That would be fine!

Looks like Schumacher's gut instinct was correct, the car isn't fast enough. Race pace looks terrible-1.5s off the pace.

Yes, qualy sims looked OK in the morning but the rece sim today is not too great. Especially compared to Lewis. All of a sudden McLaren seems to be up there with Ferrari, if not faster....

From the times it looks like Schumacher is killing the tyres. Hamilton was doing 1.23 after 36 laps, Schumacher is doing 1.25.

What is this panic here, we know noting. Who is doing what? Who is using what? How is the fuel? Koba kill Schumi race simulation now. Nice. Last stint:
16:58:56 102 1:23.701 -2.373
17:01:09 103 1:23.897 +0.196
17:02:14 104 1:23.604 -0.293
17:03:16 105 1:23.629 +0.025
17:05:05 106 1:23.958 +0.329
17:06:07 107 1:23.771 -0.187
17:08:11 108 1:23.755 -0.016
17:09:13 109 1:23.666 -0.089

Or the car is simply slower.... To me Schumacher looked consistent, just slow. So he was not killing anything IMO.

BTW, after he switched tyres for his last stint he too was constantly in the 1:23s. So I'd guess Hamilton was in two of his three stints during his race sim on the softer compound while Michael was in the first two stints of his race sim on the harder ones. In the third one Hamilton still seemed to have a bit of an edge, but not 1.5 seconds like in the other stints, just about 0.5.

We have to remember that last test day Schumi was driving 1,24s and made one lap 1,21 and after this he continue with 1,24. Do we know what he is doing with the car, what is his aim, maybe he is playing with different settings? This times mean nothing because we don't know how hard is every one of them pushing?

After the second pitstop on their "race simulations"..MS was lapping very close to Lewis. The Mercedes is still off the pace but not more than .75 sec IMO.

I think MS was very accurate with his first interview,the Merc is not fast enough to win but is fast enough to stay in touch so that they can develop the car to close the bridge.

Here is what Ross Brawn has got to say:

The Englishman, 55, predicted "a super-hard battle" for the championship.

But Brawn, whose team won the drivers' and constructors' world championships last season in their former guise as Brawn, said he believed his team were still lagging behind their rivals.

"We're just a little bit off where we want to be but we're close enough to be within reach," Brawn said.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport...one/8541776.stm

Can anyone post Rosberg's times from his race simulation yesterday?

Rozberg:
16:11:03 79 1:27.899 -5.697
16:12:04 80 1:28.155 +0.256
16:14:06 81 1:28.164 +0.009
16:15:07 82 1:28.080 -0.084
16:17:13 83 1:27.787 -0.293
16:17:59 84 1:27.513 -0.274
16:20:01 85 1:27.425 -0.088
16:21:06 86 1:27.444 +0.019
16:23:08 87 1:27.884 +0.440
16:24:09 88 1:28.272 +0.388
16:26:12 89 1:28.272
16:26:58 90 1:28.272
16:29:00 91 1:24.912 -3.360
16:30:02 92 1:24.597 -0.315
16:32:05 93 1:25.962 +1.365
16:33:07 94 1:24.999 -0.963
16:34:08 95 1:25.773 +0.774
16:36:10 96 1:26.859 +1.086
16:37:11 97 1:35.493 +8.634
16:38:58 98 1:24.989 -10.504
16:40:02 99 1:25.099 +0.110
16:42:04 100 1:25.279 +0.180
16:43:05 101 1:25.627 +0.348
16:45:08 102 1:25.760 +0.133
16:46:09 103 1:26.511 +0.751
16:46:56 104 1:26.405 -0.106
16:48:58 105 1:26.319 -0.086
16:49:59 106 1:26.265 -0.054
16:52:02 107 1:26.570 +0.305
16:53:03 108 1:26.778 +0.208
16:55:05 109 1:27.218 +0.440
16:57:08 110 1:27.218
16:57:54 111 1:27.218
16:59:01 112 1:28.261 +1.043
17:01:15 113 1:27.212 -1.049
17:02:17 114 1:23.398 -3.814
17:04:04 115 1:22.948 -0.450
17:05:14 116 1:22.548 -0.400
17:06:09 117 1:22.932 +0.384
17:08:12 118 1:22.696 -0.236
17:09:13 119 1:22.986 +0.290
17:11:00 120 1:32.546 +9.560
17:12:01 121 1:23.505 -9.041
17:13:03 122 1:23.404 -0.101
17:15:05 123 1:23.576 +0.172
17:50:59 124 1:23.576
17:52:00 125 1:23.576
17:54:03 126 1:23.755 +0.179
17:55:04 127 1:21.187 -2.568
17:57:07 128 1:21.187 P

To me it seems it wasn't really a race sim. Just 49 laps (although he was stopped by a mechanical problem), plus three pitstops, not just two. If it's a race sim though then he seems to have been a little slower than Michael on the harder tyre/heavier fuel load, and a bit quicker with the softer/lighter car.

Schumacher seemed to be competitive on fresh rubber but the further into a stint the more time he was losing- that would suggest that the tyres aren't holding up as well as on the McLaren.

In his first few laps Hamilton too was in the 1:26s, but then he was getting quickly into the 1:25s and was there for much of his first stint, while Michael remained in the 1:26s. Then in the second stint Lewis was mainly doing 1:23s, Michael 1:24s. It's not like Michael was up there with Lewis and then his times suddenly dropped due to him "killing his tyres". It just seems that's the gap between McLaren and Mercedes.

Third stint (on the softer tyres, probably) looked better though. That was similar to Hamilton's last stint (with maybe a few tenths behind Macca), but it's hard to judge because of the red flags.


I haven't seen Michael "killing his tyres" anywhere, just a consistently faster McLaren.

Thats coz Lewis did 2 pit stops and Schumy did 1 stop

So thats the difference between 2 stopper and a 1 stopper

Both did 2 stops.

actually he did one as im looking the race simulation times, the other stop was caused by the red flag and after the red flag he finished his 8 laps

MICHAEL CONCLUDES TESTING IN BARCELONA
Posted: Sunday 28 February 2010 at 16:38
Michael Schumacher was at the wheel of the MGP W01 car today to conclude this week’s four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and complete his own on-track preparations for the new season.

Michael spent the morning focusing on qualifying simulations and developing the set-up of the car before working on race procedures throughout the afternoon. Michael completed 123 laps with a quickest time of 1:20.745.

Today’s action brings the pre-season test programme to a conclusion after fifteen days of track action in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona during February. With the 2010 Formula One season getting underway in less than two weeks, Michael and Nico Rosberg will next be in action on Friday 12 March for the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher: “The four testing days here in Barcelona have helped us to make significant progress with the MGP W01 and I am feeling quite confident for the start of the season. It is always difficult to read too much into testing but knowing our programme, it is fair to say that the times did not always reflect the true picture. We have worked through many set-up and development evaluations this week and gained valuable information to study before Bahrain. We are heading the first race with a good feeling and we know that we will have our upgrades there. But most of all we know that our prospects for even the first races are looking very reasonable now.”

Ross Brawn: “Today brings our pre-season testing programme to its conclusion and overall we are very pleased with the progress made with the MGP W01 and the integration of Michael and Nico into our team. In performance terms, we are not quite where we want to be yet but then again we are not far off. In testing, it is always difficult to be precise about your position relative to the competition, and we have our complete upgrade package due for the first race in Bahrain which should bring further improvements. Michael and Nico have both looked very good during the tests and they are working well together to improve the car.”
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/02/28/schu...en-look-strong/
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/02/28/braw...re-he-left-off/

http://f1tests.mine.nu/!/!/test4eng.php

He did one stop az 17:24. Then one at 18:11. Then the ones at 18:48 and 19:03 were due to red flags.

this site wont open for me, i watched the stint fomr this site http://www.msfree.gr/includes/livelaps.php?name=SCHUMACHER and here he has just one stop


ah shit i just noticed that this site has some laps missing!!!

Oops sorry, you are right. The one at 18:11 was due to a red flag too.

But wasn't there one stop 17:57 too? When his times suddenly dropped from high 1:24s to mid 1:23s?

Followed it live and I'm pretty sure he made two stops for tyres.

According to Autosport live he stopped twice for tyres:

I wonder if this bit is just a carry over from yesterday's PR pressure from Mercedes,or if they really expected to be a bit further behind without the updates?

I thought too that now Michael is watching his mouth. A bit sad, because we don't want to read PR comments but real opinions on where we stand.

I think there can be 30-40 kg fuel difference between MGP and McLaren in this race simulation. I think for 67 lap you need around 135 kg., but this is not full tank. They maybe did simulation for different race. And hundred other things.

I don't see them doing that. They want to be prepaired for Bahrain, so I expect them to test with weights similar to what they will run there. From what the team is saying, the times are showing where the team stands. If the new package does give them 0.6s, which is a huge leap, it will put them within reach of the top teams. Maybe around a tenth off or so I'm guessing. Only time will tell.

So it looks like Mercedes are slightly behind. I'm not going to place alot of emphasis on the Bahrain package. If we haven't seen it now its likely it won't make a massive difference because it would alter setups found in testing.

At the moment though, I can't see how Mercedes will exploit the rear of the car as dramatically as Ferrari and McLaren have with their triple diffusers.

Have Mercedes skipped a beat? We find out at Bahrain I guess.

Yes, I think today was pretty discouraging with Lewis being about 1 sec/lap quicker than Michael in race sim. That's almost a lap in a race distance.

1 sec/lap quicker than Michael?? how??

On average Hamilton's race simulation was 1 sec/lap quicker than Michael's.

I'm worried

I hope the updates will be enough to bring them up there to fight for podium places....

i dont think so, as we dont know what tyres they were on the middle stint........... and what if Schumy was running on a used tyre in that stint.
Other than that , Schumy was not all 1 sec/lap behind Hammy.
They were pretty close on the other stints

In McLaren thread they think that new aero package bring them 1 sec. As I see McLaren new exhaust pipe exit(cover) now look more like MGP exit(pipe sticking under the cover sheet). The same with Renault. Hope they will improve things for Bahrein , temperature there will be different. I still think Rozberg achieved the fastest time if you take his fastest sector times. Maybe there will be even shark fin. What is the target/reason for doing race simulation? To be quick? They know that everybody will compare times from this simulation. And what is the best way to show your potential. Or to hide it, if they have anything to hide. Trying to find reason to be happy next 2 weeks. Or just McLaren showed their cards again.

Testing is for data collection, reliability testing, and set-up work. The teams want to learn how to set up the car to use the tires properly. With the limited time the teams have to test, they are not going to jog around the track trying to psych out the other teams or to sand bag. Sand bagging is used as an excuse when people see their team not performing how they would like during testing. Much like was going on with Mclaren fans this time last year.

Merc is in the mix, but a little behind. With the updates in Bahrain I expect Mercedes to be up towards the top. It will be close. I don't think the other top teams have as large of packages prepaired for Bahrain. This has always been the plan for Mercedes. Brawn is typically honest with his remarks, as is Schumacher. Red Bull takes an extra week to design the car more, Mclaren just had a sizeable update as did Ferrari. Mercedes is just a little later with theirs.

The exciting thing is that it is going to be an extremely close season. Although right now I would have to put my money on Hamilton for the top spot in two weeks.

The great thing is Mercedes probably has the strongest line-up of drivers right now. I'd say Mclaren and Ferrari are about even and then Red Bull.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport...one/8541776.stm

It is testing. Let us not forget. I can't remember the exact year but during winter tests Michael and Rubens ran with their engines rev limited and then destroyed the opposition. By interpolation it can be predicted what speed can be achieved when everything is turned to MAX.
Also, the tires used is a big variable as well as the actual fuel amounts in the cars.
All I can say is that IMO differences are not so big and can be compensated even if not for the first race.

Was that 2004? I think BAR thought they were going to have the advantage going into the season after testing and they were smoked by Ferrari.

Intuitively it seems Mercedes has improved - but numbers dont really paint that good a picture. Not the qualifying ones , but the longer runs. Given for that it is worth and assuming that most teams ran a race simulation today (top teams anyways) - Mercedes does look slow. The Bahrain package better deliver.

My sense is, within the team Michael seems a slight fraction faster than Nico - very slight though. Longer runs and Qualifying runs considered.

That's what I was thinking, but after reading Ross's BBC quotes, it sounds a little more promising.

How do you know that? In Barcelona, the fastest qualifying time of MGP is nico's. Although in this situation, we cannot judge who is faster in the same condition, even Ross and themselves. Please judge something before analyzing data or the reality.

No need to get so touchy - I have looked at the times and i said this is what I interpret. Not just Barcelona times. Look at the averages for example. Sorry I'm lazy to post all data here. The data has been posted by all ..So look at averages and BETAS (deviation from the mean) and you will see what I mean.

You dont have to agree - but please don't give me advice.

Not really.The 1st stint was similar.Hamilton was faster in the 2nd(at times by almost 1s)...Then MS was faster in the 3rd stint. Kind of difficult to interpret without knowing what type of tyres they were using(and whether any of them had used tyres on etc).

Aero updates: MGP- new front wing(not very different from the old one), some body parts around the exhaust. McLaren - "McLaren had a significant update this week with new floor, engine cover, top body". Now what you think about difference between two cars. Sure with the last update McLaren have new advantage of maybe 0,5 sec or more. It is normal they beat everybody on the last day. It is good thing there no points for this. One thing about the nose of MGP is bothering me- the low slope nose. No body else use it. They all have straight, high noses. No body tell for now there is a problem with the nose, but from what I understand teams want more air between front tires. With the low nose more of the air is going up over the car? I print one MGP car picture and draw a nigh nose over it(nose tip maybe 11-12 cm. higher) , and this is looking more natural than slope nose. And the high nose is siting good on the car. Maybe somebody can do it with Photoshop. I am sure they have some idea behind slope nose, but why nobody else liked this idea. I think if they was just using some proven RBR nose design, things could be better? But I am sure they see a lot of interesting things on other cars, and they still have time if they think this is useful they can put on the car for the race.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2010/02/barc...ow-close-it-is/

Why don't you relax and wait till Bahrain to see where they really are?
It's no use to make a final judgement until they've brought their Bahrain car.
The other teams have already done this in Barcelona and they won't have any big improvements.

Controversy awaits with Merc's 'super diffuser'

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=358961

This must be a GMM article, who took bits and pieces of quotes (as usual) made over the past month and made a news item out of it.
We should stop quoting this so called news agency.

Another one...

Brawn admits there could be technical wars between the teams going into the new season.

"In the last months we have asked many things of (FIA race director) Charlie Whiting to know if they are permitted or not. Some equipment has been taken to the edge of the regulations and could have problems," admitted Brawn.



http://www.autotrader.co.uk/f1/story/0,,3213_5996955,00.html

It's from the same rubbish (GMM) source. What's your point.

guys - I think we all (fans atleast) might agree that all of us want to see Mercedes succeed, but these idiotic rumors that websites are sensationalizing aren't worth pinning hopes on. Yes there is a new aero package , but the uber diffuser etc seems to be a figment of imagination.

either ways - its better to be pleasantly surprised that disappointed by building up expectations. its just two weeks - well even less...