Mercedes-Benz have confirmed that both works cars, and also those cars of the two customer teams will use the latest spec of their power unit for the season opener in Melbourne.
There have been rumours circulating since Barcelona, that reliability gremlins will prevent Mercedes from introducing their latest spec ‘lump of hybrid-ness’ at Albert park.
The rumours hinted at crankshaft problems with their latest evolution of the all dominant power unit. High level sources in Stuttgart have dismissed the speculation however, and have insisted that the latest spec units will be deployed as planned for the season start.
This means that the spec ran in the second Barcelona test, will be used for the Australian GP. Mercedes did suffer with reliability issues but these ‘minor’ issues are believed to have been resolved.
Mercedes are believed to have made massive inroads to their power output over the winter. Rumours around the paddock suggest an improvement as much as 70 bhp. Form at the second Barcelona test didn’t suggest as much.
This would not have been the first time though that Mercedes have run conservative engine modes to not only hide their true pace, but also to test new vital components.
New for this year remember, is the lack of a power unit token allocation. Major updates are now allowed whenever a new unit is ready to race, and if they are not ready to race… the updates can be delivered later on in the season in sequence with engine usage plans.
Let’s just assume for a minute that all this is true and Mercedes were infact running somewhat conservatively in Barcelona. Where would that leave Ferrari? The maranello based squad ran only one power unit for the the entire two weeks of testing, and appeared to have the edge of pace.
Crash bang for Ferrari aka 2016?
And what if Ferrari were running conservative engine modes during winter testing?
Logic doesn’t work like that in these parts!
Hahaha, enlight us then, if you may!
Well, everything is speculation at the moment, so yes; they could be. History tells us that isn’t their normal way of working though.
Having said that, the Ferrari-related stories on this site recently have been consistently just plain wrong and badly informed (if they were informed at all). I’m thinking of Ferrari engines expected to burst into flames & Ferrari aero development in deep trouble in terms of both downforce and drag. Take any ‘news’ on this site with a pinch of salt and just keep coming back for the historical/nostalgia pieces which are pretty good.
Well said, well said.
not only Ferrari related stories are sceptic/septic in this blog. Almost all of them are. Apart from history bit
I said as much a while ago but my post got binned off
my condolences Man G. Well, maybe we should perceive this site as punk rock of F1 ?
Was that on my Ferrari post? Because I accidentally binned that one, a fault between the wordpress app and the browser version. I was able to upload the article again, because I had it on my own blog, but the comments were lost. My appologies.
I think you can see on everyone of my posts that I do not censor in anyway. (I dont see a reason why)
I dont know if I should be happy or sad with you comment, seeing that I provide both news and hystorical features.
I think most of you forget that we are no pros. And on slow days like these some of us still try to write, so that you guys can read. Many times it’s interpretation of news around the web, not everything can be of the same high standard. Even sites like motorsport.com and all those have great, good and bad articles.
Anyway, I do get your point but you should also consider ours. 😉
This is a site for the fans, wrote by fans and so it’s wrote very much from the heart. My word to anyone is this…If you don’t agree with something or you can contribute to the piece, then please..Make your voice heard,better yet,give it a try. Write a snippet yourselves and experience the thrill of your thoughts put out onto the world. F1 is a pretty small community compared to some sports and whether you like Lewis,Seb,Fred or just have a love for machines we would all love to hear your thoughts…Oddball
While I appreciate the time and effort the author has used to put the article together – it simply looks like a cut and paste job from the dozens of anti Ferrari / pro M-B / pro #44 twitter feeds or websites that I see ever day. And most of them are merely regurgitating unsubstantiated opinion that they read on other anti Ferrari / pro M-B or pro #44 twitter feeds or websites.
Last year, James Allison reportedly told Sergio Marchionne that all their simulation numbers proved that Ferrari were competitive with Mercedes. Something that Sergio repeated to the media.
Now Sergio is a frightfully quick learner and like any truly great leader makes decisions quickly. He spoke to Allison after he returned following the tragedy of his wife. He had also spoken to Ross Brawn who told him the role of tech director was a 24/7 role, something that Allison had never committed to.
Sergio spoke with Allison and once he understood the situation he was dismissed.
Mattia Binotto is highly regarded and as Brawn told SM, tech directors don’t design, they organise and manage the man power. I’d guess his word carries some Wright in Maranello.
So Sergio doesn’t waste idle speculation over the winter talking up Ferrari. The team goes through a media blackout and generally behaves in a ‘non Ferrari’ way.
Who knows if they are ahead of Mercedes but seeing as so much of their operational behaviour has changed. why would Ferrari not run heavier loads or detuned modes.they may have or have not.
This article as ever is pure conjecture based on hearsay.
Spipsolo
Amazing how we fans sometimes seem to know better than the insiders in the teams. Why would any of us (laymen?) think that we know better than Ferrari wrt MB’s modus operandi, beats me. Whatever we may say about the season ahead atm is pure guessing.
Let the racing begin.
Forza Ferrari!!!
p.s. i still want to know what’s happening at Building 9.
VTT installation is confirmed there
Deep in the English suberb of Milton Keynes. A secret government institution known only as building 9 has been housing a crashed UFO from the 1950’s. This secure facility is charged with the security of the world and surrounding planets. These brave Men and women work tirelessly to protect the planet, to seek new technologies and further the knowledge of humanity, that or its something to do with engines 😇
Thank You
Wait until Qualifying ends in Australia before making any predictions. Everything now is basically all hope and hype.