Former F1 driver and test driver Pedro de la Rosa knows Fernando Alonso like few do, and after witnessing the Spaniard in action during the first Formula 1 pre-season testing in Barcelona, he has some interesting observations to make about his compatriot.
De la Rosa spent time out on track observing the new cars in action, and told Marca, “Fernando Alonso drives wuith anger in his stomach.”
“The McLaren is more nervous than I expected. I see a Fernando has to work on the steering wheel more than is ideal. The car is unstable in Turn 1 and Turn 5 and tends to lock wheels.”
“No one is attacking like Fernando. I really did not expect the McLaren to be so restless with these wide tires,” mused De la Rosa who drove for Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT during his 104 race F1 career.
Because the problems with the Honda engine, focus has not been on the MCL32 chassis. However the eagle-eyed among bystanders at Circuit de Catalunya say that it is not up to par of the pace setters in terms of stability.
But McLaren, like most of their rivals, will have some major updates bolted on to their cars by the time free practice begins in Melbourne on 24 March.
Meanwhile Alonso is still toeing the party line, and said after his second day in the cockpit, “The car feels good, and we’ve already made a lot of tweaks to the handling and set-up of the car from the first day.”
“So far, the car is responding well to our changes, and overall we are seeing small improvements here and there, day-by-day, in different areas,” added Alonso who ended the test 18th fastest.
His best time of 1:22,598 nearly three seconds down on the top time set by Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas during the first four days of testing in Spain.
Of the other cars out on track, De la Rosa said, “The [Ferrari] is very agile and seems great. Of course, I do not know how little fuel Ferrari is running with, but on track it is really impressive. ”
“The combination of the Turn 1 and Turn 2 really makes the Mercedes stand out. No car is faster through here. I think the Silver Arrow has a lot of downforce, the tires seem to work harder on their car than the Pirelli on other cars. ”
“I really enjoy the new F1 cars, which is definitely a step in the right direction. Now only the big engine noise is missing! Today you can have fun along watching from track-side. Such a thing would have been unthinkable before. But I do miss the sound of V8 or V10 normally aspirated engines. ”
“In terms of aesthetics, I find the Mercedes very impressive… and the Toro Rosso also. But I can not understand why these shark fins have been allowed again. They were forbidden because they were ugly. Why are they allowed again? I do not understand,” added de La Rosa.
| Barcelona Test 1 – Overall Best Lap Times | ||||
| Driver | Team | Compound | Laptime | Test Day |
| Bottas | Mercedes | Ultrasoft | 01:19,705 | Day 3 |
| Vettel | Ferrari | Soft | 01:19,952 | Day 3 |
| Raikkonen | Ferrari | Soft | 01:20,960 | Day 2 |
| Hamilton | Mercedes | Supersoft | 01:20,983 | Day 2 |
| Ricciardo | Red Bull | Soft | 01:21,153 | Day 3 |
| Palmer | Renault | Soft | 01:21,396 | Day 3 |
| Verstappen | Red Bull | Soft | 01:21,769 | Day 4 |
| Hulkenberg | Renault | Soft | 01:21,791 | Day 3 |
| Ericsson | Sauber | Supersoft | 01:21,824 | Day 3 |
| Massa | Williams | Soft | 01:22,076 | Day 1 |
| Grosjean | Haas | Supersoft | 01:22,118 | Day 3 |
| Magnussen | Haas | Supersoft | 01:22,204 | Day 2 |
| Stroll | Williams | Soft | 01:22,351 | Day 3 |
| Giovinazzi | Sauber | Ultrasoft | 01:22,401 | Day 4 |
| Ocon | Force India | Supersoft | 01:22,509 | Day 2 |
| Perez | Force India | Supersoft | 01:22,534 | Day 4 |
| Vandoorne | McLaren | Ultrasoft | 01:22,576 | Day 4 |
| Alonso | McLaren | Ultrasoft | 01:22,598 | Day 3 |
| Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Soft | 01:22,956 | Day 2 |
| Sainz J | Toro Rosso | Medium | 01:23,540 | Day 3 |
| Celis | Force India | Ultrasoft | 01:23,568 | Day 3 |
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
No comments:
Post a Comment