Spanish Grand Prix 2015, Catalunya - Race 5/19
- Thread starter Shimmy
- Start date
Ahhh, I didn't realise it was that much of a differential
True, though he got him on the main straight into turn 1 under DRS, hence I was surprised by how easily he breezed by, but I suppose he would have come out of the last corner much better if his tyres were that much better.
All this 'saving and managing' is making a mockery of the racing imo, which is a shame.
Soldato
Alonso's Q2 lap in Spain was 1:27.760.
Button's was 1:27.854.
Today Button's best time so far is 1:27.486... an improvement in performance or track conditions? ie. is it less windy today compared to Q2 ?
edit - just read that that .486 was on high fuel too. Not a bad improvement then in the space of a few days.
Button's was 1:27.854.
Today Button's best time so far is 1:27.486... an improvement in performance or track conditions? ie. is it less windy today compared to Q2 ?
edit - just read that that .486 was on high fuel too. Not a bad improvement then in the space of a few days.
Soldato
What tyres was he on though? And were the conditions favourable?
Rosberg was 3 tenths quicker yesterday than his pole time, but that's not to say that they've found 3 tenths of performance. There are far too many variables. Testing times are meaningless smr - that's not suddenly changed in 2 months.
Rosberg was 3 tenths quicker yesterday than his pole time, but that's not to say that they've found 3 tenths of performance. There are far too many variables. Testing times are meaningless smr - that's not suddenly changed in 2 months.
That makes no sense. So Button did a 1:27.854 in Q2 (on the soft tyre) with low fuel and now on high fuel in the Barcelona test he has managed a 1:27.486 (let's assume the soft tyre was used).
So in the space of a few days they have found performance that puts them ahead of Merc? The Mercs on high fuel were doing 1:31s.
Maybe I am reading this wrong - please explain.
Soldato
Aye. He's ignored so I can't see it.
Soldato
Correct, the softs were used on Button's runs today afaik. The Hard and Medium were used last weekend... with the mediums being run on Q2 (obviously)
Soldato
Did Button get a super soft run in at the end?
Soldato
That's true, track conditions, unknown fuel load, different parts being tested by different teams all the time with a multitude of configurations, but what is clear is that the car ran a century of laps today with no reliability problems whatsoever. That's great in itself and will surely buoy the team on in it's development of the car.
From Macca:
"An extremely productive final day in Barcelona.
Jenson took over driving duties today, and successfully ran through all the items on today’s run-plan. These included running measuring rakes on the car in the morning to capture aerodynamic data, and a lengthy series of mechanical and aerodynamic balance changes, with modifications made to the front wing and suspension in order to provide our engineers with detailed data about MP4-30.
The team also carried out investigative work ahead of Monaco (low-speed set-up work) and Canada (low-downforce rear wing), which equips us with some useful information ahead of these two extreme races.
Furthermore, Jenson also reported that the set-up work undertaken today had gone a long way to curing the rear-end handling imbalance that afflicted him in Sunday’s race."
Caporegime
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- 18 Oct 2002
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Without being able to quantify the word high in terms of how much fuel that means. A high fuel race stint run means 66 laps of fuel, a high fuel qualifying run usually means having 5-10 laps of fuel instead of 3-4 laps of fuel.
They also could have been using a token upgraded engine that they may not use for another 5-6 races, or may find a fault after running the new spec engine. I would actually imagine most of the teams were running different spec engines to what was used in the race, ones using some or all of the upgrades they have planned. They may have had a couple of variations, IE day one run a for Ferrari what 10 tokens on the ICE, the mgu-h and the compressor, day two run a spec where the tokens are instead spent on the turbine, mgu-h and CE.
With engine spec changes, different tires and no one wanting to get exactly on the limit, the times are pretty much meaningless.
Can also think about what different teams aims are. Mclaren have more reason to explore ultimate pace, where Mercedes as with testing at the start of the season are secure in ultimate pace and care more about sustainable pace, tire wear, other things. So Mclaren might be expected to do more qualifying 3 lap runs on fresh tires while Mercedes might be expected to do more long runs looking at race pace.
They also could have been using a token upgraded engine that they may not use for another 5-6 races, or may find a fault after running the new spec engine. I would actually imagine most of the teams were running different spec engines to what was used in the race, ones using some or all of the upgrades they have planned. They may have had a couple of variations, IE day one run a for Ferrari what 10 tokens on the ICE, the mgu-h and the compressor, day two run a spec where the tokens are instead spent on the turbine, mgu-h and CE.
With engine spec changes, different tires and no one wanting to get exactly on the limit, the times are pretty much meaningless.
Can also think about what different teams aims are. Mclaren have more reason to explore ultimate pace, where Mercedes as with testing at the start of the season are secure in ultimate pace and care more about sustainable pace, tire wear, other things. So Mclaren might be expected to do more qualifying 3 lap runs on fresh tires while Mercedes might be expected to do more long runs looking at race pace.
I went to watch the race at Barcelona, fantastic, dream of a weekend for me. Never been to an F1 race before and my misses bought it for my birthday. We had full weekend tickets, with the best seats for the race and qualifying. We also drove down (hired a car) and did 2, 341 miles! Some highlights for me:
- Campsite is fairly decent, showers were average (typical campsite)
- The circuit and the facilities were amazing. Lots of good viewing areas, even for General Admission. It wasn't too crowded either, so easy to move around and chose different spots o watch from. Food and drink is ridiculously over priced. We had heard you couldn't take your own drinks and cameras, but we had no issues and they searched our bags each day.
- Thursday we were allowed access to the Pits to see the cars and drivers up close.
- The McLaren/Honda engine sounds awful in comparison to the Ferrari/Merc/Renault. It sounds very rough and off throttle seems to push the car on whilst popping and banging. You could be anywhere on the track and could hear a McLaren coming. It sounds vastly different to the other power units. The Ferrari looks to have a lot of low down power and good aero. The Merc just looks effortless to drive with loads of power and good amounts of downforce throughout the different sectors where other cars were twitching and sliding
- Turn 3 is immense to watch the cars power round. The difference between F1 and GP2/3 is substantial around it. I was stood there on P3 when Hamilton spun. Quite a sight!
- The GP2 cars ARE louder than the F1 cars and they sound like a racing car. High revving screaming V8's. You don't need ear defenders for any of the cars.
- The commentary was ****. We could hardly pick up the UK channel, and only the mixed language one which was rarely in English
- Ours seats (Elf - Turn 1 were amazing. We could see down the straight/start line, turns 1,2,3 and 5,6,7. We also had a big TV screen in front of our view to keep up on the action elsehwere on the track and the pit stops. I would recommend those seats to anyone else thinking of going.
- The GP2,3 and Porsche races were a good way to break the weekend up and see some close racing and some cheeky overtaking.
- After the race we were allowed into the Pits where various drivers came out. Rosberg came out and jumped on the pit wall in front of the fans with his trophy.
As for the race, for me, being a Hamilton fan I was a disappointed, but pleased when he pulled it back to second to under cut Vettel. I could see Hamiltons pain, for the whole lap he could get close, but the final corner the Ferrari seemed to be able to get round it quicker and get a lead. DRS helped Hamilton get closer on the straight but he was too far back to make a move. Had the straight been a bit longer he might of done it. He lost too much time behind Vettel which meant he couldn't battle with Rosberg. Not sure if it was on the TV coverage but towards the end of the race Mercedes were telling Lewis to slow down and that it was impossible to catch Rosberg. Hamiltons response was epic and he basically told them nothings impossible and he kept on pushing the pace. That's why I love supporting him.
Another obvious thing for me, was how pointless the Manor Raching cars were. I'd like to see them improve, but within a lap they were off the back of the pack and just doing their own race. The drivers must be frustrated!
Seeing the cars in person is amazing and I'd say every fan should do it. The speed, and how they look/sound can't be shown on TV. Took Loads of Photo's and Videos.
- Campsite is fairly decent, showers were average (typical campsite)
- The circuit and the facilities were amazing. Lots of good viewing areas, even for General Admission. It wasn't too crowded either, so easy to move around and chose different spots o watch from. Food and drink is ridiculously over priced. We had heard you couldn't take your own drinks and cameras, but we had no issues and they searched our bags each day.
- Thursday we were allowed access to the Pits to see the cars and drivers up close.
- The McLaren/Honda engine sounds awful in comparison to the Ferrari/Merc/Renault. It sounds very rough and off throttle seems to push the car on whilst popping and banging. You could be anywhere on the track and could hear a McLaren coming. It sounds vastly different to the other power units. The Ferrari looks to have a lot of low down power and good aero. The Merc just looks effortless to drive with loads of power and good amounts of downforce throughout the different sectors where other cars were twitching and sliding
- Turn 3 is immense to watch the cars power round. The difference between F1 and GP2/3 is substantial around it. I was stood there on P3 when Hamilton spun. Quite a sight!
- The GP2 cars ARE louder than the F1 cars and they sound like a racing car. High revving screaming V8's. You don't need ear defenders for any of the cars.
- The commentary was ****. We could hardly pick up the UK channel, and only the mixed language one which was rarely in English
- Ours seats (Elf - Turn 1 were amazing. We could see down the straight/start line, turns 1,2,3 and 5,6,7. We also had a big TV screen in front of our view to keep up on the action elsehwere on the track and the pit stops. I would recommend those seats to anyone else thinking of going.
- The GP2,3 and Porsche races were a good way to break the weekend up and see some close racing and some cheeky overtaking.
- After the race we were allowed into the Pits where various drivers came out. Rosberg came out and jumped on the pit wall in front of the fans with his trophy.
As for the race, for me, being a Hamilton fan I was a disappointed, but pleased when he pulled it back to second to under cut Vettel. I could see Hamiltons pain, for the whole lap he could get close, but the final corner the Ferrari seemed to be able to get round it quicker and get a lead. DRS helped Hamilton get closer on the straight but he was too far back to make a move. Had the straight been a bit longer he might of done it. He lost too much time behind Vettel which meant he couldn't battle with Rosberg. Not sure if it was on the TV coverage but towards the end of the race Mercedes were telling Lewis to slow down and that it was impossible to catch Rosberg. Hamiltons response was epic and he basically told them nothings impossible and he kept on pushing the pace. That's why I love supporting him.
Another obvious thing for me, was how pointless the Manor Raching cars were. I'd like to see them improve, but within a lap they were off the back of the pack and just doing their own race. The drivers must be frustrated!
Seeing the cars in person is amazing and I'd say every fan should do it. The speed, and how they look/sound can't be shown on TV. Took Loads of Photo's and Videos.