F1Zone

The Renault-powered teams won't have problems meeting 107%.

The problem is doing it for 58 consecutive laps. If they can even start.

Here's a brief round-up
http://www.f1zone.net/news/no-more-test ... rne/28691/

So:
- Mercedes is the best, but they've got reliability problems. Or is it because they're so far advanced that they're simply encountering problems that others will find in X months time? Hamilton's best time was set on used softs.
- Red Bull's RB10 is good, balanced and aerodynamically strong, but the car is flawed with the packaging and it's overheating. This is exacerbated by the Renault PU. They're far behind on race simulations, tyre understanding, set-up etc
- Williams is reliable - just one stoppage in 12 days of running - and quick. Massa fired up.
- Ferrari? They seem to be average again. Engine is average, aero is average. Could be a tough year
- McLaren/Force India there or thereabouts but the MP4-29 could not be great on long run pace
- Sauber a bit hit and miss. Sometimes reliable (177 laps yesterday) but sometimes not. Average pace, drivers struggling with brake-by-wire.
- Marussia has made progress. Chilton's time was good and Bianchi will lower that. They have minor technical problems, to be expected
- Caterham a bit of a mystery, but don't expect miracles
- Lotus has problems with the car and PU. If they finish in Australia it'll be a miracle.

I hope Maldonado lasts long enough in Melbourne for Bottas to lap him.

Button said that the Redbull looks so quick in the corners after Ricciardo overtook him from the outside of turn 11 in Bahrain .

Yeah, even though the picture is quite clear for now, I would be very surprised if Red Bull and Renault didn't have the potential to bounce back and be a force to reckon later in the year. Much like in 2009, what will define the season will be whether a single team can maximize an early advantage or not. Smart money would be on Mercedes but several others might have a thing or two to say about that.

Lol if Vettel wins thanks to double points in Brazil!

No one expects a car designed by Adrian Newey to be aerodynamically flawed but seems like the tight packaging and Renault problems are costing Red Bull dearly, Kobayashi said that Renault powered cars are about 20-30 kph slower than other teams in long straights and let's not forget that this year's cars have less overall downforce which is an ominous thing for Red Bull. But despite all these problems I have a feeling that Red Bull will bounce back after the flyaways, like the case with Ferrari in 2012.