Hamilton quick but Red Bull strong in stints

21 comments on “Hamilton quick but Red Bull strong in stints”

1. 

   Becken Lima (@becken-lima)
   25th November 2011, 21:17

   Very interesting observation from James Allen:

   “…Red Bull tends to do its long runs using the fuel load it would typically start the second stint of the race with, while McLaren tend to run with full tanks. Allowing for the difference in weight their lap times are closely matched…”

   It will be tight (at least I hope so!).
   1. 

      Atticus (@atticus-2)
      25th November 2011, 22:02

      Nice find.

      Is it just me or the ‘longest stint’ of Fernando is not a normal heavy fuel stint at all? I mean he was in and out of the pits even when others have been doing their runs at the end of FP2.

      He seems to be the the unknown variable for me this weekend so far.

      I can only hope he would match the pace of the Red Bulls and the McLarens come Sunday.

      Also Schumacher and Rosberg are very very closely matched on race pace. I expect Q pace to be in the latter’s favour tomorrow.
      1. 

         Mister
         26th November 2011, 1:54

         He was testing a few 2012 parts, which compromised his set-up time. I hope he’s competitive on race day but based on his comments, he wont be challenging Red Bull or McLaren unless its wet.
2. 

   Fixy (@)
   25th November 2011, 21:19

   In FP2 Sauber were just ahead of Toro Rosso. STR usually has better pace in the races. The battle for 7th place in the Constructors’ Championship will be toughly fought for.
   1. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      26th November 2011, 15:59

      @Fixy Well the last two circuits have favoured STR with huge straights. Not so much the case here.
3. 

   Atticus (@atticus-2)
   25th November 2011, 22:04

   What we can say for sure in terms of race pace is that in the in-team battles Hamilton seems to have the upper hand again over Button – but Vettel and Webber are more closely matched than before.
   1. 

      raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
      26th November 2011, 2:59

      @atticus-2

      Vettel and Webber are more closely matched than before

      I wouldn’t hold my breath on that if i were you
      1. 

         Atticus (@atticus-2)
         26th November 2011, 9:22

         Their long run lap times seems to be quite close. There aren’t different fuel loads among team mates, are there?

         Aside from that Vettel is able to squeeze out the time needed when it counts.

         That why he is probably the next ‘great’ after Schumacher. He has this ‘Vettel factor’. But then again Hamilton and Alonso have theirs, so it’s still up for grabs. Time will tell.
         1. 

            raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
            26th November 2011, 9:27

            @atticus-2 Teams could very well run different fuel loads. That way you don’t only get 1 set of data to look at; but you get more sets of data to analyze.
            1. 

               STSCM (@stscm)
               26th November 2011, 13:40

               You’re right, from an engineering perspective having both cars out doing the same thing makes no sense. Maybe Webbo was on a 1/2 tank while Vettel was full? Might explain the delta.
            2. 

               raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
               26th November 2011, 13:43

               @stscm hard to say. When I was a track side engineer in another form of racing once upon a time, we would split the testing runs. However if Red Bull suspect tyre wear and/or degradation is very different between Mark and Sebastian; then they can’t really use the data from one guy for another.
4. 

   Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
   25th November 2011, 22:35

   Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the second session and sad he was happy with his car’s long-run pace.

   Wow Mixed Feelings from Lewis there,Only Kidding Typo there Keith
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      25th November 2011, 23:11

      Fixed, thanks.
5. 

   fyujj
   25th November 2011, 23:13

   IDK if it’s a trend (like if they’ve been always so slower) but it looks like the back teams (HRT and Virgin; Lotus are slow usually AFAIremember) are setting up for wet.
6. 

   JK (@justingt5)
   26th November 2011, 1:48

   Anyone know why the Torro Rosso’s were so much faster in FP2 than everyone else?
   1. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      26th November 2011, 10:29

      They have been fastest in the speed traps for a couple of races now (since Korea).
7. 

   Aussie Rod (@aussierod)
   26th November 2011, 9:02

   Some interesting points to note… and a few predictions thrown in for good measure :)

   Alguersuari 6 tenths quicker than Vergne in FP1.
   Vergne won’t be on the grid in Australia IMO.

   Grosjean 2 tenths quicker than Senna in FP2.
   Senna won’t be in a Renault in Australia IMO (unfortunately as I am a fan…).

   Hulkenberg quicker 1 tenth than Di Resta in FP1.
   Hulkenberg to partner Di Resta at Force India next year IMO.

   Ricciardo quicker than Liuzzi, this really is becoming the norm now.
   Ricciardo in a STR next year, probably in place of Buemi which IMO would be rough as Buemi has been consistently a tenth or two ahead of Alguersuari from day one.
   1. 

      raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
      26th November 2011, 9:22

      @aussierod Don’t forget Helmut Marko calls all the shots in terms of RB drivers. According to the latest rumors, 2012 will see Vergne-Alguersuari at STR, and Ricciardo will be farmed out to Caterham (in Trulli’s slot)
   2. 

      Atticus (@atticus-2)
      26th November 2011, 9:34

      Yeah I kept an eye on the rookies as well.

      I wouldn’t judge Vergne so quickly. After only a couple of sessions Ricciardo was slower than Liuzzi too. The newbies need time. Not much – talent shines through, the bigger it is, the less time it needs, see also the debut of Alonso and Vettel. So yeah, Vergne maybe not a top driver, but I wouldn’t assess him right now.

      I agree on Ricciardo, he deserves a place, still, Liuzzi is not a hard driver to beat, I think.

      I agree on Grosjean as well, this is a clear cut case. Another successful season in GP2 may did him wonders. He seems to care less than Senna, a less serious guy based on the few glimps of FOM coverage – but he is instantly quicker.

      As for Force India, I agree, Hulkenberg is probably the best of the three on the long run, he generally outpaces either Sutil or di Resta, when he gets a chance. But as the season progrsses I’m not so assured di Resta owns Sutil. Di Resta made a lot of effort, concentrated so hard, gave so much energy to deliver at the beginning of the season, he could be more exhaused than Sutil. Sutil, meanwhile, seems to be less tranquil despite his recent upward trend. He was the one who made it no secret he wanted to know the line-up for next year – and it’s not a good sign. Perhaps he fears VM would choose di Resta and Nico – fears more than the latter two.
      1. 

         Aussie Rod (@aussierod)
         26th November 2011, 10:31

         Yeah I agree with all that Atticus, and don’t get me wrong, I did not intend to judge Vergne, I don’t know enough about him.

         I do know James Allen is of the opinion that Ricciardo was more impressive in the Young Driver Test in ’10 than Vergne was this year (according to his sources at Red Bull), and hence more likely to get the STR drive in ’12.

         IMO Vergne’s only chance at a STR drive in ’12 was to really shine in Free Practice in these last two GPs but it doesn’t look like he has done enough. He needs more time and will get Friday practice in ’12 to hone his skills I’m sure.

         He’ll get his chance, but I stand by my opinion it won’t be in Australia in ’12.
8. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   26th November 2011, 10:34

   I like this

   Lotus continue to move away from Virgin and HRT and closer to the midfield. A new rear wing design brought them within half a second of Williams over the three sectors, and over a second-and-a-half faster than Virgin.
   Jarno Trulli said: “We need to do a bit of work on fine tuning the balance, and I think there’s more to come from the new rear wing, but the update is working and hopefully we can show in qualifying the sort of pace we’ve had recently in the races”

   Shows us how much all the talk about in season testing sessions would just mean we see less running on the fridays (as we had before they cut down on that).
   Only thing they should now do to allow new drivers to get some running time in the car is, to make it mandatory for each team to give their 3rd drivers (or just talents at random) a minimum amount of FP2 drives and pre-season testing days.
   That way we would see the likes of RBR, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes forced to give these guys some seat time as well and make it more likely a 3rd driver will actually be able to drive halfway competatively in case he’s needed.

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