BMMR61 wrote: ↑29 Jul 2023, 15:19
SmallSoldier wrote: ↑29 Jul 2023, 15:09
BMMR61 wrote: ↑29 Jul 2023, 14:46
Is this Spa race setup conundrum something that better simulation tools can effect?
A better simulator will definitely help with setup, more importantly to arrive at a track with a better pre-planned setup and allowed to make adjustments in between sessions… But if you mean by conundrum, which part of the lap you favor (the top speed dependent S1 and S3, or the DF dependent S2) will be based on the car strengths / weaknesses… Given the strengths of the car, I would have also favor S2, specially looking at the race more than just 1 lap pace.
Yeah exactly. With our very limited data we sometimes seem to find fault in how the team present their car setup. We’re just keyboard warriors when it comes down to it!
So the scenario for our S2 oriented setup is that the extra downforce will give greater and longer race pace with lower degradation, would you say?
That’s what I believe they are aiming for… A higher DF setup is usually more beneficial during a whole race stint due to a few factors:
A) Lower tire degradation: If you have low DF setup, you would be sliding more out of corners, the more the car slides the higher the temp on the tires as well as more degradation from them… Lower deg allows you to maintain a higher lap time during the whole stint instead of a quick drop off by the end of it.
B) More speed during the lift and coast portion of the race: After the first few laps of the race, when things settle a bit, the teams go into lift and coast… Tire and fuel management is still a big part of the game, with a higher DF setup you can gain plenty of time in the corners, a higher minimum cornering speed allows you to gain time while “off throttle” as well as to increase your cornering exit speed (which will impact your speed through a whole straight)
C) Build a Tire Delta to attack: If your tire degradation is lower while your maintains a good average lap time, you should be able to extent your stints versus your competitors… If you can build a tire delta, you should be able to attack in the final stages of the race, younger tires = better grip = better corner exit and better braking performance = opportunity for overtakes.
D) Create a favorable PitStop environment: If you can extent your first stint more than your direct competitors, you may be able to Pit in a favorable gap, one of the biggest challenges tomorrow will be to avoid pitting and coming behind a Williams for example and waste time (and tires) trying to overtake them… If you can extend your stint in a way that either you build a gap or the cars close to your Pit Window pit first, you can come out in clean air and take advantage of the new rubber.
All the above are of course correct on paper, but during the race everything can change with a bad timed (for McLaren) safety car and things of that nature… But it all depends on what the strategy and target positions are, I don’t think McLaren is aiming for a podium at this track, they are probably aiming at a solid P5-P6 which would be outstanding… The goal isn’t to overtake cars in front of them, the goal is to settle behind the Red Bulls and maybe the Ferraris or Mercedes and build a gap to the pack… Take advantage of the speed in S2 to slowly but surely build a gap towards the cars in P7-P15 and bring good points at a track that is probably one of the hardest for the team in the calendar.
hopefully the pace in the long runs is up to scratch
