Het Wintertesttopic 2014

[0634]

Er was nog niet eens een testtopic en dat terwijl we over een maand de motoren alweer starten !

Formule 1 testkalender winter 2014:

Jerez: 28 t/m 31 januari 2014   
Bahrein: 19 t/m 22 februari 2014             
Bahrein: 27 februari t/m 2 maart           
   
Jenson Button meent in ieder geval dat wel eind januari in Jerez flink kunnen gaan lachen:

Jenson Button believes the drivers' first on-track taste of the 2014 Formula 1 cars will be "hilarious".

The 2009 world champion suspects that the combination of the very different behaviour of the all-new turbocharged V6 engines, inevitable initial unreliability and cold temperatures at Jerez in January will make the first runs a bizarre experience.

"Winter testing is going to be hilarious in Jerez," said Button, who has tried the 2014 McLaren in the team's simulator. "It will be cold, the tyres aren't going to work, the cars probably won't work either and when you do get a lap it is probably going to feel weird because you are running higher gears - you get into eighth gear before you get to seventh gear now.

"It is a very different way of driving and you have to forget a lot you have learned over the years in terms of the driveability of a racing car, the engine, the power output of a racing car and the way you put the power down. It is so, so different."

He said the mixture of increased torque and reduced downforce would be an intriguing challenge. "No one knows how they will perform until the first race next year," said Button. "It is going to be tricky because we do have a lot more torque with the engine.

"There will be a lot less downforce as there will be no [exhaust] blowing. I don't care what they say, there is still a massive amount of blowing on an F1 car.

"It is going to be very tough to get to grips with it. There is a lot to learn for all of us, even the experienced drivers, and it is exciting. You want to be out on circuit at the tricky corners, even Turn 2/3 [at Jerez] will be tough to get the power down. You need a throttle pedal that is a metre long to control the torque of the engine.

"Hopefully the experience I have with developing the car and making it how you want it to be will help me for next year."

Although he expects testing to be potentially chaotic, Button has no doubt that the teams will be on top of things in time for the season-opener. "It is in a bad place right now but by the first race we will all have it sorted," he added.

Testing commences at Jerez on January 28, with the season beginning with the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111874/

En onze grote vriend Luca di M. zegt:

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has slammed Formula 1's reliance on simulators as a 'joke'.

With F1's recent strict in-season testing ban having forced teams to rely on ever more complicated simulator technology, di Montezemolo thinks the time has come for a rethink.

He believes that the expense of simulators is now such that serious consideration should be given to a wholesale return to testing as it would be better for teams - and cheaper.

"It is a joke," said di Montezemolo during a lunch with media at Fiorano. "We have been forced to invest a huge amount of money in these terrible machines, artificial, instead of testing here [at Fiorano] and Mugello.

"If somebody has no money to do tests, it is better to race in GP2, in go karts or go and play basketball. I want to do testing to first of all give new drivers the possibility to drive cars and get experience.

"But I also want to give more opportunities to the public because from one race weekend to another it is silent in F1. There is nothing, nothing.

"Testing is also a good opportunity for the sponsors, to call the public. And tests are less expensive than building and developing every month the terrible simulator. This is something we have to discuss for the future."

Although di Montezemolo is aware that F1 costs are too high, he believes restricted testing dumbs F1 down - something he is vehemently against.

"I think in soccer if you want to compete in the Champions' League, you have to buy good players, you have to train sometimes even five times in a day. This is competition," he said.

"I think that it is ridiculous that in F1, from one side, we are not allowed to test, and from the other side we are forced to spend a huge amount of money in the windtunnel in which we develop aerodynamics that I cannot transfer any of to my [road] cars.


"I don't want it to seem that I am a conservative old fan of F1. I think if we were allowed to do more testing, the scandal of the tyres [in 2013] would not have happened because even for Pirelli it is very difficult as they cannot do too many tests."

F1's testing ban has been relaxed for 2014, allowing a number of in-season tests to take place following grands prix during the year.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111960

Natuurlijk preekt Luca di M. zoals altijd voor eigen parochie. Immers, Ferrari was ooit de master van inseason testing. Gedeeltelijk ben ik het echter ook wel weer met hem eens. Ik snap de noodzaak voor kostenreductie maar het is ook wel weer van de zotte dat inseason testing compleet verboden is in een competitieve sport als F1 (bovendien mis ik het wel, maar dat is geen argument).

[Perton]

Tsja zoals wel vaker bij Luca (of eigenlijke welke senior figuur dan ook): best wel eens, maar inderdaad wel in mijn achterhoofd houdend waarom ie zoiets zegt.

[Jozef]

Ik ben met wat vrienden aan het kijken of we naar Jerez gaan. Twee jaar geleden zijn we naar een test in Barcelona geweest, voordeel was toen wel dat het in de krokusvakantie was en er in Barcelona verder genoeg te doen is zodat het eigenlijk een kleine vakantie was waarin we dan 1 dagje naar de F1 gingen. Overweging is nu om in Sevilla te verblijven, daar is ook genoeg te zien.

[0634]

Leuk Jozef. Lekker tripje hoor, zo met vrienden naar een testsessie.

[Maikel0230]

http://www.gppits.net/nieuws/oranje_mclaren_komt_eraan/

[janke]

Zou fantastisch zijn, het oude (Bruce) McLaren oranje. Back to the roots, de echte roots. Niet wat het zgn Lotus nu doet. Ben ook zéér benieuwd wie de nieuwe hoofdsponsor van McLaren wordt.

[0634]

Zou mooi zijn inderdaad, dat Oranje. Ik hou wel van die traditionele kleuren. Het groen-geel van Caterham, het goudzwart van Lotus en ook de livery van Williams vorig jaar vond ik top.

[Maikel0230]

Zou inderdaad wel leuk zijn moest McLaren eindelijk eens afscheid nemen van de Mercedes kleuren maar ik heb zo'n voorgevoel dat we gewoon weer met hetzelfde chroom/grijs opgezadeld zullen worden.

[0634]

Och, zo erg is dat ook niet. Vond het altijd een mooie livery.

[Tuesday]

Och, zo erg is dat ook niet. Vond het altijd een mooie livery.

vond m ook altijd mooi, maar sinds Mercedes terug is, is t toch een beetje dubbelop, ook al is het wel weer heel anders. Tijd voor wat anders, zeker vanaf 2015.

[0634]

Dat wel ja, het lijkt wat op elkaar.

[Jehoentelaar]

Krijg nooit heel veel mee van die tests, maar ik hoop dat grote problemen uitblijven.

[Fabian]

Zou het mooi vinden zo'n oranje McLaren. Dan wordt BrainWash vast de nieuwe sponsor.

[Franky R.]

Krijg nooit heel veel mee van die tests, maar ik hoop dat grote problemen uitblijven.

Ja, en dan tijdens de races komen die problemen "opeens" bovendrijven... ...Back to the 1990s!

[0634]

Zou het mooi vinden zo'n oranje McLaren. Dan wordt BrainWash vast de nieuwe sponsor.

ING. Of misschien wel Louis van Gaal .