Yeah seems like Honda has gotten a lot better at least reliability wise. Hopefully stays true throughout.

I actually felt honda engine is not that bad. It performed nicely on dyno, just that when it bolted to the chassis, all problems came out. Might be communication break down between both party... But it is really unfair to put all the blame to honda.

The only thing show Mclaren seat number 2 for because only Mclaren use hypersoft. merc use medium, Ferarri and other team use soft compound.

Torro target to compete with Renault engine this 2018 season.

Me too, I read last year all was good until the engine was bolted to the chasis. Makes me wonder if McLaren would not compromise on chasis design which ultimately makes reliability issues appear. Initial testing shows the torro rosso chasis more engine friendly.

Haha true but still alonso almost single handedly can win 2x of not 4 the fakap by his crews

I will call him the 2x bad boy champ of F1 like JV in 97

Haha woah any chance of mclaren ferrari team like sauber ferrari in the future

This post has been edited by skylinelover: Mar 6 2018, 10:18 AM

Alonso use crash-gate tactics before

I doubt Ferrari will supply them engine based one how they openly critics Honda, when TR has no such problem (yet).

McLaren hit problems... Must be Honda fault. Haha

Yeah again McLaren has the most issues and the least mileage during this testing round. The only upside seems to be that they're a bit faster but still firmly in the mid pack.

Mercs looks to have the best long run pace and reliability. Ferrari looks to match in qualifying pace but not yet in long run. RB is further behind.

Final combined test times
1. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari 1:17.182 (H) T2D3
2. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari + 0.039s (H) T2D4
3. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team + 0.602s (H) T2D4
4. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 0.865s (H) T2D2
5. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team + 0.910s (H) T2D4
6. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team + 1.178s (SS) T2D3
7. Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.181s (H) T2D3
8. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 1.218s (US) T2D2
9. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team + 1.230s (US) T2D4
10. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 1.378s (US) T2D2
11. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team + 1.493s (H) T2D3
12. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team + 1.673s (H) T2D3
13. Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.767s (H) T2D4
14. Esteban Ocon FRA Sahara Force India F1 Team + 1.785s (H) T2D4
15. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 1.936s (H) T2D4
16. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing + 2.007s (S) T2D4
17. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 2.062s (H) T2D3
18. Robert Kubica POL Williams Martini Racing + 2.447s (SS) T2D3
19. Sergio Perez MEX Sahara Force India F1 Team + 2.452s (H) T2D3
20. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 2.660s (S) T2D3
21. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing + 2.782s (S) T2D4
22. Nikita Mazepin RUS Sahara Force India F1 Team + 8.446s (M) T1D1

Except for Mercedes, Mercedes powered cars seems to occupy the bottom whereas Ferrari power on top

Yeah Williams is apparently struggling and FI doesn't look as good as last year. Renault & Haas seem the best out of the midfield with TR pretty decent too. Haas with Kevin times using just the SS tire looks pretty promising.

Ferrari also achieved their best times after using hyper softs on qualifying simulation runs. Analysts said Merc has the best long run pace as shown by Bottas race simulation laps where his fastest laps were faster than Ferrari and the rest by over 1 secs! Merc did not even bother to bring the hyper softs for this test.

Yeah, I have not seen Sauber not at the bottom for a long time.
IMO, regardless of which tyre, being fastest is a big moral boost and motivator for the teams.

Well being able to clock seemingly fast laps may show that the car has potential. I suppose still need to look at the gap difference between a team doing a glory run for ultimate pace vs those using lesser tires. If the gap is substantial enough then you can feel more positive but if the gap is less than the theoretical calculation or not so big despite using the much superior tires then it can actually be a let down. So it can work both ways IMHO.

you are right. most of outcome will be know first race, it look merc fully utilize for aero package. i would love to see close competition this season. otherwise, it will be boring this 2018 season.

Analysts estimation the pecking order for the top 3 is still the same: Mercs>Ferrari>RB.

I still gutted with ferrari collapse

Hamilton will chew vettel if ferrar fked up again just like how alonso got chewed 3-2 after hamilton moved 2 mercedes

Agree with you merc too powderful with V6 T. now they more greatest with aero package. so I will assume they will be in front as Ferrari still a top contender. otherwise i will not watch F1 anymore. too boring. still miss Hakkinen & Schumacher era.

Alonso vs schumacher also great what old vs new

F1 collapsed starting when red bull dominated early 2010s

I actually didn't like the Schumy era. When still got Hakkinen challenging was still ok but after that was bad. Then only became good again after Alonso won. RB dominated era actually not as bad as Schumy era in terms of competition, coz at least got Alonso and Hamilton stealing a few wins here & there. To me Schumy era was the worse, coz full of cheating and controversy.