Here is a comparison of the longer Sainz's stints in Practice 2 this year vs Practice 2 and 3 last year
Last year's stints were much shorter and with faster rate of decrease in performance.
It looks very promising indeed!
It is certainly better to compare laps that are driven at the same time of day and under similar conditions. But again - that's not really what this comparison was about in the first place.AR3-GP wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024, 00:09Because the track has more grip when it is cooler and if they were on the same fuel loads and Ferrari think they are 0.5 second behind RB, then yes Verstappen should be quicker almost everywhere given what we know of their car, what worked well, what they improved over the winter, and the benefit of a cooler and more rubbered in track.Andi76 wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024, 00:03Why should Verstappen be better than Sainz in any kind of corner? So the car characteristics no longer play a role if the track is "better"? Sorry if I doubt that very much, because it contradicts practically everything I have ever learned and experienced. Just as it is not clear to me why, if everything is so meaningless and not comparable because nothing is known, everyone can say that Red Bull is stronger than Ferrari...that makes little sense to me now and is quite contradictory.AR3-GP wrote: ↑22 Feb 2024, 23:42
I understand what you are saying, but then when I look at the telemetry and other variables it doesn't really make sense. If Verstappen has the advantage of the night session and similar fuel load then he should be quicker than Sainz in every type of corner. If he's not despite better track conditions, then I don't see why anyone thinks RB is stronger than Ferrari.
Everything isn't meaningless. Remember that I only said initially that while it is possible to make comparisons, I don't feel that this one is the right one to make. It makes more sense to me to compare Sainz's 32.5 in the morning session to Verstappen's 32.5 in the morning session. In this comparison, both drivers seem to have comparable engine modes based on velocity trace and if what you say is true, they were on relatively similar fuel loads as well.
In this comparison, Ferrari isn't convincingly better in the low speed. Very comparable to RB however.
https://i.postimg.cc/RFtM6yW7/image.png
They brought 4 sets of C4s, I think Sainz used 2 of them, from the C4 compound they have 2 left. Probably for Charles in the afternoon. Also they have 2 sets of C5. I don't remember seeing them with C5s on track. for others I can't remember
They brought 6 sets of C4s and Sainz used 3 sets of new C4s (i am 100% confident in that). Sainz started day 3 using some used c4s
Vanja #66 wrote: ↑23 Feb 2024, 09:10Encouraging runs from Sainz and overall positive driver feedback yesterday is good to see after 2023, but that's where the line needs to be drawn. RB did not show anything with Perez yesterday, while Max was toying with everyone on Day 1. McLaren definitely did not show their hand yet
They are always hard to read, they have their own convoluted sandbagging routines which include most fuel onboard of all cars and sometimes even the lowest PU settings of all.
They have had flowviz on their underfloor at least. Seen streaks on the diffuser corners
As far as I remember, they did not use flow vis in preseason testing for a while on the top side bodywork. Aero rakes bring far more data. They do use flow vis for new parts on race weekends.