F1 - General discussion and 2017

[caroper]

Discounting the bonus for coming round for a practice start (or two), here's the morning lap tally:

Massa 65
Ricciardo 50
Hamilton 49
Vettel 81
Ocon 59
Magnussen 47
Kvyat 45
Vandoorne 34
Wehrlein 47
Palmer 15

There are three stand-out numbers in that lap count:

Vettel's 81, which include a great stint on mediums at the end that featured 14 flying laps with supreme consistency.

Vandoorne's 34, which we now know is a result of another Honda engine change in his McLaren – and the morning had started reasonably encouragingly, too.

Palmer's 15, a paltry tally that the Briton did not add to once "sensor issues" caused his car to stop and get pushed down the pitlane.

 

[caroper]

Engine change for McLaren-Honda. Problem discovered during this morning's running.

Speaking in an F1 Facebook Live broadcast, Boullier confirms the Honda engine will "take a few hours", but hopes Vandoorne will return this afternoon.

"It's frustrating for everybody," he adds. "When you don’t have a lot of days of testing you want to make the most of it. It’s frustrating for Stoffel and for us as well."

Asked what percentage McLaren-Honda is at, Boullier replies: "Not big enough. The less we run, the less we learn the cars and the more we run behind on our development programme."

 

[caroper]

He's back!

James Allison wanders the paddock in Mercedes gear following his off-season move to the world champions.

 

[caroper]

Confirmation from McLaren that they have been forced to change the engine on Stoffel Vandoorne's MCL32 after yet another problem

According to the team, they have now swapped back to the engine spec used last week.

Honda says it "detected an electrical issue" and confirms the engine is the same spec as last week's.

And, by our count, that's now three changes of power unit for McLaren in the space of five test days.

Bottom of the combined timesheet, second-last on laps completed, surely their fortunes have to turn soon?

 

[Dave]

And, by our count, that's now three changes of power unit for McLaren in the space of five test days.

Any bets on how many penalties the McLaren drivers will be getting in the second half of the season again for extra engines taken?

 

[mubeend]

My guess is they'll accrue enough enough to make sure they start last till somewhere into 2020

 

[Dave]

My guess is they'll accrue enough enough to make sure they start last till somewhere into 2020

:crylaugh::crylaugh::crylaugh:




I wonder if Alonso packed his sun lounger?

 

[caroper]

Jolyon Palmer, was restricted to just 15 laps for his morning in the car due to technical issues.

Nico Hulkenberg is due in the car this afternoon - but when will Renault get back out?

Renault Sport F1 ✔ @RenaultSportF1

Final job of the day for @JolyonPalmer, media scrum. Bonus points for media that support the team in yellow.
2:45 PM - 7 Mar 2017

 

[caroper]

GREEN FLAG!
We're back underway at the Circuit de Catalunya!

Err, it's green everyone. Teams? Drivers? Anyone at all? Must all be tucking into the sandwiches they made themselves at the hotel breakfast buffet this morning. Wonder if theirs have gone stale too...

 

[caroper]

The green flag notice can flash all it wants on the timing screens but apparently nobody cares. We miss the days when people respected timing screens and their messages.

 

[caroper]

Valtteri Bottas will be taking the W08 out this afternoon, replacing Lewis Hamilton who set 49 laps this morning.
Nico Hulkenberg is expected to be out later today, with his running delayed due to an engine issue suffered this morning.

 

[caroper]

What now for the McLaren-Honda partnership?

The team’s false start to 2017 has been so grievous that talk of the two parties separating has already become rife in the paddock.

McLaren denied they were considering a divorce when questioned about the rumours to Sky Sports midway through Test One and the reality of the situation is that McLaren appear to have no other option but to stick with Honda no matter the shortcomings of their engine partner. Not only do Honda reputedly contribute a sizeable chunk of McLaren’s annual budget but their reunion was founded on a ten-year contract – and we’re only in year three.

Then there’s the question of where McLaren could turn next even if they did want to change suppliers and could find some wriggle-room in their Honda deal.

Ferrari? No chance. Mercedes? Not after leaving the Silver Arrows stable to reunite with Honda. Renault? It’s the only conceivable option but even then a very, very remote one.

 

[caroper]

Yet again, Force India and Ocon break the boredom. People's. Champion.
The first time of the afternoon is a 1m23.263s from Ocon.
Ocon's getting down to business in this session on the super-soft tyre, which he used to decent effect in the morning. His second lap is a 1m23.296s. As with earlier, it's good consistency from the Frenchman.
Scruffy lap, or a cool-down from Ocon? Given the pattern of testing so far, we'll go with the latter. He follows it up with a 1m23.275s, so it suggests we are correct.
Another cool-down lap, but Ocon doesn't do a 1m23.2s this time. For shame! Oh, it's a 1m23.160s. This is a very consistent stint for the Force India man.
Ocon's back in the pits and silence descends on the Circuit de Catalunya. It's very eerie when a circuit falls quiet. Not quite as offputting as a park at night though.

 

[caroper]

F1 journalist Dan Knutson in Barcelona: Jolyon Palmer did just 15 laps this morning in the Renault.

“The programme is to do a lot of laps, and we didn’t really do many laps,” he said when he talked to the media during the lunch break. “We were deviated pretty early. We had an engine change as a precaution.”

By contrast, Felipe Massa did 67 laps and Sebastian Vettel did 82 laps.

“We are always learning and making big improvements, so every time I get in the car it is really enjoyable,” Palmer said.

“To get cut short early today was a bit annoying, but even then it is still enjoyable to see Nico [Hulkenberg] finding gains for the team. We have only done four-and-a-half days with this car, so every time we hit the track we are learning something, and hopefully we can keep that going this afternoon.”

 

[caroper]

While we wait for things to happen, let's have a think about the key questions for this afternoon:

* Is Massa's pace in the Williams real, or should we expect big gains from the likes of Mercedes/Red Bull/Ferrari?

* Will Vettel reinforce Ferrari's impressive pace on the medium tyres with something explosive on the softs/super-softs/ultra-softs?

* Can anyone get into the 1m18s?

* Are Renault and McLaren-Honda going to be able to make up for lost time following their engine changes?

 

[caroper]

Ocon's back on track! Thank goodness, because we were about to start talking about a bearded Williams employee bringing us crisps and chocolate. Ocon: the people's champion.
We finally see another car, half an hour into the afternoon's running. It's Vettel's Ferrari. So, is it on mediums – or are we about to see a bit more performance?
Ocon's into the 1m21s at the very start of this next super-soft tyre run.
Soft tyres for Vettel, so let's see what the Ferrari's capable of.
Vettel sets a personal best in sector one and the outright best in sector two...
Vettel...goes...third. He doesn't have enough in the final sector, despite a personal best, although does improve to a 1m20.387s.

 

[caroper]

Ericsson, as Sauber promised, has appeared. Although he's only made an outlap/inlap hybrid appearance. Out and straight back in again. No flying lap attempted.
Ocon's in the pits, whereas Magnussen has swapped the garage for the track in his Haas.
Vettel backs off and goes again, but it's only a 1m21.4s.

A rare venture away from the medium tyre for Ferrari and Vettel there. Pic: XPB

 

[caroper]

Track temperature is currently at 31 degrees, with the air temperature at 18 degrees.

 

[caroper]

Renault Sport F1
RenaultSportF1

Fingers in ears means engine fire-up ready for @HulkHulkenberg to take to the track this afternoon @Circuitcat_eng

 

[caroper]

BOTTAS LEAVES THE PITS
Valtteri Bottas emerges to begin his first run of the day in the W08.
Bottas is out on the softs for his first run of the day, let's see how close he comes to former team-mate Massa on his first flying lap...

Bottas sets a 1m24.675s first time round, putting him 10th and almost five seconds off.