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On March 02 2013 06:15 a176 wrote:
i cant be bothered with any of these new drivers
they arrived based more on their sponsorship money than their driving abiility
fia keeps talking about controlling the costs of f1 yet it seems the situation is the worst its been ever
Vallteri Bottas looks promising... and Gutierrez has potential to surprise. I'm kind of excited to see how they'll do. I mean, it's also kind of obvious, that unsuccessful teams will have problems getting sponsors... so they rely on drivers bringing them along... I don't mind the paydriver thing for the backmarkers.
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On March 02 2013 06:44 grindC wrote:Show nested quote +On March 02 2013 06:15 a176 wrote:
i cant be bothered with any of these new drivers
they arrived based more on their sponsorship money than their driving abiility
fia keeps talking about controlling the costs of f1 yet it seems the situation is the worst its been ever Vallteri Bottas looks promising... and Gutierrez has potential to surprise. I'm kind of excited to see how they'll do. I mean, it's also kind of obvious, that unsuccessful teams will have problems getting sponsors... so they rely on drivers bringing them along... I don't mind the paydriver thing for the backmarkers.
Thing is: These small teams used to be the ones to find new talent. There's a relatively small chance that big teams take the risk of trying out talented young drivers.
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Northern Ireland1200 Posts
Hamilton posted a very fast time this morning (1.20.558) , no one is anywhere close right now. Though RedBull and Ferrari have yet to post fast times, its still impressive.
Considering last years Pole lap was 1.21.7, its pretty impressive...
Day Three Timesheet at 11.21am UK time
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:20.558, 48 laps (S); 2. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:22.553, 41 laps (S); 3. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:22.727, 46 laps (S); 4. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:23.284, 28 laps (M); 5. Davide Valsechhi, Lotus, 1:23.448, 16 laps (S); 6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:23.482, 22 laps (M); 7. Sergio Perez, McLaren, 1:23.590, 43 laps (M); 8. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:23.614, 32 laps (S); 9. Giedo van der Garde, Caterham, 1:24.520, 42 laps; 10. Jules Bianchi, Marussia, 1:25.494, 23 laps (M); 11. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:25.523, 24 laps.
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Germany1287 Posts
Yeah, both tests in 2012 didn't see sub 1:22-times, and last year's pole was a 1:21.7 ...
It's also faster than 2011's Schuey-testing time 1:21.2 and Webber's 2011 pole 1:20.9
It was in 2010 when we last saw a sub-1:20 on this track, barely, with Webber 1:19.995 pole, and Mercedes is gettin closer
...sick stuff?
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Northern Ireland1200 Posts
To put that time into perspective. Rosbergs qualifying time last year is a full 2.5 secs slower than what Hamilton just done. Now I am sure the Merc prob gained around 1 - 1.5 second in pace during the season, but most teams do not gain another second in like a couple of months.. Not seen that sorta gain since the blown diffusers of Brawn.
Of course there are other factors, such as new tyre compounds, may be alot faster. Also, we do not know how much DRS did Hamilton use? Last year in quali you could use it at any point in qualifying. This year you will not be allowed to do this. If hamilton did not use DRS on this lap, it would be even more impressive.
Really want to see what RBR will do later or tomorrow though. I am sure they got more pace.
But its clear that this Merc is alot faster than last seasons Merc.
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Tyres are softer apparently this year so I wouldn't read too much into that just yet.
Edit: People seem to forget Merc had the fastest car at two races last year (China and Monaco), they just seemed to lose the development race.
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Northern Ireland1200 Posts
Hamilton did that 1.20.558 on a 5 lap run. He can go faster...
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
On March 02 2013 22:15 Aristodemus wrote:
Tyres are softer apparently this year so I wouldn't read too much into that just yet.
Edit: People seem to forget Merc had the fastest car at two races last year (China and Monaco), they just seemed to lose the development race.
And there reliability was shocking too
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On March 02 2013 22:15 Aristodemus wrote:
Tyres are softer apparently this year so I wouldn't read too much into that just yet.
Edit: People seem to forget Merc had the fastest car at two races last year (China and Monaco), they just seemed to lose the development race.
The tyres are different, but so are the conditions. Drivers were complaining of the heavy graining, most likely due to the low temparatures in Barcelona this year, so everybody has a hard time getting them into right temperature windows. I think therefore the times are even more impressing.
Also impressive that Bianchi alraedy set a time 1 second faster than Chitons best, and he has been with the team for less than 24 hours.
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
So...Hamilton wtf pwns in his Mercedes which "isn't going to be near top 3" in every interview he says....must be trolling us? Or is everyone else just not bothering xD
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well, times in testing are not always that imporant. No one knows how much fuel is in every car, so a clear picuture isn't possible until qualifiying in Melbourne. I don't think that the top teams have already shown what they are capable of. Most drivers and journalists agree that Red Bull will have the best car, since it looks very smooth while driving.
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On March 03 2013 03:28 Pandemona wrote:
So...Hamilton wtf pwns in his Mercedes which "isn't going to be near top 3" in every interview he says....must be trolling us? Or is everyone else just not bothering xD
He did also say he was downplaying the team's optimism too.
But also these are only practice times. Expect Red Bull to fastest when it comes down to it.
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
That was last practice wasn't it? Can't expect to much surprises now?
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Is it just me or Force India is starting to look more and more like a serious up and coming contender? I mean, this is just practice and it's not like they're topping the times or anything but, idk, I feel like they're going to make a real splash if not this season then maybe the next one.
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Northern Ireland1200 Posts
Actually, the vibe is that Force India are going backwards and not forwards.
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Really, why do you feel that way? They definitely do not have the consistency yet, but their best laps are right up there with the best, and those times didn't seem like one-off flukes either. Guess we'll have to see!
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
WTF
Rosberg beats Hamiltons pace? What the.. xD ok now im seriously thinking Mercedes have been trolling us! xD
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:20.130
1:20.558 Hamilton's time yesterday
"Well it's a good lap of mine, it was a good lap," he told reporters.
"But again you don't know what people are doing. Fuel loads make such a big difference: you take ten kilos out of the car and you gain three tenths of a second. We tended to be on the light load, and others on heavy load today doing longer runs, so it really doesn't show much.
"You haven't got Jenson [Button] out there, you haven't got Fernando [Alonso], you haven't go Sebastian [Vettel]. So it really doesn't matter."
Lewis yesterday playing down his pace, suggesting he also might of been on low fuel. Still....xD when Rosberg beats you the next day then surely that car has more pace then they are letting on?
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SoCal, USA3955 Posts
Maybe he is lowering his expectations so he won't get disappointing if he had high expectations. So when 1st race goes it can confirm the car can compete or not. ?????
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51493 Posts
Yeah that's like all i can think he is doing. XD
Oh well, not long until race day!! 14days!
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EPT
