Mark Webber has led calls for Romain Grosjean to face another driving
ban after he was taken out by the Frenchman at the start of the
Japanese Grand Prix, the seventh such incident Grosjean has been
involved in this season.
Grosjean received a one-race ban after
causing a pile-up in Spa, but today’s incident shows that either he has
not learned or he has some in-built problem when it comes to the
instinctive phase of the racing driver’s art – the chaotic race starts.
Because
race starts are an instinctive moment, many ex-drivers in the paddock
argue that this is not something that can be trained into him.
Webber
called Grosjean a “first lap nutcase” and added, “The rest of us are
trying to fight for decent results. Maybe he needs another holiday. He
needs to have a look at himself, how many times can you make the same
error. It’s embarrassing at this level.”
Grosjean said, “After the
ban I am very careful at the start. I kept my line trying to avoid any
contact with Perez, who was on my left. I was focussing on that and I
didn’t see the delta speed with Mark.
“Trying to avoid any contact was my main objective, but it didn’t work, it’s a stupid crash.”
FIA
stewards at Suzuka handed him a ten second stop-go penalty during the
race, but the GPDA will clearly want to look at this and discuss it
together with FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting.
Showing posts with label WEBBER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WEBBER. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Monday, 23 July 2012
Red Bull Engine Remaps
F1 technicians are always in search of detailed innovations, which
will give a competitive edge over their rivals, especially where the
rules are not clearly worded.
At Hockenheim this weekend at the German Grand Prix, we saw an episode where an innovation from Red Bull and its engine partner Renault was allowed through because it was not covered by the rules, so even though the FIA’s own technical delegate Jo Bauer, felt he had found something in the engine mapping which was not allowed, when he referred it to the race stewards on Sunday they felt they had no choice but to let Red Bull race with it.
The Stewards’ statement said, “While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art 5.5.3 of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations and therefore decided to take no action.”
The F1 Technical Working group is meeting today in London and this will be on the agenda. In all probability the FIA will follow up this week with a rule clarification (known as a Technical Directive), which will outlaw the Red Bull/Renault idea before next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but it certainly served its purpose in Germany.
The idea was to use engine mapping to cut the torque at medium revs, which would certainly have helped with driveability in the wet conditions of practice and qualifying in Germany and would also have an aerodynamic benefit in slow corners; some of the fuel/air mixture finds its way into the exhausts to create post combustion – which blows hot exhaust gas under pressure down through the diffuser to create rear end downforce.
It’s very clever and shows the lengths teams will go to to find extra downforce. Bauer felt it was illegal because the rules say the connection between the opening of the throttle and the torque demand on the engine should be linear and in his view Red Bull was introducing a deviation in that process. Bauer had observed that the torque demand was less than at other recent races.
The rule that he felt Red Bull and Renault were trying to get around is new for this year and is designed to outlaw the practice of engines blowing exhaust gas into the diffuser even when the driver’s foot is off the throttle in a corner.
Engine maps are one of the dark arts of F1. Teams have various maps, controlled from the steering wheel by the driver; settings for fuel saving in the race, for example, for overtaking, or for setting the engine at the pit lane speed limit.
At Hockenheim this weekend at the German Grand Prix, we saw an episode where an innovation from Red Bull and its engine partner Renault was allowed through because it was not covered by the rules, so even though the FIA’s own technical delegate Jo Bauer, felt he had found something in the engine mapping which was not allowed, when he referred it to the race stewards on Sunday they felt they had no choice but to let Red Bull race with it.
The Stewards’ statement said, “While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art 5.5.3 of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations and therefore decided to take no action.”
The F1 Technical Working group is meeting today in London and this will be on the agenda. In all probability the FIA will follow up this week with a rule clarification (known as a Technical Directive), which will outlaw the Red Bull/Renault idea before next week’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but it certainly served its purpose in Germany.
The idea was to use engine mapping to cut the torque at medium revs, which would certainly have helped with driveability in the wet conditions of practice and qualifying in Germany and would also have an aerodynamic benefit in slow corners; some of the fuel/air mixture finds its way into the exhausts to create post combustion – which blows hot exhaust gas under pressure down through the diffuser to create rear end downforce.
It’s very clever and shows the lengths teams will go to to find extra downforce. Bauer felt it was illegal because the rules say the connection between the opening of the throttle and the torque demand on the engine should be linear and in his view Red Bull was introducing a deviation in that process. Bauer had observed that the torque demand was less than at other recent races.
The rule that he felt Red Bull and Renault were trying to get around is new for this year and is designed to outlaw the practice of engines blowing exhaust gas into the diffuser even when the driver’s foot is off the throttle in a corner.
Engine maps are one of the dark arts of F1. Teams have various maps, controlled from the steering wheel by the driver; settings for fuel saving in the race, for example, for overtaking, or for setting the engine at the pit lane speed limit.
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Webber admits 2012 title challenge influenced Ferrari snub
Mark Webber has revealed that the fact he wants to charge for this
year's title influenced his decision to stay at Red Bull in 2013.
Until Red Bull announced he is staying alongside Sebastian Vettel next season, the Australian was strongly linked with a move to Ferrari.
Even in the official media statement, Webber admitted there had been "discussions with Ferrari" about replacing Felipe Massa.
He then acknowledged to the Associated Press that it is "important the team knows you're 100 per cent with them, which, of course, I am."
But that might not have been the case if the rumoured switch to Ferrari had become fact.
Webber has already felt the sting of questionable equality, famously declaring on the radio after winning the 2010 British grand prix that it was a feat "Not bad for a number two driver".
Two years on and with his teammate Sebastian Vettel now the reigning back-to-back title winner, Webber is a win and 16 points up on the German in the drivers' standings.
He senses it could be his last chance to win a championship.
"The fact that I am trying to win the championship this year was a consideration," Webber admitted in a BBC column.
"It would have been that bit harder to keep the momentum going if I was moving to a rival team. That was a factor, but it was certainly not the biggest one."
Webber's new contract is for yet another one-year term, but he insists retirement is not looming just yet.
"I'm not thinking about that at all," said the Australian, who turns 36 in August.
"The contract is just for one year, but I'm looking to stay in F1 for longer than that."
Until Red Bull announced he is staying alongside Sebastian Vettel next season, the Australian was strongly linked with a move to Ferrari.
The contract is just for one year, but I'm looking to stay in F1 for longer than that.
He then acknowledged to the Associated Press that it is "important the team knows you're 100 per cent with them, which, of course, I am."
But that might not have been the case if the rumoured switch to Ferrari had become fact.
Webber has already felt the sting of questionable equality, famously declaring on the radio after winning the 2010 British grand prix that it was a feat "Not bad for a number two driver".
Two years on and with his teammate Sebastian Vettel now the reigning back-to-back title winner, Webber is a win and 16 points up on the German in the drivers' standings.
He senses it could be his last chance to win a championship.
"The fact that I am trying to win the championship this year was a consideration," Webber admitted in a BBC column.
"It would have been that bit harder to keep the momentum going if I was moving to a rival team. That was a factor, but it was certainly not the biggest one."
Webber's new contract is for yet another one-year term, but he insists retirement is not looming just yet.
"I'm not thinking about that at all," said the Australian, who turns 36 in August.
"The contract is just for one year, but I'm looking to stay in F1 for longer than that."
Sunday, 8 July 2012
Vettel Pissed about loosing to Webber
Vettel in the press conference was really miffed with loosing out to Mark Webber, Vettel went on to ask "What is the score at Wimbledon".
Red Bull Hunts down Ferrari
Mark Webber chose the perfect strategy and paced his race to
perfection to catch and pass Fernando Alonso in the closing stages and
clinch his second British Grand Prix victory.
It was the ninth win of Webber’s career and his second of 2012. It was also his second British Grand Prix win to go with his second Monaco victory earlier this year. Webber’s Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel completed the podium.
The result moved Webber to just 13 points behind Alonso in the drivers’ world championship and confirmed him as Alonso’s closest championship rival. The double podium finish extended Red Bull’s advantage at the top of the Constructors’ Championship.
After a weekend of heavy rain, Silverstone surprisingly remained dry throughout the race, which was run entirely on slick tyres. With track temperatures fluctuating between 34 degrees and 29 degrees,
There was a further surprise in the race as the hard compound tyre proved to be faster than the soft and ultimately it was the final stint that proves decisive as Webber, who had started the race on the softs, ended on the hards, while Alonso was the other way around.
The greater structural strength of the hard tyre was important through the lateral loads in the high speed corners of sector 2 in particular, while drivers found that the soft tyre understeered more in the race. Pre-race expectations that it was up to a second faster than the hard proved inaccurate.
Ferrari had started Massa on softs and had data from his runs which indicated that the softs would perform reasonably well at the end, but Webber’s pace on hards was too much for Alonso, who had not been able to build enough of a lead over Webber in the early part of the race to maintain his position at the end. Webber stayed in touch with Alonso throughout the first two stints of the race, never allowing him to get too far ahead and then was able to catch and pass him with one decisive move around the outside of Brooklands corner with there laps to go.
“I have a few wins now, but this one is taking a little bit to sink in,” Webber said. “I think it didn’t look like a spectacular race with Fernando initially but it was on. There was a little bit of strategy involved, particularly pacing stints on tyres.
“I knew he was running a different way, and I thought after first stint he was in very good shape to close the win out, but it came our way in the last stint and I am absolutely over the moon.”
Alonso had controlled the race throughout as he kept a steady gap ahead of the Red Bull duo. However, the superior speed and durability of the prime tyre turned the race in Mark Webber’s favour as he took the lead with just four laps remaining. Vettel came close to making it a Red Bull 1-2 after an early pit stop put the double World Champion in contention for the race win. He had earlier been in a train of cars stuck behind Michael Schumacher but opted for the early stop after seeing the performance of the prime tyres. In the clear air he was able to jump from fifth to third.
Lewis Hamilton was the only other driver in the top ten to start on the prime tyre. But he was not able to exploit the advantage of the tyres; being caught in a queue of traffic behind Schumacher. When the traffic did clear during the first phase of pit stops he was 18 seconds off Alonso. He shortly held the lead but Alonso quickly regained first on fresher tyres. Hamilton eventually finished the race in 8th position.
Felipe Massa put in arguably his best drive of the season and his highest finishing position since Korea in 2012 to hold off a fast-charging Kim Raikkonen and take fourth place. Massa looked racey throughout as he hassled Schumacher in the early stages, taking third place but losing that position to Vettel after the pit stops.
Raikkonen headed home Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean as the pair gained another good haul of points for the team after swapping fastest laps in the closing stages of the Grand prix. Grosjean in particular produced yet another very good performance to overcome an early front-wing change and pass Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
Schumacher and Hamilton both had difficult races, starting from third and eighth and finishing seventh and eighth respectively, lacking pace throughout. Schumacher’s main struggles were on the prime tyre relative to other teams as he slipped down the field during the second half of the Grand Prix. Hamilton did a very short middle stint on the soft tyres, after running a long first stint on the hards which looked like it might have got him into contention for a strong points finish.
Bruno Senna and Jenson Button completed the top 10 of a lively race. Button made up four positions on the opening lap to make up for his poor qualifying but did not have the pace to progress in to the major points scoring positions.
In the early stages of the Grand Prix Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez were in amongst the points scoring positions. But a overtaking manoeuvre around the outside by Perez quickly ruined their days as Maldonado lost control and continued his run of assisting other drivers in early retirements. Maldonado managed to finish the race but in a lowly 16th. Perez described the Venezuelan as “stupid” and said that he and other drivers felt that he shouldn’t be in F1, with such driving.
Kamui Kobayashi compounded a bad day for Sauber when he locked up on the way into the pits and struck a member of his team. Kobayashi continued to 11th place, while the mechanic went to the medical centre for attention.
The three podium finishers all got trophies, but the fans deserved a medal for putting up with difficult conditions, muddy car parks and traffic problems all weekend. In the end the race provided a great end to the weekend, which had started off in such trying circumstances due to heavy rain.
[Additional reporting: Matt Meadows]
BRITISH GRAND PRIX, Silverstone, 52 Laps
1. Webber Red Bull 1h25:11.288
2. Alonso Ferrari + 3.060
3. Vettel Red Bull + 4.836
4. Massa Ferrari + 9.519
5. Raikkonen Lotus + 10.314
6. Grosjean Lotus + 17.101
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 29.153
8. Hamilton McLaren + 36.400
9. Senna Williams + 43.300
10. Button McLaren + 44.400
11. Kobayashi Sauber + 45.300
12. Hulkenberg Force India + 47.800
13. Vergne Toro Rosso + 51.200
14. Ricciardo Toro Rosso + 53.300
15. Rosberg Mercedes + 57.300
16. Maldonado Williams + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham + 1 lap
18. Glock Marussia + 1 lap
19. Pic Marussia + 1 lap
20. De la Rosa HRT + 2 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT + 2 laps
It was the ninth win of Webber’s career and his second of 2012. It was also his second British Grand Prix win to go with his second Monaco victory earlier this year. Webber’s Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel completed the podium.
The result moved Webber to just 13 points behind Alonso in the drivers’ world championship and confirmed him as Alonso’s closest championship rival. The double podium finish extended Red Bull’s advantage at the top of the Constructors’ Championship.
After a weekend of heavy rain, Silverstone surprisingly remained dry throughout the race, which was run entirely on slick tyres. With track temperatures fluctuating between 34 degrees and 29 degrees,
There was a further surprise in the race as the hard compound tyre proved to be faster than the soft and ultimately it was the final stint that proves decisive as Webber, who had started the race on the softs, ended on the hards, while Alonso was the other way around.
The greater structural strength of the hard tyre was important through the lateral loads in the high speed corners of sector 2 in particular, while drivers found that the soft tyre understeered more in the race. Pre-race expectations that it was up to a second faster than the hard proved inaccurate.
Ferrari had started Massa on softs and had data from his runs which indicated that the softs would perform reasonably well at the end, but Webber’s pace on hards was too much for Alonso, who had not been able to build enough of a lead over Webber in the early part of the race to maintain his position at the end. Webber stayed in touch with Alonso throughout the first two stints of the race, never allowing him to get too far ahead and then was able to catch and pass him with one decisive move around the outside of Brooklands corner with there laps to go.
“I have a few wins now, but this one is taking a little bit to sink in,” Webber said. “I think it didn’t look like a spectacular race with Fernando initially but it was on. There was a little bit of strategy involved, particularly pacing stints on tyres.
“I knew he was running a different way, and I thought after first stint he was in very good shape to close the win out, but it came our way in the last stint and I am absolutely over the moon.”
Alonso had controlled the race throughout as he kept a steady gap ahead of the Red Bull duo. However, the superior speed and durability of the prime tyre turned the race in Mark Webber’s favour as he took the lead with just four laps remaining. Vettel came close to making it a Red Bull 1-2 after an early pit stop put the double World Champion in contention for the race win. He had earlier been in a train of cars stuck behind Michael Schumacher but opted for the early stop after seeing the performance of the prime tyres. In the clear air he was able to jump from fifth to third.
Lewis Hamilton was the only other driver in the top ten to start on the prime tyre. But he was not able to exploit the advantage of the tyres; being caught in a queue of traffic behind Schumacher. When the traffic did clear during the first phase of pit stops he was 18 seconds off Alonso. He shortly held the lead but Alonso quickly regained first on fresher tyres. Hamilton eventually finished the race in 8th position.
Felipe Massa put in arguably his best drive of the season and his highest finishing position since Korea in 2012 to hold off a fast-charging Kim Raikkonen and take fourth place. Massa looked racey throughout as he hassled Schumacher in the early stages, taking third place but losing that position to Vettel after the pit stops.
Raikkonen headed home Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean as the pair gained another good haul of points for the team after swapping fastest laps in the closing stages of the Grand prix. Grosjean in particular produced yet another very good performance to overcome an early front-wing change and pass Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
Schumacher and Hamilton both had difficult races, starting from third and eighth and finishing seventh and eighth respectively, lacking pace throughout. Schumacher’s main struggles were on the prime tyre relative to other teams as he slipped down the field during the second half of the Grand Prix. Hamilton did a very short middle stint on the soft tyres, after running a long first stint on the hards which looked like it might have got him into contention for a strong points finish.
Bruno Senna and Jenson Button completed the top 10 of a lively race. Button made up four positions on the opening lap to make up for his poor qualifying but did not have the pace to progress in to the major points scoring positions.
In the early stages of the Grand Prix Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez were in amongst the points scoring positions. But a overtaking manoeuvre around the outside by Perez quickly ruined their days as Maldonado lost control and continued his run of assisting other drivers in early retirements. Maldonado managed to finish the race but in a lowly 16th. Perez described the Venezuelan as “stupid” and said that he and other drivers felt that he shouldn’t be in F1, with such driving.
Kamui Kobayashi compounded a bad day for Sauber when he locked up on the way into the pits and struck a member of his team. Kobayashi continued to 11th place, while the mechanic went to the medical centre for attention.
The three podium finishers all got trophies, but the fans deserved a medal for putting up with difficult conditions, muddy car parks and traffic problems all weekend. In the end the race provided a great end to the weekend, which had started off in such trying circumstances due to heavy rain.
[Additional reporting: Matt Meadows]
BRITISH GRAND PRIX, Silverstone, 52 Laps
1. Webber Red Bull 1h25:11.288
2. Alonso Ferrari + 3.060
3. Vettel Red Bull + 4.836
4. Massa Ferrari + 9.519
5. Raikkonen Lotus + 10.314
6. Grosjean Lotus + 17.101
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 29.153
8. Hamilton McLaren + 36.400
9. Senna Williams + 43.300
10. Button McLaren + 44.400
11. Kobayashi Sauber + 45.300
12. Hulkenberg Force India + 47.800
13. Vergne Toro Rosso + 51.200
14. Ricciardo Toro Rosso + 53.300
15. Rosberg Mercedes + 57.300
16. Maldonado Williams + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham + 1 lap
18. Glock Marussia + 1 lap
19. Pic Marussia + 1 lap
20. De la Rosa HRT + 2 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT + 2 laps
Webber: Win will take a while to sink in
Silverstone 2012 delivered Mark Webber’s ninth F1 victory, meaning he
is the only driver other than Fernando Alonso to have celebrated two
wins this year. Despite that, the Australian admits that he did not
expect to be taking the chequered flag on Sunday.
Webber first won the British Grand Prix in 2010, famously quoting ‘not bad for a number two driver’ while on his victory lap. This afternoon, as Alonso’s pace dropped while running the less durable Soft compound tyre in the closing stages of the race, Webber was able to sweep around the outside of Brooklands Corner.
“I’ve
got a few wins now, but this one is taking a little bit to sink in,”
the Red Bull driver admitted in the post-race press conference.
“Initially it might not have looked like a spectacular race with
Fernando, but it was on because there was a bit of strategy involved
there, particularly our pace during the individual stints on different
tyres.”
He added that being patient was a crucial element.
“I thought he was in very good shape for the win after the opening stint, but in the final one it started to come our way and I knew he was running a different strategy. Sometimes I do have bad medicine and it can be hard to come back from it. You just have to grab what you can and I wasn’t going to let that chance slip today. I’m absolutely over the moon.”
Already the top two men in the Drivers’ Championship before Round 9, Alonso and Webber remain first and second but the leading margin is now only 13 points.
Webber first won the British Grand Prix in 2010, famously quoting ‘not bad for a number two driver’ while on his victory lap. This afternoon, as Alonso’s pace dropped while running the less durable Soft compound tyre in the closing stages of the race, Webber was able to sweep around the outside of Brooklands Corner.
He added that being patient was a crucial element.
“I thought he was in very good shape for the win after the opening stint, but in the final one it started to come our way and I knew he was running a different strategy. Sometimes I do have bad medicine and it can be hard to come back from it. You just have to grab what you can and I wasn’t going to let that chance slip today. I’m absolutely over the moon.”
Already the top two men in the Drivers’ Championship before Round 9, Alonso and Webber remain first and second but the leading margin is now only 13 points.
Race results - 2012 British Formula 1 Grand Prix 08 July 2012
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Mark Webber | Red Bull | 1:25:11.288 |
| 2. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | +3.060 |
| 3. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | +4.836 |
| 4. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | +9.519 |
| 5. | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | +10.314 |
| 6. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | +17.101 |
| 7. | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | +29.153 |
| 8. | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | +36.463 |
| 9. | Bruno Senna | Williams | +43.347 |
| 10. | Jenson Button | McLaren | +44.444 |
| 11. | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber | +45.370 |
| 12. | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India | +47.856 |
| 13. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +51.241 |
| 14. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | +53.313 |
| 15. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | +57.394 |
| 16. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | +1 Lap |
| 17. | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham | +1 Lap |
| 18. | Timo Glock | Marussia | +1 Lap |
| 19. | Charles Pic | Marussia | +1 Lap |
| 20. | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT | +2 Laps |
| 21. | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT | +2 Laps |
| Did not finish | |||
| 22. | Sergio Perez | Sauber | +41 Laps |
| 23. | Paul di Resta | Force India | +50 Laps |
| 24. | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham | +52 Laps |
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
F1: Red Bull drivers tried brand new Indian GP track on simulator
Mark Webber:
"We have completed some good simulator work, but in terms of the kerbs and other subtle final details, these will obviously come into place right at the end, so I'd say we have an 85% understanding of what the track is going to be like.
Webber and Vettel had a taste the Buddh circuit on the simulator
Sebastian Vettel:
"By the time we race in India, I'll have done several laps of the track on the simulator. What Iknow so far is that the track is 5.14km and in the industrial town of Noida, about 50 minutes by car from New Delhi. The track is a combination of slow corners and high-speed straights which flow into each other.
The altitude difference is extreme, rather like in Spa or Turkey, which will give the driving an additional element. Incidentally, we're expecting the track to have the second highest average speed of the season after Monza. That means that we'll be completing a lap at an average speed of 235kph, so there should be plenty of good opportunities to overtake. I'm really looking forward to India; Ialways do when we drive on a new track."
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Singapore race strategy a knife edge
This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix will be absolutely fascinating from a strategy point of view. Find out how some teams will try to do the race with only one stop, how much effect the Safety Car can have on the outcome and check out a new feature: the League Table of Team’s Pit Stop Performance; there are some surprises here!
Contents – The Key Strategy considerations
• Track characteristics
• Form guide
• Weather forecast
• Likely tyre performance
• Number and likely timing of pit stops
• Chance of a safety car
• Recent start performance & Pit Stop League Table
Track characteristics
Marina Bay, Singapore – 5.073 kilometres. Race distance – 65 laps = 309.3 kilometres. 23 corners in total.. Street circuit around Singapore’s Marina Bay area.
Aerodynamic setup – High downforce. Top speed 305km/h (with Drag Reduction System active on rear wing) – 290km/h without.
Full throttle – 43% of the lap time (low). Total fuel needed for race distance – 165 kilos (very high). Fuel consumption – 2.5 kg per lap (ave/high)
Time spent braking: 21% of lap. Number of brake zones – 16. Brake wear- Very high. Toughest race of season for brakes as no cooling opportunities.
Loss time for a Pit stop = 24 seconds (very high)
Total time needed for pit stop: 26 seconds (very high)
Fuel effect (cost in lap time per 10kg of fuel carried): 0.35 seconds (high)
In just three years the Singapore Grand Prix, F1’s only night race, has established itself alongside Monaco as one of the two most important races on the calendar for the sport, the teams and sponsors.
But the race on the Marina Bay Circuit is also one of the longest and toughest of the year for cars and drivers. The race can last up to two hours and with high temperatures , humidity and constant braking and turning, it is a real hardcore marathon. There have been internal discussions among teams and administrators about possibly shortening the race.
It is also one of the hardest races of the season for the brakes, not because of big stops from high to low speeds, but because of the frequent brake use and no straights to for the brakes to cool. This places an extra strain on the tyres as the red hot brakes inside the wheels cook the tyres from the inside.
As the track is at sea level, the air pressure is higher, the air is more dense and this means that the fuel consumption is higher. The stop and start nature of the track further adds to this. So the cars start heavier than at many places with 165 kilos of fuel on board -15 kg more than the average. This adds to the punishment of the tyres in the early stages of the race.
We are likely to see plenty of new development parts on the cars this weekend. This will be the last race at which we see teams bring significant upgrade packages to their cars. As the first of a series of six flyaway races to close the season and with the championship more or less decided, there will only be some minor development steps after this.
Form Guide
The Singapore Grand Prix is the 14th round of the 2011 FIA F1 World Championship. With Sebastian Vettel winning in Spa and Monza, he is in a position to be crowned world champion for the second consecutive season if he wins here with neither Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button on the podium.
Vettel and Alonso battled for the win at Marina Bay last season in a close fight throughout the race, which was won by Alonso, the only two time winner here.
Amazingly, Red Bull’s 100% record in qualifying this season remains, with only seven rounds to go, could they possibly go a whole season owning pole position?
As far as drivers’ and teams’ form at Singapore is concerned; Alonso won the race in 2008 with Renault and 2010 with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton won the 2009 edition for McLaren.
Weather Forecast
The weather forecast for this weekend is for high temperatures, around 31 degrees, with thunderstorms forecast for each day and a 60% chance of rain. Given the frequency of evening rain in the region it is amazing that it has yet to affect the Singapore Grand Prix.
Likely tyre performance and other considerations
Pirelli tyre choice for Singapore: Soft (yellow markings) and supersoft (red markings). This combination was seen in Monaco, Montreal and Budapest.
In Singapore the great challenge is to look after the rear tyres, which get damaged by the constant stopping and accelerating at the circuit’s 23 corners. Meanwhile the fastest corner on the circuit is taken at only 170km/h so it is difficult for driver to get energy into the front tyres and get them ‘switched on’. Add in the factor of the red hot brakes cooking the tyres from the inside and tyre management becomes a huge challenge.
In Budapest the Pirelli supersoft tyre was expected to last 20 laps, but after the track was cleaned by rain before the race they only went for 14 laps. The Marina Bay circuit ramps up in grip over the weekend, but teams will closely monitor its performance in Friday and Saturday practice to see how far they can push it.
After the controversy over camber angles in Spa and the subsequent FIA edict in Monza, Pirelli have relaxed their recommendation for Singapore and teams can run up to 4 ¼ degrees camber. There are no sustained high wheel rotation speeds to worry about so blistering will not be a problem. The edict in Monza would have been very hard to enforce, incidentally, because there is a big difference between when the car is stationary and when it is at speed and any team on the wrong side of the FIA would have appealed. In that process it would have been up to the other teams to prove they would have complied.
Number and likely timing of pit stops
This is set to be a fascinating race, as the strategy models say that the most attractive way is to make only making one pit stop; the time lost from making a pit stop is huge in Singapore at 26 seconds. This will be very hard to achieve for cars which do not have a new set of supersoft tyres – ie drivers in the top ten who will be obliged to start on the supersofts on which they qualify.
Teams like Sauber and Toro Rosso and even Ferrari, which are gentler on their tyres, could have a strong result here. Qualifying outside the top ten, it is not hard to envisage a Sauber or Toro Rosso starting on a new set of soft tyres and making one stop for a new set of supersofts. The chance of a Safety Car is very high (see below) and six or seven laps behind the safety car would be a real bonus to one stoppers, extending the tyre life.
Safety cars can make or break your race depending on when they fall. They are bad news for anyone attempting a multi-stop strategy, but with the long pit lane at Marina Bay this isn’t likely.
But should a safety car fall at an opportune moment for a driver aiming to make a two stop strategy, it could be ideal. The front runners are likely to be planning to divide the first half of the race into two stints on supersoft with a switch to softs for the remainder of the race, but will stay flexible in case a Safety Car helps them out.
Chance of a Safety Car
The chance of a Safety Car at Singapore is very high. There has been at least one Safety Car at every Singapore GP so far with an average of 6.7 laps spent under Safety Car. This will further encourage teams hoping to one stop in the races.
Recent start performance
Starts are a critical part of the race and strategy can be badly compromised by a poor start, while good starts can make strategists change their plans in the hope of a good result.
Michael Schumacher is having a great year off the start line, with another great start in Monza gaining four places. In total he has gained 35 places on the first lap this season, but he has also lost 14 giving him an aggregate gain of 21 places.
The importance of the start is also well illustrated by Jaime Alguersuari in Monza – he gained seven places from 18th on the grid and got ahead of his team mate Buemi and Bruno Senna. He was able to carry this through to the chequered flag to record a career best 7th place.
As far as 2011 start performance is concerned drivers have gained (+) or lost (-) places off the start line this season on aggregate as follows:
Gained
+21 Schumacher *
+19 Buemi #
+16 Glock
+13 Liuzzi
+9 Ricciardo
+8 Alonso***, Kobayashi**,
+6 Trulli, Kovalainen, Heidfeld ******,
+5 Di Resta,
+4 Massa
+3 D’Ambrosio
Held position
-
Lost places
-2, Chandhok
-4 Hamilton, Vettel
-5 Alguersuari####
-9 Sutil ##
-10 Button,
-11 Rosberg*****, Maldonado
-12 Senna
-13 Perez ###
-15 Petrov,****
-18 Barrichello
- 22 Webber
* Schumacher had one bad start in Australia, losing 8 places but since then has been the season’s outstanding starter. He gained 9 places in Spa and four in Monza.
** Kobayashi lost 10 places in Spain, prior to that he had gained 8 in 4 starts.
*** After losing places in the first three races, Alonso has reversed that trend. His starts in Barcelona and Monza were outstanding.
**** Petrov had a good record until he lost 4 places at the start in Valencia. He was on a +2 balance before Monza where he was taken out at the start.
***** Rosberg lost four places at the start in Silverstone and was on a +6 balance before Monza where he was taken out in the first corner
****** Heidfeld had gained 20 places but lost 12 at the start in Germany
******* Di Resta had consistent start form and gained 7 places in the first nine races, but lost 12 at the start in Germany.
# Buemi made up nine places at the start in Hungary having started 23rd on the grid
## Sutil had a positive start balance until Hungary where he lost 12 places at the start
### Perez lost nine places off the start in Hungary.
#### Alguersuari was doing well with a +6 record prior to Spa, where he was hit by another car and lost 18 places. In Monza he gained 7 places at the start.
Bonus Feature – Pit Stop League Table
Of course good strategy planning also requires good pit stop execution by the mechanics. We have seen tyre stops of under three seconds this season. Here, with thanks to our friends at Mercedes GP Petronas is the league table of average of the stops made (taking out all anomalies)
The table allows for an average amount of time for the loss time of travelling down the pit lane: for example Monza was 17.6 secs:
1. Red Bull – 21.81
2. Mercedes – 21.94
3. McLaren – 22.06
4. Ferrari – 22.36
5. Force India – 22.48
6. Lotus – 22.71
7. Renault – 22.72
8. Sauber – 22.81
9. Williams – 22.96
10. Toro Rosso – 23.05
11. Virgin – 23.65
12. HRT – 25.14
The things which stand out here are a) Force India and Lotus punch well above their weight in terms of pits stop performance compared to car performance and championship position. Look at the gap in performance between Lotus and the other new teams; b) Red Bull and Mercedes are consistently the fastest at pit stops; c) remember that the speed of a stop is not just about the pit crews, it is also about the drivers hitting their marks. It’s about discipline as a team.
The UBS Strategy Briefing is written by JA on F1 with input and data from strategists and engineers from several leading F1 teams.
Contents – The Key Strategy considerations
• Track characteristics
• Form guide
• Weather forecast
• Likely tyre performance
• Number and likely timing of pit stops
• Chance of a safety car
• Recent start performance & Pit Stop League Table
Track characteristics
Marina Bay, Singapore – 5.073 kilometres. Race distance – 65 laps = 309.3 kilometres. 23 corners in total.. Street circuit around Singapore’s Marina Bay area.
Aerodynamic setup – High downforce. Top speed 305km/h (with Drag Reduction System active on rear wing) – 290km/h without.
Full throttle – 43% of the lap time (low). Total fuel needed for race distance – 165 kilos (very high). Fuel consumption – 2.5 kg per lap (ave/high)
Time spent braking: 21% of lap. Number of brake zones – 16. Brake wear- Very high. Toughest race of season for brakes as no cooling opportunities.
Loss time for a Pit stop = 24 seconds (very high)
Total time needed for pit stop: 26 seconds (very high)
Fuel effect (cost in lap time per 10kg of fuel carried): 0.35 seconds (high)
In just three years the Singapore Grand Prix, F1’s only night race, has established itself alongside Monaco as one of the two most important races on the calendar for the sport, the teams and sponsors.
But the race on the Marina Bay Circuit is also one of the longest and toughest of the year for cars and drivers. The race can last up to two hours and with high temperatures , humidity and constant braking and turning, it is a real hardcore marathon. There have been internal discussions among teams and administrators about possibly shortening the race.
It is also one of the hardest races of the season for the brakes, not because of big stops from high to low speeds, but because of the frequent brake use and no straights to for the brakes to cool. This places an extra strain on the tyres as the red hot brakes inside the wheels cook the tyres from the inside.
As the track is at sea level, the air pressure is higher, the air is more dense and this means that the fuel consumption is higher. The stop and start nature of the track further adds to this. So the cars start heavier than at many places with 165 kilos of fuel on board -15 kg more than the average. This adds to the punishment of the tyres in the early stages of the race.
We are likely to see plenty of new development parts on the cars this weekend. This will be the last race at which we see teams bring significant upgrade packages to their cars. As the first of a series of six flyaway races to close the season and with the championship more or less decided, there will only be some minor development steps after this.
Form Guide
The Singapore Grand Prix is the 14th round of the 2011 FIA F1 World Championship. With Sebastian Vettel winning in Spa and Monza, he is in a position to be crowned world champion for the second consecutive season if he wins here with neither Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button on the podium.
Vettel and Alonso battled for the win at Marina Bay last season in a close fight throughout the race, which was won by Alonso, the only two time winner here.
Amazingly, Red Bull’s 100% record in qualifying this season remains, with only seven rounds to go, could they possibly go a whole season owning pole position?
As far as drivers’ and teams’ form at Singapore is concerned; Alonso won the race in 2008 with Renault and 2010 with Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton won the 2009 edition for McLaren.
Weather Forecast
The weather forecast for this weekend is for high temperatures, around 31 degrees, with thunderstorms forecast for each day and a 60% chance of rain. Given the frequency of evening rain in the region it is amazing that it has yet to affect the Singapore Grand Prix.
Likely tyre performance and other considerations
Pirelli tyre choice for Singapore: Soft (yellow markings) and supersoft (red markings). This combination was seen in Monaco, Montreal and Budapest.
In Singapore the great challenge is to look after the rear tyres, which get damaged by the constant stopping and accelerating at the circuit’s 23 corners. Meanwhile the fastest corner on the circuit is taken at only 170km/h so it is difficult for driver to get energy into the front tyres and get them ‘switched on’. Add in the factor of the red hot brakes cooking the tyres from the inside and tyre management becomes a huge challenge.
In Budapest the Pirelli supersoft tyre was expected to last 20 laps, but after the track was cleaned by rain before the race they only went for 14 laps. The Marina Bay circuit ramps up in grip over the weekend, but teams will closely monitor its performance in Friday and Saturday practice to see how far they can push it.
After the controversy over camber angles in Spa and the subsequent FIA edict in Monza, Pirelli have relaxed their recommendation for Singapore and teams can run up to 4 ¼ degrees camber. There are no sustained high wheel rotation speeds to worry about so blistering will not be a problem. The edict in Monza would have been very hard to enforce, incidentally, because there is a big difference between when the car is stationary and when it is at speed and any team on the wrong side of the FIA would have appealed. In that process it would have been up to the other teams to prove they would have complied.
Number and likely timing of pit stops
This is set to be a fascinating race, as the strategy models say that the most attractive way is to make only making one pit stop; the time lost from making a pit stop is huge in Singapore at 26 seconds. This will be very hard to achieve for cars which do not have a new set of supersoft tyres – ie drivers in the top ten who will be obliged to start on the supersofts on which they qualify.
Teams like Sauber and Toro Rosso and even Ferrari, which are gentler on their tyres, could have a strong result here. Qualifying outside the top ten, it is not hard to envisage a Sauber or Toro Rosso starting on a new set of soft tyres and making one stop for a new set of supersofts. The chance of a Safety Car is very high (see below) and six or seven laps behind the safety car would be a real bonus to one stoppers, extending the tyre life.
Safety cars can make or break your race depending on when they fall. They are bad news for anyone attempting a multi-stop strategy, but with the long pit lane at Marina Bay this isn’t likely.
But should a safety car fall at an opportune moment for a driver aiming to make a two stop strategy, it could be ideal. The front runners are likely to be planning to divide the first half of the race into two stints on supersoft with a switch to softs for the remainder of the race, but will stay flexible in case a Safety Car helps them out.
Chance of a Safety Car
The chance of a Safety Car at Singapore is very high. There has been at least one Safety Car at every Singapore GP so far with an average of 6.7 laps spent under Safety Car. This will further encourage teams hoping to one stop in the races.
Recent start performance
Starts are a critical part of the race and strategy can be badly compromised by a poor start, while good starts can make strategists change their plans in the hope of a good result.
Michael Schumacher is having a great year off the start line, with another great start in Monza gaining four places. In total he has gained 35 places on the first lap this season, but he has also lost 14 giving him an aggregate gain of 21 places.
The importance of the start is also well illustrated by Jaime Alguersuari in Monza – he gained seven places from 18th on the grid and got ahead of his team mate Buemi and Bruno Senna. He was able to carry this through to the chequered flag to record a career best 7th place.
As far as 2011 start performance is concerned drivers have gained (+) or lost (-) places off the start line this season on aggregate as follows:
Gained
+21 Schumacher *
+19 Buemi #
+16 Glock
+13 Liuzzi
+9 Ricciardo
+8 Alonso***, Kobayashi**,
+6 Trulli, Kovalainen, Heidfeld ******,
+5 Di Resta,
+4 Massa
+3 D’Ambrosio
Held position
-
Lost places
-2, Chandhok
-4 Hamilton, Vettel
-5 Alguersuari####
-9 Sutil ##
-10 Button,
-11 Rosberg*****, Maldonado
-12 Senna
-13 Perez ###
-15 Petrov,****
-18 Barrichello
- 22 Webber
* Schumacher had one bad start in Australia, losing 8 places but since then has been the season’s outstanding starter. He gained 9 places in Spa and four in Monza.
** Kobayashi lost 10 places in Spain, prior to that he had gained 8 in 4 starts.
*** After losing places in the first three races, Alonso has reversed that trend. His starts in Barcelona and Monza were outstanding.
**** Petrov had a good record until he lost 4 places at the start in Valencia. He was on a +2 balance before Monza where he was taken out at the start.
***** Rosberg lost four places at the start in Silverstone and was on a +6 balance before Monza where he was taken out in the first corner
****** Heidfeld had gained 20 places but lost 12 at the start in Germany
******* Di Resta had consistent start form and gained 7 places in the first nine races, but lost 12 at the start in Germany.
# Buemi made up nine places at the start in Hungary having started 23rd on the grid
## Sutil had a positive start balance until Hungary where he lost 12 places at the start
### Perez lost nine places off the start in Hungary.
#### Alguersuari was doing well with a +6 record prior to Spa, where he was hit by another car and lost 18 places. In Monza he gained 7 places at the start.
Bonus Feature – Pit Stop League Table
Of course good strategy planning also requires good pit stop execution by the mechanics. We have seen tyre stops of under three seconds this season. Here, with thanks to our friends at Mercedes GP Petronas is the league table of average of the stops made (taking out all anomalies)
The table allows for an average amount of time for the loss time of travelling down the pit lane: for example Monza was 17.6 secs:
1. Red Bull – 21.81
2. Mercedes – 21.94
3. McLaren – 22.06
4. Ferrari – 22.36
5. Force India – 22.48
6. Lotus – 22.71
7. Renault – 22.72
8. Sauber – 22.81
9. Williams – 22.96
10. Toro Rosso – 23.05
11. Virgin – 23.65
12. HRT – 25.14
The things which stand out here are a) Force India and Lotus punch well above their weight in terms of pits stop performance compared to car performance and championship position. Look at the gap in performance between Lotus and the other new teams; b) Red Bull and Mercedes are consistently the fastest at pit stops; c) remember that the speed of a stop is not just about the pit crews, it is also about the drivers hitting their marks. It’s about discipline as a team.
The UBS Strategy Briefing is written by JA on F1 with input and data from strategists and engineers from several leading F1 teams.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Mark Webber Not Happy With Bahrain Decision
Mark's thoughts on yesterday's announcement to reschedule the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix
“My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I’ll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year.”
"In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in hope of being able to re-schedule it in 2011. It would have sent a very clear message about Formula One’s position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues.”
"It’s obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven’t made the right one. Like it or not, Formula One and sport in general isn’t above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope Formula One is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn’t the right time.”
"As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country. I don’t understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that."
Source: markwebber.com
“My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I’ll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year.”
Mark Webber not happy with FIA decision
"It’s obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven’t made the right one. Like it or not, Formula One and sport in general isn’t above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope Formula One is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn’t the right time.”
"As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country. I don’t understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that."
Source: markwebber.com
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Monaco GP Red Bull Friday Practice Report
1st Practice P1, 2nd Practice P5
“It’s been positive so far. Both tyres are working well and seem to be lasting, which is important.
We will see how the conditions are on Sunday, but the super soft tyre seems to be the preferred one for qualifying. It seems to be quicker and you can extract more lap time out of it. I had a good feeling straight away in the car; it’s fun driving around here; it’s a different track and it’s quite bumpy and rough. I brushed the wall after three laps, so hopefully that’s that done for the weekend! The car looks competitive, but everyone is very close to each other, so it looks tight.”
1st Practice P-, 2nd Practice P8
“I had a gear selection issue this morning, which meant I lost some lap time, otherwise it wasn’t too bad. This afternoon was always going to be the case where you’re going out a little bit behind, but we still got a lot of good information. It’s easy to get out there and try and get to where you should be and make mistakes, but we got the information and have a lot to go through. We should be alright by Saturday. We will get back into the groove on Saturday and recover the weekend.”
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
First Practice Session
Position: 1, Best Time: 1:16.619, Laps: 25,
Chassis No. 3
Second Practice Session
Position: 5, Best Time: 1:15.667, Laps: 46,
Chassis No. 3
MARK WEBBER
First Practice Session
Position: -, Best Time: No time, Laps: 3,
Chassis No. 1
Second Practice Session
Position: 8, Best Time 1:16.642, Laps: 42,
Chassis No. 1
Source: Red Bull
“It’s been positive so far. Both tyres are working well and seem to be lasting, which is important.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing signing autographs for the fans
Car 2 MARK WEBBER
1st Practice P-, 2nd Practice P8
“I had a gear selection issue this morning, which meant I lost some lap time, otherwise it wasn’t too bad. This afternoon was always going to be the case where you’re going out a little bit behind, but we still got a lot of good information. It’s easy to get out there and try and get to where you should be and make mistakes, but we got the information and have a lot to go through. We should be alright by Saturday. We will get back into the groove on Saturday and recover the weekend.”
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
First Practice Session
Position: 1, Best Time: 1:16.619, Laps: 25,
Chassis No. 3
Second Practice Session
Position: 5, Best Time: 1:15.667, Laps: 46,
Chassis No. 3
MARK WEBBER
First Practice Session
Position: -, Best Time: No time, Laps: 3,
Chassis No. 1
Second Practice Session
Position: 8, Best Time 1:16.642, Laps: 42,
Chassis No. 1
Source: Red Bull
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Vettel studying Webber's overlay data hard
Interesting to see Vettel studying Webber's overlay data hard today. McLaren solid quali trim +Ferrari good on race run but Red Bull immense
Monday, 28 March 2011
A closer look at the pace of the F1 cars post Melbourne
Over the winter we were told by teams and drivers that it was very hard to guess what the pecking order was simply from looking at testing.
With so many variables like the DRS wing, KERS and fuel loads, establishing a clear picture was difficult during the four official tests.
On top of that the McLaren car which turned up in Melbourne at the weekend was so utterly transformed, performance wise, from the one which stuttered through testing that it was unrecognisable.
This shows that the scope for rapid development with these new rules is significant, at least in the early stages of the season. So the gaps will change a lot in the next few races.
Most of the downforce on an F1 car is generated by the diffuser and with these being cut back from single to double diffusers this year, the pressure is on to get the exhaust gases blowing across them and to find every possible way to maximise the downforce of the car, efficiently, with not to much drag. Hence the exhaust arms race going on at the moment, which was started by Renault.
Red Bull has clearly got the most advanced car; Vettel was 17km/h faster through the high speed chicane at Turn 11 than Hamilton’s McLaren and more like 25km/h faster than the midfield teams.
The time sheets from the first Grand Prix of the season tell a partial picture, as not everyone was able to unlock the pace in their car; Ferrari and Mercedes in particular were not as fast as they expected to be in qualifying and at the other end of the grid, Lotus did not show the step closer to the established teams on Saturday they believed they had achieved.
Vettel was on pole by 8/10ths from Hamilton, with Alonso six tenths slower than the McLaren, Petrov three tenths behind. To me that indicates that the Renault is probably as fast as the Ferrari. Rosberg was a couple of tenths behind, with the Sauber there too. Williams didn’t show what they can do in qualifying or the race, really. It was a messy weekend for them.
However looking through the fastest laps from the race points out a few more important indicators about performance. Jarno Trulli’s fastest lap was a 1m 32.550, one second slower than the Force India of Adrian Sutil. This is still not as close as Lotus thought they were, but still a big improvement on their qualifying pace and on where they were last year.
Meanwhile Virgin’s pace in the race highlights just how far off they are, D’Ambrosio’s fastest lap was two seconds slower than Trulli’s. They are adrift at the back of the field, and judging from a comparison of the lap times that Liuzzi turned in his brief spell on the track, there is a danger that Hispania might actually be faster than Virgin, once it gets a chance to do some set up work, in Sepang.
Meanwhile at the front, Vettel and Hamilton were cruising on Sunday, Hamilton had a damaged floor and Vettel just maintained his pace to manage his tyres. He could have gone a lot faster if he needed to.
So the fastest race lap was the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, pushing very hard in the closing stages after a late pit stop for new tyres, Alonso was also quick after his third stop. Although these laps on fresher tyres do not tell the whole story, they do show that there is pace in this Ferrari. Its problem is high tyre wear.
Sergio Perez amazingly set the 7th fastest lap – fourth fastest team – on tyres that had done 16 laps and when the car was still heavy on fuel. The Sauber is quite a car it seems, capable of qualifying in the top ten and easy on its tyres, with plenty of raw pace. That’s a points scoring combination.
Toro Rosso were consistent; they qualified 10th and 12th and in the race set the 10th and 11th fastest laps.
However we must be careful, Melbourne often shows a picture which isn’t born out by the races that follow. KERS will be more important in Sepang and Shanghai and whatever system Red Bull has, it’s going to need some help from it at those two circuits. Tyre wise Sepang is smooth, like Melbourne, although with some higher speed corners, so the tyre wear will be slightly higher, but not back to Barcelona levels.
With so many variables like the DRS wing, KERS and fuel loads, establishing a clear picture was difficult during the four official tests.
On top of that the McLaren car which turned up in Melbourne at the weekend was so utterly transformed, performance wise, from the one which stuttered through testing that it was unrecognisable.
This shows that the scope for rapid development with these new rules is significant, at least in the early stages of the season. So the gaps will change a lot in the next few races.
Most of the downforce on an F1 car is generated by the diffuser and with these being cut back from single to double diffusers this year, the pressure is on to get the exhaust gases blowing across them and to find every possible way to maximise the downforce of the car, efficiently, with not to much drag. Hence the exhaust arms race going on at the moment, which was started by Renault.
Red Bull has clearly got the most advanced car; Vettel was 17km/h faster through the high speed chicane at Turn 11 than Hamilton’s McLaren and more like 25km/h faster than the midfield teams.
The time sheets from the first Grand Prix of the season tell a partial picture, as not everyone was able to unlock the pace in their car; Ferrari and Mercedes in particular were not as fast as they expected to be in qualifying and at the other end of the grid, Lotus did not show the step closer to the established teams on Saturday they believed they had achieved.
Vettel was on pole by 8/10ths from Hamilton, with Alonso six tenths slower than the McLaren, Petrov three tenths behind. To me that indicates that the Renault is probably as fast as the Ferrari. Rosberg was a couple of tenths behind, with the Sauber there too. Williams didn’t show what they can do in qualifying or the race, really. It was a messy weekend for them.
However looking through the fastest laps from the race points out a few more important indicators about performance. Jarno Trulli’s fastest lap was a 1m 32.550, one second slower than the Force India of Adrian Sutil. This is still not as close as Lotus thought they were, but still a big improvement on their qualifying pace and on where they were last year.
Meanwhile Virgin’s pace in the race highlights just how far off they are, D’Ambrosio’s fastest lap was two seconds slower than Trulli’s. They are adrift at the back of the field, and judging from a comparison of the lap times that Liuzzi turned in his brief spell on the track, there is a danger that Hispania might actually be faster than Virgin, once it gets a chance to do some set up work, in Sepang.
Meanwhile at the front, Vettel and Hamilton were cruising on Sunday, Hamilton had a damaged floor and Vettel just maintained his pace to manage his tyres. He could have gone a lot faster if he needed to.
So the fastest race lap was the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, pushing very hard in the closing stages after a late pit stop for new tyres, Alonso was also quick after his third stop. Although these laps on fresher tyres do not tell the whole story, they do show that there is pace in this Ferrari. Its problem is high tyre wear.
Sergio Perez amazingly set the 7th fastest lap – fourth fastest team – on tyres that had done 16 laps and when the car was still heavy on fuel. The Sauber is quite a car it seems, capable of qualifying in the top ten and easy on its tyres, with plenty of raw pace. That’s a points scoring combination.
Toro Rosso were consistent; they qualified 10th and 12th and in the race set the 10th and 11th fastest laps.
However we must be careful, Melbourne often shows a picture which isn’t born out by the races that follow. KERS will be more important in Sepang and Shanghai and whatever system Red Bull has, it’s going to need some help from it at those two circuits. Tyre wise Sepang is smooth, like Melbourne, although with some higher speed corners, so the tyre wear will be slightly higher, but not back to Barcelona levels.
Race results - 2011 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:29:30.259 |
| 2. |  Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | +22.297 |
| 3. |  Vitaly Petrov | Renault | +30.560 |
| 4. |  Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | +31.772 |
| 5. |  Mark Webber | Red Bull | +38.171 |
| 6. | Jenson Button | McLaren | +54.304 |
| 7. |  Felipe Massa | Ferrari | +1:25.186 |
| 8. |  Sebastien Buemi | Scuderia Toro Rosso | +1 Lap |
| 9. | Adrian Sutil | Force India F1 | +1 Lap |
| 10. | Paul di Resta | Force India F1 | +1 Lap |
| 11. | Jaime Alguersuari | Scuderia Toro Rosso | +1 Lap |
| 12. | Nick Heidfeld | Renault | +1 Lap |
| 13. |  Jarno Trulli | Lotus F1 | +2 Laps |
| 14. |  Jerome d` Ambrosio | Virgin Racing | +4 Laps |
| 15. | Timo Glock | Virgin Racing | +9 Laps |
| Did not finish | |||
| 16. | Rubens Barrichello | Williams | +10 Laps |
| 17. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes Grand Prix | +36 Laps |
| 18. |  Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus F1 | +39 Laps |
| 19. | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes Grand Prix | +39 Laps |
| 20. |  Pastor Maldonado | Williams | +49 Laps |
| 21. |  Sergio Perez | Sauber | +58 Laps |
| 22. |  Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber | +58 Laps |
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