-
Ask a question and get free supportUnlock new privileges and see hidden discussionsWin prizes and earn reputation
-
Question of the day ~ How often do you braai?
-
Afristay giveaway.Win a 2-night stay for two people at an establishment of your choice with R1,000 in spending money. Enter here.
Sign up with GoogleF1 - General discussion and 2017
- Thread starter Binary_Bark
- Start date
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Sebastian Vettel has now joined Hamilton on track, with Esteban Ocon giving the two world champions some company.
Red Bull have played their hand - will Ferrari also step up the challenge to Mercedes?
Vettel improves, and this time he's definitely, absolutely, 100% on medium tyres. That's a 1m21.558s, 0.7s slower than Ricciardo's benchmark.
Red Bull have played their hand - will Ferrari also step up the challenge to Mercedes?
Vettel improves, and this time he's definitely, absolutely, 100% on medium tyres. That's a 1m21.558s, 0.7s slower than Ricciardo's benchmark.
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn is here this week. Spotted her in conversation with one of the engineers. New signing Pascal Wehrlein is out of the car and has now wandered to the back of the garage after some time spent looking at computer screens. The Sauber was fairly reliable in week one. Currently it is up on stands with work going on in the right side of the engine bay.
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
McLaren ✔ @McLarenF1
Stoff returns to the garage for some minor tweaks. 28 laps completed so far this morning.
Critical point to stress: the use of the word 'minor'
After the trials and tribulations of Week One, it all seems to have been very straightforward for McLaren so far today...
Stoff returns to the garage for some minor tweaks. 28 laps completed so far this morning.
Critical point to stress: the use of the word 'minor'
After the trials and tribulations of Week One, it all seems to have been very straightforward for McLaren so far today...
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Jolyon Palmer pops out into the pitlane to bask in the Barcelona sun. He describes Renault's current delay as "teething problems" and doesn't suspect a major issue. He's now disappeared back into the garage to converse with the engineers. Can hear some tools at work behind the screens.
Ben Anderson
Ben Anderson
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Hamilton is up to 33 laps as he finishes that stint, and he may only have a few more before his day's work is done.
It's Vettel who leads the lap count so far this morning with 40.
Hamilton pits, leaving only Massa and Kvyat - now fifth with a 1:21.965 on soft tyres - keeping the track busy.
That lap by Kvyat is the best by Toro Rosso this winter and all-but a second better than last week's best.
That turned out to be a stint in the region of 17 laps for Hamilton on that last set soft tyres, giving Mercedes yet more valuable data on the performance of that compound over a race-style run.
It's Vettel who leads the lap count so far this morning with 40.
Hamilton pits, leaving only Massa and Kvyat - now fifth with a 1:21.965 on soft tyres - keeping the track busy.
That lap by Kvyat is the best by Toro Rosso this winter and all-but a second better than last week's best.
That turned out to be a stint in the region of 17 laps for Hamilton on that last set soft tyres, giving Mercedes yet more valuable data on the performance of that compound over a race-style run.
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Here we go – Ricciardo sets the best first sector of the morning so far...
The Australian has Massa, Kvyat and Vandoorne for company on track.
Ricciardo goes quickest – a 1m20.106s. That's a very good lap from the Red Bull. Puts it right in the ballpark with the best efforts Mercedes and Ferrari from last week.
The Australian has Massa, Kvyat and Vandoorne for company on track.
Ricciardo goes quickest – a 1m20.106s. That's a very good lap from the Red Bull. Puts it right in the ballpark with the best efforts Mercedes and Ferrari from last week.
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Not quite the fastest laps we've seen on softs this year at Barcelona - that honour still goes to Vettel's 1:9.952 from last Wednesday - but, as mentioned, it's a very quick lap, particularly at this point of an opening test day.
Red Bulls rising....
After that impressive, sudden burst, Ricciardo has returned to base. A four-lap stint or so for the RB12 which suggests it didn't have much fuel on board. But 'Red Bull rising' is surely the story of the morning so far...
Red Bulls rising....
After that impressive, sudden burst, Ricciardo has returned to base. A four-lap stint or so for the RB12 which suggests it didn't have much fuel on board. But 'Red Bull rising' is surely the story of the morning so far...
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
We have a time for Wehrlein! Sauber's off the mark in the second test. Just over half a dozen seconds to find to try and overhaul Palmer's Renault on the leaderboard.
Wehrlein's down to a 1m30.847s now, and matches Palmer's tally of 15 laps. A steady start for Wehrlein, who has recovered from a back injury to take over the Sauber C36 today.
Wehrlein's improvement is bigger that time by, a 1m28.261s.
Wehrlein's down to a 1m30.847s now, and matches Palmer's tally of 15 laps. A steady start for Wehrlein, who has recovered from a back injury to take over the Sauber C36 today.
Wehrlein's improvement is bigger that time by, a 1m28.261s.
Last edited:
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
That 1m20.106s effort looks like a pretty decent lap from Ricciardo. As a reference, Bottas did a 1m20.107s best on soft Pirellis on day three of the first test, shortly before he broke into the 1m19s using super-soft then ultra-soft tyres - on what looked like basic performance runs from Mercedes. Allowing for unknowns such as relative fuel loads and engine modes, this is the closest thing we've seen so far to a like-for-like comparison between Mercedes and Red Bull, and the early results look encouraging.
Ben Anderson
Ben Anderson
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
ANOTHER FASTEST LAP
Daniel Ricciardo has again gone a little quicker; a 1:20.077 on the soft tyre. Felipe Massa also turns up a gear; 1:20.308 on the soft compound.
More evidence of a rapid improvement from the Renault engine (and/or how the RB13 is set up): Ricciardo hit 293kmh along the straight during that new personal best.
The Aussie has now pitted after another four/five lap run.
Daniel Ricciardo has again gone a little quicker; a 1:20.077 on the soft tyre. Felipe Massa also turns up a gear; 1:20.308 on the soft compound.
More evidence of a rapid improvement from the Renault engine (and/or how the RB13 is set up): Ricciardo hit 293kmh along the straight during that new personal best.
The Aussie has now pitted after another four/five lap run.
Last edited:
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Hamilton and Massa have emerged, while Ricciardo brought his Red Bull back into the pits after that short run on softs.
...and Massa's just set the fastest first sector so far.
Mighty lap on softs from Massa, but it's not quite enough to displace Ricciardo! Massa sets a personal best in the middle sector and rounds off the lap with the quickest final sector so far...but falls 0.007s short.
Still, a 1m20.084s is very good going.
...and Massa's just set the fastest first sector so far.
Mighty lap on softs from Massa, but it's not quite enough to displace Ricciardo! Massa sets a personal best in the middle sector and rounds off the lap with the quickest final sector so far...but falls 0.007s short.
Still, a 1m20.084s is very good going.
caroper
Executive Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,162
Mercedes are also steadily getting quicker the longer the morning session progresses.
On his first flying lap of this latest stint, Lewis Hamilton gets down to 1:20.456 to consolidate third place on the timesheet.
Not exactly super quick by the W08's standards, but it's the length of stints you really want to watch out for.
Almost at the exact moment Massa was marching up the timesheet, Lewis Hamilton, now on track with only his shadow for company, was lowering his personal best to 1:20.456
We're told from those at trackside this morning that the Mercedes was getting a lot of drift out of the chicane. A reminder, if required, that all of these cars are still being dialled in and tweaked - we are long, long way from seeing the cars at their absolute prime just yet.
On his first flying lap of this latest stint, Lewis Hamilton gets down to 1:20.456 to consolidate third place on the timesheet.
Not exactly super quick by the W08's standards, but it's the length of stints you really want to watch out for.
Almost at the exact moment Massa was marching up the timesheet, Lewis Hamilton, now on track with only his shadow for company, was lowering his personal best to 1:20.456
We're told from those at trackside this morning that the Mercedes was getting a lot of drift out of the chicane. A reminder, if required, that all of these cars are still being dialled in and tweaked - we are long, long way from seeing the cars at their absolute prime just yet.