james Allen

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Está claro que el Gran Premio de Malasia, 103a carrera de F1 Sebastian Vettel, será un punto de inflexión en su carrera.

Vettel admitió el domingo por la noche en la conferencia de prensa posterior a la carrera que va a ser visto como el "garbanzo negro", después de que ignoró las órdenes de equipo y pasó Mark Webber en las últimas vueltas del Gran Premio de Malasia del domingo, cuando el australiano cree que la carrera había sido suspendido por el equipo Red Bull.

Curiosamente, de haber terminado con Webber por delante, ahora sería el nivel de 33 puntos en la clasificación de pilotos. Y la manera en Red Bull funciona, el conductor con la posición más alta del campeonato tendrá prioridad en determinadas situaciones. En virtud de tener una victoria, Webber se coloca por encima de Vettel en la tabla.

Otro aspecto crucial en motivo de Vettel fue el hecho de que el hombre al que considera su rival por el título principal, Fernando Alonso, no ha sumado ningún punto en Sepang y dejar el extra de siete puntos sobre la mesa para terminar segundo en lugar de ganar, no era algo que Vettel podría contemplar, incluso si su equipo podía.

Algunos han elogiado Vettel por ser un "corredor real" otros lo han castigado por violar la ética deportiva. Para que quede claro: No adelantar a Webber en una situación de competición, ya que Webber estaba actuando en la creencia de que la carrera había terminado. La situación se revirtió en Silverstone hace dos años cuando Webber le dijo que no a pasar a Vettel en las últimas vueltas, pero tuvo un ir, finalmente dar marcha atrás. Así que no está libre de culpa en esta historia tampoco.

Curiosamente, ayer el equipo de la FOM TV broadcast director de Mercedes, instrucciones de orden, pero no las instrucciones codificadas Toro Rojo. Así que no está claro lo que se dice que Vettel y cuándo.

La práctica normal en esas situaciones es informar al conductor seguir en primer lugar, para que la situación se controla de inmediato y luego informar al conductor principal de que no será atacado por su compañero de equipo.

Lo que hace que la situación de ayer, más intrigante es que Vettel tenía una estrategia de neumáticos diferente a Webber, después de haber cometido un error al enfrentar muy pronto para que las manchas que le costó el liderato a Webber, Vettel estaba tratando de conseguir la victoria de nuevo mediante la ejecución de una estrategia que verlo en el neumático más rápido (media) en las últimas vueltas. Webber estaba en el compuesto duro que fue de alrededor de 0,6 s por vuelta más lento.

Así que Vettel estaba anticipando una carrera a última hora del desafío Webber con neumáticos más rápido y DRS y claramente así que era el equipo Red Bull estrategia, debido a que supervise los dos coches.

Pero el jefe del equipo, Christian Horner, ha confirmado que una vez que las paradas finales se completaron, Vettel se le dijo que siga casa Webber y él desobedeció esa instrucción.


Webber y Horner en conversaciones después de la carrera (Tomado en 9-30pm hora malayo Domingo)

A pesar de que se está comparando con pilotos como Senna y Schumacher del pasado, que empujó las cosas hasta el límite y más allá, a veces en la búsqueda de la gloria, ninguno de los pilotos que yo sepa desobedeció una orden de equipo. Senna y Prost se cayó sobre violaciónes de los acuerdos entre ellos mismos, pero no de las reglas impuestas por el equipo.
Así que Red Bull va a hacer nada para remediar la situación?

Webber tendrá todos los motivos para pensar que no se puede confiar en el equipo o su compañero de equipo. Ha habido incidentes anteriores que han ido en contra de él y lo hizo sentirse como Vettel está "protegido" por la dirección, como sugiere Webber en el podio del domingo.

Sin embargo, el hecho de que estaban dispuestos a dejar la carrera Webber victoria del domingo es interesante, dada la forma Webber está constantemente socavada por Red Bull Helmut Marko asesor.

Igualmente, comenta Bernie Ecclestone ayer que Webber sí mismo está protegido por la lealtad de Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz, propietario destaca la singular situación Webber se encuentra en el seno del equipo.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/03/an...ss-webber/
Si Red Bull no hace nada, la confianza de Webber se habrá perdido para siempre y que podría resultar tóxico para esta campaña, sobre todo si ésta va a ser su última temporada en la F1.

En cuanto a la reputación de Vettel entre los aficionados de este deporte, lo que será más difícil de reparar. Su disculpa después de la carrera era lo correcto a hacer, pero todavía sonó a hueco cuando ya tenía los 25 puntos en la bolsa.

Es un momento clave, un punto de inflexión en la carrera de brillante éxito y un pliegue en su imagen pública. Ha mostrado sus colores, mostró una crueldad y determinación para ganar, que va mucho más allá de lo que la gente imaginaba. En un nivel, esto lo convierte en un personaje más interesante, como Ron Dennis observó con admiración de Alonso, «animales competitivos no conocen límites.

Pero al pedir Webber se hizo a un lado a mitad de la carrera en la que también mostró un sentido de derecho, que no es atractivo.

En conclusión: ahora sabemos que Vettel tiene el 'poco del diablo ", que varios campeones legendarios han tenido en este deporte, pero se arrepentirá de la forma en que se llevó a cabo en esta carrera y lo hará, hasta cierto punto, mancha su legado .

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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/04/co...ing-drama/


Pongo una parte

A typical post race for the top three is a podium interview, then a 30 minute press conference in English, then they go downstairs to the “pen” where they speak in several languages for another 20 minutes or so to dozens of TV and radio crews.

A typical Thursday afternoon for Fernando Alonso, for example, will see him sit down in the Ferrari hospitality area with the international media, speaking in Engish, then after about 8-10 minutes he will switch to Italian then finally Spanish. Nico Rosberg can do that in five languages. Sadly all the British drivers can speak only in English, even the ones who live in Monaco.

The managers also speak frequently throughout the weekend. So the opportunity for key players to tell their own story across a race weekend is unparalleled. Commentators and correspondents like me interpret the action as it unfolds, but with so much of it narrated by the players themselves, the picture the viewer or listener gets is truly rounded. In any pre-race build up the viewer is introduced to a cast of dozens of characters, all of whom have a story to tell.

Also impressive is the way the key players present themselves when things go wrong.

The post race press conference in Sepang, which I moderated, was electric as the full drama of the Red Bull team orders ‘betrayal’ was laid out before a hungry media. It was right there with dramatic set pieces like the post qualifying conference in Monaco 2006 when Schumacher had deliberately spun, or Vettel’s Thursday press meeting in Montreal 2010 after the notorious collision with Webber in Istanbul.

Schumacher coped badly with the Monaco set piece; he would not accept he had done anything wrong and he resented being probed about it by the media. Webber, sitting next to him, observed that his hands were shaking as he spoke. He was later castigated by the stewards and sent to the back of the grid.

Webber contained his anger in Sepang, speaking with as much dignity as he could muster of his race and his feelings. Vettel knew that to pursue a Schumacher line of defence would not work so he came clean and apologised, inviting the ire and prurience of the media onto him. I watched him very carefully; he stayed calm, the lights were bright and they were all trained on him. But he said his piece, all improvised and in a second language and then exited, to have heart to heart with his team mate and managers. It was an entirely human drama but he managed to contain it.

It was a compelling piece of theatre, which enriches the narrative of a Grand Prix weekend.

Seeing the sport through fresh eyes thanks to working with people who come to it without background knowledge or prejudice, I see a sport that is brilliantly communicated by its participants.

No-one ever says this; it’s taken for granted. But it needs saying from time to time.

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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/04/th...e-of-2013/

Publicado el 08 de abril 2013
Después de los dos primeros Grandes Premios de los equipos han tenido un par de semanas para prepararse para el próximo par de carreras en China este fin de semana y Bahrein la semana siguiente.

En términos de desarrollo, las nuevas piezas vendrán a muchos de los coches para estas carreras, pero una innovación que muchos estarán trabajando para perfeccionar el sistema de suspensión FRIC, que ha ayudado a Lotus y Mercedes por el momento.

FRIC significa "delantero y trasero interconectado" del sistema, que une la suspensión delantera y trasera con sistema hidráulico con el fin de mejorar la estabilidad en la conducción. Esto ayuda a dar la confianza del conductor en el coche y, el verdadero impulso para el 2013, que ayuda a que los neumáticos funcionen mejor.

Los ingenieros están tratando de mantener una altura estática como los lanzamientos de automóviles y los rollos en las curvas.

Hay varias teorías en cuanto a cómo y Lotus Mercedes plomo en sus sistemas, pero a diferencia de un ala de F Duct o un escape Coanda, el sistema FRIC es difícil de ver, ya que es interno.

Sin embargo, gracias a las aportaciones de JA en F1 Asesor Técnico Gillan Marcos, podemos explicar los antecedentes de la idea y cómo ayuda el coche y un conductor para llevar a cabo.


Cuando un coche pasa por una esquina y sale a través de una serie de movimientos, sino que lanza en la frenada, que rueda sobre volumen de negocio en la esquina y salir de las curvas. Hay un montón de cambios en términos de estabilidad y altura de la carrocería y una importante cantidad de carga aerodinámica se pierde como consecuencia de ello.

Si se pudiera hacer el coche más estable a través de las dinámicas cambiantes y fijar la altura de la carrocería a través de esas maniobras, que le hacen la vida mucho más fácil. Así que una gran cantidad de innovaciones como ésta están diseñados para producir una altura de conducción estable a través de una aerodinámica optimizar las maniobras, y mantener la carga aerodinámica.

Este ha sido el enfoque de desarrollo aerodinámico en la F1 desde el último 2000s, como túneles de viento tienen más sofisticado. El reto para la aerodinámica es evaluar el equilibrio entre la carga aerodinámica y suavizar el paseo y la mayor parte del trabajo que se realiza en las pistas de F1 en la acumulación de una carrera se centró en conseguir un buen compromiso para el fin de semana.

La suspensión FRIC funciona mediante la transferencia de fluido hidráulico de delante a atrás y lo hace de forma pasiva, por lo que es legal - no es algo que el conductor controla activamente, esto ocurre cuando el coche se mueve.

Esta generación de coches de F1 es muy sensible a rodar, así que cualquier cosa que pueda minimizar el ángulo de balanceo es definitivamente una gran positivo. Es muy difícil decir exactamente lo que la ganancia es en tiempo de vuelta, pero hace que el conductor se sienta más confiado y eso es algo que vale la pena ya que es el otro beneficio importante en cuanto a los neumáticos. Al hacer el coche más estable y consistente, que hará que sea más fácil para los neumáticos. Usted tiene más carga donde usted lo quiere, por lo que el desgaste es más uniforme.

FRIC no es una cosa fácil de integrar en un coche y que es algo que un equipo tratará de guardar silencio sobre lo que la desarrollan. Así que no puede ver fanfarria mucho al respecto ya que los equipos nuevos que traen en funcionamiento ya que la temporada continúa.

Curiosamente Lotus y Mercedes eran dos equipos que más se han interesado en el pasivo del sistema DRS, que ha demostrado ser muy difícil de presentarnos como el conductor se siente inseguro acerca de la reducción de la resistencia y la reinserción y el repentino cambio en la altura de marcha, cuando él no lo esperaba.

Si a través del sistema FRIC que podría minimizar el terreno de juego en el coche en línea recta frenado manoeurvre, que ayudaría a la estabilidad y así aliviar la inseguridad del conductor. Así suspensión FRIC bien puede ser un precursor de la introducción del sistema pasivo de DRS en las carreras.

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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/04/ra...-in-china/


El UBS Gran Premio de China fue otra carrera tensa y el resultado se decidió una vez más por la estrategia de carrera. Lo que lo hacía particularmente interesante fue que había diferentes enfoques entre los principales equipos, obligados por los niveles de rendimiento diferentes de los neumáticos Pirelli blandos y medios. Los estrategas del equipo tenía que encontrar una manera de hacer la carrera más rápida, lo que significaba gastar la menor cantidad de tiempo en el neumático más débil y en funcionamiento en aire claro como sea posible.

Aquí, con la ayuda y el aporte de varios estrategas del equipo, así como en F1 JA técnico asesor Gillan Marcos, se analizan las decisiones clave que dieron forma al resultado.


Podría haber mantenido Mercedes Hamilton por delante de Raikkonen?

Kimi Raikkonen tuvo otra carrera increíble y podría haber luchado por la victoria si no hubiera sufrido dos reveses, una mala salida de la línea de partida debido a una configuración incorrecta del embrague que le costó dos lugares y daños en el alerón delantero de un choque con Sergio Pérez. Lotus estimación de que el daño le costó 0,25 s en la pérdida del frontalen tiempo de vuelta, pero consideró que el cambio de a su siguiente parada en pits les costaría 10 segundos y soltar Raikkonen en el tráfico, por lo que dejó la

El siguiente reto era para salir adelante de Mercedes Lewis Hamilton. El equipo de estrategia de Lotus hizo con un clásico socavado en la vuelta 34. Raikkonen enfrentó en primer lugar, pero Mercedes no reaccionó a cubrir el tope. El Lotus había sido poco más de un segundo por detrás cuando se enfrentó. Pero Mercedes Hamilton dejó fuera hasta la vuelta 37. Cuando salió de la Raikkonen pozos había hecho lo suficiente con neumáticos nuevos para salir adelante. Permanecieron así hasta el final, segundo y tercero. Así que ¿por qué no podía reaccionar y Mercedes lo han jugado de manera diferente?

Lotus desafiado al entrar en la vuelta 34, sabiendo que tenían una mejor vida útil del neumático de la Mercedes. Todavía quedaban 22 vueltas para el final hasta el final. Hamilton tenía el ritmo para reaccionar, en la vuelta 35 lo hizo una vuelta de 1m 41.8s, que era más rápido que las vueltas anteriores. Así que se podría haber reaccionado en la vuelta 35 y mantuvo la posición.

Sin embargo, la razón por la que dejó fuera Hamilton fue porque sabía que iba a tener problemas con los neumáticos al final de la carrera si se detuvo en este punto. Fue un verdadero Catch 22 situación por ellos.

Con Sebastian Vettel dispuesto a ser muy rápido en los últimos cinco vueltas con neumáticos blandos nuevos, que le hubiera costado el podio Hamilton había reaccionado con una ganancia a corto plazo. Esto se puede ver a partir de la forma en ritmo de Hamilton decrecido en las dos últimas vueltas, lo que indica que incluso en un período regazo 19 sufrido sus neumáticos.

Es una pregunta difícil para el equipo, pero es por eso que Ross Brawn, dijo al final a Hamilton: "No son muy allá"

Lotus jugaron su ventaja muy inteligente, pero Mercedes hizo lo correcto. También vale la pena señalar la fosa doble parada que arrancó en la quinta vuelta, que cuesta Rosberg sólo 2 segundos en el pit lane (sus tiempos de parada son idénticos en 3,3 segundos). Este es un signo de un grupo, que es confidente y maduro en su toma de decisiones y su ejecución. Eso podría haber salido terriblemente mal.


¿De dónde salió el swing carrera hacia Alonso? ¿Y qué le pasó a Massa?

Análisis de la serie ganadora Fernando Alonso demuestra que los momentos clave fueron el comienzo, donde obtuvo por delante de Raikkonen, la primera parada en boxes, donde llegó por delante de Hamilton, y luego los períodos segundo y tercero de la carrera, donde fue el coche más rápido en el circuito.

Fue una victoria que tenía muchos detalles en la ejecución estratégica. Ferrari había hecho sus deberes durante los entrenamientos del viernes y sabía que la mejor manera de manejar las tandas largas con los neumáticos. Se extienden las paradas de manera bastante uniforme, con 17 vueltas en la segunda temporada, 18 en el tercero y 15 vueltas en el tramo final, por lo que Alonso no estaba en riesgo de quedarse sin vida del neumático y fundamentalmente se las arreglaron para meterlo en las brechas en el tráfico después de que sus paradas segunda y tercera para poder hacer uso de sus neumáticos nuevos. Después de la segunda parada que rápidamente pasó Vettel y Hulkenberg, que estaban fuera de secuencia, perdiendo poco tiempo en el proceso y que era capaz de correr en el aire claro.

Los estrategas dicen que en términos de energía dañar los neumáticos, entre correr una temporada en aire claro en comparación con otro coche detrás de la diferencia es hasta un 20%. Así que usted puede ver lo importante que es encontrar los huecos.

En cuanto a Felipe Massa, quien siguió a su compañero de equipo en el primer tercio de carrera, se quedó fuera porque lo obligaron a permanecer fuera una vuelta extra antes de su primera parada y salió detrás de Raikkonen y Webber. Ahora estaba en el tráfico y luchó por conseguir los neumáticos medios para trabajar, así como lo había hecho los blandos. Esto le hizo perder tiempo, así que él fue víctima de Vettel y el botón de parada de dos. Un segundo stint muy provisional significaba que perdió la oportunidad de mantener a Vettel detrás de él después de la parada de Vettel en la vuelta 32 y llegar por delante de Button en su última parada en la vuelta 49.

Para ilustrar este punto, en ese segundo período, entre las vueltas 24 y 35 Massa pasó de 10 segundos por detrás de Alonso a 27 segundos por detrás!


Ha hecho el trabajo de Vettel estrategia de juego?
Para un equipo que se ha acostumbrado a ganar de una manera muy conservadora en los últimos años, Red Bull ha tomado dos apuestas gran estrategia en dos Grandes Premios con Vettel, cuando en realidad no bajo la presión de hacerlo . En Malasia Vettel enfrentó muy pronto en una pista mojada por las mareas y perdió el liderato a Webber, mientras que en Shanghai Red Bull hizo una apuesta que dio Vettel una enorme cantidad de hacer en el día de la carrera y finalmente no le trajera un podio.

Por una vez Red Bull sabía que no tenía el ritmo al desafío de Ferrari, Lotus y por la victoria en China. Así que tomó un enfoque diferente de la calificación en adelante. Vettel no se ha ejecutado en la Q3, dejándose la opción de iniciar la carrera con neumáticos medios nuevos. Vettel había salvado a dos juegos de los nuevos medios y un juego de blandos nuevos para la carrera. Sin embargo, al hacer esto se puso en el noveno lugar en la parrilla, y por lo tanto en el tráfico, con pilotos como Ricciardo y Grosjean por delante de él.

La razón por la que este plan no pudo traer un podio fue porque, a diferencia de Alonso, Vettel estaba atascado en el tráfico durante gran parte de la primera mitad de la carrera. Su primera tanda perdió tiempo detrás de Hulkenberg y en el segundo se llevó a cabo por Pérez. Este daño a sus tiempos de vuelta y sentado detrás de otros coches también tomó más de los neumáticos.

Esta sensación de "nerviosismo" en Red Bull se refleja también en el error sembrado de fin de semana, Mark Webber sufrió, estaba underfuelled por 3kg el sábado para la calificación, que es mucho teniendo en cuenta lo rigurosamente el proceso está probado y comprobado, pero es el mejor ejemplo cuando se enfrentaron en la carrera por un cambio del alerón delantero en la vuelta 15. Este proceso redujo el tope inferior a alrededor de 8 segundos desde los habituales 2,5 segundos y sin embargo, el derecho del hombre detrás de la rueda pistola no garantiza el volante y salió. Es muy extraño tener un error como que cuando usted tiene un repuesto seis segundos para jugar en una parada. Es casi como si estuvieran ejerciendo presión sobre ellos mismos y por el momento no está funcionando.


Vale la pena una apuesta: Análisis de la estrategia de McLaren

En cada una de las tres carreras disputadas hasta ahora McLaren ha sabido que no tiene el ritmo para correr a sus rivales habituales. Así que el equipo ha dado algunos grandes apuestas sobre la estrategia para tratar de obtener un mejor resultado. Algunos han funcionado y otros no. Sergio Pérez aún no ha visto un buen resultado de sus estrategias audaces, por ejemplo. En China fue uno de los únicos dos pilotos que tratan de una breve temporada en el neumático blando en la mitad de la carrera, en lugar de al final. No salió bien.

Jenson Button, sin embargo, consiguió un quinto puesto, que el equipo estaba contento, haciendo una parada a menos de la oposición en China.

Los datos previos a la carrera mostró que la primera parada de este plan sería de alrededor de la vuelta 18, pero a partir de medios utilizados, Button logró llegar a la vuelta 23 sigue marcando tiempos competitivos, comparables con Alonso en esa etapa. A partir de la vuelta 20 hasta el final de la carrera, ambos pilotos han tenido dos paradas más que hacer y que estaban juntos en la pista de carreras. Button parecía que tuviera la oportunidad de un gran resultado.

Sin embargo, su segundo stint de 26 vueltas fue menos eficaz y, consciente de la necesidad de proteger los neumáticos durante la temporada más larga que haría cualquiera en esta carrera, su paso dejó, en particular alrededor de vueltas 35-42. Y ahí es donde un mejor resultado se alejó de él.

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Fernando Alonso goes into his home Grand Prix at Barcelona next weekend looking to bounce back from the disastrous Bahrain Grand Prix in which he lost a chance of victory due to a failure on the Drag Reduction System rear wing.

It means that after four rounds of 19, he now lies 30 points behind title rival Sebastian Vettel.

The fallout from the DRS failure is interesting. According to a statement from Ferrari, “Analysis revealed that the problem was caused by the breakage of a mechanical component within the system. It’s the first problem of its kind on this system seen in the three years during which it has been used.

“The failure is not something that causes concern for the long term.

“The disappointment at what happened is even greater when one looks at the usual analysis of performance over the race weekend, which shows that Alonso could definitely have been fighting with Sebastian Vettel for the win.”

In terms of its impact on Alonso’s race, he had already lost the initiative to Vettel on the opening lap, so was in chasing mode. But then the DRS jammed open on lap seven. Experts suggest that with the DRS stuck open the loss of downforce would be around 70 to 80 points of downforce. Alonso lost three seconds on lap 7 and then a further four seconds with it stuck open again on lap 8.

Not only did the wing not close, it went back into an “over centre” position.

There have been isolated incidents where a wing failed to close, such as Mercedes in Montreal last year. But this was different due to its finishing position.


Interestingly, the problem in Bahrain showed that the Ferrari hydraulic system for the wing is apparently relatively simple; a single acting actuator relying on a spring or gas spring to close the flap and probably a solenoid to energise it. This is why the mechanics could close the flap manually and it remained so on track (unlike the Mercedes failure last year which was caused by trapped hydraulic pressure). There are other ways to plumb the system for example by using hydraulics to both open and close the flap via a double acting system.

After it failed the first time, it was obviously a mistake on Alonso’s part to use it a second time on lap 8, as this cost him another 21.5 seconds for a pit stop. It also put him back in traffic. But to try to do the rest of the race without DRS would have meant he would be uncompetitive anyway. Nevertheless, he did managed to come some way through the field to finish eighth.

One thing is for sure; the design of the DRS from now on should be such that in the even of a failure it stays closed, rather than the opposite. To prevent an ‘unsafe’ failure like this should preclude the mechanism being able to go over centre. This is encapsulated in article
3.18.1 of the Technical Regulations.

“The design is such that failure of the system will result in the uppermost
closed section returning to the normal high incidence position.”

The hydraulic system runs up the side of the rear wing endplate and then serves the torpedo shaped actuator on the rear wing. It is very aggressive on DRS wings, it has to be as it’s pushing flap up when loaded with air pressure. There is a stop to ensure that it sets in position quickly and clearly the Ferrari one went past its stop.

Teams design the profiles of the rear wing upper and lower elements to give the maximum possible reduction in drag when the flap is opened to the 50mm slot gap allowed. This affects the shape of the flap, usually forcing a less cambered (flatter) profile and therefore one that is more likely to go over centre.

The failure of the mechanism on Alonso’s wing, presumably caused by just a small amount more wear, free play or deflection in the mechanism than anticipated, could be an example of how much work has gone into the wing and how near to the limit they are pushing it.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/05/fa...n-bahrain/

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Analysis: What Pirelli’s mid-season changes will mean

posted on May 14, 2013
The sudden announcement by Pirelli that they are to change the tyre specifications from the seventh round of the world championship onwards will inevitably raise many questions: who will it favour, what are the implications for the racing?

With no testing available – a significant part of the reason why Pirelli has struggled to get the tyres right this year – they will have to use a construction solution that has been proven to work in the past, rather than try something new.

JA on F1 technical adviser Mark Gillan was chief operations engineer at Williams until the end of 2012 and has a deep understanding of how the tyres work and what is involved in this change.

Here, with his input, is our analysis of today’s decision.

When Pirelli says the tyres from Canada will be more like 2012 tyres what does that mean?

The 2012 tyres were more durable than this year’s tyres, which suffer from high degradation. Pirelli has indicated that it will change the construction of the tyres to be more like the 2012 products.

The 2013 tyres have a different construction from the 2012 products, with a steel belt inside the tyre in place of last year’s kevlar belt. It is likely that this decision will be reversed with the revised tyres, as Pirelli moves back to a proven solution.

The weakness of the 2012 tyres was wear; typically the inside shoulder of the tyres would wear out and teams would run the tyre until there was no rubber left on the shoulder and then make a pit stop. However the teams understood how to manage them quite well by the end of the season.

For 2013 Pirelli tried to fix the wear problem by getting the contact patch of the tyre more reasonably positioned, but it seems that in changing the construction to achieve this they have gone too far.

Although the reason given for the change is that four stops is considered too many for a race and they would like to reduce that to two or three stops, there is also the safety aspect in light of the tyre failures in Bahrain and Spain. In changing the construction, they have obviously done something to affect the tyre’s integrity.


Which teams will be most affected by these changes?
Thermal management of the tyre is the key this year and teams like Ferrari, Lotus and Force India have prioritised this in their 2013 designs. All three have good aerodynamics, but they have engineered in a way to keep the tyre in its ideal operating window by a combination of a stable aero map, a mechanical package which is in sympathy with the tyre and a good set-up.

Red Bull has very good aerodynamic package, as it has for many years now, but inferior mechanical package and thermal management of the tyres.

These weaknesses assume less importance with the changes Pirelli is making, they are likely to increase the operating window of the tyres and increase the durability and that reduces the importance of the thermal management.


What challenges does a change of tyres seven races into the season present to the teams?
The knock-on effects of a change of tyre construction are considerable and this is a major headache for teams, especially as they are about to commit more wind tunnel time and resources to their 2014 designs.

It is unlikely that a change of construction can be made without this affecting the shape of the tyre and how the contact patch with the ground forms. When part of the tyre leaves the ground this changes the shape of the airflow to the floor of the car.

The teams have spent many months modelling this in the wind tunnel and in CFD and if the shape changes even by a few millimetres, this will have an effect on the way the front wing interacts with the tyres, and with the flow down the side of the car and underneath the floor. It will impact the aerodynamic balance of the car and teams that have pushed to get on top of that will suffer.

We are getting close to the time when the teams were hoping to move the 2013 model out of the wind tunnel and start devoting more time to the 2014 model. This change of tyres will complicate this for everyone. particularly for teams with limited resources, it will make for a real headache as they try to stay competitive in 2013 and not lose ground in 2014.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/05/wh...will-mean/

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Pirelli caught in crossfire as F1 team factions go to war

In the aftermath of the decision by Pirelli to make some changes to the 2013 tyres from round 7 in Canada onwards, there has been a backlash from those teams whose cars were working well on the tyres.

Lotus boss Eric Boullier and now Ferrari’s Horse Whisperer column have attacked the change and Red Bull in particular for lobbying behind the scenes and in the media for a change in tyres.

Pirelli is caught in the middle and whatever changes it makes from here onwards it will be perceived by some fans as having affected the outcome of the championship.

Pirelli is at fault for going too far with the 2013 tyres and for making them a larger talking point than the personalities in the sport. People tune into F1 because of personalities; it’s about Prost vs Senna, Alonso vs Vettel, not about hard versus medium.

The mistake of this season was in moving the centre of pressure too far towards a technical topic and away from the world’s best drivers expressing themselves on the race track. That imbalance has turned many fans off and this been recognised at the top.

However the essential truth to remember when sifting through the messages coming from the teams is that F1 teams will only ever speak out of self interest.

For example, as the Horse Whisperer pointed out, Red Bull won the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix with four stops and made no complaints at all. On Sunday they tried to do three, were forced to make a fourth at the wrong moment and ended up missing the podium. A volley of complaint ensued from Red Bull and especially from the owner, Dietich Mateschitz, that F1 2013 is not real racing.

Likewise Boullier and Ferrari are desperate to keep the 2013 tyres as they are because they have engineered themselves an advantage.

It was the same in 2009 when some teams thought of the double diffuser and the ones who didn’t tried to ban it, or 2010 with McLaren’s F Duct, which received similar treatment.

The difference here is that the argument involves a third party, Pirelli, and is much easier to target a third party than it is to face up to one’s own problems.

Arguably Pirelli made a tactical mistake when announcing the changes this week; rather than discuss a desire to cut the ideal number of stops down to two or three, which panders to the lobbyists, perhaps Pirelli should have focussed on the need to solve the delamination problem which we have seen in the last two races on Ferrari, Mercedes, Force India and Toro Rosso cars.

The priority in making a change from Canada onwards is to ensure that the tread block stays on the tyre in all situations; whether the problem is caused by debris cutting the tyres, overheating or manufacturing issues. That has to be solved in this raft of changes.

But beyond that the task is to produce tyres that are slightly more durable, but maintain the same shape and profile as the original 2013 tyres and perform in a similar way, so as not to handicap teams like Ferrari and Lotus that had found clever engineering solutions.

This is likely to be the outcome; tyres that are no so significantly different. But as the subject of tyres is so little understood by most of the media and many fans, the truth is likely to get lost amid claim and counter-claim.

Whatever the outcome and the changes, there will be complaints and factions who believe that it has decided the championship.

The reality is that until the new tyres go onto the cars in Montreal, it will be impossible to say who has won and lost with the changes. In all probability what will happen is that the engineering solutions of Ferrari, Lotus and Force India will continue to work, but the wider operating window of the tyres and increased durability will mean a reduction in the margin of deficit Red Bull and others suffer. It will being them closer together, but with the tyre-friendly teams still at an advantage.

But we will have to wait and see.

Despite their mistakes, one has a twinge of sympathy with Pirelli for being caught out with this year’s tyres by not having adequate test facilities, as the teams cannot organise themselves sufficiently well to provide a test car for them to work with.

Last year they reluctantly agreed to allow a 2010 Renault to be used to test 2013 tyres and then when Lotus turned up this year with a car that was engineered to work well on its tyres, there were complaints that Enstone had benefitted from the tests.

Now we have such an absence of trust between teams that there is no test car.

The only workable solution is to have an extra day or two after certain Grands Prix where teams can run development tyres and the process can become functional again.

Remember that when Bridgestone and Michelin were competing there were three or four days of testing after most Grands Prix. Bridgestone had a test budget of $20 million for Ferrari alone.

The Horse Whisperer sees it like this, “Maybe the brain cells that control memory only operate selectively, depending on the results achieved on track by their owners.

“A classic example of this is the current saga regarding the number of pit stops. Voices have been raised to underline the fact that various teams, some of whom got to the podium and others who were quite a way off, made four pit stops in the recent Spanish Grand Prix, making the race hard to follow.

“It’s a shame that these worthy souls kept quiet two years ago when, at the very same Catalunya Circuit and on the Istanbul track, five of the six drivers who got to those two podiums made exactly the same number of pit stops as did Alonso and (Ferrari’s second driver) Massa last Sunday in the Spanish Grand Prix.


http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/05/pi...go-to-war/

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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/06/al...-hamilton/

Fernando Alonso has bounced back from a below par performance at the Monaco Grand Prix to head the Formula One field in Free Practice around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean.

The Ferrari driver set the fastest lap in a qualifying simulation on the supersoft tyre and also put in a strong long run performance with fast, consistent laps. But Red Bull also looked consistent on the long runs and Mercedes looked strong on single lap pace again.

Following heavy rain overnight much of Free Practice 1 was run in wet conditions, with only a small number of cars taking to the slick tyre as the circuit dried in the closing minutes.

This meant that there was little experience gained on the new development tyre that has been brought to Canada by Pirelli in the hope of negating the delaminations that have occurred in recent Grand Prix.

However FP2 was dry throughout, although cold at 19 degrees celsius, and this allowed for the teams to evaluate the modified tyre and complete some dry laps.

It took until the half way point in the session for the qualifying simulations to begin and Sebastian Vettel was the first to set a competitive time on Pirelli’s super-soft compound. It became apparent that some cars were struggling to put temperature in to the tyres on the first flying lap with the fastest times coming on the second flying lap of the tyre.

With the track gaining grip rapidly the top spot was held by Vettel, Webber and Hamilton before Alonso took to the top, just 1/100th of a second ahead of Hamilton with the fourth lap on the tyres. He followed up with another lap a few hundredths slower.

Hamilton has stated that his difficulties in getting the maximum out of the car this season -relative to Nico Rosberg – lie with unfamiliarity with the different braking system that the Briton has struggled to get to grips with since his move from McLaren.

Similarly to Monaco, Montreal is a circuit that the drivers must edge up to in order to find their maximum pace as unforgiving walls lining the circuit offer little room for error. And as the times began to drop there was the customary change to the option tyre as the teams set about completing qualifying simulations, before the switch the race stint simulations in the final thirty minutes of the afternoon.

During these runs it was the usual contenders who illustrated strong race pace as Ferrari, Lotus and Red Bull put themselves ahead of Mercedes over the lengthy stints. And with these teams taking seven of the top eight places it looks set to be a good battle between the front-runners.

Force India also looked strong on long run pace in its 100th Grand Prix.

Alonso finds himself 29 points adrift of World Championship leader Sebastian Vettel and with a car that looks superior to the rest of the field at this early stage of the weekend Ferrari must focus on clawing back that deficit that has come about through Vettel’s excellent consistency.

There were a number of lock-ups during the first half of the session in particular, which is typical in Montreal with its long straights leading in to heavy braking zones. However it is also believed that the development tyre affected the brake bias of the cars and caused more frequent lock-ups then we would usually see.

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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2013/06/ge...on-murray/

It has been reported this evening that my old broadcasting colleague Murray Walker is fighting cancer.

Approaching his 90th birthday, Murray was already dealing with a fractured pelvis from a fall; blood tests during his treatment revealed a form of cancer in the lymphatic system.

Fortunately it has been found early in its development, so there is a degree of optimism about the treatment of it.

“They’ve caught it incredibly early. It’s treatable, the doctors say my condition is mild and I’m very hopeful,” said Murray.

His mother lived to over 100 and the veteran commentator always used to say when we were on the road that you can absteem from smoking and drinking as much as you like (both of which he avoided), but if you don’t have good genes then you’re sunk.

We wish him a speedy recovery.

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Mark Webber: F1's 'proper bloke' will be sorely missed

Mark Webber's decision to leave Formula 1 at the end of the season puts an already endangered species on the critical list. He is a top grand prix driver who is prepared to say what he thinks.
As Lewis Hamilton puts it: "What I like about Mark is he says a lot of things that are true and he's very blunt and he says it regardless."
Play media

Time right to leave F1 - Webber
F1 is also losing a man who is "super-quick, one of the quickest guys on the grid", a tribute paid by McLaren sporting director Sam Michael, who worked with Webber at Williams and has since had experience of, among others, Hamilton.
Webber's combination of race-winning pace and forthright manner has made him a central figure in F1 over the last decade and, particularly, the last few years.
The 36-year-old Australian is what is known in his home country as "a proper bloke".
He makes time for journalists he respects, yet happily admits to an impatience with PR work in general.
He is a proud and committed Aussie who lives in the English home counties, eschewing various tax havens, because it has come to feel like home.
"Britney's in the wall"
Mark Webber's Williams years provided a favourite anecdote about him, which says a lot about his determination, sense of justice and humour.

Like all top Aussie sportsmen, Webber is not immune to a few psychological games to boost his chances. And it was he who invented the nickname "Britney" - as in popstar Spears - for his young, blond and good-looking 2006 Williams team-mate Nico Rosberg, then in his first season.

Their final race together was in Brazil, where Rosberg rammed into the back of his team-mate's car on the opening lap, breaking the front nose of the German's car and Webber's rear wing.

Because it's relatively quick to replace a front wing replacement but a damaged rear means a likely retirement, the two were given a "priority Rosberg" message over the radio as they headed back to the pits.

Webber, cross at his team-mate's mistake, was determined to get back first and they began to race - really race - despite Rosberg suffering from lack of front grip and Webber struggling with the rear.

As they came on to the pit straight, Rosberg was just ahead, only to lose control through the flat-out kink before the pits and crash heavily into a concrete barrier.

Webber was right behind him and, as he passed the incident, the team came back on the radio with another "priority Rosberg" message. Webber paused for effect before replying in a languid Aussie drawl: "Britney's in the wall."

And he sees top-level sport in simple terms - as a medium for the best in the world to test themselves against each other, competing with respect, determination, integrity and total commitment.
The respect goes both ways. That is clear in his relationship with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who Webber considers the best driver in the world, and in the trust they have put in each other in any number of on-the-limit racing situations over the years, most notably Webber's breathtaking pass of the Ferrari driver at Spa's Eau Rouge in 2011.
Webber has won nine grands prix and is particularly proud of the four victories shared equally between Monaco and Silverstone, among F1's classic venues.
But perhaps the best of all was his first, winning the 2009 German Grand Prix despite a drive-through penalty for causing a collision at the start.
The pace he showed that day in making up the lost time, pushing to the limit throughout, is what he misses about F1 in the current Pirelli/DRS era, in which he believes rapidly degrading tyres and the artificiality of some of the overtaking moves have diluted the sport's purity.

Mark Webber celebrates his maiden win at the 2009 German Grand Prix
This partly explains his decision to spearhead Porsche's return to closed-wheel sportscar racing next season, with the particular target of winning Le Mans. Despite the longer races, the drivers can push hard pretty much throughout.
Webber got his hands on front-running machinery only late in his career, at Red Bull in 2009, when he was already 32. The seven years leading up to that were a battle in a succession of uncompetitive cars from Minardi, Jaguar, Williams and, initially, at Red Bull too.
It was remarkable he even got that far. Webber was raised the son of a motorcycle dealer in Queanbeyan near Canberra in New South Wales.
"We grew up in the same area," says Sam Michael. "He's quite a lot younger than me, so I didn't know him in Australia, but I do know how difficult it would have been just to get to Europe to be a driver. That's a huge deal in Australia.
"He didn't grow up on the karting tracks of Europe, pounding around since he was four years old competing against the cutting edge of everyone. You can't do that in Australia.
"So to get into sportscars, Formula 3000 and then the bottom rung of F1 and work your way up the grid to win grands prix is a phenomenal effort."
The road to F1 was arduous. Via two horrendous aerial crashes at Le Mans in 1999, he made it finally at the age of 25 in 2002, driving a lowly Minardi for team boss Paul Stoddart, a fellow Australian, for whom Webber had driven in Formula 3000.

Mark Webber poses with Ferrari's Michael Schumacher ahead of his Minardi F1 debut in 2002
Like Alonso in the same team the previous year, Webber did enough in a back-of-the-grid car to convince he had potential.
A three-year deal with Jaguar was wasted by the team's appalling underachievement and he then made what turned out to be a terrible decision to join Williams rather than Renault in 2005.
It made sense at the time. Williams were BMW's partner and had been one of the closest challengers to dominant Ferrari for the previous three years. And Webber was attracted by the chance to drive for a once-great team and perhaps revive their glory days.
But Renault were heading into two years at the very top, both of which their lead driver Alonso ended as world champion. Williams were on the decline, and Webber did not win a race.
Although Webber's two years at Williams were frustrating, they did give him the chance to shine on a few occasions. Among them was being a victory contender at Monaco in 2006 against Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren before a wiring loom burnt out.
Webber moved to Red Bull in the hope of benefiting when their feted designer Adrian Newey came good. So it was his bad luck to be joined at the team by a phenomenon - Vettel - just as that happened.
Undoubtedly, Vettel has emerged as the superior driver, but the margins have generally been small and it says a lot for Webber's single-mindedness and mental fortitude that he has been able to continually keep the pressure on the German - and sometimes beat him fair and square - despite knowing exactly where the team's priorities lie.
It is generally in the slow corners where Vettel ekes out his advantage, a unique technique making superb use of the unconventional aerodynamics of the cars that have raced since 2011. In the fast corners, Webber often has the edge.
Webber and Vettel have done little to hide the tension between them and the series of flashpoints in their relationship has formed a central part of the F1 narrative over the last few years. None of them would have happened had Webber not been such a strong and determined competitor.
Despite fame and fortune, he has remained true to himself. He is unimpressed with the trappings of F1 and its supposed glamour. And his willingness to follow his own mind is intact.
Play media

F1's Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber interview each other
One of the best examples was in China in 2012, when F1 was a week away from going back to Bahrain after the previous year's race had been cancelled following civil unrest.
Nearly all the drivers fell back on bland statements about trusting the authorities, about only being here to race and so on.
Not Webber. His views on Bahrain were well known so his pre-race media briefing was packed with journalists expecting he would say something interesting.
The Red Bull press officers suspected what might be coming, and had said to him beforehand that he should stick to the party line and not talk in depth about Bahrain.
Webber walked in, looked at the assembled throng, and said: "So. Bahrain?"
Over the next 15 minutes, he talked about nothing else. Judging the situation perfectly, he picked his words with care, making it clear he was uncomfortable about the position the sport and himself were in and why, but not saying a single thing that could be construed as offensive or overtly critical.
It was a profoundly impressive moment - and he went on to produce one of his best races, out-qualifying Vettel on a tough weekend for the team and passing him for fourth place between the penultimate and final corners of the last lap.
In the car and out of it, F1 is going to miss him.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23073995