I expected to look at this thread and find out about the current testing?
I heard that Vettel had a fire yesterday with little running...today has (apparently) been better...but they must be a long step behind at this point?
FIA really under estimated the power of whats possible from the turbo engines combined with ERS, considering the extra weight they are definetly pulling more power then with the V8s, 800-850hp is around whats happening now.
But weather, time of day, and we don't know the exact specifications of the tyre. It's not as simple as soft vs hard.
Also, In 2013, despite more development and showing their full hand Barcelona test times in March were faster than the qualifying times set during the GP weekend.
Add in the restricted fuel rate the cars are still going to be pretty slow. Especially compared to 2004.
it's always been part of endurance racing, and IMO it makes racing more thrilling. More tactical thinking and variation on track, not just in the pits.
Oh, I was trying to be sarcastic in reply to BlueFlame's post. Sorry for not being obvious enough.
When there were fuel limits in the last turbo era in F1 it didn't really do much to dampen the racing, so I think BlueFlame's assertion that fuel restrictions will "make the racing shit. That's a given" is totally ridiculous.
I think 2014 F1 is going to be awesome in every way - retirements, mistakes, managing tyres and fuel rather than girly sprint racing, crazy KERS leading to strategic passing/defending, and a far better noise than the daft screams of recent years.
As oppose to manly endurance racing ? By the way KERS is no more. I don't even think they have the boost button. The ERS is integrated into the power management.
Temperature makes a big part, however everything your saying sounds like someone who is trying to hate everything about these cars.
It's been a damn while since F1 has been given a new set of regs where engine competition is now back on the agenda.
not to mention they are all at early development and the engines are already pulling much more HP then expected, Alonso hit nearly 340km/h at Bahrian which is around 20km/h higher then what they did maximum last year there.
of course it depends what setup they are using but its not like they where just doing a straight line test and that speed difference is quite huge.
No, just back to the good old days of drivers having to look after cars, rather than 100 minutes of qualifying laps. And not just because of tyres.
KERS for 2014 is up to 161hp for up to 33 seconds per lap. It will still be deployed in attack and defense, but stands a chance of fending off a DRS-only pass.