Speed vs Strategy

[MCLS]

this is racing at its best

Erm.... really? There was very little actual pure racing, it was down to tyres, strategy and DRS which while makes the grand prix exciting, there was little actual racing, the best racing of 2012 I would say was Spain where Maldonado and Alonso were slugging it out for most of the race and in the wet Malaysia where Perez tried in vain to overtake Alonso

 

[Cookinflatsix]

I hear you MCLS but F1 today is not about speed and racing, more about equipment and strategy and the best driver/team package

this race delivered all that and more, the top 3 team/driver combos competed throughout the race and it was not clear who would win till the last few laps

This is racing Nirvana compared to the MS era or even the Vettel lockdown last year

so for F1 this is very good stuff indeed, yes it would still be good if Alonso and his team had mugged Lewis which I really expected to happen

I am ofcourse happy that Lewis won, but then with everything equal and when its down to driver ability I expect this, but I would also have doffed my cap had Grosjean or Alonso won

 

[Fenderman]

Sorry, MCLS whilst the statement "this is racing at it's best" may only be a subjective opinion what, I Wonder is "pure racing" ?

Personally, I detest artificial overtaking aids, especially DRS, but even I could see that all of the drivers out there today were driving the socks off of their cars. That is racing. Hamilton, Grosjean and Perez had to chase down Alonso and Vettel in order to get to the position where they could pass them. Alonso and Vettel drove the socks off their cars in defense. All of the strategic baggage re. tyre choice, pit stop strategy, etc. that came into play today is part of F1 racing because it is an intellectual challenge for all concerned not just a physical challenge.

Agreed it wasn't the ultimate spectacle but it was a fascinating one nevertheless.

 

[Mephistopheles]

But Cookinflatsix that is contrary to everything else I have heard you say on the most part according to you speed is everything and that is what Lewis has that in spades, have you changed your mind?

On a one stop strategy Romain would have won the race by a country mile and Perez would have been second so it wasn't speed that won the race it was strategy.

I didn't think you set much stock in strategy, I thought you were more on the side of how fast a driver was obviously I am very much mistaken, my heart felt apologies to you..

 

[Fenderman]

No good having a good strategy if one is not fast enough.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Speed has always been but one aspect of the attributes required to triumph after a whole season of competition from other drivers and teams. I have held that pure speed is the traditional trump card in the drivers armoury, until this recent regime. And as we see from the best driver so far this year, Lewis, who has deployed all the best attributes, including speed, tyre management, patience and focus

So Perez and Grosjean on one stop strategies would have seen their tyres improve if the race had been extended and would have breezed past Lewis for the win?

Its easy to generalise, but its more challenging to actually see the situation in its context, Lewis (and Seb) are able to produce any type of racing attribute at will and thats what makes them great. This year when speed is not the king the fastest driver is leading the WC

think about it please

 

[Mephistopheles]

I don't have to think about it as I don't believe it is as simple as that, I think that last years method of bringing the tyres in slowly is not working this year they seem to prefer to be driven hard from the get go and it is this that is hurting some drivers especially Button just as the opposite was true last year, not the drivers talent or lack of it.

I also believe that this years tyres have to much influence on race outcomes and that just isn't right, actually Ron Dennis has said the same thing.

You think about that please...

And yes I agree Jenson has to realize this and get to grips with it but that doesn't make him a bad driver, or do you believe that it does?

I don't watch F1 just for the four black round things bolted to the corners of the bloody cars...

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Mephistopheles I agree completely with you about Button. It's clearly ludicrous to claim that he is no good just because of his current troubles. The ones who do suggest that conveniently forget that he has at other times matched Hamilton for pace, and last season finished ahead of him in equal machinery. Similarly with Massa, who has shown in the past that he can be a title challenger, yet loads of people have slammed him this year, saying he has no talent and doesn't deserve to be in F1 because of his poor run of form.

I'm sure Jenson and his team will find a way out of this trough sometime soon in the same way that Massa, despite today's spin, seems to be gradually doing.
I'm equally sure it's something to do with the tyres, which as Ron Dennis said seem to have made a very good car sometimes look ordinary this season.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

When you are quick and consistent, you have the luxury of choice of a range of strategies whereas when you are slow you are forced into strategy to minimise the losses of your deficit. Let's not forget that last years woes for Lewis were not due so much to struggling with the car and more to do with struggling with his head. The discrepancies between the two drivers this year are for very different reasons. Lewis was quick, both last year and this year, he just wasn't consistent and made too many problems for himself. Jenson is not making problems for himself this year, he is just having problems. The long and the short is that without speed and consistency, strategy is your master.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Formula One is awesome when Speed and Strategy can be combined to produce a fantastic result. It's even better when multiple strategies are in play and drivers are forced to use their outright speed when a specific strategy calls for it.

This is why so many people found Monaco 12 such a bore. Granted the expected weather played a part, but it was purely a strategic race at the front and only Seb was able to use pure speed to make up places.

 

[F1 Shift.net]

When I first read the headline of this post, I was hoping it was about Scott Speed and his "strategy" to revamp his racing career.

 

[Cookinflatsix]

The only thing fast about Scott was his name

 

[snowy]

Formula 1 doesn't really have race strategy these days, or at least it is prescribed and entirely predictable. No refuelling (which for the record I'm glad to see the back of), the fact that the first 10 cars have to start a race on the tyre compound they qualified on, and then they have to use another compound chosen from an extensive list of 1, means there are so few race strategies even a McLaren Engineer can predict with certainty what the rest of the field are doing.

 

[Brogan]

even a McLaren Engineer can predict with certainty what the rest of the field are doing.

They didn't at Canada when they assured Hamilton that Alonso and Vettel were stopping again

 

[snowy]

They didn't at Canada when they assured Hamilton that Alonso and Vettel were stopping again

Quite frankly I was amazed that Ferrari fell for that double bluff. I fancy had Fernando pitted any time within 5 laps of Lewis they'd have had a scrap for the lead of the race right up to the chequered flag.

 

[teabagyokel]

snowy & Brogan

I, personally, think we missed a bit on that:

LH: Are you sure they're not going to try to do a one-stop?
Eng: Yes.
LH: Why?
Eng: Well, that would be stupid. They've been running those tyres for ages. They wouldn't even beat Grosjean if they did that. No, they must be doing a two-stop.