Friday Practice Notes

After watching the first two practices, all I can say is wow. Wow because it's taking me so long to disassociate Hulkenburg and Force India. In all seriousness though, the main thing I was thinking wow about, was the pace of the 2013 cars. The cars, overall, just look more grounded than last year. The times reflect this because last year, the cars were running in the 1:29s, while this year, the fastest cars have reached times in the 1:25s. However, they also are a lot more reactive to negative feedback like lock-ups. Here are a few main points that will probably be themes throughout the upcoming season. 

MMM

Mclaren: Unfortunately for them, it appears as if they are not in a good place. The cars was extremely stiff, which just require a quick suspension tweak, but it would appear as if that is not the case. They obviously have some pace, but they still seem to not be doing too well. 

Marussia: 3.415. That's how much faster Marussia was from last year in Barcelona, to this year in Barcelona. The biggest improvement in the field. They have beaten Caterham in both sessions, and since Williams actually lost time on last years pace, it would appear as if STR, Williams, and Marussia will have some crazy battles ahead of them.

Mercedes: Second most improved team this year, imprving by over 3 seconds, and now after 3 seasons, it looks like Mercedes will finally join the front-runners. 

Tires, Tires, and More Tires

Perez was quoted saying that you, the viewer, should expect 10 pit stops per car. That is definitely an exaggeration, but just expect an abnormally large amount of stops. I might also add that the tires are probably one of the reasons why the cars are so much quicker, which of course also indicates that they will, in fact degrade faster.

Updated Projected Winner (UPW): Sebastian Vettel

Updated Expert's Choice (UEC): Lewis Hamilton