Category: Formula One

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Massimo Looks Ahead to the 2017 Season.

 

March 14, 2017

Preseason tests are just over!

I think it’s clear what kind of season 2017 will be, obviously Mercedes is the team to beat. They showed all their power, not only in terms of speed, but also nothing has changed in terms of reliability.

New driver Valtteri Bottas and three-time champion Lewis Hamilton covered almost 1100 laps with more than 50000 km!

Ferrari seems to be ever gaining on Mercedes, covering almost 1000 laps and setting the best time lap with Kimi Raikkonen’s 1:18:634.

Hamilton said the Italian team bluffed…whether he was right remains to be seen but we’ll find out Melbourne!

I can foresee these two teams turning the fight for the championship into an epic battle, not forgetting Williams, they have to be really happy with their reliability so far, the veteran Felipe Massa completed an impressive 168 laps in one day only, showing that the car is really strong with 1:19:420 as the teams best lap time, this, of course, shows what could be seen as a promising start for the Grove based team. I’m pretty sure that Williams will be a constant contender for points and who knows we might even see them on the top step of the podium!

I think we will see an interesting fight in the midfield where we have Red Bull, Force India, Toro Rosso and the surprise of last year Haas. Red Bull may have finally lost their position as a title contender although Ricciardo is a great driver and he can always push his car to the max.

Max Verstappen is a race animal, given the chance, I’m sure he’d even overtake himself if he could! I strongly believe Red Bull will surprise us as usual and we will see their faces on the podium more than a couple of times. The same goes for Force India, stronger every year, with an experienced and talented driver like Perez and the new kid on the block Ocon, who showed very good pace in testing.

It will be a close fight between Toro Rosso and Haas, both have very talented drivers like Sainz, Kyvat, Grosjean and Magnussen.

Behind them, but not so far, I think we will see the Sauber guys, Renault and sadly McLaren-Honda in amongst them.

The big and worst surprise in the winter tests has been McLaren Honda…again! Already into the third year of their renewed partnership they still can’t find the way to build a decent engine.

Only 425 laps and less than 2000 km, all due to engines faults and electrical failures.

Nobody can understand why Honda, who can seem to make every other engine reliable and wins in almost every competition they enter, can’t assemble a decent F1 engine. It’s a big mystery! Honda has said they now understand what the problem was they encountered during testing and they will bring a reliable engine for the first race of the season. They are certain that after a few races they will also have a more powerful unit to offer the Woking based team.

I hope everybody ready for the first race of what hopefully will be an exciting season.

We will see just how much each team has been hiding come 24th March, as that sees the first free practice session of the year, hopefully, we will start to see who has actually improved and who has been putting on a show to fool the other teams! The first green light of the season falls on 26th March when the battle for the championship will begin!

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Scott

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How The 2017 Formula One Season Will Unfold

After eight days of intensive testing, we’ve been given a few insights into what the teams are going to bring to Melbourne in two weeks’ time. For some, the testing was a resounding success, some simply got on with their business and others wished they could quietly crawl into a hole and hide.

There have been some major stories about Honda which seemed to take up most of the coverage, but in between the gossip, we learned a lot about every team on the grid and their hopes for 2017.

Mercedes

There’s not many teams who can turn up to testing and on day two be running full race simulations. The power unit ran almost perfectly for both weeks and barring a few minor incidents, they seemed to complete their whole testing package. Consistently at or near the top of the time sheet and over a thousand laps in the bank. The news for the coming season looks very promising for the boys from Brackley.

So, 2017 could see more of the same Mercedes domination. They don’t appear to be shooting themselves in the foot anytime soon. A quick and consistent car with two great drivers, we should expect to see at least one of them on the podium at every race.

Ferrari

Who can set the fastest time in testing and still be backing off on the last corner of every lap? The Iceman managed to do just that. The sand bagging from Ferrari was obvious for everyone to see and it gives us hope that there will be a fight at the front of the grid. The only worry is that they topped last season’s testing timesheet and then fell away when it really mattered.

Predicting a Ferrari win at some point in the season, would seem like a pretty safe bet. They will be up there and challenging, not at every race, but at least they will be closer than last year.

Red Bull

The new aero-dynamic rules should play into Adrian Newey’s hands, at least according to F1 folklore. There were rumours flying around the paddock, that Red Bull hadn’t brought their latest and greatest package to Barcelona. A serious update is expected for Australia and if this is the case, another step forward should follow.

They were always on hand to clean up any mess left by Mercedes last year, but this season, they should be able to expect to be mixing it with in the top three. Podiums will come and they could be surprised by one or two wins.

Williams

Lance Stroll got a rude awakening in the first week of his F1 career. He had a few offs and crashed, that’s expected and better that he do it now and not in an actual race. The rude awakening came in the almost instant comparisons to Pastor Maldonado on social media. That was the low part of Williams’ testing, the high came on the time sheets where they were regularly seen in the top three slots.

If their testing pace was not showboating, then Williams could expect a better season this year. Reclaiming fourth spot is a real possibility and the testing times suggest they can keep Force India in their wake. Unfortunately, there is little chance of them continuously challenging the top three teams.

Force India

A couple of engine issues and break downs was all that really befell the Force India drivers. They seemed to keep their heads below the radar for two weeks and didn’t overtly worry the top of the time sheet. They did, however, put in a lot of laps and they completed full race distances with no problems.

If consistency brings points at the start of the season, it could be a very good start for the Force India drivers. Picking up early points, whilst a few other teams sort out their engine problems and reliability could see them comfortably in the top half and pushing Williams for the all coveted forth spot.

Haas

Last season Roman Grosjean was moaning about his brakes and this was the running commentary from his for his eight days of testing. Somehow, before they head to Australia, the team needs to either get to grips with the existing brakes or to change supplier. Other than that, the engine looks healthy and the car doesn’t look too bad either.

They aren’t going to be troubling the top five teams at the start of the season. They could come strong through the pack if they sort out their brake reliability. A couple of points finishes is all that we really see happening for them.

Toro Rosso

Revealing a car which looks stunning, is a great way to deflect the attention from their lap times. It’s a shame because on day eight in like for like conditions and tyres, they topped Force India, Renault, Sauber, Haas and McLaren.

This season could see Toro Rosso mixing it with the top of the mid-field in a lot of the races. They won’t be there every race, but will be able to pick off points here and there. A few inspired drives from a rejuvenated Kvyat and Sainz could put them back on the driver’s market map.

Renault

The publicity machine was working well building up to the tests. Anything yellow and black was getting tagged and tweeted. This brought a fair degree of attention to Hulkenberg and his first run in the Renault. In fairness to him and Plamer, they both delivered what they could. The car sat out a couple of times and had some issues, still nothing as bad as the teams behind them.

Being able to complete a race distance means that Renault will easily be able to be the eighth best team. Challenging the Toro Rosso or Haas cars will be a push, but they should be there or there abouts with them. Points finishes will be celebrated and anywhere near a top six place could be treated as a win.

Sauber

They just very quietly got on with testing. Very little noise came out of the team and very few people were studying their times or cars. If you needed to sum up their testing program, then you would be forced to use the word consistent. Nothing inspiring but also nothing bad.

It seems that Sauber are going to be reliant on wet races and mixed conditions to be able to fight for points. The good news is that they will not have to worry about coming tenth in the championship and could almost be guaranteed ninth if the Honda engine isn’t drastically improved.

McLaren

So many column inches have been attributed to McLaren and more accurately the Honda engine, that by now you must know that is has issues. Issues being a very nice way of saying that it doesn’t work. The most consecutive laps McLaren managed was eleven. That tells you everything you need to know about testing and their chances in Australia.

The might and money behind Honda, should, ensure that the engine gets improved and in double quick time. The issue is that whilst they are fixing the engine, everyone else is improving theirs. If the McLarens manage to complete the Melbourne Grand Prix, it will feel like a victory for them. The ambitions are high, but the outlook is very, very low. They could very easily finish tenth this year and be looking for a new engine supplier before the summer break.

Andy Robinson

(Images Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)

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A Penny for the Thoughts of Fernando Alonso After McLaren-Honda’s Latest Woes?

(Image credit McLaren-Honda F1 Team)

 

One can only wonder at the thoughts running through the head of Fernando Alonso as he prepares for yet another handicapped season with the McLaren-Honda package.

The two-time World Champion, who took the last of his 32 Grand Prix victories in Spain almost four years ago, has spent the last two seasons trundling around in an underpowered McLaren, scrapping away for minor points at best. Meanwhile, despite much-publicised errors last year, Ferrari – the team Alonso left as he had lost faith in their ability to win him a third title – have improved immeasurably from their woefully uncompetitive 2014. They even look like they could be hot on the heels of the all-conquering Mercedes team if testing is anything to go by.

Honda had promised to be level with Mercedes after three years but, despite redesigning their engine over the winter, they have nowhere near the amount of power Merc have at their disposal. Even if they did, the reliability has been so poor that Alonso and teammate Stoffel Vandoorne brought out the red flag four times (twice each) in the last two days of testing alone. They didn’t once complete a Grand Prix distance inside a day, with their best effort being 55. Mercedes completed 1,096 laps in testing, Ferrari, whose last World Drivers’ Championship came in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen, completed almost 1,000 themselves.

McLaren?

Well, they completed 475 laps across eight days. That is well over 600 laps down on Mercedes. Their ultimate pace has only been faster than the struggling Sauber team, although McLaren’s 1:21.3 was set on the faster ultrasoft tyre whereas Sauber’s best effort, three tenths slower, was on supersofts.

Honda expect to introduce a newer-spec engine for the Australian Grand Prix but before testing it was hoped they’d introduce that in the second test. Instead of being at least a certainty for points, as Alonso hoped he would be doing after all the noises made by team and engine supplier in the autumn of last year, he’ll spend the Australian Grand Prix sorting out more issues.

Even if they sort out those issues over that weekend, they have a lot of power to make up regardless of what mapping they use at Albert Park. McLaren were between 25-30kph (15-18mph) slower than Mercedes down the straights in Barcelona. The most frustrating thing about that detail for driver, team and fans are that until that deficit is significantly reduced, we will not know how good McLaren’s chassis is.

Alonso seems to rate it, and was frank in his assessment of McLaren’s problem. When speaking to Spanish media during the second test, he accused Honda of “not being ready to win,”, having previously taken to team radio during his second stint at McLaren to lambast the lack of grunt underneath his right foot. No-one will forget the “GP2 engine” or the “amateurs” outbursts anytime soon.

Those words will be ringing in the ears of McLaren, who are acutely aware of the damage to their reputation that Honda’s stagnation is continuing to inflict. However, they cannot just simply make a change, even if Team Principle Eric Boullier says that the engine problems are “putting maximum strain” on their relationship.

Honda contribute a net $100m to the team and with few title sponsors, McLaren simply cannot afford to lose that and buy another customer engine. There are also still seven years left on the ten-year contract agreed in late 2013, when Ron Dennis was adamant that it was the only way McLaren to return to the winners’ circle following a poor 2013.

Three years into the reunion of the glory partnership that swept all before them in the late 1980s, it looks as if his crystal ball was murky at best. While Honda gave themselves little over a year to prepare the most complex engine ever seen in Formula One, the benchmark supplier Mercedes were working on this technology back in 2010.

Honda are proof in that the harsh world of F1 has no sympathy for those who overpromise and underdeliver. By underestimating the mammoth task ahead when they re-entered the sport, they’ve chased their tails in the past two years and in the third are now back where they started. Three years behind, and little sign of bridging a gap the size of the Grand Canyon.

It is barely possible to imagine Alonso’s anger should Ferrari, the team he felt couldn’t give him a title, live up to their winter promise and bring an end to the Mercedes supremacy.

Jack Prentice @JPrentice8

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Who has the upper hand after the pre-season tests?

Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Thursday 09 March 2017.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _31I6887

 

The battle for the first pole-position of the season is closing down, after eight days of testing in Barcelona, the teams and the drivers are getting ready to fly to Melbourne for the season premiere on 26th of March.

The two testing sessions allowed the teams to test their new cars and discover their strengths and weaknesses. The drivers had the opportunity to take a taste of the new designs and the new tyres as the regulations have changed since last season.

Mercedes were the team which covered the most kilometres in Barcelona, 5102 km was clocked during the two testing sessions. Ferrari, tried to stay close to the silver arrows as Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen completed 956 laps, 140 less than Mercedes. Despite some issues which the Italians faced the SF70H looks very reliable and fast. Raikkonen set the fastest lap in Circuit de Catalunya, 1:18.634s, while he was running on the super-soft compounds, whilst, his team-mate Sebastian Vettel was by 0.390s slower on the ultra-soft tyres.

Lance Stroll’s crash in the first days of testing cost time to Williams, the Canadian rookie driver had some difficulties with the FW40, but despite that, he completed 386 laps and clocked 1796 kilometres. From the other hand, the ex-retired Brazilian driver, Felipe Massa didn’t face any difficulties and he managed to familiarize himself with the new car very quickly. Felipe set the fifth fastest lap in testing, 1:19.420s, 0.786s slower than Kimi Raikkonen. Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa completed 800 laps combined two laps more than Sauber.

The Swiss team was not as fast as its competitors, but they look more reliable than Toro Rosso and McLaren. Sauber covered 3668 kilometres, similar distance in kilometres was covered by Force India. Marcus Ericsson, Pascal Wehrlein and Ferrari’s third and reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi had the chance to drive the C36. Ericsson was the fastest driver among those three drivers with 1:21.670s and he also completed the most laps, 445, as Wehrlein drove for 192 and Giovinazzi clocked 151 laps.

Mercedes split all the testing days between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, hence both drivers had the chance to drive the W08 every day. The Finn, completed 628 laps in Spain whilst his team-mate clocked 468 laps. Mercedes’ drivers didn’t face any serious mechanical or electrical problems with the new car and that gave the chance to cover more than 5000 kilometres.

Red Bull had some technical problems and they forced to change their engine during the testing days and that did not allow them to cover much distance. Max Verstappen set the sixth fastest lap, 1:19.438s, and he placed behind Felipe Massa. Daniel Ricciardo clocked 337 laps and covered 1568 kilometres.

McLaren-Honda disappointed their fans as they had several serious issues during the eight days of testing. McLaren had to change many times Honda’s engine, and that didn’t let Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne complete as many laps as they wanted. The Spaniard clocked only 190 laps, 45 less than Stoffel.

c Pirelli F1 Media

Next stop for teams and drivers is Melbourne, where the real abilities of the cars will be revealed. Ferrari set faster laps from Mercedes, but the pre-season test is not the ideal for safe conclusions as teams are usually trying to hide their strengths from their rivals.

Victor Archakis – @FP_Passion

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John Surtees’ Death Will be Felt Across Motorsport

The death of John Surtees will unite the two biggest motorsport communities in a way that no other could. Only the death of Mike Hailwood over 40 years ago comes close.

To say that Surtees, who died at the age of 83, packed a lot into his life is a masterpiece of understatement. “Big John” was already a seven-time motorcycle World Champion before Formula One came calling in 1960, when he was 26.

It didn’t take him long to conquer that either, as he won the 1964 Formula One world championship for Ferrari to emulate fellow countryman Mike Hawthorn six years before him. He was one of the bright lights in a decade of British greats that included Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jacki Stewart to name just three.

Surtees was a big name in his own right before he joined the F1 circus. He took his first title aged just 22 on a factory Augusta to become one of the feared names on the motorcycle scene. John would go on to completely dominate between 1958-60, the year he began his F1 career. During that period, he only failed to win five races, finishing on the podium in three of those and winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1959.

In just his second Grand Prix he took second place at Silverstone driving for Lotus at the 1960 British Grand Prix. That woke the F1 world up, but it wasn’t until 1963 that he was snapped up by one of F1’s biggest names – Ferrari.

He won during his debut season with the Scuderia around the fearsome Nurburgring, making the podium on another two occasions. Despite Clark winning his maiden World Championship, the foundations were set for Surtees to make history.

He had to do it the hard way in 1964. Surtees only finished once in the first four races – a second place at the Dutch Grand Prix – and seemed well out of contention on just six points back in seventh place.

But, assisted by the resurgence of Ferrari in the middle of the season he put together an excellent run of four podiums in the next five race races, including wins in Germany and at Monza in the Italian Grand Prix to leave himself five points behind Hill going into the deciding Mexican Grand Prix.

Clark, the outsider nine points back, dominated the early exchanges as Hill was slowed down dramatically after an incident with Surtees’ teammate Lorenzo Bandini. Clark looked all set to win the title until he retired on the last lap with an oil leak, which left Surtees in third behind Bandini when he needed to finish second.

Ferrari saw this and ordered Bandini to allow Surtees through in an early show of their now regular team orders. Surtees ended up taking the championship by one point to achieve a feat that will never be achieved again and become World Champion of the premier class of car and motorcycle racing.

While Clark ran away with the title in 1965 to regain the championship, Ferrari were more competitive in 1966. However, Surtees left the team following a falling out with team manager Eugenio Dragoni over being dropped for the Le Mans 24 hours when he had every chance of a second world title.

Ironically it was to be Jack Brabham, another man with a unique F1 achievement to his name, who took the title. No other man has won a World Championship in a car bearing their own name since the Australian achieved that feat 51 years ago.

For 1967 Surtees joined Honda and over a two-year stint took one victory, although the Japanese marque left the sport at the end of 1968 after Jo Schlesser’s death at the French Grand Prix. After two years at BRM, he formed his own team in 1970.

Team Surtees was to never hit the heights that their owner managed to and John retired, barring one race in 1972, from F1 in 1971 to focus on running the team. After a lack of sponsorship, it folded after the 1978 season.

Tragedy was to strike for Surtees after nurturing the career of his young son, Henry. The 18-year-old was killed in a tragic accident in a Formula 2 race at Brands Hatch in July 2009, when he was struck on the head by a wheel from an incident ahead. After that, he was to set up a charity in his son’s name to help people recovering from injuries.

Surtees possessed records enviable to most of those who only compete in either Formula One or MotoGP. His feat of winning World Championships on two wheels and four is unlikely ever to be matched. But it is important to remember his warm and endearing character, as well as the history-maker he was.

Jack Prentice @JPrentice8

(IMAGE CREDIT: ESPN)

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Our Editor in Chief looks forward to the 2017 Formula 1 season.

Deep breaths, the 2017 Formula 1 season is almost upon us, and ThePitCrew are all over it.

Formula 1

‘The pinnacle of motorsport’ well that’s what we’ve been told for as long as I can remember. I’m sure our Tin Top team will have plenty to say on that topic. However you feel about it Formula 1 has had a major shakeup, fatter rubber, wider and meaner looking cars and supposedly a more aero formula, but will it make any difference or will Mercedes still be on top? One thing is for sure, Manor won’t be at the bottom having ceased trading, so we are back down to 10 teams.

Mercedes have lost Paddy Lowe to Williams and with Nico’s surprise retirement the team look to have a very different dynamic. Much as I believe Valtteri Bottas is a fantastic driver it’s probably too much to ask for him to be as competitive as Nico against arguably the fastest driver on the grid in Lewis Hamilton. Personally, I can’t see anyone but Lewis being WDC or for that matter another team taking the constructors title.

The Scuderia are looking strong in Barcelona but as ever testing lap times can’t be taken too seriously. Has Sebastian Vettel still got the desire to win, or is Kimi back to his best? I think if Ferrari produce a competitive car Seb will push the team to achieve, and in turn Kimi, but if it’s more of a donkey than a stallion I expect both drivers will quickly lose drive and interest. Another up and down season but surly in the mix for wins.

Williams have had a shake up and not just on the driver front with the young Stroll and a freshly faced Felipe Massa dragged out of retirement can they improve on last season? They still have the Mercedes power plant so it’s all down to Paddy Lowe and his team. Points and more podiums but let’s hope they are back in the mix for wins.

Great things are expected of the Red Bull boys in their Adrian Newey designed car. Will his magic be able to overhaul the genius working at the Brixworth Mercedes engine plant? Surely they have the strongest driver line-up in Daniel Ricciardo and the exciting Max Verstappen. I can see them winning races and being in the mix.

And what for the elephant in the room? Yes, I’m talking about McLaren Can Honda provide them with an engine worthy of the McLaren Honda partnership that brought such success to them during the Senna Prost Heyday? I for one hope so. Again, a very strong driver pairing or Fernando Alonso and the young pretender Stoffel Vandoorne. They will improve on last season but wins and podiums may still be beyond them.

Sahara Force India, feel the Hype! With an impressive 2016 and still using the Mercedes that drove them to great success last term I can see them pushing the grandiose teams on much bigger budgets. The impressive and reliable Sergio Perez is joined by Esteban Ocon. Let’s see what he can do. Podiums and fighting for their maiden victory has to be their goal.

Renault F1 are now in their second season back. Jolyon Palmer has been joined by Nico ‘The Hulk’ Hulkenburg. Unless they have made a giant stride forward they will be fighting to score regular points at best.

Toro Rosso have changed engine supplier and moved to Renault power. Carlos Sainz Jnr is another immense talent in the Red Bull stable. In my opinion totally underrated by most casual fans. Daniil Kvyat will fight on trying to save his Formula 1 career. Regular points scoring has to be their target .

HAAS will be in their second season, so it’s surly a matter of building on their success. Romain Grosjean is partnered with Kevin Magnussen. But they could struggle to match last terms success.

Sauber have a lot of work to do with a Ferrari engine behind them and not a huge budget. I would guess they will remain towards the back of the grid. In Marcus Ericsson, they have a steady hand, and he’s joined by Pascal Wehrlein an exciting young talent who needs to draw on all his experience in DTM and Manor to get the most out of the Sauber.

Let’s hope for a thrilling season with lots of overtaking and inter team battles. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and join the conversation on one of our groups. Lastly, enjoy it, don’t let your passion for one driver or another cloud the way you see the race. Instead sit back and enjoy. In twenty years time you’ll be telling stories of how you watched the greats Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Kimi and Verstappen fight it out for glory and become legends.

Enjoy.

Simon.

@f1taxi

Image courtesy of the relevant teams

 

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Parc Fermé – F1 Testing Day One

 

(c) Formula1.com

Formula 1 Testing – Day One

A sunny start to the day in Barcelona as the cars took to the track for the first of the official tests, the sound of F1 engines once more cascading across the landscape. There has been a major change in the regulations for 2017 as can be seen on the cars, with boomerang style side-pods, t-wings, shark fins and fatter rear tyres. It’s all change in the crazy world of F1.

Williams – They appear to have gone quietly about their business, no major aero on the car and Felipe Massa, now un-retired and racing again, completed an impressive 103 laps to put the car in 3rd. The car looked stable and there were no issues. In the morning Williams ran aero checks and in the afternoon they concentrated on tyre work and set-up.

McLaren – All the hype and all the furore surrounding the launch of the new car seems a distant memory now as Alonso finished in 10th and only completed 29 laps. The car had an oil system problem that they had not noticed previously which restricted the double world champion’s running. Eric Boullier was hopeful that Alonso would get further time in the car due to the lack of running. Not a great start for the team here in Barcelona.

Sauber – This was not a good day for Sauber. Marcus Ericsson completed 72 laps in a car that is carrying a 2016 Ferrari engine and it showed. They were five seconds off the pace of every other car and finished last but the team did comment they were working on aero and set-ups for this first test. Pascal Wehrlein did not take to the track, he has a neck and back problem but said that although he felt he could have gone out it could have caused a few problems. He is hopeful to be back for the next round of testing.

Renault – Alain Prost back at Renault, be it as a ‘special advisor’. There are rumblings in the paddock that he may be offered a more senior role within the team. Could the F1 legend be poised to take over the helm this season? Only time will tell. Nico Hulkenberg completed 57 laps and finished in 9th, which is not where Renault hoped they would be even during the first day of testing. They were three seconds off the pace and did have small problems with their chassis which overheated due to the bodywork being too close. Adjustments were made and there were no further issues.

Haas – Like Williams, another team who have gone quietly about their business with no razz-a-matazz or fireworks. They managed 51 laps and ended up 4th in the timings. Magnussen had a scare early on as he broke the front wing, then Haas added a t-wing which seemed to vibrate a lot and it will be interesting to see how they would be able to fix that problem.

Ferrari – The team who many think are going to be Mercedes main challengers this season had a good day with Vettel finishing 2nd on the timing screens after completing 128 laps. They concentrated on making sure their winter wind tunnel tests worked out on the circuit, the numbers added up and the team came away from day one very happy. The car showed great reliability even though the engine itself is 5kg heavier than last season. There have been some minor changes on the engine although Ferrari would not confirm what these were.

Force India – Sergio Perez had exhaust problems early on and completed 39 laps which put the car P7. He did state that the car itself felt better, there was more grip and there was plenty more to come.

Red Bull – There are mixed opinions about the Red Bull. Some are putting them as more of a challenger to Mercedes than Ferrari, others think they are going to be the bridesmaid to the ceremony. They finished 5th on day one, Ricciardo completed only 50 laps due to a battery problem and then they had a sensor issue which needed fixing. That said, Red Bull only finished building the car the Wednesday before the first test.

Toro Rosso – Carlos Sainz was a little confused. He said that he couldn’t compare the Renault engine to the Ferrari engine of last season due to the extra drag on the cars this year. They had some chassis problems, one part fell off in the pit lane and this restricted them to 51 laps and 8th place on the timing screens.

Mercedes – A great day for the defending champions. A massive 152 laps completed with Bottas going out in the morning. He ran the T-wing and said that it felt good and he had far more grip than he was previously used to. Hamilton changed to a shark fin for the afternoon session and he was quick. Quickest team on day one.

A lot is being spoken about regarding the change in regulations.

“It’s a good start when you are able to collect miles and data.” Toto Wolff said.

He mentioned that Mercedes were not seeing themselves as out-and-out favourites because due to the regulation changes every team is back to square one. But after this showing on day one, it’s difficult to take that comment seriously when the Mercedes car showed up so well.

The Mercedes team are fully aware that Bottas needs to hit the ground running and that he will have to perform to their high standards. Toto confirmed that Bottas is not there as a supporting role for Lewis, the two drivers will be asked to push each other to make them go faster. Where have we heard that before?

On the suspension issue which has put a dark cloud over the paddock, Toto Wolff had this to say:

“I think it’s the usual posing before the season starts.”

He went on to say that he felt the Mercedes suspension was clear and legal and the team are happy they have the correct specifications in place. He hinted that other teams might have legality issues on their own cars but did not specify who or what. Shots fired, welcome back Formula One!

Over at Red Bull Adrian Newey appeared calm and confident, as he always does. He did not seem too put out by the new regulations and repeated what Toto eluded to, that the teams are heading into the unknown.

“We don’t know” Newey said. “It’s the usual thing when you have big regulation change. We’ve been working over the winter. We know what we’ve achieved.”

He said that Red Bull had tried not to put too much on the car so that they could understand the flow structure properly and then develop the car from there. This seemed a very simple yet Newey-esque approach. On the nose and air flow he had this to say:

“We had this regulation change in 2014, where we went from high noses to a low nose. Our hole in the middle is a small step back to trying to get a slightly higher nose, whilst aerodynamically having a low nose.”

He mentioned the hole in the Red Bull nose is legal if “you do it in a particular way.” He said that comparisons could be drawn with what Renault did two years ago and the Force India design of 2016.

It is fascinating when you listen to Adrian Newey. He went on to discuss the shark fins and how the primary role of the structure is to stabilise the rear from side winds as the car goes into corners. The T-wings, he explained, was a little wing you could put in if you wish too but, that for a big visual change, it had a small aerodynamic effect.

Day one of testing was over and the big boys flexed their muscles, to a certain extent. First points to Mercedes so far who just looked mightily impressive but it is fair to say that Ferrari were not too far behind in the reliability stakes. Difficult to say what Red Bull have to offer due to their lack of laps but in day two of testing things could change.

After all, this is Formula One. Nothing stays the same forever.

See you at the chequered flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Pérez “optimistic for Melbourne” after first Barcelona test

Sergio Perez (MEX) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10.
Formula One Testing, Day 4, Thursday 2nd March 2017. Barcelona, Spain.

Sergio Pérez has said he already has good expectations for the first race of the season in Australia after a “positive week” of pre-season testing with Force India.

“I think we made a good step forward with understanding the VJM10 and finding the limit of the tyres,” the Mexican said at the end of the week. “I feel more confident in the car; I have learnt a huge amount and I think my preparation is going to plan.

“There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’m optimistic for Melbourne already.”

Pérez described his first day driving the VJM10 as one “of two halves”: after making steady progress through the team’s tyre and setup programme in the morning, he was forced by a broken exhaust to sit the afternoon session out.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10.
Formula One Testing, Day 2, Tuesday 28th February 2017. Barcelona, Spain.

But on his return to the track on Thursday, Pérez enjoyed a trouble-free day and was able to log 82 laps of the Barcelona track, as well as set the sixth-fastest time of the day.

On the middle two days of the test, Pérez handed over the VJM10 to his new teammate Esteban Ocon and Force India’s development driver Alfonso Celis Jr.

Ocon, driving on day two, made a good start to his first season with Force India, exceeding the team’s lap target with 86 tours and completing the setup work leftover from day one.

“It’s very early days, of course, but the initial feelings are positive,” Ocon said of his day’s testing. “We found a good direction for setting up the car…and I’m satisfied with the number of laps we covered.”

The Frenchman also said that the new generation of F1 cars are “proper beasts”, remarking on their increased cornering speeds as “a good step forward” for the sport.

Chief race engineer Tom McCullough said that the team’s “incredible efforts” over the week have left Force India confident about the season ahead, especially after Celis Jr. added another 71 laps to the team’s tally on his day behind the wheel:

“I’m pleased we managed to exceed our target lap count and accrued so much data because the learning curve is so steep in these early days. We have been able to build up good mileage and iron out some of the inevitable teething problems that you get with a new car.

“We are confident we have made some important steps forward…and we are looking forward to next week’s test, when we will focus more on performance and race simulations.”

Alfonso Celis Jr (MEX) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10 Development Driver.
Formula One Testing, Day 3, Wednesday 1st March 2017. Barcelona, Spain.

James Matthews, Editor-at-Large

Images courtesy of Sahara Force India Formula One Team

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Haas reflects on strong start to sophomore season

The Haas F1 team has made good progress in the first round of pre-season testing, according to team principal Gunther Steiner.

The team’s second-ever F1 car, the VF-17, made its track debut on Monday at the hands of new recruit Kevin Magnussen, who recorded the fourth fastest time of the day at a little over a second behind Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark 1:21.765s.

His programme was hampered by a return of the brake troubles that plagued Haas in 2016, but Magnussen insisted the interruptions were just “typical baby problems”, and added that his first taste of the team’s 2017 challenger was an experience he “enjoyed a lot”.

Returning to the wheel on the following day, the Dane on supersofts lowered his best lap time to 1:22.204s, once again enough for fourth on the timesheets. This was set en route to amassing a total of 118 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya—the most of any driver.

Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Tuesday 28 February 2017.
World Copyright: Sam Bloxham/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _SLB9550

Romain Grosjean then took charge of the VF-17 for the remaining two days. As with Magnussen, Grosjean’s first session on track was disrupted by a series of electrical and setup issues, and he ended Wednesday with just 56 laps under his belt.

But on the final day of testing, the Frenchman was able to match his teammate’s Tuesday best by finishing fourth fastest on a 1:22.309s and at the top of the lap count.

At the conclusion of the week’s sessions, team principal Gunther Steiner remarked upon the progress Haas has made since last year and distance the VF-17 was able to cover in Barcelona: “Compared with last year, [reliability has] been a lot better. We know a lot more about the car than we did four days ago. Now we can make the next step and hone it out, make it better.”

Steiner also praised the work of partner Ferrari, hailing the “fantastic job” done by the Scuderia on its 2017 power unit.

Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Wednesday 01 March 2017.
World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _R3I6340

Haas returns for the second week of pre-season testing on Tuesday, with Magnussen driving on days one and three, and Grosjean on days two and four.

James Matthews, Editor-at-Large

Images courtesy of Haas F1 Team

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Red Bull Racing – Code Name RB13

Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Wednesday 01 March 2017.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _31I2364

 

The Red Bull RB13 was unveiled this week and much attention has been made of what the new cars will look like due to the new regulations.

“The RB13 is the prettiest car we have designed and made because the geometry of the car and the new regulations means the proportions look right. It looks mean and it looks fast. Its that aid old adage it if looks right then it tends to go alright,” said Christian Horner.

“What excites us most about 2017 is the opportunities the new regulations give us. That’s going to push every department, in the whole team to try and outwit, outsmart, outdevelop, outproduce our rivals and that is going to be a stellar challenge in formula one this year.”

Red Bull have plenty of reasons to be confident this season. Their drivers’ Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo have showed in 2016 that they have the ability and drive to challenge Mercedes in 2017.

“I think us as a team can build, learn and take a lot from 2016. We really set ourselves up well to continue in the trend we did. We are looking strong and good everyone is in the right mind-set right now and that hunger is back,” Ricciardo said.

On the first day of testing, Red Bull had a testing problem which limited their time on the Circuit-de Barcelona-Catalunya, Head of Race Engineering Guillaume Rocquelin remarked: “Obviously we lost quite a bit of time today, which was frustrating. That was largely a function of the issues we had – a sensor problem this morning and then a problem with the energy store later on.

“We lost quite a bit of time today, which was frustrating. That was largely a function of the issues we had – a sensor problem this morning and then a problem with the energy store later on.”

Dominic Rust

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