Sergio Perez was quickest again for Force India as the Mexican driver completed his pre-season testing. However his quickest time was no faster than his best effort from yesterday, when he also headed the times at the Bahrain track.
Fernando Alonso headed the times for part of the session before Perez edged out his best effort by less than a tenth of a second.
Technical problems continued to take their toll on the cars, forcing several drivers to first their tests early.
Among them was Lewis Hamilton, who went off at turn three in his Mercedes early in the session, bringing the red flags out. A gearbox fault later ended his running prematurely.
Pastor Maldonado’s day came to an early end three hours before the session concluded when his Lotus caught fire during a run.
A similar fate befell Marcus Ericsson in the Caterham, though by then there was less than an hour of the test left to go.
Jenson Button was sidelined with a technical problem early in the test and spent five hours stuck in the garage while the McLaren team rectified the fault.
However Marussia enjoyed another improvement to their pre-season preparations. For the first time this year Jules Bianchi covered more than a race distance during a test day, managing 75 laps.
Most teams swapped drivers today with the exception of Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Pastor Maldonado. Their next spell in the cockpit will come at the first practice session for the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.
Driver | Car | Best time | Laps | Difference | ||
1 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes VJM07 | 1’35.570 | 108 | ||
2 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari F14 T | 1’35.634 | 122 | 0.064 | |
3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault RB10 | 1’35.743 | 66 | 0.173 | |
4 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes FW36 | 1’36.507 | 103 | 0.937 | |
5 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29 | 1’36.901 | 52 | 1.331 | |
6 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari MR03 | 1’38.092 | 75 | 2.522 | |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W05 | 1’39.041 | 89 | 3.471 | |
8 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault STR9 | 1’39.636 | 61 | 4.066 | |
9 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari C33 | 1’39.976 | 106 | 4.406 | |
10 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault E22 | 1’41.613 | 31 | 6.043 | |
11 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault CT05 | 1’42.516 | 55 | 6.946 |
Bahrain tests combined times so far
Quickest lap time by each team:
Team | Driver | Time | Gap | |
1 | Mercedes | Nico Rosberg | 1’33.283 | 0.000 |
2 | McLaren | Kevin Magnussen | 1’34.910 | 1.627 |
3 | Force India | Sergio Perez | 1’35.290 | 2.007 |
4 | Ferrari | Fernando Alonso | 1’35.634 | 2.351 |
5 | Red Bull | Daniel Ricciardo | 1’35.743 | 2.460 |
6 | Williams | Valtteri Bottas | 1’36.184 | 2.901 |
7 | Sauber | Esteban Gutierrez | 1’37.180 | 3.897 |
8 | Marussia | Jules Bianchi | 1’38.092 | 4.809 |
9 | Lotus | Pastor Maldonado | 1’38.707 | 5.424 |
10 | Toro Rosso | Daniil Kvyat | 1’38.974 | 5.691 |
11 | Caterham | Kamui Kobayashi | 1’39.855 | 6.572 |
2014 F1 season
- Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?
- Fear of rules change led Mercedes to run dominant 2014 engine in “idle mode”
- Mercedes’ Bahrain battle “too dangerous” – Warwick
- Streiff’s comments on Bianchi crash investigation prompts legal action from FIA
- Is stewarding improving? Analysing 2014’s penalties
Browse all 2014 F1 season articles
Image © Force India
Gaz
28th February 2014, 14:44
Red Bull appear to be making some progress. I’d love to know how hard Ferrari were pushing; think we’ll see qualifying simulation from them before the test is out?
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 14:52
Yes that lap time from DanR suggests that the car will be competitive IF they can keep it going.
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
28th February 2014, 15:01
At this rate I have a fear no Renault powered cars will make it to the finish line in Melbourne…
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 15:27
Have any of the Renault cars managed a race distance yet?
montreal95 (@montreal95)
28th February 2014, 18:01
@petebaldwin If you ask about a race sim then no. if you ask about a laps/day of running total then Caterham at least managed several of those
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 18:28
A bit worrying for them all then really isn’t it… They won’t have the opportunity to pull into the pits and cool everything during the race!
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 15:29
I’m not convinced. It appeared to be a low fuel run and it didn’t even get him within 2 seconds of Rosberg’s lap..
Obviously we don’t know the full circumstances surrounding the lap but as it was Riccardio’s last session in the car before FP1 in Melbourne, I think it’d be safe to assume that it was as fast as he could go…
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
28th February 2014, 15:31
With 165 BHP less compared to what Merc has i think the lap was good
But its not enough RBR still need more.
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 15:49
Someone was saying Renault were running their engines at 100% today… I haven’t seen it confirmed by anyone but apparently, that is the case.
Also, according to the Autosport feed, it was the 2nd sector in which Mercedes were mighty and that sector is the technical twisty part of the lap….
Morty Vicar (@mortyvicar)
28th February 2014, 18:23
@harsha 165BHP is just over the amount that the MGU-K adds to the output. This indicates Renault are still having trouble with their KERS which has always been their Achilles heel. Unfortunately it’s an even larger part of the power system for 2014 and beyond…
iAltair (@)
28th February 2014, 16:36
How do you even know that it was on a low fuel?
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 17:46
@petebaldwin, where is all this information coming from? I’m relying on Keith to keep me updated but some of you seem to have much more access to what’s happening.
Comedy spot: I followed the links in the NBC-S article to see if there is going to be any pre-AustraliaGP coverage at all and discovered that NBC-S would have over 200 hours of F1 coverage this year, unfortunately this year is still 2013 at NBC-S.
Q: Why don’t more people watch F1.?
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 18:26
@hohum @ialtair – info came from the Autosport live feed today. Obviously no-one other than the Red Bull team know exactly how much fuel was in the car but Ricciardo set his time one a one lap run. It may have been on high fuel but it wouldn’t really have made much sense to because races and qualifying will be run very differently (ie fuel saving & protecting tyres vs full power & getting tyres up to temperature for a flying lap)
There was a distinct difference between those on race sims (1:39s – 1:41s) who I assume were fuel saving etc and those who weren’t (1:35s – 1:36s).
Overall, no-one knows for certain what each of the teams are doing – it’s just educated guesswork!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th February 2014, 19:18
@Petebaldwin I was following autosport live too but in the past couple days they don’t update the time-sheets they only update the lap count, but that’s not the reason why I’m most definitely going to stop following them. They are somewhat incompetent, but they are in Bahrain and they are the premier publication of F1!
Edd Straw replying to a fan question about fuel limit etc said and I quote
This is obviously not true as the Albert park track is one of the most demanding on fuel as you may have heard since 1996 and recently when Pat Fry pointed that out.
When an F1 journalist makes this statement as it is promptly replying to fan question posing for an engineer, it makes me doubt everything they know about F1 and obviously everything they have printed as inside info about F1 testing in 2014. Perhaps they should hire people that are really into F1 have the passion to work and get to know what’s inside F1, rather than transitory journalist that aim something else, if that is the case indeed. I’m being a bit harsh with autosport and everyone on the F1 segment, I should emphasize that it’s Straw that has been making some claims and printing some of the stories that make them look like as if they have superior knowledge of what’s about in Bahrain where autosport is staying.
Blackmamba (@blackmamba)
28th February 2014, 14:55
I should think so. It doesn’t make any sense arriving in Melbourne without having put the cars under their maximum stresses. That way if any issues come up you have 2 weeks to find solutions as opposed to just the race weekend to fix them especially if they are big issues.
Jarv F150 (@jarvf150)
28th February 2014, 17:19
Only after some DIY air ducting that looks like someone has run a hose pipe through both sides of the car.
But still its progress.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th February 2014, 18:37
Red bull always test with high fuel, to be truth ricciardo’s pace is good, even without considering Renault struggles, but mind that ricciardo was in and out so I believe they should have been able to run the electrical gizmos at a high rate for the qualy sims.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
28th February 2014, 14:45
Not too shabby, Force India.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 15:08
Certainly a good start, I wonder if they are continuing their design direction of lower drag than the big 4, if so could be good for fuel consumption as well.
DaveD (@daved)
28th February 2014, 19:06
@hohum I was thinking the same thing. If this is the case, then they could have a big leg up on actual race pace as they won’t have to be as conservative over 58 laps in Melbourne.
I’m thinking that right now, Pole position is a good bragging right and will be an historical record people look back on…but will not have much to do with determining who wins races this year.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 21:03
So how many poles will Seb go for?
Neiana (@neiana)
1st March 2014, 0:02
@hohum All of them. He needs his name somewhere other than DNF column, right?
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st March 2014, 3:26
@neiana, exactly what I was thinking too, his mechanics are going to be busy.
OmarR-Pepper (@)
28th February 2014, 14:51
Looks like sometimes all goes upside down. The favorites Mercedes and McLaren with halts? Of course they can be trying to get the edge in some areas and the problems are in the planned scenario, to see how far they caqn try solutions.
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 15:20
We discussed this earlier in the live thread.
Mercedes may have encountered more issues but in the same breath, they have run a lot more laps and have put a lot more stress through the car.
They have had various issues but crucially, very few repeat faliures. Unlike Red Bull who have repeated overheating problems or Sauber who are struggling with their break by wire system, Mercedes have had lots of niggly problems which have been solved and have not failed again.
In theory, Red Bull (and the others struggling for laps) all still have these issues that Mercedes have solved but have just not put enough stress through their cars yet to experience them.
Testing is all about finding issues and solving them. Red Bull (& co) haven’t had the chance to do that yet and will have to address it during the season. Considering it takes hours to fix minor problems with these cars, they are going to struggle in the early part of the season!
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 15:58
“break by wire” love it.
petebaldwin (@)
28th February 2014, 16:09
:D Freudian slip
DaveD (@daved)
28th February 2014, 19:08
But a very appropriate slip at this juncture :D
lewis fan
28th February 2014, 14:52
I really hope that Force India does well this year. They have been improving for a long time and have always been my favorite “under dog” team
obviously
28th February 2014, 14:52
122 laps!!! O_O
But on a second thought, you’d think that they should actually be able to complete a lot more than that without breaking a sweat. They’ve been at the track for 8 hours and 30 minutes, minus the lunch break of course. If they can complete 60 laps in 1:30 hours, how can’t they regularly complete at least two times that in 8 hours, even with all the tweaking in the garages between runs. I really think they are all underutilizing the testing sessions, but then again, they are highly professional, and there must be a reason why 80 laps per day are more common than 150 laps.
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
28th February 2014, 14:52
“Technical problems continued to take their troll…”
that’s how I first read it )))
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 14:55
Maldonados Lotus catching fire, the ultimate overheating problem.
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
28th February 2014, 14:58
together with Caterham, that just shows that Renault’s problems are far from being resolved.
InSilico_ (@insilico)
28th February 2014, 14:56
Force India and Williams are looking really solid. If we think back to 2009 where it was the first year of substantial rule changes, I wouldn’t be surprised if they deliver similar surprising performances like the Toyota one-two in Bahrain or the Force India Pole in Spa. If 2009 is anything to go by, then I wouldn’t be surprised if this year we see loads of different drivers on the podium throughout the year. I know this is just speculation but I hope this is the case.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 15:03
Me too!
DaveD (@daved)
28th February 2014, 19:11
I keep telling everyone….Marussia and/or Caterham almost HAVE to score points this year. At some point, just finishing a race is going to get you points in the first part of this season. And I’d love to see Hulk or Massa on the podium! I’m a Silver Arrow guy, but hey, I think they sport needs some drama.
Mashiat (@)
28th February 2014, 15:01
Yesterday I said it was final. Now it is as clear as day. Force India for the WCC and WDC! The only question is…which of their drivers?
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
28th February 2014, 16:08
@mashiat: I hope it came from your ‘funny bone’ and not a serious statement.
Sharon H (@sharoncom)
28th February 2014, 16:55
And yet if it were Button or Hamilton setting the pace and completing over 100 laps, plenty of people would be jumping on that bandwagon. I doubt we’ll get a surprise (ie midfield type team like FI) winner of the championship but I could see some surprise poles and race wins from that sort of team, definitely.
Mashiat (@)
28th February 2014, 17:09
Why would I state a joke like this after the results of yesterday and today? Of course I’m serious! Marussia also stand a pretty good chance of a podium this season. 119 laps across two days! Marussia’s technical directer is better than Renault + Red Bull’s. Take that Newey!
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
28th February 2014, 18:48
COTD!!
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
1st March 2014, 4:27
hindu racing at its peak
smokinjoe (@smokinjoe)
1st March 2014, 7:42
hahahhahhaha……mate thats funny
Daniel (@collettdumbletonhall)
28th February 2014, 15:12
Marussia appear to have really upped their game this year. Good on them!
ForzaAlanRabbit (@jojobudgie)
28th February 2014, 17:35
Yeah!
Go Marussia!
I hope…
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
28th February 2014, 18:13
Go Marussia!
Mark Thomson (@melthom)
1st March 2014, 4:28
Easy on the vodka now
Asanator (@asanator)
28th February 2014, 15:12
Keith your ‘Bahrain tests combined times so far’ table appears to have Williams above Ferrari although the time shown was slower :S
Asanator (@asanator)
28th February 2014, 15:14
Redbull too btw.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 15:18
LewisH reminds us that they are all running brand new gearboxes as well, history has shown us that gearboxes are a prime source of reliability problems, it’s going to be interesting times for the teams (and fans) this year.
Sir Teukka (@merioksa)
28th February 2014, 15:21
Wasn’t Lotus the team with the least testing kilometres last year? And they had a good season despite that.
Mercedes was the quickest in testing in 2013, yet they had a pretty miserable season (at least in the beginning).
I know it’s different, because of all the changes this year, but I think it’s too early to tell what’s going to happen when the real racing begins. It could all change when Melbourne arrives.
timi (@timi)
28th February 2014, 17:57
@merioksa
Do you mean the end? If memory serves me correctly they got off to a solid start, in the mix with Ferrari and Lotus’ vying for second and third places.. It was after the summer break where they lost ground.
Sir Teukka (@merioksa)
28th February 2014, 18:52
That might be right.. Last season was so bad, I can’t even remember what happened.
Breno (@austus)
28th February 2014, 21:32
Up to monaco they were pretty lost, with the tyres and all that. After they got the situation under control, but by the time Vettel started dominating, the only car chasing him was… Grosjean.
Jason (@jason12)
28th February 2014, 15:51
Looks like RBR is gonna be very competitive once the reliability issues have been sorted.
HK (@me4me)
28th February 2014, 16:10
Possibly. But they still lack pace compared to the Mercedes-powered teams. They do seem to be able to compete with Ferrari pretty soon tho
timi (@timi)
28th February 2014, 17:59
I’ve had enough of testing now. I’m just looking forward to Australia :), I love the short turnaround between seasons. Much needed in today’s faster pace of life, it keeps F1 relevant and on people’s lips
Morty Vicar (@mortyvicar)
28th February 2014, 18:29
I for one will be happy if Perez beats the McLarens with any sort of regularity. I think that will be a Karmic response to being treated so shabbily by McLaren in 2013 and scapegoated for their lack of performance. I rate Perez as a pretty good driver. Hopefully in 2014 he can show the world that McLaren made a mistake.
On the other side of the coin, I’m a bit concerned that Max Chilton will be unfairly ahead of some better teams/drivers just because the Ferrari power unit is more reliable. Imagine if Chilton actually won a race due to attrition… That would not be good.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
28th February 2014, 18:38
McLaren got rid of Perez because they think Magnussen is better. I trust their judgement.
In regards to Chilton winning due to attrition: “To finish first, first you must finish.”
@mortyvicar
Morty Vicar (@mortyvicar)
28th February 2014, 18:52
@craig-o Magnussen probably is better than Perez. But the decision to bring him in supposedly wasn’t made until after the decision was made to jettison Perez. I think Perez did a credible job and didn’t deserve to be so unceremoniously dumped. Hence I’ll be happy if he beats the McLarens a couple of times this season. I’m not pulling for either driver, just looking for justice!
And who set a minor record for finishing all 19 races last season? Maybe that was your point and I missed the irony? Irony: Max Chilton winning an F1 race.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
28th February 2014, 19:00
@mortyvicar He done okay, but he failed to beat Jenson, with only 49 points to JB’s 73. It’s not as if Jenson had one of his best seasons either. As Martin Whitmarsh said, the only reason why Perez was axed was because “Kevin Magnussen exists”. I never felt Perez should have been with a top team in the first place anyway. I don’t feel he showed the consistency at Sauber required to perform week in, week out.
There’s no irony at all. If Chilton finishes a race in first place and all the other drivers fail to finish due to either reliability of the car or the driver or team being unable to look after their fuel consumption or whatever, then that’s how it is. The fastest car isn’t always necessarily the best car, as McLaren found out in 2005, and again in 2012.
Morty Vicar (@mortyvicar)
28th February 2014, 19:58
@craig-o he was axed because McLaren were having an abysmal season which – more irony – fomented the palace coup by Ron and the subsequent axing of Whitmarsh (presumably as he hasn’t been seen since). Maybe that alone is poetic justice. If the MP4-28 wasn’t so bad Perez would have gotten a second year. They were happy to leave Magnussen in WSbR getting more experience. He was shoe-horned in at the last minute, regardless of what Whitmarsh politically said. The only thing I’m saying here is that I think Perez was hard done by, that he’s better than it looks from being dumped after one season and that I hope he can prove this by beating the McLarens and having a respectable showing in 2014.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 21:11
@mortyvicar, was it also “not good” when Olivier Panis won at Monaco? If tyre management can be defended as a crucial driver skill ever since F1 began, then surely car management must also be a virtue.
Morty Vicar (@mortyvicar)
28th February 2014, 21:21
@hohum What? That was completely different and irrelevant. Panis was a contender, not in F1 because of his father’s fortune. We all know that all things being equal, Max’s rightful place has been finishing every race he entered. At the back. But maybe this is what F1 has come to, no longer a contest of man and machine pushing themselves to the limit, unless the limit is one of tyre tread or fuel in the tank.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 21:30
@mortyvicar, I certainly don’t disagree with you, but I think that if you win a race ( without cheating) no matter how lucky you may have been, then that’s F1 and you deserve your moment of glory.
David not Coulthard (@)
1st March 2014, 4:09
Errrr…didn’t McLaren help Perez find his seat for this year, as far as I know?
About Chilton winning a race: I haven’t got any problem with that, nor Hungaroring 2008, Nuerburgring 2007.
DaveD (@daved)
28th February 2014, 19:24
Based on test runs from all the teams and problems they’ve encountered, it would be easy to see some back marker teams scoring some points. For example:
-24 vehicles on the starting grid.
– 8 Merc powered cars….could easily have 2 failures over race distance. => 5 finishers
– 6 Ferrari powered cars….2 failures due => 4 finishers
– 8 Renault powered cars…4 failures due to heating problems/fires => 4 finishers
So we’re down to 13 cars. Out of those
– One lost to gearbox issues
– One three lost to wrecks
– One other lost to mechanical failure
Suddenly your down to 8 cars completing the race. This may sound crazy, but looking at what we’re seeing from on track problems even in these last testing days, I could easily see a scenario like this coming to pass.
I would throw in a car not finishing due to fuel limit issues, but at this point I think they’d know they were in trouble and go 80% just to finish the race and score points…so I doubt anyone will fail to finish for that reason.
DaveD (@daved)
28th February 2014, 19:27
Oops, had a typo. Meant to predict 3 failures in the first race for the Merc powered cars, not 2 :-)
They’re good, but even Merc is having failures right now. Anyway, the point is that it would be easy to see a back marker like Marussia or Caterham score points by simply managing to finish a race early on. Throw in a classic Grosjean or Maldenado overly aggressive move with more torque now and taking out 3-4 cars in one wreck….yeah, I think it’s going to be the year the backmarkers finally score points.
DaveD (@daved)
28th February 2014, 19:32
Wow, and I also said 24 cars on the starting grid LOL OK, I’m having flashbacks to 2012,
macrob
28th February 2014, 19:35
Interesting, fastest two days in a row and no one here is talking about Perez…I guess no matter what he will always be “slow”…no further comments…
Skett (@skett)
1st March 2014, 0:10
I suspect its because its so much slower than Rosberg managed last week. Even if the track is slower, its unlikely to be THAT much slower
Andrei (@crandreico)
28th February 2014, 19:50
Seems that Button is surprised with RBR corner speed: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/jenson-button-beeindruckt-interessantes-strecken-duell-mit-red-bull-8163888.html
(rough translation thanks to google)
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 21:34
So thats where all the airflow is going. Adrian, can’t help yourself eh?
joc_the_man
28th February 2014, 20:20
big big risk for a farce like race in Melbourne. I think you Dave are not far off.
add the silly looks, the short-shift and eco-drive-crap and then the NOT-loud-at-all cars.
I feel sorry for the teams and engine-people struggling, as for the drivers trying their best.
the responsible FIA heads still hide in their ivory towers. pathetic.
the BIG BIG losers are us fans..
Sorry to say. sad times.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 21:22
Gee Jock, I see it completely differently, I see automotive engineering playing a major part in F1 after a long absense due to engine de-rating and power equalisation, for me that is what makes F1 so much more interesting than spec series, which like sugar, are good in small doses but sickening in excess.
joc_the_man
28th February 2014, 22:14
Well Hum, difference of opinion. I like quick, cool and loud cars and drivers putting it to the edge. I like the magic of F1 knowing that we have had the best of the best.
Creating excitement the new FIA way is the wrong way, I think. Slower cars, less noise, efficiency-eco-drive crap is not F1 to me. There are other series for that – formula Prius or something. We will see what happens. I think lots of fans will find it boring with 5 cars finishing and the winner is the best eco-driving one. Time will tell.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 23:06
Ah yes, I too want to see “drivers putting it to the edge” and I won’t stand for any “fuel conservation” parades, but I do like to see the engineers hard at work engineering.
Genk
1st March 2014, 0:34
Me too, I have not been this excited before the start of a New season in years!
Minardi (@gitanes)
1st March 2014, 0:45
What is a farce to me is the same driver/team combo winning 9 races in a row with no chance of a mechanical breakdown. I think a lot of us here think that the rule changes couldn’t have come at a better time.
And I am happy there are still engines making noise – you know there will come a day when everything is electronic and they won’t make a sound!
DaveD (@daved)
1st March 2014, 2:45
I said I could see a small number of cars finishing in an early race like Melbourne because there is still so much work to do and they’ve limited the testing too much. I didn’t say that was bad. In fact, I think it’s good for the sport that a mid field team has a shot at a podium and a back marker can score some points. At least it won’t be totally predictable.
I’m sorry this seems to be so bleak for you, but the vast majority of the fans commenting on the forums/blogs seem to be excited to see how the teams will deal with the new regs. I think it’s awesome, and I will judge “quick” by how fast their lap times are after they’ve had some time to learn these cars and pull some performance back. Judging by Rosberg’s time last week, they are not far from being “quick” in the least. I think on some tracks, this may end up being the fastest setup in nearly a decade.
As for how loud they are, well, they may not be as loud…but I like the sound of turbo engines.
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st March 2014, 3:22
The sound may be different but the volume is going to be the same in my living room.
DaveD (@daved)
1st March 2014, 17:33
@HoHum I always wonder about that! I only get the American NBC feed over here, although I have been known to pirate a SKY feed now and then when I can’t get info I want :-), but I can’t really tell how the cars sound very much and I certainly can’t tell how loud they are unless they stomp on an interview for Will Buxton in the pits.
It’s clearly a factor for people at the race, but for me on TV, I can’t tell how loud they are anyway so it’s just not an issue.
And the one or possibly two races I could even see in a year make my ears bleed anyway so I’m kind of relieved when it tones down a few decibels.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th February 2014, 21:17
2 gearbox issues for Mercedes. We’ve been talking about how good their engines have been but we’ve also got that Singapore Lewis gearbox failure on our minds, why have Mercedes been the only ones at fault with their gearboxes in the last 5 years or so Red Bull has problems but they never seem to affect their championship and Ferrari miraculously never ever destroy their gearboxes. I think for 2014 there must be a real focus on monitoring the power-trains so no team or manufacturer cheats. Replacing the seals and gearboxes to Webber is over, there’s no more webber and I hope they can end this problem.
@HoHum (@hohum)
28th February 2014, 21:35
??????
HK (@me4me)
1st March 2014, 2:21
Hamilton was still at Mclaren when his gearbox failed. The rest, i don’t know what you’re talking about really……
Todfod (@todfod)
1st March 2014, 0:17
Got to hand it to Ferrari.
There is no team on the grid that is consistent enough to make the 3rd quickest car every year in a row.
(Meanwhile, I pray that Red Bull or Force India aren’t quick enough to push Ferrari to 4th quickest on the grid)
kpcart
1st March 2014, 3:55
I predict redbull will do some setup work now and a few low fuel runs by vettel in next 2 days might show their pace. Hopefully they get at least one race simulation in.
Carlos Furtado das Neves
1st March 2014, 18:59
We’ll see, we’ll see…
Today another disaster, just like I expected, but SB is hopefull for Melbourne!
And I believe tomorrow the problem is solved, and Vettel will run trouble free.
This is a game of millions…