Hey all. Just wondering here. For a while it seemed as though the racing was going to be just 2 hourlong processions. But since then we've had quite a few great races. Even the usually boring Barcelona and Valencian Grands Prix weren't too bad!! I'm beginning to think that Bahrain and Australia were used more as "testbeds" for the performance and durability of the tyres, and only now have they started to let loose... what do you all think?
I think that, other than Schumacher, we've seen people today driving with the same tires for 46 laps (54 for Kobayashi). Today I think there have been 4 overtakings after the first lap: Alonso on Hulkenberg, Sutil on Buemi, Kobayashi on Alonso and Buemi. I could be forgetting some in the slow cars though. Of those 4, the last two were aided by brand new soft tires. The Ferraris have spent about 40 laps behind the same car without overtaking, and they probably had about 1 to 1.5s advantage in laptime. Even the drivers were separated by a longer time lapse than in Montreal.
Alltogether, I think that the webber incident plus the Kobayashi factor has made you think this race was more exciting than it really was (at least for me). I don't recall anything remarkable from Barcelona, other than the Vettel brakes and the Hamilton rim failure.
I am not amazed by F1 cars in Monaco. I want to see them driving in the A8 highway: Variable radius corners, negative banking, and extreme narrowings that Tilke has never dreamed off. Oh, yes, and "beautiful" weather tops it all.
"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future." Niels Bohr
yes, but you forget that I don't think Kobayashi would have been able to do what he did this race, last year. He wouldn't have had the chance to just give the tyres hell for 4 laps.
Also, I think this was the first ever Valencia race with overtaking on track, no?
I think you are right Tomba, tires are the key to exciting races. I hope that Pirelli's hardest tires for 2011 will be as hard as the softs from Bridgestone in 2010.
I dont suggest that the tirs blister and/or grain, i just would like to see more than 1 stop per race. Now the only time you stop more than once is because of some sort of mechanical difficulty.
I don't think that artificial action caused by weak tyres is what F1 needs. It is all fine if tyres are designed soft to give performance but if they are designed to create problems due to excessive tyre wear it becomes a gimmick and should not be pursued.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best ..............................organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
One additional great thing would be to try to reduce the marbling on the track. Currently these marbles off the racing line reduce grip there, and hence also reduce overtaking possibilities. Eradicating this problem could do wonders as well.
WhiteBlue wrote:I don't think that artificial action caused by weak tyres is what F1 needs. It is all fine if tyres are designed soft to give performance but if they are designed to create problems due to excessive tyre wear it becomes a gimmick and should not be pursued.
Obviously they shouldn't be designed to fail, but quick reduction in tyre performance after some time would help a great deal. Why can't the FIA look into tyres made of 2 compounds. An upper layer that is extremely soft for high grip, and under that a hard but slippery rubber that will get you nowhere if you decide to keep running them.
WhiteBlue wrote:I don't think that artificial action caused by weak tyres is what F1 needs. It is all fine if tyres are designed soft to give performance but if they are designed to create problems due to excessive tyre wear it becomes a gimmick and should not be pursued.
I agree. The tires shouldnt be crazy soft so that they only last 3 laps. But for example on a track like Monaco, a tire that lasts 10-15 laps, on average, would spice things up. This no refueling and one stop per race thing is getting very boring.
I think the idea is that the tires would be so drastically different that there is no clear "better" tire. Your strategy is not able to be set from before the race. It is dependent on what is happening on the race and where you are in the field. You can go faster, for a shorter amount of time, or slower for a longer amount of time. I dont think we see that this year.
Tomba wrote:One additional great thing would be to try to reduce the marbling on the track. Currently these marbles off the racing line reduce grip there, and hence also reduce overtaking possibilities. Eradicating this problem could do wonders as well.
I certainly do agree with that. They should try to use softening agents that do not promote marbles or make the tyres harder.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best ..............................organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
