F1 2011 season news / pre-season updates
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They don't have a share in McLaren.
McLaren bought that over the last year if things went to plan.
My understanding is that they owned a minority share with an intent to complete offload ownership sometime in the near future. Or has that happened already?
No he didn't?
He won two races, Australia and China.
Australia -- started on intermediates, fried them whilst being passed by his teammate, had to pit so decided to opt for slicks (admittedly a very good decision).
He was then in second trailing Vettel who would've won comfortably if it wasn't for a car failure.
China -- Started on slicks like most of the field under 'light rain', that got a bit heavier, most of the field pitted for inters which was a bad choice, he stayed out with Rosberg (who was leading), Kubica and Petrov. Rosberg made a mistake and Button capitalised on it.
Neither of those are examples of tyre conservation, in fact Australia was quite the opposite.
cba to look through other races but I don't recall a single race where he managed to conserve his tyres any more than any other driver, certainly never to a race changing amount.
And didn't the Bridgestone guy at some point around mid-season say that Button/Hamilton were pretty much the same, and that Alonso was the best?
In all honesty I cannot remember which race it was but I distincitly remember a race where Hamilton was behind Button, literally struggling for grip compared to Button.
Whatever the case, I do agree that this "difference" in tyre maintenance was not as pronounced as most had expected in 2010. But I would be surprised if we do not see such a visible difference in tyre wear between both drivers this year.
Using KERS, F Duct, movable rear wing, both pedals, changing gear whilst turning a corner simultaneously would be difficult yes
Don't forget adjusting brake bias and changing fuel settings.
Tyre management looks to be more of a factor this year, given the accelerated degradation, however, from last year, with the exception of Alonso, no driver differentiated himself as being hard or easy on tyres. Most drivers seemed to manage their tyres similarly and I'm expecting something similar this year. Only time will tell though.
At this stage, these are merely predictions.
Yep.
Don't forget adjusting brake bias and changing fuel settings.
Tyre management looks to be more of a factor this year, given the accelerated degradation, however, from last year, with the exception of Alonso, no driver differentiated himself as being hard or easy on tyres. Most drivers seemed to manage their tyres similarly and I'm expecting something similar this year. Only time will tell though.
At this stage, these are merely predictions.
The only race where I saw an advantage held by Alonso in this respect was Korea I think. Apart from that I didnt think there was anything in it. But by all means please do refresh my memory if I a mistaken!
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The only race where I saw an advantage held by Alonso in this respect was Korea I think. Apart from that I didnt think there was anything in it. But by all means please do refresh my memory if I a mistaken!
It was more what the Bridgestone representative stated, when he claimed that the tyre wear on Alonso's Ferrari was the best, out of all the drivers. With the exception of Alonso, no driver was shown to be heavy or easy on his tyres.
Soldato
This doesn't account for various stages of the race however. They might all end up having to drive aggressively to keep a hold of their positions, or they might trash their tyres in 10 laps and need to pussy foot about until they can have new ones or finish the race. The tyres might jest end up at more or less the same place at the end.
To me it seems some drivers seem to handle it better than others and drive through it so get a few extra laps in where others can't which can help maintain or gain a place.
To me it seems some drivers seem to handle it better than others and drive through it so get a few extra laps in where others can't which can help maintain or gain a place.
I don't think anyone could argue he is not a good overtaker, as over ambitious he can be at times. I would disagree that KERS, F-Duct etc are aiding Hamilton more than any other driver. It was widely acknowledged that McLaren had by far the best KERS system and nobody could extract the same performance from there own F-Duct systems as McLaren were able due to the compromises they had to make in retro-fitting them.
I like Lewis because he's a racer. He will always try and get past rather than taking the safer option of hanging back waiting for a mistake which top level drivers rarely make. I'd wager he would've had a go at Petrov in Abu Dhabi if he was in Alonso's position. You might say it's cost him and it certainly did in Singapore when Webber turned in on him (although you could argue that he wasn't even level at the time) but give me hamilton's attitude to anyone else on track any day and i suspect a lot of people would agree with me.
Personally always thought the newer points systems will always favour someone who majority of the time brings the car home in the points over an outright racer who can be over-zealous and gets taken out/takes himself out to get the win/podium
Ie when it was just 10-6-4-3 -2 -1 , this favoured outright racers pushing for every position - (skipping the intermediate scoring system ) - now its 25 for 1st all the way down to 1 for 10th it definitely favours drivers who accumulate lesser positions consistantly over a season
Hamilton could easily have won last season (admittedly not as easily as Alonso lol) but for some really daft and pretty un-necessary moves that were never on in the first place.
If he does the same this season (ie not learning lessons from the past), he will never hold as many titles as his skill deserves
Ie when it was just 10-6-4-3 -2 -1 , this favoured outright racers pushing for every position - (skipping the intermediate scoring system ) - now its 25 for 1st all the way down to 1 for 10th it definitely favours drivers who accumulate lesser positions consistantly over a season
Hamilton could easily have won last season (admittedly not as easily as Alonso lol) but for some really daft and pretty un-necessary moves that were never on in the first place.
If he does the same this season (ie not learning lessons from the past), he will never hold as many titles as his skill deserves
If McLaren give Hamilton a car which isn't so far behind the lead car, he won't have to take so many risks. His problem is that his car isn't great and he (and Button) are having to make up the difference on track.
Personally, I feel that McLaren need to revise/reshuffle their design team. With all the resources at their disposal its shocking that over the Winter time, they produce cars that are (usually) off the pace.
If Hamilton were to drive less aggressively (taking fewer risks), he won't be as quick. Plain and simple.
Personally, I feel that McLaren need to revise/reshuffle their design team. With all the resources at their disposal its shocking that over the Winter time, they produce cars that are (usually) off the pace.
If Hamilton were to drive less aggressively (taking fewer risks), he won't be as quick. Plain and simple.
The same could be said about a few drivers.
Had Alonso not got stuck behind Massa in a few races, he would've scored a few more points. Had he not ballsed up Monaco, he could won.
Had Hamilton not had the crashes/offs, he could've won the title.
Had Vettel not had the crash with Webber; had his car not broken down so often, he could've won the title by at least 75 points.
Ifs and buts. The right team/driver package won, I think. RBR deserved the win, if only because they had such a ridiculously fast car.
Soldato
The best overtaker in F1 casts doubt over the new rear wings working particularly well.
Emphasis is my own.
Emphasis is my own.
Hamilton hasn't really said yes or no. He seems undecided.
I think Alonso stated a month ago, that he felt that the introduction of the movable rear wing would not increase overtaking significantly.
Bear in mind, that until we see the first race of the season, it will be difficult to say just how easy overtaking will be in 2011.
All comments regarding the movable rear wing and overtaking are based on speculation and nothing else.
I think Alonso stated a month ago, that he felt that the introduction of the movable rear wing would not increase overtaking significantly.
Bear in mind, that until we see the first race of the season, it will be difficult to say just how easy overtaking will be in 2011.
All comments regarding the movable rear wing and overtaking are based on speculation and nothing else.
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