Juzh wrote: ↑10 Sep 2022, 21:26
Head to head Lec vs Ver with live-gap
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/vide ... 37076.html
Basically as predicted red bull is just not very fast on straights when not under DRS, and equal at best when DRS is active. Unless tyres fall off for Lec he's got a legit chance for a win. Like-for-like I don't believe Verstappen has got any chance of overtaking him on track. We've seen in the past higher downforce cars can have A LOT of problems overtaking slippy cars even when they're half a second or even a full second faster over the lap. Bold strategy from red bull going down that road, doing a 180 from their usual modus operandi this year. Personally I think it'll backfire (if you can say that for P2), but lets wait and see.
Overall I think you’re right but in some corners - in particular T1 - you’re also seeing different driving style/approach, where Leclerc brakes very early and then gets on the power sooner to maximise speed all the way through the long right hander. Max shoots ahead on the entry to the corner but loses additional top speed because of later braking.
I wonder if, with tyres that supposedly can be pushed more, Ferrari have found that a lower downforce setting is actually beneficial for tyre life this year and they’ve been overheating their tyres in the race due to sheer load rather than sliding. In races I’ve noticed a few times that, because Leclerc loses ‘free’ time to Max on the straights, he needs to push harder to either stay within or get free of DRS and ultimately that seems to degrade his tyres sooner.
Red Bull probably know this already but think tyre wear will be less important in Monza due to long straights during which temperature is lost. It’ll be interesting to see if Ferrari generally take the approach of lower wing levels after this race - possible sacrificing quali speed for better top speed and tyre life (probably they wouldn’t do this in Singapore as track position more important but possibly Japan).