Monday, March 9, 2015

F1: So, Did we learn Anything from Winter Testing?



As I've said a zillion times before over the years, there's a reason F1 Pre-season testing is fondly called the Winter Olympics, when the various Constructors are running their own agendas in regards to their needs to pump up their image, woo prospective sponsors, grab instant media Attenzione by being the Day's or Test's quickest, or A-L-L of the above...

So please DON'T read too much into the three winter test sessions held at Jerez and Barcelona this winter, which ALL of the Formula 1 teams know the venues extremely well...

As here's some "Dated" symphonic rhapsody to peak your interests regarding the fast approaching season opener Down Under...


Winter Test No. 1: Jerez, Feb 1-4, 2015
Although thee "Iceman," nee Kimi Raikkonen & his Oomphlats finished P1, ahead  of Sauber's Marcus Ericsson, thy young "Louise 'JAGUAR" Hamilton was third, with the mighty Mercedes "Silver Arrows" pounding out the most laps, and thus, do we really think they'll be pushed down to "First Loser;" Err second place this year?


Winter Test No. 2: Barcelona, Feb 19-22, 2015
Really like The Guardian's Paul Weaver's quip "Glory Runs" when describing Lotus's ascendency to the top of the time-sheets during the second winter test; especially since, Pastor Maldonado being quickest half of the time has an odd  ring to it, right? And then Lotus Team Leader Romain Grosjean capped off the Barcelona test by being quickest on Day-4.

Although Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's assorted health maladies made the newswires, obviously the biggest news from the test was Fernando Alonso's shunt into the wall, for which he apparently suffered a concussion and subsequently was flown to hospital for precautionary checks.


And while Lotus's pace is encouraging, take heed that the mighty Silver Arrows were nipping at their heels on the Prime (Harder) medium rubber compound, whilst the Lotus pair, amongst others were achieving their "Glory Run" times on the Option "Super soft" Pirelli tyres instead. As meanwhile, reportedly Max Verstappen continues to impress...


Winter Test No. 3: Barcelona, Feb 26-March 1, 2015
Ho Hum! Mercedes runners swept P1 all four days, with Team Willy's Felipe Massa quickest on Day-1 and team-mate Valtteri Bottas quickest on Day-4, with the Williams duo sandwiching the mighty Silver Arrows, nee Mercedes GP, with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton blitzing the field on Day's 2-3 respectively! As the Mercedes clearly look fastest prior to Melbourne... Whilst Force India finally ran its VJM08 with no major problems to curtail its running, unlike McLaren, who's had nothing but grief so far with its new Honda PU. As McLaren's No. 1 driver Fernando Alonso sat out the entire test due to his concussion and further elected to sit out the season opener in Australia...