F1 - General discussion and 2017

[caroper]

Bottas is flying though – set to go quickest again.

That's very, very fast from Bottas – the quickest time in testing so far. A 1m19.310s, on super-soft tyres.

'Hello, gauntlet? This is Mercedes. You've been thrown down.'

1 Bottas Mercedes 1m19.310
2 Massa Williams 1m20.244s
3 Verstappen Red Bull 1m20.432s
4 Hulkenberg Renault 1m21.213s
5 Sainz Toro Rosso 1m22.139s
6 Raikkonen Ferrari 1m22.926s
7 Alonso McLaren 1m23.210s
8 Grosjean Haas 1m23.525s
9 Perez Force India 1m23.746s
10 Wehrlein Sauber 1m24.951s

 

[caroper]

That 1m19.3s from Bottas is four tenths quicker than he managed last week, and on a step-higher compound of tyre too – his benchmark in the opening test came on the ultra-softs.

After a cool-down lap, Bottas has gone even quicker in the first sector...but he can't keep that up throughout the lap and it's a 1m19.777s.

 

[caroper]

For those wondering about McLaren's low lap count so far today, I'm told there have been no further engine problems. Apparently the team is just working through what has become a truncated test programme.

Ben Anderson

 

[caroper]

Fastest times of Winter Testing:

1) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Day Six, Supersofts, 1:19.310

2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Day Three, Ultrasofts, 19.705
3) Felipe Massa, Williams, Day Five, Supersofts, 1:19.726

4) Sebastian Vettel, Day Five, Softs, 1:19.906

 

[caroper]

There are improvements from the top of the times to the bottom – Wehrlein posts a 1m24.896s in the Sauber. He's been quietly going about his business today, and is up to 34 laps.


Another bit of going-out-and-coming-straight-back-in-again from Bottas, who is making slow progress towards the 50-lap mark. Nothing slow about his time though. Muy rapido.

All 10 cars are the in the pits with 75 minutes to go this morning. It's times like these you need a people's champion like Ocon to break the silence.

 

[caroper]

The pole lap for the Spanish Grand Prix on this circuit last year was 1:22.000, by the way.

 

[caroper]

Back in black - James Allison is trackside with his new employer, Mercedes. Pic: XPB

 

[caroper]

Force India keeps its people's champion status alive and well by sending out Perez to break the silence.

Massa's also on track in the Williams, so let's give the Grove team a bit of credit as well. Especially as a bearded member of the team helped feed a starving Autosport Live yesterday. Good eggs.

 

[caroper]

Pirelli's predictions of 1:17 laps by the end of testing certainly look on here.

Bottas's new benchmark of 1:19.310 is the sixth fastest lap EVER around this version of the Circuit de Catalunya and now inside one second of the outright record, Massa's 1:18.339 from 2008 testing.

Could it go before the week is out?

 

[caroper]

Is Massa having another go for the top of the charts? A personal best lap is coming up...

A 1:20.181 from the Williams on soft tyres

 

[caroper]

Where are Ferrari?

So that's good stuff from Mercedes and good stuff from McLaren, but what's going on at Ferrari?

Kimi Raikkonen spent some of this morning doing aero work but hasn't been out on the track for a while now and has done just 15 laps - the fewest of all the drivers today...

 

[caroper]

Circuit BCN-CAT ✔ @Circuitcat_eng
2007-2017
OFFICIAL RECORD: Raïkkönen 1:21.670 (2008)
BEST TIME QUALY: Barrichello: 1:19.954 (2009)
BEST TIME TEST: Massa 1.18.339 (2008)

 

[caroper]

Massa improves on soft tyres to a 1m20.181s. More encouraging pace from Williams, which turned a few heads yesterday:

The pitlane klaxon blares its awful tune to signify Massa's return. His FW40 heads to its garage for a rest. Perez now has Wehrlein for company on track, but there's more space between them than there was the Force India and the Williams.

An improvement for Perez, to a 1m23.735s. He's on medium tyres, and is 4.4s off Bottas's impressive benchmark.

Another improvement from Perez, down to a 1m23.674s. Grosjean has joined the track to make it a three-car party. But everybody's invited, so hopefully more teams show up soon.

Bigger jump from Wehrlein this time on soft tyres, to a 1m23s flat. That puts him seventh, ahead of Alonso, Grosjean and Perez.

 

[caroper]

"Non!" Grosjean does not like being bumped down by the Sauber. He pulls a 1m22.428s out of his bag of tricks to go sixth in the Haas.

 

[caroper]

Don't get too excited...

Andrew Benson

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Any time a driver resets the benchmark lap time it's bound to create a bit of attention, but let's not get our knickers in a twist about that 1:19.310 from Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes.

The Finn set it on super-soft tyres, which Pirelli calculates to be 0.8secs faster than the soft. So in actual fact, that time is slower - by about 0.3secs - than the 1:19.9 set by Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari last week. There are many other variables, too, of course. But that's just the one we know about right now.

Yes, it's a competitive time. But it has not on the face of it redefined the possible, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[caroper]

3 Hours In:

Bottas Mercedes 1m19.310
2 Massa Williams 1m20.181s
3 Verstappen Red Bull 1m20.432s
4 Hulkenberg Renault 1m21.213s
5 Sainz Toro Rosso 1m22.139s
6 Grosjean Haas 1m22.428s
7 Raikkonen Ferrari 1m22.926s
8 Wehrlein Sauber 1m23.000s
9 Alonso McLaren 1m23.210s
10 Perez Force India 1m23.735s

 

[caroper]

The party's getting started. Into the final hour and we have six cars on track – Williams, Renault, Toro Rosso, Haas, Ferrari and Sauber.

The most notable of those is the Ferrari. Raikkonnen hasn't been seen on track for two hours.

And Raikkonen's getting on with it with two personal best sectors...

Raikkonen jumps to fifth with a 1m21.324s on soft tyres.

 

[caroper]

Massa's improved to a 1m19.909s.

That's a good lap time from Massa, breaking into the 1m19s on soft tyres.

 

[caroper]

Alonso's back on track after half an hour in the garage – and posts a personal best first sector on his first flying lap.

 

[caroper]

Alonso improves slightly, to a 1m23.041s. But he was 0.9s off his own best final sector.

Not a particularly busy morning for McLaren so far, but the claims are that is through choice, at the moment. © LAT