Seems like OWG made it right! Overtakings at Melbourne!

[timbo]

So to me it is definitely easier to stay behind, previous years it was impossible to follow in that fast esses - turn 11-12.

[nae]

defo looks easyer to follow
and then pass

loads of incident in that race

more of the same next time out please

[Scotracer]

KERS made a bigger difference to overtaking than I expected.

[Conceptual]

Lets just wait and see the knee-jerk reaction to whatever crying the teams do about the incidents of this race before we congratulate the OWG. Most of the overtaking in Malaysia is going to happen after qualifying due to the grid penalties that get handed out due to the incidents in this race.

I suspect that the tyres are going (should) to be deemed too dangerous for competition, and we will see a single groove find its way into the front tyres to rebalance their grip levels... And it would be a great place for the white stripe to return since the green rings are effing invisible. It is almost as bad as the dots from last year.

[i70q7m7ghw]

Why don't they just make the rear or front tyres out of a slightly different compound that provides more or less grip to even up the balance problem? I can't see why we would need a groove...

[zac510]

Most overtakes I saw were when one car on super softs and one car on the prime (medium was it?). Exactly what the change in supply was intended to do, create a speed differential.

[Roland Ehnström]

Why don't they just make the rear or front tyres out of a slightly different compound that provides more or less grip to even up the balance problem? I can't see why we would need a groove...

Or just make the rear tires a little wider (would look better too).

[kilcoo316]

I wonder did the variable geometry front wing have any effect?

(i.e. did the drivers actually use it to rebalance their car while in the wake of another)


Or was it purely used as another tool to balance the car through the race (akin to tyre pressures)

[roost89]

I wonder did the variable geometry front wing have any effect?

(i.e. did the drivers actually use it to rebalance their car while in the wake of another)


Or was it purely used as another tool to balance the car through the race (akin to tyre pressures)

I suspect it may have been used by some. Possibly Rosberg's over-take on Kimi?

[geordie racer]

Given that the FOM and FIA are trying to cut out costly technology that does nothing to the racing, i cant image the adjustable front wings will stay long. As opposed to KERS there is no visible indication when they are being changed/used. Sure the tech maybe doesnt cost that much but from a fan/spectator point of view it doesnt appear to enhance racing.

As for the KERS i thought it was fantastic. Sure it possibly makes overtaking easier for some but i suppose to an extent that is a good thing. And you could actually tell when it was being used even without the HUD graphic.

Good racing from Glock and Hamilton today! great start to the season!

[gcdugas]

Getting back to the matter of this thread... overtaking.....


Yes it was much easier to follow and pass. Trulli was able to pass many cars in all three of his stints. And we seldom observe things by their absence but can you name one time during the race when there was a faster car being held up by a slower car for laps on end? I think not. There were no processions behind a slower car. They simply got dispatched with and the faster car was largely unimpeded. Now comes the $60 million question... how will all this affect quali and strategy? Will cars strategize more around the compounds more than track position? Will they go for two long stints on the hards and an obligatory short stint on the softs etc.? Will they quali on a light fuel load on the softs and get that stint out of the way early knowing that they can claw their way through the field after an early stop and easily pass the one-stoppers? Will we see the whole field using the same two stop strategy since the "track position benefits" of a one stop race will no longer remain?

[Callum]

Lets just wait and see the knee-jerk reaction to whatever crying the teams do about the incidents of this race before we congratulate the OWG. Most of the overtaking in Malaysia is going to happen after qualifying due to the grid penalties that get handed out due to the incidents in this race.
I suspect that the tyres are going (should) to be deemed too dangerous for competition, and we will see a single groove find its way into the front tyres to rebalance their grip levels... And it would be a great place for the white stripe to return since the green rings are effing invisible. It is almost as bad as the dots from last year.

You can see into the future!

[shir0]

I suspect that the tyres are going (should) to be deemed too dangerous for competition...

I agree, though I'm not sure we're thinking of the exact same thing.

I think the huge difference between the tire performance over the race weekend is just too ridiculous. It's like having to design two cars to get the "optimal perfomace" (if there is any) from both available tyre types in a race week end. There is not one team out in the grid who did not have problems with the super softs. Oh, you could say that it's just the supersofts... I say that we haven't had the chance to see the other available tyre combination. I'm predicting that the softer available compound for a given race week end will be the bane of the lesser strategists / mid-field cars combination.

About the single-grooved tyre...don't you think that's too odd? Why not have bridge stone design a wider rear tyre instead?

[roost89]

It's quite interesting what the drivers have to say on whether it's easier to pass or not, also how KERS affects the racing:

Rubens:
At one point, I thought I could overtake, it didn't matter if I had the wings to play with or anything, so it didn't seem to be easier but I think people did have problems, some more than others, with tyres temperatures...

Jenson:
I don't want to be pessimistic but I spent many laps behind Fisichella who was a second or a second and a half slower than me and I couldn't overtake, and I really needed to overtake him, so I was really pushing and attacking but I couldn't make it.

Those taken from the press conference after the race
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74075

Massa in response to: What was it like racing with the KERS?

Massa:
I did a fantastic start but then it was quite difficult with the overtaking.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74074

Glock:
"It felt like I had a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) allergy! Every time I was behind a KERS car there was no chance for me to overtake. It was especially tricky being behind the Renault; I lost so much downforce, so when I see a Renault in front of us there is no change from last year in terms of more overtaking or whatever."
"However, when I was in clear air I was able to go about a second faster – so the performance is definitely there."

http://www.crash.net/Formula+One/News/1 ... again.html

Edit - Some additions from http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/29032009/ ... dated.html :

Alonso: "With the KERS, I didn’t feel a big difference and I was a little bit disappointed at how it worked."

Heidfeld: "I think, at least, the KERS helped me to defend my position with such a slow car but, in the end, it didn’t matter much because who cares if you finish eleventh or 13th."

[ISLAMATRON]

I suspect that the tyres are going (should) to be deemed too dangerous for competition...

I agree, though I'm not sure we're thinking of the exact same thing.

I think the huge difference between the tire performance over the race weekend is just too ridiculous. It's like having to design two cars to get the "optimal perfomace" (if there is any) from both available tyre types in a race week end. There is not one team out in the grid who did not have problems with the super softs. Oh, you could say that it's just the supersofts... I say that we haven't had the chance to see the other available tyre combination. I'm predicting that the softer available compound for a given race week end will be the bane of the lesser strategists / mid-field cars combination.

About the single-grooved tyre...don't you think that's too odd? Why not have bridge stone design a wider rear tyre instead?

1 sec a lap is not that big a difference(in qual)... some of the teams ran the super softs too long and paid for it... They didnt mind using them in qualifying(so therefore there was nothing inherently wrong with them), they knew how long(not) they lasted, their dumb mistake... No tires blew so they were fine... it is up to the teams to run the tires for the correct distance.

It gave us some fantastic racing.

I think the drop in track temp with the late start caught out some of the teams.