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[Frosty]

That is a shame for Virgin, you can't help but feel worried for them about being 9 seconds off the pace at the same time.

they did 11 laps lol

proberly going for a long run which would of ment heavy fuel with a driver that missed the last 3 races of the season.

Yeah i expect they will half the gap pretty soon i don't think they will be that far off the pace come Bahrain. As Gaz said they only did 11 laps they were probably still assessing the basic aero figures of the car.

[NateDawg80126]

I honestly don't expect any of the 4 new teams to do anything but race each other for the first half of the season, the rest of the field is just so far ahead in development after last season, 2 seconds off the pace sounds about right to me honestly.

[cap-dude]

2 seconds was around what Super Aguri were missing. Maybe more actually come the first race.

[Jensonb]

I honestly don't expect any of the 4 new teams to do anything but race each other for the first half of the season, the rest of the field is just so far ahead in development after last season, 2 seconds off the pace sounds about right to me honestly.

Only the first half? That's a trifle optimisitc. I have to imagine they'll be trailing all year.

[NateDawg80126]

I honestly don't expect any of the 4 new teams to do anything but race each other for the first half of the season, the rest of the field is just so far ahead in development after last season, 2 seconds off the pace sounds about right to me honestly.

Only the first half? That's a trifle optimisitc. I have to imagine they'll be trailing all year.

lol, I simply cannot seem to escape your skepticism. I think by mid season at least one of the new teams will have penetrated the field, I still think they will generally be in the back of the field but I would be surprised to see them all still trailing 2 seconds off of the pace by the end of the season, upgrades will come and the field will get closer, just like in 09.

[Jabberwocky]

I think even if they are up to speed on track. will they have the procedures in place to run at the front of the field.

[headless]

It looks pretty grim for any teams that don't make the last pre-season test, just seeing how Virgin seem to be struggling to get any real mileage. Trying to get everything sorted during Grand Prix test sessions with no time to make major fundamental changes to the car before race day is going to be a nightmare!

It'll be alright on the night!

[Gilles 27]

Virgin aren't 9 seconds off the pace, they only ran in the morning when the circuit wasn't very fast (there was a bit of rain) and at the time they were about 5 seconds slower than the faster guys (at the time the fastest time was Buemi!). Virgin have only done about 3 or 4 flying laps in the last two days, most of the time they have been coming straight back into the pits. So we don't know the pace of the car but it would seem that it isn't ready to do any fast or long running and that there are some teething problems.

[headless]

Virgin aren't 9 seconds off the pace, they only ran in the morning when the circuit wasn't very fast (there was a bit of rain) and at the time they were about 5 seconds slower than the faster guys (at the time the fastest time was Buemi!). Virgin have only done about 3 or 4 flying laps in the last two days, most of the time they have been coming straight back into the pits. So we don't know the pace of the car but it would seem that it isn't ready to do any fast or long running and that there are some teething problems.

They'll be WDC and WCC

[bud]

Virgin aren't 9 seconds off the pace, they only ran in the morning when the circuit wasn't very fast (there was a bit of rain) and at the time they were about 5 seconds slower than the faster guys (at the time the fastest time was Buemi!). Virgin have only done about 3 or 4 flying laps in the last two days, most of the time they have been coming straight back into the pits. So we don't know the pace of the car but it would seem that it isn't ready to do any fast or long running and that there are some teething problems.

yep they arent on the same peg to compare to the rest atm. atleast they have their car ontrack unlike some new teams.

[Jensonb]

I honestly don't expect any of the 4 new teams to do anything but race each other for the first half of the season, the rest of the field is just so far ahead in development after last season, 2 seconds off the pace sounds about right to me honestly.

Only the first half? That's a trifle optimisitc. I have to imagine they'll be trailing all year.

lol, I simply cannot seem to escape your skepticism. I think by mid season at least one of the new teams will have penetrated the field, I still think they will generally be in the back of the field but I would be surprised to see them all still trailing 2 seconds off of the pace by the end of the season, upgrades will come and the field will get closer, just like in 09.

They're going to start at least 2 seconds off the pace, up against teams with a lot more resources & experience who will not be leaving their cars as-is. Clawing back the gap and then gaining some ground on the established teams is going to be a monumental task. Because the established teams will not stand still, and most of them will develop the cars a lot faster than the new teams can. It's not a matter of me being a skeptic. It's just not realistic to expect the teams to start mixing it with the more established outfits

[Hexagram]

The poor weather with this Jerez test makes it even harder to see who is actually fast and who is not.

[Gilles 27]

Virgin aren't due to start running until 15:00 today. I do hope they at least get some dry lapping done tomorrow!

[NateDawg80126]

I honestly don't expect any of the 4 new teams to do anything but race each other for the first half of the season, the rest of the field is just so far ahead in development after last season, 2 seconds off the pace sounds about right to me honestly.

Only the first half? That's a trifle optimisitc. I have to imagine they'll be trailing all year.

lol, I simply cannot seem to escape your skepticism. I think by mid season at least one of the new teams will have penetrated the field, I still think they will generally be in the back of the field but I would be surprised to see them all still trailing 2 seconds off of the pace by the end of the season, upgrades will come and the field will get closer, just like in 09.

They're going to start at least 2 seconds off the pace, up against teams with a lot more resources & experience who will not be leaving their cars as-is. Clawing back the gap and then gaining some ground on the established teams is going to be a monumental task. Because the established teams will not stand still, and most of them will develop the cars a lot faster than the new teams can. It's not a matter of me being a skeptic. It's just not realistic to expect the teams to start mixing it with the more established outfits

Even with all the bad cars produced at the beginning of the 2009 season, every single team scored points last year. Are you honestly saying that out of 4 new teams, not a single one of them is even capable of mixing it up mid-field for the entire season? You can't be serious.

[bud]

I honestly don't expect any of the 4 new teams to do anything but race each other for the first half of the season, the rest of the field is just so far ahead in development after last season, 2 seconds off the pace sounds about right to me honestly.

Only the first half? That's a trifle optimisitc. I have to imagine they'll be trailing all year.

lol, I simply cannot seem to escape your skepticism. I think by mid season at least one of the new teams will have penetrated the field, I still think they will generally be in the back of the field but I would be surprised to see them all still trailing 2 seconds off of the pace by the end of the season, upgrades will come and the field will get closer, just like in 09.

They're going to start at least 2 seconds off the pace, up against teams with a lot more resources & experience who will not be leaving their cars as-is. Clawing back the gap and then gaining some ground on the established teams is going to be a monumental task. Because the established teams will not stand still, and most of them will develop the cars a lot faster than the new teams can. It's not a matter of me being a skeptic. It's just not realistic to expect the teams to start mixing it with the more established outfits

Even with all the bad cars produced at the beginning of the 2009 season, every single team scored points last year. Are you honestly saying that out of 4 new teams, not a single one of them is even capable of mixing it up mid-field for the entire season? You can't be serious.

its plausible where is their experience compared to the teams last year?