Verstappen leads first day at Catalunya test

17 comments on “Verstappen leads first day at Catalunya test”

1. 

   Ed Marques (@edmarques)
   15th May 2018, 17:46

   So Vettel used tyres without the modification made by Pirelli and the result was really bad. He had to admit that it would have been worse if they raced them.
   1. 

      Ed Marques (@edmarques)
      15th May 2018, 17:48

      https://twitter.com/diegofmejia/status/996426031597785088 (pictures)
   2. 

      Phylyp (@phylyp)
      15th May 2018, 18:11

      Well, that should settle that conspiracy theory.
      1. 

         Tim
         15th May 2018, 18:28

         If only @phylyp

         I’ve said all along it’s a fake news story without any facts or evidence. The only complaint was always from Vettel and some fans took his words as truth.

         Now we have physical proof ( look at the images from today) that the claims were nonesense. Pirelli aren’t idiots, they based their choice on the data they had and got it right. Ferrari got it wrong, Vettel got it wrong and the people trying to make a conspiracy got it wrong. Simple. Let’s move onto Monaco.
   3. 

      stefan
      15th May 2018, 18:21

      So FEA is no longer Ferrari International Assistance ?
      1. 

         Nick (@nick101)
         16th May 2018, 0:02

         Verstappen leads first day at Catalunya test

         Yeah, but the question is – who did he crash into?

         Had to have been someone!
         1. 

            Pratyush P (@pratyushp276)
            16th May 2018, 6:46

            This joke is getting old, move on already.
2. 

   Phylyp (@phylyp)
   15th May 2018, 18:15

   What are the rules around power units for these sessions? I presume teams bring PUs outside the allocated count?

   Surprised that Toro Rosso have done very little running, I’d have thought that Honda would want as much data with just one team.
   1. 

      Coldfly
      15th May 2018, 22:23

      I’d like to know as well what they do with PUs.
   2. 

      Mach1 (@mach1)
      15th May 2018, 23:25

      I was just wondering that exact same thing. LOL

      I never thought about it before until now. It is kind of sad that we are now worrying what power units they are using in testing due to possible issues arising later in the season. Modern F1!
   3. 

      Nitzo (@webtel)
      16th May 2018, 8:57

      @phylyp

      Sean Gelael returned to test for Toro Rosso but the Formula Two driver’s day was disrupted when a radiator fault caused a significant loss of oil and forced them to change the power unit.

      I think the 3 PUs/year rule is inclusive of the in-season testing sessions as well. Also guessing that the teams were only running their first (second in some cases) PUs for this test. That way, by not compromising its reliability and being cautious (times indicate that), they would just want to ensure they get as much data and perfect the configuration for the races to come. I believe that is one of the primary intentions of the in-season tests.
      1. 

         Phylyp (@phylyp)
         16th May 2018, 9:04

         @webtel – thanks for the bit about TR, I think that was updated after my comment.

         So, while Toro Rosso’s track performance hasn’t been as badly hit by the change to the weaker Honda PU, their season looks to be compromised by the unreliable Honda. I’m sure Red Bull will expect 2019 to be like 2014 if they do switch to Honda next year.

         Also, thank you for clarifying the PU situation, that would explain why the times are not similar to what was seen on the weekend (apart from the other reasons like unknown testing programme and fuel loads).
3. 

   ajpennypacker (@ajpennypacker)
   15th May 2018, 20:16

   Does anyone know why the times were so far from qualifying times? I seem to recall that they usually go pretty close or faster… because of all the additional rubber on the track.
   1. 

      Robbie (@robbie)
      15th May 2018, 23:45

      Aside from not knowing exactly what the teams were doing, as it was testing, apparently it rained at the track about an hour after the race ended. That might have affected the track in terms of rubber.
   2. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore)
      15th May 2018, 23:48

      Sandbagging I guess? I know it’s silly cause they just showed the values in the race, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
   3. 

      Phylyp (@phylyp)
      16th May 2018, 7:15

      @ajpennypacker – As Robbie alluded to, different teams would be running different programs in testing, not necessarily testing outright one-lap qualifying pace. They might be testing race fuel loads, or experimenting with different design concepts, some of which are not performing as expected. They might also be intentionally running slightly detuned, so as to mask any gains from outside observers, while still being fast enough to gather relevant data.
   4. 

      Matthijs (@matthijs)
      16th May 2018, 13:39

      @ajpennypacker Teams do use ‘qualifying tyres’ but they don’t use the qualifying engine party mode, full ERS for 1 lap and often not an empty fuel tank.

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