I wonder if McLaren have been able to learn something about Red Bull's engine mapping by observing them running without the EBD at Silverstone. Lewis mentioned that they had made a fair leap forward with an upgrade in this area.
The tables and charts in the first post have been updated. Due to the drying track, there is more than 20 seconds between the Q1 and Q3 times. I haven't changed the chart axis to account for this as it reduced the clarity too much.
More of the same. McLaren though seem to be losing more time with each race since they were narrowly pipped to pole at Germany. Although it was Webber on pole there so perhaps if Vettel had done his usual thing the gap would have been a lot bigger? Anyway, McLaren are definitely slipping back whereas Ferrari are roughly in the same place as a few races ago.
It's taken them most of the season, but McLaren have finally managed to qualify on pole, ahead of Red Bull. Looking at the charts in the first post, they've been inching ever closer for the last 3 races, and truthfully speaking should have done it last week at Suzuka, if not for the fact that Hamilton didn't manage to get a second lap in. I think what's interesting is that I expected to see some general downward trending as the other teams managed to reduce the advantage that Red Bull had at the start of the season, but that doesn't seem to be the case. If anything, only McLaren seem to have managed to stay with them, and Ferrari to a certain extent.
Yup. I was wondering when I had look at the charts earlier today how they would have looked had the couple of instances of Lewis missing second runs in Q3 would have affected the picture. I thought about posting and then it occurred to me that I could end up opening another can of "what if" worms. So, without wishing to do that, I wondered if anyone has totted up how many times Lewis, and for that matter any of the top six, have missed second runs this year. I'm not asking anyone to do this as it would be merely an academic exercise ... just wondered.
These are my notes on qualifying Australia Q1 Both HRT’s not within 107% of fastest time so DNQ Q2 Barrichello off circuit and stopped in gravel – prohibited from continuing due to being stopped on track China Q1 Mark Webber knocked out in P18 - due to KERS not working and using the harder tyre which is 1 second per lap slower Q2 Petrov stopped on circuit due to engine problem - prohibited from continuing due to being stopped on track Turkey Q1 Kobayashi stopped on circuit due to a fuel pump problem – prohibited from continuing due to being stopped on track Spain Q1 Heidfeld did not set a time due to a fire in FP3 Q3 Micheal Schumacher did not set a time due to a KERS problem Monaco Q1 Vitantonio Liuzzi did not set a time due to a crash in FP3 Narain Karthikeyan did not set a time due to a rear suspension problem Q3 Sergio Perez crashed heavily towards the end of the session cuasing a red flag and did not set a time due to his crash Lewis Hamilton was held up on his only flying lap by Felipa Massa and was then prevented from completing his second lap due to the session being red flagged Lewis Hamilton originally qualified seventh with a Q3 time of 1:15.280, but then had his fastest Q3 time deleted for cutting the chicane. He started from 9th on the grid due to Perez not participating Europe Q2 Maldonado stopped on circuit – prohibited from continuing due to being stopped on track Q1 was red flagged due to Maldonado's car being stopped on track Great Britain Q3 Hamilton set his time on a set of used tyres which had already been used in Q2. Towards the end of the session it started to rain and he was unable to set a fast time on a new set of tyres. Belgium Q1 The right rear wheel came off Michael Schumacher's car on the first lap of Q1 and he hit the barriers, damaging his car The session was red flagged due to Adrian Sutil hitting the barrier and damaging his car Q2 Pastor Maldonado deliberately hit Lewis Hamilton after Q2 had finished, after Lewis Hamilton overtook him at the final corner on their last laps Singapore Q2 The session was red flagged due to Kobayashi hitting the barrier after launching over a kerb Q3 Schumcher, Liuzzi and di Resta did not set a time in Q3 in order to save tyres Hamilton got a puncture and was unable to do a second flying lap after a refuelling problem Japan Q3 Hamilton and Shumacher were unable to start their flying laps due to the chequered flag dropping before they crossed the line Lewis Hamilton's time was set on a tyre which had already been used in Q2 Korea Q3 Sebastian Vettel took a short cut during Q3 on his way back to the pits but was not penalised Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta did not set a time in Q3 in order to save tyres That's most of it I think, although I may have missed off some drivers who didn't set times to save tyres.
I had to actually fudge it somewhat as Excel doesn't show lines for single points, hence why the line starts from Japan.
Great data Brogan. It would be interesting to see how teams stack up at different types of circuit. Singapore and Monaco definitely affect some more that others. Just goes to show the end ban effect...
The interesting thing here, and something we will never know, is that we are in the dark as to which was the faster car today. Has the Red Bull advantage been overturned or is the McLaren now just within fighting range? I want to see a Hamilton/Vettel pairing. My money's on our home-boy but it's a weak bet. I hope we get to find out one day.
Or is it just Red Bull being conservative? They have won both championships for 2011 (or will win the WCC this weekend probably) - are they now going to spend what's left of the season testing their designs for the 2012 car?
A poor Q3 by Hamilton once again gives Red Bull pole. He was the only one of the top 5 drivers not to better or equal his Q2 time, which would undoubtedly have given him pole.
That concludes this season's pointless exercise. It won't surprise anyone to hear that I won't be repeating it next year
