2019 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing - Honda F1 Team

[etusch]

Red Bull are uncharacteristically down in fourth on the one-lap pace rankings, but Max Verstappen admitted to making a mistake in the final corner on his soft tyre run which cost him a couple of tenths. If you adjust for that, Red Bull would be third overall.

It was nonetheless an impressive performance from Renault, who seem to be well clear of a very tight midfield pack and should comfortably be able to get into Q3. The final two spots in the shoot-out will be a tightly-fought affair, mind, with Haas, McLaren and Toro Rosso separated by less than a tenth.

.....

RACE PACE
While Ferrari were on top when it came to one-lap pace, it was rivals Mercedes who excelled when it came to race preparation. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin said Hamilton and Australian GP winner Valtteri Bottas were happier with the car when they got into the second session, with both picking up grip on the cooler track.

Their long run lap times looked very consistent during practice, and the data we’ve gathered seems to back that up. Of course, there’s the usual caveat that we don’t know what fuel loads or engine settings they are running, but working with what we have, Mercedes are on top – and by some margin.

They enjoyed a half-a-second per lap advantage over Red Bull, whose drivers were very encouraged with their longer stints in FP2. Ferrari are just a fraction behind them, but given the Scuderia were running a different programme and the fact they didn’t appear too concerned by that pace, it’s unlikely the deficit to their chief title rivals will be that big.

Toro Rosso were best of the rest, albeit 0.7s per lap slower. It’s going to be tight between them, Haas, Renault and Racing Point in terms of race pace come Sunday, based on the figures, with the quartet separated by half a second.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... 35XpI.html

[Capharol]

well we know 1 thing for sure..... Newey has a lot of work to do ....

[Ground Effect]

Red Bull are in an unusual position of their chassis being behind the engine in terms of performance. It will be interesting to see how they react, especially since they've already brought one upgrade several weeks forward. I expect them to have sorted things out by Barcelona, but they have to also remember that spec 2 of the Honda engine will bring even more power.

[Nova]

I read these posts filled with data, interpretations. I do not spend the time to look up statistics, compare, all I got is a gut feeling, fully knowing that it does not amount to any form of reliable knowledge.

For what little it's worth, to me it seems like Red Bull and Toro Rosso are not doing well. Only Verstappen is able to drag something out of the car. A third in the first race is good, passing a Ferrari is good, but the rest of the cars were nowhere. The pass on Vettle more a result of luck with the tire and a momentary lapse of function of the Ferrari in the first race.

It also seem like the distance of 1.6 seconds to the front is similar to what we saw previously, so I did not see the same improvement I read others seeing. Braising for another difficult year for Honda.

[Marti_EF3]

I read these posts filled with data, interpretations. I do not spend the time to look up statistics, compare, all I got is a gut feeling, fully knowing that it does not amount to any form of reliable knowledge.

For what little it's worth, to me it seems like Red Bull and Toro Rosso are not doing well. Only Verstappen is able to drag something out of the car. A third in the first race is good, passing a Ferrari is good, but the rest of the cars were nowhere. The pass on Vettle more a result of luck with the tire and a momentary lapse of function of the Ferrari in the first race.

It also seem like the distance of 1.6 seconds to the front is similar to what we saw previously, so I did not see the same improvement I read others seeing. Braising for another difficult year for Honda.

Why has to be always Honda fault? RBR have said more than one time that what they need to improve is the chassis. Even if it's integration issues(no doubt they have some, it's their first year with Honda, and even with STR info, always will be some issues integrating a new PU), or low DF setup being too conservative with the power they expected from Honda. But some people seems to continue on blaming Honda for everything, when the PU have delibered and no issues at the moment. Look at the time Albon was capable of with a few tenths lost on the final turn. Hopefully they will adapt their aero and chassis to the Honda PU soon and we will see a more balanced and fast car soon

[Capharol]

I read these posts filled with data, interpretations. I do not spend the time to look up statistics, compare, all I got is a gut feeling, fully knowing that it does not amount to any form of reliable knowledge.

For what little it's worth, to me it seems like Red Bull and Toro Rosso are not doing well. Only Verstappen is able to drag something out of the car. A third in the first race is good, passing a Ferrari is good, but the rest of the cars were nowhere. The pass on Vettle more a result of luck with the tire and a momentary lapse of function of the Ferrari in the first race.

It also seem like the distance of 1.6 seconds to the front is similar to what we saw previously, so I did not see the same improvement I read others seeing. Braising for another difficult year for Honda.

Why has to be always Honda fault? RBR have said more than one time that what they need to improve is the chassis. Even if it's integration issues(no doubt they have some, it's their first year with Honda, and even with STR info, always will be some issues integrating a new PU), or low DF setup being too conservative with the power they expected from Honda. But some people seems to continue on blaming Honda for everything, when the PU have delibered and no issues at the moment. Look at the time Albon was capable of with a few tenths lost on the final turn. Hopefully they will adapt their aero and chassis to the Honda PU soon and we will see a more balanced and fast car soon

thank you very much ... I agree 100% with your opinion, but unfortunatly there wil always be ppl that blame the PU no matter if it's a Merc or a Ferrari or a Renault or Honda, and you know why..... because they got used to it with Renault

[gandharva]

Gasly is just bad.

[McMika98]

To be fair the car is a bit of a turd. Max was having is hands full with Sainz who should have been the one on the seat. Dan the man isnt justifying his wage either.

[Sayeman]

Honda still has some way to go. The engine is just not fast but much more reliable now. Almost got a podium though. Renault screwing with Redbull even after the divorce

[GhostF1]

Gasly is just bad.

Agreed. Although the car isn't the best, he just is so far behind Max. I can't see him staying the whole year, if he does, it's just because there is no appropriate replacement available. We'll see down the track what happens though.

[Sayeman]

Gasly is just bad.

He is not aggressive enough. Reminds me of Vandoorne. Waiting eternity for that perfect overtake rather than forcing your way through like Verstappen or Alonso.

[Singabule]

And honda is reliable and renault is blown up again. Renault is desperate enough to map their engine as in qualy and destroy it in race

[gandharva]

To be fair the car is a bit of a turd. Max was having is hands full with Sainz who should have been the one on the seat. Dan the man isnt justifying his wage either.

Yes the car is not quite there (LOL @ my onestop prediction XD), but Max would have finished ~30 seconds clear of midfield if the Renaults wouldn't have exploded and Gasly was just nowhere. They even gave him softs for a quick push at the second stint but he did not pull this off either.

[Sayeman]

And honda is reliable and renault is blown up again. Renault is desperate enough to map their engine as in qualy and destroy it in race

That Renault PU has been abnormally high pitched this whole weekend. Maybe they are too desperate to show off their "Progress" and turning up the PU.

[HPD]

I'm sad to lose the P3.
But happy for Leclerc, he deserved a podium.

If in China we do not improve. RB Honda has to look at 2020 and forget this season.