Well, I had some free time and watched the entire 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix race. The conclusions I made from my observations were quite interesting. I raised the issue of race pace earlier. Qualifying pace doesn't interest me because points aren't awarded in qualifying. Moreover, energy management is paramount in the race, and it's more difficult than in qualifying.
So, the average race pace, based on race simulations last week, shows that the leaders' average times are between 1 minute 38 and 1 minute 39 seconds. Of course, this is just the first attempt. The cars will be further refined, with tires and chassis settings adjusted, and the electrical system optimized. Some teams have already chosen softer C4 tires for testing tomorrow. We'll see how this will positively impact average race pace, and whether these tires will be used more heavily in the race or just for one qualifying lap.
Let's just take as an example that cars are capable of running consistently for 1 minute and 38 seconds as an average time throughout the entire race by taking the total race time and dividing that time by 57 laps. The most important thing is that this is a confirmed time based on a real race simulation and not just a time taken at random from nowhere. Now let's compare the times set by drivers from mid-level teams, where 1 minute 37 seconds and 1 minute 38 seconds are quite representative. This is from Bahrain in 2016. The tires used during the race were Super Soft, Soft, and Medium. The majority of the race involved three pit stops. On fresh tires, the times dropped to 1 minute and 35 seconds, then rapid tire degradation over the next 15 laps made itself felt and the time dropped to 1.37.5, while for others it dropped to 1 minute 39 seconds. It's harder to get an average time from the leading Mercedes and Ferrari teams, as they were given little time and the infographics for them were scant. But their pace was faster, meaning their times were better.
For example, Romain Grosjean's time on lap 14, when he was already driving on fresh Super Soft tires, was 1:37.285, and 10 laps later, by lap 24, it was 1:39.265. A loss of 2 seconds. Modern cars with harder tires don't have such rapid tire degradation. On lap 33 of the race, he had a time of 1:37.600 on a different set of tires. Kevin Magnussen's best time on lap 33 was 1:37.106, and his latest current time was 1:38.861. Rosberg, the race leader, had a latest time on lap 36 of 1:36.232, Raikkonen's 1:36.467, and Hamilton's 1:36.784. All three leaders were driving on the re-rolled Supersofts and had all made two pit stops by that point. On lap 39, Ricciardo, who was running on soft tires, had a lap time of 1:38.339, while his best was 1:36.510. Rosberg's best time of the race was 1:34.482. After the final three pit stops, by lap 43, Rosberg and Raikkonen's times had dropped to 1:35.5. By laps 48-50, they were down to 1:36.2. By lap 55, they were down to 1:36.9. Without the safety car, the race time for the leader was 1 hour 33 minutes and 34 seconds.
So far, the following conclusions can be drawn: at racing pace, 2016 cars are even faster than 2026 cars.
This is exactly what I wanted to draw my attention to. The 2016 cars confidently reached 330-336 km/h on the starting straight. Current cars can do the same, but in a race, this can result in a loss of up to half their power. Overall, it will be fun.
Oh, and if anyone thinks this is a joke, here's a little bonus: Hamilton's 2016 Bahrain pole time was 1:29.493.
And this is an organization that supposedly works for safety around the world. I hope that the starting procedure will be revised, otherwise the races will turn into a farce before they even begin.
