Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2019: Friday's Free Practice Report (MBAMGF1)

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2019: Friday's Free Practice Report (MBAMGF1)

The first two practice sessions for the Bahrain Grand Prix took place today at the Sakhir International Circuit. 鈥淭hat was a good start to the weekend, and whilst it鈥檚 nice to be quickest today, we know that doesn鈥檛 count. The most important thing still is to improve our race pace. For the moment, it looks reasonable but we need to analyse where we are on high fuel levels compared to our competitors and draw our conclusions. 鈥淲e started well today, and our long runs are satisfying as well as our overall times. Unfortunately I could not complete my fast lap properly due to traffic. We will have to see what the outcome will be tomorrow and on Sunday as the tyres go away very quickly. You really have to stay within the limit of them, that麓s going to be the main issue. 鈥淲e had a very solid day of practice here today, completing some good work on both low and high fuel. We made some progress over the day with the set-up of the car, there were no issues and, all in all, it was a very reasonable day. 鈥淲e had a pretty good first day learning quite a lot about the big challenge of how to use the tyres in the best possible way and make them last during the necessary number of laps in the race. There was more grip in the second session which helped. We still have room for improvement but I think our team has a good understanding of what will be required here on Sunday. Having said that, it is much too early to judge where we are compared to our competitors.

Great Design Impacted By Rough Feel of Eco Materials. Neon Gas Tail Lights a Nice Design Element. Is Tesla a Take-Over Target ? As stated at the top of this post, Elon Musk's stated aim is not to build the best electric car in the world, but to build the best car in the world, period. To do that successfully, the Tesla infrastructure must be expanded to compete on terms that the car buyers have become accustomed to. Tesla needs a better solution that accommodates the public for buying, selling, financing and servicing a car. The more Tesla ramps up production and adds models, the more urgent the need and the more expensive to do so it becomes. There is a term in appraising real estate called " highest and best use " which basically means the asset is being utilized to its fullest maximum value potential. For Tesla, that may not be as a stand-alone company, but instead as a majority-owned Specialty Division similar to Mercedes' AMG or BMW's M - doing what it does best: 100% electric propulsion. Tesla is a public company, so any offer may indeed be received as hostile.

It starts with the ultra-soft sports leather seats - unsurpassed in the luxury SUV segment for their ability to provide superb comfort and bolstering in the same seat. They鈥檙e also double-stitched in a contrasting thread for a premium look. The AMG sports steering wheel is especially good. It鈥檚 a four-spoke design covered in a combination of Nappa leather and Alcantara (suede-like) grip sections (these can wear), and there are aluminium shift paddles. As the flagship Mercedes-Benz M-Class model, the ML63 comes fully-loaded with an exhaustive inventory of creature comforts from illuminated front door sill panels to a superb sounding audio system from Harman Kardon. Safety-wise the list of active and passive safety measures on board the ML63 is just as extensive. It also performs in its role as a practical SUV, with an enormous boot capacity of 690 litres expanding to 2010 litres with the rear seats folded flat. There鈥檚 room enough for three adults in the rear seats with extra legroom to stretch out.

Turns out, what the coupe-ish CLA is to the new A-Class is similar to what the CLS is to the E-Class. So the A-Class sedan is a slightly more practical alternative to the stylish CLA four-door coupe. The aerodynamic design of the A-Class sedan has given it there lowest drag-coefficient of any Mercedes Benz yet, at 0.22. The overall length is shorter than the CLA but the wheelbase is longer by 27mm than its stylish brother. Inside, some of the state-of-the-art tech from Mercedes Benz鈥檚 shelf makes their way into their new baby sedan. The most notable of them is the MBUX Infotainment system lifted off the A-Class hatch and the Sprinter. This combines a high-res widescreen cockpit and a touchscreen display with augmented reality capabilities. There will be two screen sizes to close from, two standard 7-inch displays or the optional 10.25-inch displays. A Heads-Up-Display and Intelligent Voice Control are also available as optional extras. There are many safety systems on offer as well. The Intelligent Drive system is carried over from the big-daddy, the S-class which endows the A-Class semi autonomous driving capabilities. Automatic emergency braking and lane keep assist are also optional. There are two versions of the new A-Class sedan coming: An A220 and A220 4MATIC. Both feature a 2.0-litre turbo charged 4-cylinder engine the churns out 188 hp and 299Nm making it more powerful than the base A-Class hatchback. This engine is coupled to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission.