PORTIMAO TEST - TUE 20th JANUARY 2009
Date: Tuesday January 20, 2009
Drivers: Pedro de la Rosa
Location: Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
Track Length: 4.687km
Weather: Poor. Severe rain and hailstorms throughout the day
Track temperature: Maximum 16°C
Air temperature: Maximum 17°C
Laps run today: 62
Laps run in total at test: 90
Kilometres covered today: 290
Kilometres covered in total at test: 421
Best lap time today: 1m37.512 at 12:54pm
Best lap time of the test: 1m37.512

Programme: Another day governed by the inclement weather, which grew so severe at times that running was considered to be dangerous. The team also decided to run using a 2008-spec rear wing as a precautionary measure to increase downforce. Nonetheless, Pedro was able to dodge the hailstorms to complete three long runs - including one 22-lap stint - to provide the team with further information on MP4-24’s handling characteristics and componentry. Opting not to run with KERS, the team reported that the car performed without any mechanical or electronic problems today. Lewis joins the team tomorrow for his first run in MP4-24 and first official team driving duties since last November’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Drivers for tomorrow: Lewis Hamilton
Duration of test: Four days (Jan 19-22)
Next Test: Jerez (Feb 10-13)

It seems the team is taking it very catiously and step-by-step. Performance is still impossible to judge, but at least it seems reliable.

Tomorro we'll have Lewis on the car and with the better weather predictions, I fully expect the team to use KERS and the 2009 rear wing, just as Pedro did on Saturday.

I hope your right about the weather, need as much track time as possible, still think a total ban on in season testing was a bad idea, maybe should've limited to four major tests, just an innocent opinion.

The extreme reduction of testing has always seemed a bit ill-advised of an idea. With only five or thereabouts test meetings situated at the start of the year and that with the teams allowed to run only one car at a time, it's going to be very difficult for new drivers in the future to gain the experience needed to make a respectable first couple of races, maybe even a season. What team is going to sacrifice valuable testing miles to train a rookie when they also have a new car to develop? Sure, reliability testing could provide some opportunity, but then again rookies tend to have a higher tendency to wreck their cars and with the limited mileage you'd expect most teams to try and conduct, for example, set-up testing (which calls for at least some prior experience of F1 cars) parallel to any reliability runs.

Now, I know some might say that Toro Rosso is doing exactly that with Buemi, but then again Toro Rosso doesn't have a second driver at this time and of course Buemi could, thanks to the old rules, test in last November and December as well.

I can't believe I'm reading this...


edit: But this makes up for it:

Thanks for enlarging it. On the big picture you can clearly see the ZA from POTENZA. However, it is ordered AZ...meaning the complete word would be AZNETOP.

http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/3/1/19...stm_af67cbc.jpg

That's clearly not how Bridgestone likes to spell things, just see all the other photos of the insides of the tyres.

Yes, obviously it's a reflection. Well, let's say I was tired yesterday. Sorry

Oh FFS it was a joke.

It looks, to me, that in every area they'd normally make thin in order to dissipate heat - they've made it bulkier.

Like they're trying to capture the heat: around the headers, radiator.

They're running their KERS off of a Stirling engine? Or a massive thermocouple?

Last time I checked this was what FFord, F2, GP2 and F3 were about. Specifically GP2 was described to me by one of Dallara's development drivers as "Just like F1". If you've proven yourself in GP2 like Hamilton, Rosberg, etc you will be quite capable of handling an F1 car without a lot of testing.

Ben

On track again since the Brazilian GP.

2008 wing again :\

lewis first drive in portugal at a new track that is wet and first time driving a car with decreased downforce AND

in the new car, of course they are running the old rear wing. and once he gets up to speed if it stays clear and

no more rain falls im sure once he is used to the acr they will slap the other wing on.

it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Heikki wont have to go through half of that cos he knows the

track and has driven the car with less downforce, only similarity is it will be his first time in the actual new car too.

Why aren't the other teams doing that then?

Perhaps they've found a fault with the new wing? Or maybe just part of some testing schedule where they're working on a certain part of the car that needs the old wing config. Who knows.

Could have mistaken this for a Lewis bash, if I wouldn't know better.

Just bolt the old wing on because our WDC can't handle the loss of downforce? Hardly...

Now seriously, there must be something else going on. Yet even if there's a real problem with the wing, I don't think it would hurt them too much at this stage. I guess front- or rearwing issues are among the easiest to fix on a car, compared to other stuff.

It's just a hologram to distract you from their invisible 2009 spec rear wing.

The thing that surprised me is that the Friday running at the GP's hasnt been increased. This would have been the obvious compromise.

You would have to let them do it on the non-race engines or change how long a race engine needs to last. If you're going to let them do it on test engines then they'd want to bring additional cars or more staff.

They use non-race engines on Friday anyway.

Must have missed that one... carry on.

My guess would be kers, the transition from charging to fully charged, when the rear braking changes. They don't want the rears locking up and interfering with that data, so they banged on plenty of downforce while it's wet. It's not as if they put the 09 wing on and then took it off.

The rules changed again a week or two ago. Friday engines are included in the 8 engine per season limit. So if they use 6 engines to cover all the races (5 in case they DNF twice quite early in a race) there were only 2 (or 3 respectively) engines left for Friday testing. So I suppose there's no need to give em more time for Friday testing really...

That is BS, he has to get used to the 2009 DF levels anyway. No point in learning in steps.

Also gives u false data for everything (Aero, set-up, tyre performance, suspension etc.) so it would be really stupid

Thought there were 4 test engines and 8 race engines.



http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules_an...gulations/8692/
Engines
In a move designed to boost reliability still further, rev limits will be cut from 19,000 to 18,000 rpm. Drivers will be limited to eight engines per season, with each team allowed an additional four engines for testing. Once a driver has used up his eight-engine allocation, any engine change will incur a 10-place grid penalty (or a move to the back of the grid if made after qualifying). Just one team - Renault - has been allowed to make performance modifications to their engine for 2009 in order to help equalise power outputs.

and grooved tyres

Hey brightlight, it is raining there

I tend to agree. Their reason for using it is to increase downforce to lessen the risk in the poor conditions. This is valid while the weather is so poor and they are concentrating on system testing, but if they don't swap over when the track dries out then I will be firmly in the problem camp.

I thought it was already said McLaren is driving with old rear-wing precociously to avoid an accident. It's wet all the time so they're not chasing performance, they're rather doing some system checks. Is there any other reason?

BTW, BMW-Sauber is very lucky. Weather forecast is perfect till Saturday, and only tomorrow there might be some short showers.

And more engines, which slightly defeats the purpose of the "less engines per season" idea.

maybe they're focusing testng of their new suspension/diffuser in these tests.

with the 08 rear wing, they will know whether the suspension or diffuser is generating more grip. the 09 wing generates less downforce, so it's hard for the team to compare data.

once they have enough data, then they will test the 09 wing - which would have changed in design from the launch anyway.

Oh come on, bolt the 09 wing on dont change any of its settings, any changes in grip levels are as a result of the other changes like diffuser and/or suspension.

If they need a 2008 wing to prevent them from crashing they do have a problem with the 2009 spec.

well i rely on the mclaren engineers, knowing what they are doing, hopefully, even if they have a problem with the rear wing its ok, the component isnt the most important,

Or a problem with their so called superstar 2007 'runner up winner' and 2008 'winner'


Bet your ass it has a major influence on the rest of the car.

Did I hit a nerve or was that the normal irrational reactionist reply to an Alonso fan posting anything in a McLaren thread?

yeah yeah, i dont have the energy to tell you why,

He's not a McLaren fan, so you're way off there

I never said he was, so you are the one who is way off.

I remember reading in the last issue of Autosport which analysed Ferrari's car mentioned that the rear wing is usually more trialled through fluid dynamics etc as opposed to other parts that are more likely to be proven on track.

yeah yeah yeah, you're right.

that was the normal irrational reactionist reply from a Ferrari fan to an Alonso fan posting anything in a McLaren thread

ok, what i meant, the rearwing is like placing a wall at the end. Its the last thing the flow structures hit. Offcourse it needs to be brilliant and produce as much df and as little drag as possible, but it doesnt influence the flowstructures created like the bodywork and especially the frontwing. Offcourse if a rearwing doesnt work, Because of the flow, then thats a big problem whereas if its only a structural problem it can be easily fixed.

finally we got pictures off mclarens hot air outlet

That matches what ATM Andy said about having a small very outlet venting over the diffuser.

Clever solution, now diffuser and hot air extractor can work as one device (pre 2009 diffuser and rear wing worked in combination).

has he commented on this, can you remember were

He wasn't kidding about 'small' ! Presumably it gets a lot of suck down there.

Good find. Clever and unique.
All the other teams are blowing it out between the wishbones and or aroud the exhaust pipes.

so infact placing the outlet at the diffuser, functions like when the teams placed the outlet in front of the flipup wings, they both helps to extract the air,

Lewis testing with 2009 spec rear wing:
http://www.motorsport-total.com/bilder/200...z1232552425.jpg

It was just a joke, referring to the glorifying in the british press.
Nothing to do with Alonso, McLaren or any member here.