Guess the testing ranking.

On the Merc A-spec and B-spec designs, the latest I've read is that the A-spec was basically where they had got to by late December. A car was then built to that specification, as essentially a backup. That allowed the aerodynamicists to work on a much more demanding schedule, without fear that a delay would mean they didn't have a car for testing.

So the car that turned up in the second week had almost 2 months more development time.

 

Apparantly Helmut Marko thinks that Ferrari lead the way, RBR in second ahead of Mercedes, and McLaren at the back with Williams...

Il find the article soon and share.

I’d love nothing more than that dickhead to eat humble pie. Those two teams will always be in F1 history, unlike his sugary drinks company!!

Let’s hope he isn’t right but he has far more data than I do

 

https://www.planetf1.com/news/ferrari-ahead-of-red-bull-mclaren-at-the-back/


Ferrari are ahead of Red Bull heading to Melbourne while McLaren are battling Williams to avoid the wooden spoon; that’s according to Helmut Marko.

The Formula 1 teams wrapped up pre-season testing last Friday with a P1 for Ferrari and Williams down in 20th place, slowest of all.

But while many pundits believe those are true reflections, it is positions two to nine that are muddled.

The final week’s timesheet finished with Mercedes as the second fastest team while Red Bull were behind both Toro Rosso and McLaren drivers as well as a Renault and a Haas.



Marko, though, believes Red Bull are second best heading to Melbourne while former Honda-powered team McLaren are at the back of the pack.

“Ferrari is ahead, then we come in front of Mercedes,” the Red Bull advisor told Speed Week.

“And then there is the big midfield, where it will be very tight.

“McLaren and Williams are at the back.”

Such is Marko’s belief in the Red Bull-Honda package that he says he “expects at least five victories” this season.

Pressed as to why he is feeling so confident, he told the publication that it was “the best test for us since the introduction of the hybrid formula”.

He added: “We did an incredible mileage despite Pierre Gasly’s crashes, we had absolute reliability thanks to Honda.”

As for his prediction for World Champion, he replied: “Max Verstappen.”

 

I don't think the Doctor is seeing things correctly

 

That makes sense

 

Interesting video from Merc comparing last year's car with this year. Good for the non technically minded like myself:

 

10 days to go until what they are like with the sandbags removed.

 

Just been reading all the RBR stuff on this site. I suggested there was a problem when the best thing Horner could say was it fits beautifully into the back of the car. Lets avoid tough questions comment in my view.
Contractually, I will lay odds RBR are not allowed to criticise Honda, it would ruin the Honda brand after the McLaren fiasco. So, do not believe anything said by the team, judge for yourself, read between the lines and lets see if performance matches the rhetoric. I suspect there will be problems.

 

It’s a very valid point you make. It would actually go a long way to explaining some of the Uber-positive language they have consistently been using about Honda.

The test comes if Honda don’t deliver reliability or power. However I think they’re well on the up now and they ought to produce a mighty fine engine sooner or later.

The testing mileage for all manufacturers was as impressive as anyone could hope- let’s hope Renault and Honda have also moved the performance significantly forward. We will soon see!

 

I agree they will get there, not convinced they are there yet. If they have reliability issues with insufficient cooling then penalties will creep in and ruin the later part of their season. I think they are close on power though, it is whether they can use it.

 

Looks like Williams has put Paddy Lowe on 'gardening leave'!!!! Seems like the investigation has concluded that he was either responsible or was easiest to blame for missing most of the first test. I do hope the car is actually better than their times would suggest and they still have the expertise to develop the car during the season.
Can't imagine other teams being keen on taking him on!!!

 

He should have never left Mercedes, I think he was doing a great job there and he seems to be a very nice guy. It's really sad that he, along with the whole crew couldn't get Williams back on stream earlier, hopefully he will fit in somewhere. As you said, with the problems at Williams being put squarely on his head it is difficult to imagine that any of the other teams will want to snatch him up. But miracles do happen!!!

 

I just hope that this isn’t a knee jerk Claire Williams decision. (No one has said it is but I’m just hoping it isn’t a decision made under the pressure)

I wonder what the Williams financial picture looks like. Perhaps it’s forcing short term decisions?

 

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I had the view last season that he was partly responsible but I thought it was possibly because he is too nice, not pushing the team hard enough, perhaps too consultative (usually a good management style but not visionary). Mercedes is a different culture, very process related throughout so his style probably worked there. Williams is a different culture.

 

Never rated him personally and felt he got too much credit for Brawn’s successes. Obviously nothing to support that claim, just opinion.

 

I had that view and expressed it last year but I am trying to give him the benefit of doubt, there could be more going on than we know.

 

This is a fascinating statistical analysis of testing: https://f1metrics.wordpress.com/2019/03/11/2019-preseason-analysis/

To summarise in one graphic:

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Size of the bar next to each car is the error in the estimate. Clearly Haas are tricky to call, could be anywhere from 4th-7th fastest. Williams are truly miles off the pace.

 

Interesting. If you ignore Haas as uncertainty is too big then McLaren could be up with Red Bull!!! Now that is an interesting battle, former Honda team now with Renault PU and new Honda team.
I am a bit surprised at Racing Point being so far back, OK so they were limited due to points but in recent times they have been very good on their miniscule budget, so has the extra money gone to their heads?
Torro Rosso are another team that looked good in testing, in fact they posted much better times than red Bull with, I assume the same PU.

It's definitely going to be an interesting quali.

 

Claire William's needs to go imho .