Winter testing

[Sakae 0]

Winter Testing

February 18 to 21: Winter Test 1, Barcelona

February 26 to March 1: Winter Test 2 , Barcelona

One of the early comments by Vettel (as he was pressed for an answer)

Quote

 “It’s difficult to say at this time of year, everybody is still in the dark, we are waiting for the [new] cars to come and then get a feel. We’ll see at the first race.”

This of course begs the question whether we can go to sleep and wake up when races start. I am slightly tired over speculations who is for real, and who is sandbagging. Every year it seems as the same silly game being played. Testing is testing, and there are no points to be had for day dreaming.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Sakae said:

Testing is testing

Exactly!...With testing being so limited it should be used to the MAX, no sandbagging, no BS.

In a former life, I used to work for Shell and every year Ferrari would bring their A team inc Shumi to Thornton Teck Park in the UK for """"fuel testing"""!

Strange how the track was not at all straight and there was a full aero team in tow. 

The point I'm trying to clumsily make is: less testing seems to have only led to more domination for whatever team roles up in top shape for race 1.
(sure Ferrari in those "testing days" dominated - but not by much, and it allowed others to challenge)

All this fake budget cap nonsense is kidding no-one. Just let those that can.....DO! and those that can't.....well there will always be a bottom half

[Sakae 0]

A lot here to discuss, and you touch nerve with me regarding a few IMO core problems F1 boxed themselves in.

Testing (or lack of thereof). I think they did it to level a field. Did it help? Looking where Williams is, I would say no. In fact, other than need for having on staff an idea guy, I think they could use all the testing time of day permits. FiA and CVC moved track testing effectively onto desks of guys with Ph.D. in aerodynamics. I would bet RBR likes this, whereas some other teams not that much. Fact is, and Honda case merely validates basic engineering tenet, the team needs to collect data in real track testing to validate theoretical assumptions. It was after a lot of money was unnecessarily wasted, brand got some mud on their label before they discovered through on track testing an error in calibration of dyno. Who was helped by this? Honda has taken risk and we know how it ended.

Randomness of suprising and unresolved failures due to design flaws together with manufacturing variances has been used as strategy to move drivers on the starting grid, how stupid bright people can be.

They locked really bad situation in 2014 and blocked necessary corrective measures grid so badly needed, and what was achieved? Mercedes winning and winning and winning - presenting us with Tier 1, Mercedes class, with two cars competing. I can only repeat what has been said many times before, that this is not normal. When Brawn won in 2009, people during a season could change the car and move forward. When Ferrari was at the front, people could copy and move forward. When Vettel had his RBR, other teams could work on their cars, and catch him. Not so in hybrid era. 

When new hybrid was introduced in 2014 and that idiotic, self destructive point system was introduced, try to recover and level a field in that environment. Renault is still at it, and they are not much ahead five years later. Rumor has it, that Mercedes actually was developing their engine system already in 2010, whilst assisting FiA to write specs. This leads back to problem why we do not see new entrants. 

Are there solutions to this? Surely there are. Burn it to the ground and start over. Change normative references. (I think Brawn is actually working on it.) Building a complex vehicle cost money, time, and you need high level HR experts to manage complex situations. You cannot "fudge" it, fake it, or whatever..

There are however some other, new issues along-way, which are not often discussed, namely, cars developed in 21st century, monsters as they are, becoming incompatible with tracks they race on, it affects races, and not always in best way. (IMHO.)

Plenty to discuss in the future.