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So much for difficult car. Myth busted. The car only needed a quick #2 with a few years experience.
Good for him, but all is not safe. He still has the whole weekend. I think things will be a little more tentative in qualifying.
Yuki may have a little more engine mode, but we really don't know. Otherwise he is still within a tenth on the twisty sectors. Not bad.
The constructors is possible if Yuki is really this close.
It was only FP1, we're still way off the '24 Q3 time of Max (1:28.197) which got him pole. So let's hope Yuki will handle Q1-3 as well as FP1. Expecting the McLarens so go sub 28 and hopefully Max and Yuki will as well.
It was only FP1, we're still way off the '24 Q3 time of Max (1:28.197) which got him pole. So let's hope Yuki will handle Q1-3 as well as FP1. Expecting the McLarens so go sub 28 and hopefully Max and Yuki will as well.
The track has been resurfaced in the first sector so the times will not be comparable.
Confirmed by Horner that engine modes are the same. However, the setup on Yuki's car is different. It seems they dont want to give him the fastest or sharpest setup as yet. It's kind of indirectly admiting the car's are tiered. But I think it's for the better in the long run. No need for him to be challenging Max. It's clear he can from today but it will be of no use to have an intra team fight while theyre so far off McLaren.
As Max says the focus should be on making the car faster to catch McLaren.
The car got some new parts this race. Some very interesting rear brake shrouds that direct hot air between the rim and wheel carrier.
Confirmed by Horner that engine modes are the same. However, the setup on Yuki's car is different. It seems they dont want to give him the fastest or sharpest setup as yet. It's kind of indirectly admiting the car's are tiered. But I think it's for the better in the long run. No need for him to be challenging Max. It's clear he can from today but it will be of no use to have an intra team fight while theyre so far off McLaren.
As Max says the focus should be on making the car faster to catch McLaren.
The car got some new parts this race. Some very interesting rear brake shrouds that direct hot air between the rim and wheel carrier.
The only set up difference was Yuki ran without a gurney flap and Max did. Practically the same car, but Yuki had more front wing on. Pace is still not great yet but only FP1. No graining for Yuki on the soft though, but tyre weared down.
What seems to have been lost in the new driver excitement is the fact that they are just slow. Marko was right about difficult times ahead. There is nothing I have seen so far that suggest they are competitive. Those Racing Bulls will be dangerously close in qualifying.
Confirmed by Horner that engine modes are the same. However, the setup on Yuki's car is different. It seems they dont want to give him the fastest or sharpest setup as yet. It's kind of indirectly admiting the car's are tiered. But I think it's for the better in the long run. No need for him to be challenging Max. It's clear he can from today but it will be of no use to have an intra team fight while theyre so far off McLaren.
As Max says the focus should be on making the car faster to catch McLaren.
The car got some new parts this race. Some very interesting rear brake shrouds that direct hot air between the rim and wheel carrier.
The only set up difference was Yuki ran without a gurney flap and Max did. Practically the same car, but Yuki had more front wing on. Pace is still not great yet but only FP1. No graining for Yuki on the soft though, but tyre weared down.
Mate, don't fall for ringo's usual bait. Just ignore him like everyone else. You can show him hard data and he will repeat his usual max propaganda next race weekend, He can't even back up his own statements with any data. Best to ignore him and Platinum Zealot.
The cheapest sort of pride is national pride, every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.
Max now doing race sim on mediums in the 1.34s. This is not competitive in any way shape or form.
depends on how much fuel he was carrying, mid-34s was the pace of last stint of last year race....do we have a comparison with other drivers from today ?
Max now doing race sim on mediums in the 1.34s. This is not competitive in any way shape or form.
depends on how much fuel he was carrying, mid-34s was the pace of last stint of last year race....do we have a comparison with other drivers from today ?
Everyone else did high fuel sims earlier in the day. Mid-33 is the pace. Lando and Piastri did best lap in FP2 that is better than Max's pole time from last year. The MCL39 and others have surpassed last year's pace at this track so mid 34 will not be good enough. Max's 2nd lap of that stint, he said understeer everywhere and 1st sector was even slower than the first lap. Shortened because of red flag, but still far too slow and Yuki even slower with different setup. These stints translated well in China. On the medium here, I think they will lose a lot of time. Remains to be seen how the hard goes. Mclaren and Mercedes are clearly ahead. Ferrari probably ahead too.
Max now doing race sim on mediums in the 1.34s. This is not competitive in any way shape or form.
depends on how much fuel he was carrying, mid-34s was the pace of last stint of last year race....do we have a comparison with other drivers from today ?
Everyone else did high fuel sims earlier in the day. Mid-33 is the pace. Lando and Piastri did best lap in FP2 that is better than Max's pole time. The MCL39 and others have surpassed last year's pace at this track so mid 34 will not be good enough. Max's 2nd lap of that stint, he said understeer everywhere and 1st sector was even slower than the first lap. Short because of red flag, but still far too slow and Yuki even slower with different setup.
I'm not even considering McLaren, they are too far ahead. But I would hope Max can beat the Ferraris, and maybe Russell. Ferrari are usually lighter on Friday, Russell seems strong though.
Max now doing race sim on mediums in the 1.34s. This is not competitive in any way shape or form.
depends on how much fuel he was carrying, mid-34s was the pace of last stint of last year race....do we have a comparison with other drivers from today ?
Everyone else did high fuel sims earlier in the day. Mid-33 is the pace. Lando and Piastri did best lap in FP2 that is better than Max's pole time. The MCL39 and others have surpassed last year's pace at this track so mid 34 will not be good enough. Max's 2nd lap of that stint, he said understeer everywhere and 1st sector was even slower than the first lap. Short because of red flag, but still far too slow and Yuki even slower with different setup.
RB usually do a slow build like Hamiltons laps but since they were running for like 3 laps could have been full tank with the others running slightly less fuel, there's no way RB are 1.2s a lap slower on race pace. Max was not happy with the set up all today, in FP1 he wanted to change set up after his fastest lap and didn't go back out for a fast lap and FP2 long runs he complained about no front end. We'll see what FP3 brings, MCL looks by far the fastest followed by RUS and Ferrari's, at the moment it looks like Max will be fighting the Ferrari's, so not great.
