2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice analysis

27 comments on “2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice analysis”

1. 

   Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
   11th November 2011, 16:58

   How come all of the sudden Toro Rosso became the fastest team on the straights? That used to be Force India, didn’t it?
   1. 

      PJ (@)
      11th November 2011, 17:33

      Force India and Mercedes usually. I don’t know to be honest, unless STR are running a rear wing with less drag than before.
      1. 

         The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
         11th November 2011, 19:02

         The last few races Torro Rosso’s rear wing has been a visibly smaller angle than other teams
      2. 

         Force Maikel (@force-maikel)
         12th November 2011, 8:58

         they are also running a new front nose coon that is more flat like the mercedes one. this is giving them more airflow to the difusor. correct me if the terms are not written wel
   2. 

      celeste (@celeste)
      11th November 2011, 17:58

      There have always have a good speed on straights… as far as I can remember even back in 2008.
   3. 

      Fixy (@)
      12th November 2011, 8:35

      I’m glad STR started off really badly and are now doing very well. The opposite of Sauber, sadly.
   4. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      12th November 2011, 10:03

      @fer-no65 I think the Force India now leans more towards aero performance than straight line in most cases.
2. 

   jw393 (@)
   11th November 2011, 16:58

   First!

   Keith, Congrats on providing a site that’s more user-friendly than both the BBC and FOM sites. So nice to have all this data, and manipulable also!

   Mclarens for Front Row Lock-out tomorrow I reckon
   1. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      11th November 2011, 17:08

      I think the kid will have something to say about that, he won’t crash his car during Q3, so he should be able to get it back up front.
3. 

   raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
   11th November 2011, 17:05

   “I think I was too wide and too far on to the kerb, so I lost the rear and couldn’t catch the car any more,” he said.

   Keith, I’m not sure I understand this bit. Is “he” Vettel, or Webber?
   1. 

      PJ (@)
      11th November 2011, 17:33

      Vettel, explaining his crash.
4. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   11th November 2011, 17:05

   It really seems to me, that the idea to allow DRS for full during Qualifying and only limited for passing in the race is blowing up right in their faces.

   They stated a reason to allow it in Qualli was to discourage teams from setting up their cars to run without it, making it ineffective because of the rev limit.
   This evidently did not work, as all since at least the mid season, all teams have followed Red Bulls lead and went for Qualli optimized DRS which can be activated really soon after each corner and on most parts of the track with a low fuel car.
   But it also means that the DRS loses much of its speed benefit for passing and therefore its not as interesting to gear for its use with a considerable amount of fuel and running in someones slipstream.
   1. 

      gwenouille (@gwenouille)
      11th November 2011, 17:10

      Why don’t they just allow DRS where it is allowed during the race ? Just do as if every driver was less than a sec behind a virtual driver in a way…
      1. 

         PJ (@)
         11th November 2011, 17:35

         If it’s limited to race use only there’s the notion of teams not bothering with it altogether and optimising their cars for quali, where the lower gear ratio will mean better acceleration.
   2. 

      jw393 (@)
      11th November 2011, 17:13

      It also has a negative impact on the slower teams, as they can’t open it as much as the downforce-intensive teams. Thereby expounding their problems!

      So yes, thoroughly agree. DRS in Quali is annoying, and I personally think it’s annoying all together. I was watching the BBC’s Classic f1 the other day – more than enough passing in each of those videos. Raikkonen and Hamilton seem to get the idea (even if they get it wrong) that if you want to pass someone, DO IT! Don’t moan about turbulence and ground effects.

      Personal thoughts, but I don’t believe I’m alone in the matter.
5. 

   TED BELL
   11th November 2011, 17:51

   Watching P2 made me wonder what value if any Williams will get from Raikonen as a driver. Why in the world would he take on this less than great opportunity to drive the Williams?? Little chance they will be any thing better than they are now and those team at the tope will cetainly get better and the gap to mid/low level teams will only become worse.
   Only a fool would imagine his presence in the team will make a hill of beans difference. The ride won’t amount to anything but putting money into his pockets and the sponsors putting money into the Williams team pockets. Zero chance of winning any race anytime soon.
   1. 

      The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
      11th November 2011, 19:11

      I disagree. There is a good chance the Williams car in 2012 will be a lot better as they have said they know the problems with the 2011 car and how to fix them on the new car. The Longer the same regulations last the more closer the times between the front and back of the grid get. See how close in times the 2008 grid was in the last year of the old regs.
      1. 

         bosyber (@bosyber)
         12th November 2011, 9:37

         And one part of their problem has been the Cosworth engine’s apparent limited scope for an EBD solution; that won’t be there next year, even if it weren’t abolished, they’re having Renault engines next year.

         The other part I see is lack of reliability in their drive-train, but the change of engine, and another winter of testing should help them sort that better I would hope.
      2. 

         AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
         12th November 2011, 10:06

         While Williams may know how to fix the 2012 car based on 2011 problems that could mean that they have sacrificed significant development opportunities this year that they should have been making. They may just be playing catch up next year.
6. 

   Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
   11th November 2011, 18:46

   Hamilton found two-tenths of a second over his closest rivals in the second and third sectors.

   Two things to point out & question,Did Lewis find two tenths per sector or both altogether? Interestingly,It says Hamilton not McLaren,which would mean Jenson as well.So its fully supports my & the BBC Commentators’ point about the middle & final sectors suiting Lewis’ driving style
   1. 

      Ragerod
      12th November 2011, 1:23

      I think Button and Hamilton have taken different approaches with set-up as Lewis is considerably faster through the speed trap and it is a bigger factor in his sector times than those sections suiting his driving style.
7. 

   John H (@john-h)
   11th November 2011, 19:09

   Do Toro Rosso ever try adding some more wing?

   They seem to always top the speed charts even in practice. Slap a gurney on the thing and see what happens!
   1. 

      The Last Pope (@the-last-pope)
      11th November 2011, 19:17

      Hey they’re sticking with what has worked for them. I Notice Sauber are now copying them. Sauber was consistantly the slowest in the top speeds previously.
      1. 

         John H (@john-h)
         11th November 2011, 20:06

         Yeah, my comment was a bit tongue in cheek… It would be nice to see them near the bottom one time though, just to see if their pace improves, but obviously they know what they’re doing!
8. 

   Jake (@jleigh)
   11th November 2011, 22:59

   Just finished watching practice after a long day at uni. My first observation is the Lewis’ long run looks very strong compared to others this year. Button also looked strong so I expect Mclaren to go very well. As Jenson says, overtaking looked very difficult despite the DRS so hopefully, we will see all drivers going all out for their best times in Q3 as grid position will be crucial.

   I expect it will be the simple SoftSoftMedium strategy, but with overtaking difficult, and higher track temps at the beginning of the race, it might be interesting to see if a driver starting in the lower reaches of the top 10 will gamble on starting on the Mediums.

   Finally, Vettel looked slightly uncomfortable for me today, but I’m sure he will bounce back tomorrow. However, I personally would be surprised to see anyone other than Hamilton on Pole.
9. 

   Jake (@jleigh)
   11th November 2011, 23:06

   Also Keith, are there no ultimate lap times, as I believe Lewis was going quicker when he locked up going into turn 10 (? after the 2nd straight).
10. 

    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
    12th November 2011, 10:04

    This straight line speed is working wonders for the guys in the STR6 at the moment, especially with these huge straights. They’re already in a position to overtake on the straight with that advantage, DRS just confirms it and allows them to move on to their next target much quicker.

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