- 5,619
- Hampshire
- Spurgy777
2018 Heineken Chinese Grand PrixFormula 1
- Thread starter Jimlaad43
- 304 comments
- 15,980 views
- 1,396
- Poland
- J_Chmielinski
0.14s in one sector is a ton of time.
- 5,619
- Hampshire
- Spurgy777
It's really not, the cars at average speed (around 140mph ish) travel about 1.5 car lengths in that time and last year Vettel out-qualified Raikkonen by an average of more than 0.14 seconds per sector (not just one) in 7 races.
Looking at the two laps it's hard to really put your finger on where Raikkonen loses time in the last sector without telemetry, but the only real indication I can find suggests that he got a slightly worse exit onto the main straight. As shown in the pictures below Vettel seems to be at slightly higher revs at the end of the exit kerb leading onto the straight with 6 lights showing on his wheel compared to Raikkonen's 4, suggesting he's going slightly faster. However that does entirely depend on them having the same gearing and the lights on the steering wheel coming on at the same revs, but I see no reason why that wouldn't be the case.
- 336
- Brookyln
I like that idea. Maybe next year they will. Still should be a good race. Should be lots of drama good racing for the cars in p4-p12. Should be a great top 10 fight.
- 336
- Brookyln
What’s with Mercedes it seems like Bottas is driving a better car then Hamilton and their pace is off and they cant figure things out. They need to figure things out.
GTPNewsWire
Contributing Writer
- 21,611
- GTPHQ
This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:
This article was published by Michael Leary (@Terronium-12) on April 14th, 2018 in the Formula One category.
- 6,911
- United Kingdom
Fine margins for Kimi (Good to see he is back at a decent level), needed to match his first Q3 run last sector and he would have been there but credit to Sebastian for managing to hook it up when it mattered two races in a row. I think time difference gained and lost is more complex than just looking at sectors as even though Kimi went purple in first two sectors of lap, he probably used more energy to make it but lost out marginally under braking over the lap and car placement (That sort of evened itself out though) which is probably where the difference was, maybe also some setup difference too. Them prancing horses are super quick on the straights but last two races they have been able to match others under braking and corners more, glimpses in Melbourne.
Saving grace for Merc is for the two steps harder tyre, they were similarly quick so might bode well for them in the race but they also have got Red Bulls to deal with too who start on the softer tyres... Merc seem to have lost some strengths of last year but gained in others so maybe they will be stronger in Monaco and Singapore and weaker in Silverstone relative to Ferrari of last year at the moment. They do seem quite strong in the races though, maybe concentrating on the harder tyres in winter testing helped race pace but hurt a bit qualifying pace. They still seem to have the most efficient PU in the race so maybe if no safety car, it might be problematic for their competition so could open up some overtaking opportunities provided they have the pace to keep the pressure on. I wonder if Ferrari found some clever way of pushing peak power. Reliability as always will be a big factor in the championships this year.
Most positive thing in qualifying I saw was Force India back up to speed and they seem to have quite a bit in the pipeline, credit to Sergio and Nico for out qualifying their teammates. Most worrying thing is performance of McLaren, they only seem genuinely quicker than Sauber. Good job for them Williams don't have better drivers, otherwise it might have been a struggle to get out of Q1 in last two races. Unlike Force India who noticed correlating issues, McLaren are saying their 'ambitious' design is matching up to their targets but now they don't think their target was all that high. They really need their upgrade package they are working on to deliver big as it is not like others around them will be standing still.
Saving grace for Merc is for the two steps harder tyre, they were similarly quick so might bode well for them in the race but they also have got Red Bulls to deal with too who start on the softer tyres... Merc seem to have lost some strengths of last year but gained in others so maybe they will be stronger in Monaco and Singapore and weaker in Silverstone relative to Ferrari of last year at the moment. They do seem quite strong in the races though, maybe concentrating on the harder tyres in winter testing helped race pace but hurt a bit qualifying pace. They still seem to have the most efficient PU in the race so maybe if no safety car, it might be problematic for their competition so could open up some overtaking opportunities provided they have the pace to keep the pressure on. I wonder if Ferrari found some clever way of pushing peak power. Reliability as always will be a big factor in the championships this year.
Most positive thing in qualifying I saw was Force India back up to speed and they seem to have quite a bit in the pipeline, credit to Sergio and Nico for out qualifying their teammates. Most worrying thing is performance of McLaren, they only seem genuinely quicker than Sauber. Good job for them Williams don't have better drivers, otherwise it might have been a struggle to get out of Q1 in last two races. Unlike Force India who noticed correlating issues, McLaren are saying their 'ambitious' design is matching up to their targets but now they don't think their target was all that high. They really need their upgrade package they are working on to deliver big as it is not like others around them will be standing still.
DesertPenguin
(Banned)
- 10,691
- Long Island, New York
- DesertPenguin_
Anyone else in North America planning staying up to watch live? I hate waking up and being late to the thread. So much so that I must watch live lol
- 28,314
- Brooklyn, NY
- KR_Viper
- I Renown I
DesertPenguin
(Banned)
- 10,691
- Long Island, New York
- DesertPenguin_
You're gonna do the write-up?
- 28,314
- Brooklyn, NY
- KR_Viper
- I Renown I
- 3,600
- Middelburg
Holland calling. Enjoy the race!
Scoop/gossip: McLaren might fire Boullier soonish?!
Scoop/gossip: McLaren might fire Boullier soonish?!
DesertPenguin
(Banned)
- 10,691
- Long Island, New York
- DesertPenguin_
Does anyone work for GTPlanet for a paycheck?
DesertPenguin
(Banned)
- 10,691
- Long Island, New York
- DesertPenguin_
I want the voice of David Croft and the Radio Le Mans guy to narrate my life
- 6,515
- Southampton
- RacingAtHome
Replace Croft with Valsecchi for me.
I think you mean John Hindaugh. That wouldn't be bad.
DesertPenguin
(Banned)
- 10,691
- Long Island, New York
- DesertPenguin_
Valsecchi is a madman. It's how crazy football announcers sound but in English.
- 2,428
- England
- Lewis_Hamilton_
In NA? I haven't even been to bed yet (I'm in the UK). By the time I finished work and caught up with qualifying, it was 3:30am. Meant there were only 3 hours until the race (7am), thought I might as well stay up.
DesertPenguin
(Banned)
- 10,691
- Long Island, New York
- DesertPenguin_
Did Brundle think he was being funny talking about being late and counting down for Perez?
- 6,515
- Southampton
- RacingAtHome
A guy in Porsche gear on the grid. I wonder who he is.
- 12,953
- United Kingdom
Hartley
- 3,600
- Middelburg
So far a great start!!!
Similar threads
