Chinese Grand Prix 2011, Shanghai International Circuit - Race 3/19

Well couldn't keep my eyes open, just finished watching it, great race. Webber was stunning. Perelli are great, yet again cars able to follow closely. Now double diffuser has gone. There is no need for DRS and when ground effect and less aero comes in it's going to be great.

However I do fear that come half way through the season when teams. Have loads of data for tyres we may not see this type of race.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
Will be interesting to see what happens from here. I think Webber's comment, although in jest, was quite telling - don't bother with quali, just keep all the sets for the race. We may now see more of a push towards this, especially on tracks where DRS can give you a huge boost.
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I think that this is a dangerous tactic. Hamilton just using the 1 lap ended up behind Button in qualifying. Finishing within 4 hundredths on one attempt I think he'd have gotten ahead if he had two. Further you are risking a red flag situation compromising your final lap like we saw destroy Heidfeld's Q2. Anyway this resulted in Hamilton having to pull a fairly risky overtake on Button during the race, not to mention being held up behind him for quite some time and I can't help but feel that it might have been no different an ending but much more plain sailing had he had track position (but no tyre advantage) in the first place.
 
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utajoker said:
button also did 3 stops but didn't make his tires last like hamilton did (suprising as he is much better)(apparently).

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Button was doing respectable times on his tyres all through the race it seemed (not like Hamilton who actually tortured his last w/e), but probably balance was a bit off compared to Hamilton today, which is why LH was a little faster on a lot of laps (by a few tenths)

Webber had the fastest lap of the race by 2 seconds or something (for the front runners at least) and he was doing this lap after lap after lap (due to the fresh rubber and more stops, ie shorter stints)

Setroc said:
I think that this is a dangerous tactic. Hamilton just using the 1 lap ended up behind Button in qualifying. Finishing within 4 hundredths on one attempt I think he'd have gotten ahead if he had two. Further you are risking a red flag situation compromising your final lap like we saw destroy Heidfeld's Q2. Anyway this resulted in Hamilton having to pull a fairly risky overtake on Button during the race, not to mention being held up behind him for quite some time and I can't help but feel that it might have been no different an ending but much more plain sailing had he had track position in the first place.
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Actually I think its correct - however one thing that McLaren missed (ok they didnt need it today, but it could have been worth contemplating) is using LH's fresh rubber on the last stint instead of the 2nd (where he was pretty bogged down in traffic anyway so didnt get that much extra worth out of the new tyres)

Use new tyres (esp softs) at the end of the race, and like Webber someone could obliterate those anywhere near you (admittedly the affect was probably maximised because he also did more stops than most, so he didnt need to conserve rubber as much as everyone else.
 
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Set my clock for 7am, but woke up about 8.30am. So glad I still got to see the epic battle and win by Hammy. Brilliant stuff! :) I must say, Vettel is far more sporting about it than I thought he might be. Although maybe that's only because he's 20+ points ahead and still feels secure.


Btw, is it me or did coulthard look uncomfortable when the red McLaren t shirt was thrown at him, :p seeing as how he still apparently receives money from RB.
 
MrLOL said:
If its a choice between this and a 1 make F1, i'll take F1 as it is currently thanks.
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Yeah I'm not dismissing it, I enjoyed the race a lot. I just fail to see how this is putting the skill back in the drivers hands. Make no mistake when cars start working on a set up at certain times when the fuel is on or off it's pretty much luck. Especially at the minute. They have no idea how much rubber is going to be on the track or enough data on the tyres or wear rates at various weights.

Look at the way Hamilton went passed Vettel. It was almost like he stopped moving in comparison to lewis car. I don't see that as taking anymore skill than a DRS pass. As Button said when the tyres go or someone is on a fresher set there is very little you can do to defend, you are a sitting duck.

It's early stages and again I thouroughly enjoyed the spectacle but they have gone from having cars that struggled to pass even when they were 3 seconds faster to not being able to defend against a car on slightly newer rubber.

The wear rate is stupidly high imo and has made a bit of a lottery out of it when cars get closer together on pace.
 
You have to remember they have pretty much no data on tyres, I expect 2nd part of the season we wont see this. just need rid of DRS.
I like strategy in f1 because it is a team sport unlike other race series.
 
CaptainRAVE said:
I would be happy if they got rid of DRS. It really wasn't need today.
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Or last race, I have been shocked by just removing double diffusers how close they are following and this should dramatically improve when ground effect comes in. They just tried to much at one time without thinking.
 
Had to watch this on iPlayer after my PVR threw a wobbler, but I can't fault etheir iPlayer or the race for a great couple of hours.

The tyre issues, DRS and the 'pound shop' Red Bull KERS system are making the spectacle a bit suspect in terms of wether this is 'proper' racing, but it was entertaining, which I suppose is what really matters...

Can't wait for F1 to head back home now, just a shame it's 3 weeks away. :(
 
CaptainRAVE said:
I would be happy if they got rid of DRS. It really wasn't need today.
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I would say that most of the overtaking was due to different grip levels and tyre choices, but I wouldn't want them to remove the DRS yet. There's still a lot of dirty air coming off the back of those cars and the DRS definitely helps negate that. You still need KERS and slipstreaming to pass cleanly, otherwise you end up fighting in the corner which is perfect for the viewers.
 
unledfth.jpg


Race - Hamilton takes sensational Shanghai win
Lewis Hamilton scored a fabulous victory for McLaren in a Chinese race of excellent drives, catching and passing Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel on the 52nd of the 56 laps as the reigning world champion's gamble on a two-stop strategy - and a 25-lap run on Pirelli's hard rubber - just failed to pay off.

Iplayer - 2011 - The Chinese Grand Prix
Jake Humphrey presents coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix from the Shanghai International Circuit, with commentary from Martin Brundle and David Coulthard.
 
Kerming said:
All I can say is, I reccon the other top teams such a redbull, Mclaran, Ferrari, Renault will copy LH's stratagy in qualifine. Its not so much driver skill, but tire choice.
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Not quite as simple as that, a fast car is still required. But in this race Strategy played a large part!
 
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