Mercedes Are Revolutionising Formula 1 Pre-Season Testing with Jerez Display
Need an indication of just how impressive Mercedes' start to pre-season testing has been?
Take a look at the comments emerging from Red Bull Racing and Williams, who finished second and third, respectively, behind the Silver Arrows in the 2014 constructors' championship after the first day at the Jerez circuit on Sunday.
"In general everything is behaving as it should. Obviously we had a couple of issues, but once the car is running it's all going pretty normally. A good first day, there are some positive signs there," said Daniel Ricciardo, whose RB11 completed 35 laps, to Red Bull's official website.
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The thoughts of the Australian, the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race last season, were echoed by the outfit's head of race engineering, Guillaume Rocquelin, who told the same source:
"The day generally went according to plan, starting cautiously, building up the length of the runs and learning all the time.
We had a small issue with the brake controls system around lunchtime but you're always going to have little niggles like that on days like this.
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There was a similar vibe at Williams, who racked up more than twice as many laps as the four-time constructors' championships, with Valtteri Bottas ending the day with 73 under his belt.
The Finnish driver spoke of a "really good" day's work to the team's official website, with chief test and support engineer Rod Nelson declaring himself "very satisfied" after going through "our normal winter test programmes."
Now compare the thoughts of Ricciardo, Rocquelin, Bottas and Nelson to those of Nico Rosberg shortly after the German finished his first day of official running behind the wheel of the Mercedes W06 Hybrid.
When asked whether—even at this early stage—he had begun addressing the weaknesses in his driving style that ultimately led to his defeat by Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' championship in 2014, Rosberg told Sky Sports' Paddock Uncut: "Now it's all about reliability, but, of course, even now you can always sneak in the odd setup change, as we did in the afternoon."
In that single sentence, Rosberg had encapsulated the sheer distance between Mercedes and their two closest rivals, never mind the four other teams—Ferrari, Sauber, Toro Rosso and McLaren—who participated in Day 1 at Jerez.
The very first day of pre-season testing, after all, has traditionally revolved around the process of easing everyone and everything back into a rhythm.
For drivers, it's about exposing those neck muscles to the strains of the corners, rebuilding those reflexes and nailing those apexes, while for mechanics and team members it's about recapturing the diligence and habits of the racing season.
The new cars, though, are most in need for a routine of some sort.
With new components and systems present on the latest designs, the sole aim of the opening day of testing, if not the opening test itself, is to ensure that the cars run smoothly and consistently, rather than particularly quickly.
The desire to top the time sheets, for once, is secondary as the need to put the cars through their paces to identify (and eradicate) any potential problems takes hold.
That is especially true when you consider that the V6 turbo power unit regulations, introduced at the beginning of last year, are still very much in their infancy, and why it is often claimed that lap times—both fast and slow—are meaningless at the beginning of pre-season.
Yet at Mercedes, there is no sense that the team is gradually building into a flow.
In the eight-hour session on Sunday, Rosberg completed the best part of three grand prix distances, ending the day with 157 laps to his name—an unprecedented feat in this or any era.
While the likes of McLaren, with new power unit supplier Honda, were restricted to just six laps—all of which were ran at a significantly reduced pace—the Mercedes W06 just kept pounding around and around, only stopping when Rosberg parked up for his lunch break.
According to Sky Sports' Ted's Notebook, the 157 laps were the equivalent of 695 kilometres, and the team managed to undertake as many as 17 live pit stops, providing the mechanics with a decent workout.
The sheer flawlessness of the W06's debut—following a shakedown at Silverstone last week—no doubt afforded Rosberg and the team the breathing space to begin the process of fine-tuning the car, which will surely be the most menacing aspect of Mercedes' day as far as their rivals are concerned.
Whereas most, if not all, of the other teams will be focused on gaining a basic understanding of their new machines for the remainder of the Jerez, the Silver Arrows' are seemingly already in the process of optimising theirs for qualifying and, of course, racing conditions.
That, should no major or recurring reliability issues arise between now and the start of the season, will leave Rosberg and Hamilton in the perfect position to surpass the achievements of 2014, which saw them claim a combined total of 16 wins and 18 pole positions in 19 grands prix.
As pleased as Red Bull and Williams were with their starts to pre-season testing, their best won't be good enough as long as a Mercedes is on track.
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