F1 testing 2020
 

Day 1. Watched some of it live. Very interesting. Happy to see F1 is back!

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...-2020-just-yet

BBC day 1 report - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/51559543

Thanks for the links. :tup:

What's with the Mercedes steering hack?
Very clever. As long as it works!
Will probably be banned before the second race, though.

Day 2. GO KIMI! :-)

:iagree::iagree:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...evice-is-legal

Autosport has learned that the central matter for the FIA is the grey area in the regulations between what are suspension components and what are steering parts of the car.

The regulations are clear that suspension changes made when the car is in motion are not allowed.

"No adjustment may be made to any suspension system while the car is in motion," states Article 10.2.3 of F1's technical regulations.

If in the FIA's view the changes made to the toe angle were altering the suspension of the car, the DAS would be outlawed, but instead its view is that the DAS is merely another way of 'steering' the front wheels.

In terms of what is allowed in terms of steering, the rules are not as restrictive.

Article 10.4.1 of the technical regulations states: "Any steering system which permits the re-alignment of more than two wheels is not permitted."

As the Mercedes system only adjusts the toe of the front wheels, it is fully in compliance.

Moreover, nowhere in the regulations does it state that the wheels can only be turned on one axis - nor that the two front wheels must change angle at the same rate.

That means that Mercedes changing the angle of the front wheels to alter the toe is allowed because there is no regulation that states it cannot be done.

Here we go again. Another boring season of Mercedes dominance. I guess I’ll have to wait till 2021 to hopefully watch an F1 season with a more level playing field.

Test 1 full report - https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...season-testing

DLSTR Thanks for post this info. It give me a chance to get caught up on things. :tup:

Too E-Z :)

Test 2 begins tomorrow - https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...going-week-two

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51643768

Ferrari will start the season behind rivals Mercedes, team boss Mattia Binotto said as Formula 1's final pre-season test started in Spain.

"We believe we are not the fastest car at the moment and we believe in lap times we will behind at the start of the season," Binotto said on Wednesday.

Binotto said Mercedes had so far been "very impressive", adding: "They remain the best team so far."

The fastest time on Wednesday was set by Alfa Romeo reserve Robert Kubica

As we have come to learn that all teams NEVER show their cards during testing. Mercedes is still the team to beat. The first couple of races will set the tone for the season. Just hope it not a boring one. :tup:

Latest is that the Mercedes "clever" DAS may be challenged and disallowed due to the aerodynamic changes that result by moving front wheel toe angles while in motion.

First incident between a Silver Arrow and any other car on the grid, and Ferrari and RBR will use this as an excuse to say the system is dangerous. Doesn't matter if DAS had anything to do with it, or if it were mechanical or pilot error, it will be the chance for the other teams to negate Mercedes' advantage and they would be stupid not to try.

However, my prediction is that the only time a Merc will be close enough to another car will be the first turn, and when they start lapping the field (or re-lapping, in the case of the Williams cars).

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/51682590

The Formula 1 teams have completed their pre-season testing programmes and the shape of this year's competition is beginning to emerge.

It is notoriously difficult to form any firm conclusions from testing because the number of potential variables is just too high.

More post-test analysis:

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...-ahead-ferrari

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...o-21-car-early

Ferrari could make an early switch to focus on its 2021 Formula 1 car if the gap to the front of the field is too big in the opening races.

The Italian outfit has admitted that it is behind its rivals as it heads into the campaign, and it is having to work on both its engine performance and aero package in a bid to recover.

The effort to catch up comes against the backdrop of teams having to carefully balance how much resource they devote to this season and how much they want to throw at 2021.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said for now the team's focus remained on recovering lost ground this season, but hinted at turning off the 2020 development push early if the situation looks bleak after a few races.

"How much will the 2020 catch up affect the 2021 [project]? - that's certainly a good point," he said as pre-season testing came to a conclusion.

"I think it's a compromise that we need to find out. I think we are very early in the season, and you cannot compromise the entire season itself.

"So at the start of the season, we certainly keep pushing on 2020 as much as we can, because it's time for us to understand the car and the weaknesses.

"And hopefully, it is things that we can address as soon as possible.

"If I see after a few races, and we will still understand that the gap is too big, then maybe it's a considerations that we can take into account.

"But it's early stage right now. I think it's just few days of testing.

"I think there are things that we can address on the car, hopefully quite soon. So at the moment, we should keep our plan as it was for 2020/2021."

Ferrari's rival Mercedes believes that teams need to be very careful in not switching their focus to 2021 too late, because doing so could result in them falling well behind.