F1 2019 car launches and testing

[Big Kev]

1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m18.247s 157
2. Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1m18.553s 104
3. Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1m19.206s 62
4. Alexander Albon Toro Rosso-Honda 1m19.301s 132
5. Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m19.312s 191
6. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m19.535s 89
7. Pierre Gasly Red Bull-Honda 1m19.814s 92
8. Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1m19.837s 95
9. Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1m19.886s 28
10. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m19.928s 74
11. Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes 1m20.433s 79
12. Pietro Fittipaldi Haas-Ferrari 1m21.849s 13

[w00dsy]

Will Buxton was saying on the coverage yesterday that McLaren think they're about 2 seconds off where they should be and their laps are low fuel runs.

[r8response]

[w00dsy]

I can't recall where I read it but someone at Williams said it was a flaw in the design of the braking system that was holding it up. When they went to put the car together some parts didn't fit, so they had to be quickly redesigned.

[Duke]

Will Buxton was saying on the coverage yesterday that McLaren think they're about 2 seconds off where they should be and their laps are low fuel runs.

What Mercs excuse, sandbagging?

[w00dsy]

Live coverage https://f1fullraces.com/livestream/
Password is f1fullraces

[Big Kev]

What Mercs excuse, sandbagging?

Think Merc are just filling the car and doing long reliability runs as they have a new engine this year. They mentioned on the Sky roundup show last night that Merc rarely top the testing timesheets and there isn't much to be gained from knowing 1 lap pace, they're more interested in race pace. Last year they didn't top any and got pole in Melbourne by 0.7s

[Duke]

[Big Kev]

Claire Williams won't explain why the team's car was not ready to run until today, other than that parts did not come through the system in time, but she will say how she feels about it, and she is not pulling any punches: "We’re not just disappointed. It’s embarrassing not bringing a race car to a circuit when everyone else has managed to do that, particularly a team like ours that has managed to bring a race car to testing for the past 40-odd years." She says she wants to apologise to the team's fans and most of all to drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica.

Finally getting out on track was "a big relief", she says. And she dodged a question about the future of chief technical officer Paddy Lowe: "I've read a lot of speculation about his position. Right now all I am focused on and the team should be focused on is making sure the car is in the right place."

Taxi for Paddy!

[Big Kev]

Day 3
Total laps:
Raikkonen - 138
Kvyat - 137
Vettel - 134
Verstappen - 104
Hamilton - 94
Sainz - 90
Bottas - 88
Ricciardo - 80
Grosjean - 69
Perez - 67
Hulkenberg - 63
Fittipaldi - 48
Russell - 23

1 Kvyat Toro Rosso 1m17.704s
2 Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1m17.762s
3 Ricciardo Renault 1m18.164s
4 Vettel Ferrari 1m18.350s
5 Verstappen Red Bull 1m18.787s
6 Hulkenberg Renault 1m18.800s
7 Grosjean Haas 1m19.189s
8 Fittipaldi Haas 1m19.249s
9 Sainz McLaren 1m19.354s
10 Perez Racing Point 1m20.102s
11 Bottas Mercedes 1m20.693s
12 Hamilton Mercedes 1m20.818s
13 Russell Williams 1m25.625s

[Big Kev]

Wow, didn't realise the cars had grown so much

[Dr. Pain]

I knew they were wider but I didn't think they were that much longer!

[norbs]

Something doesnt look right there. Look at the cockpit size. It must have been a tight fit in the old cars.

[w00dsy]

They bought in minimum cockpit sizes at some point.

[DarrenM]

From what I can find, the wheelbase of the 2017 & 2018 Merc was 600mm longer than that Mclaren. 3726mm vs 3120mm. So the front wheel should only be about 1 wheel diameter further down.

http://www.constructorsf1.com/en/clanky ... 2-3418.htm
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14110 ... 2019-trend

I found a 2007 vs 2017 comparison with the Renault on reddit.



With the cockpits aligned so you can see where the extra length was added.

[Big Kev]

Hulkenberg (Renault) 1:17.393 (24 laps) C5 tyre
Albon (Toro Rosso) 1:17.637 (130) C5
Ricciardo (Renualt) 1:17.785 (34) C4
Bottas (Mercedes) 1:17.857 (57)
Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:17.977 (58) C4
Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:18.046 (138)
Norris (McLaren) 1:18.431 (132)
Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) 1:18.511 (154) C2
Grosjean (Haas) 1:18.563 (64) C4
Magnussen (Haas) 1:18.720 (66)
Gasly (Red Bull) 1:18.780 (146) C3
Stroll (Racing Point) 1:19.664 (72)
Russell (Williams) 1:20.997 (17)
Kubica (Williams) 1:21.706 (48)

[Big Kev]

[w00dsy]

[Duke]

Three McLaren team members required treatment following a fire in the team’s garage during a filming day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday.

RACER understands the fire broke out around 1600 local time, and McLaren confirmed that three team members were treated at the medical center and have since been released.

“There was a small fire in the garage during the team’s private filming day,” a team spokesperson told RACER. “The fire was quickly extinguished by the team, and circuit emergency services and medical teams attended immediately in support. Three team members were taken to the medical center for treatment and were released shortly after.”

The team is currently assessing the MCL34 chassis to understand the extent of any damage. It is not yet clear whether the team has a spare chassis if one is required to carry out testing with next week. The second pre-season test starts on Tuesday.

Racing Point and Williams were also carrying out filming days on Friday at the circuit. Both teams are understood to have offered assistance, but the fire had been extinguished by the time they reached the McLaren garage. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation

[r8response]

Seems Ted Kravitz has been given the shaft

[richo]

Seems Ted Kravitz has been given the shaft

I would have given Crofty the arse long before Ted, I almost would prefer James Allan over that over hyping arse licker .

[Big Kev]

Yeah for me personally I think he's one of the best things on their coverage. His notebooks are great and I missed his pre-season development corner features.

Seems to be 2 rumours going round. Either the new head of SkyF1 didn't like him and didn't renew or he's got 3 young kids and the travel meant he hardly saw them so wanted to spend some time with them.

I assume he's still under contract until the end of the month so can't say anything yet.

I guess that's why they brought in Karun Chandhok, as a replacement.

[DarrenM]

I liked his notebooks and pit lane coverage but couldn't stand his interviews.

Ant Davidson appears to be gone as well. I can see Karun doing his job with the replay screen. Button has joined. I assume he'll be doing similar "insight" bits to Rosberg and co.

[Big Kev]

I hope Jenson is better than Rosberg cos he was awful!
I also hope Jenson doesn't do the grid walk with Brundle. It rarely works with 2 people and 1 camera cos they never know who they're supposed to be filming.

[Big Kev]

Brundle on twitter today suggesting Ted is part of the team after all.

He's also now listed on their page as part of the team (maybe just having an extended break before the season started so missed testing).

Rachel Brookes
Martin Brundle
Jenson Button
Karun Chandhok
David Croft
Anthony Davidson
Paul Di Resta
Johnny Herbert
Damon Hill
Ted Kravitz
Simon Lazenby
Natalie Pinkham
Nico Rosberg