We wish the Williams (and Caterham) team members involved in the post-race fire a speedy recovery. It was a sad footnote to the celebrations following the teams first win since 2004. Unfortunately Bruno Senna’s car was destroyed in the fire so there will be some long workdays before Monaco.
– MCZF1
The three official F1 test sessions are now over and the cars are on their way to Australia, but what can we conclude from the 12 days of running?
When it comes to developing a grand prix car, one thing is set in stone. Mileage is everything.
Both HRT and Marussia are already behind the Eight Ball having not run their 2012 car for anything more than a handful of shake down laps (AKA “Film Days”).
Being fast in testing (like Lotus F1) means nothing if your car is unreliable or has a design problem (like Lotus F1) plus, with new designs of Pirelli rubber for 2012 the big factor is “drop off” – the difference in lap time between when you put the tires on and when you take them off – and McLaren have shown the best performance when it comes to this kind of consistency during long runs.
Red Bull have been fast too, but just like in 2011 they have had reliability issues – this time with the gearbox – and we will have to wait a couple of weeks before we we will see if Adrian Newey and the gang have designed something fast enough to compensate for its shortcomings.
Ferrari have been grumbling quietly to themselves and dealing with various niggling issues without being particularly fast. They could be sandbagging. They could just be slow…
Mercedes chose to run their 2011 car at the initial Jerez test in order to get a baseline on the 2012 vs 2011 Pirelli tires. It might be a masterstroke, but their 2012 car could probably have benefited from those 300+ laps.
Expected mid-pack runners – Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso – have all shown turns of speed and all of them have put down a lot of laps, though none more than Williams who have shown the switch to Renault power could put them back towards the front of the grid.
Finally, Caterham looks like it has made the transition from back marker to mid-pack and will be fighting for points during the season.
– MCZF1
The latest MCZ Motorsports 250 podcast is now available via iTunes or directly from our website. Subscribe to our RSS feed for more shows throughout the 2011 season
Here are the notes from the 2011 F1 Season Preview show:
The A-Teams:
Red Bull-Renault: Just like last year: sandbagging
Testing: 258 / 395 / 349 / 370 = 1372 laps
Vettel – This time no contest?
Webber – His turn to be Champion or to play second fiddle?
Ferrari: The contender? But only the one? Lots of miles on “the truck”
Testing: 286 / 463 / 435 / 379 = 1563 laps
Alonso – The matador takes the Bulls by the horns
Massa – Last chance with the Scuderia
Following Close Behind:
McLaren-Mercedes: Already throwing in the towel???
Testing: 279* / 233 / 331 / 221 = 785 laps in 2011 car (895 laps total)
Hamilton – Quit whining, Lewis
Button – Staying quiet but Mr Smooth could surprise
Mercedes: No need for the excuses after all?
Testing: 203 / 338 / 427 / 318 = 1286 laps
Rosberg – A chance to make the team his own
Schumacher – One last hurrah (then it’s Di Resta)
(Lotus-)Renault: Just when it was looking good
Testing: 227 / 276 / 337 / 286 = 1126 laps
Heidfeld – big shoes to fill
Petrov – one more chance with plenty looking over his shoulder
Williams-Cosworth: Money trumps talent
Testing: 258 / 253 / 351 / 257 = 1119 laps
Barrichello – The Old Man keeps on trucking
Maldonado – One and done?
Sauber-Ferrari: International Rescue, amigos. Fast? yes. Reliable? maybe…
Testing: 214 / 320 / 392 / 390 = 1316 laps
Kobayashi – needs to start ’11 like the middle of ’10 not the beginning.
Perez – settling in nicely
Mid-Pack Madness:
Force India-Mercedes: Do they have a car to match the driving talent?
Testing: 327* / 264 / 272 / 363 = 899 laps in 2011 car (1226 laps total)
Sutil – Has to raise his game from Day 1
Di Resta – Rookie of the Year? A shoe-in.
Toro Rosso-Ferrari: Step it up or be run over by the newbies
Testing: 203 / 327 / 317 / 347 = 1194 laps
Buemi – No excuses this year
Alguersauri – Carry on where he left off
Team Lotus-Renault: What’s in a name? We’ll find out
Testing: 144 / 198 / 204 / 361 = 907 laps
Kovalainen – Most underrated driver on the grid
Trulli – If things go well, he’s still quick
Virgin Racing-Cosworth: Enough of a step?
Testing: 219* / 215 / 329 / 263 = 807 laps in 2011 car (1026 laps total)
Glock – Deserves some reward for his patience
D’Ambrosio – Keep it tidy and keep out of the way
107% Scarey:
HRT-Cosworth: Money’s too tight to mention and once again behind the Eight Ball.
Testing: 188* / – / 257* / 0 = 0 in 2011 car (445 laps in 2010 car)
Karthikeyan – proof they will take anyone with money
Liuzzi – see above, though he claims otherwise
– MCZF1