Rankings of 2016 Chassis' after Barcelona

freshmeat · May 19, 2016

From Autosport:

They always say Barcelona is the perfect test of a Formula 1 car, a place that stretches all aspects of chassis performance. I watched the first and third free practice sessions for the recent Spanish Grand Prix from Turns 1/2/3, to try to gauge that order again now the teams all have four races under their belts. I have corroborated these visual impressions against GPS data to bring you my ranking of F1 chassis performance so far in 2016:

1. Red Bull RB12
The Red Bull is definitely the best chassis on the grid now.

The RB12 is peerless under braking, super-stable at high-speed and particularly strong at entering and transitioning through the slow stuff.

It would win regularly with Mercedes power.

2. Mercedes W07
It's easy to say Mercedes only dominates because of the most powerful engine on the grid, but that does the chassis a disservice.

It does not quite have the Red Bull's poise at either high or low-speed, but is not far off.

3. Ferrari SF16-H
The Ferrari has no obvious vices and generally looks very well balanced in all types of corner, but is clearly a step behind Mercedes at high-speed and weaker than Red Bull at low-speed.

4. McLaren MP4-31
The McLaren-Honda looks lairy at the rear occasionally, but is still very capable - particularly at low speed.

It has easily the weakest engine, which compromises its high-speed aero performance. With significantly more power it could potentially be a threat to the top two.

5. Toro Rosso STR11
The Toro Rosso looks very capable and driveable, particularly at high-speed where it seems super stable.

Braking and low-speed performance is not at the same level as the top teams, though, and STR lacks power compared to most of its rivals.

6. Williams FW38
Solid in all respects, but the Williams doesn't look the easiest to drive at high-speed, requiring a very precise line from the drivers. Its low-speed corner entry has improved but is still a weakness.

The FW38 gives good traction, though, and Mercedes power lifts it above Toro Rosso and McLaren overall.

7. Force India VJM09
The Force India has a particularly strong front end, so is very effective in short duration corners, but lacks downforce and suffers for traction, perhaps because of the difficulty in retaining rear grip having adopted the Red Bull-style high-rake set-up. A recent upgrade has edged it closer to Williams.

8. Renault RS16
This is essentially last year's Lotus E23 - a very capable chassis - with a Renault engine. It looks particularly benign to drive but lacks power and downforce.

Renault could become an upper midfield threat if planned upgrades to the chassis and engine work as expected.

9. Haas VF-16
The Haas looks edgy to drive at high-speed, particularly when transitioning quickly from right to left, but offers decent traction and is very strong in a straightline.

The car basically looks like a less able, Ferrari-engined, Williams.

10. Sauber C35
Sauber is gradually slipping away from the rest of the midfield, thanks to a lack of financing for development, but the car is inherently faster than the Manor, despite using a worse engine, and tends to be stronger in races than over a single lap.

11. Manor MRT05
Like the Force India VJM09 the Manor-Mercedes is stronger at the front end than the rear, but it is more basic than other cars on the grid, so lacks significantly for downforce and traction.

It has at least become a competitive proposition this season, rather than a total straggler.
Click to expand...

---------------

I guess the McLaren guys haven't been smoking crack...

DF1 · May 19, 2016

Ferrari have alot of work to do!!
No surprise about Red Bull or Mclaren

Fast_ian · May 20, 2016

Interesting analysis.

However, wtf;

Autosport said:

The FW38 gives good traction, though, and Mercedes power lifts it above Toro Rosso and McLaren overall.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.

So why are they ranked below Torro Rosso & the Woking boys?.......

Cheers,
Ian

freshmeat · May 20, 2016

Fast_ian said: ↑

Interesting analysis.

However, wtf;

Fair enough.

So why are they ranked below Torro Rosso & the Woking boys?.......

Cheers,
Ian
Click to expand...

because...

the Williams doesn't look the easiest to drive at high-speed, requiring a very precise line from the drivers. Its low-speed corner entry has improved but is still a weakness.
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which makes a lot of sense especially for the last sector of barcelona.

Fast_ian · May 20, 2016

freshmeat said: ↑

because...

which makes a lot of sense especially for the last sector of barcelona.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. But they said;

....and Mercedes power lifts it above Toro Rosso and McLaren overall.
Click to expand...

Cheers,
Ian

freshmeat · May 20, 2016

Oh I interpreted that part as referring to just the sheer power from the mercedes pu, rather than the overall chassis, which this ranking is about.

Fast_ian · May 20, 2016

Interpretation, interpretation, interpretation.

Cheers,
Ian

moretti · May 20, 2016

Fast_ian said: ↑

Interpretation, interpretation, interpretation.

Cheers,
Ian
Click to expand...

It's like rating ice skaters .... .it's all BS and subjective rubbish

bobzdar · May 20, 2016

Fast_ian said: ↑

Fair enough. But they said;

Cheers,
Ian
Click to expand...

This is chassis rankings, not overall rankings.

DeSoto · May 20, 2016

This is nice for some chat at the web, but quite pointless. The overall result is what matters, specially in modern F1 where packaging and cooling needs of the engine have a lot to do with the chassis design.

Also at least in the case of Mercedes and Ferrari, money spent in engines is money not spent in chassis.

william · May 20, 2016

moretti said: ↑

It's like rating ice skaters .... .it's all BS and subjective rubbish
Click to expand...

+1

william · May 20, 2016

DeSoto said: ↑

The overall result is what matters.
Click to expand...

Yep

racerx3317 · May 20, 2016

Wasn't Kimi complaining of understeer recently? I'd probably rank the Ferrari chassis a bit lower. It probably has issues just not obvious issues. With the amount of power the engine puts out it should be closer to Merc if the chassis was really that good.

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Rankings of 2016 Chassis' after Barcelona

freshmeat F1 Veteran

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freshmeat F1 Veteran

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Rankings of 2016 Chassis' after Barcelona

freshmeat F1 Veteran

DF1 Three Time F1 World Champ

Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

freshmeat F1 Veteran

Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

freshmeat F1 Veteran

Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

moretti Five Time F1 World Champ Lifetime Rossa Owner

bobzdar F1 Veteran

DeSoto F1 Veteran

william Two Time F1 World Champ Silver Subscribed

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