Stoffel Vandoorne headed the times for McLaren as F1 cars tested for the last time in 2015.
The test, which was conducted behind closed doors, was organised by Pirelli and involved all ten teams. Unmarked tyres were used as F1’s official tyre supplier evaluated several different potential versions of the new-for-2016 ‘ultra-soft’ compound.
“The ultra-soft’s target for 2016 is to introduce a compound softer than the super-soft and mainly designed as aggressive choice for street circuits: with better performance than the latest version of the super-soft tyre and faster degradation, in order to allow the teams to take a more aggressive approach to race strategy.”
“Whether this will produce more pit stops, or any difference in strategies, it’s too early to say for now. We will fully analyse our data and team telemetry once we get back to base. But it seems we are heading in the right direction: the ultra-soft is expected to offer more possibilities for certain races.”
World champions Mercedes entrusted their car to DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein who ended the session fifth fastest behind Kimi Raikkonen, Marcus Ericsson and new Lotus driver Jolyon Palmer.
The busiest team was Force India, who covered 136 laps. New development driver Alfonso Celis completed more than a full race distance in his first F1 test. Jordan King, who was also having his first run in an F1 car, ended the test slowest in the Manor albeit within a tenth of a second of Rio Haryanto’s time.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Fastest lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1’44.103 | 99 | |
| 2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’44.456 | 0.353 | 56 |
| 3 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1’44.480 | 0.377 | 50 |
| 4 | Jolyon Palmer | Lotus | 1’44.568 | 0.465 | 90 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’44.940 | 0.837 | 56 |
| 6 | Pascal Wehrlein | Mercedes | 1’45.605 | 1.502 | 107 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1’45.805 | 1.702 | 57 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1’45.849 | 1.746 | 54 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1’45.852 | 1.749 | 71 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1’45.940 | 1.837 | 103 |
| 11 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1’46.309 | 2.206 | 48 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso | 1’46.995 | 2.892 | 56 |
| 13 | Adderley Fong | Sauber | 1’48.439 | 4.336 | 57 |
| 14 | Alfonso Celis | Force India | 1’48.545 | 4.442 | 65 |
| 15 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1’49.593 | 5.490 | 56 |
| 16 | Jordan King | Manor | 1’49.661 | 5.558 | 59 |
2015 F1 season
- How a secret Mercedes engine mode helped pressure Vettel into a race-ending puncture
- Over 100 driver penalties issued in record-breaking 2015
- Part-time racer? The facts of Hamilton’s ‘jet-set lifestyle’
- The Complete F1 Fanatic 2015 season review
- Your favourite – and least favourite – F1 races of 2015
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
1st December 2015, 18:49
So McLaren found the right setup to top the times… 3 days after the season ended.
markp
1st December 2015, 18:55
Maybe they have a track mode button like their P1 roadcar and they only just discovered it. Was it written in Japanese and Honda engineers had a look and told them.
Carlitox (@carlitox)
1st December 2015, 19:08
I can imagine the situation!
Ron: Hey Honda-San, the engine was awful! What happened?
Honda-San: Did you press the track mode button?
Ron: What?
Honda-San: The one behind the steering wheel.
Ron: Oh…
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
1st December 2015, 22:12
+1
BasCB (@bascb)
1st December 2015, 20:36
LOL
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
1st December 2015, 21:42
Did you see how that car behaved after Nasr gave it a good hard kick: it took off like a wild horse, even Alonso couldn’t control it, it sped past Vettel and in a wild rage it took out Maldonado’s Lotus. Since then it has been like a real F1 car. I don’t know what Nasr did, but McLaren should thank Nasr for his assistance.
On a more serious note, Vandoorne’s time was actually faster than than Hamilton’s fastest race lap, mind you, so were Kimi’s and Ericsson’s tyre test times.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
1st December 2015, 19:00
Only session McLaren will top this year.. except for the penalty chart!
Impressive that Vandoorne was only 1 tenth off Alonso – McLaren can work out the rest (tyre, fuel, track conditions).
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
1st December 2015, 19:03
*Or 7 tenths faster of course, likely on the Ultra-soft.. (Still don’t know why they didn’t add a ‘Super-Hard’ to balance the choices and hint at having tyre durability.. oh wait :P)
Fletch (@fletchuk)
1st December 2015, 19:02
Definitely and earlier than usual transition back to the ‘Hope’ phase of being a McLaren fan…
Here is today’s official status:
Hope->Concern->Disappointment->Dismay
Gabriel (@rethla)
1st December 2015, 19:03
Where was this? It doesnt sound very quick if this was in Abu Dhabi with faster tyres than the GP.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
2nd December 2015, 15:39
@rethla Yes they were seconds off the quali times, but Pirelli run the test, so the teams weren’t going for maximising performance but doing what Pirelli said for the tires. That’s why no new parts were allowed too.
Tim M (@tim-m)
1st December 2015, 19:13
While it’s surprising that Vandoorne topped the times, I think it’s even more surprising that a 2015 McLaren managed to not break down for 99 laps :)
Sumedh
1st December 2015, 19:38
This!!
I am not sure how that happened, but I am glad it did. If Mclaren solve their reliability issues by 1st pre-season test, they can focus on speed later and have a competitive package by Australia 2016.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
1st December 2015, 19:49
@tim-m or maybe they did 98 installation laps and one full-throttle-and-almost-no-fuel very fast lap!!!
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
1st December 2015, 22:14
+1
Ernie2492 (@ernietheracefan)
1st December 2015, 21:40
What kind of sorcery is this..!?
SD (@sd)
1st December 2015, 22:07
Any idea why McLaren and Mercedes ran only one of their cars? All the others ran two cars.
Luca
1st December 2015, 22:55
I think that they all ran one car, but some switched drivers after the lunch break.
Philip (@philipgb)
1st December 2015, 22:28
Are there any charts of how many engines McLaren used to complete this test?
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
1st December 2015, 23:08
First joke: why is Vandoorne so fast in McLaren? Because he is used to GP2 engine…
Then the real question, how is he not in F1? Where will he race next year? FR3.5? McLaren test driver waiting for Alonso or Button to retire? They wont, especially if car improves…
Standards in F1 are high today.. Is he better than Hulk, Kimster, Toro Roso boys, who can he replace… It is incredible that seat cannot be found. For sure lotus could ditch Maldonado? Carbon fibre cannot be that cheap.
Someone make room please.
Fernando (@fernanzazpi)
2nd December 2015, 15:04
No, he is not. For instance, te Hulk is current Le Mans champion. Gotta get some credit against a driver topping a testing time table against noobz
drmouse (@drmouse)
2nd December 2015, 15:05
Lol, love it :)
Renan Martinuzzo
2nd December 2015, 0:51
Is this real life. Or just fantasy.
Mangy Black Sheep (@mangyblacksheep)
2nd December 2015, 2:52
Did VTEC just kick in?
Night Fury (@toothless)
2nd December 2015, 7:23
lol. Didn’t expect to see that phrase in here…
RaceProUK (@)
3rd December 2015, 17:57
All it needs is the ‘yo’ :)
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
2nd December 2015, 19:51
Good one :-)
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
2nd December 2015, 12:18
So that would have been good enough for 18th on the grid, and with faster tyres than they raced with on Sunday.
People reading anything good into it are extreme optimists.