Seriously, I was surprised it took Red Bull this long to be competitive such is my faith in Adrian...but then again they are only a drinks company lol...
planet f1 and the forum there-hence my "If what I'm reading is true" qualifier lol... Speriamo che va bene per la Scuderia.....
You can only use the moveable wing on the straights right? I don't forsee any team in the 123s personally, but who knows...
Watched the laps again. Everyone set their quickest times on softs (yellows). Unknown fuel levels of course. The difference was only some teams were doing qualifying situations and using the adjustable rear wing while others were simply doing race simulations on the soft tires. For instance I know for sure that Ferrari, MB, and RB were not really using their rear wings. I'm not sure about Mclaren as their wing was tough to deduce but I suspect the same to be true.
Given the weather is ok, the moveable wing can be used anywhere the driver prefers during qualifying and practice. It's during the race that it can only be used for passing on straights if the trailing driver is within 1 second to the car in front of them
I noticed the Maccas last night using it all over the place when they set their fast laps...crazy how the RB wasn't even using it and was barely slower...
and that's why I think RB are going to kick arse over the season; Pirellis are the unknown factor here but once real world race miles start to accumulate over the course of the season the the usual suspects will do well. With unknown tire wear and a safety car or two thrown in, we could be in for some crazy results...
I don't know guys. Vettel ran 20 laps on hards yesterday and lost little pace, and then specifically commented on how the tires were not that bad. Heidfeld said the tires are better too to the point that Nick ran his quickest lap on his second lap with his soft tires and even had a nearly as quick 3rd lap. I am hoping for 3 stops max with 2 stops being the norm. 3+ is just silly.
I was thinking 4 stops and 2 safety car interventions due to an accident and a crazed priest on the track....
"The more things change, the more they stay the same!........" Last year, there were comments that the B/Stone "s/soft" (or whatever) couldn't last anywhere near long enough, the degradation was unacceptable, blah, blah. Then we had guys doing 75% of the race on 'em........ They'll be fine. [IMHO] I'm betting 2, max 3, stops [But I think I was wrong once ] Cheers, Ian
Well, someone's gotta bump this thread. Brand new exhaust, I hope they've got at least .8s coming in the next few races.
So my question to all the McLaren fans (since I don't follow them): a) Did the team flat out sandbag in Barcelona? b) Did they work so hard and diligently that they remediated all the problems form Barcelona? c) Were they incredibly lucky? I'm as puzzled about the McLaren miracle healing as I was when MB went from a lemon to the fastest testing time. Is F1 of today on such a knife's edge that one false move puts you in the dog house. One correction of that move and you're back at the top?
The exhaust issue is huge for mcl but I'd like to see them on a high speed circuit....hammy n button have always done well in Australia...that said vettel is laughing at everyone...
IMO they were not sandbagging in the slightest, they realized they had a dog on there hands and rebuilt very late in the day, in other words no time for testing it. What does surprise me is the fact so many folk wrote them off so early. Yes so one wrong move or one right right move and its hero or zero. To be honest I'am glad as I would not like to see Redbull run away with it. It could have gone either way but it seems to me they got it right, the answers probably lay here. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSatAI81k9w[/ame]
+1 But no, I don't think they were sandbagging - There just isn't the time to screw around these days - You need data, and for that to be valid you've got to be pushing. I think they tried a "radical" approach, it didn't work and kudos to 'em for realizing and getting it fixed PDQ. [I suspect Ferrari would still be screwing around with it for example.] Cheers, Ian
No team (save RB?) can afford to waste precious test time "sandbagging". Anyone who thinks elsewise is wearing their tin-foil hat too tight BTW Does anyone think, that given the rate of improvement, today's RB will be fast enough to win this fall? Don't give Adrian the rest of the year off quite yet.
Gee David, no need for insults. McLaren have a long history of sandbagging. And they were very public about how awful their car was going to be this season. I believe McLaren's PR machine carefully controls what information their team members release to the public, and that negative spin was applied intentionally. That is my opinion, and I don't feel it is deserving of insults, but I am not so thin-skinned as to let it bother me - just letting you know. As to RB dominating, the US broadcast team noted that at the end of Vettel's fastest qualifying lap that put him on pole, he had not used the KERS at all; it was still fully charged at the end of the lap.
I'm very sorry if I came across as insulting. I was just being a bit (Too?) flip. I do think that no team in today's F1 can afford to waste time sand-bagging. What happened in the past is another story. Again please accept my apology.
