that a bearded, clam eating Frenchman once exclaimed, "Melbourne menus feature more fish than cheese!"*.

*Please don't hold me to account on this memory of Henri Pescarolo. It's a rough translation fromages ago...

 

Very clever.

 

brie-liant

 

You know I camembert it when people go off-topic and try to be funny. I've forgotten what I wanted to say now...

Oh yes, something about trying to draw conclusions from testing. BLS's fastest times graph was very interesting. It struck me that Rosberg can be two or three tenths up on Lewis in any practice or quali session, not sure it that's a fair comparison though; also, does his greater lap tally mean mean he has an meaningful advantage or just that he had more chances to eek out an extra two-tenths?

On the surface, it's exciting to see Williams's fastest times so close to Mercedes' but then I remembered that Mercedes have not shown their hand yet and didn't even try out the super-soft tyres.

Sauber have a history of appearing faster in testing than in-season; last year being an exception, I think I've already suggested that I think Ferrari have been playing the same game. Indeed, I read somewhere that rivals crunched the numbers on Kimi's race simulation and were unimpressed. I think this came from Benson, actually.

Beyond that, I can only agree with Cosi that Force India will likely slip over the course of the season due to lack of funds for development, just as they did last year. Might the same be true of Lotus? I'd like to be wrong in both cases.

Red Bull and Toro Rosso. I expect them to be pretty much where they were last season although I think STR may do slightly better whereas Red Bull may struggle to end the season above Williams; maybe, perhaps.

As for McLaren, it's anyone's guess beyond their having to play catch-up early on. Manor will be playing catch up all season: plus ça change.

 

You know Red Bull have been very quiet this winter.... A little too quiet. Nobody expected them to be on the podium at the first race last year. My dark horse prediction will be that Red Bull will be quicker than Ferrari who may not be as quick as you think.

*sits back*

 

I fully expect Red Bull to be faster than Ferrari; I'll be shocked if they're not. I'm excited to see where RBR and Willimas are against each other.

 

[1] Apologies! Whilst there are obviously some linguists here, I didn't expect such cunning in avoiding the pitfalls of the potentially cheesier first sentence. It would have been simple to miss the comma in bearded clam eaters.

[2] I believe Rosberg's greater lap tally is significant enough to provide meaningful advantage. It is very important to settle into a new car as quickly as possible and both drivers are well aware of this. On top of that, there is the meaningful psychological advantage of having posted quicker times when they have run similar programmes, although track conditions can never be identical unless they are both n track at the same time. What cannot be overlooked however, is that Rosberg appears to have held the advantage throughout all winter testing. And as BLS may confirm, such statistics point towards one conclusion far easier than its opposite.

Whether or not Hamilton can overcome all of these things over the weekend remains to be seen. But of course, regardless of mileage and lap times, the one thing that testing provides no help for is 'racecraft'…

 

Agreed.
What's more, gusty Albert Park salutes aerodynamic efficiency – and despite Ferrari's improvement (yes, I believe it is real), I firmly believe Red Bull are well ahead in this regard.

 

Clearly Mercedes have an advantage at the moment but is the advantage perhaps slightly exaggerated by the softer compounds?

I thought Williams showed some impressive pace on harder compounds and that bodes well for their race pace.

Of course I'm clutching at straws but some of the graining we saw on soft tyres after around just 10 laps or less in testing means that the medium and harder compounds might become the real key compounds on a Sunday.

Merc will still hold all the aces but hopefully the gap may narrow and hopefully they may burn up their tyres.

 

[1] You need never apologise for using a sentence containing the phrase 'bearded clam' as far as I'm concerned. And now you've done it twice I've given up thinking I'll ever grow up.

[2] More importantly, thanks for your analysis.