Well, it has been a week since my last post on here. Originally it was for no other reason than to see what would happen in a week, then write about it - and what a week it's been! Still with me on this?!...
So lets start with the most recent news - Bahrain and more specifically, the cancellation of it!
Since the inaugural Australian GP in 1985, the race has traditionally been the curtain faller - as in the original venue Adelaide, or the curtain raiser since 1996 in Melbourne. Twice however, the year has started in Bahrain and I for one, never liked that.
There was always something in the process of getting up in the middle of the night to watch events from the Southern Hemisphere and the Aussies have always known how to put on a show to remember. Can anyone recall the same around the deserts of Bahrain? Thought not.
There was always something in the process of getting up in the middle of the night to watch events from the Southern Hemisphere and the Aussies have always known how to put on a show to remember. Can anyone recall the same around the deserts of Bahrain? Thought not.
Anyway, I'm not going to go into too much detail about this as this is to be the subject of my Full Throttle column this Thursday so instead I am going to focus on the recent Barcelona test...
So, what can we deduce from the four days? Well, in my opinion, the teams assessment is thus:
Red Bull - the RB7 looks stable and fast on both heavy and light fuel loads and about 1.5s - 2s per lap quicker than anything other than Ferrari.
Ferrari - Alonso is playing the cautious approach but knows that the staggering amount of mileage the team is putting the F150th Italia through, and the pace of it generally, should stand him in good stead to claim a potential third world title.
McLaren - Had lunch with Jonathan Neale last Friday (again, see Full Throttle for more) and he was cautious about the teams initital performance at Jerez, was more confident of progression through the Barcelona test and hopeful new developments would prove a success.
Ultimately though, the MP4-26 does seem around 1.5-2s off the pace and Button had this to say after his run in the new car at the end of day two in Barcelona:
"We are not doing as many laps as we would like. The most laps we've done I think it was yesterday with 77 laps. But we are testing a new car so we are a lot of mileage down on most teams."
As an admirer of McLaren and an un-biased fan of the sport, one hopes they rectify the cars handling and reliability issues when the season gets underway in Melbourne on 27th March.
Renault - Enjoyed a successful test, confirming Nick Heidfeld as Kubica's replacement and concentrated on a varied programme but continued putting miles on the clock, and the car looks fast too. Perhaps a debut win for Heidfeld in 2011?...
Mercedes GP - I'll let Nico Rosberg talk for me:
"For sure we still have some problems, but it's going in the right direction. Today (Day 3 in Barcelona) we learned a lot and made some progress, so things are improving. It was expected that we would be struggling in the winter because the car is built mainly to test reliability and it's not there for performance. The performance is going to come in the next few weeks and then we have to wait and see where we are."
But really he's thinking: "Shit! What have they given me to drive this year?! The car has no performance and hasn't proved reliable - they better f***ing sort it soon !"
So, what can we deduce from the four days? Well, in my opinion, the teams assessment is thus:
Red Bull - the RB7 looks stable and fast on both heavy and light fuel loads and about 1.5s - 2s per lap quicker than anything other than Ferrari.
Ferrari - Alonso is playing the cautious approach but knows that the staggering amount of mileage the team is putting the F150th Italia through, and the pace of it generally, should stand him in good stead to claim a potential third world title.
McLaren - Had lunch with Jonathan Neale last Friday (again, see Full Throttle for more) and he was cautious about the teams initital performance at Jerez, was more confident of progression through the Barcelona test and hopeful new developments would prove a success.
Ultimately though, the MP4-26 does seem around 1.5-2s off the pace and Button had this to say after his run in the new car at the end of day two in Barcelona:
"We are not doing as many laps as we would like. The most laps we've done I think it was yesterday with 77 laps. But we are testing a new car so we are a lot of mileage down on most teams."
As an admirer of McLaren and an un-biased fan of the sport, one hopes they rectify the cars handling and reliability issues when the season gets underway in Melbourne on 27th March.
Renault - Enjoyed a successful test, confirming Nick Heidfeld as Kubica's replacement and concentrated on a varied programme but continued putting miles on the clock, and the car looks fast too. Perhaps a debut win for Heidfeld in 2011?...
Mercedes GP - I'll let Nico Rosberg talk for me:
"For sure we still have some problems, but it's going in the right direction. Today (Day 3 in Barcelona) we learned a lot and made some progress, so things are improving. It was expected that we would be struggling in the winter because the car is built mainly to test reliability and it's not there for performance. The performance is going to come in the next few weeks and then we have to wait and see where we are."
But really he's thinking: "Shit! What have they given me to drive this year?! The car has no performance and hasn't proved reliable - they better f***ing sort it soon !"
The team reamins confident that the upgrades it will fit on the car for the first time, at the Australian GP will push it further up the grod and allow both Rosberg and Schumacher to fight for wins, others though, including myself, are not so sure...
Williams - Launching their new livery this Thursday, they have shrink-wrapped the rear end of the FW33 so tightly that they have generated envy from many rivals who find it hard to believe it possible. The car has endured reliability issues but in the hands of Barrichello, it certainly negotiates the corners a lot better than it's predecessor did so there is the chance of regular points for the Grove concern.
Sauber - Some excursions for both Kobayashi and Perez haven't helped and both have failed to register any attention-grabbing laptimes which suggests another mediocre car from the Swiss team this year...
Force India - Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil have both set competitive lap times against Williams and Sauber but it is hard to tell if they are quick enough to break out of the midfield yet...
Team Lotus - They have what seems to be the basis of a sound car but have been blighted by a lack of replacements when they are needed most. It appears that whenever the car has an excursion or mechanical failure, the damaged/faulty component is the one item they have but one of! Note to team: Carry spares...
Virgin - Car hasn't set the world alight and there is much to suggest the car has clawed some of the 3s gap to the more established teams but the jury is still out on how close it, and Team Lotus are to the likes of Force India, Sauber and Williams.
HRT - Have been topping the timing sheets and look set to dominate this year a la McLaren in 1988 and will probably win practically every single race!
Sorry, just woken up...
There's not much to say on the exploits of this joke of a so-called Formula 1 team, so I won't...
Anyway, Bahrain testing is cancelled so now we are to head back to Barcelona before heading out to Australia for the first race of the year, as it should be...
Till next time...
Williams - Launching their new livery this Thursday, they have shrink-wrapped the rear end of the FW33 so tightly that they have generated envy from many rivals who find it hard to believe it possible. The car has endured reliability issues but in the hands of Barrichello, it certainly negotiates the corners a lot better than it's predecessor did so there is the chance of regular points for the Grove concern.
Sauber - Some excursions for both Kobayashi and Perez haven't helped and both have failed to register any attention-grabbing laptimes which suggests another mediocre car from the Swiss team this year...
Force India - Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil have both set competitive lap times against Williams and Sauber but it is hard to tell if they are quick enough to break out of the midfield yet...
Team Lotus - They have what seems to be the basis of a sound car but have been blighted by a lack of replacements when they are needed most. It appears that whenever the car has an excursion or mechanical failure, the damaged/faulty component is the one item they have but one of! Note to team: Carry spares...
Virgin - Car hasn't set the world alight and there is much to suggest the car has clawed some of the 3s gap to the more established teams but the jury is still out on how close it, and Team Lotus are to the likes of Force India, Sauber and Williams.
HRT - Have been topping the timing sheets and look set to dominate this year a la McLaren in 1988 and will probably win practically every single race!
Sorry, just woken up...
There's not much to say on the exploits of this joke of a so-called Formula 1 team, so I won't...
Anyway, Bahrain testing is cancelled so now we are to head back to Barcelona before heading out to Australia for the first race of the year, as it should be...
Till next time...
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