AustrianGP 2020 RACE 2 Pre-Race thread

He did OK at the last rainy Hockenheim

 

Better than someone else we know ....

 

We were there. The crowd atmosphere was electric.
Great race.

 

So apparently Ferrari are bringing a big update for this weekend. Hope they keep it clean this time and no more cheating as be good to see leclerc really fighting up at the front.

 

In F2 he was decent/good. In F1 he has only had 2 wet races, 2018 & 2019 German GP's (2018 was only partly wet weather). Last season he of course went out at the last corner with softs while in the lead, but so did Hamilton (whom many claim to be good in wet weather). Many mention that race as a good performance from Vettel, but if you look a bit behind the race results, Vettel's only positive was keeping the car on the track (which to be fair in many cases is enough in wet races). Charles was actually much faster in pace during the wet part of that race than Vettel. Leclerc can definitely be fast in the wet, he just lacks the experience to control when to push hard in those conditions and when to play it safe.

 

You mean the guy that had that amazing pit stop after he clattered into the wall?

 

Hockenheim 2019 - Started plum last, kept it clean and finished P2.

I'd say he's not too bad in the rain.

 

Singapore was the absolute nadir, a real punch to the gut.

 

wont bring much, Ferrari have 2 big hits whatever the FIA found plus the loss of special fuel and oil from shell which was worth a significant amount on its own

 

True. However, like I said, he kept it clean while most were all over the place.

He's obviously no rain master, but you wouldn't call him hopeless either.

 

Charles was going very well but snatched a brake which would have been a trip through the run-off area except this was the slick-as-ice coated drag strip.

 

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Charles was flirting with disaster at that corner for several of the laps prior to his final shunt. Hopefully it was a learning experience.

 

As I posted on another thread,to shake things up run the second race in the opposite direction. That would be true test of the engineers and drivers.

 

I agree but the teams would oppose because it may cause damage to their car's delicate suspension and composite aero....

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Can you imagine asking these current primadonna drivers and delicate cars (and their bosses ) to go airborne like some of the greatest drivers and cars in F1 history have done?

 

Running in opposite direction would not be possible for safety, insurance and probably a longer etcetera.. Maybe Pirelli should have brought softer tyres to force a different pit strategy, because if it doesn´t rain it´s going to be the same race but worse because I doubt that there will be so many DNFs and crashes.

 

I'm confused as to how Ferrari's big update can be of any help.

From the traces, it appears this is almost entirely an engine power issue. It seems as if this engine was engineered to function in a certain way. Now that the 'magic' has been forcibly removed, it seems the engine can no longer function near to spec. The Ferrari is now very efficient through the turns, though.

Are we imagining an update whereby drag will be substantially reduced to increase top speed, while at the same time maintaining aero efficiency to continue to lead through the corners? VERY difficult for me to imagine that.

Kevin

 

Binotto said they still are loosing a little bit in the fast corners, and the rest is drag and engine.

He didn´t admit it, but from what I´ve read, he thinks that the little bit that they´re loosing in the corners can be fixed by Hungaroring. But that the rest is a real PITA and it won´t get better anytime soon.

 

Stewards for the 2nd race.....


Dr Gerd Ennser
Felix Holter
Emanuele Pirro - Driver Representative
Walter Jobst - National Steward


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That would be impossible on safety grounds.
Most circuits were designed with run-off areas for one direction only.
Same for marshal posts, signalisation, etc ...
Also pit lane entry and exit are not reversible on some tracks.

 

More downforce with less drag. Compared to a 2004-5 F1 car, the modern F1 cars have taken 50-75 HP of drag off for either more downforce or less drag at the choice of the team.

 

There’s airborne and then there’s Photoshop.

 

That’s the plan I’d guess but is it doable?

If it is indeed a correlation issue and they’ve fixed it then maybe we can be hopeful. But they also talk about a different aero philosophy. So bad concept plus bad wind tunnel correlation is pretty bad luck if that’s the case so sounds not too credible.

Admittedly they have not evolved the nose of the car like the others so maybe now that the “magic” is gone they’re seeing the real delta and decided to do something about it.

Less drag for a given amount of downforce will certainly help top speed and acceleration but on top of reducing drag they need to increase downforce based on their deficit in this area last year.