2019 Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team - Honda

[Ground Effect]

Not a great showing by Kvyat, did he have any issues?

[search]

he went a bit deep into one corner, but apart from that the lap looked okay.

Maybe it's not a coincidence that he never scored a point in Suzuka though.

[loner]

good race from Gas again.. if they throw a bit more resources on this car it can do more better.

[SF Engineer]

good race from Gas again.. if they throw a bit more resources on this car it can do more better.

Agreed. He certainly likes a car with a strong rear at entry (as the TR appears to have).

He also appears to like trying to make his tires last longer than others, therefore avoiding overtaking and the various losses associated with running closely behind others. I think TR have done a good job giving him a car and strategies suited to his skill set in order to deliver optimal results (both this year and last).

I also find it impressive that despite not having drs, as those behind him did, he was able to keep all but the honey badger behind over a 10-15 laps span. Points again to his good ability to keep the tires alive, and to decent aero efficiency and/or power from the Honda unit.

If the car can take a step forward they will be even better next year.

[McMika98]

He also appears to like trying to make his tires last longer than others, therefore avoiding overtaking and the various losses associated with running closely behind others.

If the car can take a step forward they will be even better next year.

100%. All his best results so far in f1 have been by managing tyres and extending stint. Problem with Redbull was that once he was behind midfield under dirty air, you have to force a move or risk following the car ahead.

[restless]

I just wonder why Kvyat was on 1 stop... it was obviously the slower strategy

[SF Engineer]

I just wonder why Kvyat was on 1 stop... it was obviously the slower strategy

to be honest I haven’t put a lot of thought into it but I’d guess the team did not think he had the pace to make the necessary passes to pull off a two stop (seemed to be the correct assumption to me).

Also, with the one stop you could get lucky with a conveniently timed SC or VSC. Not an ideal strategy, I admit, but when you start P-whatever and don’t have great pace (To be clear I mean this weekend, not in general) you need some luck on your side to score points.

[KelsO]

I just wonder why Kvyat was on 1 stop... it was obviously the slower strategy

In fact, Kvyat was driving very fast. But at the start, he had an electronic failure, so he lost four positions.
The team was mistaken (again,again, again) when it kept him on the track for too long. On the 25th, 26th and 27th lap (lap on pit-stop) he lost 9 !!!!! seconds. He would have earned points if not for the team’s mistake.

[ispano6]

good race from Gas again.. if they throw a bit more resources on this car it can do more better.

Agreed. He certainly likes a car with a strong rear at entry (as the TR appears to have).

He also appears to like trying to make his tires last longer than others, therefore avoiding overtaking and the various losses associated with running closely behind others. I think TR have done a good job giving him a car and strategies suited to his skill set in order to deliver optimal results (both this year and last).

I also find it impressive that despite not having drs, as those behind him did, he was able to keep all but the honey badger behind over a 10-15 laps span. Points again to his good ability to keep the tires alive, and to decent aero efficiency and/or power from the Honda unit.

If the car can take a step forward they will be even better next year.

It was suggested during the race that perhaps Yamamoto Naoki's feedback and set up direction from FP1 aided in Gasly‘s car performance.

[restless]

In fact, Kvyat was driving very fast. But at the start, he had an electronic failure, so he lost four positions.
The team was mistaken (again,again, again) when it kept him on the track for too long. On the 25th, 26th and 27th lap (lap on pit-stop) he lost 9 !!!!! seconds. He would have earned points if not for the team’s mistake.

yup, if spectators can notice that, why the team didn't?!
For too may races this year, TR goes into too conservative strategies... Thanks god today they had the guts to split it, altho, Gasly was not on optimal stops, at least it was good enough

[SF Engineer]

It was suggested during the race that perhaps Yamamoto Naoki's feedback and set up direction from FP1 aided in Gasly‘s car performance.

It’s not outside the realm of possibility, Naoki has a lot of wins under his belt at Suzuka and the two were ‘team mates’ in 2017. Actually the cars were run by different companies under the same team name, but I’m sure they shared data.

Regarding TR’s strategies in general, I have noticed since last year that one side of the garage tends to choose decent strategies and execute in an acceptable manner (Gasly’s car in both years) and the other (Hartley last year, Kvyat this year) tends to make a mess of things in the race. I am not sure, so it’s pure speculation, but perhaps there is a difference in the quality of the race engineers/strategists on the two cars. I do not think the difference is down to the drivers.

[ispano6]

It was suggested during the race that perhaps Yamamoto Naoki's feedback and set up direction from FP1 aided in Gasly‘s car performance.

It’s not outside the realm of possibility, Naoki has a lot of wins under his belt at Suzuka and the two were ‘team mates’ in 2017. Actually the cars were run by different companies under the same team name, but I’m sure they shared data.

Regarding TR’s strategies in general, I have noticed since last year that one side of the garage tends to choose decent strategies and execute in an acceptable manner (Gasly’s car in both years) and the other (Hartley last year, Kvyat this year) tends to make a mess of things in the race. I am not sure, so it’s pure speculation, but perhaps there is a difference in the quality of the race engineers/strategists on the two cars. I do not think the difference is down to the drivers.

If you watch Gasly‘s post race interview he didn't have an answer to why his car performed so well.
Tanabe also confirmed that Naoki did good work for Honda and provided good feedback. That's what you can get from a mature, experienced driver - wisdom.

[ispano6]

[search]

Regarding TR’s strategies in general, I have noticed since last year that one side of the garage tends to choose decent strategies and execute in an acceptable manner (Gasly’s car in both years) and the other (Hartley last year, Kvyat this year) tends to make a mess of things in the race. I am not sure, so it’s pure speculation, but perhaps there is a difference in the quality of the race engineers/strategists on the two cars. I do not think the difference is down to the drivers.

I'm not sure it's really a "one side of the garage" kind of thing, but I'd say it's more that they tend to try something extreme with the car positioned worse on the grid.

Last year it usually was Hartley, so it may make his strategies look worse, but this year for example Kvyat went from 19 to 7 in Spa, from 19 to 14 in le Castellet and from 19 to 12 in Sochi, always leapfrogging his better positioned team mate. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't - I wouldn't call his strategies per se "bad"

[SF Engineer]

It’s not outside the realm of possibility, Naoki has a lot of wins under his belt at Suzuka and the two were ‘team mates’ in 2017. Actually the cars were run by different companies under the same team name, but I’m sure they shared data.

Regarding TR’s strategies in general, I have noticed since last year that one side of the garage tends to choose decent strategies and execute in an acceptable manner (Gasly’s car in both years) and the other (Hartley last year, Kvyat this year) tends to make a mess of things in the race. I am not sure, so it’s pure speculation, but perhaps there is a difference in the quality of the race engineers/strategists on the two cars. I do not think the difference is down to the drivers.

If you watch Gasly‘s post race interview he didn't have an answer to why his car performed so well.
Tanabe also confirmed that Naoki did good work for Honda and provided good feedback. That's what you can get from a mature, experienced driver - wisdom.

I respect Naoki and his ability to develop a car. It is a talent that experience Japanese drivers are particularly good at, as motorsport in this county places a larger emphasis on adjusting the car to the driver than visa versa (as is the norm in Europe). He may well have helped with the set-up of Gasly's car, but I don't think we can say either way (a driver can provide good feedback without necessarily setting up the car). Either way there is not much to argue here, I agree Naoki is a very talented driver who is able to set up a car - especially around Suzuka (where the bulk of his wins in SF and GT have come).

Regarding TR’s strategies in general, I have noticed since last year that one side of the garage tends to choose decent strategies and execute in an acceptable manner (Gasly’s car in both years) and the other (Hartley last year, Kvyat this year) tends to make a mess of things in the race. I am not sure, so it’s pure speculation, but perhaps there is a difference in the quality of the race engineers/strategists on the two cars. I do not think the difference is down to the drivers.

I'm not sure it's really a "one side of the garage" kind of thing, but I'd say it's more that they tend to try something extreme with the car positioned worse on the grid.

Last year it usually was Hartley, so it may make his strategies look worse, but this year for example Kvyat went from 19 to 7 in Spa, from 19 to 14 in le Castellet and from 19 to 12 in Sochi, always leapfrogging his better positioned team mate. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't - I wouldn't call his strategies per se "bad"

I must admit, my post was just based on a feeling I had while watching the races (without any other research). I have since looked into it and it appears we are both right in a way. If we call them Car A (Gasly/Albon) and Car B (Hartley/Kvyat) then the following is true over the past 2 years:

Avg start position: Car A (13.4) > Car B (14.6)
Total positions gained/lost: Car A (69) < Car B (71)
Avg places gained: Car A (2.2) < Car B (2.4)
Most places gained: Car A (10 x 3) < Car B (12 x1, 11 x2)
Races with places gained: Car A (21) > Car B (15)
Races with places lost: Car A (8) > Car B (12)

I have excluded races with DNFs from either cars data.

Basically what I see from this data is that Car A is far more consistent in picking up positions (as I felt), where as Car B tends to take riskier strategies which pay big if they pan out (as you have said Search). Significant things to note are that both cars have picked up a tonne of positions when they have finished races. This may give some insight into set-up direction of the TR, and it is also perhaps an indication of the power unit's strengths and weaknesses. Also of note is that Car B tends to start further down the grid than Car A and therefore is likely pushed into making riskier strategy calls.