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Round 03: Chinese Grand Prix
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13-04-2011 10:16pm#1Sepang showed us exactly what the new for 2011 regulations can achieve. It may not have been to everyone’s liking but frantic pitstops, highly degradable tyres and DRS assisted overtaking certainly got Formula 1 back on the forefront of people’s minds. Round three of the season brings the Formula 1 fraternity to China and the promise of more excitement!
The Shanghai International Circuit
China is a nation of contrasts and so is the Shanghai International Circuit. With two high speed straights the average lap speed is quite high even though the majority of the lap is spent with drivers negotiating long slow corners. These corners place a particularly demand on engineers with understeer to be avoided at all costs.
The entire package gets a stern workout in China with the tight and twisty sections placing an emphasis on mechanical grip while the long straights place a premium on aerodynamic performance. Shanghai is also a difficult circuit for engines with low gear torque crucial for when exiting the numerous second gear corners while top speed and power is of concern on the straights. This contrast in requirements makes Shanghai once of the most challenging circuits on the calendar in terms of finding the perfect balance.
Speaking of the challenge facing teams Williams technical director, Sam Michael, said:
“The corners in Shanghai are all heavily loaded on entry, particularly Turn 1” he said. “This normally requires a strong front end for the driver to place the car accurately. Traction is also important with there being four slow speed corner exits around the lap. Track temperatures are cooler again in Shanghai, much like they were during the Australian GP.”
The drag reduction system played a key role in Malaysia with numerous overtaking moves clearly aided by the system. This weekend’s race should see that trend continue with the DRS zone placed on the long back straight where drivers reach speeds of 320kmp/h. The detection area will be when drivers turn into the long banked turn 13. With the DRS to be used on the back straight, one of the longest of the season, it is clear that an efficient KER/DRS combination could be hugely beneficial. This could play heavily into the hands of Mercedes will be keen to avail of a less punishing track in terms of tyre wear.
Shanghai has a much smoother track surface compared to Sepang and while tyre wear will once more play a role in the outcome of the race it is likely that the lower ambient temperatures should give the Pirelli rubber a much easier footing this weekend.
The lap opens with drivers attacking the first part of turn one flat out before the seventh gear right hander tightens into second gear leading into turn three. The track then opens up with the acceleration zone that is turn five.
Jenson Button, last year’s winner, had this to say about the challenging opening section of the lap:
"It's a good modern circuit with a couple of interesting touches” said the former world champion. “The first corner is quite unique: you enter it at full-throttle in seventh gear, then come down through the gears as the corner continually tightens. It's a very long corner – it's all about being patient – and there's a little bump right on the entry, which can make it quite tricky too."
The middle sector of the lap begins at turn six, another second gear corner, which leads onto the thrilling complex of turn seven and eight before drivers tackle turns nine and ten in third gear. This section of corners will prove very important for drivers as they lead into the final sector with the DRS detection zone at turn 13.
The main overtaking place on the track is at the end of the back straight and with DRS enabled it is likely that drivers could enjoy a considerable advantage as they approach the braking zone. We saw in Sepang that DRS is a facilitator of overtaking but this is the first time that a medium speed corner will lead onto a long straight for drivers to use the system.
What are the main talking points before this race?
The Malaysian Grand Prix was dominated by the strategic decisions made on the pit wall with drivers making two, three and four stops in the points scoring positions. Even though there was variety between the leading runners there was also an element of marking cards between them too. It was clear, for example, that a lot of pitstops throughout the race were determined because other rivals had pitted. With teams still understanding the new tyres this was always likely to happen but it is crucial for teams to find the perfect strategy for their drivers and stop concerning themselves with the decisions made by other teams.
The new Pirelli tyres are clearly a handful and perhaps the most important thing for the leading drivers to do is to conserve their allocation of tyres in qualifying. Sebastian Vettel did so in Malaysia; using one less set of tyres in qualifying, and parlayed this into a tremendous advantage in the race. Lewis Hamilton, long regarded as the most aggressive driver in the field, showed a new found smoothness at Sepang but his need to take an extra qualifying two run left him with one less set of tyres for the race.
It was to prove pivotal and led to the former champion enduring an extra stint on the slower prime tyres in the race. Hamilton and McLaren will be keenly aware that a repeat of such woes in races this season could be extremely costly so expect them to do as much as they can to avoid using an extra set of tyres in qualifying.
The pace of the McLaren has been one of the talking points of the season thus far and it is clear that the squad have made tremendous progress since winter testing. It is clear that they are the principal threat to Red Bull in terms of ultimate performance and this weekend they should be very confident of adding to their 2008 and 2010 victories at the circuit.
Since the team reverted to standard exhausts it is clear that they have found a much improved package and their Mercedes engine and KERS package should be very strong this weekend. With Red Bull still to prove the reliability of their system this should be a key advantage for the silver cars.
It is clear that team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, sees this:
" I'm extremely pleased that we've managed to achieve 100 per cent reliability in both Australia and Malaysia, and that our KERS Hybrid system, engineered so well by everyone at Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, has worked faultlessly during the first two grand prix” he said. “For this race, we know we have to step up the pressure: we're looking to hit the ground running on Friday, maintain that momentum through Saturday, and be in with the best possible chance of taking victory on Sunday."
While the threat posed by McLaren is growing it is also clear that Red Bull still has the fastest car on the grid and with these races coming back to back there is limited scope for upgrades. McLaren will bring some new parts to China which will be evaluated on Friday but it is unlikely that the team will use these parts during the race.
F1 2011 revolves on tyres.....
The Pirelli tyres will once again be crucial this weekend and after the excitement of Malaysia the Italian firm ore confident that they can once more be instrumental in producing an exciting race.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director said:
"So far I'm very pleased with the way that our tyres have helped the show, but I'm always impressed by the way that the teams and drivers learn so quickly: I'm sure they will be finding different solutions to make the tyres last longer all the time” he said. “So far we have accurately predicted two pit stops in Australia and three in Malaysia but we'll have to wait until we see the data after Friday free practice before having a completely clear idea of what to expect in China.
"Unlike Malaysia, where we provided the teams with an experimental tyre for free practice, we will give each team one extra set of the usual hard tyres for Friday's first free practice session just as we did in Australia. We saw then that it worked well, allowing the teams to maximise their track time and prepare as thoroughly as possible for the race, so we'd like to give them the same opportunity again. The first two races have been absolutely thrilling; I'm hoping that we'll see the same again in China!"
Sauber has been the team most able to find the solution to maintaining tyre life with Sergio Perez single stopping in Melbourne and Kamui Kobayashi making one stop less than the majority of the front runners in Malaysia.
The team’s technical director, James Key, spoke about the challenges facing teams this weekend:
“The track has some interesting challenges” he said. “It has a long straight at the back, some quite tricky slow speed corners in the middle of the lap and there are these unwinding and winding in profiles of corners, which are important for traction and braking stability, particularly under lateral load.”
“It will be interesting to see how the tyres cope and the car copes with that, with much depending on how the weather conditions are. I think what we have seen between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur is, with different track temperatures and surfaces, the tyres have behaved in quite a different way to what was expected. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues in China, or whether it will be a bit more predictable. Obviously the hope is we can continue to fight for points and show a decent level of performance."
What to expect in China
Sebastian Vettel has taken pole position in Shanghai for the last two years, and was the first man across the line two years ago, and the reigning champion will start the weekend as the firm favourite once again but he should expect a strong test from within his own team. Mark Webber was badly hamstrung by KERS problems in Malaysia that compounded his poor showing in the opening race of the year. The Australian is sure to be fired up to make amends but another bad showing could be catastrophic to his title hopes.
McLaren should be competitive once more while Ferrari are not to be underestimated after impressive race pace from Alonso in the last race.
Renault has clearly developed a very good car and their starts in the opening races have been superb. After Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld took podiums in the opening two races the team have given themselves a terrific platform with which to move forward with this weekend and while another podium is unlikely they should be able to get another top five finish and head to the start of the European season energised by their performances.
The midfield fight was intense in Malaysia and China should continue to show exactly how closely matched the teams are in Formula 1 at present. Sauber have clearly performed above expectation while Mercedes has struggled. This weekend should offer Sauber another opportunity to score points and with their car clearly enjoying a tyre advantage they could, once again, spring a strategic surprise. Sauber has also been exceptionally fast on straights with the team topping the speed figures in qualifying at both opening races, another area for the Swiss squad to exploit throughout the weekend.
Mercedes have had a disastrous start to the season with the team clearly all at sea with the new car. It seemed that every time an onboard shot of Schumacher was shown in Malaysia that he was fighting a wayward backend. The seven times champion performed well in the second race of the season and easily outperformed his teammate, Nico Rosberg, but after the heightened expectations of the final test it is clear that the team is yet to find a formula for competitiveness; there is little to suggest that this weekend will offer a stronger showing.
One of the most interesting elements of Malaysia was the performance of Team Lotus. After struggling in Melbourne they bounced back at Sepang and were very competitive in relation to the tail end of the midfield. The team made ambitious steps in the off season to increase their competiveness and the last race showed how much progress they have made. It is crucial for the Tony Fernandez run team to continue this progress this weekend.
Strategy for this weekend
Two stops looks likely to be the strategy of choice for the leading runners but a lot will depend on how the Pirelli tyres perform in China. There is no doubt that they will be considerably more durable than in Malaysia but with a short pitstop, 23 seconds total pit time, it could be beneficial for a driver to try a contrary strategy. This would be a risky strategy but could provide McLaren, or indeed Ferrari, with an opportunity to challenge Red Bull.
The race pace of both teams in Malaysia was very impressive and when you look at both races it is clear that they are very competitive in terms of their ability to perform on Sunday. Ferrari are clearly struggling in terms of qualifying and outright speed but in the current era of no refuelling it is much more important to find a balanced setup that works on heavy tanks; Malaysia showed that they have found such a balance. Alonso is a past winner in Shanghai and Massa has always gone well at the track so this could be a potentially strong race from the Italian squad.
Shanghai weather forecast
The threat of rain hung over the second race of the season but this weekend the local forecasts are quite promising. There is a chance of rain prior to qualifying but race day should be warm and dry with temperatures of the mid 20s expected. This should give the tyres a much easier time than in Malaysia but with rain having played a part in four of the seven races in China it is clear that nothing should be taken for granted when the cars form the grid for the latest round of 2011.
Key points for Shanghai
Average margin of victory: 6.5s
Average finishing %: 78
Total pit stop time: 23s
Average starting position of winner:2nd
No repeat winners in seven years
BBC Schedule
Friday 15 April
First practice: 0255-0435, BBC Red Button
Second practice: 0655-0835, BBC Red Button
Saturday 16 April
Third practice: 0355-0505, BBC Red Button
Qualifying: 0600-0830, BBC One
Qualifying repeat: 1300-1430, BBC One
Sunday 17 April
Grand Prix live: 0700-1015, BBC One/
F1 forum: 1015-1115, BBC Red Button
Grand Prix repeat: 1400-16:00, BBC One
Highlights: 1900-2000 and 0230-0330, BBC ThreeTagged:11
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If anyone sees this before FP1 check out the classic F1, Suzuka 89. Load of on-board footage of Senna and Prost, can't beat it.
Also, an hour til FP1, will probably be asleep by the second one but still!
Going to switch on the red button and thank you for the info
Trying to get my video to dvd working at the moment
bloody nightmare :mad:0 -
Also was inspired to stick on Forza, bit of in-car driving of LMPs around Suzuka.
EDIT: Playing a racing-sim using the on-board camera when you usually use the exterior camera doesn't work brilliantly. Other contributing factors to my performance may have been that I haven't played the game in months, my being drunk off my head and the fact that I've never driven a car. :pac:
Ugh, went to put on the practice but it was classic F1, the 08 Brazilian GP. Don't want to see that ever again
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I dont care for Williams anymore but Merc is pity because of Nico. After their last winter test I tought will see Nico on podiums.
I can't believe Ross Brown says "it doesn't make sense to throw in new parts when we still don't know what's wrong at first place" :eek: Halooo is anyone working there?? One would think that all that astronomic cash, brain and computing power in F1 teams would figure out the root cause in few days at last
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Was a huge Jordan fan back in the day and went to Spa in 2000
Remember this?
It's about four years ago since I last watched F1, realy fell away when Jordan left.
Up this morning, trying to get back into it
Need to find someone to support, I'll probably support Webber, always liked him0 -
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was that you?:eek:feelingstressed wrote: »Was a huge Jordan fan back in the day and went to Spa in 2000
Remember this?
It's about four years ago since I last watched F1, realy fell away when Jordan left.
Up this morning, trying to get back into it
Need to find someone to support, I'll probably support Webber, always liked him0 -
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recyclebin wrote: »Looks like vettel has the championship in the bag already. Can't see him being beaten tomorrow.
Calm down
He has only won 2 races so far
Button won the first two in 2009 and it got tight as the season went on.
Cold be a good one yet.
Dont write off McLaren - - - Ferrari -- - Mercedes - - Renault..Still a few hopefuls in there :P0 -
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