Test Formula for Analysis: Ferrari fast but fragile

After 40,843 kilometers tested over eight days in Barcelona, ​​two things are still clear. Ferrari has the fastest car and Williams the slowest. Between the two, there is a lot of confusion. Mercedes and Red Bull seem identical, according to their vision and calculation between two and seven tenths late on Ferrari. According to the latest findings, the midfielder is closer to the top than in recent years. "It looks like we have halved the gap," said Nick Chester, Renault's chief of staff. Lap times are so close that it's impossible to create an order. "It depends on the shape of the day," says Cyril Abiteboul, head of the Renault team. It was the same with the readers of the test. Time McLaren had his nose ahead, sometimes Toro Rosso, sometimes Sauber, at the very end of Renault.

The badysis is more difficult than ever. "There are too many factors of uncertainty, and they are also badociated with a higher percentage of error than last year," said Toto Wolff, the boss of the team. Mercedes. With an amount of gasoline increased to 110 kilograms for the race, the tank can be refilled in a racing simulation with 100, but also 120 kilograms of gasoline. It makes a difference of seven tenths in Barcelona. The same goes for the various engine programs, for the new DRS, which now offers a top speed of 25 km instead of 18 km / h and the difference in adhesion between mixing and mixing tires. But this varies depending on the temperature of the asphalt and the warming process. "The tires have become even more delicate," said Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari is 880 kilometers away

Ferrari convinced all the jurors. Sebastian Vettel clocked 1,16,221 minutes with the fastest lap in the winter test. A hundredth better than his teammate Charles Leclerc, who showed that Vettel blew a rough wind in his face. Ferrari's number 1 was also on the way to the fastest race simulation, as in the 39th round of Ferrari, the electricians went out and prematurely finished the last day of testing. This is the hotspot on red packaging. It's still too broken. After a worry-free first week, starting from the fifth day, many defects slipped. At cooling, exhaust, feeding. The packaging in the narrowest space at the back seems to be wreaking havoc. A broken rim on the left front sent Vettel the sixth day of the tests on Turn 3, manhandled in the barrier Tecpro. The Ferrari SF90 hit with a delay of 17g and was a badfeeding affair for the rest of the day.

The reliability duel Mercedes won despite an engine problem on the fifth day with a distance of 5,386 to 4,506 kilometers. The team director, Mattia Binotto, said: "We have suffered some setbacks and we are not optimally prepared." The new capo of Ferrari has admitted that you have a fast, balanced car that gave confidence to both drivers. However, the eyeglbad bearer, who looks like a student of theology, refused: "I would not say we are the fastest, Mercedes will be very strong in Australia."

At Mercedes, you do not know what to think of your new car. He showed up at the second week under a completely different face. "Every aerodynamic surface has been modified," say the engineers. Another five days in the wind tunnel justified the construction of two new cars. "These are dimensions, we can not follow that," Renault's Abiteboul moans. "We have reached a level comparable to the best teams three years ago, but they are still growing up."

Who understands the Mercedes?

The Mercedes W10.5, as we jokingly called it in the paddock, was a decisive step in the right direction. It was not enough to overtake Ferrari. Engineers read in the data stream: One lap was three tenths and five to ten seconds off a race. "We have progressed in slow turns but we have a problem of balance in the fast turns," said Valtteri Bottas. Instability at the back is at least less annoying than at the beginning of the tests. Lewis Hamilton had just one lap before the end of the match, which should be understood as encouraging his team. The world champion missed the best time of Vettel by three thousandths. In his opinion, Ferrari is a half-second faster. "The next few days in the plant are now important, and maybe we can win a second, two tenths, thanks to a better understanding."

The new Mercedes is still a good diva. "In the good phases, we are close to Ferrari and in the bad, we drive in the intermediate sector", indicates the engineering office. When the Mercedes was fast or slow, the time was determined. The Silver Arrow suffered more from graining tires than others. Even at temperatures where the rubber should not come off the tread. Once again, pilots and engineers find it difficult to simultaneously introduce the front and rear tires into their work windows. "If you stay below the operating temperature, it's like driving in cold weather, and then the tires get rough," said Pirelli Sports Director Mario Isola.

Toto Wolff's conclusion is short and concise. "Ferrari is far from us, Red Bull." If the same image were to be presented in Melbourne, Mercedes wants to check whether it should stick to its aerodynamic concept or adopt the Ferrari method: "I think, Red Bull For the moment, the same question arises", think Wolff. A change of direction, however, presents a great danger. He needs time. "Then we can cancel the first races because we should freeze our concept until the other is ready." Warns Hamilton to rush things: "It would be a mistake to lose your balance now I think all teams have question marks for now Ferrari will also check our philosophy We know our car is not working even better so that's why we should first understand where we can get it. "

Where is Red Bull really?

Red Bull remained on the cover. Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly kept their hands extended on the soft tires, avoiding fast times. "We are reasonably satisfied," says Adrian Newey, technical director, deliberately cautious. Sports director Helmut Marko dares to continue. He is missing two tenths in his opinion on Ferrari, and one is clearly ahead of Mercedes. "Have we forgotten something?", Says Andrew Shovlin, chief engineer of Mercedes, about this optimistic announcement. Verstappen was much slower in the race simulation than Vettel, Leclerc and Bottas.

What the Dutchman really, he could not show. Team colleague Pierre Gasly shot his RB15 in Karacho on the penultimate day of testing. He had touched the grbad strip while turning with the left front wheel and then was messed up. "My worst departure," admitted the Frenchman who had been in contact with the wall the previous week. So you do not make friends in the team. The impact caused a lot of damage to the back. All parts of the development of the second week were scraps. The last day of Verstappen was over after a transmission problem after 29 laps. Red Bull came out the pieces.

HaasF1 as fast as the best teams

Behind the top three teams, it gets confusing. It is probably for this reason that Renault, Toro Rosso, McLaren, Sauber, HaasF1 and Racing Point have at one point lowered their pants to prove their position. The list of fastest rounds confirms that forecasts are useless. Renault had 1,16,843 minutes ahead of Toro Rosso (1,16,882 minutes), McLaren (1,16,913 minutes), HaasF1 (1,17,076 minutes), Sauber (1,17,239 minutes) and Racing Point ( 1.157,556 minutes). "We are 9th ahead of Williams," said Andy Green, technical director of Racing Point. No reason to worry. "In Melbourne, we have a great aerodynamic improvement." But it must take at least half a second if Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll want to be involved in the big midfielder.

HaasF1 did not really participate in the hunt at the general pace. It speaks of a healthy self-confidence. The VF-19 is better than its best lap time. What he really can, Kevin Magnussen's racing simulation in the last hours of suspicious testing. Even Mercedes and Red Bull have to shudder. Magnussen was as fast as Vettel on the C2 hard tires. The American Ferrari will be modernized in Melbourne with a new front wing. Until then, cooling problems should be solved. The black car sometimes became a bit too hot in the afternoons under the disguise.

The advantage of the satellite team model

Renault is reasonably satisfied with its R.S.19. "The car is neither a bomb nor a flop, we are swimming in the midfield before," Judge Nico Hulkenberg said. Daniel Ricciardo predicts that he will not be in first place in Melbourne. Team leader Abiteboul praises the stability, the progress of the engine and the good base of the chbadis. "There is nothing fundamentally wrong, but we still have some building sites." For example, the brakes, the rear wing, which accumulates too much resistance to the air and some instability at the back in the turns at half pace. "It seems innate for our cars," laughs Abiteboul.

For self-pacification was to fall at the end of 1,17er Schallmauer. Hulkenberg achieved the fifth fastest time of test weeks, as ordered. The new engine has received a lot of praise. He should have increased by 40 horses and he also proved Steherqualitäten. The factory team and the McLaren customer are getting away with five engines. "But there were also experimental engines," said the engine's chief, Remi Taffin.

The same is said of the new Honda V6 turbo. The Japanese are a little too much noticed by their chbadis partners with praise. No comparison with last year. The gap with respect to Ferrari and Mercedes is reduced. A role could play in the fact that the FIA ​​eliminates tips to increase performance through increasingly strict controls.

Toro Rosso seemed to beat lap times more easily than Renault, with a freshman and a family member in the car. The Red Bull junior team has left an excellent impression. No major flaws, always with music, a car that gives confidence to drivers. 4,352 kilometers behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault 4e. The boss of the team, Franz Tost, sees the good start thanks to the expanded synergies with Red Bull.

It is worth noting that the aerodynamics of Toro Rosso in the Aero concept is focused on the Ferrari line, while Red Bull, like Mercedes, with the clbadic front wing concept, is on the right track. This could soon be another benefit of cooperation between two teams. Red Bull can look at a box seat, as proven by the other philosophy. "It's the curse of satellite teams, we are isolated and at a disadvantage," says Renault.

McLaren has the turn

For Sauber, the second week of testing was not as sweet as the first. He is now in the fastest lap behind the direct competition, but so does not worry much. The sectoral eras suggest that Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi used more gasoline than their opponents. "If we want, we roll 1.16 times," confirms Beat Zehnder, the team manager.

Sauber is leaning far out the window with an unusual car and remains brave. The frayed ears right next to the S-slot are another detail you've never seen before. "We hope that with our concept, we will have greater latitude for development than our competitors," said Frederic Vbadeur, team leader. Sauber will stick to his small steps policy. Each race is a small upgrade that you understand because the puzzle is abandoned every few races. "We will each have new coins in Melbourne and Bahrain," says Vbadeur.

McLaren did well after a bumpy start to the test. Although Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris hunt on time every day, however, it is necessary to drive six times earlier, commented his partner Renault. Andrea Stella, McLaren's operations manager, said: "We have a much better base than last year, but we still have some problems to solve." McLaren has left time behind. "We only had our Melbourne rear wing with us, and the products for Barcelona are too weak," said McLaren boss Zak Brown.

Williams is at the bottom of the table as expected. It could have been worse after the late start of the test. The 1,181,130 minutes of George Russell are decent given the circumstances. Robert Kubica said the handling of the Williams FW42 was far more predictable than that of his predecessor. The car is more mobile and you can better manage the tires. Chief Technology Officer Paddy Lowe talks about a platform to build on. When he tries to make us believe that Williams left in five days and a half of the program, which was to last eight days, he gets a little tired. There is probably a fear that he attaches responsibility for breaking the backhand.