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BradSpeedMan

Testing Starts!!!

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They're getting faster...

11:46 Good news for Ferrari as Alonso completes his fastest lap of the day: a 1m20.412s

11:48 For the record, Alonso's time is also Ferrari's best lap at Jerez this week, some four tenths better than Massa's best from yesterday

I think this is done of the soft compound...

11:49 Rosberg flies to the top of the times with a 1m17.613s

11:49 And the quickest lap of the week by nearly a full second

it was a qualifying type lap, cause he's in the next lap

EDIT: Sh#t SORRY....SO FAR

With a 2011 spec car?

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Though I once worked for Renault within the environs of F1, infer doesn't come easy nowadays. However, I can tell you they are absolutely delighted with the new car, Kimi and Grosjean. It's very easy to drive and is mega quick in the corners. All based on texts from other ex-Mecachrome employees sniffing about at Jerez this morning.

lovey to hear, especially from a reliable source you know.....according to Boullier Kimi has apparently galvanised the team...

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Vettel is quiet, wonder what the problem is...

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12:25 After some debate, we think the Ferrari sounds different to the others - a throatier noise.

12:25 Suggestions are that it could be related to the exhaust design.

12:26 Vettel is back on track in the Red Bull RB8.

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experimentation goin on...

12:38 That last little blast from Vettel started with his new best of 1m19.7s, then he backed right off for a lap, then put in a 1m19.9s and a 1m20.4s.

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13:49 Alonso's trip out of the pits didn't last very long, he's now back in.

13:50 He remains seventh quickest, around where Ferrari has been all week. The team insists there are no dramas and that it is just calmly gathering development data and learning about its radical F2012.

13:50 But so far comments from the team haven't carried the confidence that the likes of Red Bull and McLaren have been hinting at.

Remember this is testing folks, and this is entirely MEANINGLESS....SO FAR!!!

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something quite funny...

14:30 The cameras are out and the crowd is on its feet. That can only mean one thing

14:30 Yes, Alonso is going out for another run

14:34 Alonso's fans delight was short-lived, as the Spaniard pitted without completing a timed lap

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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I know it's only testing, but impressed by Renault so far, err I mean Lotus. I have no illusions they have a WDC in the making, but they clearly don't have a turd either. More to come for sure as each day completes.

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good news for Ferrari fans...sortof, it's only testing, so it's meaningless....

15:22 This is, however, a decent spell for Ferrari, with the car looking more assured and Alonso clearly in the mood

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Well, Marc Gené explained yesterday that Ferrari's "new and audacious technology (i.e.pull-rods" was last seen on a car 10 years ago...on Alonso's 2001 Minardi.

Maybe that's why he adapted faster than Felipinho, and why the car seems like such a piece of crap :lol:

They should consider hiring Alex Yoong as well...

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Well, Marc Gené explained yesterday that Ferrari's "new and audacious technology (i.e.pull-rods" was last seen on a car 10 years ago...on Alonso's 2001 Minardi.

Maybe that's why he adapted faster than Felipinho, and why the car seems like such a piece of crap :lol:

They should consider hiring Alex Yoong as well...

Andres...we are all saying this is only testing and too early to tell...but I'm just wondering.....these guys had over a year to build their car.... should'nt they be fast out of the blocks, or show some signs of good speed at least. All they're doing is gathering of development and aerodynamic data, so they say, because their car is radical! Let's hope we see some really fast consistent times come Barcalona test over a forthnight, there are alot of fans with very high expectations for Ferrari fighting for both championships. Last year RBR showed good consistent speed right from the beginning, even though they sandbagged with high fuel loads their runs were impressive...

Let's hope I'm wrong and this car needs more development as they claim. The picture should be more clearer end of Barcalona test.

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Andres...we are all saying this is only testing and too early to tell...but I'm just wondering.....these guys had over a year to build their car.... should'nt they be fast out of the blocks, or show some signs of good speed at least. All they're doing is gathering of development and aerodynamic data, so they say, because their car is radical! Let's hope we see some really fast consistent times come Barcalona test over a forthnight, there are alot of fans with very high expectations for Ferrari fighting for both championships. Last year RBR showed good consistent speed right from the beginning, even though they sandbagged with high fuel loads their runs were impressive...

Let's hope I'm wrong and this car needs more development as they claim. The picture should be more clearer end of Barcalona test.

If it was just a matter of speed I would agree that testing means nothing. But all the gremlins and (as it seems to be the common consensus) handling issues are an entirely different matter.

Like you said, the car has been in development for more than a year, and Ferrari might not be famous for their originality but they are famous for their reliability "out of the box". They can (and usually do) produce a dog of a car, but usually a fully working, quite complete dog of a car. This year it doesn't seems so.

They can be sandabgging, of course, but Ferrari was never good at that and this kind of sandbagging is only done by two kind of teams: those who are over confident of having the absolute best (Red Bull) or teams with very unique developments which need to keep out of sight until is too late for other teams to catch up.

Other teams can only sandbagging so much, as there's a point in which sandbagging becomes a headache for the marketing guys when they have to meet not just the press, but the sponsors worried representatives.

Ferrari is certainly not one of the teams in the first cathegory, and I don't think they are as confident as to consider themselves part of the second.

Thus, the car is probably as bad as it looks right now. Maybe they are not showing the true speed, but they are certainly and unwillingly showing their true overall performance.

How bad is it? Well...that is something we don't know. Last year's Macca seemed hopeless, yet in a few races they became the second best team and stood there for the remainder of the season.

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The US F1 Team Type One had a pull-rod suspension, as well, which gives me a whole lot of confidence in the rationale behind it. ;)

Admittedly, US F1 Team only used a pull-rod suspension because they were literally building an IndyCar, and by building, I mean they had already built an IndyCar in 2003 as Falcon Cars (the wind tunnel tests went so poorly not a single team bought one) and decided they were just going to find some way to enter that.

Heidfeld and Lotus paced early tests last year, so I understand people wanting to be cautious, but quite honestly, there's so much information and so many connected people and journalists and all that. I think most flukes (i.e. the year Sauber used low fuel to try to make the car look faster to attract sponsors) are caught pretty easily and reported to the masses fairly quickly; same would go for a team with a fast car that was doing alternative runs such that it looked slower. Many were quick to declare Brawn the 2009 WCC and Red Bull the 2010 and 2011 WCC based on winter testing; if you read reports beyond the timing sheet you can get a good idea of what's really going on.

All I'm really trying to say is, if Romain Grosjean can go that fast, the Lotus has to be a capable car.

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The US F1 Team Type One had a pull-rod suspension, as well, which gives me a whole lot of confidence in the rationale behind it. ;)

Admittedly, US F1 Team only used a pull-rod suspension because they were literally building an IndyCar, and by building, I mean they had already built an IndyCar in 2003 as Falcon Cars (the wind tunnel tests went so poorly not a single team bought one) and decided they were just going to find some way to enter that.

Heidfeld and Lotus paced early tests last year, so I understand people wanting to be cautious, but quite honestly, there's so much information and so many connected people and journalists and all that. I think most flukes (i.e. the year Sauber used low fuel to try to make the car look faster to attract sponsors) are caught pretty easily and reported to the masses fairly quickly; same would go for a team with a fast car that was doing alternative runs such that it looked slower. Many were quick to declare Brawn the 2009 WCC and Red Bull the 2010 and 2011 WCC based on winter testing; if you read reports beyond the timing sheet you can get a good idea of what's really going on.

All I'm really trying to say is, if Romain Grosjean can go that fast, the Lotus has to be a capable car.

You have a unique way of looking at things... and I enjoy it. and I'm not gonna give you another compliment till nest year :lol:

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If it was just a matter of speed I would agree that testing means nothing. But all the gremlins and (as it seems to be the common consensus) handling issues are an entirely different matter.

Like you said, the car has been in development for more than a year, and Ferrari might not be famous for their originality but they are famous for their reliability "out of the box". They can (and usually do) produce a dog of a car, but usually a fully working, quite complete dog of a car. This year it doesn't seems so.

They can be sandabgging, of course, but Ferrari was never good at that and this kind of sandbagging is only done by two kind of teams: those who are over confident of having the absolute best (Red Bull) or teams with very unique developments which need to keep out of sight until is too late for other teams to catch up.

Other teams can only sandbagging so much, as there's a point in which sandbagging becomes a headache for the marketing guys when they have to meet not just the press, but the sponsors worried representatives.

Ferrari is certainly not one of the teams in the first cathegory, and I don't think they are as confident as to consider themselves part of the second.

Thus, the car is probably as bad as it looks right now. Maybe they are not showing the true speed, but they are certainly and unwillingly showing their true overall performance.

How bad is it? Well...that is something we don't know. Last year's Macca seemed hopeless, yet in a few races they became the second best team and stood there for the remainder of the season.

quite true... good post...

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on the other hand....

"Ferrari and McLaren are feeling their way, not even exploring the limits yet. Ferrari continue to make gentle progress with their revolutionary new car. Its engineers have been saying that some new things on the car, like the pullrod suspension, are working as expected, while others, like the exhausts are more complicated to understand and make the most of."

James Allen

remains to be seen...

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Testing is a poker game, along with practice and some of qualifying. When you decide to show your hand is the question. Perhaps the Lotus IS that quick, we won't know till round 1 qualy session 3. I hope they are personally because i'd love to see a little mix up in the top 6 this year. It's funny because a lot of these guys (drives, teams, staff) will outright bluff in any interview. It's all a game, but it sure makes for pre-season excitement.

I just love Newey's comment on the duct on the RB8 "it's for driver cooling", sure and pigs can fly right. He must be one hell of a poker player.

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on the other hand....

"Ferrari and McLaren are feeling their way, not even exploring the limits yet. Ferrari continue to make gentle progress with their revolutionary new car. Its engineers have been saying that some new things on the car, like the pullrod suspension, are working as expected, while others, like the exhausts are more complicated to understand and make the most of."

James Allen

remains to be seen...

:lol: You beat me to it. Yes, JA sems more optimistic (much to your chagrin :P) Anyways, the fact that Lotus has shown so much that it is not an out of the box dog is always good.

And...GROSJEAN IS FASTER THAN KIMI OMFG WOOT SOMFG L333T SHAZAM!! :snigger:

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Ferrari is -as other the top teams with huge budgets- the most penalized team with the lack of tests. If it could be possible to test they were make zillion of laps at fiorano (even with snow!!) and change half of the car, but today simple they can´t. So hey need a different approach and different skills and in the last years they didn´t found it. neverthelles is too early to say if the car is good or not and if it has good potencial. Let´s wait and see.

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I just love Newey's comment on the duct on the RB8 "it's for driver cooling", sure and pigs can fly right. He must be one hell of a poker player.

Well I see you flying... quite impressively... Stig Lee, is what we should call u

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Testing is a poker game, along with practice and some of qualifying. When you decide to show your hand is the question. Perhaps the Lotus IS that quick, we won't know till round 1 qualy session 3. I hope they are personally because i'd love to see a little mix up in the top 6 this year. It's funny because a lot of these guys (drives, teams, staff) will outright bluff in any interview. It's all a game, but it sure makes for pre-season excitement.

I just love Newey's comment on the duct on the RB8 "it's for driver cooling", sure and pigs can fly right. He must be one hell of a poker player.

Indeed.

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I just love Newey's comment on the duct on the RB8 "it's for driver cooling", sure and pigs can fly right. He must be one hell of a poker player.

Exactly what I thought, the most fabled of designers that isn't willing to base a cars design around anything, including drivers, all of a sudden has a change of heart and makes a nice big hole in the nose just for driver comfort!

Either he's getting soppy in old age, or told a small porky there! Just wait for the other drivers to go peaking in the c#ckpit during Parc Ferme in Melborune, a la Vettel on the McLaren F-Duct :-P

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