How consistent are top drivers on a single lap time trial like that? If Charl did 10 on the same day, is his best to worst .4 seconds apart?
It depends so much on what else is happening.
On a fresh track there is less rubber laid down, which means less grip, which means a slower lap. That’s one of the reasons times get faster the longer you go in qualifying.
But then, you don’t want to be too close behind another driver, or else you lose aerodynamics, and lose time.
But if you’re close to another driver down a straight, you can get into their slipstream and go faster.
Also the wind can change things, and track temperatures.
So let’s not say “on the same day” but “in the exact same track and weather conditions for a long time” then yes, 0.4 is what you’d expect as a range from “kinda average” to “best of the day”.
If you have a good team mate and can look at their data, you can work out who has better braking points and lines in to each corner, and then learn from each other which is which and put together a best-of-both lap.
This Monza race is crazy. I predicted Lance Stroll was going to win before the start, and I can’t believe he is in with a real chance.
You should be watching.
What a race that was! Very engaging at least, if not for ideal reasons. Combined with the tire degradation issues we saw in England this year, it goes to show that when things don’t go according to expectation in F1 you get results that are not boring to watch as a fan. Credit to Gasly, I didn’t think he would be able to maintain enough pace and lack of mistakes to prevent McLaren from getting past, but that win was not gifted to him. The opportunity was there and he had to capitalize on it.
Wow, Ferrari is in a rough spot, both with how the race played out but also for their huge lack of performance this year.
It seems Racing Point got a good deal with Vettel. They are only paying 1.5 million dollars as a retainer, with Aston Martin making up the rest of his payment for him being a Brand Ambassador. From a marketing point of view, Perez can’t come close to Vettel, so no amount of money he brings from his own sponsors is worth it.
Considering the budget cap that comes in next year, Racing Point are in an amazing position. Drivers salaries aren’t included in the budget cap, but Vettel is costing the team next to nothing, and how much is Stroll senior paying Stroll junior? Can’t be much.
So while the big teams are having to cut costs, Racing Point can actually spend more than have in the past. Vettel brings his expertise, can coach Stroll, etc.
I’m excited to see what Vettel gets up to next year, and how the team develops as Aston Martin.
OMG Mugello safety car restarts are worse than Indycar oval racing restarts.
FIA already not bothering with the investigation: “An FIA spokesman told BBC Sport an investigation had been ruled out.”
I’m not sure why anyone thinks the F1 and the FIA won’t stand behind their most successful, most lucrative current driver, who happens to be black, and not give a shit about racist Americans complaining on twitter. Formula 1 cares way more about keeping Hamilton happy than losing a tiny proportion of viewers who might not like him. He’s a goldmine of publicity and good will.
And if Mercedes changed the colour of their cars to black for entire season, they also don’t care about a tshirt, and will stand with him too.
I now predict Yuki Tsunoda won’t be driving for Alpha Tauri next year.
Fun story about Toto Wolff breaking a Nordschleife record and then almost dying trying to break another:
The headline is obvious, but in the article they show the results of using a statistical model that attempts to factor out the power of the car in order to measure relative driver skill.
I’d like to see how those graphs bear out over other series and skill levels. It’d be interesting to see how it changes.
I’d like to seem them apply it to a series where everyone has the same car. The results should just end up matching the actual results, but the statistical model doesn’t know that.
Oh yeah, for sure. I can’t decide if it would be more interesting if it did match, or if it didn’t.
All change at Haas
It is Haas after all. Interchangeable parts and whatnot.
2 Likes
Mercedes gets every pole position in 2020, and then…
All the previews said this would be a crazy qualifying due to the newly resurfaced track and rain. Good predictions!
1 Like
This is pretty great. Thankfully Hamilton has the same number and a recognizable Senna-esque helmet design even in the 90’s, so it’s easy to know who to watch for.
1 Like
It’s amazing how far the safety technology has come in terms of helping people survive and avoid injury in the event of an accident. I think they just still have a lot of work to do in the “avoid accident in the first place” category.