Max running off track is what we haven't seen in a while. I think the limited free practice time in a sprint weekend also hampers RB in refining their setup. We have seen that before. So may be they can dial it in tomorrow.Xyz22 wrote: ↑19 Apr 2024, 12:58This is strange considering Max said in previous interviews that he was finding the RB20 even better than the RB19.AR3-GP wrote: ↑19 Apr 2024, 12:00RB will be hoping that is the excuse for today…
To be honest it looked fairly average in the dry as well. Typical sprint weekend where setup isn’t quite right. At least the car can be changed tomorrow.
This is a circuit that Verstappen said he likes. I haven’t seen anything that syncs with that statement. I didn’t watch Q1 but he was 3 tenths behind Perez there. That already suggest that something is not right. While the long run was quicker than Perez, it just reminds me of the beginning of 2022. The car has too much understeer.
Somehow the RB20 doesn’t seem quite right yet? Regardless of the wins, something seems missing balance wise. I wonder if Imola upgrades can correct this.
Maybe Perez did a step without having to think about the WDC and with the goal of getting a new contract with RB.
Another option is that they haven't dialed in the new upgrades yet, at least on Max's side.
In any event the quali was simply decided by the tyres. If you can't switch them on, you are nowhere.
This is certainly a big factor. Hamilton even pitted and changed to a different set of inters because the ones he had on wouldn't grip up. On the fresh set, they did and he found lap time. Lando obviously managed to get his tyres in the right place and reaped the benefits with a great lap.
99.8-99.9% of performance on a 90s lap actually The best of the best driver is no more than 1-2 tenths quicker than other top drivers. Eg, if Alonso is 100% in AMR, a Stroll can reach 99.5%
Yes, without the car, a driver would need about 15 minutes (assuming a pace equal to the world record for a half marathon)
I am of the contrary opinion. Seeing that Max was having 4-5 excursions, proves that he has the car in that 'twitchy, nailed front but nervous rear' setup right on the money, from FP1. (did he complain of understeer in FP1, I don't remember seeing any message while watching on F1tv). He had a beautiful 4 wheel drift in the penultimate corner in SQ3, 'caught' with opposite lock. That pointy front setup on an inherently low grip track is very difficult to control in the wet, even for someone like Verstappen. We know how none of the other 19 drivers can live with a car that is setup to his liking, it's one of the extreme ways to setup an F1 car and they all would've had a bit less grippy front inorder to be less nervous handler, which played to their advantage in the wet. So I think Max suffering is natural. PLus of course the high-efficiency-downforce present in RB20 and SF24 makes them natural contenders to suffer tyre warm up issues in the wet. I wouldn't read too much into the SQ - if the track is dry (but green), I expect atleast 2 out of the 4 of them to be on the podium at the end of the sprint, as they are starting P4,P5,P6,P7
As much as you say the driver doesn't matter, the top 5 in the wet session was Norris, Alonso, Hamilton, Ver, Sainz in 5 different cars and not their teammates. This is not a coincidence. It's somewhat predictable.
The Mclarens are running more wing.Just_a_fan wrote: ↑19 Apr 2024, 13:55This is certainly a big factor. Hamilton even pitted and changed to a different set of inters because the ones he had on wouldn't grip up. On the fresh set, they did and he found lap time. Lando obviously managed to get his tyres in the right place and reaped the benefits with a great lap.
Well that's always going to help in the wet!dren wrote: ↑19 Apr 2024, 16:13The Mclarens are running more wing.Just_a_fan wrote: ↑19 Apr 2024, 13:55This is certainly a big factor. Hamilton even pitted and changed to a different set of inters because the ones he had on wouldn't grip up. On the fresh set, they did and he found lap time. Lando obviously managed to get his tyres in the right place and reaped the benefits with a great lap.
Jesus Perez was flyingsearch wrote: ↑19 Apr 2024, 16:20could be a reason indeed. Perez looked surprisingly good, at least - until he threw away 2nd in the final corner.
https://i.imgur.com/IcdPqY7.png https://i.imgur.com/pMhXsjB.png