Formula 1:Day Four testing Bahrain

"Jonathon Klein" (jonathon-klein)
02/22/2014 at 07:13 • Filed to: F1, Bahrain, Testing, Kimi

Good morning once again ladies and gentlemen. Today ends the first testing session in Bahrain. After this the teams have a quick couple day break to go over all the data and information they have collected thus far and try and apply that new knowledge to either fixing the car, per RedBull and all of the Renault's, or making the cars faster, such as McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.

So like always I will start my updates off with the time sheets so far today.

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Update 1 : Perez's Force India is out with a gearbox failure that the team just can't fix by the end of the test so that ends Force India's first testing session early.

Update 2 : RedBull may be out for the rest of the day. They only managed so far today 15laps, and their might be something wrong with the car unrelated to the Renault engine, the car is back in the pits under many a curtain and wall.

Update 3 : Raikkonen is now too back in the garages with the entire track silent.

Update 4 : Just to give you all an idea of the pace the drivers are running. Last season, during qualifying at Bahrain, the fastest qualifying was Rosberg with a 1:32.3. The German is not that far off of that right now. All those concerned that this season won't be as fast, keep thinking.

Update 5 : Raikkonen is back out on the track alone.

Update 6 : I forgot to mention this earlier, for those that don't know, Williams just signed a new driver yesterday named !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And currently he isn't doing to shabby for his first day on the job with being in 4th today.

Update 7 : Maldonado is back on the track after an earlier shunt, running with Raikkonen.

Update 8 : The newest driver on the grid, Nasr, just put in a 1:37.5 putting him awfully close to Raikkonen. These last few testing sessions seem to be showcasing the new talent coming into F1, I'm excited!

Update 9 : According to the Mercedes F1 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! page, Nico is having a spot of lunch and talking with his dad Keke. But they will soon be back out on the track.

Update 10 : Maldonado finds a full second in his last lap with a 1:40.7

Update 11 : According to veteran F1 reporter Dan Knuston of the BBC, he spoke with Ricciardo earlier today, this is what he had to say, " I'm sure the RB10 will be a quick car once the team gets it up and running properly". This doesn't sound too reassuring.

Update 12 : Caterham's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! page just announced that they hope to get their car back out before the day is over after some issues arose earlier today, " engine fired up, floor going back on " sounds like a bit more than simple issues.

Update 13 : Red Flag out on the course and the only man not back in the pits yet is Rosberg.

Update 14: Rosberg is indeed the man that caused the Red Flag, he has stopped in turn three, which is interesting since turn three really isn't a turn as more of a gentle curve in the track. It looks to be a very fast turn, but still. Take a look.

Update 15 : Green flag drops and we are back under way with just about an hour left to go in today's testing.

Update 16 : Kobayashi and Maldonado are back on track with Kobayashi going with a 1:47 his first lap and then finding 3.6s for his second lap.

Update 17 : Vergne is back on track too with Torro Rosso posting this picture on their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Update 18 :Marussia are still trying to get Bianchi back out on track by days end.

Update 19 : The Jalop poster boy, Raikkonen is heading back out too with Ferrari posting this pic with the BBC.

Update 20 : Maldonado sets fastest time in testing for a Renault powered car with a 1:38.7 which is still miles away from the leaders. It may as well be the moon at this point, especially in a sport that is usually measured in hundreth's of a second.

Update 21 : Through William's !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , they just announced that their newest driver has already done 80 laps today, this is massive since that the Renault powered cars are struggling to do that with the last few days of testing.

Update 22 : With little time left, everyone is speculating if the Infiniti team will make another debut? Autosport's Edd Straw is in the pitlane right now and all he can tell is that the garage doors are closed, Ricciardo is looking mighty unhappy, and there seems to be much commotion going on within the garage.

Update 23 : Mercedes is out for the rest of the day after the car stalled in turn three with Rosberg.

Update 24 : Nasr is back on the track after a quick pit stop.

Update 25 : Short stint for Nasr who brings the car back to the pits leaving only Kobayashi out on the track.

Update 26 : Sutil's Sauber had just gone out and has already caused a Red Flag

Update 27: Finally back under green with Nasr, Raikkonen, Maldonado, Kobayashi, Vergne and Bianchi all heading out for the last 15minutes of this test.

Update 28 : And with all of them going out Raikkonen might have gone a bit fast spun the car and now has caused a Red Flag which is sure to last until the end of the test. What's with Raikkonen spinning Ferrari's lately.

And that's it for today here as always are the final times for today.

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Not much to summarize today. All this week the team most have been watching, RedBull, has spent 98% of their time in the garage. The teams now have until next week to play with all their data and see if they can finally get the Renault powered cars to actually work. We are only 19 days till the first race in Australia, and that is not a lot of time to fix these cars. Stay tuned next week where I will once again be live updating throughout the mornings of the second session test.

Photo credit to Sauber F1 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Torro Rosso !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , BBC and Wikipedia for the Circuit guide

You can find me on Twitter !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !

Also check out my new series !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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DISCUSSION (48)

Nerd-Vol > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 10:07

God. This could be the year. It could be the year for Hamilton to get his second WDC.

DeltawingGothamDeserves > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 10:31

I do hope this is a trend for Red Bull.

SnowBallin > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 10:40

This year's cars are both slower and uglier than last year. F1 is not the pinnacle of motorsport that it used to be

Flavien Vidal > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 10:40

So.... the track is 5.4km long and it takes them 1min35 to do a lap... holy shit!!!

desertdog5051 > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 10:47

Great update, thanks. Could this be the end of an era for RB?

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 10:49

If the Renault engined teams are not competitive then it will be a bad F1 season full stop. They need to sort it out because viewers won't tune if half the field are 5 seconds behind. I expect this will change though.

Is the 110% rule still enforced?

RaggedMile > DeltawingGothamDeserves
02/22/2014 at 11:03

I'd rather another team or teams beat them on merit than because Red Bull has a bad year.

RaggedMile > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/22/2014 at 11:06

107% actually and it is still in force, but they only have to be within that zone relative to the fastest lap in Q1 not the pole time.

TheDoubleClutchBandit > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 11:06

I think I want this to be the trend the whole year, give Jensen a chance to win his second championship. McLaren hasn't been the place to be for quite a long while, and he (at least he used to be) one of the best on the grid. Also, he's a great guy, can't argue that.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > RaggedMile
02/22/2014 at 11:09

Thanks very much! Hmm, so it's only for Q1, so the slow cars will still make the grid anyway then, I suppose that makes sense for a racing reasons. Has anybody heard about the changes to qualifying yet? I'm curious to know what the rumours are.

F1Fan426 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/22/2014 at 11:28

As far as I've read, yes the 110% rule is still in place.

F1Fan426 > SnowBallin
02/22/2014 at 11:29

Pretty much. That's why you see Formula E emerging. I'm actually excited to see that go places.

SnowBallin > F1Fan426
02/22/2014 at 11:41

I simply want to see cars go around a circuit as fast as modern engineering allows them. Whether cars utilize imternal combustion or electricity is up to the engineers. Just go fast!

ThatHulk > Nerd-Vol
02/22/2014 at 11:50

That would be awesome, Although I do like seeing history being made infront of our eyes with Seb.

Maxxuman > Flavien Vidal
02/22/2014 at 11:57

127.152mph average if I got that right (or 208kph)

MFEJAL grey because who knows... > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 12:18

Did you think about the fuel limit? can magic make 100 liters faster than 160? is technology advanced enough to replace those 60 liters of energy? you want the answer? no.

WEC average speed are going to be faster if they ever race at same circuits.

ATSR > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/22/2014 at 12:32

It's a 107% rule, and yes, it is being enforced.

ATSR > TheDoubleClutchBandit
02/22/2014 at 12:35

I believe the WDC is going to be between Hamilton, Rosberg and Magnussen. I think Magnussen is going to surprise a few people.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > ATSR
02/22/2014 at 12:44

Thanks for the info guys, F1 rules are a weakness of mine! I'm currently learning about NASCAR too!

MOIRAi > MFEJAL grey because who knows...
02/22/2014 at 12:58

well, WEC does race in Bahrein, so it shouldn't take long before you find out.

MOIRAi > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/22/2014 at 13:00

It's 107%, and yes, it is.

Me Boosta > DeltawingGothamDeserves
02/22/2014 at 13:48

i really dont like to wish bad things upon anyone or any organization, but I certainly would not feel bad if Red Bull had a bunch of DNFs this season...

DeltawingGothamDeserves > TheDoubleClutchBandit
02/22/2014 at 13:49

He certainly has the car to do it this year.

Me Boosta > desertdog5051
02/22/2014 at 13:49

not an end. Too much money and brainpower in their stack of cards. I suspect by the end of the season and into 2015, there won't be any of these issues anymore.

SmugAardvark > desertdog5051
02/22/2014 at 13:50

Hard to say, but I don't think so. Adrian Newey is a genius, Vettel is a phenomenal driver, and RBR has some history of starting seasons (relatively) slowly. I have no doubt that they'll get it together at some point around the start of the season, then tear things up as it progresses.

Jonathon Klein > MOIRAi
02/22/2014 at 14:08

They also race COTA

Jonathon Klein > SnowBallin
02/22/2014 at 14:13

They are actually looking to be equally as fast as last year, the only downside is they aren't allowed the aero as much as previous seasons which make them a bit slower in the corners, otherwise I think they would be faster.

desertdog5051 > Me Boosta
02/22/2014 at 14:36

It would be nice to see them struggle at first and then make a comeback.

desertdog5051 > SmugAardvark
02/22/2014 at 14:37

A little drama at the start of the season would be fun.

whitecollar > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 15:01

Hey, are you gonna do theses live for the races? Cus that would be great!

Jonathon Klein > whitecollar
02/22/2014 at 16:20

I've been thinking about that, maybe if you all pester Hardigree enough it will work! Although I hope to be at the Austin race this year again in person!

whitecollar > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 17:58

Nice! Even a liveblog would be cool for those of us that wake up for the races.

TheDoubleClutchBandit > ATSR
02/22/2014 at 18:19

I agree there, but I also have some faith in Alonso, just because of what he pulled off last year and the year before.

Ageraone:1 > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 18:36

I really want to see RB fix these problems and post some competitive lap times if Renault will let them use that extra 150hp they aren't aloud to use right now.

DCrants > SnowBallin
02/22/2014 at 18:50

Already only 1s off last year's pole pace...so no, they're not slower. Tire compounds are harder this year and you've hardly seen the best these cars have to offer yet.

Jonathon Klein > whitecollar
02/22/2014 at 20:13

Yeah it's definitely something I've been considering, although these have been making me not sleep that much since Bahrain is some like 16 hrs ahead and start at midnight and I have to be up at 6 for my job that actually pays me! But he'll I get to work two to three hours before my bosses so that's why I've been continuing to post while I'm at work! I tweeted at Matt earlier this week thanking him for his contribution to my wasting time at work!

Jonathon Klein > Ageraone:1
02/22/2014 at 20:17

Supposedly the cars physically can't take the stress of full power, something to do with vibrations coming off the crank shaft that could rip the car apart. I think I linked the article yesterday that describes the problem. I think it was Racer that had the article on it.

DarthDuster > ATSR
02/22/2014 at 20:46

It's Magnussen's debut year, so he's extremely unlikely to be in contention. Being quick in testing is one thing. Being able to turn that into consistent finishes, and then into wins, and then into a run for the championship, is another matter entirely. In you first season, it's an impossible ask.

Hamilton is the only driver in recent memory to come close in his debut year, and he simply didn't have the experience and wisdom pull it off.

Hamilton and Rosberg is interesting - I think they are likely to take points off of each other. Mercedes is now without Ross Brawn keeping a lid on it all and there appears to be something of a power vacuum in the management ranks which might make things testy on track. If the car is quick and Hamilton's head is in the game (which lets be honest it isn't always) he and Rosberg will trade wins I think.

I think in these transitional seasons it'll be wiser heads who will prevail. My money if I had any would be on Button, Raikkonen or Alonso (I'm assuming until proven otherwise Red Bull have fundamentally made a huge balls up ruling out Finger Boy).

Nerd-Vol > ThatHulk
02/22/2014 at 21:11

I already saw history with Schumacher. It was rather dull.

Firenze Storm > ATSR
02/22/2014 at 23:35

I think Button can do it, he is very very smooth, and this car supposedly needs that sort of driving style to manage the fuel and the car itself with the lack of Coanda.

danardif1 > Jonathon Klein
02/22/2014 at 23:59

And Interlagos, and Spa, and Silverstone...

danardif1 > Jonathon Klein
02/23/2014 at 00:01

They'll be faster by the year's end, and then next year probably even quicker still...

It's funny how people have moaned about these new engines but they're already looking to be a better prospect than the NA V8's... new tech will always beat the old stuff in the end.

danardif1 > Me Boosta
02/23/2014 at 00:09

The issue for them now though is that they aren't in control of seemingly the one variable that's hampering them: the engine/powertrain. And the way that RBR and Renault have gone back and forth in the press suggests that their 'works' relationship hasn't exactly gone to plan, especially when you contrast it with the noises coming from the Mercedes powered teams and how well they're being supported even at the customer level.

RB have just enjoyed an era where with their massive budget and brain trust they could concentrate almost entirely on the aero of the car itself; the frozen V8's meant that bar subtle differences the 4 engines were essentially the same in real performance, so that part of the car was sorted and needed no real effort from RBR themselves. They could design the car they wanted and basically slot in the known quantity that was the Renault engine. Now... they have to design the car from the powertrain outwards, and they've grossly underestimated what a works relationship needs in terms of communication and R&D input. Before it just meant free engines and bespoke engine maps, now it means working together on cooling, installation, software, mechanicals... everything. Mercedes seem to have got this part right, working with each of their teams because inevitably it's going to help the works team as well.

That doesn't come from chucking money at the problem, that comes from a clear defined business and R&D plan that includes their paying customers as vital data components of their project. 4 heads are better than one, and RBR-Renault (even with Toro Rosso to back them up) haven't got even their own stuff right, and it's consequently let down Lotus and Caterham too.

danardif1 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)
02/23/2014 at 00:16

It is Renault's own fault though... it's not as if they alone have had this rule change sprung upon them.

They'll improve over the season, and I don't think it'll affect TV ratings, especially seeing as Vettel's dominance has been cited as the reason for the recent fall in viewing figures. A little bit of schadenfreude might bring some people back, as cruel as that may be.

Personally, I am not excited by unreliability, but am excited by the prospect of Grand Prix being a real technical challenge again (the homologated V8's didn't really do it for me). If that means that some teams are getting it wrong to start with, well... that's their problem, it's the same rules for everyone.

And for me as bit of an ABRB-er (anyone but Red Bull), it's somewhat amusing to see Red Bull squirming under the challenge of having to build a complete car and not using various loopholes and grey-area tech to give themselves a massive advantage. No amount of political sway can help fix an engine with 3 weeks to go before the first race (though it probably will see the homologation date, due next week, be pushed back or even suspended... Mercedes and Ferrari won't kick up a fuss because it'll help them too).

Jonathon Klein > danardif1
02/23/2014 at 09:38

They also don't sound bad either, http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/hooray-the-new…

Me Boosta > danardif1
02/23/2014 at 10:36

yes but money can buy talent... and talent solves problems.

With the money and talent already at Red Bull, I'd be shocked if these problems were present in 2015...

boobaru > Jonathon Klein
02/24/2014 at 21:59

I wonder if you can do a prop bet on how many other cars Kobayashi will run into this season...

At least Grosjean learned how to drive in traffic.

boobaru > boobaru
03/16/2014 at 17:16

Oh look, Kaboyashi rammed into Massa on turn 1. Who woulda thunk it?