Testing Times: what we can learn

[Valve Bounce]

There are always duscussions on what fast test times mean. Many here, including me, have said "tests are tests and nothing else". Well, that is not quite true really - I do SOMETIMES tend to be facetious to cheer the forum up. Basically, this year's test times show us that the usual suspects: Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are right up there at the top of the tree and will finish in the top three positions at the end of the year (so tell me something new ). We can also see that some teams have been struggling and they won't get anywhere this year, and this brigade will be lead by none other than BAR and brought up by Minardi or Toyota. What we havn't learned is how good Jordan and Jaguar are - something that quals will clarify. Then there is Renault, the team that IMO testing will tell us nothing simply because this team could have a very steep improvement curve during the year including this testing season. The one bright hope this year is Sauber, which, apart from their blistering test times in qualifying set up, has shown at least that they are right behind the top three. I respect Sauber because they have a very efficient Swiss team (Like a Rolex), great management, and possibly the best engine at the start of this season. And of course there is Nick Heidfeld, who I see will be the revelation of this year and who I am predicting will finish with more points than Kimi this year. This testing is the only game in town for the next month so we might as well put in our two bob's worth.

[Damon]

I'm afraid I have to go with your initial comment VB. Tests are tests and little else. They are unlikely to tell us anything about the season ahead. Remember that Prost lead the tests this time last year.

[Speedworx]

Tests are just tests!

They are always a chance to meet up with friends.

[nreed]

i agree with damon and hakkiman, prost did lead testing last year, and we all know how that turned out, especially after alesi left

[BD]

Tests right now can give some insight, but when a lower team sets the pace, it doesnt mean much. When a team like Sauber goes 100%(qualifying trim) they are gonna set some fast times.

Usually during testing, the teams are driving around 80-90% of what they are capable of.
Sometimes during the span of a 3 day test, a team's time will go down by 3 or 4 seconds by the last day. Same car, same engine, same drivers, different set ups, different parts.

[Ferrari2002]

[Ferrari2002]

how can tests just be test they would not do them if they didnt need to remember how much money it costs to test a car .

[Valve Bounce]

I fully agree that testing times are not definitive. However, when a team keeps posting slow times, sooner or later it must test at close to top speed to get accurate information, and if such teams just never get those really comparable times to the top teams, then there is a good chance that they are in some sort of strife and will not do any good at the start of the season. As for Prost last year, many here picked that they were running light to get sponsors, while McLaren were sandbagging quite a lot. However, teeh big three have all posted fast times this year, and they will remain the big three - that much we can tell.

[Adam43]

Originally posted by Ferrari2002
how can tests just be test they would not do them if they didnt need to remember how much money it costs to test a car .

Obviously all the teams test for a reason. To make the car better.

However I think the issue is whether we, as outsiders, can tell anything from testing by just looking at the times and reading the reports.

I think we can, but it's all a bit vague. At best it can give us generalisations.

Now hindsight, that's what we really need.

[Raven]

I agree it's hard to draw conclusions from testing. However, after a series of tests you can look at, and generally see who is hot/not.
i.e
What actual times were set - how do they compare to last years race/qualifying times?

Cars reliability - are some cars breaking down a lot?

Obviously there are counter-arguments to these questions such as were the cars legal, are some teams sandbagging and what were the test aims, etc.