Winter Testing Thread: 06-07

[ykickamoocow 0]

This is the most important thing here and is that Mark Webber is already faster than DC, Webber is calearly better than DC who was all season driving that car and Webber coming from Williams is setting faster times than him, I just can imaging that this will be the whole season like this.

You do know that this is testing and it is clear from the times that Red Bull dont car about lap times at all which makes the fact that Webber was afew tenths faster than Coulthard irrelivant.

[milaszewski 0]

it seems that lap times are much worse on new tyres

Last testing session in Barcelona brought results around 1m14s, so now it is generally 3-4s slower. But let's see what happens during next few days anyway.

[Schumikonen 2]

You do know that this is testing and it is clear from the times that Red Bull dont car about lap times at all which makes the fact that Webber was afew tenths faster than Coulthard irrelivant.

Maybe you are right but look what the news is saying about it, Webber had some trouble and DC did complete his program without any problem and Webber was still faster, it's all posted in my fisrt answer here.

[ykickamoocow 0]

Maybe you are right but look what the news is saying about it, Webber had some trouble and DC did complete his program without any problem and Webber was still faster, it's all posted in my fisrt answer here.

Both Red Bull drivers were slower than the Super Aguri which proves that neither driver cared about their overall lap time andd thus analysing them is impossible.

[Schumikonen 2]

it seems that lap times are much worse on new tyres

Last testing session in Barcelona brought results around 1m14s, so now it is generally 3-4s slower. But let's see what happens during next few days anyway.

I was expecting that for two reasons

1- Brigestone has not rival now so no matter what kind of tyre they build brigestone is going to be the winner beside that they said that they will do a better and safer construction, intead of a faster tyre.

2- I read that FIA wanted brigestone to help slow down F1 cars, I don't know if this is real or not but it would be a good way to get it done, FIA have been trying to slow down F1 since 1994.

Both Red Bull drivers were slower than the Super Aguri which proves that neither driver cared about their overall lap time andd thus analysing them is impossible.

I don't know what to tell you about Super Aguri but I can compare drivers in the same team and in the same car, I don't know what they were testing but Webber need an adatation period in the team and car so I don't see any reason why DC had to be slower than him, I know that this is just the fisrt test and that they test a lot of different things but I wasn't expecting that Mark would be faster than DC in the fisrt day and after reading the news this became more interesting to me, in fact I said to me this is the most important situation of the first test.

[ykickamoocow 0]

I don't know what to tell you about Super Aguri but I can compare drivers in the same team and in the same car, I don't know what they were testing but Webber need an adatation period in the team and car so I don't see any reason why DC had to be slower than him, I know that this is just the fisrt test and that they test a lot of different things but I wasn't expecting that Mark would be faster than DC in the fisrt day and after reading the news this became more interesting to me, in fact I said to me this is the most important situation of the first test.

Except we dont know what each drivers programme involved. Webber could have been testing 2007 components on the RB2 while Coulthard could have been doing tyre evaluations. That could easily explain the .3 of a second time difference.

[Schumikonen 2]

Except we dont know what each drivers programme involved. Webber could have been testing 2007 components on the RB2 while Coulthard could have been doing tyre evaluations. That could easily explain the .3 of a second time difference.

Probably this was the case but know I want you to tell me what will happend in a few month when Webber is all set with the new car and team, he will beat DC clearly beacuse you are not thinking that this is the first time that he drives that car even testing 2007 components he've done a great job today.

[Taku 0]

they have 4 cars running simultaneously ...

RB

James Rossitterr

ANT

INFACT ITS FUNNY SATO ISNT TESTING .....!!!!!!!!!!

they have 3 cars running .

are you sure it isn't just 2 hondas and a super aguri?

This is the most important thing here and is that Mark Webber is already faster than DC, Webber is calearly better than DC who was all season driving that car and Webber coming from Williams is setting faster times than him, I just can imaging that this will be the whole season like this.

/

I can see a difficult season coming for DC.

dude, i like speculating as much as the next guy but come on it is the first test of the season. good on mark for setting a decent time despite problems with the car, but still. you can start speculating once they've gotten into their programs proper. completely new tyres, not to mention cobwebs after a month of holidaying and partying, i don't expect any of these drivers to be anywhere near the top of their games.

[narain fan 0]

are you sure it isn't just 2 hondas and a super aguri?

just by painting 2 ra106's black wont mean they are above the gentleman's aggrement

[ykickamoocow 0]

Aguri set to race modified '06 Honda

Super Aguri seems likely to run a modified version of Honda

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Thats good, the 06 Honda was not bad at all so SA have something good to work with, and they seem to have a very good bunch of people when u consider the massive progress they made throughout 2006.

As for webber and DC, i havent read everyone's posts but if anyone is suggesting 1 driver must be faster than the other due to testing times, then that person really is showing themselves up to be pretty clueless when it comes to our beloved sport

[Loser Boy 0]

It's frustrating that Kimi is stymied till the end of the year. I am just dying to know whether he's faster than the dwa.. I mean Massa.

Seems Ferrari has the constructors' title firmly in the bag. Trulli is right.

[narain fan 0]

F1: Hakkinen to Test McLaren on Thursday

Written by: Adam Cooper, RACER Magazine

Barcelona, Spain – 11/29/2006

Could Hakkinen be considering a full-time F1 return? (LAT Photo)

McLaren has confirmed that Mika Hakkinen is to test an F1 car at Barcelona on Thursday, following his recent acclimatization runs on the factory simulator.

Hakkinen’s name has been mentioned in connection with a test since he appeared at the Brazilian GP as a guest of McLaren. He has remained close to the team in the years since his retirement at the end of 2001, and had of course driven for Mercedes in DTM for the past two seasons, although he is currently out of contract.

Unfortunately for Mika the team decided on Lewis Hamilton for the second seat as long ago as September 23, while Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett have ongoing testing deals.

It’s hard to see that the test can ultimately be anything than a chance for the 38-year-old to have some fun and possibly get F1 out of his system, because clearly there is no chance of a McLaren race seat becoming available in the coming years. The only tenuous opportunity might be if McLaren do a deal to supply Prodrive, but a second string seat is unlikely to have as much appeal.

A team statement said that the team “will use this test to benefit from Mika's experience and obtain his feedback with regards to changes in downforce, engine and tires following the regulatory changes which have occurred since he last drove a F1 car,’ and while that will be of academic interest realistically there is not a lot he can contribute after so long away, especially as he was never noted as a technically inclined driver.

“I'm really excited about driving a Team McLaren Mercedes F1 car again and to be re-engaging with the team,” the 38-year-old Finn was quoted as saying. “I have followed the World Championship closely since my retirement at the end of the 2001 season, but it was when I was at this year's Brazilian Grand Prix as a guest of the team that I really felt I would like to get a chance to drive an F1 car again.

“I have recently spent some time in Team McLaren Mercedes' simulator in Woking and to get the possibility to drive the MP4-21 is something I'm really looking forward to. I would like to thank Ron and Norbert for making this happen. This test is a chance for me to see how much F1 cars have advanced and experience first hand what they are like to drive today as well as providing the team with some feedback on various aspects of the car's performance.”

“We are delighted to provide Mika with the opportunity to drive an F1 car again," said Ron Dennis. “He is really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of a current F1 car. A driver of Mika's caliber and experience can only bring added value to our testing program and his feedback after Thursday's running will be valuable to the team in our preparations for the 2007 season. However at this stage there are no plans for Mika to conduct further tests for the team.”

“Mika has always been a very important part of the McLaren Mercedes family,”

said Norbert Haug. “With his two F1 World Championship titles and 20 Grand Prix wins for the team he has contributed a lot to the success of the McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team. Since 2005 he has been competing in the DTM Touring Car Championship and clearly shown that he has not lost any of his speed or commitment. Everybody in the team is happy to see him at the wheel of our Formula 1 car again and we look forward to some interesting comments. However nobody should draw the conclusion that Mika will switch back to Formula 1 after this test.”

Clearly the team still has a lot of faith in Mika, but sadly his timing is wrong. The question has to be why he did not make a more concerted attempt to return two or three years ago, when he would have had more options.

[aussief1 4]

[quote name='narain fan' post='159075' date='Nov 29 2006, 09:27 PM']just by painting 2 ra106's black wont mean they are above the gentleman's aggrement[/quote]

Very crafty work from the boys at Honda. I wonder when STR are going to start testing with the RB2???

[quote name='jemstride' post='159088' date='Nov 29 2006, 11:45 PM']As for webber and DC, i havent read everyone's posts but if anyone is suggesting 1 driver must be faster than the other due to testing times, then that person really is showing themselves up to be pretty clueless when it comes to our beloved sport[/quote]

Agree, testing means very little unless you have the correct information about what each drivers exact program is. Lets not all get carried away with all the excitement!!!!

[quote name='Loser Boy' post='159095' date='Nov 30 2006, 12:32 AM']It's frustrating that Kimi is stymied till the end of the year. I am just dying to know whether he's faster than the dwa.. I mean Massa.

Seems Ferrari has the constructors' title firmly in the bag. Trulli is right.[/quote]

Read above

[sdoik 0]

Testing times from Barcelona (Wednesday 29 November)

1. MASSA Ferrari 1m16.403s

2. HEIDFELD BMW 1m17.159s

3. BADOER Ferrari 1m17.447s

4. DE LA ROSA McLaren 1m17.584s

5. PANIS Toyota 1m17.643s

6. HAMILTON McLaren 1m17.748s

7. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m17.992s

8. WEBBER Red Bull 1m18.249s

9. PIQUET Renault 1m18.312s

10. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m18.374s

11. KLIEN Honda 1m18.383s

12. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m18.526s

13. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m18.775s

14. KUBICA BMW 1m18.778s

15. WURZ Williams 1m19.009s

16. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m19.114s

17. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m19.277s

18. KOBAYASHI Toyota 1m20.731s

[F1 FANatic 1]

well we know Massa's time was on low fuel and such,we know this just because Ferrari always want to be at the top of the sheets for the brass and the PR. I also think Nick did one quick lap on low fuel just to be up there. But what ive read sounds like the teams are all working on Tires mainly.

[Schumikonen 2]

well we know Massa's time was on low fuel and such,we know this just because Ferrari always want to be at the top of the sheets for the brass and the PR. I also think Nick did one quick lap on low fuel just to be up there. But what ive read sounds like the teams are all working on Tires mainly.

Yes working on tires mainly, but Webber is still beating DC...

[narain fan 0]

Hakkinen: Car didn't change a lot

30 November 2006 / Results / Photos

On Thursday Mika Hakkinen returned at McLaren for a test session in the McLaren MP4-21. He completed a total of 79 laps and after the test the Finn admitted he would love to test again.

Looking back at his day of testing he told F1Racing.net: "It was an excellent day, very exciting. I drove 79 laps, and that's a lot at Barcelona. The track is quite demanding, lots of corners were the g-load is quite high. I'm very happy to have driven so many laps without any problems."

In the morning Hakkinen completed a number of installation runs but wasn't able to run the scheduled programme. "This morning we weren't able to start the programme in a normal way as we had some problems that we found this morning. So we had to work all morning until lunchtime to find the right set-up and I have to admit, we did a great job. It was really enjoyable work," explained Hakkinen.

Some would have expected Hakkinen to be right at the pace. But Hakkinen urges to keep the expectations low. "The purpose for today was not to impress anybody, we just had to find a good feeling and understand Formula 1 and find out if it has changed a lot since 2001. Surprisingly, the change was very little.

"There is a lot more electronics in the car, nowadays. That can be a good or a bad thing, because it helps you in the corners, but it can also be very confusing. So you really have to stay calm and a focused mind, because it can influence your lap time easily by more than a second and the driver doesn't even notice it.

"The V10 had more explosive power and very impressive torque, now it seems like you have less. Technology has gone forward, so the drivability is very smooth and that feels fantastic. I think Mercedes has done very good work. We didn't have any problems."

For Hakkinen it was an interesting day at Circuit de Catalunya. McLaren has said it was a one-time test for Hakkinen for now, but the Finn wouldn't mind to try the car again obviously. "I would love to drive the car at another test," he said. "It's getting better and better all the time and I understand the braking points, the acceleration points and the set-up of the car. Today I only used one set of tyres, so it was very difficult.

Hamilton and Hakkinen

Hamilton and Hakkinen

"In a next test I would be stronger and quicker and I would have more knowledge about the car. But we will have to discuss that and see what happens. I really have to see how the team liked this and then we will have to see what we can do."

[Autumnpuma 0]

Thanks, narain.

I would love to see McLaren punt Pedro and insert Mika into the main testing role. Pedro's been a bit of a 'sour grapes' kind of guy since missing the '07 race seat......

[irishfemalefan 0]

I know i said i wouldnt be posting again her but just wanted to rub in the fact that im heading out to Circuit de Catalunya tomorrow to watch the final day of testing

I hope theres plenty of action - if so ill try take plenty of pics for you lot

[Quiet One 15]

I know i said i wouldnt be posting again her but just wanted to rub in the fact that im heading out to Circuit de Catalunya tomorrow to watch the final day of testing

I hope theres plenty of action - if so ill try take plenty of pics for you lot

Ok now that's mean!

Nahhh...enjoy it on our behalf!

[goferrarigo 0]

I know i said i wouldnt be posting again her but just wanted to rub in the fact that im heading out to Circuit de Catalunya tomorrow to watch the final day of testing

I hope theres plenty of action - if so ill try take plenty of pics for you lot

i don't remember why are you saying you will be not posting here again????

Hope you have fun.

[Autumnpuma 0]

i don't remember why are you saying you will be not posting here again????

I was wondering the same thing.......

[silverstone chimp 0]

Me too. Ooops, wrong user name!

[Autumnpuma 0]

Me too. Ooops, wrong user name!

Make sure you don't come back as 'Winter Cougar', Cav!