All these black and silver cars are going to be hard to tell apart when they're slicing and dicing into turn 1......
The STR looks very different this year ... I assume they just didn't have time to get all the stickers on?
After Ferrari and Williams, the Red Bull may be the easiest car to make out on track this season. Lots of contrast.
I wouldn't read much into the times. After all, it's the first day of testing. Remember, fastest on the first day last year was Maldonado in a Lotus...
Lap count is more important than anything else during testing, and look at the Merc! As to Haas, Grosjean had a front wing failure and missed a bunch of the morning session. When they went out again in the afternoon session they claim they limited top speed as a precaution.
HAAS needs some super glue. Steve since I can't click a like button for your work I'll just add a "like" here.
If you're gonna break something you'd rather do it on the first day of testing than on the first day at Melbourne - at least now they have time to do a proper fix rather than a patch that could put them out of the race. I'm encouraged by their progress, faster than three other established teams on the first day is nothing to be ashamed of! And why is Manor still so far off the pace?
Yup, Merc had a similar failure during testing a couple years ago. The difference is Hamilton went off as a result and there was significant damage to the car...if I'm remembering correctly. Testing is where you learn and where you'd rather make such mistakes.
Here's the result chart from day 2. Again, at this point the lap count column is likely much more important than the lap time column. They're there to work, not to win anything. Haas' goal, and rightly so, is to put in as many laps as possible and, though they could be doing more, they're doing great (IMO) given they're a new team with a brand new car.
I hope Hamilton and Rosberg were in good shape before testing began. Full race distance at Barcelona is 66 laps. Hamilton did 156 laps yesterday and Rosberg ran 172 today. Gotta be hard on the neck!
Hmmm, maybe they do need some super glue... Cooking process caused Haas wing failure (motorsport.com)
Hmmmm... That certainly can't last. I'm willing to bet there will soon be some graphical hint, however minor :wink: , of highly overpriced and useless Austrian "energy" drink. Just a hunch.
This is exactly why I said it's better to have it fail now, by the time the season starts they'll have a properly engineered fix for it instead of a patch. I am also encouraged by their times, they're right in the thick of the midfield, exactly where I thought they would be. I have no illusions about them running at the sharp end of the field this season, but it's nice to see they're not playing Manor or Caterham's replacement at the back. And to be able to run a significant number of laps reliably is awesome - well done Haas!
Pink (or is it purple?) markings on the new ultrasoft compound tires...better get used to that. They sure do look soft, and apparently fairly easy to flat spot.