Grand Prix 2012 Chinese Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Racking up the air miles now

Going into the third race of the 2012 season and it is still unclear where everyone lies in true race pace over a normal dry race without the intervention of a safety car apart from that McLaren have done the best job of the teams with Red Bull and Mercedes not too far apart but Mercedes seem to be struggling with higher levels of tyre degradation compared to the other front runners.

Despite all the highly publicised problems at Ferrari, Fernando Alonso currently leads the Championship after a 5th place in Australia and an against the odds victory in Malaysia where the rain early on managed to put Alonso in the lead when the others struggled. However this doesn't mean things are rosy in Maranello as when the track dried up Alonso started to fall back and was being hunted down by none other than Sergio Perez in the Sauber who was closing in rapidly on the Spaniard only to make a minor mistake with a couple of laps to go which ruined his chances of a maiden victory, but he was understandably delighted to finish in second place. Lewis Hamilton showed that he is a more rounded driver than he was in 2011 with a second consecutive third place showing he has the maturity to make the best of a bad job when circumstances were against him when he was caught out by the pit stops (like he was in Australia) to not make any mistakes and bring the car home in third place for 15 points which could be crucial at the end of the season.

On the other hand, team mate Jenson Button had a characteristically poor race after running second early on, but after outbraking himself he broke his front wing trying to overtake an HRT who was running there on position after an early gamble for wets paid off as when the red flag fell, Narain was running in 10th place which shocked fans worldwide. The red flag was also (im)famous for the introduction of gazebos all down the grid, something previously pioneered by Mercedes in Canada last season.

2012 has seen (so far) probably one of the most competitive midfields in many seasons with Force India, Sauber, Williams and Toro Rosso all pushing the top teams for points and Sauber have already claimed a podium through Perez and it could be said that on pure one lap pace, most of these teams are as quick as if not faster than Ferrari, certainly faster than Felipe Massa who is really coming under pressure for his seat after 2 mediocre performances so far while Alonso continued to drag the car to places where it shouldn't really be.

Looking ahead to China and it has been a track which has favoured McLaren in recent years with Lewis Hamilton winning in 2008 and 2011 and Jenson Button winning in the rain affected 2010 race. Hamilton should have won in 2007 but famously threw it away in the pitlane after running wide on very used tyres when he was in a position to win the Championship, something with now Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen took advantage of to win the race and eventually steal the Championship in Brazil.

China will also be an importunity to be the first true comparison of Sky and BBC as it is the first race that will be shown live on BBC and it will certainly be very interesting to see where the two broadcasters shape up over a full race weekend and it will show to people in their own minds which one is better and it is pretty clear that it certainly won't be a clear cut thing and will be down more to personal preference than the overall package compared to the other.

For Galahad's brilliant circuit write up, see here http://cliptheapex.com/pages/shanghai-international-circuit/

 

[downforce]

I want to see what Lotus can do as well.

Grosjean out before lap 3 both times.

Raikkonen out of time in qually for Melbourne and then a grid penalty in Malaysia.

 

[tranquility2k9]

I'm very interested in Red Bull this weekend. Lots of people seem to be overlooking them but the facts say they have the fastest overall race pace of any team over the first 2 races. In Melbourne in the race they were certainly not too far behind McLaren and in Malaysia, both Webber and Vettel were quicker than Hamilton on slicks at the end although conditions make it hard to read.

What was clear throughout pre-season testing was that Red Bull were fast on high fuel and pretty kind on their tyres. I think they never did a low fuel run and maybe this is why they even surprised themselves at Melbourne when they took the fuel out and were not as fast as they thought they'd be.

One thing is becoming evident though and that is, many outsiders and track observers and now it seems even the team them self feel their car was potentially better before their exhaust upgrade in the last 2 days of testing. From the amount of different iterations of it (4 now I make it), they clearly do not quite understand it. Although some suggest Newey always had this planned, I've now read many reports that Newey had to react because of McLaren's design that initially he thought may be illegal this year.

To add substance to all of this there is an article in a foreign language, that I've converted to English that suggests during Friday practice at China, Webber will be driving an evolution of the most recent exhaust system whereas Vettel will be returning to that used during pre-season (i.e. the one that pumps out just before the suspension, much closer to the middle of the car). Strangely, when I first saw Red Bull's exhaust design at the first test I thought they had another genius design up their sleeve as they had designed their suspension geometry, layout and physical structure in order to bounce exhaust gasses down to the beam wing and floor. In doing this they'd also kept a very tight rear-end and not needed to create larger outlets on the side of the floor like McLaren and Ferrari for their exhausts. This would all help to clear the airflow.

All in all, possibly Red Bull's original exhaust design is actually better. They have never yet ran it back to back with their newer version that is more like Sauber and McLaren. I guess we will find out this weekend, but either way, in my mind, in normal conditions it is McLaren vs Red Bull for the win.

Foreign article:- http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/...tm_medium=twitter&utm_source=Nextgen-Auto.com

Translated:- "Helmut Marko, the sports advisor to Red Bull Racing, had said this morning that the Austrian team had a plan to get back on track soon China. Technical director Adrian Newey finally argues that this plan will require extensive work by the engineers and mechanics of Red Bull.

"In order to evaluate our latest developments, we will ROLLED two different specifications of the RB8 in China during Friday practice. Based on the feelings and preferences of each of our drivers, Mark Webber will test an evolution of which has been used in Malaysia as Sebastian will return to a specification used before the start of the season in testing. We then compare the results, "said the Briton.

The Red Bull drivers are complaining since the beginning of season one car very inconsistent on a quick tour. "We showed a good race pace but we must clearly make progress in qualifying," says Newey."

 

[Viscount]

I don't think the Red Bulls will be that quick in China. They lack top speed which is relatively important there and no longer have the downforce advantage to make up for it. The anticipated rain may mix things up though.

 

[tranquility2k9]

I don't think the Red Bulls will be that quick in China. They lack top speed which is relatively important there and no longer have the downforce advantage to make up for it. The anticipated rain may mix things up though.

Malaysia needed top speed just as much as China. It has 2 huge straights. They were quick there. Lets not forget Webber was not that far off the front row. They clearly aren't getting the best out of their car and if they can manage to understand it plus bring a couple of developments then with Newey at the helm they aren't going to be struggling for long - trust me. I would not even rule out a Red Bull pole position this weekend. You heard it here first.

 

[Viscount]

Malaysia needed top speed just as much as China. It has 2 huge straights. They were quick there. Lets not forget Webber was not that far off the front row. They clearly aren't getting the best out of their car and if they can manage to understand it plus bring a couple of developments then with Newey at the helm they aren't going to be struggling for long - trust me. I would not even rule out a Red Bull pole position this weekend. You heard it here first.

They were quite quick, but still beaten by 3 different teams in the race and 2 in qualifying. Red Bull may not be getting the best out of their car, but I'm sure the same could be said for the other top teams., some just have a better baseline to start with. I do think they have a decent car that will be good at the high downforce circuits, but they're top speed is currently about 10kph slower than McLaren, Mercedes and Lotus which is a deficit that I don't believe they'll be able to make up through the corners at a high speed track like Shanghai.

 

[Abnash24]

I think that on a whole the RB8 is still a very good car but i just lacks a tiny bit more speed, while this did not bother them much last year they also this year have had the loss of EBD. I think their blown diffuser was probably the more important to them than it was to other teams and thats were their loss is. Due to their blown diffuser gone it has affected their downforce advantage and that is why they are not to doing to well

 

[tranquility2k9]

I think that on a whole the RB8 is still a very good car but i just lacks a tiny bit more speed, while this did not bother them much last year they also this year have had the loss of EBD. I think their blown diffuser was probably the more important to them than it was to other teams and thats were their loss is. Due to their blown diffuser gone it has affected their downforce advantage and that is why they are not to doing to well

Not just EBD. McLaren almost certainly in my opinion had an the strongest EBD of any team in 2011. This was shown by their dramatic up-turn at the start of the season and the loss they had at Silverstone.

The difference with Red Bull is they had a car philosophy that was in harmony as one. The new rules have drastically upset that harmony. They revolved their car around the EBD for sure, but they ran very high rake at the rear, which was only possible due the EBD. In turn they ran a very low front end, including their famous flexing front wing, which has now also been outlawed due to new, more stringent tests for the 2012 season. All in all the rules have hurt them big time and even Newey is struggling to cope. Saying this he is not doing too bad. Forget about qualifying, in the races, they are 2nd if not 1st fastest, without a doubt.

1 more thing though Lotus are quick in qualifying and quick in the race and kind on tyres. Bare all this in mind with the fact their exhausts are the most conservative of any team. If they get their exhausts to the standard of the top teams then they'll be mega quick. Mark my words. Kimi could be on pole or winning races in the near future. It would not shock me at all. Renault, in many of the previous seasons started with a low car and ended up with a very fast or even race winning car. Their development is as good if not better than McLaren's when looked at factually. They have great potential this year.

Just seen a clip on this weeks episode of the flying lap where a senior engineer says in his opinion the outright speed of top 5 drivers is:- Kimi, Lewis, Vettel, Button, Alonso. Lol Interesting, but amazing insight! Check episode 65 when it's available, or live:- http://smibs.tv/the-flying-lap

 

[Abnash24]

have the rules for flexing front wings changed again in 2012?

 

[no-FIAt-please]

The FIA have confirmed the DRS for Shanghai. The DRS detection will be just after turn 12 with activation occuring just before the halfway point on the back straight. Only one DRS zone, very similar to 2011.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

have the rules for flexing front wings changed again in 2012?

Yes. The tests have been tightened up again. I believe the weights applied to the wing are now applied further back, but that the scrutineers also have a range of points on the wing where they can apply them should they wish to do so.

That said, I also believe that they could have done this anyway and that they have the right to change the nature of the tests at any time to ensure compliance with the rules. They probably now have a more dynamic testing rig this year.

One thing is for certain, the Red Bull's front wing looks a lot stiffer on the RB8.

 

[Brogan]

Five place grid drop penalty for Hamilton due to a new gearbox.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Nooooooooooooo Still I guess we will see just how quick his car is could make for a good race.
http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12433/7666736/

 

[no-FIAt-please]

He just isn't having good luck at the moment. Still I doubt victory is out of reach assuming he gets pole, but Button can't have a perfect weekend.

I must say I'm surprised the FIA didn't reduce the DRS zone a bit, it seems to be the same size as last year and I think a lot of people thought it was rather too easy to pass.

 

[RasputinLives]

Five place grid drop penalty for Hamilton due to a new gearbox.

Well thats messed the grid up for sure hasn't it? Still if you look at his win last year as long as that DRS zone is in the right place and it stays dry surely that Mclaren has the pace to get him on terms to at least look for the win. He'll be preying Button's quali isn't bril and someone in front of him going into that first corner though otherwise he has a mountain to climb.

Question: what do you think Lewis's best tactic is now in quali? Go for pole and start 6th in hope a good start means he won't get backed up by the Mercs/Lotus etc or make it through to Q3 and only do one run risking a 9th - 15th start but saving an extra set of tyres to try and pull off the late charge like he did last year?

 

[Josh]

If they have a gearbox issue why are they changing it on Saturday morning and not before the practice sessions?

 

[Abnash24]

What is the point of this 5 place grid drop? Why cant the gearbox rules be like engines, have a set amount for the year?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

If they have a gearbox issue why are they changing it on Saturday morning and not before the practice sessions?

Well, if it breaks on Friday, there is little cost and if they can get some mileage out of it then it will save mileage on the remaining units.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Shame that Lewis Hamilton has got a 5 place grid penalty for the race on Sunday, but on the bright side at least it is a track where you can overtake cars and make your way back up the field.

 

[sportsman]

If they have a gearbox issue why are they changing it on Saturday morning and not before the practice sessions?

Because they don't want to mileage on a new gearbox for nothing.
All teams use race life expired engines and gearboxes for free practice.To use a race engine and gearbox in practice is just plan idiotic.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

To use a race engine and gearbox in practice is just plan idiotic.

Harsh, but fair.