The spray lifts and a little bit more is revealed - F1 Testing Day 2
After yesterday's aptly nicknamed 'Formula Farce' test, we were treated to a bit more of an insight into F1's 2014 flavour today.
Day 2 saw the McLaren MP4/29 make its track debut as well as a number of other teams managing to put some meaningful laps on the scoreboard.
The day ended with the following times:
Those times are starting to edge closer to the pace of last year's cars but are still a good 6 seconds away from the pace we've seen in the past. 6 seconds should be a worrying number though, last year we saw that level of performance hit just from filling up with full tanks of fuel.
Infact the real story of today wasn't the pace of the runners, more the distance they covered. Or not in the case of the Renault powered cars. All three Renault teams (Red Bull, Caterham & Torro Rosso) hit trouble and covered very little distance. In Torro Rosso's case they didn't run at all today, although that may just be the shame of their cars having Ann Summers #1 seller strapped to the nose.
The Mercedes powered cars of AMG Mercedes-Benz and McLaren covered the most laps and are proving very reliable indeed. Ferarri to are looking in far better shape than the Renault teams.
However let's not draw any performance conclusions just yet. This time last year Jenson Button's 1st day of testing looked full of promise and saw him being tipped for a championship assault. The reality coulnd't have been more different. Plus Red Bull haven't put in a single flying lap, in what could well be the fastest car of the field.
In the technical area, McLaren's unconventional rear wishbone design was attracting all of the attention today as it appears to be doubling up a set of lower rear wing elements. I'd suggest following +Craig Scarborough on Twitter for some insights into their interesting developments.
However, we are still left guessing as to the true order in the formbook so for now just enjoy the new sound of F1, courtesy of RickLubb @ Youtube
Day 2 saw the McLaren MP4/29 make its track debut as well as a number of other teams managing to put some meaningful laps on the scoreboard.
The day ended with the following times:
1. Jenson Button -McLaren-Mercedes 1min 24.165secs
2. Kimi Raikkonen -Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 24.812secs
3. Valtteri Bottas -Williams-Mercedes 1min 25.344secs
4. Nico Rosberg -Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 25.588secs
5. Sergio Perez -Force India-Mercedes 1min 28.376secs
6. Esteban Gutierrez -Sauber-Ferrari 1min 33.270secs
7. Marcus Ericsson -Caterham-Renault 1min 37.975secs
8. Sebastian Vettel -Red Bull-Renault 1min 38.320secs
Those times are starting to edge closer to the pace of last year's cars but are still a good 6 seconds away from the pace we've seen in the past. 6 seconds should be a worrying number though, last year we saw that level of performance hit just from filling up with full tanks of fuel.
Infact the real story of today wasn't the pace of the runners, more the distance they covered. Or not in the case of the Renault powered cars. All three Renault teams (Red Bull, Caterham & Torro Rosso) hit trouble and covered very little distance. In Torro Rosso's case they didn't run at all today, although that may just be the shame of their cars having Ann Summers #1 seller strapped to the nose.
The Mercedes powered cars of AMG Mercedes-Benz and McLaren covered the most laps and are proving very reliable indeed. Ferarri to are looking in far better shape than the Renault teams.
However let's not draw any performance conclusions just yet. This time last year Jenson Button's 1st day of testing looked full of promise and saw him being tipped for a championship assault. The reality coulnd't have been more different. Plus Red Bull haven't put in a single flying lap, in what could well be the fastest car of the field.
In the technical area, McLaren's unconventional rear wishbone design was attracting all of the attention today as it appears to be doubling up a set of lower rear wing elements. I'd suggest following +Craig Scarborough on Twitter for some insights into their interesting developments.
However, we are still left guessing as to the true order in the formbook so for now just enjoy the new sound of F1, courtesy of RickLubb @ Youtube
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