Second Barcelona Test

Second Barcelona Test - Fourth Day

3rd & 7 37yd

Button clocks a 1:26.832 in the McLaren to drop Maldonado to the bottom of the timesheets.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 1:47:55 PM
@spike I agree Martin was a good guy who worked well with the media and had a wealth of experience (he was with Mclaren for over 20 yrs). Surely another team might consider him?

by thequadge 3/1/2015 1:48:03 PM
Ricciardo has also been back out since the lunch break, so hopefully that means the ERS issue is fixed.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 1:48:56 PM
A bit of work in the garage after an off this afternoon. Currently assessing whether we'll return to the track.

by Renault Sport F1 via twitter 3/1/2015 1:50:28 PM
by Lewis Hamilton via twitter 3/1/2015 1:51:22 PM
Everytime I see the Sauber I think it looks out of place among the other F1 cars in photos this year, it looks very GP2 ish and doesn't belong in the F1 circus with a livery like that.

by Sam 3/1/2015 1:51:41 PM
The only advantage of watching live is atmosphere and that's a lot to play £150 a race for. Plus you miss out on a lot especially if you don't have a screen near you. HD tv coverage is so good with replays commentary, timing data, inteviews and analysis I couldn't see myself going to a live event.

by thequadge 3/1/2015 1:51:57 PM
by Scuderia Ferrari via twitter 3/1/2015 1:54:19 PM
@Sam: Every circus needs a clown.

by mfbull 3/1/2015 1:56:00 PM
In the simulator at @redbullracing, yes even on Sunday!

by Pierre Gasly via twitter 3/1/2015 1:56:20 PM
Ricciardo pops up to fourth on the soft tyres with a 1:25.103. I wonder if GP2 drive Gasly can manage that in the simulator?

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 1:57:34 PM
ZAC It used to be that you could save if you could set up tent and camp for the week end. Now in Montreal $1,300 between race and hotel and food sounds a like a good deal. Per person.

by bart 3/1/2015 1:57:45 PM
Red flag! The Toro Rosso is off the track.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 2:00:40 PM
I go to the USGP every year possible which is 7 of the last 8 events. I am proud to go as a corner marshal though, so the cost I incur is all travel expenses. It's a great seat (even if you have to stand all day). I do wish there was better fan access though. IndyCar, Tudor Sports Car and Nascar all have tremendous fan access

by Christopher Keith 3/1/2015 2:01:11 PM
Looks like Verstappen is off around Turn 12

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 2:01:50 PM
Friend and I did Monaco when JB win in the Brawn. Droev from UK, stayed at campsite in Cannes and got train into Monaco. Great experience and cost about the same as a Silverstone weekend!!!

by Spike 3/1/2015 2:02:06 PM
Have just got back from a stroll down the pit lane. The Renault engine is noticeably quieter than Ferrari and Mercedes. Sounds like there is lots of work going on at Toro Rosso but the shutters are pulled across their garage and my ninja abilities aren't what they used to be.

by Nate Saunders 3/1/2015 3:11:30 PM
Noise-wise, Mercedes has a slightly raspier sound to it than Ferrari, or at least I thought so.

by Nate Saunders 3/1/2015 3:12:21 PM
Also had the sight of Rosberg catching and passing Vettel down the pit straight. I remember last year Button remarking one of the Mercs "went by me like I wasn't even there". Certainly looked similar today, though Vettel was at the start of a race sim and therefore carrying a lot more fuel than the Mercedes.

by Nate Saunders 3/1/2015 3:14:04 PM
@Nate: Merc always sounds smooth and tractable like it's putting its power to the track effortlessly on the onboards.

by Norbert Haug 3/1/2015 3:16:40 PM
@NorbertHaug: Effortlessly is a good way of putting it.

by Nate Saunders 3/1/2015 3:16:53 PM
that's one of the advantages of the quieter PU -- you can now hear differences in the ICE.

by Canuck 3/1/2015 3:21:09 PM
Honda is very methodical in it's approach to race development but, we'd like them to fire off at least one or two competitive laps just to give the others a warning shot over the bow.

by Nowhere Man 3/1/2015 3:21:33 PM
StalkerSez: the best time/place to meet drivers is outside their homes, early in the morning, during the offseason, when their guard is down.

by mfbull 3/1/2015 3:21:46 PM
@HashwanthMaripina: Remember that McLaren announced they were dropping Mercedes early last year. I doubt they got all the technology updates after they were cooperating with Honda. Also they use different fuel and I am sure Petronas did not let Mobil in on their secrets.

by Ian Stephens 3/1/2015 3:22:05 PM
Will missing this final test affect Fernando in any way?

by Sharath Nagendra 3/1/2015 3:22:17 PM
The first time we've had a proper look at the rear of the Force India. The monkey seat (yellow arrow) is quite a different concept to its rivals and the pink arrow shows the complex work by all the teams on the winglets designed to exploit the gap between rear wing and rear wheel. The diffuser looks a little rudimentary compared to some of the other teams, but overall it's quite a detailed package.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:32:47 PM
@J: Button had the most laps in a day on Thursday, but I don't think Alonso is at a massive disadvantage to his team-mate given the limited running overall for McLaren.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:33:55 PM
Who is the Force India designer? I know I can google it, but give us a little insight on the man.

by mfbull 3/1/2015 3:38:06 PM
@mfbull: The technical director is Andy Green. He worked closely with Gary Anderson at Jordan (the team that became Force India) when he first entered F1 and produced some pretty impressive cars given the budget. He's doing the same again now at Force India (he re-joined in 2010) and has moved the team on since taking over as technical director when Mark Smith left for Caterham. He's a very nice and unassuming guy and can even explain complex things to dim journalists like me.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:41:08 PM
Hmmm not that it means anything but I never heard anything about them...Chief designer: Akio Haga Chief designer: Ian Hall

by mfbull 3/1/2015 3:41:18 PM
Confirmation that Vettel's race sim ended after 19 laps. No word from Ferrari as to why. And Williams is packing up and heading back to Oxfordshire early.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:41:58 PM
by WILLIAMS RACING via twitter 3/1/2015 3:42:25 PM
Yes, they certainly impress for the $.

by mfbull 3/1/2015 3:42:33 PM
So, did I miss a Williams problem or are they just done? Why not run till something breaks?

by mfbull 3/1/2015 3:42:40 PM
@mfbull: Not sure yet. They ended yesterday's test an hour before the end, so it may be the same again today.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:43:05 PM
Do you think Alonso is too faster than Kimi? If both of them are given Mercedes cars, who will be faster among them? And by what margin one will beat the other? I know it's not a good question, but please give your opinion.

by Sama edited by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:43:51 PM
@Sama: I think Alonso showed he had the upper-hand on Kimi last year. Kimi had his issues, but Alonso did a much better job driving around the flaws of the car. In that respect they are quite different drivers.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:44:42 PM
Vettel is now back out on track. It's possible that the race sim is resuming.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:45:14 PM
For comparison with the Force India, here is the Ferrari with its detailed diffuser.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:46:37 PM
Button has gone out on the super-softs. Are we about to see a quick time from McLaren?

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 3:48:30 PM
So, what exactly is a race sim? Fuel load, tires and aero specs controlled to a race distance? If Vettel has been in the garage for that long, how can he resume the simulation?

by ChewyF1 3/1/2015 3:48:41 PM
@Sama - Alonso is supposed to be the best all round driver - But in his day Kimi certainly gave Schumacher a run for his money !

by MrTuK 3/1/2015 3:59:23 PM
The rear of the McLaren - I expect a few more features to be added in time for the first two races. But the tight packaging is best observed from above (see comparison photos posted at lunch)

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 4:00:57 PM
@MrTuK: It would be zero, but that is very unlikely. Remember, whatever they spend they have to race - so if an update can be improved by having more time or isn't reliable enough yet then the other manufacturers will wait - they are more worried about the success of their engine both this year and in the future (updates now will stay until the end of the current engine regs). What's more Honda was able to develop anything it wanted with no token limit up until yesterday - that, arguably, is a big advantage over the other three and by the letter of the rules it shouldn't be able to eligible for any tokens.

by Laurence Edmondson 3/1/2015 4:04:22 PM

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