Formula One 2017

[Gazz]

Does McLaren have a marketing department? It seems like every sponsor has asked 'What's your cheapest, smallest package?'

[Lineker]

Mercedes' 2017 Formula 1 car - the W08 - has broken cover at Silverstone ahead of its official launch.

Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton turned a series of filming day laps of the British Grand Prix circuit on Thursday morning.

 Mercedes tipped for huge 2017 engine step

The W08 to be driven by Hamilton and new team-mate Valtteri Bottas ran with a small shark fin - with a larger version expected on the car launched - as well as wider and more sculpted front and rear wings.

Its nose is narrower and features a more rounded end compared to the thumb stub as seen on rivals Williams, Sauber and Renault's new cars.

Mercedes has dominated F1 since 2014, when the championship switched to a V6 turbo-hybrid engine formula, winning 51 of the 59 grands prix. 

Mercedes says it is undecided about adopting a full shark fin on the engine cover of its 2017 Formula 1 car, after trialling a radical, raised T-wing at Silverstone on Thursday.

The Brackley-based outfit caused a stir at the launch of its W08 when its new challenger was fitted with a high T-wing in front of the rear wing for its afternoon running with new recruit Valtteri Bottas.

The concept is very different to the solutions adopted by other F1 teams, with the cars launched so far all featuring a more standard shark fin to help channel airflow over the rear wing.

When asked by Autosport about its plans for the new car, engineering director Aldo Costa said the T-wing was one idea being looked at, but that a normal shark fin would also be evaluated during Barcelona testing.

"We have seen many pictures of other cars, but from now until the first race we will have a continuous programme of evolution," he said.

"As you have seen, the launch spec was without the little T-wing, and then we tested it - and then we will carry on in Barcelona day by day testing different configurations.

"We will have as well a longer tail configuration to be tested in combination with new rear wings for Melbourne."

F1 teams have widely spoken about an aggressive aero development race in the early stages of the season, and Costa revealed that the Mercedes would likely have all-new wings by the time of the season-opening grand prix in Australia.

"The car in essence from now until Melbourne will change all the aerodynamic surface," he said.

Mercedes has revealed the extent to which it has changed its Formula 1 power unit, which includes an all-new MGU-H and MGU-K for the 2017 season.

The Mercedes engine has been F1's benchmark since the turbo V6 hybrid regulations were introduced in 2014, but it suffered a series of failures last year.

Force India's technical director Andy Green said Mercedes has made an "unprecedented step" with its 2017 engine, suggesting it could have moved further ahead of rivals.

Renault has introduced a new concept for 2017, which includes an all-new architecture on the internal combustion engine and a second-generation energy recovery system, targeting a winter gain of 0.3 seconds per lap.

Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell believes the team has "made improvements in every single area".

"The base architecture of our ERS system is similar to what we started with in 2014," he said during the launch of the team's W08 at Silverstone on Thursday.

"Is it the same for this year? No it is not, there is improvement in the high power switches, they are more efficient.

"There are several improvements in reliability with in the box, which means we can run it harder for longer.

"We are not as vulnerable to having to derate the system for cooling reasons because of heating effects within in the module.

"The MGU-H is completely new as a consequence of the drive cycle change and the MGU-K is new as well.

"It is a big evolution."

Lewis Hamilton suffered a spectacular engine failure when leading last year's Malaysian Grand Prix, with the team determining a big-end bearing failure in the crankshaft as the root cause of the problem.

Cowell said Mercedes has put a sharp focus on reliability and has made six design changes to avoid a repeat of the failure Hamilton suffered at Sepang.

"We had a few painful incidents last year and we did an awful lot of investigation into that," said Cowell.

"There are some very big changes in Brixworth right from the way we do our research, the way we approve steps forward, the way that we do our concept reviews, the way we confirm development is appropriate, the way we work with suppliers, the way we manufacturer bits ourselves, the way we assemble parts.

"There are about six design changes within the engine to improve the bearing system and three or four quality improvements in way the power unit is assembled and then looked after through its life."

So, the car we have all been waiting for has finally arrived, and I must say I'm pretty disappointed.

Disappointed, because it looks great! We all know what that could do to the racing given how dominant Mercedes has been. There's no trick stuff, just good, solid engineering with everything done for a reason.

We'll have to wait to see what Red Bull and Ferrari come up with before we conclude Mercedes is going to walk it again, but this car looks like it has been born using the same very successful DNA of the 2016 car.

Yes, there are some key differences. But it's all about optimisation of the areas that can be changed under the new regulations.

NOSE

There is nothing trick about the nose design. It has the minimum cross section area practical to comply with the crash-testing requirements and is a simple surface.

If you do trick things in this area, you must make sure the airflow stays attached to the body surfaces as any separation problems just cause grief further downstream.

The front wing mountings are as small as possible, again allowing the wing to do its job without the extra surfaces created by long and large turning-vane wing mounts. These may be introduced later in the development programme, as they are a bolt-on component.

FRONT WING

The front wing is again the customary, very detailed multi-element component and the trailing edge of the endplates turn and ramp the airflow around the now wider front tyre.

The intersection between the nose and chassis is nicely blended. You can just see an exit duct in this area on the top surface. This will be the exit for some kind of s-duct, which is a duct that has an opening on the underside of the nose and an exit on the top surface.

The extraction of air from under the nose helps the performance of the front wing and reduces the lift that would normally be created by the airflow accelerating over the upper surface of the nose-to-chassis intersection.

SIDEPOD LEADING EDGE

This is where the W08 gets very interesting. The 2017 regulations allow for more detail in this area and Mercedes has gone to town here.

In 2016, Mercedes led the field in this area with its small, multi-element bargeboard. So, history has shown those at Brackley have a very good handle on what the airflow needs to do in this area.

The Mercedes has a vertical bargeboard with some extra horizontal vanes low to the ground. On top of that, it has a three-divisional, horizontally-mounted turning vane. On the outer corner of the sidepod's leading edge, there is a three-element vertical turning vane.

All these work in conjunction with each other. They are there to help scavenge the airflow out from underneath the front of the chassis, help introduce the airflow to the leading edge of the underfloor, and to control the turbulent airflow coming off the trailing edge of the now-wider Pirelli front tyre allowing the sidepod undercut to work efficiently.

Get these all working correctly - and as I say in conjunction with each other - and you improve the downforce produced by the front wing and underfloor.

Not only that, but it allows the rear of the car to work efficiently as the airflow arriving through the Coke bottle area will be a lot less turbulent.

SIDEPOD REAR, ENGINE COVER AND COKE BOTTLE

The sidepods are mainly there to contain the radiator cooling package, and as soon as that is finished they sweep in and down as early as possible to the Coke bottle area.

Again, getting the maximum airflow possible through this area helps the performance of the diffuser and rear wing.

The detailed work on the louvres at the extremity of the floor in front of the rear tyre acts like a skirt reducing airflow spilling under the car. Reduce this and it allows the diffuser to work much more effectively, producing more downforce from the underfloor.

As far as the engine cover is concerned, doesn't it look good without that huge billboard that we have seen on most of the other cars released?

That may come later, but hopefully the governing body will realise soon that the aesthetics are an important part of what spectators and viewers want to see.

T-WING

In the area where the engine cover fin could go, it must allow for a wider section. Mercedes has used this space to place a T-wing with a single mounting.

This won't really create any downforce in its own right, it will just help with redirecting the airflow down onto the rear wing, effectively giving the rear wing an increased angle of attack.

It wasn't on the car when it initially ran, and was later added, so it will be interesting to see how it is used at the first test.

REAR WING

The rear wing is wider and lower, with the seemingly-customary twisted endplates leaning backwards as they go upwards.

As this is a bolt-on component, this area will be under constant review and from circuit will require different levels of downforce and hence drag.

SUSPENSION

The front suspension is a conventional twin wishbone with a pushrod-operated inboard torsion bar and damper unit.

Mercedes was on top of it last year, but a slight change in what's allowed and what's not could easily have dramatic consequences.

Interestingly, Mercedes has mounted the wishbones higher up than normal. This requires a small front upright mount coming around the wheelrim to pick up the top wishbone's outboard end.

This increases the height of the outboard ends of both wishbones, which means they are out of the way aerodynamically. More interestingly, it retains a decent front suspension geometry.

With the introduction of the wider Pirelli tyres, there will be an increase in overall mechanical grip. But to get the best out of the tyres you need to treat them correctly.

Over the last few years, aerodynamics have ruled the roost but now the balance is changing. Mercedes is the first team I have seen to focus on this area, and that could pay big dividends when it comes to tyre degradation.

It is how this system all works in conjunction with the aerodynamic platform control that matters. It will be interesting to see who gets on top of it and who complies with however the FIA wants to interpret its own regulations.

The rear suspension is quite difficult to see in detail, but it looks like it has been optimised to suit the new-for-2017 improved diffuser design.

Getting the airflow through the Coke bottle area and rear suspension with as much energy left in it as possible will help the diffuser performance. This is vitally important to the complete car's overall downforce production potential.

Overall, it looks like Mercedes has focused on what the new regulations can bring to the car's performance while building on what it had last year. It looks like it has done a very good job.

The team knew that what it had in the other areas was pretty good, so there was no need to waste time and effort reinventing the wheel.

Why Formula 1 should fear the new Mercedes - Gary Anderson

Ferrari became the sixth Formula 1 team to unveil its new 2017 car, the SF70H, on Friday morning.

The Scuderia chose an online launch, broadcasting live from Fiorano where its 2017 challenger will hit the track for the first time later on Friday as part of a filming day.

GALLERY: Ferrari unveils its 2017 SF70H

Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, chief technical officer Mattia Binotto and race drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were on stage for the presentation.

The film of the car it showed on Friday morning revealed it has the same 'T-wing' concept at the rear that featured on the new Mercedes when it ran at Silverstone on Thursday.

The Italian team had hoped to challenge for the title last year after winning three races in 2015 to finish runner up to Mercedes.

But it fell well short as it struggled with set-up, strategy and tyre temperatures over the course of the season and rarely managed to get the most out of its package.

It failed to win a race and was beaten to second in the constructors' championship by Red Bull, finishing 367 points adrift of Mercedes.

Ferrari's technical structure was tweaked mid-season when technical director James Allison left the team, with Binotto moving from his role as engine boss to head up the technical department.

For Ferrari, 2017 is a very important year and appropriately enough there are some very interesting aerodynamic designs on the new car, even in launch spec, that reflect that.

When Ferrari signed Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion, for 2015 and he won three races against the might of Mercedes, it wasn't a bad result. So, we expected 2016 to be another step forwards.

Instead, it was a serious step backwards. Ferrari didn't win a race and took only 11 podium finishes, dropping to a distant third in the constructors' championship. And it lost highly-rated technical director James Allison, starts work at Mercedes next week.

Some would say that was downright careless, but Ferrari made that happen. With James's personal challenges last year, an arm around the shoulder was required but Ferrari's management decided to go back to its more traditional way and not do that.

When did that approach last work? The answer is that it was back when I was transporting an F1 car to races on a trailer behind a van!

Times have changed, and this year is so important for Ferrari because of the rule changes and the fact both drivers' contracts are up for renewal. Success is vitally important.

Ferrari certainly hasn't followed the blueprint it has done for the past few years, or even tried to copy the all-conquering Mercedes. There are a few interesting ideas, but as always, interesting is one thing, making them work another.

FRONT WING/NOSE

Ferrari has continued to use a thumb-style central section nose, more or less as in 2016. The trailing edges of the front wing mounts develop into a turning vane to help direct the airflow more to the centre of the car and then turn it outwards slightly.

This is to maximize the airflow that passes in between the front wheels, although, interestingly, Mercedes doesn't bother with this style of turning vane.

The front wing is the common multi-element device, with the outboard ends designed to deflect the airflow around the front tyre.

As far as I can see, the main plane, which is the forward element of the front wing, has quite a large cord section. This is OK for out and out downforce, but the airflow on the wing inevitably stalls when it gets low to the ground or mid-corner when the car rolls.

And with such a large section, the instant loss of downforce can be huge. Then, when that reattaches, the sudden increase in front downforce can play havoc with the car balance.

This usually means the driver is forced to use a balance that is inherently understeery just to be able to cope with the inconsistency that this style of wing will produce. Kimi Raikkonen has always liked cars with a tendency for understeer, so perhaps this suits him.

On the top corner of the nose-to-chassis interface, there are a couple of small horizontal fins. These will help with realigning the airflow as it tries to spill over the corner of this intersection.

FRONT SUSPENSION

This is the common double wishbone and steering trackrod concept. The inboard torsion bar, damper unit, third spring and anything else are all driven by a pushrod.

Ferrari was the team that drew the FIA's attention to what it believed to be suspension elements that were controlling the aerodynamic platform of some other teams' cars, so it wanted a clarification on what was acceptable within the regulations.

It is still waiting for a proper answer, but, obviously all teams believe their own designs are squeaky clean. Only time will tell, and there isn't much of that left before the first race.

SIDEPOD/UNDERFLOOR LEADING EDGE

This is the area Ferrari seems to have got most excited about. The 2017 regulations allow a lot more scope for clever details. Again, being clever is one thing, but that must translate into decreased lap time.

With the leading edge of the sidepod as far rearward as possible, Ferrari has been able to fit a large bargeboard, which can be seen from the front-on views. At the bottom of it is a delta-wing section going from the front of the bargeboard all the way to the outer corner of the sidepod vertical turning vane. Behind that is also a smaller, horizontal delta-shaped turning vane.

These components are to optimise and realign the airflow going into the underfloor and, in Ferrari's case, the hugely undercut sidepod leading edge.

The undercut connects to the Coke bottle area and, in turn, the low-pressure area at the back of the car. If it all works together and you can get the low-pressure area behind the car to pull airflow through the Coke bottle via the undercut sidepods - around the bargeboards and from underneath the raised front of the chassis - it means the front wing will work better.

The bargeboards and this delta-wing will work better and the undercut in the sidepods will produce downforce. So, it's a plus-plus-plus on downforce. In the end, there's also a drag reduction effect achieved by filling up that void behind the car that it is usually pulling along.

If this area works on the Ferrari, then the others could be in trouble. If not, then a lot of time and effort will have been spent achieving nothing. But I think it might just have been worth a shot.

HEADREST/ENGINE COVER

The headrest area is fairly conventional for Ferrari. It hasn't gone way out whacky with it like Sauber or some of the other teams.

The engine cover has the ugly shark fin plus the T-wing on its upper trailing edge that Mercedes tested on Thursday, but the world champion team mounted the extra wing on its own strut.

COKE BOTTLE

In line with the hugely undercut sidepods, the Coke bottle area is as open as any. This will be necessary if it is going to have any chance of the sidepod undercut working and to get the maximum airflow through this area to help the rear wing and diffuser performance.

DIFFUSER/REAR WING

We must wait for the first test at Barcelona, which I will be attending, before I can voice an opinion on diffuser design, as everyone is keeping their solutions under wraps until the last minute.

The rear wing has what is now the standard angled trailing edge to the endplates. Also, as it's a bolt-on device, it will be changed to suit different circuit requirements.

Barcelona will allow us to compare who is heading in what direction. It's a reasonably high downforce circuit, so everyone will at least be trying to achieve the same sort of downforce levels and with that drag levels, which will allow us to check out top speeds.

Will Ferrari's SF70H be enough to take the competition to Mercedes? If not, heads will definitely roll at Maranello... again.

But I believe with this design it has got a chance and, as I said above, if it does the others will struggle to copy it quickly.

We can only hope so, as we all want to see close racing with different teams winning races.

Why Ferrari's 2017 ideas could be hard to copy - Gary Anderson

[Lineker]

McLaren has revealed the Honda-powered MCL32 Formula 1 car that it will race during the 2017 season.

An-all new black, orange and white livery was revealed during a presentation at the McLaren Technology Centre.

GALLERY: McLaren launches its new-look MCL32

The change in livery follows the departure of long-time chief Ron Dennis at the end of last year and as part of a freshening up of its brand image by new executive director Zak Brown.

"I think it's a beautiful piece of art," Brown said. "We went through a variety of designs and ultimately this was in response to fans - we had so much outreach from fans saying 'we want to have some orange'."

After languishing in ninth in the constructors' championship in the first year of its Honda reunion in 2015, McLaren moved up to sixth last year.

Improvements in reliability and performance from Honda, coupled with a chassis McLaren believed was one of the best on the grid, enabled the alliance to fight towards the front of the midfield.

Both parties are expecting a further step forward for 2017, when Stoffel Vandoorne replaces Jenson Button alongside Fernando Alonso in the race line-up.

"This team is highly frustrated that we're not winning races," Brown added.

"We've got a new package and these things take time.

"2016 wasn't a great year by McLaren's standards but it was forward progress and that's what we need to see in 2017.

"Once we get there, we'll be pretty hard to knock back down."

Team principal Eric Boullier described the car as "elegant" with "a couple of clever solutions".

Honda's F1 programme leader Yusuke Hasegawa said the end of the token system for engine development had allowed his company to work aggressively over the winter.

"We improved every area of the engine that was [previously] restricted," he said.

"There were areas that we wanted to modify from the original engine to extract more power, and the car was changing dramatically so we wanted to redesign the engine.

"We have a modified engine, a lower centre of gravity and less weight."

Honda engine chief Yusuke Hasegawa admits Mercedes' anticipated gains with its Formula 1 engine are "unfortunate", as it prepares for the third year of its partnership with McLaren.

Mercedes has led the way since F1 introduced turbo-hybrid engines in 2014, and the pursuing Honda, Ferrari and Renault were dealt a warning this week that it had made an 'unprecedented' step with an overhaul of its design for 2017.

While Honda made significant inroads in 2016 and has a new design of its own, Hasegawa is well aware the Japanese manufacturer could find itself still with plenty of work to do.

"I heard Mercedes also did a very great job, which is very unfortunate," he said.

"I really hope we can close up the gap on them but I don't know the exact numbers until we run - but we have made some progress and I hope we can close up some gap."

Honda believes its revamped engine will have reached the level Mercedes was at last year by the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, based on developments planned for the coming month.

When asked if Honda had reached its target of matching Mercedes' 2016 performance, Hasegawa said: "Not at the moment I think.

"I don't know how much gain Mercedes has made [with its 2017 engine].

"Of course we are aiming to achieve the top level of the power unit, which is Mercedes at this moment. But we don't know how much power they are making now.

"I'm feeling we are not far behind them [where they were at end of 2016], but I think we will catch up with them by the beginning of the season."

Honda's work has included an overhaul of its concept, as it moves towards the split turbine-compressor concept that Mercedes has put to good use.

Although Hasegawa would not confirm the specifics, he did state that the idea was "similar" to what other teams were running.

McLaren chief engineering officer Matt Morris believes the change of architecture opened up the door for bigger power gains over the season.

"We all feel that we have got an engine architecture that is right and is capable of challenging the best," he said.

"In terms of where we are in absolute performance, again it is difficult to know - are we going to rock up with an engine that beats Mercedes at the start of the year? Probably not.

"But if we can have closed the gap like we have been doing for the past two years then that is a good step forward.

"With the regulation change and the token system being dropped, it allows us to develop the engine a lot during the year so I am sure what we start with in Barcelona next week is not going to be where we finish at the end of the year.

"That will be an exciting development period for us with the base architecture of the engine, which I feel now is where it needs to be.

"Like we do with the chassis, we have a good architecture there and we can then build on the performance hopefully throughout the season."

The McLaren Formula 1 team has a bigger budget for 2017 despite the continuing lack of a title sponsor, executive director Zak Brown revealed at the launch of the MCL32.

While the new largely orange livery attracted plenty of attention as the car was unveiled on Friday, there was little evidence of commercial changes bar Castrol replacing Exxon Mobil as oil partner.

But Brown, who joined McLaren in December following Ron Dennis's departure, insists the team has all it needs to improve its performance thanks to further investment from controlling shareholders Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company and Mansour Ojjeh.

"Sheikh Mohamed and Mansour Ojjeh have increased our budget in areas, so we have everything we need," said Brown.

"Now we just need it to work and a little bit of time for it to come together."

While Brown was a successful and high-profile F1 sponsor gatherer before joining McLaren, he has remained cautious about attracting a title backer for his new team.

He is targeting 2018 to announce a new commercial partner.

"To get a sponsor takes about a year," Brown said. "No miracles were going to happen in 2017.

"Most companies, any big decisions they are making are taken by October, November, December at the latest.

"We were just getting started in December, so there was no way - or at least it was unlikely - that we were going to get anything significant.

"I've been focusing on restructuring our commercial department and to get some good buzz back in this place, which I think we are accomplishing.

"I think our team launch has been the most anticipated.

"The partners we currently have, I've visited all and they are very happy.

"2018 is when we need to deliver a title partner. I already feel that pressure because it takes a year.

"But I haven't seen any new sponsor announcements on any car, including on those that have won the championship for the past three years.

"I think that's an indication of the headwinds we've been facing in F1.

"With Liberty Media coming in we now have a great story about where the sport is going.

"McLaren is now a good story, and so is F1 - so there are positive times ahead."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier echoed Brown's view of the team's resources.

"To be honest we're fine, it is not only the number of stickers on car, it is amount we get out of each sticker," he said.

"It is also the way you spend money.

"We all know the more money you get the more competitive you are.

"You can also say the more money you spend and the more cleverly you spend it, you can also be more competitive.

"We don't have the budget of Mercedes or Red Bull, but we have a good budget and we have enough resources to do well.

"I use the words lean and agile, this is how our organisation is moving and this is how we get to the front."

Back in the mid-1980s, Irishman Tommy Byrne drove for me in Formula 3 with Anson and had a belief that white cars were quicker than black cars. Needless to say, he was driving a black car and his main rival, Ivan Capelli, was driving a white car. Says it all, doesn't it?

It's all very nice that McLaren has a new orange-and-black livery, but the key question is whether the car will be quicker than last year's less brightly-coloured model. I imagine even Mercedes will be keeping a close eye on it during testing.

Like Ferrari, this is a huge year for the underachieving McLaren-Honda partnership. The management has changed completely, with Ron Dennis booted out along with some that were associated with him. In comes Zak Brown, who is highly-rated in F1 but now has nowhere to hide in his role heading up McLaren.

As for Honda, this is now its third year and it's time to perform. The power unit architecture has been changed completely from 2016, and with the token system governing engine development scrapped there is nothing limiting the progress of all the manufacturers other than ideas. At McLaren, it's time to stand up and be counted, for chassis and engine manufacturer alike.

I've been critical of McLaren in recent years, but this car looks good. Maybe it's just the orange, but it would be good to see a team of McLaren's size fighting at the front again.

If it doesn't happen soon, Fernando Alonso will surely get bored and be off, and while Stoffel Vandoorne has time on his side he will know that, like Max Verstappen, it's important to get in there and show what you are made of to avoid ending up like Daniil Kvyat and in a second-string drive.

NOSE/FRONT WING

So far, other than Mercedes, every team has gone for what might be called the 'thumb tip' nose design. This seems an obvious route to take, but only provided all the extra surfaces you are including don't cause any airflow problems further down the car.

The wing-mounting pillars are about as dramatic as we have seen. They have four elements, all with their leading and trailing edges positioned to maximise the airflow into the centre of the car. This is to pull as much flow as possible in between the front wheels.

If it works, it presents a much higher mass flow to the leading edge of the sidepods. Compared to Mercedes, it shows there is more than one way to skin a cat.

The front wing is again the multi-element device that is now de rigueur. In some areas, it has six slot gaps, which means seven elements. It took quite a few years and a few staff changes for McLaren to join the multi-element front wing club properly.

Back in 2013-14 it was still a three- (or at best a four-) element team when it came to front wings. Although that kind of philosophy can create more downforce it is just too sensitive to airflow separation.

On the nose-to-chassis interface, the exit duct from what is presumably an s-duct can be seen. Again, this is to help to keep the airflow attached underneath the droopy nose and to reduce the lift created on the top of the chassis, as the airflow would normally accelerate over the crowned area.

SIDEPOD LEADING EDGE

This is the area that most of the teams have been exploiting because it is the part of the car that has been opened the most in the 2017 regulations.

What McLaren has done in concept is not dissimilar to Ferrari, it's just a bit different and probably not quite as exaggerated. But that is probably because Ferrari's sidepod undercut is massive compared to McLaren's. If you are trying to do something with the airflow, then you need to give it room to work.

Like most other teams, the sidepod doesn't quite go to the maximum width. This means that the Coke bottle area towards the rear of the car will function that little bit better. It doesn't have to pull the airflow around from a wider sidepod, so there is less risk of airflow separation.

The Coke bottle is compact. McLaren says it has gone away from the 'size zero' aero cooling philosophy, but to me this still looks like a size one. It's probably OK for Barcelona, where temperatures will be cool in testing, but for Bahrain or some other hot-weather races cooling compromises might still have to be made.

REAR WING/DIFFUSER

This is the first car where in plain view we can actually see the dimensions of the diffuser under the new rules, even if McLaren certainly wasn't giving away any true secrets in this area of the car at the launch. It is a bigger device than we have had for quite a few years and is probably the only aerodynamic regulation change that will potentially bring us better racing.

Downforce produced by the underfloor is more robust and can suffer a lot more turbulence before it has a major impact on its overall performance, so in theory the cars should be better in traffic.

The rear wing is what can only be called standard now for F1 2017. As I have said before, this is a bolt on component and changes from circuit to circuit so we will see at Barcelona where everyone ends up.

SUSPENSION

The front suspension is double wishbone and track rod, with pushrod-operated inboard torsion bar.

It looks like McLaren has focused on the suspension geometry as opposed to compromising it solely for aerodynamic reasons. Having bigger and better tyres is a waste of time if you don't create a sensible suspension layout that allows you to get the best from them.

Teams can blame Pirelli as much as they want, but if you don't help yourself then don't expect miracles from the tyres.

Overall, it's difficult to say but the McLaren looks like a step forward from last year.

If Honda has come up with the goods then I wouldn't be surprised to see McLaren fighting for that highly valued and very competitive fourth in the constructors' championship.

About time, some might say.

How McLaren's innovation goes beyond its livery - Gary Anderson

[Lineker]

Toro Rosso became the final Formula 1 team to unveil its 2017 car, as it revealed its STR12 and a new livery in the Barcelona pitlane on Sunday evening.

The car, which had already made its track debut in a disrupted run at Misano last week, features a completely new livery for 2017.

Toro Rosso has used a largely unchanged design since it joined Formula 1 in 2006, but this season will sport a striking blue and red livery - the colours of Red Bull's Simply Cola brand.

GALLERY: Toro Rosso reveals the STR12

Apart from a new look, Toro Rosso will also use a new engine this year, the Faenza-based squad returning to Renault power units after running year-old Ferrari engines in 2016.

The STR12, designed by a technical team led by James Key, incorporates a 'shark fin' that most cars will sport this year.

The car will be driven by Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat, the Spaniard in his third season at Toro Rosso.

Kvyat rejoined the team after losing his Red Bull seat to Max Verstappen from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards last year, and secured a contract extension for 2017 late in the season.

Toro Rosso will join its rivals on-track for the first day of pre-season testing at Barcelona on Monday.

Toro Rosso technical director James Key admitted he was slightly disappointed by the similar between his team's new Formula 1 design and the 2017 Mercedes.

Key's squad became the final team to unveil its 2017 design at Barcelona on Sunday, with the STR12 featuring a Mercedes-style front suspension, sidepod and nose layout.

"On the one hand we were sort of pleased to see someone else has done a similar thing, but on the other we were disappointed that we weren't the only team to think of something," Key said of the similarities to the Mercedes W08.

"There are many different concepts out there actually. The diversity is very obvious."

He underlined that the similarities between Mercedes and Toro Rosso were coincidental.

"I looked at the Mercedes and went 'Ah, they've got our front suspension,'" Key said. "Most people would say we've got Mercedes' front suspension.

"The nose is similar, the front of the sidepods is similar, even the bodywork on the sidepods is similar.

"It's complete coincidence."

STR driver Carlos Sainz Jr said he was encouraged to see similarities between his team's design thinking and that of the team that has dominated the past three seasons.

"When the car looks similar to the car that is winning every race, it gives me confidence and a good feeling," said Sainz.

"I think Toro Rosso can be confident because if there is something they showed in the last three years, it is that they are able to do some good aerodynamics.

"With all these new regulations coming up I have confidence in the team that we can create a good base.

"[We will] probably not win the championship, I am not asking for that, but a weapon that allows us to be in the top 10, that is what I expect and I really hope for.

"And then there will be development. This year I know there is going to be massive development and I really hope we can hold onto it like we were not able to do last year because of the engine compromise."

Key added that Toro Rosso's switch to a narrower nose was because the team felt it was the better solution for the 2017 rules.

"It's very much an aerodynamic decision from our group, who looked at the various options," he said.

"It is a different direction to the one we've had - the last two years have been reasonably similar, for us but also for other teams.

"Looking at the various options, that narrow nose and narrow pylon space at the front we felt matched the philosophy we thought was correct for the car at the time."

Out of the cars in the big battle from fourth onwards, the Toro Rosso looks like a good candidate to be in the thick of the fight.

Of course, that depends partly on what's under the engine cover, because although Renault is delighted with the progress it has made, the question is if it has achieved enough compared to Mercedes and Ferrari.

Toro Rosso is one of the smaller teams, but looking at the team's enthusiasm at its launch on the eve of 2017 testing, everyone there is confident they are going somewhere. A look at the car and knowing Toro Rosso has a good technical director in James Key justifies that confidence.

NOSE

It's nice to see something slightly different, and the Toro Rosso nose is much more like the Mercedes approach than the rest.

The Mercedes nose has a thinner section horizontally, but the effect overall is similar in that the airflow is not confused as much as it could be with the more complex designs chosen by other teams. With this simpler approach there is a better chance it will do what you want, and do it consistently.

Those with the thumb print design and two wing pillars that are adapted to channel the airflow are fairly complicated, but the more complicated it is the more complicated it needs to be to work correctly.

FRONT WING

The front wing design follows what Red Bull has been doing for a while. The outboard end has seven elements with six slot gaps and is basically trying to maximise the amount of downforce you can get while still turning the airflow to allow a good, decent, tidy airflow between the two front wheels.

FRONT SUSPENSION

Toro Rosso has raised the front suspension, and also raised the outboard end of the top wishbone, which is mounted outside of the wheel, similar to what we've seen from Mercedes.

So rather than just angling the wishbones to meet up with the chassis, Toro Rosso has been able to raise the outboard end, which in turn will give more efficient suspension geometry and make better use of the tyre contact patch.

The detrimental side is that the loads in the wishbones are increased, so the parts have to be stronger and therefore heavier in order to get the required stiffness. But you can still get good front suspension geometry and have the wishbones picking up the wake off the front wing to realign it for better delivery to the sidepods.

It doesn't hurt the front wing's workings, and it will make the downforce at the rear of the car better. With so many compromises often made for aero, it is good to see teams thinking more about the suspension geometry in this case.

In terms of the similarities to the Mercedes, although the nose and suspension detail is very similar to the W08, it doesn't go much further back than that.

The detail on the Mercedes is absolutely mind-blowing. So don't expect Toro Rosso to join the top three and challenge Mercedes for the title, even if we can keep wishing.

SIDEPODS

The sidepods have a pronounced undercut and quite a big bargeboard. There's nothing quite as exciting as we've seen from Ferrari here, but all of the fundamentals are there.

The bargeboard itself, if working correctly, accommodates a huge amount of airflow change to turn it around the sidepod. That can make a huge difference to overall downforce.

The outboard vertical turning vane is a two-element component. It's there to tidy up the wake behind the front tyre, and is separate from the horizontal turning vane on the top of the sidepod.

The vertical ones are there to tidy up the airflow and send it down through the Coke bottle area. But the other one is there to counteract the lift created at the leading edge of the top surface of the sidepod.

Toro Rosso has the maximum open airflow to get the sidepods and the bargeboards working well by keeping things relatively simple at the front of the car. If something isn't working as well on the circuit as the windtunnel tells the team, there's a chance Toro Rosso could work out why and find a solution quite quickly.

If the Ferrari has a problem, I'm not convinced it would be so easy with so many complicated parts.

The leading edge of the sidepod has got quite a large undercut. You can more or less see the lines of the radiators as the sidepod drops off into the Coke bottle area.

The rear of the car has this big low pressure area behind it being pulled along. What you want to do is get that low pressure area to pull on the rest of the car to speed up the airflow so the Coke bottle and the undercut connects up to the front wing.

HEADREST AREA

The headrest is designed to calm the turbulence coming off the driver's helmet. Looking at the airbox intake, it's divided into three - the central part to feed the engine and the other two for cooling.

This area is not as critical as it was in the days of normally-aspirated engines, as the turbo takes what air it needs.

The undercut is to separate the driver's helmet from the airflow that spills onto the engine cover surface.

ENGINE COVER

The engine cover is the minimum cross section needed to contain all the components underneath it and it then merges into the engine cover fin.

At least there's a place for the tail of the Red Bull in the livery, so that's about the only good thing I can say about that! Maybe the trailing edge should have matched the shape of the bull?

The sooner these bits get cut off with a jigsaw, the better. But that's unlikely to happen because of a lack of people taking decisions.

REAR SUSPENSION

This is a pullrod design. The dampers are mounted right at the front of the gearbox, or even on the back of the engine. The reason they are mounted there is because of the stiffness, so the pullrod leans forward to reach that.

The actuation of the inboard rocker system will be at the same angle and on the same plane as the pullrod. So you get the stiffness free of charge with nothing detrimental.

REAR WING

The rear wing assembly is like most others seen so far in 2017. It's supported in the middle with a carbonfibre beam off the top of the gearbox around the exhaust.

The exhaust has a single exit and the two wastegate exhausts, while STR retains the saddle wing that wraps around the exhaust.

This doesn't create much downforce, but it helps to connect the airflow regimes of the diffuser and rear wing to make them work as one.

At some circuits it works well, at others it's a bit draggy.

Unfortunately, the diffuser was blanked off, but we'll see that once the car is on track.

 

How similar is the Toro Rosso to Mercedes? - Gary Anderson

[Lineker]

Quote

The Haas team revealed its second Formula 1 design to the world on Sunday afternoon when it issued pictures of the Ferrari-powered VF-17.

Images of the car had already leaked out on social media after the team conducted a filming day at Barcelona on Saturday.

The new Haas featured an adjusted livery with a greater degree of grey, as well as the 'shark fin' on the engine cover that most 2017 F1 designs so far have featured.

GALLERY: Haas reveals images of its VF-17

"The pedal box is the same, but all the rest is very different from last year's car," said Haas team principal Gunther Steiner.

"You always try to make a faster car, which is normally a lighter car.

"Now we can put on more ballast and get better weight distribution. The aero is completely new, as are the tires, so we needed to have some built-in adjustability.

"Aesthetically, the car has a more aggressive look. It's lighter and more aerodynamically efficient.

"Everything we learned from our first car has been applied to our new car."

Haas made a spectacular start to life in F1 when Romain Grosjean took top-six finishes in the team's first two grands prix.

It could not maintain that momentum, but its later slump was partly because Haas decided to switch resources towards preparing for the 2017 rules particularly early and carried out little in-season development with the '16 car.

Grosjean stays on for 2017, with Kevin Magnussen moving from Renault to replace Esteban Gutierrez alongside him.

 

Unlike 12 months ago, Haas is now very much up and running and established in Formula 1.

But it's harder to design and develop a new car when you are racing one at the same time, so as a resident grand prix team that's a very different challenge - especially given Haas remains a relatively small F1 outfit.

So that's a big test for Haas. It started last year very well, scoring some solid points on merit. But as the season went on, it dropped away and points were harder to come by. It's difficult to recover from a diminishing performance profile and believe in yourself enough to build the new car the right way.

And Haas is in a very tight part of the grid. Realistically, there is a big three and then everyone else, so how good a job you do there can make a very big difference.

Bringing in Kevin Magnussen, who is less excitable than Romain Grosjean, could help the team to keep its feet on the ground. He's very like his dad in the calm way he goes about things.

Looking at the car, the first thing that jumps out is the area between the front wheels and the sidepods. Only Ferrari has taken a similar approach, and while I know there is a relationship between the two it doesn't include aerodynamic design.

NOSE/FRONT WING

After having a front wing that seemed to be inspired by the 2015 Ferrari's last year, Haas has gone to the popular thumb print style for this year.

If you compare it to the Red Bull version, you can see how much more bulbous the centre section is. That will make a big difference in how the airflow reacts between the two wing mounting pillars.

Otherwise, it is a normal multi-element front wing. There are six main elements, so five slot gaps and most of the detail work is based on the DNA of the 2016 wing. While the regulations mean the front wing is now delta-shaped, the same functioning principles apply.

FRONT SUSPENSION

This is double wishbone, pushrod-operated. The concept of the geometry is similar to last year's car, but I would have expected a bit more than that from teams as they try to get a better and more consistent contact patch from the wider tyres.

If you could do that without compromising the aerodynamics too much, that would be a big asset.

BARGEBOARD AREA

This is where things start looking a lot like the Ferrari concept, which is a surprise because no other cars have taken this approach. Even though most cars have the same componentry, Haas and Ferrari have done things in a very different way with heavily undercut sidepods and delta-shaped turning vanes mounted on the side of the chassis.

Haas does have a technical relationship with Ferrari, but this seems to go beyond that. As it's an area that the 2017 regulations have opened up, there is a lot of scope to find ways to improve the airflow to the underfoor and it's up to every team to exploit it to the maximum. But this is a bit close to the Ferrari concept to be an accident (I'm sure others will be questioning how the detail in this area was defined).

SIDEPODS

As the sidepods sweep back into the Coke bottle area, you can see the cutouts on the extremeties of the floor just in front of the rear tyres.

These are there to reduce the leakage of the airflow going underneath the car in front of the tyre. The diffuser creates a low pressure area under the car and wants to pull air in from the top surface of the floor.

These cutouts reduce that from happening by acting like a skirt system and sealing the air in front of the tyre. So you get a lower pressure over a larger area of floor this way, hence more downforce.

ENGINE COVER

The engine cover is a simple profile, as tight as possible to the componentry underneath. And, like most, it has joined the shark fin brigade.

You can see the trailing edge of the shark fin is undercut as it goes down onto the engine cover profile. In mid-corner, this acts like a vane helping the airflow's angle of attack to the rear wing to be more uniform. 

Normally, the airflow would accelerate over the engine cover's trailing edge and create turbulence. This fin stops that and the undercut is the compromise you make to ensure that the rear wing can still do its work.

REAR WING

The rear wing endplates follow the same trend as most teams. The louvres and cutouts are all about trying to get the low pressure area behind the rear tyre to help the rear wing and diffuser performance. 

This is more important in 2017 than before because of the wider tyres and it's also more important as it helps to reduce drag. With the narrower tyres last year, they were responsible for about 35% of the total drag, but with the wider tyres it will be in excess of 40% so anything you can do to reduce that is an advantage.

DIFFUSER

These are bigger and better in 2017, with a small wing section around the trailing edge on the Haas to help with its efficiency.

Interestingly, in the overhead views you can see what appear to be two holes through the diffuser.

This may be nothing, an access hatch or something that hasn't been fitted yet. But could it be the start of an interesting rules interpretation and some kind of new double diffuser?

New Haas shows Ferrari's influence - Gary Anderson

[Lineker]

Quote

Red Bull Racing's eagerly-awaited RB13 2017 Formula 1 car became the latest new design to be revealed on Sunday afternoon.

With the new rules for this season putting an extra emphasis on aerodynamics - where RBR's Adrian Newey-led design team excelled during its dominant years - Red Bull has been widely tipped for a return to championship contention in 2017.

The team won two races with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo last year, and is expecting further progress from engine supplier Renault too.

Unlike the other large teams, Red Bull eschewed a formal launch event and simply released a video presenting the RB13 online.

Ricciardo believes the regulations overhaul has already achieved one aim by making F1 cars look more imposing.

"It looks quite beautiful," he said of the new Red Bull after seeing early images of it. "It definitely looks sleek.

"They look like the fastest cars in the world. That was the impression I got."

Verstappen echoed his team-mate's view.

"The car looks very aggressive," he said.

"Hopefully when it looks that aggressive it will be fast, but we still have to wait and see."

What is the nose duct on Red Bull's 2017 F1 car for? - Gary Anderson

The duct in the nose of the Red Bull's 2017 Formula 1 car, the RB13, is the most obvious area of difference between this car and the rest.

This part of the car is governed by the crash structure regulations, Article 15.4.3, which dictates a single external vertical cross-section of at least 9000 square millimetres, 50mm behind the tip of the nose.

Article 3.7.5 of Formula 1's technical regulations allows a single-inlet aperture in the nose, provided it is for the purpose of "driver cooling".

But this has to have a maximum projected surface area of 1500 square millimetres and must be one-sixth of the size of the cross section mentioned above.

Based on what Red Bull has released of the car, in my opinion this opening looks far bigger than that.

At some point, through its ductwork, it might converge down to comply with the 1500 square millimetres regulations, but there is no way to see that from what we have seen so far.

There can be some debate as to what you count as a duct for driver cooling. Usually, the argument is about this being its "primary purpose".

On the way to cooling the driver, it may just pass over some other hot surfaces to help control their temperature.

Looking at the Red Bull, the sidepods are compact and drop away very quickly once you get past the driver, so there might be a need for that extra cooling.

This duct is a good idea, because if you look at the other 2017 cars there is a solid surface at the end of the nose and for the airflow to get around this it has to decide on its stagnation point, in other words where it separated.

With this duct you will probably get more uniform airflow around the sides of the nose structure.

There are some other ducts where the nose meets the chassis, and while it's impossible to know for sure there's every chance they are to feed the cooling of ERS components that will be located low down in the sidepods and close to the centre of the car.

Let's see what turns up on the car when we see it in the real world on Monday.

Gary Anderson's full technical analysis of the Red Bull will appear on Monday, once the RB13 has appeared at the Barcelona test.

[Lineker]

Gary Anderson's full technical analysis of the Red Bull will appear on Monday, once the RB13 has appeared at the Barcelona test.

The one thing you can be sure of with Red Bull is that it never shows its wares until late in pre-season testing, if at all. It always has confidence in the package, but the key is to get the car running reliably, which so far it hasn't been on the first day.

Red Bull has focused on reducing its manufacturing times over the years, so that allows it to print the design drawing at the last possible moment and make it ready to go on the car. That means it's the most up-to-date part possible that is used, whereas some other teams can't do that and the moment the design is printed and ready for the car, it's history.

The Red Bull doesn't have the same wow factor that you get from looking at the Ferrari sidepods/bargeboard area or the depth of the Mercedes design detail.

What we are seeing in Spain is unlikely to be what we see in Australia, but all that we can do is look at the car as it is.

NOSE

The nose of the Red Bull has attracted plenty of attention. It's the thumb print style, but where it differs from the others is the big duct in the front of it.

It does seem that this duct complies with the regulations as it is for driver cooling, as the regulations say it must be. It will reduce to the maximum area allowable, which is 1500 square millimetres further back in the car. While the regulations don't say it has to do that at a point 50mm back from the nose tip, if I was Charlie Whiting I think I'd question it. But if somewhere in the duct it's no bigger than what is allowed, then it will comply.

As it's a driver cooling duct, it connects to the cockpit. The cockpit, because of its size, is a big area of low pressure trying to suck air in from all sorts of places. And actually, that's why you hear drivers talk about their bums getting warm because there's all sorts of holes for wires and pipes to come through into the cockpit and that low-pressure area pulls that hot air into it.

There is also an aerodynamic advantage, because as soon as the air hits the front of the nose, it won't have to find its way around it and it can go straight through the duct.

So, you will get more consistent airflow there and between the wing pillars and the crash structure. It's not a big deal, but it's valid because it should allow the rest of the car to be more consistent thanks to the effect on the airflow.

FRONT WING

The front wing is, as far as functionality goes, the same as in 2016 but with a delta shape. What it does is more or less the same: produce as much downforce as possible with a trailing edge wake that is sympathetic to what the rest of the car requires.

Red Bull hasn't made many changes from last year, but there will surely be more detail here in the future.

S-DUCT

There is an s-duct on the top of the nose, but the regulations state this cannot connect to the nose duct because that has to be for driver cooling.

It's doing the conventional s-duct job, pulling air in from under the nose and exiting it out to reduce the lift on the curvature over the top of the intersection between the nose and the chassis.

There are also two limpet-style ducts on the lower corner of the nose-to-chassis interface. These ducts will be for cooling some of the electronics or other components that require a bit of airflow.

FRONT SUSPENSION

This is a very simple and standard design, with a double wishbone and inboard spring and damper units, that is pushrod operated. It doesn't look like Red Bull has paid much attention to suspension geometry, but it has always been aerodynamically-driven. With the wider Pirelli tyres, perhaps it's time for the compromise to change its emphasis.

The larger contact patch means you must try and keep the tyre on the ground better by ensuring it's relatively stable across all the load variations.

ENGINE

Renault is pretty happy at the strides made with its engine. But we've yet to see the evidence of that.

If Red Bull is to take the fight to Mercedes then the chassis can't do all the work, it requires a major contribution from Renault.

FLOOR

The other area of the Red Bull that catches the eye, aside from the nose, is what it has done to the floor. There is a triangular cutout next to where the sidepods are at their widest point.

Most teams have a shaped section there trying to create an exit duct for the airflow that has passed over the leading edge of the floor.

Red Bull has taken this further by cutting into the floor and sacrificing surface area to make a more effective exit duct.

Effectively, these two cutouts act as mini diffusers. Then it allows the actual diffuser to work the central part and rear of the underfloor. This is a nice idea.

SIDEPODS

As you'd expect of a Red Bull, the sidepods are compact and drop off and tuck in very early. The Coke bottle area itself is probably as big as on any car.

The sidepods have what might be called P-shaped radiator exits low down at the rear to get the airflow onto the top surface of the diffuser. Then, by tripping over the leading edge of the diffuser, it makes both the diffuser and rear wing work better.

The Coke bottle is there to minimise the impact of having the big rear tyres and create space to direct the airflow inwards. The last thing you want to do is disperse the airflow outwards and create lots of drag, this would effectively make the car wider.

Every team has a Coke bottle, but Red Bull has always been very good at being compact with its packaging in this area. Sometimes, it has done it too well and had cooling problems.

DIFFUSER

The diffuser is nowhere near as sophisticated as the one on the Mercedes. But again, it's a bolt-on part and there will surely be developments in this area.

Overall, there must be an aggressive development package coming for test two or the Australian Grand Prix, because I'm not seeing a Mercedes-challenger in the Red Bull as yet.

 

Why the Red Bull doesn't look like a Mercedes-beater - Gary Anderson

[Gazz]

Toro Rosso has won the best looking car competition for me. It's bootiful.

[Chris2K]

Yeah I love the way the Toro Rosso looks too, it's amazing that they've been around for so long with two teams and only now are we getting a colour scheme that's the same as a Red Bull can.

All the cars look so much better now with the lower rear wings and wider tyres, I can even live with the shark fins. My only aesthetic complaint is how ridiculously complicated the front wings are.

[JasonM]

48 minutes ago, Chris2K said:

Yeah I love the way the Toro Rosso looks too, it's amazing that they've been around for so long with two teams and only now are we getting a colour scheme that's the same as a Red Bull can.

All the cars look so much better now with the lower rear wings and wider tyres, I can even live with the shark fins. My only aesthetic complaint is how ridiculously complicated the front wings are.

Not the weird winglet Ferrari put on top of their shark fin? Or the oversized thunderbolt socket on the Red Bull's nose? Or Force India returning to the 2013 style penis nose?

Also, I like that the wings are swept back now, makes them look cooler. Although I can see puncture rates skyrocket whenever there's contact now.

Edited February 28, 2017 by Jasonmufc

[Lineker]

Ferrari led the way on the first morning of 2017 Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona, with Sebastian Vettel outpacing new Mercedes recruit Valtteri Bottas.

Ferrari and Mercedes were the first teams to get down to regular work on the opening day in Spain, with Vettel and Bottas trading places at the top of the order on short medium-tyre runs early on.

Bottas then moved ahead with quick laps at the start of two long runs on soft tyres, but Vettel became the first driver into the 1m22s shortly after midday with a 1m22.791s as Ferrari stuck to mediums for its running.

That time was already close to the best 2016 pre-season lap at the circuit, a 1m22.765s on ultra-softs.

Vettel returned to the track in the final half-hour before lunch for another medium-tyre run, twice missing out on his best time by just one tenth of a second.

Bottas completed 79 laps in the morning compared to Vettel's 62, and will now hand the W08 over to team-mate Lewis Hamilton for the afternoon.

Sergio Perez established Force India as best of the rest in third place with a soft-tyre run just before Vettel set his quickest lap.

While Mercedes and Ferrari got down to serious work immediately, Red Bull managed just four laps before Daniel Ricciardo stopped between Turns 3 and 4 towards the end of the first hour with a "sensor issue", causing the only red flag of the day so far.

Things were even worse at McLaren, where Fernando Alonso completed just one installation lap before the MCL32 was consigned to the garage with a Honda oil systems problem.

With the troublesome area of the power unit being difficult to access, McLaren predicted the issue would take "several hours" to resolve.

Haas was another team to hit trouble when Kevin Magnussen came to a halt in the pit entry, but fortunately he was far enough out of the way that it avoided the need for a red flag as the team's mechanics retrieved the VF-17.

Fixing the problem took Haas just over an hour, with Magnussen returning to the action to post the seventh-fastest time, leaving him between the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg and Marcus Ericsson's Sauber.

Magnussen then suffered more dramas when he spun into the barriers at Turn 10 just before lunch, damaging the front wing.

However, once again the American team managed to avoid causing a red flag, with Magnussen driving the damaged car back to the pits.

The new Toro Rosso, which caught the eye with some features similar to that of Mercedes at its launch on Sunday, didn't post a time in the hands of Carlos Sainz Jr until after 11am, eventually moving into fifth place behind Felipe Massa's Williams.

MORNING TEST TIMES:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1m22.791ss	1m22.791s	62
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m23.169ss	0.378s	79
3	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	1m23.709ss	0.918s	39
4	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	1m25.552ss	2.761s	39
5	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m25.632ss	2.841s	18
6	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1m26.319ss	3.528s	22
7	Kevin Magnussen	Haas/Ferrari	1m26.404ss	3.613s	15
8	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1m26.865ss	4.074s	32
9	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1m28.712ss	5.921s	4
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	-	-	1

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top on the opening day of Formula 1 testing at Barcelona, edging out Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel by a tenth during Monday's afternoon session.

Taking over from new F1 team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who was second fastest to Vettel in the morning, Hamilton set a best time of 1m21.765s using soft tyres with just under two hours to go in the day's running.

The Briton started the afternoon using a shark fin engine cover, its first appearance on the W08, but his best time was set once the team had reverted to its launch-specification design.

Shortly after Hamilton set his best time, Vettel put in a lap just 0.113 seconds slower on medium tyres, which was good enough for the German to end the day second-fastest.

As well as topping the times, Mercedes also completed the most laps on Monday, with Hamilton adding 73 to Bottas's tally of 79 to give the Brackley squad a total of 152.

Ferrari and Williams also broke the 100-lap mark, with 128 and 103 respectively.

Felipe Massa was third fastest, setting a 1m22.076s in the Williams on soft tyres, getting within 0.311s of Hamilton's best effort on the same compound.

A late run on softs in the final half hour allowed Haas recruit Kevin Magnussen to move up to fourth, 1.129s off the pace, while a last-ditch effort on softs by Daniel Ricciardo put him fifth, a further 0.032s adrift.

After a troubled morning, when a broken sensor and a battery issue on the RB13 restricted Ricciardo to just four laps, the Australian was able to boost his tally to 50 laps by the end of the day.

Sergio Perez was seventh for Force India, despite losing much of the afternoon to a broken exhaust, followed by Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) and Nico Hulkenberg (Renault).

Fernando Alonso, who managed to complete a total of 29 laps after McLaren's oil leak in the morning, was 10th fastest with a best time of 1m24.852s, three seconds slower than Hamilton.

The two-time champion also suffered an engine shutdown before finally setting a timed lap with an hour-and-20 minutes of the day's running remaining.

Sauber's Marcus Ericsson brought up the rear, just over five seconds off the pace.

MONDAY TEST TIMES:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m21.765s	-	73
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1m21.878s	0.113s	128
3	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	1m22.076s	0.311s	103
4	Kevin Magnussen	Haas/Ferrari	1m22.894s	1.129s	51
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1m22.926s	1.161s	50
6	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m23.169s	1.404s	79
7	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	1m23.709s	1.944s	39
8	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m24.494s	2.729s	51
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1m24.784s	3.019s	57
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	1m24.852s	3.087s	29
11	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1m26.841s	5.076s	72

Fears that Formula 1's 2017 aerodynamic package will make overtaking harder were borne out on day one of winter testing as drivers found it tougher to follow other cars.

High overall downforce levels have always made it harder for a following car to keep up in fast corners, because it loses front grip in the wake.

Overtaking was not part of the brief from the FIA when the new rules were formulated, with the focus on making cars faster and more challenging to drive.

Both pacesetter Lewis Hamilton and veteran Felipe Massa felt the 2017 aerodynamics made the problem worse.

"I was behind a couple of cars out there and it was harder to follow, as we expected," said Hamilton.

"And then also right now the tyres are so hard that they don't drop off, they just keep going and going and going and going.

"So most likely we're going to be doing a lot more one-stoppers and, since there's not degradation - less mistakes, less overtaking.

"That's my prediction, I might be wrong, we'll find out."

Massa said he enjoyed driving the new Williams FW40, but was also cautious about the quality of racing.

"Definitely from the driving point of view, it's much nicer for the driver," said the Brazilian.

"For the show, I don't know.

"I'm sure it will be more difficult to overtake.

"Today driving behind cars you lose a lot more downforce. The car is also much bigger.

"We'll see, but I think it will be more difficult to overtake."

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo suggested the performance of the 2017 car had not yet wowed him in the way the rules revamp had intended.

Asked if the increased speeds from the wider tyres and improved aerodynamics had surprised him, Ricciardo paused and then replied: "Not yet. I think there is still a lot more to come from the cars, sure, and it is cold.

"The track feels like it is cold and the tyres are still not in their optimum temperature, but already you see the times - Lewis was already quicker than the qualifying here last year, so sure it will be faster.

"It is cool, but I think we will get a lot quicker from where we are now."

He admitted teams were "just kind of scratching the surface" with performance on day one.

"You feel the difference in the high speed corners but I think we can still get a lot more out of the car," Ricciardo added.

"The balance is still not where I think it can be, and the track is still really cold, so I feel the tyres are not at their peak and the car certainly isn't yet.

"Today is a little bit of a tease - we feel a bit of it but there is a lot more to come."

[Chris2K]

This year really isn't looking promising for McLaren. Again.

[Lineker]

• Russian Grand Prix organisers have signed a new deal that will keep the Formula 1 race at Sochi until 2025.
• Sauber has signed GP3 racer Tatiana Calderon as a development driver for the 2017 season.

8 hours ago, Chris2K said:

This year really isn't looking promising for McLaren. Again.

Early days yet but it looks like their achilles heel is going to be engine reliabiloty, once again.

[Lineker]

Lewis Hamilton set the pace on the second morning of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona as Mercedes tried the super-soft tyre for the first time.

The three-time world champion led the way for much of the morning running with a 1m21.766s - 0.001 seconds slower than the time that left him fastest overall on Monday - but he then dipped under the 1m21s mark for the first time with a super-soft run 20 minutes before lunch.

While his 1m20.9s represented an improvement of 0.8s, his final sector was 0.3s down on the best time he managed on the soft tyre, so a much bigger improvement was possible.

That left Hamilton 1.8s clear of Ferrari, which stuck to its plan of running the medium-compound as Kimi Raikkonen took over from Sebastian Vettel for day two despite the Finn being unwell with a type of flu.

After a late start Force India made up for lost time with some soft-tyre runs for Esteban Ocon, leaving the Frenchman third in the order.

However, the team then caused the second red flag of the day just before the lunchbreak, with Ocon coming to a stop at the end of backstraight, past Turn 10.

The other stoppage was very brief, when Williams rookie Lance Stroll spun at Turn 9. As the Canadian had the circuit to himself and was able to rejoin after bouncing through the gravel at high-speed, the track was quickly declared clear again.

However, Stroll's high-speed off appeared to damage the FW40, and after completing 12 laps early in the day he did not return to the track before lunch.

Also in trouble were McLaren, Sauber and Renault.

After a problematic first day, McLaren's Tuesday kicked off with Stoffel Vandoorne stopping the MCL32 in the pit entrance at the end of his second lap.

Following a short spell in the garage after mechanics pushed the car back, Vandoorne was able to log 29 laps.

Then more bad news followed later in the morning, when Honda confirmed it was carrying out its second engine change of the week after losing power - with the cause of the problem unknown.

Both Sauber and Renault failed to set a representative time.

Sauber said its delay was engine-related after stand-in Antonio Giovinazzi completed two installation laps early on, while Renault claimed it was continuing overnight work fitting new parts that had arrived for the RS17.

Renault's plan to get out before the lunchbreak appeared to be scuppered by the Ocon stoppage, but with the session being extended beyond 1pm to allow for an extra five minutes of running, Jolyon Palmer headed out when the track reopened.

He was joined by Giovinazzi, who stayed out to post his first time of the day, 12.7s down on Hamilton's best.

Mercedes used the extra time to send Hamilton out on the ultra-soft tyre, but he returned to the pits before setting a time.

One man who did improve in the additional five minutes was Kevin Magnussen, who thrust Haas up to fourth ahead of Max Verstappen's Red Bull - both teams using soft for their best laps.

Red Bull, which also had reliability dramas on day one, completed the same number of laps as McLaren with 29.

TUESDAY MORNING TIMES:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m20.983ss	1m20.983s	56
2	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1m22.831ss	1.848s	47
3	Esteban Ocon	Force India/Mercedes	1m23.180ss	2.197s	27
4	Kevin Magnussen	Haas/Ferrari	1m23.200ss	2.217s	36
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull/Renault	1m23.212ss	2.229s	31
6	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m25.012ss	4.029s	44
7	Lance Stroll	Williams/Mercedes	1m26.040ss	5.057s	12
8	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren/Honda	1m26.201ss	5.218s	29
9	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber/Ferrari	1m33.741ss	12.758s	5
10	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	-	-	1

Kimi Raikkonen led the second day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at Barcelona, putting Ferrari just 0.023 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.

Using soft compound tyres, Raikkonen set a best time of 1m20.960s just over an hour into Tuesday afternoon's running - narrowly bettering Hamilton's session-topping morning effort of 1m20.983s, which was set using super-softs.

Hamilton's effort was still good enough to finish the day second overall, with Valtteri Bottas taking over driving duties for Mercedes for the afternoon.

The Finnish driver's prime focus was on completing a race simulation, his best lap of 1m22.986s only ending up seventh on the leaderboard.

Despite a lurid sideways moment at Turn 9, Bottas managed to rack up 102 laps in the W08, running with the double T-wing trialled this morning by Hamilton for much of the afternoon.

That left Mercedes with a combined total of 168 laps for the day.

Max Verstappen gave Red Bull the third best time of the day, a 1m22.600s, on soft tyres, four thousandths ahead of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, running on super-softs.

On his second full day of running, Magnussen completed a total of 119 laps, with Raikkonen the only other man to break into three figures with 108 laps on the board.

Esteban Ocon was fifth for Force India on super-softs, ahead of Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso on softs, Bottas and the Renault of Jolyon Palmer, which completed 53 laps after managing just an installation lap in the morning.

Antonio Giovinazzi, who was ninth fastest, also managed to log 67 laps in the Sauber after an engine problem robbed him of much of the morning session.

Besides Lance Stroll, who sat out the afternoon after his spin during the morning session caused damage Williams needed extra parts to repair, the slowest man of the day was McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne.

The Belgian made his first on-track appearance of the afternoon with just over two hours to go, after McLaren spent the best part of five hours replacing the MCL32's power unit, but only managed a further 11 laps on top of the 29 he did in the morning.

Vandoorne's best time was a 1m25.600s, set on soft tyres, which left him 4.640s off the pace.

DAY 2 RESULTS:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1m20.960s	-	108
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m20.983s	0.023s	66
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull/Renault	1m22.200s	1.240s	89
4	Kevin Magnussen	Haas/Ferrari	1m22.204s	1.244s	118
5	Esteban Ocon	Force India/Mercedes	1m22.509s	1.549s	86
6	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m22.956s	1.996s	68
7	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m22.986s	2.026s	102
8	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1m24.139s	3.179s	53
9	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber/Ferrari	1m24.617s	3.657s	67
10	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren/Honda	1m25.600s	4.640s	40
11	Lance Stroll	Williams/Mercedes	1m26.040s	5.080s	12

[Lineker]

Mercedes fitted a double T-wing to its new Formula 1 car at Barcelona on Tuesday, as it further exploited an opening in the 2017 regulations.

The issue of bodywork behind the engine cover has been a major talking point since the revamped 2017 F1 cars first appeared, with teams experimenting with both shark fins and the high T-wings.

While Mercedes, Williams, Haas and Ferrari have so far run the T-wings, which help condition airflow over the rear of the car, the concept was taken to the next level on Tuesday.

From the start of the second day of testing, Hamilton's W08 was fitted with a double-decked T-wing in front of the rear wing.

The potential for a dramatic escalation of bodywork in this area, and the fact they appear to be flexing so much at high speed, could prompt the FIA to consider outlawing the devices if it feels there are potential safety implications.

There has already been debate about the shark fins, which teams have fitted this year because the rules did not outlaw them as in recent years.

"The regulations left a little bit of scope open in the middle of the car, and I'm not sure if that was intended," Toro Rosso technical director James Key said.

"But as a result it's not surprising that they've come back. They're very visible, but their impact is not massive.

"They're just ahead of the rear wing - it helps a bit in that area. They do exactly same job as they did in 2008."

When asked if he felt the issue might prompt a regulation change, Key said: "We'll have to see.

"That's more an FIA/Strategy Group kind of discussion potentially, for developing the regs to the next step.

"As long as that possibility is open it's likely that you'll want to put something there."

The FIA has warned Formula 1 teams they could be asked to remove trick suspension systems if they cannot prove aerodynamic performance gain is not the design's primary purpose.

Debate between teams over clever hydraulic suspension devices has been ongoing since Ferrari wrote to the FIA at the end of last year to query their legality.

Although Ferrari's initial clarification request was not aimed at any specific team, it is believed the issue revolves around technology concepts Mercedes and Red Bull have previously used legally and were being taken to the next level.

The most recent talks between teams earlier this month failed to reach a resolution and the FIA has now issued a technical directive clarifying its view on the situation.

In a document sent to the teams and seen by Autosport, the FIA outlined how it intends to assess the legality of suspension systems, with a particular focus on how they affect aero performance.

The FIA picked out five key characteristics or components that it will deem non-compliant:

• Any system that changes how the car responds to body accelerations.
• No direct coupling between the ride height function and the braking system or the steering system.
• Right height control via self-levelling.
• Direct coupling between the role and heave parts of the suspension.
• The storing of energy for delayed deployment or any system that would result in non-incidental asymmetry in the response to changes in load applied to the wheels.

The FIA said it hoped the clarification made it clear what teams would need to do to prove their system was compliant.

The document adds that if a team fails to satisfy the technical delegate that the primary purpose of a suspension system is to insulate the chassis and the driver from undulations in the road surface, if asked to do so, the FIA may ask for the system to be removed or disabled.

Should a team use the system despite being asked to remove or disable it, the matter will be reported to the stewards.

Although the latest clarification appears to rule out the type of system Red Bull was suspected of using, Christian Horner said he believed his team is within the regulations.

"The FIA appear to be happy with the way we have interpreted the rules," said Horner.

"If anybody has a problem with that, they have the right to protest.

"We can only go on the advice we receive from the governing body.

"Certainly all the feedback we've had has been: no issue."

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff said last week he was relaxed about the situation and does not fear the prospect of a potential prospect against his team's suspension system at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

What FIA's trick suspension warning means for Formula 1 teams - Gary Anderson

Engine specialist Mario Illien is no longer working as a consultant to the Renault Formula 1 engine project, Autosport has learned.

Swiss specialist Illien began assisting with Renault's V6 hybrid turbo F1 project in 2015, after Red Bull suggested the Ilmor co-founder could help Renault in its bid to recover its large power deficit to Mercedes.

Renault has made significant steps forward with its engine since, with its news works team's technical chief Bob Bell suggesting it developed to a level "there or thereabouts" with Ferrari during 2016.

The French manufacturer has introduced new engine and ERS designs for 2017, after deciding its previous specification had run out of development potential.

Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul recently suggested the scale of its engine operations could be reduced while it consolidates the recent restructuring process of its works outfit, but engine technical director Remi Taffin said Renault is maintaining its Viry operation, but trying to move away from using subcontractors.

"In Viry we redistributed between employees and subcontractors," Taffin told Autosport.

"We refocused into getting people in, build the teams, get the expertise if needed. In Enstone we did the same thing, plus getting some more [people]."

When asked if Illien was still working for Renault as a consultant, Taffin told Autosport: "No. This was a good collaboration, and now it is finished. Now we move on and look forward."

F1's new regulations for 2017 are expected to increase demand on engine power, thanks to the extra drag created by wider tyres and enhanced aerodynamics on the cars.

But Taffin played down the potential effect of these changes on the engines, because the manufacturers are already adjusting their engine parameters from circuit to circuit depending on particular track characteristics.

"If you look at full throttle it's 10% more than we had last year," he said.

"OK, there is less time to recover [energy] under braking, less [time spent at] partial throttle, [but] it's all taken into account. I would not make a big deal of this.

"You have to rethink, but it's tuning things - it's not like we had to reinvent things for that.

"The purpose we have 95% different parts to last year is because we decided to have that, it's not the regulation that has [demanded that]."

Abiteboul has suggested Renault's new engine and ERS configuration will produce a gain of three tenths of a second per lap before the start of the season, and improve by a similar amount again through in-season development.

Taffin confirmed Renault's target is to develop the new engine to achieve parity with Mercedes for the start of 2018.

"We will try to close that gap," he said. "I think we have a good platform, then it's more when and by how much we will unlock the potential through the season.

"It's fair to say the objective is to be at their level by the time we start 2018."

[Gazz]

It's a good job Lance Stroll's dad is rich...

[Twist]

21 hours ago, Chris2K said:

This year really isn't looking promising for McLaren. Again.

A friend of mine works on the cars, he told me months ago this years car is a hunk of junk and to expect nothing from it.

[Katsuya]

Jesus. Three crashes in two days doesn't look good at all on Stroll.

[Rich]

Stroll has previous...

 

[Lineker]

Valtteri Bottas set the pace on the morning of the third day of 2017 Formula 1 testing, as Mercedes made use of the ultra-soft tyre.

With retired world champion Nico Rosberg watching from the Mercedes garage, his replacement set the pace, initially on the soft tyre before moving to the super-soft and the ultra-soft.

Bottas's improvements were minimal on each compound, with his gain from soft to super-soft just 0.3 seconds, and the ultra-softs only giving him another 0.1s to produce a 1m19.705s.

Initially that left him well clear of the medium-shod Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel in second, but that became fourth as Daniel Ricciardo and Jolyon Palmer improved later on with runs on softs.

Palmer caused the only red flag of the pre-lunch running early on when he spun into the gravel at Turn 3 less than half an hour into the day.

Fifth place at lunchtime was held by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson, who completed a series of runs on the super-softs as the temperatures came up at the Barcelona circuit.

Williams rookie Lance Stroll was next up on softs, logging 55 laps after being swapped in for Felipe Massa to make up for the running he lost on Tuesday following his off that damaged the only available front wing.

However, the 18-year-old found himself in the gravel again after the chequered flag came out, with recovery vehicles required to retrieve the FW40.

Behind Force India reserve driver Alfonso Celis was the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, which managed 28 laps before the break.

The team said its focus was on data-gathering rather than setting timed laps, with Alonso rarely staying out long enough on each run to set a representative time before completing a handful of attempts on the soft tyres.

The bottom of the order was completed by Toro Rosso and Haas, both of which had long spells in the garage through the morning.

WEDNESDAY MORNING TIMES:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m19.705ss	1m19.705s	75
2	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1m21.153ss	1.448s	48
3	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1m21.396ss	1.691s	51
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1m21.609ss	1.904s	69
5	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1m21.824ss	2.119s	54
6	Lance Stroll	Williams/Mercedes	1m22.351ss	2.646s	56
7	Alfonso Celis	Force India/Mercedes	1m23.781ss	4.076s	39
8	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	1m23.832ss	4.127s	28
9	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m23.952ss	4.247s	31
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas/Ferrari	1m25.133ss	5.428s	27

 

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas topped the third day of Formula 1 testing at Barcelona, but Sebastian Vettel's pace in the Ferrari on slower tyres overshadowed the Finn.

Bottas posted a best lap of 1m19.705s in the morning session using ultra-soft rubber and Vettel lapped just 0.247s slower using the soft-compound Pirellis during the afternoon.

Vettel spent much of the day running on medium-compound Pirellis, setting his best time an hour-and-a-half after the lunch break.

His day did come to a slightly premature end when he stopped close to the start/finish line with nine minutes remaining, bringing out the red flag.

Lewis Hamilton performed a full race simulation after taking over from Bottas at Mercedes for the afternoon, sticking to medium and soft tyres and setting a best time of 1m22.175s on the latter compound.

His run was interrupted by two red flags however, the first for an off for Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso at Turn 4, and the second coming minutes later when Lance Stroll crashed his Williams.

After his day-ending spin on Tuesday and another off just shy of the lunch break earlier on Wednesday, the 18-year-old Canadian caused a third stoppage of the week when he went off and hit the barriers exiting Turn 5, damaging the front end of the Williams FW40.

The crash caused Williams to end its programme early for the second day in a row.

Despite his own late stoppage Vettel completed a day-high 139 laps, with Sauber man Marcus Ericsson the next most industrious driver with 126 to his name.

Hamilton completed 95 laps, giving Mercedes a combined total of 170 for the day.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and Jolyon Palmer (Renault) stayed third and fourth respectively with their morning times, with Nico Hulkenberg making it two Renault drivers in the top five with half an hour to go after setting a 1m21.791s on softs when he took over the R.S.17.

Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) and Romain Grosjean (Haas) made use of the supersofts to go sixth and seventh fastest, followed by Hamilton, Stroll and Fernando Alonso's McLaren.

After his troubled first day in the Honda-powered MCL32 on Monday, the Spaniard enjoyed a smoother day of running on Wednesday as he completed 72 laps.

His best lap, a 1m22.598s, came during the middle of the afternoon on ultra-softs and left him 2.893s shy of Bottas's morning effort on the same tyre.

Sainz, Force India development driver Alfonso Celis and Daniil Kvyat, who sat out the afternoon after completing Toro Rosso's morning running, completed the leaderboard.

DAY 3 RESULTS:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m19.705s	-	75
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1m19.952s	0.247s	139
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1m21.153s	1.448s	70
4	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1m21.396s	1.691s	51
5	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1m21.791s	2.086s	42
6	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1m21.824s	2.119s	126
7	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m22.090s	2.385s	95
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas/Ferrari	1m22.118s	2.413s	56
9	Lance Stroll	Williams/Mercedes	1m22.351s	2.646s	98
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	1m22.598s	2.893s	72
11	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m23.540s	3.835s	32
12	Alfonso Celis	Force India/Mercedes	1m23.568s	3.863s	71
13	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m23.952s	4.247s	31

 

Canadian Grand Prix organisers have signed a new deal that will keep the Formula 1 grand prix in Montreal until 2029.