F1 2011 Pre-Season Thread

[Eckhart von Glan]

Heidfeld 1 sec faster than Senna, suppose we'll hear about his confirmation as driver to replace Kubica tomorrow.

 

[Péter Bártfai]

I can't wait for the first race to see who'll be the fastest!

 

[ufunacaoenn]

Heidfeld 1 sec faster than Senna, suppose we'll hear about his confirmation as driver to replace Kubica tomorrow.

Don't forget that this drivers go by a program so who knows what Heidfeld and Senna were told to do.

 

[Péter Bártfai]

Don't forget that this drivers go by a program so who knows what Heidfeld and Senna were told to do.

I think they must have been on a similar program as the main purpose of this was to compare them!

 

[Ross Balfour]

I think they must have been on a similar program as the main purpose of this was to compare them!

Very true ^^

Also, Heidfeld is the allround F1 driver, he's got experience, pace and he has a cool head, you rarely see him make a mistake compared with the Sutil's, Buemi's and dare I say it the Hamilton's, Vettel's and Webber's.
Senna is not the drive for a big team like Renault yet, he always outpaced his 3 teammates last year, which was a good sign, but that's not enough to go by for a seat in a possible championship winning car, when the likes of Rosberg and Sutil have shown the pace to deserve that sort of drive for years.

 

[Christian Burge]

another reason why senna was 1 sec slower was that the track conditions were worse for senna as the conditions were overcast

 

[ufunacaoenn]

It is Confirmed and IMO not so unexpected.

Link: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/2/11750.html

 

[Joe Bough]

It is Confirmed and IMO not so unexpected.

Link: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/2/11750.html

Senna must be prettey annoyed, theoretically as test driver, the position should have been his....

 

[ufunacaoenn]

Senna must be prettey annoyed, theoretically as test driver, the position should have been his....

Yes but I use to allways say this to evryone, "life is a *****" or "there is no justice". If Senna is going to have a solid spot he most find a way to prove that he is worth a spot at the grid.

 

[kalniel]

Senna must be prettey annoyed, theoretically as test driver, the position should have been his....

And if it had just been one or two races I'm sure it would be his. A season long campaign, possible fight for the championship and long-term car development program is a different matter however.

 

[Yann Laprevotte]

Exactly. Might have worked if the second driver was actually quick and experienced, but going for a Senna-Petrov for at least the first season half would've been just suicide manufacturers championship wise. Remember, Renault more or less lost any hope for 4th in the championship because of Petrov's unexperience last year, though he looked better at the end of the season, he's still definitely not experienced enough for a n°1 driver seat.

he always outpaced his 3 teammates last year,

Really? IIRC Klien beated him by quite a margin at Singapore, and he was often being outpaced by Chandhock(whose level is still to prove, as he didn't really showed huge things in his 3 GP2 seasons).

 

[Chris Butcher]

Really? IIRC Klien beated him by quite a margin at Singapore, and he was often being outpaced by Chandhock(whose level is still to prove, as he didn't really showed huge things in his 3 GP2 seasons).

I never rated Senna, he just rides on his uncle's name unfortunately. I personally think Chandok is massively underrated, he showed great potential but was never given the chance to prove it

 

[Yann Laprevotte]

I never rated Senna, he just rides on his uncle's name unfortunately. I personally think Chandok is massively underrated, he showed great potential but was never given the chance to prove it

Personally I kinda fail to understand what's with the Chandhok's hype. I doubt he'll ever go further than fielding paying F1 backmarker teams seat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karun_Chandhok#Career_summary

(Note that all GP2 podiums but one were earned in the top 8 reversed grid sprint race).

 

[ufunacaoenn]

Unofficial Friday test times from Barcelona:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:24.374, 37 laps
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:25.485, 101
3. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:25.638, 57
4. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:25.641, 78
5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:26.365, 77
6. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:26.575, 26
7. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:26.912, 52
8. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.512, 90
9. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:28.393, 116
10. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:30.065, 54
11. Jerome d’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:30.950, 116
12. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:35.174, 20
13. Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:44.324, 27


What is Renault doing?

 

[Yann Laprevotte]

Tests at Safety Car speed maybe?

 

[Péter Bártfai]

It was rainy
+ some people didn't really test going fast, f.e. Renault drivers practiced pit-stops, then their car gave up for the afternoon:S

 

[Ross Balfour]

Unofficial Friday test times from Barcelona:
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:24.374, 37 laps
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:25.485, 101
3. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:25.638, 57
4. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:25.641, 78
5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:26.365, 77
6. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:26.575, 26
7. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:26.912, 52
8. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.512, 90
9. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:28.393, 116
10. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:30.065, 54
11. Jerome d’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:30.950, 116
12. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:35.174, 20
13. Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:44.324, 27


What is Renault doing?

Yeah as people said, tests aren't all about finding how fast your cars go, but not surprised to see Vettel top by a second, Red Bull owned Barcelona on hotlaps last year, not surprised they're at it again.

 

[ufunacaoenn]

Yeah as people said, tests aren't all about finding how fast your cars go, but not surprised to see Vettel top by a second, Red Bull owned Barcelona on hotlaps last year, not surprised they're at it again.

My point is that Renault might be testing something that is quite unexpected and new to the Renault team. But I do belive the lap times that Mclaren down to Mercedes GP are just 100% testing lap times and nothing more while Vettel is doing a few laps and manages a 1.24.378.
But tbh I would not be surprised to see any driver to be at the top 3 because this is testing and the team that can show less of there car will gain a lot on the GP opening.

 

[Adam Eggbeer]

Nick Heidfeld tested pitstops whilst it was damp this morning and then I think they had a KERS failure over lunch which limited Petrov's running.

Vettel set that time right at the end when the track was at its best and then he only did a few laps. I would ignore those times due to the track conditions and a lot of teams were testing aerodynamics and long runs. I would ecpect the fastest time of the test to be at least 2 seconds quicker than that.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Didnt Webber do any laps?