The rain was extremely inconvenient. On Friday, five teams wanted to test their new developments. But the weather made a dash through the reasonable comparison rides. Now data studies and gut feeling is.
McLaren had a new wing in the luggage. Williams a front wing, which should solve all problems at once. Ferrari wanted to rebuild the half car. Motor cowling, exhaust, diffuser and rear wing were new. Clean and Force India had come with new rear wings to Silverstone. And then all teams had to change their engines to the new rules of course.
A first look from the window on Friday morning promised nothing good. Grey in grey. Typical weather in Silverstone. At regular intervals, the rain whipped horizontally over the flat land. To do this an unpleasant wind. "It would have blown a few times almost from the street me", Nick Heidfeld is reported. The engineers pulled the hair itself. How will you compare old against new if the track conditions change constantly? The riders were on all types of tyres on the road: rain, intermediate, slick.
It was particularly critical of the pilots who wanted to try out their new wing. "We have sent Lewis with slicks on the wet track, so that he could activate the DRS." "Intermediates and wet tyre that is Yes prohibited," McLaren Chief Martin Whitmarsh told.
McLaren wanted to find out how much more top speed is obtained, if the wing is placed flat. "With the old wing we have on up to 8 km/h in the Red Bull lost." Whitmarsh groaned: "We now have an idea, nothing more." "The wind tunnel speaks of a significant profit."
Fernando Alonso and Felipe also played Massa Guinea pig. Ferrari had prepared a large package, hoping to find more downforce on routes with fast bends. The results were poor. "We have gone so far as it was at a constant speed on the Straightaways, and have performed measurements." Must this evening we will compare the data with each other. "Then we decide which new components makes sense, and which are not", said Alonso.
Alonso was also not smarter on the new engine settings: "In the rain you brakes not at the limit." "That is why I can not say how big is the difference." Sebastian Vettel is confirmed: "The problem that we have now theoretically less downforce overlaid the rain." Heidfeld also shrugged his shoulder: "I have learned more about it in a short test in Valencia as a whole day at Silverstone."
Williams cursed the English Landregen. The team from Grove an arsenal of wing variants had busloads of diffusers and exhaust positions to Silverstone front, and rear. "We wanted to really try out these things a few days ago in Kemble, but since it has been raining also." "We went not, to waste not a day of aerodynamics", team manager tells Dickie Stanford.
Silverstone on Friday brought a Deja vue. Williams is now not much smarter. Before a decision on the final configuration is made on Saturday, data is called only once. And also a little gut feeling.