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Post by Joel_W on Feb 18, 2019 6:19:04 GMT -8
JC, Thanks for posting the official Alfa livery. This one I really like a lot. Joel
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Post by afx on Feb 18, 2019 9:29:57 GMT -8
Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari make strong start to 2019 by topping opening test
Vettel was 0.4s seconds quicker than the next fastest driver, Carlos Sainz in the McLaren, and completed the most laps with a total of 169. Vettel racked up a string of laps in the 1:18s towards the end of the morning session, using Pirelli's new C3 compound (the equivalent of last year's soft tyres) to set the fastest time.
Main rivals Mercedes had a relatively low-key first day of testing, but still completed signifcant mileage. Between Valtteri Bottas in the morning and Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon, the car covered 150 laps without any obvious issues. They finished eighth and ninth overall in the standings, but Mercedes historically approaches testing on heavy fuel and harder compound tyres than its rivals. As a signal of intent, the world champions were first out of the garage in the morning and wasted no time in going straight into a multiple-lap run that was only cut short by a red flag.
That red flag was caused by Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo. He made it five corners into a hot lap before the rear of his car stepped out on corner entry and he spun into the gravel. With the Alfa Romeo beached, he had to abandon it there and wait for the marshals to arrive to bring the car back to the pits on a flatbed truck. Although embarrassing on his first full day with his new team, no damage was done and he was soon back on track to set the fifth fastest time by the end of the day with a total of 114 laps.
Three more red flags followed later in the day; one when Romain Grosjean lost fuel pressure in his Haas, another when Sainz's McLaren came to a halt at the end of the pit lane with a loss of drive and a final one in the last minute when Raikkonen stopped on the pit straight. Haas lost out on a significant chunk of track time but still set the third fastest time, while McLaren made a swift recovery, allowing Sainz to set his fastest time, 0.4s off Vettel's benchmark, using the C4 tyres (the equivalent of last year's ultra-softs).
"I think Honda have had a good winter and certainly they are reducing that gap [to Ferrari and Mercedes] significantly, but of course what you don't know is what the others have done," Horner said on Monday. "If they have found another 50kw [of power] then we've got a big issue.
"We've been very impressed by the approach of Honda and the progress that they've made. For us it's a vital piece of the jigsaw to get us into a competitive position not just for this year but for next year and potentially beyond."
Of the teams running, Racing Point had the worst day with just 30 laps. The team put the lack of mileage down to first day teething problems after it didn't complete a shakedown like the majority of other teams ahead of the first day of testing. Sergio Perez's fastest lap was still good enough for seventh, however, behind the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.
Renault finished the day at the bottom of the timesheets after splitting its session between Nico Hulkenberg in the morning and Daniel Ricciardo in the afternoon. However, the two drivers completed 109 laps to gather a decent amount of data for the team.
Williams did not take part in the first day of the test due to the late arrival of its car and will also miss the second day on Tuesday.
Times at close:
1. Vettel, Ferrari, 1:18.161, 169 laps
2. Sainz, McLaren, 1:18.558, 119 laps
3. Grosjean, Haas, 1:19.159, 65 laps
4. Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:19.426, 128 laps
5. Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, 1:19.462, 114 laps
6. Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:19.464, 77 laps
7. Perez, Racing Point, 1:944, 30 laps
8. Bottas, Mercedes, 1:20.127, 69 laps
9. Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:20.135, 81 laps
10. Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:20.980, 65 laps
11. Ricciardo, Renault, 1:20.983, 44 laps
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Post by afx on Feb 18, 2019 9:36:33 GMT -8
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Post by Joel_W on Feb 18, 2019 13:11:22 GMT -8
I've got to confess that over the last few seasons I've been more of a anti Mercedes fan, rooting for any driver/team to beat them on any given Sunday. It's kind of like the old Can Am days, when the McLaren Orange cars 1st showed up, I was a immediate and huge fan. But over the next several years, I just wanted to see another team step up and give them a run for their money and make it a racing series. To me, such is the current state of competitiveness in F1 where it's Hamilton/Mercedes more times then not. Joel
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Post by afx on Feb 19, 2019 3:18:22 GMT -8
I like the matte finish on the Ferrari. According to the team it reduces the weight of the car(!).
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Post by afx on Feb 19, 2019 10:05:59 GMT -8
Leclerc tops second F1 test day as Gasly crashes
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc topped the second day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona, while new Red Bull signing Pierre Gasly crashed in the afternoon session.
Leclerc, replacing Kimi Raikkonen in the Italian team for 2019, set the fastest time of the day in the morning session, logging a 1m18.247s on the C3 tyre.
His time was narrowly slower than his teammate Sebastian Vettel’s opening-day benchmark, also set on C3s.
While Leclerc’s first day in the 2019 Ferrari was a success as he completed 157 laps, Gasly had a nightmare end to his debut as a full-time Red Bull driver, crashing at Turn 12.
The rear end of the car snapped loose entering the corner, and the Honda-powered machine slid rear-left-first into the tyre barrier, finishing the day early for Red Bull.
Most drivers concentrated on long runs during the session, although there were a late flurry of improvements.
Lando Norris completed one of the longest stints of the afternoon in the McLaren and, like teammate Carlos Sainz the day before, he bolted on the C4 tyre – softer than that used by Leclerc – for a late push.
With it, he secured second place with a 1m18.553s, having completed 104.
Also improving late was Norris' fellow Formula 2 graduate Alexander Albon in the Toro Rosso.
After what appeared to be an impressive long run on the C2, he set a 1m19.301s on C4s to round out the day, which started with a crash but ended with 132 laps completed.
However, Albon’s time wasn’t enough to jump Kevin Magnussen, who set a 1m19.206s to end up third for Haas.
The American team conducted 59 laps in Magnussen’s hands, and then a further 13 with debutant Pietro Fittipaldi, who got his first taste of the current Haas late in the afternoon, as Magnussen was having trouble with his seat.
The Brazilian racer is due to take the car for Wednesday morning too, and finished Tuesday with a lap of 1m21.849s at the foot of the order.
Antonio Giovinazzi used the C4 tyre to claim fifth for the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo outfit. On his first day in the car he racked up 101 laps after taking over from Raikkonen.
Valtteri Bottas took the wheel of the Mercedes for the afternoon only, taking over from teammate Lewis Hamilton, and set the sixth fastest time on the C3 tyre.
Bottas' time was comfortably Mercedes’ fastest of the test so far, but his long-run pace – especially on the C3 tyre – was extremely impressive.
Behind Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg set the eighth-fastest time, while his Renault teammate Daniel Ricciardo kept the ninth fastest time. Hamilton was 10th as he and Ricciardo handed over to their teammates for the afternoon session.
Racing Point's Lance Stroll conducted a variety of running during the day and set the 11th best time, ahead of Fittipaldi.
Testing times, Day 2:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m18.247s 157
2 Lando Norris McLaren 1m18.553s +0.306 104
3 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1m19.206s +0.959 59
4 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1m19.301s +1.054 132
5 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1m19.312s +1.065 101
6 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m19.535s +1.288 89
7 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1m19.814s +1.567 92
8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m19.837s +1.590 95
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1m19.886s +1.639 28
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m19.928s +1.681 74
11 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1m20.433s +2.186 79
12 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas 1m21.849s +3.602 13
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Post by Joel_W on Feb 19, 2019 12:51:06 GMT -8
With the weight reduction due to no clear gloss, I wonder if they're using a clear Matt finish or no finish at all for the weight reduction?
Just not so sure I like the matt look.
Joel
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Post by afx on Feb 19, 2019 13:15:59 GMT -8
Ferrari's new matte paint a performance benefit
Ferrari says its decision to switch to a matte red paint finish this year has been done for pure performance reasons.
At the launch of its new SF90 at Maranello on Friday, the Italian outfit revealed a new darker matte colour, having moved away from its traditional gloss finish.
But rather than this having been done to simply make the car look better, team principal Mattia Binotto says that the inspiration for the move was to help reduce the car weight – as the matte finish weighs less.
"The reason is not aesthetic, but exclusively technical," explained Binotto. "Eliminating the shiny element gives us a few hundred grammes, which may not sound like much, but when you push everything to the limit even this has an effect."
Ferrari is not the only team to change its paint scheme for a laptime gain, with Red Bull having famously moved to a matte finish in 2016 for weight saving reasons.
The team also has a unique way of painting its car to ensure a totally smooth surface that minimises the chances of any drag from sponsor logos.
Reflecting on the wider car design, Binotto says that every element of the car has been improved or changed – even though the car is a development of last year's concept.
"It is clear that we pushed to improve every detail," he said. "I think that there is not a single piece the same as 2018.
"Push it means to try to go beyond previous limits, and those that we have achieved, I think they are very close to the natural limits of the car."
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Feb 19, 2019 13:26:54 GMT -8
I wonder what the weight savings vs. the slippery Gloss finish trade off is? I was sitting in the 1968 Indy Eagle at AAR, talking with Dan Gurney and as a 13 year old I had questions ..... so I asked him why He was waxing it when it was just going to get dirty in the race, He told me "A slick Waxed finish is worth a Couple extra mile per hour on the Straights at Indy!" ... Chris
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Post by Joel_W on Feb 19, 2019 13:31:35 GMT -8
JC, it very well might decrease the overall weight by a few grams, but they certainly reduced it's fan appeal as far as I'm concerned. I never much cared for the Red Bull matt finish either for what it's worth.
Just seems that year after year the cars get uglier and way less appealing, even though that ugliness reduces drag and gains speed. Why not just get rid of the drivers, and go straight digital RC with the engineers driving the cars from the pit stands.
Joel
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Post by afx on Feb 21, 2019 5:35:51 GMT -8
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Post by Chris K. Hale on Feb 21, 2019 7:11:18 GMT -8
JC, it very well might decrease the overall weight by a few grams, but they certainly reduced it's fan appeal as far as I'm concerned. I never much cared for the Red Bull matt finish either for what it's worth. Just seems that year after year the cars get uglier and way less appealing, even though that ugliness reduces drag and gains speed. Why not just get rid of the drivers, and go straight digital RC with the engineers driving the cars from the pit stands. Joel It is actually being tried right now, Drone F-1 or ? There is a series in the works that is driver less... Sure the technology is available, but really what is racing without the Driver factor.. just a video game I guess...Chris
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Post by afx on Feb 21, 2019 9:28:33 GMT -8
Times at close - Day 4:
(Tyres marked C1-C5 in order of hardest-softest)
1. Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:17.393, 24 laps (C5)
2. Albon, Toro Rosso, 1:17.637, 136 laps (C5)
3. Ricciardo, Renault, 1:17.785, 34 laps (C5)
4. Bottas, Mercedes, 1:17.857, 57 laps (C5)
5. Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:17.977, 58 laps (C4)
6. Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:18.046, 138 laps (C3)
7. Norris, McLaren, 1:18.431, 132 laps (C4)
8. Giovinazzi, Sauber, 1:18.511, 154 laps (C3)
9. Grosjean, Haas, 1:18.563, 64 laps (C4)
10. Magnussen, Haas, 1:18.720, 66 laps (C3)
11. Gasly, Red Bull, 1:18.780, 146 laps (C3)
12. Stroll, Racing Point, 1:19.664, 72 laps (C2)
13. Russell, Williams, 1:20.997, 17 laps (C3)
14. Kubica, Williams, 1:21.542, 48 laps (C2)
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Post by Joel_W on Feb 21, 2019 9:56:27 GMT -8
The field seems to be tightening up quite a bit now. Joel
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Post by Joel_W on Feb 21, 2019 10:03:51 GMT -8
JC, it very well might decrease the overall weight by a few grams, but they certainly reduced it's fan appeal as far as I'm concerned. I never much cared for the Red Bull matt finish either for what it's worth. Just seems that year after year the cars get uglier and way less appealing, even though that ugliness reduces drag and gains speed. Why not just get rid of the drivers, and go straight digital RC with the engineers driving the cars from the pit stands. Joel It is actually being tried right now, Drone F-1 or ? There is a series in the works that is driver less... Sure the technology is available, but really what is racing without the Driver factor.. just a video game I guess...Chris Chris, I've seen RC races where the speeds are insane and almost not watchable. Given the option I'd rather have a driver in the car, but I'd much prefer to see them drastically roll back all these aero packages till the cars start to look like F1 cars again. I'm old, and therefore old fashion by today's standards. My all time favorite F1 year was 1967. I can live with wings, but the high degree that these maned missiles have achieved is just insane. Nearly every part of the car has it's own engineer and or team, and every single aspect of the car is monitored during the race. It's just not that far of a stretch to engineer pit controlled cars. Joel
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