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[mafiyo]

Every time we do, someone else takes the win, and surprises everyone!

If Vettel and Hamilton are the favourites then this process works for me, anyone to win but them

In this case i put a little bet on Mercedes of Schumacher.. SURPRISE!!!!

[spankyham]

Seems Ferrari have brought both versions of the exhaust tested at Mugello to Barcelona.

[bud]

Aren't they bringing a new diffuser? Probably going to run both on Friday for that reason.

[spankyham]

Aren't they bringing a new diffuser? Probably going to run both on Friday for that reason.

Yep, new diffuser will be there. My guess is it will feature a more tapered outerside. They seem to be focusing of working the airflow through from and around the wheels along with the acer ducts release and the new exhaust to get better flow to the beam wing and top of the diffusers as well as sealing the side of the diffuser. It is a very interesting concept and, Ferrari are definitely going down their own path here. They are stubbornly sticking to this so they must have a firm belief that it will work. I guess we will see soon enough if they have managed a relative performance jump.

[spankyham]

Encouraging first practice session for Ferrari.

For the first 4 races, these are the gaps Fernando was behind the lead car in FP1:-
Australia .8
Malaysia 1.9
China 2.95
Bahrain 1.8

Today, Fernando was fastest by .378

[spankyham]

What a swag of upgrades Ferrari brought today:-
Front wing
Nose (Mugello)
Floor
Diffuser
Exhaust
Brake ducts

Possibly also new:-
T-tray

[Hammer278]

This must be some home magic for Fonzi to take 1st place...could Ferrari really have gained a second over the others? Impossibru! But I bet they made a hell of a lot more progress than McLaren did. 3rd and 8th....great.

[vaptin]

It's only practice, Alonso's just cheering up home fans I think, but Ferrari probably have made a relative gain, he's still in competition, as long as Ferrari get the car up to speed eventually, he'll stand a good chance at winning. I don't see this as make or break, make or break is when (or if) Ferrari claim to have understood the cars problems, release a fix but it doesn't do enough. They don't have to do that now, look at the points, Alonso's consistency and the cars reliability have them in a reasonably decent place.

Personally I'm hoping for a Lotus to win, 5 races 5 different teams to win, then for the next five the team mates of the original five to win, in reverse order.

Benson was right about clarification being wanted from the drivers following the Steward's decisions to not punish Rosberg: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18026807" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

The track order is still very open, but I hope HRT benefit from their new HQ, why is investment so hard to get for smaller teams? FIA need to loosen up a bit, let teams put on more promotional events with their cars etc.

[vlad]

Funny moments with Vettel and Alonso on press conference...

[bud]

This must be some home magic for Fonzi to take 1st place...could Ferrari really have gained a second over the others? Impossibru! But I bet they made a hell of a lot more progress than McLaren did. 3rd and 8th....great.

I read the tyres compounds are up to 1.5 seconds a lap in difference.

Think it's best to wait to Q and the race to judge teams upgrades.

[spankyham]

This must be some home magic for Fonzi to take 1st place...could Ferrari really have gained a second over the others? Impossibru! But I bet they made a hell of a lot more progress than McLaren did. 3rd and 8th....great.

I very much doubt Ferrari have made up anything like the difference. But they seem to have made in-roads, and they seem to be clear about what they want to do to keep improving the car. IMO the car has a lot more improvement to give up.

[calvins48]

This must be some home magic for Fonzi to take 1st place...could Ferrari really have gained a second over the others? Impossibru! But I bet they made a hell of a lot more progress than McLaren did. 3rd and 8th....great.

Because one lap practice runs mean so much...

If you look at the long run pace (that stuff that matters) the top three teams are Red Bull, McLaren and Lotus. And the times are very closely knit!

[geetface9]

YEEEEEEEEEEES I found a site that isn't blocked here at my work that is streaming free practice 3 right now!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

http://www.eplsite.com/stream2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[McLaren]

Well thats P1,P2 and P3 out of the way.What have we learnt ?.Well all the teams know the track so well,that no one is showing their hand.Usual suspects (McLaren,Red bull,Lotus) look like their race pace is there or there abouts.
For all their efforts and the fact they looked fast in P1 ,I think Ferrari will still struggle come quali.Alonso will ring the neck out of his ferrari on home turf.So could be interesting.
Less than two hours to wait for quali,bring it on.
Just for fun I'm going to go for a grid of :Vettel,Hamilton,Raikanen,Button,Rosberg,Webber,Alonso,Schumi

[LewEngBridewell]

I really don't want to see that finger in a couple of hours time