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With the 1st pre-season test beginning on Monday, it will be quite an anxious test this one due to the cars running under new regulations.

February 27-March 2: 1st test - Barcelona
March 7-March 10: 2nd test - Barcelona

6 out of the 10 teams have launched their cars (didn't include Williams). Those with technical visionary might've made some assumptions who might've gotten it right & who got it wrong.

1 of the days of the 1st pre-season test will be a wet weather test so that all teams get some experience driving with the wet tyres.

The Schedule of the lineup:
Mercedes:
Day 1: Hamilton / Bottas
Day 2: Hamilton / Bottas
Day 3: Hamilton / Bottas
Day 4: Hamilton / Bottas

Red Bull:
Day 1: Daniel Ricciardo
Day 2: Max Verstappen
Day 3: Daniel Ricciardo
Day 4: Max Verstappen

Ferrari:
Day 1: Sebastian Vettel
Day 2: Kimi Raikkonen
Day 3: Sebastian Vettel
Day 4: Kimi Raikkonen

Force India:
Day 1: Sergio Perez
Day 2: Esteban Ocon
Day 3: Alfonso Celis Jr.
Day 4: Sergio Perez / Esteban Ocon

Williams:
Day 1: Felipe Massa
Day 2: Lance Stroll
Day 3: Felipe Massa
Day 4: Lance Stroll

McLaren:
Day 1: Fernando Alonso
Day 2: Stoffel Vandoorne
Day 3: Fernando Alonso
Day 4: Stoffel Vandoorne

Toro Rosso:
Day 1: Carlos Sainz
Day 2: Daniil Kvyat
Day 3: TBA
Day 4: TBA

Haas:
Day 1: Kevin Magnussen
Day 2: Kevin Magnussen
Day 3: Romain Grosjean
Day 4: Romain Grosjean

Renault:
Day 1: Nico Hulkenberg
Day 2: Joylon Palmer
Day 3: Nico Hulkenberg / Joylon Palmer
Day 4: Nico Hulkenberg / Joylon Palmer

Sauber:
Day 1: Marcus Ericsson
Day 2: Antonio Giovinazzi
Day 3: Marcus Ericsson / Antonio Giovinazzi
Day 4: Marcus Ericsson / Antonio Giovinazzi

The cars so far:

Sauber C36:

Source - http://www.gpupdate.net

Renault R.S. 17:

Source - http://www.motorsportweek.com

Force India VJM10:

Source - http://www.formulaspy.com

Mercedes W08:

Source - http://www.autocar.co.uk

Ferrari SF70H:

Source - http://www.motorsport.com

McLaren MCL32:

Source - http://www.autocar.co.uk

Williams FW40:

Source - http://www.Twitter.com

Red Bull RB13:

Source - http://www.Twitter.com

Haas VF-17:

Source - http://www.Twitter.com

I'm liking the Renault livery and car more and more with each reveal of their rivals. Really hope they can surprise me during the season and be near the sharp end.

Lotus49 wrote:I'm liking the Renault livery and car more and more with each reveal of their rivals. Really hope they can surprise me during the season and be near the sharp end.

True. Since the R.S. 17 is completely a new work under their vision, it should make a big stride in performance.

Antonnio Giovinazzi will replace Wehrlein for the 1st test with Sauber at Barcelona:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/head ... rlein.html

Pirelli will be taking 3500 tyres to the test starting Monday:

http://www.pitpass.com/58340/Pirelli-pr ... ning-tests

There will be a total of 810 sets of tyres comprising:
Hard: 23 sets
Medium: 263 sets
Soft: 287 sets
Supersoft: 74 sets
Ultrasoft: 51 sets
Intermediate: 67 sets
Wet: 45 sets

Hoping Pirelli makes sturdier tyres this year as the bigger cars will need them.

Could someone explain what's new on the engine side from 2017 onwards?
I've heard they will be more powerfull but haven't seen the new speccs.

Warheart01 wrote:Could someone explain what's new on the engine side from 2017 onwards?
I've heard they will be more powerfull but haven't seen the new speccs.

I don't think anything has changed regulation wise (current power units are in place until 2020 I think) but they will be faster due to the natural development over the winter.

Renault claim they have gained 3 tenths in PU performance, Honda say they are on level with where Mercedes were last year and Mercedes haven't given any figures but Force India say they have made a big step in performance.

Also the token system has been scrapped so as far as I'm aware the manufacturers have unlimited development potential on the power unit side, but obviously they are still limited by the number of PUs allowed in a season.

Thanks.
Curiouser and curiouser, I heard the engines would be ''up to 1000hp'' somewhere. Maybe it was that they could potentionally be if they were allowed to rev them higher.

I think at some point there was talk of allowing fuel flow rate to go up but not an increase fuel allowed although I don't think anything ever happened with that.

All of the changes PU-wise are more about getting performance between the manufacturers to converge more quickly by getting rid of the tokens and keeping an eye the gap between the performance but what I read it isn't quite clear how they intend to "fix" that.

There's also getting the PU makers to cut the costs and making sure customer teams get updates in a timely manner.

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Warheart01 wrote:Could someone explain what's new on the engine side from 2017 onwards?
I've heard they will be more powerfull but haven't seen the new speccs.

I don't think anything has changed regulation wise (current power units are in place until 2020 I think) but they will be faster due to the natural development over the winter.

Renault claim they have gained 3 tenths in PU performance, Honda say they are on level with where Mercedes were last year and Mercedes haven't given any figures but Force India say they have made a big step in performance.

Also the token system has been scrapped so as far as I'm aware the manufacturers have unlimited development potential on the power unit side, but obviously they are still limited by the number of PUs allowed in a season.

I think the only changes are around the weights of some parts within the PU and a limit on boost pressure to avoid a cooling development race.

No major changes but they will monitor and measure each PU over the first 3 races to find out exactly what the differences are in performance to see if they're still on target for convergence and what if any new rules should be made for next year if there is too much disparity.

Hopefully we find out too one way or another as it will be interesting to see the results without it being filtered through the teams in vague terms.

I see, thanks for clearing that up.

Warheart01 wrote:Thanks.
Curiouser and curiouser, I heard the engines would be ''up to 1000hp'' somewhere. Maybe it was that they could potentionally be if they were allowed to rev them higher.

Weren't Mercedes rumoured to be in that ballpark in qualifying last year anyway?. I think it's just natural development that could see 1000hp rather than any new rule getting us there.

If it's true Mercedes have found 60bhp over the winter then they'll surely be there now for Qualifying at least.

James Allen giving some insight on the cars of 2017:
https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2017/02/ ... ed-so-far/

James Key surprised by similarities between Mercedes & Toro Rosso cars:
http://motorsports.nbcsports.com/2017/0 ... 7-f1-cars/

Lotus49 wrote:

Warheart01 wrote:Thanks.
Curiouser and curiouser, I heard the engines would be ''up to 1000hp'' somewhere. Maybe it was that they could potentionally be if they were allowed to rev them higher.

Weren't Mercedes rumoured to be in that ballpark in qualifying last year anyway?. I think it's just natural development that could see 1000hp rather than any new rule getting us there.

If it's true Mercedes have found 60bhp over the winter then they'll surely be there now for Qualifying at least.

IIRC last year they were at about 950HP, or at least that's the number I remember being quoted here and there.

Where to follow testing?

As a guideline, these were the testing times of last year.

Test one, day one:

1 Vettel Ferrari 1m24.939s
2 Hamilton Mercedes 1m25.409s
3 Ricciardo Red Bull 1m26.044s
4 Bottas Williams 1m26.091s
5 Celis Force India 1m26.298s
6 Button McLaren 1m26.735s
7 Sainz Toro Rosso 1m27.180s
8 Ericsson Sauber 1m27.555s
9 Wehrlein Manor 1m28.292s
10 Grosjean Haas 1m28.399s
11 Palmer Renault 1m29.356s

Test one, consolidated times of the entire test:

1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari SF16-H 1:22.810
2 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes VJM09 1:23.110
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari SF16-H 1:23.477
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12 1:23.525
5 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes VJM09 1:23.650
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12 1:24.293
7 Alfonso Celis Force India-Mercedes VJM09 1:24.840
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid 1:24.867
9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari C34 1:25.237
10 Kevin Magnussen Renault R.S.16 1:25.263
11 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11 1:25.393
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid 1:25.409
13 Esteban Gutierrez Haas-Ferrari VF-16 1:25.524
14 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes FW38 1:25.648
15 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari VF-16 1:25.874
16 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Racing-Mercedes MRT05 1:25.925
17 Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari C34 1:26.053
18 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda MP4-31 1:26.082
19 Jolyon Palmer Renault R.S.16 1:26.189
20 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11 1:26.239
21 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes FW38 1:26.483
22 Jenson Button McLaren-Honda MP4-31 1:26.735
23 Rio Haryanto Manor Racing-Mercedes MRT05 1:28.249

The fastest time of pre-season testing of least year was set in the second test by Raikkonen, a 1:22.765.

dizlexik wrote:Where to follow testing?

http://www.autosport.com/live/commentar ... st-day-one

I'm a newcomer when it comes to following pre-season testing. I've followed F1 for a while now but I usually just watch the qualifying and the races but i'm really looking forward to this season so i'm paying a lot more attention.

This may be a silly question, but does the pre season testing give any indication to the overall performance of the car during a race weekend?

owenmahamilton wrote:

dizlexik wrote:Where to follow testing?

http://www.autosport.com/live/commentar ... st-day-one

Here as well:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/live/f1-fana ... ting-2017/

http://formulaspy.com/formula-1/results ... -one-31207

BeOnEdge wrote:I'm a newcomer when it comes to following pre-season testing. I've followed F1 for a while now but I usually just watch the qualifying and the races but i'm really looking forward to this season so i'm paying a lot more attention.

This may be a silly question, but does the pre season testing give any indication to the overall performance of the car during a race weekend?

Not as per times but surely as per reliability.

First test should be all about testing the aerodynamic parts & tyres. There will be lots of sandbagging.

You could expect Sauber to try run low fuel loads to top the times so as to attract more sponsors.

BeOnEdge wrote: This may be a silly question, but does the pre season testing give any indication to the overall performance of the car during a race weekend?

Well, look at my previous post...
One has to look at which times were set on which tyres, the length of the stint the time was set in and the number of the lap in that stint was the fastest. Only then very general patterns can occur. But it will never be really conclusive, just broad indications of who will be in which part of the pack.

It's very much possible that the fastest lap by a team or driver is not as indicative of real performance as some other lap - e.g. a hidden lap on medium tyres during a 15-lap stint of 1:23.1 as opposed to an ultrasoft-shed lap during a three-lap stint of 1:22.8.

Hi Where can we watch testing. I cant see that it is showing on FOX in Australia.

Does Liberty have a testing subscription I can buy..........?

Pinned wrote:Hi Where can we watch testing. I cant see that it is showing on FOX in Australia.

Does Liberty have a testing subscription I can buy..........?

The only place you can watch testing is at the track as testing is never televised.

This is the best time ticker imo: http://www.f1today.net/en/live/f1/22267 ... st-of-2017

It shows the number of laps done, and the current tyres the drivers are on.

UnlikeUday wrote:

BeOnEdge wrote:I'm a newcomer when it comes to following pre-season testing. I've followed F1 for a while now but I usually just watch the qualifying and the races but i'm really looking forward to this season so i'm paying a lot more attention.

This may be a silly question, but does the pre season testing give any indication to the overall performance of the car during a race weekend?

Not as per times but surely as per reliability.

First test should be all about testing the aerodynamic parts & tyres. There will be lots of sandbagging.

You could expect Sauber to try run low fuel loads to top the times so as to attract more sponsors.

I don't think we will know anything about reliability either. Mercdes in 2016 probably drove record mileage in winter yet the car wasn't very reliable.

dizlexik wrote:

UnlikeUday wrote:

BeOnEdge wrote:I'm a newcomer when it comes to following pre-season testing. I've followed F1 for a while now but I usually just watch the qualifying and the races but i'm really looking forward to this season so i'm paying a lot more attention.

This may be a silly question, but does the pre season testing give any indication to the overall performance of the car during a race weekend?

Not as per times but surely as per reliability.

First test should be all about testing the aerodynamic parts & tyres. There will be lots of sandbagging.

You could expect Sauber to try run low fuel loads to top the times so as to attract more sponsors.

I don't think we will know anything about reliability either. Mercdes in 2016 probably drove record mileage in winter yet the car wasn't very reliable.

Rosberg's was!

UnlikeUday wrote:

dizlexik wrote:

UnlikeUday wrote:

BeOnEdge wrote:I'm a newcomer when it comes to following pre-season testing. I've followed F1 for a while now but I usually just watch the qualifying and the races but i'm really looking forward to this season so i'm paying a lot more attention.

This may be a silly question, but does the pre season testing give any indication to the overall performance of the car during a race weekend?

Not as per times but surely as per reliability.

First test should be all about testing the aerodynamic parts & tyres. There will be lots of sandbagging.

You could expect Sauber to try run low fuel loads to top the times so as to attract more sponsors.

I don't think we will know anything about reliability either. Mercdes in 2016 probably drove record mileage in winter yet the car wasn't very reliable.

Rosberg's was!

Conspiracy

mds wrote:This is the best time ticker imo: http://www.f1today.net/en/live/f1/22267 ... st-of-2017

It shows the number of laps done, and the current tyres the drivers are on.

Thanks.

This is great.

I'm looking forward to see how well new Renault engine is doing.

https://www.autosport.com/live/commenta ... st-day-one


Let's go Macca!

Source - www.f1today.net

The cars are really quick!

dizlexik wrote:The cars are really quick!

Looks like we could see a time today quicker than the overall quickest last year, on a warmup day that would be awesome

Daniel Ricciardo has stopped on the circuit!

Oh dear.

Vettel did 1:23.560 which is quite quick for opening hour of testing

These T-wings are ugly. I hope they don't last.

Didn't take long for the McHonda to break down.

still an awful lot of cars in the pits...