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RE: james Allen - maripi - 14-04-2011
(14-04-2011, 15:43)Melif1 escribió:(14-04-2011, 15:30)maripi escribió: http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/04/ferrari-managers-fly-home-for-emergency-meeting/
But in the race, even if Vettel was cruising, the McLarens definitely weren’t and Alonso was giving them a hard time. Add in to that the fact that Alonso’s DRS rear wing wasn’t working and there is some encouragement for the team. Their strategy decisions were pretty sound too, even if they had some problems with the execution of the pit stops.
Falso.
Lo hubiese sido si Fernando no hubiese adelantado en pista a Button o le hubiese funcionado correctamente el DRS. Pero Button estaba adelantado tras el primer pit stop y el DRS no le funcionaba desde la vuelta ¿28?.
Lo siento, pero la estrategia no fue buena y ahí está el segundo puesto de Button para demostrarlo. Alonso le había adelantado en pista y era más rápido que él.
Totalmente de acuerdo
RE: james Allen - maripi - 14-04-2011
Strategy is more important now, says Massa as DRS is reviewed
Posted on | April 14, 2011 | by | 50 Comments
In Malaysia, observed Felipe Massa, there was “a lot of overtaking in the final laps. That is why the strategy is even more important now, in order to get the tyre change sequence just right, so that you can avoid finding yourself fighting for position in the last few laps, while dealing with tyres that are no longer at their best"
This weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix takes place on another track where the effects of KERS, the DRS wing and the tyre degradation will be transformative, as they were in Sepang.
Interestingly, the FIA is considering single detection, double activation DRS, whereby once enabled, the wing could be used at two points on the lap instead of just one. Taking Melbourne as an example. The DRS would be enabled if the car were within the one second gap at the penultimate corner, then you have a first activation point on the pit straight and a second one between Turns 2 and 3. It wouldn’t suit some circuits, but it would work in some places, like Istanbul coming up next month, for example.
Many technical people in F1 think it’s a good idea. The only people who would be likely to argue against double activation would be Red Bull, on the basis that if you are the fastest, you don’t want to give anything away and offer the people behind two chances to use the wing to pass you.
Massa highlighted the end of the race, where Lewis Hamilton came a cropper, for example, because he couldn’t get the tyres to last the whole of the final stint. But the start of the race is also critical and has a big bearing on strategy.
Here we have seen an interesting trend already this season with Renault the outstanding starters. In the two Grands Prix to date, the two drivers have made up a total of 14 places. Admittedly some of Nick Heidfeld’s nine places gained were slower cars down the field after he qualified poorly in Melbourne, but in Sepang he shocked the front runners while Vitaly Petrov’s five places gained in two starts are all against the fastest cars in the field. These strong moves from Renault are forcing drivers from McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull to have to rethink their strategy almost as soon as the race has started.
Less obvious, but also impressive, is the start performance of Force India, which has seen Adrian Sutil gain five places at the start and Paul di Resta four.
Interestingly at Ferrari, Massa has gained four places on the opening laps of the first two races while Fernando Alonso has lost six, the same amount as Mark Webber. Only one man has held position in both races at the start and that’s Webber’s team mate Sebastian Vettel.
For more details like these, an in depth look at the strategy considerations and likely race strategies in Shanghai go to myUBS Strategy Preview Click on “Microsite Special” and then click on the map of Shanghai circuit
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/04/strategy-is-more-important-now-says-massa/
RE: james Allen - maripi - 15-04-2011
GP de China día 1: Vettel ocupa McLaren en Bahía
Publicado en | El 15 de abril de 2011 | por | 45 Comentarios
Sebastian Vettel de Red Bull dirigió los tiempos al final del primer día de prácticas para China Grand Prix del domingo en Shanghai.
Vettel: carreras de largas fuerte (Red Bull)
El 23 años, campeón del mundo, que ha llevado a 109 de los 114 vueltas de carreras esta temporada y tomado Polo en dos grandes premios hasta el momento, aventajó a los McLaren de Lewis Hamilton y Jenson Button.
Los tiempos de los tres hombres se establecieron en el momento mismo de la tarde en nuevos neumáticos Pirelli suaves. Pero hubo una variante interesante que tiempo de Vettel se estableció en la tercera vuelta de la carrera, mientras que Hamilton y del botón en la primera.
Botón salió a hacer una carrera alargada sobre los neumáticos blandos, con vueltas en el m 1 Media despues, mientras que Hamilton radió en decir que los neumáticos fueron "terminados" y enfrentó al final de la vuelta. Los dos pilotos de McLaren, dijo que el coche funcionó mejor en el neumático duro que el soft.
Ritmo de Vettel en carreras largas fue fuerte y coherente. Hizo una carrera de 19 vuelta al comienzo de la sesión de la tarde en el neumático duro con vueltas principalmente en la 1m44s baja, trabajo de alta 1 m 43s. Compañero de equipo Mark Webber, que se centró en la preparación de la carrera, no una nueva ejecución de rendimiento de tiro. Su trabajo conjunto indica que la Red Bull es cuidar sus neumáticos bien. Webber hizo un 13 vuelta ejecutar en el tiro suave con tiempos en la baja 1 m 43s, que ningún otro equipo fue capaz de igualar. Equivalente de Massa en la Ferrari fue en el alto 1 m 43 y baja 1m44s.
El Mercedes parecía más competitiva que últimamente con vuelta de 1 m 37.9s de Nico Rosberg sobre neumáticos blandos captura el ojo, aunque es difícil saber si llevaba mucho menos combustible que Red Bull o los McLaren, que sin duda no parecen estar ejecutándose en poco combustible.
Tarde de Fernando Alonso fue interrumpida por un problema hidráulico que había marginado por gran parte de la segunda mitad del período de sesiones. Logró obtener una corrida de neumáticos blandos al final. Nick Heidfeld perdió gran parte de la sesión de la tarde después de una fuera dañado su frente ala y él tuvieron que ser aplazado en los boxes por mecánica para reparaciones.
Paul Di Resta perdió el segundo período de sesiones con un problema del sistema de combustible. "Creo que estoy un poco más desfavorecido que he estado en cualquier otra gran premio ahora porque efectivamente he perdido tres juegos de neumáticos y la parte importante donde intenta hacer un poco de qualy y simulación de carrera"dijo el Scot.
Más atrás en el campo fue algo para mantener un ojo Virgin tuvo una tarde frustrante, con un problema de escape de Glock, pero logró 47 vueltas entre los dos coches. D'Ambrosio hizo un pequeño error en su nueva ejecución de tiro, pero fue aún más lento que los coches de Hispania. Combustible carga desconocida, pero podría ser bastante interesante volver en la primera clasificación de mañana.
El tiempo de 107% a partir de hoy fue de 1 m 44.526, que era medio segundo más lento que el tiempo de D'Ambrosio.
Información adicional: Tom Clarkson
Gran Premio de China, libre práctica 2
1. Vueltas de Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m37.688s 34
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m37.854s + 0.166 22 vueltas
3. Jenson botón McLaren 1m37.935s + 0.247 31 vueltas
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m37.943s + 0,255 34 vueltas
5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.105s + 0.417 29 vueltas
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.507s + 36 0.819
7. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m38.735s + 1.047 35 vueltas
8. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m38.805s + 1.117 26 vueltas
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m38.859s + 1.171 31 vueltas
10. Mark Webber Red Bull 1m39.327s + 1.639 33 vueltas
11. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m39.538s + 1.850 33 vueltas
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m39.667s + 1.979 37 vueltas
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1m39.771s + 2.083 18 vueltas
14. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.779s + 2.091 17
15. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1m39.828s + 2.140 25 vueltas
16. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m39.925s + 2.237 32 vueltas
17. Sergio Perez Sauber 1m39.953s + 2.265 30 vueltas
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1m40.476s + 2.788 30 vueltas
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus 1m41.482s + 3.794 32 vueltas
20. Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1m42.902s + 5.214 25 vueltas
21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT 1m43.850s + 6.162 3 vueltas
22. Jerome d ' Ambrosio Virgen 1m44.008s + 6.320 35 vueltas
23. Timo Glock Virgen 1m44.747s + 7.059 12 vueltas
RE: james Allen - maripi - 16-04-2011
Too easy” for Vettel as he takes pole for Chinese Grand Prix
Posted on | April 16, 2011 | by | No Comments
Sebastian Vettel made it a hat trick of poles in 2011, setting the fastest ever lap of the Shanghai circuit, no less than seven tenths of a second ahead of the McLaren drivers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel on pole again (Red Bull)
“It’s too easy,” Lewis Hamilton said to him as they climbed from their cars in parc ferme. Having been a tenth away in qualifying in Malaysia, the colder conditions again helped the Red Bull to stretch its advantage over McLaren.
It was Vettel’s 18th pole and his third in China. Tomorrow he bids to become the first driver to win the Chinese Grand Prix twice.
“In Q3 we were able to improve by quite a lot,” said Vettel, who was a second faster in Q3 than he had been in Q2. “But it’s a threat to feel too good and I’ll pay attention that doesn’t happen.”
“Sebastian’s pace in Q3 was phenomenal,” said Button for whom P2 is the best grid slot of the season so far.
But if Vettel had it too easy, the real talking point was a terrible mistake on his team mate’s side, which meant that Mark Webber was knocked out in Q1 and lines up 18th on the grid. It is the first time that Red Bull hasn’t had both cars in the top ten since 2009.
Webber had an electrical problem in Saturday morning practice, it was still being worked on at the start of Qualifying. Team boss Christian Horner said that even some of Vettel’s mechanics were involved in the frantic work.
After such a troubled build up, it was perhaps overconfidence on Red Bull’s part to send Webber out on hard tyre on both runs in Q1, when the soft was over a second faster. It left him terribly vulnerable. The team would argue that he should have had enough speed in the car to get through, but he didn’t and they paid a huge price for their hubris. They will have to review the priorities in a situation like that. He suffered warm up problems and managed a best of 1m 36.4 when Vettel also on hards had done 1m 35.6.
And with the midfield teams all using soft tyres, the pace was too much. Webber didn’t miss by a fraction; he was three tenths away from making the cut. “I thought we had enough to get through,” said Webber. “We had a few plates spinning in the background and paid the ultimate price.”
We saw a little of what Paul di Resta is capable of in qualifying; he was under pressure in Q1 when he was P17 with moments to go. He set a lap of 1m 35.702 and went up to P2. It turned out to be his fastest lap of the day and had he repeated it in Q3 he would have been 7th on the grid instead of 8th. But he again outqualified team mate Adrian Sutil;, a great effort after losing the second Friday practice session with a fuel pressure problem.
At the back, Lotus didn’t have the one lap pace in the cold conditions and were again almost two seconds off the slowest of the established teams. Virgin had a better day relative to Hispania, putting a gap of a second between them. However Timo Glock, who had had a frustrating Friday was six tenths off team mate D’Ambrosio.
In Q2 the drama came at the end when Vitaly Petrov’s car broke down on the slowing down lap after setting his time. This brought out a red flag and left just two minutes for the drivers out on track at the time to set a lap. It led to a flurry of cars going out at the end. Many drivers like Alonso had been a long way into their lap when the red flag came out so the tyres had given their best and another set was needed. It was a major compromise on the strategy. Petrov’s team mate Nick Heidfeld was the most compromised, ending up 16th.
Williams had another disappointing afternoon with Barrichello 15th and Maldonado 17th.
Both Toro Rossos made it through to Q3 after very strong laps in Q2, which they couldn’t repeat in Q3. But nevetheless a return of 7th for Alguersuari and 9th for Buemi show the enormous gain that Toro Rosso has made. This is symbolically very important for F1 as it shows that a small team can challenge for the top ten.
But another crucial theme from today was the relative importance of qualifying to the race. We some tactical thinking from Lewis Hamilton, who decided to only do one run in Q3 to save a soft set of tyres for the race. The gamble didn’t work for him in the sense that he ended up third behind his team mate Button, who did two runs.
But Hamilton seemed pleased with his decision as he was thinking about the tactics for the race more than qualifying. He now has a new set of soft and a new set of hard tyres for the race. After running out of tyres in Malaysia, he doesn’t want a repeat this weekend. It shows how strategic thinking is beginning to impact on qualifying.
Rosberg did a great job to qualify fourth ahead of both Ferraris, especially as team mate Michael Schumacher was only 14th. That’s a really bitter pill for the seven times champion to swallow.
Meanwhile the gulf in qualifying pace between Ferrari and the Red Bull team was highlighted with Alonso’s time which was 1.4 seconds slower than Vettel. Massa did well to qualify less than 1/10th of a second slower than his team mate.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/04/too-easy-for-vettel-as-he-takes-pole-for-chinese-grand-prix/
RE: james Allen - maripi - 17-04-2011
Hamilton gana Vettel para ganar el gran premio de China emocionante
Publicado en | El 17 de abril de 2011 | por | 164 Comentarios
Lewis Hamilton ganó el gran premio de China, rompiendo el cerco de Sebastian Vettel en F1 esta temporada en un emocionante gran premio que incluía el Santo Grial de un pase por el liderato en las etapas de la carrera de cierre.
Fue la primera victoria de Hamilton desde septiembre del año pasado y el decimoquinto de su carrera de 74 carrera.
Y no fue por el ala de DRS, el pase de Hamilton tiró en Sebastian Vettel ocurrió en Activar 7, una de las esquinas más rápidas en la pista, cuando Vettel menos se lo espera y se produjo debido a diferencias de estrategia.
Hamilton y el botón Ir a él (McLaren)
Hamilton había aprendido de sus problemas en Sepang, guardar un nuevo conjunto de neumáticos blandos para la carrera y su papel, su estrategia de planificación comenzó el sábado.
Supera a variar la estrategia y que fue la historia de la carrera y lo que hizo un thriller de tal como las nuevas carreras de estilo realmente su zancada. Conductores que fueron tres paradas encontraron que sus neumáticos había vida en ellos en las etapas finales y fueron capaces de hacer hasta lugares.
Hubo quejas después de Malasia que el ala DRS hizo adelantar demasiado fácil, pero aquí hay fueron muchos pases, no en la zona de DRS, particularmente de Hamilton y Webber, quien se recuperó de 18 en la cuadrícula para terminar en el podio, demostrando siempre está en su mejor cuando las fichas son hacia abajo. Él podría tener Vettel golpeado si no había perdido tanto tiempo en el primer turno sobre neumáticos duros, donde perdió realmente un lugar a Sergio Perez.
KERS desempeñado su papel la alcanza, pero esta carrera fue todo sobre neumáticos Pirelli crear el espectáculo.
Carrera de Hamilton no sin sus dramas. Antes del comienzo tuvo un drama en su auto como el motor había inundado. La mecánica logró meterlo en la cuadrícula con menos de un minuto de sobra antes de pit lane cerrado. Hamilton fue capaz de ponerlo detrás de él y asentarse en la carrera como normal.
Al comienzo que Vettel salido poco a poco, cayó de su rango de velocidad y él empantanado, permitiendo que el botón y Hamilton le sucedió. Vettel del KERS funcionaba bien, pero había perdido impulso. Logró combatir Rosberg.
Detrás de ellos Massa nuevo outperformed Alonso fuera de la línea de salida y tiene por delante, mientras que los coches de Force India nuevo tuvo fuerte comienza, recogiendo lugares. Di Resta fue séptimo en el final de la primera vuelta y Sutil 8.
Di Resta informó de algunos problemas con la parte trasera de su coche y una cola formada detrás de él.
Los controladores de Mercedes se detuvo antes que sus rivales, Rosberg llegó en la vuelta 14, indicando una estrategia de tres parada. Los dirigentes sitúan detrás de botón acercarse a sus paradas, Vettel pasado a Hamilton y, a continuación, se enfrentaron, después de botón en. En ese momento tres paradas era una opción para Vettel. Botón cometió un error, conduciendo en el cuadro de pozo de Red Bull, perdiendo unos tres segundos en el proceso. El equipo le esperaba en la vuelta antes, pero fue una vuelta a la tarde.
Tan Vettel saltó botón y como surgieron, Vettel había ido detrás de los McLaren al frente. Pero eran todos detrás de Rosberg.
También haciendo grandes progresos fue Felipe Massa, que pasó de Hamilton antes de las paradas y, a continuación, cuarta posición por delante de él. Alonso perdió, se mantiene a una vuelta más y rejoining séptimo detrás de Michael Schumacher. Se se separó de Massa en este punto.
La pareja tuvo un gran rechazo durante la segunda etapa, Alonso finalmente más allá en la vuelta 25. Schumacher enfrentado directamente después.
Botón fue el primero de los corredores frente a hacer una segunda parada, seguida de Rosberg y Hamilton. Vettel se quedó por haber cometido a un plan de dos parada, que resultó para ser la elección equivocada. Los Ferraris se cometieron también a dos paradas, que fue una vergüenza para Massa, quien tuvo buen ritmo en esta carrera y pasó incluso el ganador de la carrera en un punto. No obstante restauró su reputación por terminar 14 segundos por delante de Alonso.
De las paradas de segunda en adelante es todo sobre cómo se juegan las estrategias diferentes. Todo el mundo todavía es conocer los nuevos neumáticos Pirelli y la mejor uso de ellos y hoy mostrado cómo finamente equilibrado las decisiones son.
Hubo muchos destacados a la carrera y supera a algunos lo sublime. Hamilton fue más rápido que el botón generalmente durante esta carrera y se vio obligado a superar a su compañero de equipo en la vuelta 36. Botón le dio una habitación, como Hamilton fue en un determinado Estado de ánimo.
Webber llegó a través del campo muy rápidamente, su equipo le enfrentando a fin de darle algunos aire puro para empujar. Una vez que se hizo la tercera parada fue claro que el plan de tres parada estaba empezando a entrar en su propio. Webber había pasado a Alonso sexto y, a continuación, Massa, Alonso y por último botón.
Mientras tanto, Hamilton cerró el el líder Vettel, que hizo como duro para él como pudo, especialmente en la zona de DRS en convertir 14. Pero Hamilton fue una fuerza irresistibles y fue pasado media camino a través de la siguiente vuelta, como Vettel lucharon por el control de sus neumáticos que fueron siete vueltas más de Hamilton.
"La estrategia llegamos con en clasificación parece ayudar," dijo un Hamilton emocional. Las "bastantes cosas llegaron juntos; el pozo se detiene, el coche sentía gran. Traté de mantener mis neumáticos. Los chicos de la parte delantera tuvieron que hacer un poco de adelantamiento. Yo no estaba preocupado, (sobre el problema antes de la salida) es importante permanecer como calma posible. "
Una nota final; Heikki Kovalainen finalizó 16 de Lotus, por delante de Pérez y Maldonado, marcando la primera vez desde que el equipo llegó a la F1 en la temporada pasada que uno de los nuevos equipos ha combatido con coches equipo establecido. Vuelta de carrera más rápida de Trulli fue más lento que el conjunto de Maldonado en circunstancias similares en los nuevos neumáticos de sólo 3/10ths en las etapas finales.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/04/hamilton-beats-vettel-to-win-thrilling-chinese-grand-prix/
RE: james Allen - maripi - 19-04-2011
A deep dive into the strategies from the Chinese Grand Prix
So much happened in the Chinese Grand Prix, it’s important to take the time to examine exactly how and why things worked out as they did.
The overriding observation is that strategy was the difference between winning and losing on Sunday.
While we have seen some interesting mixtures of strategy in the first two races, the podium finishers in both Melbourne and Sepang all did the same strategy. The Chinese Grand Prix was the first race to show variations on this and to illustrate how finely balanced some of the decision making is in F1 this year.
Another interesting difference from the first two races is that we had four fast cars out of their normal position on the grid; Webber 18th, Heidfeld 16th, Schumacher 14th and Petrov. This meant that the two Toro Rosso cars and the two Force Indias were in and around the top ten, but staying there proved difficult as the overtaking aids and the Pirelli tyres gave the faster cars the chance of come through the field.
The strategic thinking started in qualifying, where Lewis Hamilton decided to do only one run in Q3, saving a set of new soft tyres for the race. What exactly did this give him? In comparison to a set which has been used in qualifying, a new set will give an first lap performance boost, then it will last two to three laps longer than a used set, which have done that much already. On top of that the degradation on a used set means that every lap in the stint will be about 1/10th to 2/10ths of a second slower than the new set through the stint. And finally there is another benefit, which is that you delay taking the hard tyre an extra couple of laps and that tyre is around a second a lap slower. So it adds up to quite a gain.
Why Hamilton beat Vettel
Computer simulations showed that two stops would be faster than three by around 3 seconds over the race, but this was reliant on running in clear air. Vettel went with a two stop plan, but found himself behind the McLarens after a poor start. His KERS wasn’t working properly at the start. It only gave him 30bhp instead of 80bhp, which is why the McLarens got the jump on him.
At this point Red Bull had the chance to do three stops. But as he pitted only lap 14, the same time as Button and a lap before Hamilton and came out ahead of both, they decided to stick with two stops. They no doubt thought that their car was fast enough to make the strategy work. Had they followed a three stop plan from lap 14 onwards he would have won the race.
But what none of the simulations predicted prior to the start was how little the tyre life would improve during the race. Previous experience with Pirelli in the first two races had shown that the tyre wear is 25% better in the final stages of the race, compared to Friday Free Practice, when most teams do their long runs of 18-20 laps. But crucially, this time the circuit did not rubber-in, which meant the surface didn’t come to the hard tyre for the final stint, as is normally the case. This is why Vettel and all the other two stoppers, like Ferrari, couldn’t keep the pace up and Vettel got caught in the final laps by Hamilton, whose tyres were seven laps fresher. It is also the reason why Webber’s strategy worked out so spectacularly, as we will see.
Lewis Hamilton won the race, by getting the strategy exactly right. Saving a set of new tyres played its part in making the three stop plan work, as did making crucial overtakes such as the ones on Button, Massa and Rosberg.
How did Webber go from 18th to 3rd?
“What this race has proved,” said Mark Webber after the race, “Is that qualifying isn’t as important as it used to be. You don’t want to be qualifying 18th every weekend, but you’re better off saving tyres for the race than wasting a new set in Q3 for a one-place gain on the grid. Monaco would be the only exception to that rule, of course.”
This is true and we may see some of the faster cars doing what Hamilton did and limiting themselves to using just two sets of soft tyres in qualifying, because the benefit in the race is so significant.
Webber ran the three stop race strategy, but in reverse, starting on the hard tyre and them using three new sets of soft tyres, which he had saved by not doing Qualifying 2 and Qualifying 3. Webber was the only driver on the grid not to start on softs.
The three stop plan gave him plenty of free air to run in and at the end he was running on new soft tyres when all the other drivers were discovering that the track wasn’t improving and that the degradation on the hard was therefore worse than expected. New soft tyres gave him a huge pace advantage as proved by his fastest lap, which was 1.4s faster than anyone else!
Webber did exactly the right thing by running the prime early on, while stuck in traffic and unable to exploit the pace of his car. Had he started on options, he would have had to use the hard tyre at the end of the race and it would have been much harder for him to make progress.
Nico Rosberg: The one that got away
Nico Rosberg was very upset after the race as he felt that he could have had a podium and at one stage looked like he might even get his first win. The reason he didn’t was a miscalculation of fuel consumption.
Rosberg was fourth on the opening lap, then thanks to a great piece of of strategic thinking by Mercedes early in the race, they brought him in on lap 12 just as he was about to hit traffic. This brought him out in clear air. He was able to run unimpeded at this stage of the race and he was in the lead by lap 17, doing impressive lap times on his second set of soft tyres. After his second stop he came out in front of both McLarens and he must have thought he was on for a podium.
The Mercedes team thought they were going to win the race at this point.
But then it became clear that they didn’t have enough fuel to complete the race at competitive speeds and so he had to save fuel and the race got away from him.
In fairness to Mercedes this is an incredibly hard thing to predict. All sorts of things can upset predictions, like atmospheric pressure, track conditions, tyre conditions, meaning you use more fuel than expected. Rosberg’s Mercedes was much faster in race trim in China than it had been in Malaysia and this used more fuel. In Malaysia they had to open the bodywork up to keep it cool, whereas in China they could run the car in its optimal aerodynamic configuration.
All teams run at a fuel deficit at some points in the race, aiming to save fuel in the final stint. Mercedes clearly fuelled the car expected a lonely race in fourth place, keeping the Ferraris at bay, but the chance arose there to do something much better and they couldn’t take it, for want of a few more kilos of fuel in the car.
Ferrari: Wrong strategy
After the race, Fernando Alonso said, “You need to keep focussed on your own strategy. And in the end when you have a quick car, any strategy is good, as Webber showed today. When you have a slow car, everything is more difficult.”
Ferrari made the same mistake as Vettel in running a two stop plan, which was a shame because Felipe Massa looked the most competitive he has for a long time and on a three stopper could have been on the podium.
Both Ferraris were held up by Rosberg in the first stint. The drivers probably thought they could run quicker in clear air, so they stayed out when Rosberg pitted on lap 12. Massa briefly gained a place on Hamilton, but he and Alonso got split up.
Alonso had been behind his team mate after losing the start to him. He stayed out one lap longer than Massa at the first pitstop and that allowed Massa to stay ahead. Alonso then came out behind Schumacher and he lost a lot of time. It was somewhat surprising that Ferrari stuck so doggedly to two stops with both cars, you would normally split strategies in that situation.
It’s worth remembering that the difference in lap time between old and new rubber, when combined with the fuel load always getting lighter, means it’s no longer an advantage to run longer than someone prior to pitting. If the first person to stop does a strong out-lap from the pits, he’ll always make time on the person who’s stayed out on old tyres.
Graph 1 – Race History. The zero line is simply the race winner’s average lap time (total race time divided by the number of race laps). This is why his curve can go above the line if he’s lapping faster than his average, and below the line if he’s slower than his average or doing a pitstop.
A deep dive into the strategies from the Chinese Grand Prix
Posted on | April 19, 2011 | by | 4 Comments
So much happened in the Chinese Grand Prix, it’s important to take the time to examine exactly how and why things worked out as they did.
The overriding observation is that strategy was the difference between winning and losing on Sunday.
While we have seen some interesting mixtures of strategy in the first two races, the podium finishers in both Melbourne and Sepang all did the same strategy. The Chinese Grand Prix was the first race to show variations on this and to illustrate how finely balanced some of the decision making is in F1 this year.
Another interesting difference from the first two races is that we had four fast cars out of their normal position on the grid; Webber 18th, Heidfeld 16th, Schumacher 14th and Petrov. This meant that the two Toro Rosso cars and the two Force Indias were in and around the top ten, but staying there proved difficult as the overtaking aids and the Pirelli tyres gave the faster cars the chance of come through the field.
The strategic thinking started in qualifying, where Lewis Hamilton decided to do only one run in Q3, saving a set of new soft tyres for the race. What exactly did this give him? In comparison to a set which has been used in qualifying, a new set will give an first lap performance boost, then it will last two to three laps longer than a used set, which have done that much already. On top of that the degradation on a used set means that every lap in the stint will be about 1/10th to 2/10ths of a second slower than the new set through the stint. And finally there is another benefit, which is that you delay taking the hard tyre an extra couple of laps and that tyre is around a second a lap slower. So it adds up to quite a gain.
Photo: McLaren
Why Hamilton beat Vettel
Computer simulations showed that two stops would be faster than three by around 3 seconds over the race, but this was reliant on running in clear air. Vettel went with a two stop plan, but found himself behind the McLarens after a poor start. His KERS wasn’t working properly at the start. It only gave him 30bhp instead of 80bhp, which is why the McLarens got the jump on him.
At this point Red Bull had the chance to do three stops. But as he pitted only lap 14, the same time as Button and a lap before Hamilton and came out ahead of both, they decided to stick with two stops. They no doubt thought that their car was fast enough to make the strategy work. Had they followed a three stop plan from lap 14 onwards he would have won the race.
But what none of the simulations predicted prior to the start was how little the tyre life would improve during the race. Previous experience with Pirelli in the first two races had shown that the tyre wear is 25% better in the final stages of the race, compared to Friday Free Practice, when most teams do their long runs of 18-20 laps. But crucially, this time the circuit did not rubber-in, which meant the surface didn’t come to the hard tyre for the final stint, as is normally the case. This is why Vettel and all the other two stoppers, like Ferrari, couldn’t keep the pace up and Vettel got caught in the final laps by Hamilton, whose tyres were seven laps fresher. It is also the reason why Webber’s strategy worked out so spectacularly, as we will see.
Lewis Hamilton won the race, by getting the strategy exactly right. Saving a set of new tyres played its part in making the three stop plan work, as did making crucial overtakes such as the ones on Button, Massa and Rosberg.
Photo: Red Bull
How did Webber go from 18th to 3rd?
“What this race has proved,” said Mark Webber after the race, “Is that qualifying isn’t as important as it used to be. You don’t want to be qualifying 18th every weekend, but you’re better off saving tyres for the race than wasting a new set in Q3 for a one-place gain on the grid. Monaco would be the only exception to that rule, of course.”
This is true and we may see some of the faster cars doing what Hamilton did and limiting themselves to using just two sets of soft tyres in qualifying, because the benefit in the race is so significant.
Webber ran the three stop race strategy, but in reverse, starting on the hard tyre and them using three new sets of soft tyres, which he had saved by not doing Qualifying 2 and Qualifying 3. Webber was the only driver on the grid not to start on softs.
The three stop plan gave him plenty of free air to run in and at the end he was running on new soft tyres when all the other drivers were discovering that the track wasn’t improving and that the degradation on the hard was therefore worse than expected. New soft tyres gave him a huge pace advantage as proved by his fastest lap, which was 1.4s faster than anyone else!
Webber did exactly the right thing by running the prime early on, while stuck in traffic and unable to exploit the pace of his car. Had he started on options, he would have had to use the hard tyre at the end of the race and it would have been much harder for him to make progress.
Photo: Red Bull
Nico Rosberg: The one that got away
Nico Rosberg was very upset after the race as he felt that he could have had a podium and at one stage looked like he might even get his first win. The reason he didn’t was a miscalculation of fuel consumption.
Rosberg was fourth on the opening lap, then thanks to a great piece of of strategic thinking by Mercedes early in the race, they brought him in on lap 12 just as he was about to hit traffic. This brought him out in clear air. He was able to run unimpeded at this stage of the race and he was in the lead by lap 17, doing impressive lap times on his second set of soft tyres. After his second stop he came out in front of both McLarens and he must have thought he was on for a podium.
The Mercedes team thought they were going to win the race at this point.
But then it became clear that they didn’t have enough fuel to complete the race at competitive speeds and so he had to save fuel and the race got away from him.
In fairness to Mercedes this is an incredibly hard thing to predict. All sorts of things can upset predictions, like atmospheric pressure, track conditions, tyre conditions, meaning you use more fuel than expected. Rosberg’s Mercedes was much faster in race trim in China than it had been in Malaysia and this used more fuel. In Malaysia they had to open the bodywork up to keep it cool, whereas in China they could run the car in its optimal aerodynamic configuration.
All teams run at a fuel deficit at some points in the race, aiming to save fuel in the final stint. Mercedes clearly fuelled the car expected a lonely race in fourth place, keeping the Ferraris at bay, but the chance arose there to do something much better and they couldn’t take it, for want of a few more kilos of fuel in the car.
Ferrari: Wrong strategy
After the race, Fernando Alonso said, “You need to keep focussed on your own strategy. And in the end when you have a quick car, any strategy is good, as Webber showed today. When you have a slow car, everything is more difficult.”
Ferrari made the same mistake as Vettel in running a two stop plan, which was a shame because Felipe Massa looked the most competitive he has for a long time and on a three stopper could have been on the podium.
Both Ferraris were held up by Rosberg in the first stint. The drivers probably thought they could run quicker in clear air, so they stayed out when Rosberg pitted on lap 12. Massa briefly gained a place on Hamilton, but he and Alonso got split up.
Alonso had been behind his team mate after losing the start to him. He stayed out one lap longer than Massa at the first pitstop and that allowed Massa to stay ahead. Alonso then came out behind Schumacher and he lost a lot of time. It was somewhat surprising that Ferrari stuck so doggedly to two stops with both cars, you would normally split strategies in that situation.
It’s worth remembering that the difference in lap time between old and new rubber, when combined with the fuel load always getting lighter, means it’s no longer an advantage to run longer than someone prior to pitting. If the first person to stop does a strong out-lap from the pits, he’ll always make time on the person who’s stayed out on old tyres.
Graph 1 – Race History. The zero line is simply the race winner’s average lap time (total race time divided by the number of race laps). This is why his curve can go above the line if he’s lapping faster than his average, and below the line if he’s slower than his average or doing a pitstop.
A deep dive into the strategies from the Chinese Grand Prix
Posted on | April 19, 2011 | by | 4 Comments
So much happened in the Chinese Grand Prix, it’s important to take the time to examine exactly how and why things worked out as they did.
The overriding observation is that strategy was the difference between winning and losing on Sunday.
While we have seen some interesting mixtures of strategy in the first two races, the podium finishers in both Melbourne and Sepang all did the same strategy. The Chinese Grand Prix was the first race to show variations on this and to illustrate how finely balanced some of the decision making is in F1 this year.
Another interesting difference from the first two races is that we had four fast cars out of their normal position on the grid; Webber 18th, Heidfeld 16th, Schumacher 14th and Petrov. This meant that the two Toro Rosso cars and the two Force Indias were in and around the top ten, but staying there proved difficult as the overtaking aids and the Pirelli tyres gave the faster cars the chance of come through the field.
The strategic thinking started in qualifying, where Lewis Hamilton decided to do only one run in Q3, saving a set of new soft tyres for the race. What exactly did this give him? In comparison to a set which has been used in qualifying, a new set will give an first lap performance boost, then it will last two to three laps longer than a used set, which have done that much already. On top of that the degradation on a used set means that every lap in the stint will be about 1/10th to 2/10ths of a second slower than the new set through the stint. And finally there is another benefit, which is that you delay taking the hard tyre an extra couple of laps and that tyre is around a second a lap slower. So it adds up to quite a gain.
Photo: McLaren
Why Hamilton beat Vettel
Computer simulations showed that two stops would be faster than three by around 3 seconds over the race, but this was reliant on running in clear air. Vettel went with a two stop plan, but found himself behind the McLarens after a poor start. His KERS wasn’t working properly at the start. It only gave him 30bhp instead of 80bhp, which is why the McLarens got the jump on him.
At this point Red Bull had the chance to do three stops. But as he pitted only lap 14, the same time as Button and a lap before Hamilton and came out ahead of both, they decided to stick with two stops. They no doubt thought that their car was fast enough to make the strategy work. Had they followed a three stop plan from lap 14 onwards he would have won the race.
But what none of the simulations predicted prior to the start was how little the tyre life would improve during the race. Previous experience with Pirelli in the first two races had shown that the tyre wear is 25% better in the final stages of the race, compared to Friday Free Practice, when most teams do their long runs of 18-20 laps. But crucially, this time the circuit did not rubber-in, which meant the surface didn’t come to the hard tyre for the final stint, as is normally the case. This is why Vettel and all the other two stoppers, like Ferrari, couldn’t keep the pace up and Vettel got caught in the final laps by Hamilton, whose tyres were seven laps fresher. It is also the reason why Webber’s strategy worked out so spectacularly, as we will see.
Lewis Hamilton won the race, by getting the strategy exactly right. Saving a set of new tyres played its part in making the three stop plan work, as did making crucial overtakes such as the ones on Button, Massa and Rosberg.
Photo: Red Bull
How did Webber go from 18th to 3rd?
“What this race has proved,” said Mark Webber after the race, “Is that qualifying isn’t as important as it used to be. You don’t want to be qualifying 18th every weekend, but you’re better off saving tyres for the race than wasting a new set in Q3 for a one-place gain on the grid. Monaco would be the only exception to that rule, of course.”
This is true and we may see some of the faster cars doing what Hamilton did and limiting themselves to using just two sets of soft tyres in qualifying, because the benefit in the race is so significant.
Webber ran the three stop race strategy, but in reverse, starting on the hard tyre and them using three new sets of soft tyres, which he had saved by not doing Qualifying 2 and Qualifying 3. Webber was the only driver on the grid not to start on softs.
The three stop plan gave him plenty of free air to run in and at the end he was running on new soft tyres when all the other drivers were discovering that the track wasn’t improving and that the degradation on the hard was therefore worse than expected. New soft tyres gave him a huge pace advantage as proved by his fastest lap, which was 1.4s faster than anyone else!
Webber did exactly the right thing by running the prime early on, while stuck in traffic and unable to exploit the pace of his car. Had he started on options, he would have had to use the hard tyre at the end of the race and it would have been much harder for him to make progress.
Photo: Red Bull
Nico Rosberg: The one that got away
Nico Rosberg was very upset after the race as he felt that he could have had a podium and at one stage looked like he might even get his first win. The reason he didn’t was a miscalculation of fuel consumption.
Rosberg was fourth on the opening lap, then thanks to a great piece of of strategic thinking by Mercedes early in the race, they brought him in on lap 12 just as he was about to hit traffic. This brought him out in clear air. He was able to run unimpeded at this stage of the race and he was in the lead by lap 17, doing impressive lap times on his second set of soft tyres. After his second stop he came out in front of both McLarens and he must have thought he was on for a podium.
The Mercedes team thought they were going to win the race at this point.
But then it became clear that they didn’t have enough fuel to complete the race at competitive speeds and so he had to save fuel and the race got away from him.
In fairness to Mercedes this is an incredibly hard thing to predict. All sorts of things can upset predictions, like atmospheric pressure, track conditions, tyre conditions, meaning you use more fuel than expected. Rosberg’s Mercedes was much faster in race trim in China than it had been in Malaysia and this used more fuel. In Malaysia they had to open the bodywork up to keep it cool, whereas in China they could run the car in its optimal aerodynamic configuration.
All teams run at a fuel deficit at some points in the race, aiming to save fuel in the final stint. Mercedes clearly fuelled the car expected a lonely race in fourth place, keeping the Ferraris at bay, but the chance arose there to do something much better and they couldn’t take it, for want of a few more kilos of fuel in the car.
Ferrari: Wrong strategy
After the race, Fernando Alonso said, “You need to keep focussed on your own strategy. And in the end when you have a quick car, any strategy is good, as Webber showed today. When you have a slow car, everything is more difficult.”
Ferrari made the same mistake as Vettel in running a two stop plan, which was a shame because Felipe Massa looked the most competitive he has for a long time and on a three stopper could have been on the podium.
Both Ferraris were held up by Rosberg in the first stint. The drivers probably thought they could run quicker in clear air, so they stayed out when Rosberg pitted on lap 12. Massa briefly gained a place on Hamilton, but he and Alonso got split up.
Alonso had been behind his team mate after losing the start to him. He stayed out one lap longer than Massa at the first pitstop and that allowed Massa to stay ahead. Alonso then came out behind Schumacher and he lost a lot of time. It was somewhat surprising that Ferrari stuck so doggedly to two stops with both cars, you would normally split strategies in that situation.
It’s worth remembering that the difference in lap time between old and new rubber, when combined with the fuel load always getting lighter, means it’s no longer an advantage to run longer than someone prior to pitting. If the first person to stop does a strong out-lap from the pits, he’ll always make time on the person who’s stayed out on old tyres.
Graph 1 – Race History. The zero line is simply the race winner’s average lap time (total race time divided by the number of race laps). This is why his curve can go above the line if he’s lapping faster than his average, and below the line if he’s slower than his average or doing a pitstop.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/04/a-deep-dive-into-the-strategies-from-the-chinese-grand-prix/
RE: james Allen - maripi - 21-04-2011
¿Por qué Red Bull es fuerte en la clasificación pero McLaren es estrecha en la carrera
Publicado en | El 21 de abril de 2011 | por | No hay comentarios
Las tres primeras carreras nos han dado mucho para reflexionar sobre el nuevo estilo de carreras de F1 proporciona ahora, pero hay algunos detalles fascinantes salen demasiado sobre el rendimiento relativo de los coches.
Una de las cosas que llaman la atención ha sido el ritmo relativo de la Red Bull y los McLaren en la clasificación y en la carrera. Y no es sólo que tiene los neumáticos más recientes. Cuando se mire estrechamente verá que hay razones para sentirse muy emocionado por la competencia entre los dos coches de esta temporada.
En el primer y tercer carreras Sebastian Vettel tenían un margen de 7/10ths de segundo sobre el McLaren más cercano, mientras que en Malasia fue mucho más cerca, sólo 1/10.
Pero en las carreras, especialmente los dos últimos que tienen más rectas y esquinas de más alta velocidad, el McLaren ha sido muy estrecha.
Parte de la razón de esto, por supuesto, es la eficiencia de la KERS de Mercedes en el McLaren, mientras que la Red Bull ha estado luchando para que su sistema funcione y ha estado utilizando para comienza y no mucho más. Webber s KERS embalados en después de 24 vueltas en China, mientras que Vettel sólo le estaba dando un impulso de 30hp en lugar de la 80hp normal y como él y el equipo explicó que él no utiliza a lo largo de la carrera.
Se es señalado me por un ingeniero senior de otro equipo que McLaren en las carreras en buena forma con relación a Red Bull debido a las diferencias entre sus alas traseras ajustables de DRS.
El ala de Red Bull tiene un diseño plano superior empinadas, que obtiene una mayor reducción de arrastre que el McLaren cuando está habilitada la DRS. Que da Webber y Vettel una ventaja en la clasificación, ya que puede ser la DRS habilitado en todas partes, como hemos visto en las imágenes de TV de clasificación.
En la carrera, cuando el DRS sólo puede utilizarse en una situación particular, McLaren tienen una ventaja porque su alerón trasero más suave les da una ventaja de velocidad rectilíneo en todas partes salvo en la zona de DRS.
En Shanghai, por ejemplo, en la carrera de velocidad máxima de Hamilton en el Sector 1 fue 291 km/h en comparación con la de Vettel 273 km/h. En el sector 2 es 269 km/h en comparación con 267 km/h y en el Sector 3 fue 258 km/h a 256 km/h.
Obviamente la razón que Hamilton fue capaz de detectar y pasar Vettel fue porque era sobre neumáticos más recientes debido a las diferentes estrategias que estaban en, pero la principal fue la misma en Malasia, donde Vettel y botón hicieron la misma estrategia. Aunque hay otra vez vimos que el McLaren había mejor posterior de desgaste de los neumáticos que Red Bull.
Es una de las razones para sentirse bastante animado sobre la competencia en las carreras por delante de nosotros en los próximos meses. Ahora Ferrari tienen que trabajar duro en su coche para ir a sí mismos en la lucha, porque Red Bull y McLaren están en buena forma.
Escribir en su propio sitio web esta semana, dijo Hamilton, "China fue gran porque dejamos trabajar de la pista, siempre es más dulce en ganar una carrera cuando haya superado los coches por delante. Y en mi temporada final que conseguí Nico, Felipe y Sebastian para el ganado, que esperemos que fue grande para todos los fans viendo.
Por cierto los problemas de Mercedes con el ala DRS, que afectó a Michael Schumacher en la clasificación en China, se creen que son aerodinámicas en el sentido de que el flujo de aire no es reconectar después de cerrar el ala DRS.
Se trata de un problema que muchos equipos experimentados con el conducto de f ala el año pasado. Mercedes este año ha sido muy agresiva con su diseño y parecen tener la mayor ganancia cuando la DRS en activa de todos los equipos, a unos 20 km/h.
Sin duda utilizará la pausa de tres semanas antes de Turquía a la dirección de sus problemas en este ámbito, que puede dar lugar a una velocidad de menos dramática ganar pero un alerón trasero más eficiente.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/04/why-red-bull-is-strong-in-qualifying-but-mclaren-is-close-in-the-race/
RE: james Allen - maripi - 10-05-2011
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/05/why-the-turkish-gp-turned-out-as-it-did-strategy-analysis/
Why the Turkish GP turned out as it did: Strategy Analysis
Posted on | May 10, 2011 | by | 31 Comments
The Turkish Grand Prix featured 82 pit stops, a new record for Formula 1 and some spectacular overtaking moves. It was quite a confusing race, which requires some decoding and there are some clear trends emerging which will have a big effect on the way the races happen from now on.
It was also another race which was all about strategy; not just in terms of pit stops on race day, but further back than that, it was also about planning a strategy for the whole weekend and particularly for qualifying.
After four races with new rules and new tyres, we are seeing some clear patterns which strategists are building into their plans. For a start, the DRS wing aiding overtakes means that it is possible to go for what the computer model tells you is the optimum strategy for your car’s pace, because you know that you can overtake, you won’t have your race completely ruined, as Alonso’s was by Petrov in Abu Dhabi last year, for example.
However we are also seeing that being stuck in traffic can still lose you vital time, as it did for Jenson Button on Sunday, and this is harmful to anyone trying to get away with making one less stop than the opposition.
We have also learned that having even one set of new soft tyres for the race makes a vital difference, as much as 5 to 6 seconds over the course of a typical stint.
Another lesson is that it is preferable now to slant thinking very much towards the race and not qualifying. It’s not just about saving a set of tyres, it’s also about setting the car up for the race and prioritising that above all else.
With the Pirelli tyres the ideal balance for qualifying and race are far apart. In the past it was generally a case of add a bit more front wing for qualifying and take it out at the first stop in the race. Where you qualified was often where you finished.
Now it is about setting the car up to preserve the tyres, which isn’t compatible with single lap performance. So you are looking to preserve the tyres, by dealing with the limitations. In China the tyres were front limited, in Turkey they were rear limited.
Although both Ferrari prioritised a race balance, they failed to save a set of soft tyres from qualifying, which was very odd, especially after Hamilton won the race in China using that tactic. So the Alonso strategy was right, but not perfect. Massa even used up a set of new soft tyres in Q1, when there was no risk of dropping out because Kobayashi had stopped. No-one in the pit lane can understand how that mistake was made.
Teams are also still finding surprises on race day, despite gathering tyre data on Fridays. In China the surprise was that the wear on the hard tyre in the final stint was bad because the track hadn’t rubbered in. In Turkey the traack did rubber in and the surprise was that the lap time difference between the soft and hard was only 3/10ths of a second, much less than at any race so far and less than the 1 second/lap it looked like on Friday.
Another point to make is that, even if they have a margin, some drivers are making a final stop for new tyres to cover themselves should a safety car be deployed in the closing laps. Vettel did it with his fourth stop, which wasn’t really needed, but if there had been a safety car he would have been a sitting duck at the restart.
Why were there so many pit stops in Turkey?
There are a number of reasons for this. Mainly it is because the tyre degradation was severe. The track temperatures were higher on Sunday than during practice and tyres didn’t last as long as expected. Also the pit lane in Turkey is relatively short and so you lose less time (just 16 secs) making a stop there in comparison with other tracks. Also the high peak loadings on the tyres through Turn 8, as much as 1,000 kilos, take their toll on tyres.
Why planning to stop four times was the winning strategy
Many teams set out to stop three times, but told their drivers in the early laps of the race that they were moving to “Plan B”, which meant four stops. The tyre degradation was huge and that was clear from five laps into the race. It was at this point that many teams switched to four and those who didn’t (Button, Williams drivers) lost out.
Pre-race simulations said that a three stop strategy would lead a four stop by eight seconds after the fourth stop. But then the four stopper overtakes the three stopper as his tyres are a second a lap faster.
So teams who set out on Friday to run the race as a four stop strategy did well on Sunday. Ferrari were a case in point with Alonso, who set the car up to be optimised for four stops. He also benefited from a good start, which put him clear of the squabbles over position. We’ve learned that intense battles speed up tyre degradation.
Why didn’t Jenson Button make three stops work?
The limitation for trying to do three stops in Turkey was the front right tyre, which is the one that is punished most by Turn 8. Button found that by running longer stints, he developed understeer in all the left hand corners and that meant he couldn’t defend.
Button was racing against Rosberg and Hamilton, both of whom stopped four times. His goal was to do one less stop than them and to have enough of a margin over them when they came out from their fourth stop (around lap 46) for them not to be able to catch him in the 12 remaining laps, despite their newer tyres. His strategy began to unravel on his third stint, when he was on his new soft tyres. This was the moment to build a cushion, particularly as Rosberg was on hard tyres at this time. But on lap 30 Button got held up by Massa. Button’s laps 30 to 39 should have been in the 1m 31s and 32s, instead they were in the 1m 33s.
This meant that when Hamilton and Rosberg came out from their fourth stops Rosberg was only 8 seconds behind and Hamilton two. On tyres that were older and therefore a second a lap slower, Button was a sitting duck.
Similarly Buemi did well to make his tyres on a three stopper last so that he was in seventh place with four laps to go. But the two Renaults on fresher tyres went past him at the end and he wound up 9th, which is still a good result from 16th on the grid. So again we see midfield cars such as Toro Rosso and Sauber, which are gentle on their tyres, can run one less stop than rivals and get into the points.
Kobayashi copies Webber’s China strategy
Kamui Kobayashi was his usual ebullient self on Sunday, making some spectacular overtakes and working his way up from the back of the grid to finish 10th and claim a point. He did this by running on new tyres all race and by getting the hard tyre out of the way at the start, when his progress was limited anyway by traffic. He was helped by the hard tyre being faster than expected.
Kobayashi’s race again goes to show how much progress you can make if you run as much as possible on new tyres. It is likely to encourage midfield teams to consider throwing qualifying in order to have new tyres for the race.
RE: james Allen - maripi - 17-05-2011
Newey habla por primera vez sobre la muerte de Senna casi le hizo salir
Publicado en | El 16 de mayo de 2011 | por | 30 Comentarios
Donald McRae, el escritor ganador del premio en the Guardian, ha hecho de nuevo con una innovador entrevista con Adrian Newey, el genio de diseño detrás de dominación actual de Red Bull de Fórmula 1.
Pero no son las comillas que llaman la atención sobre Sebastian Vettel o Mark Webber, se refieren a la muerte de Ayrton Senna, hace 17 años este mes, en un Newey diseñó el coche de Williams-Renault.
"El poco pelo tenía todo cayó después," Newey dijo McRae para un artículo en guardián de hoy. "Por lo que me cambió físicamente. Fue terrible. Patrick Head y yo por separado preguntamos si queríamos seguir en carrera. ¿Queremos ser involucrados en un deporte donde la gente puede morir en algo hemos creado? ¿En segundo lugar, el accidente fue causado por algo que rompió a través del diseño pobre o negligente? Y, a continuación, comenzó el juicio.
Palabras de Newey vienen como Senna es ser reconsiderada ampliamente por los fans de la época y por una nueva generación le descubrir por primera vez gracias a la película documental "Senna", que se abre en el Reino Unido dentro de dos semanas.
Hay una escena intensa en la película final, donde le dice a un Senna obviamente agitado Newey y Ingeniería colega David Brown que el coche está sufriendo de un "equilibrio cambiante" en las esquinas, uno que está luchando por el control. El coche había sido actualizado después de fracasar en las apertura de tres carreras de 1994 y Senna dice que el coche es "peor" si nada.
Uno de los misterios centrales de la muerte de Senna es lo que causó su accidente. ¿La película no es concluyente sobre el tema, dejando abierta a lo que causó la columna de dirección romper-fue la causa o el efecto? Y es testimonio de Newey en el Guardian que,
"El día después de la carrera fue un día feriado el lunes y algunos de nosotros llegaron probar y arrastre, sin embargo, los datos y trabajar lo que pasó," Newey agrega."Eran semanas oscuros. La verdad honesta es que nadie sabrá nunca exactamente lo que ocurrió. ¿Hay sin duda la columna de dirección falló y la gran pregunta es si falló en el accidente o la causa del accidente? Tenía grietas de fatiga y habría fracasado en algún momento. Es indudable que su diseño era muy pobre. Sin embargo, toda la evidencia sugiere que el coche no salieron fuera de la pista como consecuencia del fracaso de la columna de dirección.
"Si nos fijamos en los tiros de cámara, especialmente de coche siguiente de Michael Schumacher, el coche no understeer fuera de la pista. Oversteered que no es consistente con una insuficiencia de columna de dirección. La parte trasera del coche intervino y todos los datos sugiere que ocurrió. Ayrton luego corrigió que yendo al Acelerador de 50% que sería coherente con tratar de reducir la retaguardia stepping out y, a continuación, mitad un segundo más tarde, viajó en el freno. Entonces la pregunta es ¿por qué el paso posterior? El coche tocó fondo mucho más difícil en la segunda vuelta que más parecen ser inusual porque han surgido la presión de los neumáticos entonces – que usted espera deja el neumático trasero derecho probablemente recogido una punción de escombros en la pista. Si fui empujado a recoger fuera un single más probable causa sería ".
Leer el artículo en The Guardian aquí
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/05/newey-speaks-for-first-time-about-how-sennas-death-almost-made-him-quit/
RE: james Allen - puesnosecual - 22-05-2011
Españoles Grand Prix - ¿Quién era su conductor de la Jornada?
Publicado en | 22 de mayo 2011 | por | Sin Comentarios
Una carrera llena de acción en España significa que hay un montón de aspirantes a conductor de la Jornada, pero ¿quién crees que merece el premio?
Sebastian Vettel
Vio a su racha de cinco posiciones consecutivas polo llegado a su fin cuando su compañero Webber le superó por 2/10ths en la clasificación. Saltó de Australia al principio, pero perdió el liderato con una rápida partida Alonso. Sin embargo, una estrategia superior lo tengo delante de Alonso, líder de la carrera en la segunda parada en boxes. A pesar de no KERS que contuvo una carga tardía de Hamilton para conseguir su cuarta victoria en cinco carreras esta temporada.
Lewis Hamilton
Arrancó tercero, pero perdió frente a Alonso en la salida. No se ha podido conseguir más allá de Webber para McLaren decidió probar una estrategia diferente que vio Hamilton permanecer fuera hasta la vuelta 22, mientras que Alonso y Webber enfrentó. Resultó inspirado como el británico consiguió junto a ellos tanto a segunda vuelta. Se alejó con Vettel por delante y se puso muy cerca del alemán en las últimas vueltas Vettel, pero fue capaz de aguantar.
Fernando Alonso
Deleitó al público local cuando acelerada de la cuarta a primera en su inicio. Lideró a los dos primeros tercios de la carrera como el Ferrari tuvo una gran salida de la última curva y en la recta, evitando que el grupo perseguidor de la utilización de sus proyectos de resolución. Perdió en la estrategia y luego luchó mal con la falta de agarre en los neumáticos duros y se desvaneció en la parte final de la carrera, finalizando la primera vuelta en el quinto.
Jenson Button
Tuvo un comienzo terrible, pasando del quinto al 10 º en la primera vuelta. Pero mientras que su rival salió a parar estrategia de cuatro, Button jugado en sólo tres paradas y en esta ocasión fue capaz de construir suficientes de un colchón por lo que valió la pena. Él fue capaz de utilizar los neumáticos blandos durante más tiempo y logró pasar tanto Webber y Alonso, que luchaban por el ritmo en la recalcitrantes. Que lo levantó en el tercer lugar - su segundo podio de la temporada.
Michael Schumacher
No se usó un juego de neumáticos blandos en la Q3 y empezó a 10 º . Dado un primer rayo, salto Button, Rosberg, Massa y Maldonado para ejecutar sesiones. Mercedes ritmo de carrera era muy por debajo de McLaren y Red Bull. Dificultades para mantenerse al día con los líderes y fue aprobada por el botón. Sin embargo, saltó delante de Petrov y consiguió derrotar a su compañero Rosberg para terminar sexto y anotar su mejor resultado de la temporada.
Nick Heidfeld
No establecer un tiempo en la clasificación debido a un incendio del coche al principio del día y comenzó la carrera en el último lugar. Una estrategia inversa, comenzando con los neumáticos duros y blandos a continuación, ejecutar con la ventaja de todos los nuevos juegos de neumáticos que salvó de la calificación que le permitió atravesar el campo. Cogió los dos pilotos de Mercedes en las últimas vueltas antes de establecerse en el octavo lugar - tres lugares más alto que su compañero Petrov, que comenzó sesiones.
Sergio Pérez
Tuvo una fuerte sesión de calificación para terminar 12 º más rápido, dos puntos por delante de su compañero de equipo más experimentado Kobayashi. Hicimos una escapada de limpieza y mostró buen ritmo de carrera para terminar noveno, un puesto por delante de su compañero de equipo, y sumar sus primeros puntos final en la Fórmula 1.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/05/spanish-grand-prix-%e2%80%93-who-was-your-driver-of-the-day/
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