2012 Spanish Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops

21 comments on “2012 Spanish Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops”

1. 

   Theoddkiwi (@theoddkiwi)
   13th May 2012, 22:49

   Inspiring drive from Lewis, and clearly proves he is making better racing decisions. Great passes, controlled aggression when needed and discipline to keep his lap times in the right window to keep the pace with our tearing up his tyre.

   Now can people please stop saying Button looks after his tyres better then Lewis?
   1. 

      Wooolfy
      14th May 2012, 0:56

      I totally agree. I won’t be entertaining anyone saying Lewis is no good managing tires and being ultra aggressive. Today he was better than the entrie field on both types of tires given that the soft he started on was a used tire that he set chart topping times on during qualifying. Very phenomenal performance I may add.
      1. 

         dkpioe
         14th May 2012, 11:47

         he wasnt best on the hards, look at second stint, not that fast, and sure he made the third stint last 31 laps, but at the expense of good lap times, hence being overtaken by vettel – his best lap time as a result was 2.3 seconds slower then the best, thats not phenomenal to me.
         1. 

            mac_user67
            14th May 2012, 20:26

            He had to make a two stop strategy last – of course he can’t set the fastest laps whilst nursing the tyres!
         2. 

            Harry19
            14th May 2012, 21:18

            lol…he went 31 laps on a set of tyres, of course he’s not going to set a fastest lap! And he was never racing Vettel
            1. 

               Mike (@mike)
               15th May 2012, 4:07

               What of Lewis’ second stint?
   2. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      15th May 2012, 13:12

      @theoddkiwi It was a brilliant performance from Hamilton, certainly a more mature drive than most of last years efforts. However, this game is all about consistency. He has a way to go to prove he can be as easy on the tyres as Button.
      1. 

         Theoddkiwi (@theoddkiwi)
         16th May 2012, 0:55

         @andrewtanner Consistancy like scoring points in every race, unlike nearly every one else on the grid in particular his team mate. I think only Alonso is the exception.
         His tyre issues have been more about car setup rather than race craft much like most of the drivers including twinkle toes Button, who couldnt make a three stopper work and faded at the end while Lewis was attacking Rosberg for 7th.
2. 

   Gigantor (@kbdavies)
   14th May 2012, 0:46

   Of the top teams, McLaren seem to consistently have the slowest pit stops – even without any incidents. Ferrari’s pitstops (taken from the overhead cam) are a lesson in precision and smoothness. Why is it so difficult for McLaren to achieve the same level of efficiency?

   And why does Massa always seem so difficult to overtake? I reckon without being stuck behind Massa for so long, Lewis would certainly have made it to 5th – as EJ predicted. Massa also made it difficult for Jensen, but his defence of Lewis was much more robust. Lewis would definitely not have fallen into the clutches of Vettel before the race ended, have would have attacked Rosberg earlier.
   1. 

      Theoddkiwi (@theoddkiwi)
      14th May 2012, 4:10

      I wonder if the other drivers have a degree of hesitation passing Massa in terms of his err robust defence techniques.
      1. 

         bosyber (@bosyber)
         14th May 2012, 12:59

         Well @theoddkiwi I think we have seen others be stuck behind Massa (last year Button a few times). I believe Massa is pretty harsh, but certainly effective, in defending and not only with Hamilton.

         I for one was glad to see him pass an F1 after having defended from HAM (or was it Button?) yesterday, as I sometimes feel he’s too defensive, but not active enough at getting past cars.
         1. 

            mac_user67
            14th May 2012, 20:28

            Yeah Massa may actually be the best team mate if you are seeking a WDC, for WCC not so effective…
   2. 

      StefMeister (@stefmeister)
      14th May 2012, 22:35

      And why does Massa always seem so difficult to overtake? I reckon without being stuck behind Massa for so long, Lewis would certainly have made it to 5th – as EJ predicted.

      Watching the OnBoard’s from Massa/Hamilton on Sky, Massa wasn’t really having to defend against Hamilton that hard.

      The problem Lewis had was that with DRS & the slipstream down the start/finish straght he was hitting the limiter well before turn 1 & often had to pull out the slipstream early to drop the revs to get it off the limiter.

      Recall a radio message in Friday practice from on eof the McLaren drivers saying the had 7th gear too low, seems that carried over into the race.

      Watching the OnBoard stuff all year I’ve noticed that McLaren often seem to be hitting the limiter earlier than others when using DRS & in the slipstream & its almost as if there gearing the car to maximise DRS for qualifying & its hurting them when trying to use it to overtake in the races as there just hitting the rev-limiter too early.
3. 

   @HoHum (@hohum)
   14th May 2012, 1:31

   A perfect illustration of how these tyres are actually adding to the problem of overtaking the car ahead, all the rule changes to reduce the advantage the leading car has had as a result of turbulence effecting the following cars aerodynamics have been negated by the rapid tyre wear a following car endures. We now have less aerodynamic effect on a following car but a bigger disadvantage due to tyre wear, real progress now can only be made in the DRS zone and the pits.
4. 

   Kimi4WC
   14th May 2012, 1:57

   Lotus, 16 laps on slow softs, slap slap.
   1. 

      Kimi4WC
      14th May 2012, 1:59

      Also considering that he could have been released into free air at any time, questionable call.
5. 

   OOliver
   14th May 2012, 7:40

   If Lewis can avoid the pitstops as a whole, it would be the best thing for him. A mechanic even managed to leave a wheel gun directly under his wheel. Mechanics don’t suddenly get careless, and you can’t blame it on fatigue since this is just the 5th race. Mclaren is turning into a house of disasters and Withmarsh seems to be indifferent.
   1. 

      bosyber (@bosyber)
      14th May 2012, 13:16

      It was a wheel, not a wheel gun, actually. I would think that it was exactly due to having new guys since last race with limited opportunity to practice the stops in actual race circumstances, so it will likely get better.
   2. 

      DaveW (@dmw)
      14th May 2012, 18:20

      I recall Hamilton saying in an interview that the team had been studying the gantry-camera film and were focusing on the small things like foot position and hand position. So I found it interesting that their new way of screwing up a stop is to leave the just-removed tire in the path of the car, i.e, a fundamental failure in the physical mechanics of the tire-change procedure.
   3. 

      DavidBR2
      15th May 2012, 14:22

      I don’t think Whitmarsh is indifferent, just not perfectionist. The team needs someone who demands excellence now Dennis has stood aside. Could be the team head (Brawn/Dennis), designer (Newey) or even the driver (Alonso, Schumacher) but without that McLaren are missing that slightly manic quality that keeps everyone that extra bit sharp. Enough to win championships.
6. 

   bosyber (@bosyber)
   14th May 2012, 13:20

   It must be great for Ferrari that at least one decision during the season preparation was a sound and working one, namely to focus on getting very fast, and consistently fast, pit stops. Must be giving the mechanics something to cheer for even when Alonso doesn’t manage to magic a rabbit out of the hat.

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