---
title: "Smedley predicts teams to run at 90% pace in testing"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2017/01/16/smedley-teams-run-90-pace-testing/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Bethonie Waring"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2017-01-16T11:32:09Z"
modified: "2017-01-16T11:35:05Z"
---

# Smedley predicts teams to run at 90% pace in testing

Head of Performance at Williams, Rob Smedley, says Formula One teams won’t be sandbagging during the eight days’ winter testing in Barcelona.

Many people, including tyre manufacturers Pirelli, expect nobody will show their true pace in Barcelona next month, but Smedley believes the term “sandbagging” is a little too strong.

Though fans might not see the five-second jump up from the 2016 lap times, Smedley says the teams won’t hinder their own development by hiding their hand from the rest of the field.

“I don’t think they’re going to go down to five kilos of fuel and put qualifying mode in it, but I don’t think people are going to be sandbagging,” Smedley said at the Autosport show this weekend.

“Why would you do that? Why would you not get down to a fuel level and an engine mode that give you 90% of what you’re going to have in quali?

“Perhaps people won’t put that final 10% or 20% of what it is but sandbagging is possibly a little strong. It means that you’re not well prepared. It means that you get to Australia not having done all your homework and that is a silly thing to do.”

![Mark Thompson/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readmotorsport.com/readmotorsport/2017/01/513724854.jpg)

It’s still unlikely we’ll be able to read too much into the lap times at testing. With limited testing and such big regulation changes, it’s likely teams and drivers will both still be learning about their cars by the time the F1 circus arrives in Australia in March.

That means we’ll most likely have to wait until well into the season to make any predictions on the final championship order.