"Jonathon Klein" (jonathon-klein)
02/20/2014 at 08:07 • Filed to: None
6
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"Jonathon Klein" (jonathon-klein)
02/20/2014 at 08:07 • Filed to: None | 6
| 35 |
So here we are again folks. Let's see what the teams can pull off today. Will RedBull finally get their acts together? Will we see Williams really start to put some laps down? Will these next few tests prove that a new world champion might be crowned? We will see. To start it off here are the times so far today.
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Update 1 : With 43 consecutive laps, Vettel and the RedBull team finally look as if they have those gremlins under control! Still not the fastest, however I am betting that RedBull at the moment are just trying to see if the car will survive.
Update 2 : Here is a Magnussen photo from McLaren's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! earlier today.
Update 3 : It seems that Magnussen is the man of the hour right now. He pulled out of the pits and set a 1:34 which is just shy of last seasons pole position time. The kid can whip. For those wanting to know, pole last season was a 1:33.7, Magnussen's time was a 1:34.9.
Update 4 : According to Sauber's Twitter the guys are really trying to fix a malfunction from earlier today to get the car back on the trac and in their words since "every lap counts !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! "
Update 5 : With much secrecy still inherent with the new cars, teams have been erecting small walls around their garages. Ferrari according to Dan Knuston has gone a step further.
Update 6 : Magnussen's fastest lap was set on the supersoft compounds. Hopefully we won't have another blowout year like last season.
Update 7 : Rosberg, Hulkenberg and Bottas are the only cars on the track at the moment with Rosberg in the 1:38s, Hulkenberg in the 1:41s, and Bottas in the 1:39s all fairly consistent too I might add.
Update 8 : Kobayashi is now being sent back out with only 51 laps total this session.
Update 9: Alonso is now back on the track too and setting a personal best of a 1:37.
Update 10: As I write Alonso's last time he goes quicker and is on track to go quicker again witha 1:36.9.
Update 11 : According to the BBC here is the latest lap count for this session.
1. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 93 laps
2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 85
3. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 58
4. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 57
5. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 55
6. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 49
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) 45; Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham)
8. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) 28
9. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 18
10. Max Chilton (Marussia) 14
Update 12 : While Alonso looked as if he was going to go quicker, but backed off and took the Ferrari back to the pits.
Update 13 :The World Champ has reemerged from the pits after some time with only about 20 minutes to go today.
Update 14 : Kobayashi now bumped out Chilton's Marussia and takes second from the bottom with a 1:42. Not bad, but Chilton's Marussia has been plagued by technical gremlins and has spent most of today in the garage.
Update 15 : Ze German World Champion headed back to the pits briefly but is back out on the track, will we see finally a flying lap from RedBull?
Update 16: Bottas clocks in a 1:37.3 that bumps his over time up but not in position.
Update 17 : Kobayashi not only jumps 1 spots he jumps 4 with a 1:40 possibly edging out Vettel for the 6th spot.
Update 18 : Kobayashi did it, he edged out Vettel with a 1:39.8, Vettel's fastest was a 1:40.3
Update 19 : And that's it for today's testing here are the lap results.
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So we have some very interesting results today, chiefly that the Infiniti RedBull RB10 did not catch fire! I don't know it that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it is certainly and improvement for the team. Horner and Newey are proving, so far, that they can solve any problem, again so far.
But again the man of the hour is Magnussen. This young driver is absolutely killing it, not only with consistency, but with overall pace. The McLaren team have absolutely got to be ecstatic with their new driver. I don't know how Button feels about it, but we will be finding out what Button can do later on this week and through till next week. Is this a resurgent McLaren? I hope so.
And what about Kobayashi in the Caterham! He went from last to 6th in a manner of about two or three laps, that my friends is improvement. He also beat Vettel in times today. But like I stated earlier I think RedBull wasn't going for the fastest times today rather making sure all their fixes and bugs are gone and fixed. I think as the week goes on and through to next week we will start to see the RedBull's opening up the taps a bit more. Well tomorrow is another day and I am sure we will see some very interesting things come out of Bahrain. But feel free to discuss and what are your all's predictions this year!
Tomorrow I will be again live updating you all, I think I will get up a bit earlier so I can have more to give you guys. Stay tuned! Also catch the inaugural article of my new series !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !
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You can find me here on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !
Photo Credit to Wordlesstech.com
Kerberos824
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 08:33 |
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Man I am excited to watch Magnussen this season. I hope his racecraft is as good as his pace appears to be. Nice to see RBR get some laps in. Seems like we might have a pretty exciting fight between McLaren and Mercedes.
t_s
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 08:37 |
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Somebody put Hulkenberg in a decent car!
Goshen, formerly Darkcode
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 08:41 |
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Magnussen is going to shadow his father.
ridered777
> t_s
02/20/2014 at 08:57 |
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I'm still baffled he signed on with FI. In his shoes, I would have been more inclined to pull a Webber and test my options in other series', if FI was the best F1 offer on the table.
Anima
> ridered777
02/20/2014 at 09:06 |
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I think it's much harder to get back in F1 after you leave than when you take a hit for a year and settle for a mid team. Keeps you sharp and especially this year with the rule changes there's a lot of new experience that you take into the coming years.
Also, it's a bit easier to already be one of the 22 in a seat, than trying to push somebody out of that again.
Nico deserves to be in a top team by now but leaving F1 now would most likely end his F1 career.
themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 09:18 |
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I don't think Button will mind too much that Magnussen will be his team's Vettel. Button himself is getting up there in age at 34. If he can score reliable points with a team like McLaren and get some more years of paychecks, I think he should be fine. He lacks the ego that he used to have and he is a world champion already. I think he'll turn in a few years as the senior driver and then retire from F1.
LastScene86
> t_s
02/20/2014 at 09:22 |
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The way things are looking for Renault powered cars he might've just pulled a Lewis to merc and dodged a bullet.
Kmccauley
> ridered777
02/20/2014 at 09:27 |
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I agree with Anima, and also, Hulk missing the Lotus seat could be a blessing. FI could be a dark horse this year, with Mercedes power and some recent investment if I recall correctly.
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Jonathon Klein
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
02/20/2014 at 09:31 |
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I don't know I still think Button has the drive to win, or maybe I just hope he does. I have always liked him as a driver, he has really good technique in placing the car right where it needs to be, at least when his car is quick.
FastAndBoxy
> ridered777
02/20/2014 at 09:46 |
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A year of driving a car in the new regs, whether it's a front runner or a back marker, will give him a huge advantage when teams start looking for drivers next year.
Thrasher Chad
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 09:54 |
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I think this is great for Force India... I'll all but guarantee they will get some points this season, perhaps even enough to shake up the big 4. I am really looking forward to this season, it's gonna be a doozy.
ReaperChief
> themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
02/20/2014 at 09:59 |
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Sorry, but Button never showed any world champion ego.. He might want to win but he never shows that and that's what gets me to agree with you in the fact that he may be okay with a pay check on a good team alongside a better and younger driver..
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themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
> ReaperChief
02/20/2014 at 10:21 |
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His ego wasn't from being the champion, it was from his younger days when he first got in the sport. Where other drivers' ego seemed to only get bigger, his got smaller as he gained experience and started winning races.
AZRCD
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 10:39 |
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I for one appreciate these live updates, adds fun to testing for me. So, thank you, and keep doing it.
Steve Hopkinson
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 10:48 |
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Rosberg's pole position time last year was a 1:32.3. Magnussen's already on a 1:34.9 without using a soft tyre compound, running on empty, pushing 100% or turning the engine all the way up. It's not hard to imagine the car being a couple of seconds faster than today at Q3 in Bahrain.
I thought this year's cars were supposed to be slower? Certainly isn't looking like it yet.
highmodulus
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 11:06 |
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I find Ferrari's lack of Kimi disturbing.
#force choke
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Jonathon Klein
> highmodulus
02/20/2014 at 11:15 |
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Tomorrow young padawan...tomorrow.
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Jonathon Klein
> Steve Hopkinson
02/20/2014 at 11:17 |
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Nope and I really can't wait to see what they do during the first race compared to last seasons times.
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Jonathon Klein
> AZRCD
02/20/2014 at 11:17 |
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Will do!!!
Maxxuman
> Steve Hopkinson
02/20/2014 at 11:22 |
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I get your point about the cars perhaps being faster but according to the BBC Magnussen was on the softest tyre for his fastest lap. And how do you know how much fuel he had on board, how hard he was pushing or what engine mapping he was using?
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highmodulus
> Jonathon Klein
02/20/2014 at 11:31 |
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But I want my Kimi now. That's it, I'm going dark side! Now where's my light saber, time to visit the Jedi Day Care.
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Steve Hopkinson
> Maxxuman
02/20/2014 at 11:40 |
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Magnussen was on the softest tyre? My bad. I'd read somewhere else that Kobayashi was the only runner to use either of the two softest compounds, but that could have been wrong.
I don't know how much fuel he had on board or the engine map he was using, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that no teams will run anything at 100% until a lot later in the testing process. It's just not F1 culture to reveal your hand this early.
Sensations
> Steve Hopkinson
02/20/2014 at 11:45 |
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I like your optimism, you are obviously a fan of the Mc. But Mag was running a softer tire than the pole time was set on (also a tire that they won't be running at the Bahrain race this year), who knows how much fuel or what setting he is running, and I would wager that he was driving his balls off. He needs to prove that he can set the fastest time whenever he has the chance. 2.6 seconds is a huge gap of time to make up, and it is impossible for me to imagine that the cars will be seconds faster than last years pole time. It just isn't going to happen.
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Steve Hopkinson
> Sensations
02/20/2014 at 11:54 |
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I meant that the cars would be a couple of seconds faster at Bahrain than in testing – in other words, a few tenths slower than last year's.
You're right though, I forgot that qualifying last year wasn't run on the supersofts. Still, I think it's fair to say that the cars are getting a lot closer at this stage in testing than a lot of people were expecting.
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Jonathon Klein
> highmodulus
02/20/2014 at 12:01 |
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Slay those younglings!
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> t_s
02/20/2014 at 12:09 |
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Agreed. I hear he's slightly undesirable as he's quite a big chap so teams have to make a special effort to get him in the car.
He is fantastically talented though. Only him and Hamilton won every single series they competed in on their rise up to F1. I really rate him.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> ridered777
02/20/2014 at 12:11 |
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Force India might be a midpack team, but they had a surprisingly capable car last year (and the year before). They're definitely a potential race-winning team, if not championship winning.
Time will tell if they plowed all of their money into developing last year's car to the detriment of this year's though.
TheRealMikeyG
> Steve Hopkinson
02/20/2014 at 13:05 |
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you also do not know at what fuel flow this car is running.
after all, that is one of the biggest changes that has come into existence this year. He may be running a fuel flow that is unsustainable for a race distance since this could actually be EASIER on the car than trying to run the razor's edge fuel mapping that will be required to finish races this year.
Seems a lot of people are forgetting that fuel flow will be the single largest contributor to actual race pace this year. At least in the beginning. No one wants to run out of fuel and as the rules are written, there is a lot of speculation that the cars cannot run a full race distance on the "full" flow setting.
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Sensations
> Steve Hopkinson
02/20/2014 at 13:14 |
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I am quite excited to see them posting up times where they are as well. I was expecting a couple seconds slower for pole at the best, but it does seem like they are going to come pretty close to matching the speeds/times set last year.
I imagine a few teams will find a fun way to interpret the rules to where we might actually see faster times than last year from using the ERS for traction control as well as filling in for turbo lag.
TrekHuis
> highmodulus
02/20/2014 at 14:24 |
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BigBlueMadness
> Thrasher Chad
02/20/2014 at 14:27 |
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Negative. Testing times do not matter, never have, never will. I set the over/under at .5 podiums (1/2 of 1 podium) for Force India this season, and I am still taking the under.
Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
> Kerberos824
02/20/2014 at 15:28 |
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I've actually got a bet going with a Canadian-Italian friend, on who is going to rack up most points through the season, Alonso or Magnussen?
If Magnussen wins, he has to put a picture on FB (in a McLaren shirt) stating that I was right and Magnussen is the better driver... If Alonso wins, I have to do the same in a Ferrari shirt.
He couldn't have picked a better driver either... If he had picked Kimi I would have had mixed emotions about the whole thing, but Alonso is such a prick (I guess he fits right in with Ferrari then)!
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Kerberos824
> Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
02/20/2014 at 15:57 |
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For me, Alonso was always the bad guy wrestler of F1 racing. There's just something about him that rubs you the wrong way. I've never been much of a fan.
Ryan Carman
> Nick drives Stick (not Stig)
02/21/2014 at 01:18 |
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Hate to burst your bubble dude, but I personally met Alonso a few years ago in Europe, he's a properly down to earth guy. I think the politics of F1 and editing of tv broadcasts are what make him come off like a dick.
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Thrasher Chad
> BigBlueMadness
02/21/2014 at 09:07 |
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I didn't say they'd finish on the podium, I just said they'd score some points.