Sebastian Vettel admitted Suzuka has become more challenging with the current generation of F1 tyres.
He said: “The circuit seems pretty tricky this year on these tyres – they make the cars seem more alive, so Sunday will be an interesting race.
“Taking 130R with the DRS open isn’t as easy as it used to be!”
Vettel ended the first practice session in the barrier at Degner after going off. He said: “It wasn’t a big mistake this morning, but in that moment I wasn’t 100% awake and mistakes around here can be quite costly.
“I went off and tried to slow the car down, but I hit the wall slightly. It wasn’t a big impact, but it did some damage to the car, so it wasn’t perfect.
“It did affect our run plan a little, but we had a solid afternoon.”
2011 Japanese Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
KeeleyObsessed (@keeleyobsessed)
7th October 2011, 9:52
Keith, I can’t seem to see the FP1 analysis article.. Which is a shame, cause I always enjoy reading them for the inside view (which you rarely get on TV), and for the fact that the title makes it seem incredibly interesting!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th October 2011, 9:54
Glitch on the link, it’s fixed now.
KeeleyObsessed (@keeleyobsessed)
7th October 2011, 9:54
Okay, forget that, it’s fixed now!
Eggry (@eggry)
7th October 2011, 9:58
He proved it by himself.
Andy
7th October 2011, 9:59
I would’ve thought taking 130R with DRS open would be 100% easier than last year….
gilles (@gilles)
7th October 2011, 10:05
Yep, as DRS is only available from 2011 it is definately easier to open your rear wing than last year. Seb must’ve been thinking ’bout something else while saying this
Steph (@)
7th October 2011, 11:55
I think Seb meant that 130R wasn’t as easy any more because of kers and DRS.
BasCB (@bascb)
7th October 2011, 12:43
I think Vettel means to say its harder on these tyres with DRS open then it was last year using the F-Duct
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
7th October 2011, 10:07
Why would it? No double diffusers mean less downforce; and the DRS removes more downforce than the F-duct did.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
7th October 2011, 10:51
Clearly Red Bull have been testing in Suzuka for years with DRS.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
7th October 2011, 10:53
Huh? DRS only came into F1 this year
sato113 (@sato113)
7th October 2011, 10:59
*face palm*
Eggry (@eggry)
7th October 2011, 11:46
Correct!
SouthPawRacer (@southpawracer)
7th October 2011, 10:03
You mean you’ve done it before?
DVC (@dvc)
7th October 2011, 11:32
Do you think the doctor will let him race on Sunday?
vho (@)
7th October 2011, 15:12
Maybe RB were testing the component during practice last year knowing that it was going to be legal this year – and perhaps he’d already tried it.
stren (@stren)
7th October 2011, 11:12
So Vettel used to driver with DRS on Suzuka before ? interesting !
MW (@)
7th October 2011, 11:24
I’m sure what Vettel meant to say was “It’s more difficult to take the 130R than it used to be, now that we are using DRS”
Another plausible explanation is that Adrian Newey invented a time machine which allowed Vettel to practice here with DRS before…
Steph (@)
7th October 2011, 11:58
@MW I agree. The time machine idea if plausible because his cars are so fast that Vettel actually won Suzuka just as everyone else was starting FP1.
Paulocreed
7th October 2011, 13:05
Maybe he was was practicing on the F1 2011 VG?
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
7th October 2011, 11:41
He wasn’t awake? Seems like he was relax as the Wc is his.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
7th October 2011, 13:38
Has anyone else tried 130R with DRS open? Well, I guess Mark Webber had a stab at it, but any other drivers from any other teams?
vho (@)
7th October 2011, 15:21
FP2 commentary stated that;
Johann
7th October 2011, 14:35
Maybe he is thinking in German and speaking English.
Fixy (@)
7th October 2011, 14:58
That’s because you never took the 130R with the DRS open, Seb.
colin grayson
7th October 2011, 15:11
vettel should lose all his points for this season …he clearly went and did some illegal testing pre-season !
vho (@)
7th October 2011, 15:24
Teams are allowed to test parts for next year during practice, they just can’t use it during quali and race. And from memory, several teams started experimenting with different options during practice in the last few races. RB may have been testing the DRS during FP at Suzuka last year.
verstappen (@verstappen)
7th October 2011, 17:22
No, perfect would be when the car was totally written off?
:-)
Nice that it’s more difficult to use a Kill Downforce Device than last year. As BasCB pointed out above: last year we had F-Duct and this year we have DRS, which amounts roughly to the same: give the car less downforce, so it can go faster when there’s less downforce needed.
Oliver
7th October 2011, 20:32
How did it affect their routine when it happened at the end of the session.
ob1kenobi.23 (@ob1kenobi23)
8th October 2011, 2:48
In essence the f duct was a drag reduction system so maybe this is what he meant.