Testing Day 4: Mercedes finally put quick laps in, but still slower than Ferrari

· by · in F1 Testing. ·

Yesterday’s testing gave us a better understanding after Red Bull finally put their proper front wing on, but Horner was insistent there were still more aero pieces to come.

GPS data suggested that the current pecking order places Ferrari top, with Red Bull / Mercedes 2nd on race pace. Of course, it’s always difficult to say who is where during testing, but GPS data seems to be the most reliable method of getting an idea.

Traditionally, Mercedes have run conservatively in testing, usually opting for hard tyres almost exclusively, in a bid to not show their hand, and this year is no different up until now.

This morning we’ve seen Mercedes put the 2nd softest rubber on an gone top, with Lewis Hamilton clocking in a 1:18.337. For reference, on day 1 Vettel beat that time with a 1:18.161 using a grade harder Pirelli.

Keep up to date today and see if Mercedes can get quicker, we’ll update this article through the day.

DAY 3 TEST RESULTS


1. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 17.704 min (137 laps). Tire C5. 
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 17.762 mins (138). C5
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 18.164 mins (80). C4
4th Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.350 Min. (134). C3
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 18.787 min. (109). C3
6. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault): 1: 18,800 mins (63). C4
7. Romain Grosjean (Haas): 1: 19.060 mins (69). C3
8. Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas): 1: 19.249 min. (48). C4
9. Carlos Sainz (McLaren): 1: 19.354 mins (90). C3
10. Sergio Perez (Racing Point): 1: 20.102 min. (67). C3
11th Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.693 mins (88). C3 
12. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 20.818 min. (94). prototype
13. George Russell (Williams): 1: 25.625 minutes (23). C3

 

Testing Day 3: Exclusive story – The reason Williams are late to test

Testing for day 2 at Barcelona was a fairly inconclusive affair, many teams opting for race simulations but still, Ferrari topped the timing screens and again McLaren finished up 2nd, albeit on one of the softest compounds – many fans missed Williams, and have asked the question; why are Williams F1 so bad?

Today we finally see Williams come to the party, having missed the first two test days they’ve missed out on 25% of the available pre-season testing, a hammer blow for sure.

Paddy Lowe is rumoured to be very much out of favour with the Williams management, and fingers have been pointed at the chief technical officer for Williams F1, citing the ex-Mercedes chief as the reason for the delays.

TJ13 reported late Monday night that an internal source within the team claimed that ill-designed parts for the braking system wouldn’t fit during the construction phase of the car last week. Some also believe that suspension components were misaligned, causing further delays. Further, it’s been reported that suppliers have not moved fast enough for the team with their parts manufacturing, caused in part to late order placement by Williams. Some speculate that this is a cash flow issue within the team.

DAY 2 TEST RESULTS

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1: 18.247 mins (157 laps). Tire: C3
2. Lando Norris (McLaren): 1: 18.553 min. (104). C4
3. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): 1: 19.206 min. (59). C3
4. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso): 1: 19.301 mins (132). C4
5. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.312 min. (101). C4
6. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 19.535 mins (89). C3
7. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 1: 19.814 mins (92). C3
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault): 1: 19.837 min. (95). C3
9. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 19.886 min. (28). C3
10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 19,928 mins (74). C3
11. Lance Stroll (Racing Point): 1: 20.433 mins (79). C3
12. Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas): 1: 21,849 mins (13). C3

 

TJ13 exclusive: A source from Grove has approached us: why are Williams F1 so bad?

Late on Monday, TJ13 received an anonymous email from an internal source within Grove. To quote:

“At the end of last year, all the managers in all manufacturing departments got sacked after an internal survey.

“They all obviously appealed, and have now all been paid off with no employment restrictions.

“Upper management are now trying to implement new working hours and staff are refusing to work more than the standard shift hours in protest of any change. So not a surprise the car is late and is not at the test”

Williams has managed to get their car to Barcelona this morning, but say that they’ll not be running until the afternoon at the earliest. The car arrived at 4am and Williams has been working since then to get it ready.

Both Lowe and deputy team principal Claire Williams have media sessions scheduled today.

 

Team mileage so far in testing

Team Laps Km Miles
Ferrari 326 1517 942
Mercedes 313 1457 905
Renault 232 1079 670
McLaren 223 1038 645
Red Bull 220 1024 636
Alfa Romeo 215 1000 621
Toro Rosso 209 972 604
Haas 137 637 396
Racing Point 109 507 315
Williams 0 0 0

 

UPDATE 9:45am – Times are in, so far Ferrari are top again. Max Verstappen and Red Bull are testing some unmarked prototype Pirellis for 2020 designs.

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 19.350 min.
2. Kimi Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.989 min.
3. Sergio Perez (Racing Point): 1: 20.134 min.
4. Max Verstappen ( Red Bull): 1: 20.661 min.
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.693 min.
6. Nico Hülkenberg (Renault): 1: 21.381 min.
7. Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas): 1: 21.714 min
8. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 23.012 min.

 

 

UPDATE 11:00am – Wow, Hulkenberg and Renault started quali simulations on softs & go 2nd quickest (1:18.8) WITHOUT DRS. With DRS Renault estimate a 1:18 dead making the RS19 the fastest on track thus far.

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.355 min.
2. Nico Hülkenberg (Renault): 1: 18.800 min.
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 18.944 min.
4. Carlos Sainz (McLaren ): 1: 19.513 min.
5. Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas): 1: 19.664 min.
6. Sergio Perez (Racing Point): 1: 20.102 min.
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 20.661 min
. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.693 min.
9. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 22.092 min.

 

UPDATE 14:00 –  Red Bull’s Helmut Marko on Honda: “Our drivers clearly feel more power.”, the good Dr also praised Honda for quick repairs when Gasly’s turbo went bang yesterday: “No bother – they just swapped the turbo that Honda had prepared already, this is paradise”

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 17.762 min. (94 laps) 
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.350 min. (99)
3. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault): 1: 18.800 min (63)
4. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 18.897 mins (70)
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 18.899 mins (52)
6. Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas): 1: 19.249 mins (48)
7. Carlos Sainz (McLaren): 1: 19.354 mins (33)
8. Romain Grosjean (Haas): 1: 19.358 mins (8)
9. Sergio Perez (Racing Point): 1: 20.102 mins. (48)
10. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.693 mins. (88) 
11. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 20.818 mins. (15)
12. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 20.885 mins. (17 )

 

 

 

 

 

Testing Day 2: Ominous signs that Mercedes are quick, Renault could be a dark horse?

Testing day 2 has started and despite a shaky start first thing, it certainly appears that Red Bull and Honda are going well thus far with Verstappen near the top of the timing screen.

Looking back at day 1, some might suggest that Mercedes have been disappointing with Hamilton and Bottas only reaching 9th and 8th respectively, but looking at the tyre compounds used, Mercedes had a very solid start. Both Mercedes and Renault are the last four, but they used the hardest tyre compound of all, with Renault not able to run with their DRS system working. It is thought that this alone would gift an additional 0.8 secs.

DAY 1 results

Testing during the last few years has seen Mercedes almost exclusively run on only the very hardest Pirelli, their regime appears geared toward this as a standard method. And Mercedes are always one of the fastest cars when the season begins.

James Allison of Mercedes: “The first day with a new car is always exciting. Today was not a bad start for both drivers, who got a first taste of the W10 and were able to complete 150 trouble-free laps by the end of the day.

We were able to squeeze a lot into the program the first day and find out how the new 2019 tires work and learn more about how the car responds to setup changes. Today it was not about pure speed, and we are quite satisfied with the vehicle behavior.”

 

UPDATE 09:20am – Track condions are very slippery, and Hamilton’s engine seems to lose power.

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1: 19.427 min.
2. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo): 1: 20.512 min.
3. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 1: 21.295 min.
4. Lance Stroll ( Racing Point): 1: 21.524 min. 
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 21.877 min.
6. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso): 1: 22.883 min.
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 24.193 min.

 

 

UPDATE 10:50am – Reports are that Sebastian Vettel is in the paddock and is watching what his new teammate is doing on the track.

Speed trap so far today:

Leclerc (Ferrari) 321km/h
Albon (Toro Rosso) 319km/h
Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) 319km/h
Norris (McLaren) 317km/h
Hamilton (Mercedes) 315km/h
Ricciardo (Renault) 309km/h

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1: 18.247 mins (44 laps)
2. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 19.886 mins (27)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 19.928 min. (40)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren): 1: 20.020 mins (28)
5. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo): 1: 20.099 mins (43)
6. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso): 1: 20.232 mins. (224)
7. Lance Stroll (Racing Point): 1: 20.571 mins (24)
8. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 1: 20.581 mins (42)
9. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): 1: 21.604 mins. (9)

 

 

UPDATE 12:50pm – Robert Kubica supports are waiting in the grandstands in vain, gotta feel bad for them really when such revelations have come out about Williams last night.

 

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1: 18.247 mins (73 laps)
2. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): 1: 19.234 mins (33)
3. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.312 mins (62)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren): 1: 19.489 (53)
5. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 1: 19.814 (69)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 19.886 Min. (28)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 19.928 mins (74)
8. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso): 1: 20.046 mins (61)
9. Lance Stroll (Racing Point): 1: 20.433 mins. (45)

 

UPDATE 14:15 – Spectacular: Daniel Ricciardo’s wing explosion appears on youtube from the grandstands. Norris has been steering his McLaren around the track for a few laps at a time. The lap times are not very fast. He drives middle 1:26 times on the white-edged hard Pirelli.

 

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1: 18.247 mins (102 laps)
2. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): 1: 19.234 mins (39)
3. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.312 mins (62)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren): 1: 19.489 minutes (78)
5. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 1: 19.814 minutes (82)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 19.886 Min. (28)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 19.928 minutes (74)
8. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 19.047 minutes (25)
9. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso): 1: 20.046 minutes (76 )
10. Lance Stroll (Racing Point): 1: 20.433 mins (49)
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault): 1: 22.601 mins (19)

 

UPDATE 16:30 – Aero parts are missing at Red Bull, which makes it a bit difficult for the squad to balance the car. Red Bull mechanics are buzzing out of the garage. The car drives on the truck. Four partitions are designed to protect the RB15 from the lenses of the photographers.

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1: 18.247 mins (144 laps)
2. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): 1: 19.234 mins (59)
3. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.312 mins (86)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren): 1: 19.489 mins (94)
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 19.616 mins (66)
6. Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso): 1: 19.783 Min. (120)
7. Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 1: 19.814 Min. (92)
8. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 19.886 Min. (28)
9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 19.928 Min. 74)
10. Stroll (Racing Point): 1: 20.433 min.

 

 

 

 

 

Testing Day 1: Horner – “We have never had such a good packaging of the engine as now with Honda.”

Today begins the first test for the Formula 1 grid in their 2019 cars at the Barcelona circuit in Spain.

Highlights for today have already included Kimi Raikkonen going off and needing a tow out of the gravel, the Alfa Romeo livery reveal along with Red Bull’s livery for Australia onwards.

More importantly, however, TJ13 can reveal that Red Bull Honda could have problems. Reports indicate that the garage doors opened this morning, only to close again due to a Honda Power unit issue. Max Verstappen has shown only once on the track thus far.

More on this later, so be sure to check back on TJ13, we will update this page and others when we know more.

UPDATE 10:28am – Red Bull’s Honda V6 stutters and somehow sounds strained… but Max Verstappen has now completed 15 laps, best time of 1: 21.808, 2.671 secs slower than the fastest time set by Vettel.

UPDATE 10:48am – Verstappen’s car ran about 50 Meters before the engine cut earlier, but it seems that things have settled down somewhat.
Verstappen now 2nd fastest behind Vettel with a 1:20.174 after 23 laps.

UPDATE 12:40pm – Williams confirm that due to parts not arriving in time, they will unlikely be able to run their car until Wednesday at the earliest. Renault are running without DRS so their rear wing remains closed today. We hear from the Renault stock that it costs between 0.7 and 0.8 seconds in the lap time.

1. S. Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.161 mins (72 laps)
2. S. Perez (Racing Point): 1: 19.944 mins (20)
3. V. Bottas (Mercedes): 1 : 20.127 Min. (69)
4. K. Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 20.160 Min. (46)
5. M. Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 20.174 Min. (52)
6. C. Sainz (McLaren ): 1: 20.430 min. (56)
7. N. Hülkenberg (Renault): 1: 20.980 min. (65)
8. R. Grosjean (Haas): 1: 21.500 min. (18)
9. D. Kvyat ( Toro Rosso): 1: 21,732 min. (35)

 

UPDATE 12:45 – First look at the new, larger, DRS flap in use today in Barcelona

https://gfycat.com/deliciouslavishcygnet

 

UPDATE 14:15 – One engine audibly sets itself apart from all others. The Honda V6 growls… Renault delays due to technical hitch trying to send Ricciardo out.

1. S. Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.161 mins (104 laps)
2. K. Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.483 mins (59)
3. M. Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 19.600 min. (59)
4. S. Perez (Racing Point): 1: 19.944 mins (25)
5. V. Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.127 mins. (69)
6. C. Sainz (McLaren ): 1: 20.430 min. (58)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 20.521 mins (16)
8. N. Hülkenberg (Renault): 1: 20.980 mins (65)
9th R. Grosjean (Haas ): 1: 21.500 min. (18)
10. D. Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 21.732 min. (35)
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 21.769 min. (5)

 

UPDATE 15:00 – Honda V6 seems to be running well. With 324 km / h Kvyat holds the top spot in the speed trap.

1. S. Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.161 Min. (122 laps)
2. K. Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.483 Min. (74)
3. M. Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 19.600 mins. (79)
4. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 19.901 mins. (50)
5. S. Perez (Racing Point): 1: 19.944 mins. (30)
6. R. Grosjean (Haas ): 1: 20.094 Min. (28)
7. V. Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.127 Min. (69)
8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 20.135 Min. (31)
9. C. Sainz (McLaren ): 1: 20.430 min. (61)
10. N. Hülkenberg (Renault): 1: 20.980 mins (65)
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 21.253 mins (17)

 

 

UPDATE 16:16 – Red Bull team boss Christian Horner praises new engine partner Honda and simultaneously taunts former partner Renault: “We have never had such a good packaging of the engine as now with Honda.”

Vettel fastest over all, dominating 2nd & 3rd sectors, Honda’s V6 fastest 1st sector with Kyvatt.

1. S. Vettel (Ferrari): 1: 18.161 mins (149 laps)
2. Romain Grosjean: 1: 19.320 mins (50)
3. K. Räikkönen (Alfa Romeo): 1: 19.462 min. (95)
4. M. Verstappen (Red Bull): 1: 19.600 min. (101)
5. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 1: 19.635 min. (58)
6. S. Perez (Racing Point): 1: 19,944 mins (30)
7. V. Bottas (Mercedes): 1: 20.127 mins (69)
8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 1: 20.135 mins (58)
9. C. Sainz (McLaren): 1: 20.430 min. (102)
10. N. Hülkenberg (Renault): 1: 20.980 min. (65)
11. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault): 1: 20.983 min. (44)

 

 

 

LIVE – Video feed from testing

 

 

https://twitter.com/PitLane_F1/status/1097512141605740552

 

 

https://twitter.com/Richard_D80/status/1097500844822593536

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.