F1 - General discussion and 2017

[caroper]

Time sheet with 1 hour till lunch:

DRIVER TEAM CHASSIS TIME DIFF. #
1. Bottas Mercedes W08 1:19.838 57 ● PIT
2. Vettel Ferrari SF70-H 1:21.609 +1.771 48 ● PIT
3. Ericsson Sauber C36 1:22.326 +2.488 38 ● PIT
4. Stroll Williams FW40 1:22.351 +2.513 31 ● PIT
5. Ricciardo Red Bull Racing RB13 1:22.382 +2.544 31 ● PIT
6. Palmer Renault RS17 1:23.387 +3.549 25 ●
7. Alonso McLaren MCL32 1:23.956 +4.118 22 ●
8. Kvyat Toro Rosso STR12 1:24.190 +4.352 21 ● PIT
9. Celis jr Force India VJM10 1:25.524 +5.686 21 ● PIT
10. Grosjean Haas F1 VF-17 1:25.898 +6.060 11 ● PIT
11. Hülkenberg Renault RS17 no time 0 ● PIT
12. Sainz jr Toro Rosso STR12 no time 0 ● PIT
13. Hamilton Mercedes W08 no time 0 ● PIT
14. Massa Williams FW40 no time 0 ● PIT

DRIVER MAX SPEED AVERAGE SPEED
1. Stroll 281.2 0
2. Vettel 281.2 0
3. Ericsson 279.7 0
4. Palmer 279 0
5. Bottas 278.3 0
6. Ricciardo 276.9 0
7. Kvyat 275.5 0
8. Grosjean 273.4 0
9. Alonso 268.6 0
10. Celis jr 267.3 0

And Alonso improves to a 1m23.834s in the McLaren. he's seventh fastest.
Better running for McLaren so far today.

 

[Dave]

Merc going to be top dog again, from the performances so far...

 

[caroper]

Clear daylight between Mercedes and the rest on the timesheet at the moment after the W08's storming supersoft time, although Ferrari haven't even been on the soft tyres yet today.

Marcus Ercisson is up in third for Sauber on the supersofts and has just improved again to 1:21.824.

Ferrari has left the garage on mediums yet again. Definitely Maranello's tyre of choice so far in this test.

Five cars on track now: Vettel, Ericsson, Palmer, Celis, Grosjean.

 

[caroper]

Nico Rosberg ✔ @nico_rosberg
BARCELONA TEST VISIT: Cars look monstrous! Drivers will be gladiators! They will be on the limit physically! Great HYPE at the moment!

 

[caroper]

IMPROVEMENT FOR ALONSO
Better running for McLaren so far today.
Alonso's time is down to a 1:23.834 now. 23 laps complete.

And Ricciardo jumps up to second fastest on a 1m21.153s. He's on soft Pirellis. That's 1.315s off pacesetter Bottas with just under 45 minutes until the scheduled lunch break.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Nico Rosberg ✔ @nico_rosberg
BARCELONA TEST VISIT: Cars look monstrous! Drivers will be gladiators! They will be on the limit physically! Great HYPE at the moment!

Except when they're conserving fuel and tyres. So basically at no time apart from Qualy 3...

 

[caroper]

Given these high speeds...

Andrew Benson
BBC Chief F1 writer

There has been a great deal of discussion about whether overtaking will be harder in 2017, with cars that go around corners faster, have more drag so are slower on the straight, and therefore have shorter braking distances.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen played down these concerns, though. “Well, I have done some, so it is OK, it works, you can overtake with the car,” he said.

 

[caroper]

ULTRA SOFT TYRES FOR VALTTERI
The Finn is back on track and it's a first appearance for the ultra soft tyre!

 

[caroper]

The current world champion is certainly impressed with the look of the sport he's left behind. Here is Nico Rosberg in conversation with Craig Slater from downtown Barcelona last night...
http://www.skysports.com/iframe/wid...g8axK5m#ooid=Y1dXUzYTE61mQU_cSR0a99YCCg8axK5m

 

[caroper]

Bottas improves to a 1m19.705s using ultra-softs and Ricciardo has moved up to second place after a soft tyre run. He's half a second ahead of Vettel.

 

[caroper]

TWO ON TRACK
Only Bottas and Palmer chalking up the laps currently.

PALMER TO P3!
The Renault driver takes advantage of the improved endurance of the soft tyres to go third with a 1:21.396.

 

[caroper]

The Toro Rosso heads back out on track with Kvyat at the wheel. That car has been silent for over two hours.

Circuit BCN-CAT
Circuitcat_eng
Weather conditions at 12.30PM: ☀️ 51% ⬇️ 13.5C ⬆️ (track 33.3C ⬆️) S 0.3 #F1Testing

 

[caroper]

IMPROVEMENT FOR KVYAT
Toro Rosso down to a 1:23.952 now.
Ricciardo, Palmer and Ericsson all lapping the circuit now.

ERICSSON'S ULTRA-SOFT RUN
The Swede fails to improve on his earlier lap time, despite using the ultra soft tyres for the first time. He set a 1:22.0 and is back in the pits now.


So what a significant morning this has been with Valtteri Bottas, fresh from his race simulation on Day Two, setting the fastest times of the test so far on the soft, supersoft and ultrasoft tyres.

Ouch.

But there's been just a glimpse from Ricciardo and Red Bull while Sebastian Vettel is still sticking to those medium tyres on his Ferrari...

 

[caroper]

Alonso is now out in the McLaren, using soft rubber.
View attachment 420930
https://images.scribblelive.com/2017/3/1/ea12700d-f878-4316-9af0-9069c856775c_800.jpg

Alonso makes a tiny improvement to a 1m23.832s on softs. He's still eighth.

Grosjean does improve this time, posting a 1m25.133s. He's still 10th.

 

[caroper]

TEN TO GO...
We only have around ten minutes of the morning session left and a lot of drivers are now out of their garages.
Bottas, Palmer, Stroll Celis, Kvyat and Grosjean are all setting lap times.

 

[caroper]

Seven cars on track, but nobody improving right now.
Bottas has now embarked on his 70th lap of the day.
Most drivers are currently circulating on mediums, there's still time for some improvements before the chequered flag.

 

[caroper]

Mercedes is fitting in a little more pitstop practice with Bottas before lunch.

 

[caroper]

After a shaky start, Renault and Jolyon Palmer have enjoyed more encouraging fortunes as the morning session has progressed.

Not only does his 1:21.396 time on softs place him third on the timesheet as the chequered flag approaches, but it was also set at the start of a reasonably long run. Green shoots of progress for Renault?

 

[caroper]

Grosjean is struggling a little with the rear end of the Haas turning in to Turn 10. Perhaps someone should tell him he is braking about two car lengths later than everyone else? As Eddie Irvine used to say, he could brake later than the car could...
Gary Anderson

 

[caroper]

The fastest driver on track is currently Ricciardo, lapping in the mid-1m21s bracket.
Just two minutes remaining before the lunch break. No sign of any improvements right now.