F1 testing ends with Ferrari setting the pace: New season is go in two weeks

James Allen on F1 ^ | March 09, 2018 | James Allen

[daltec]

Ferrari set the fastest time on the final day of F1 testing; but do they have the fastest car? Few think so, as Mercedes has certainly not gone all out to set eye catching lap times.

Ferrari has been the pace setter the past few winters, including last year when it was clear that the car was really fast and stable. This year the car looks drivable, but so does the Red Bull.

Following the pattern of previous seasons, the Silver Arrows have spent their time pounding around on harder tyre compounds, higher fuel loads and very much focussing on their own programmes. They have done a total of 4,841 km of testing and there were some real highlights, not least a race simulation on Thursday by Valtteri Bottas which looked very fast and consistent, starting in the 1m 22s and ending in the 1m 19s.

If previous seasons are anything to go by they will pull out some surprising lap times in qualifying in Melbourne in two weeks and then everyone will know where they stand. But there’s little doubt that there was certainly a 1m16s lap in that car, had they chosen to extract it.

The tyres are softer and the resurfaced track also around 2 seconds faster, so quite a bit of the performance gain relative to last year’s 1m 19s pole are there. The halo has taken about 0.3s a lap of performance off the cars, according to most teams.

“We had some strong pace in testing at times, but then you see what others are doing and then you’re not sure anymore, but I think we’re looking OK,” said Daniel Ricciardo. “I think we still have to find a bit of time, we still have things to improve, but I think we are close enough to be in the hunt,”

Second fastest on the final day, despite another engine change, was McLaren with Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard has had a miserable time of it the last few winter test seasons with McLaren, but here the team believes that it is in better shape than others are giving it credit for.

“I think there’s more to come from the car in terms of performance and also of course with reliability, but now we have two important weeks back in the factory to prepare for the first race. We will see exactly where we are in Australia,” said Alonso.

There were technical niggles also for Renault, who lost a lot of time with a gearbox problem,

Meanwhile Charles Leclerc had an off into the barriers in the morning, losing track time with repairs.

Haas driver Romain Grosjean will sleep well tonight have=ing knocked out 842 kilometres of running in a single day, one of the highest ever totals by one driver.

Another feelgood story is the way that Toro Rosso has managed to cover a massive 822 laps in the eight days of testing (despite the bad weather in Week 1). That’s a total of 3826 km for Honda to assess. The Japanese manufacturer brought a development unit this week and the signs are certainly more positive. Red Bull will be watching closely but also benchmarking Honda’s performance against the Renault engine in the Red Bull car for signs that might lead it to a decision on engines for 2019…

F1 Testing, Day 4

1. Raikkonen (Ferrari) – 1m17.221s (hypersoft) – 157 laps
2. Alonso (McLaren) – 1m17.784s (hypersoft) – 93 laps
3. Sainz (Renault) – 1m18.092s (hypersoft) – 45 laps
4. Ricciardo (Red Bull) – 1m18.327s (supersoft) – 92
laps
5. Grosjean (Haas) – 1m18.412s (ultrasoft) – 181 laps
6. Bottas (Mercedes) – 1m18.825s (medium) – 104 laps
7. Hartley (Toro Rosso) – 1m18.949s (hypersoft) – 156 laps
8. Ocon (Force India) – 1m18.967s (hypersoft) – 163 laps
9. Leclerc (Sauber) – 1m19.118s (hypersoft) – 75 laps
10. Sirotkin (Williams) – 1m19.189s (soft) – 105 laps
11. Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1m19.464s (supersoft) – 97 laps
12. Stroll (Williams) – 1m19.954s (soft) – 27 laps

[daltec]

Despite some problems at first, McLaren ended up doing pretty well. The Australian Grand Prix is March 25 with practice starting on the 22nd.

[God luvs America]

should be interesting with the new halo’s on the cars...

Indy Car season starts Sunday in St Pete...

[Secret Agent Man]

I am surprised these guys havent really done prototypes of super powerful battery cars. The engineering and physics of speed on these should really appeal to racing guys who appreciate performance and speed.

[crosdaddy]

There is Formula E racing.

[CodeToad]

“I am surprised these guys havent really done prototypes of super powerful battery cars”

Batteries are terrible for long duration performance. Even the Tesla dies quickly at 75mph.

[clintonh8r]

I think those times demonstrate the gaps in performance of the tire compounds more than the cars.

Those halos have to go.

It’s kind of ironic that a so-called safety device is named for a thing that it’s supposed to protect the driver from eventually wearing....I guess Napoleon Todt didn’t think that one out too well....oui? I think the Indy car solution is a lot more aesthetically pleasing and probably no less effective than the halo.

[Chode]

ya want on da ping list?

[mabarker1]

I’ll stay Boss!

[Chode]

looks like it’s gonna be a good year

[Lockbox]

yes

[Lockbox]

have you done any video casting on internet?

[Chode]

dude, i don’t even know what that is... 8^)

[Lockbox]

Like a video blog where you can have a guest discuss a topic and viewers can write in questions / comments.

[Seaplaner]

I’m in thanks much Chode!

[truth_seeker]

Does anybody know about television coverage in the US, for this season?

[mabarker1]

I sure hope so cuz NUTZCAR is becoming more and more a colossal fail !

[Chode]

i don’t have the technology to do it but would be happy to help anybody that does any way i can

[jjotto]

The new KERS F1 engines have battery-powered electric supplemental horsepower. That’s where it’s going since the rate of fuel consumption is capped.

[Lockbox]

I’m working on a plan to able to have live presentations / discussions amount a group.

[daltec]

I've read some comments from the drivers, and many of them don't seem to mind the halo too much. They say that when cornering, the center pillar is not a factor. They also said that where it does limit vision is at a distance that is not a factor in their driving styles.

Some of them did say that the "test" halos made getting in and out of the car more difficult. But the production ones can support the full weight of the driver, so hopefully that will not be a problem for them.

Some drivers commented on the windscreen solution like in Indy cars, saying that it caused a lot of turbulence in the cockpit. Not sure why that would be an issue for a Formula One car but not an Indy car, but there it is...

One F1 driver did say that the halo reduced the amount of rain and moisture that collected on the visor, and that this was a problem because it made it harder for him to accurately gauge how wet the track was.

Personally I do not think the halos look too bad. I think it's funny how the manufacturers are experimenting with little wings and other aerodynamics on them -- we shall see what happens with them!