Thursday, March 5, 2015

BARCELONA TEST 2 - MERCEDES POWER

Sitting atop the Barcelona timesheets by a healthy margin, and without having to resort to the super-soft rubber, Mercedes looks invincible. While Williams showed its hand and looks to be best of the rest, Ferrari also looking good, it’s worth noting that 2014 runner-up Red Bull also appear to have something in reserve. Behind them, Sauber, Toro Rosso and Lotus look evenly matched, the Swiss team second to Mercedes in terms of pre-season mileage covered.

Due to the late arrival of its car, Force India remains an unknown, whilst McLaren...Though much is made of lap times, let's not forget that 'to finish first, first you have to finish', and based on the statistical evidence - not to mention Wolff's revelation - Mercedes isn't going to be threatened any time soon.






TEST MILEAGE

Engine Manufacturer Test Mileage 

Engine Manufacturer Miles Kms
Mercedes 4321.5 6954.57
Ferrari 2988 4808.61
Renault 2316.9 3728.65
Honda 512 823.93

Team Test Mileage

Team Miles Kms
Sauber 1576.4 2536.97
Ferrari 1411.6 2271.64
Toro Rosso 1278.5 2057.51
Williams 1110.7 1787.52
Mercedes 1093.4 1759.59
Lotus 1061.6 1708.38
Force India 1055.8 1699.07
Red Bull 1038.4 1671.14
McLaren 512 823.93

Driver Test Mileage

Driver Team Miles Kms
Nasr Sauber 867.8 1396.5
Vettel Ferrari 786.8 1266.16
Rosberg Mercedes 734.7 1182.37
Ericsson Sauber 708.7 1140.47
Hulkenberg Force India 679.8 1093.92
Verstappen Toro Rosso 647.9 1042.72
Sainz Toro Rosso 630.6 1014.79
Raikkonen Ferrari 624.8 1005.48
Massa Williams 593 954.27
Ricciardo Red Bull 578.5 931
Grosjean Lotus 552.5 889.1
Bottas Williams 517.8 833.24
Maldonado Lotus 509.1 819.28
Kvyat Red Bull 459.9 740.14
Button McLaren 399.2 642.39
Perez Force India 376 605.15
Hamilton Mercedes 358.7 577.22
Magnussen McLaren 112.8 181.54

Best Times Barcelona - Both Tests

Date Driver Team Tyres Time Gap
27-Feb Rosberg Mercedes S 0.0009582407 125.776 mph
28-Feb Hamilton Mercedes S 0.0009609028 0.23
01-Mar Bottas Williams SS 0.0009613773 0.271
28-Feb Massa Williams SS 0.0009636806 0.47
28-Feb Raikkonen Ferrari SS 0.0009638426 0.484
01-Mar Vettel Ferrari SS 0.0009660764 0.677
01-Mar Nasr Sauber SS 0.0009724884 1.231
22-Feb Grosjean Lotus SS 0.0009729977 1.275
28-Feb Sainz Toro Rosso SS 0.0009744329 1.399
26-Feb Ericsson Sauber SS 0.0009754167 1.484
21-Feb Maldonado Lotus SS 0.00097625 1.556
01-Mar Verstappen Toro Rosso SS 0.0009783218 1.735
20-Feb Ricciardo Red Bull S 0.0009788657 1.782
28-Feb Hulkenberg** Force India SS 0.0009830903 2.147
22-Feb Kvyat Red Bull S 0.0009831134 2.149
01-Mar Perez** Force India SS 0.0009851042 2.321
28-Feb Magnussen McLaren S 0.0009864005 2.433
01-Mar Button McLaren SS 0.000987581 2.535
20-Feb Alonso McLaren S 0.000994919 3.169
20-Feb Palmer Lotus S 0.0009986111 3.488
21-Feb Wehrlein Force India M 0.0010107986 4.541
19-Feb Wehrlein Mercedes H 0.0010241782 5.697
19-Feb Wolff Williams M 0.0010290046 6.114

TYRES

Pirelli has nominated the tyres that will be used in the Australian, Malaysian, Chinese and Bahrain Grands Prix. In Australia, Pirelli will bring the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft compounds: well-suited to the varied demands and wide range of potential weather conditions experienced at the semi-permanent Albert Park facility in Melbourne.

The Sepang circuit in Malaysia is well known for its abrasive asphalt and high ambient temperatures, making the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium the best choice for the second race of the year. The P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres are nominated for China: the best choice for the comparatively high degradation expected as a result of the demanding track layout, which leads to close racing and plenty of strategy.

P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft will also be used in Bahrain: a varied circuit that is tough on the rear tyres, where the grand prix now starts in the late afternoon and ends in the evening. This leads to falling ambient and track temperatures as the race goes on. Although the range has evolved from 2014, with a new rear construction designed to distribute forces and temperatures more evenly, these nominations are the same as those made for the equivalent races last year.

Grand Prix Super Soft Soft Medium Hard
Australia
X X
Malaysia

X X
Bahrain
X X
China
X X

CONCLUSION


It's no surprise to learn the dominant team of last season is still the fastest this year, but Mercedes pace was still a surprise for its rivals. Nico Rosberg's fastest time on the soft tyre was more than 0.2s clear of the best from Williams and Ferrari on the super-soft, suggesting a healthy margin over the rest of the field. It should be noted that the Circuit de Catalunya was an unusually strong track for Mercedes last year - it was a full second ahead of its Red Bull in qualifying and nearly two seconds ahead of Ferrari - so while it is undoubtedly still ahead it may not have achieved as great a percentage increase as its rivals. Mercedes won't stand still ahead of the start of the season, however, and the onus is very much the rest of the field to catch up.

Strength: Unmatchable pace and the best reliability record of the field over the three tests. It sounds like a championship-winning combination.

Weakness: These things are relative, but both drivers struggled with set-up at the final test with excess oversteer on the medium tyres. It may be an issue isolated to cold track conditions, but worth keeping an eye on.

Quickest lap at Circuit de Catalunya: Nico Rosberg 1:22.792 (soft)
Lap count over three tests: 1,350
A good result in Australia: A one-two is expected in both qualifying and the race
A bad result in Australia: Anything other than maximum points

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