[smr2018test]
Formula One cars could lap up to two seconds faster at the Circuit de Catalunya following the resurfacing at the track, Carlos Sainz Jnr predicted.
“I think if you get the tyres working on the new Tarmac at Barcelona it’s around two seconds faster,” said Sainz. “Also what I heard from other categories, friends that live in Barcelona and come to run with different categories, they’ve all been on a normal day one and a half seconds faster, two seconds sometimes.”
Sainz only ran in the afternoon during today’s test by which time the temperatures had dropped and the surface had cooled. However he expects the track will be much quicker in normal conditions.
“If you get your tyres working, which today I didn’t manage but looks like people in the morning when the sun was out they managed to do, the track is going to be seriously quick this year. It’s going to be a completely different track, completely different balance, completely different [degradation] to what we were used to in Barcelona one year ago.”
The changes go beyond resurfacing at some parts of the track, Sainz explained.
“There’s slight difference in cambers. In grip, obviously. In kerbs there’s a bit of a difference also. It’s not exactly the same track as it was last year.”
“But still Barcelona, still a great track, still one of the best tracks for testing. Now with this new Tarmac it’s going to be seriously impressive the lap times that I think we’re going to manage to do as soon as the weather starts to be normal.”
“For 2018 cars with softer tyres and this Tarmac Barcelona is going to be seriously quick, I think.”
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Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
27th February 2018, 0:35
Is this a good thing? Maybe?
Jere (@jerejj)
27th February 2018, 3:22
@peartree How so?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
27th February 2018, 6:15
@jerejj I don’t know, that’s why I beg the question. The track is notoriously difficult for racing, might it change?
frood19 (@frood19)
27th February 2018, 9:39
@peartree unless they can follow each other through the final corner without understeering, things will be largely the same. it was ok last year, there was some decent action into the first corner. oddly turn 5 (seat?) was quite an innovative passing place, probably because there are some different lines possible, but i suspect you will need a fairly large performance advantage to make it work.
on the other hand, it is a good thing that the cars are the fastest they’ve ever been. that is the whole point of F1 being the pinnacle of motorsport. over the last few years it has always sat wrong with me that they were so much slower than they could be.
kpcart
27th February 2018, 11:29
they don’t have to be too fast to be exciting, now they are starting to make too much grip again… meaning worse racing. Indycars used to do 240mph laps on some superspeedways, with top speed 250mph (400kmh), meaning they were the fastest race cars, but they pegged it back and still have great racing.