"Ferrari's form has been difficult to read so far. They have periodically popped up at the top of the times. And a race run done by Fernando Alonso at the first Bahrain test looked reasonably competitive compared to a simultaneous one by Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, as far as it was possible to tell. But a senior Ferrari figure revealed this week that the team believe their engine is about 75bhp down on the Mercedes, and they don't understand how their rivals are getting so much power while staying within the fuel restriction introduced this year. Which does not paint too pretty a picture for Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. http://www.twitter.com/#!/@andrewbensonf1
It might be true they are behind in hp but I dont think Merc could drive fast laps one after another with the fuel restrictions and fuel flow restrictions. It forces teams to drive slower , they cant take full hp: s out of the machine...so there might be some advantage with the energy recovery system in Merc also. Will see..
Agreed Apple. There has long been rumours that Mercedes have more horssepower then rest. It does look as if they are a step ahead at the moment. But it is also very difficult to tell where exactly Ferrari is. I have a strong feeling these last tests will not reveal much. Until the races actually starts it is very difficult to say what is going on. And of course these so-called journalist reporting live from the testing, are doing a terrible job. They aren't reporting useful information.
Yep, TS writes Ferrari has a problem which isnt big but takes time to repair. They are also at the same time making changes to cars chassis. At the moment it seems Kimi isnt doing fast laps until on Saturday. Kimi was also having a flue.
They should do what Mclaren did with Button, and give Kimi another half a day of running. Just to make it a bit more fair. But of course it will not happen. I dont understand how all of the issues just happens on Kimi's days.
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Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:37 am
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