Spanish GP 2011 - Barcelona

[beelsebob]

I can´t see any difference from T9 to T16 in terms of dirty air though.
T10 is a muh slower corner which in theory should make passing more interesting as it would probably happen during braking.

I just hope pit straight won´t be the sailing past kind of overtakes.

Yer wot? T9 is limited 100% by downforce, unless you're in an RB6; T16 is limited entirely by acceleration out of the chicane. If you want to get close up behind someone with DRS, don't put it straight after an area where you're likely to have just dropped off the back of them due to lack of front downforce.

[HampusA]

1 second at 230km/h is around 64 meters indistance between cars.
1 second at 250km/h is almost 70 meters in distance. Would bad air really be much of a problem there?

[raymondu999]

Huh? How do you figure 64 meters? I'm quite willing to wager that in T16, the cars have way too much downforce anyways; and dirty air would not affect them there.

[beelsebob]

1 second at 230km/h is around 64 meters indistance between cars.
1 second at 250km/h is almost 70 meters in distance. Would bad air really be much of a problem there?

Given what we've repeatedly observed in turn 8 at turkey (okay, that's 3 seconds, but still, similar), yes, it would be a problem. Essentially DRS would only let you make up the time you lost in the preceding corner – not actually get you on level terms into the corner.

[HampusA]

Huh? How do you figure 64 meters? I'm quite willing to wager that in T16, the cars have way too much downforce anyways; and dirty air would not affect them there.

230km in an hour is 230.000 meters in an hour.
One hour is 3600 seconds.

230.00000 divided by 3600 = 0.0638888889 = 63.88 meters = 64 meters ish.

So when both cars do 230km/h they will be 64 meters apart.
Sure you can say that one has a slightly lower speed because he´s the one entering the corner but the guy ahead will have a higher speed so it´s around that many meters.

Yea i guess your right. I just hope it will be overtakes during braking.

[raymondu999]

I don't think it will tbh; what braking is there to be done at Catalunya Turn1? Not a lot to be sure.

[beelsebob]

I don't think it will tbh; what braking is there to be done at Catalunya Turn1? Not a lot to be sure.

Absolutely – Catalunya will never have significant overtaking under breaking, the track just isn't suited to it at all. It always surprised me that it stayed on the calendar. At least they got rid of Portugal, which was essentially the same track all over again.

[raymondu999]

To me I think even DRS in Barcelona will be catch 22 to be honest. If they do it in the back stretch from T9 to T10, I don't think it would be enough. If you did it on the pit straight, I think it would either be too little; or too much. I mean; look at how Jenson last year with the F-duct could close up from just miles back on Schumacher in the race. DRS will make people just fly past; or will not give enough advantage to pass.

[DaveKillens]

I have a lot of expectations for Barcelona. This is truly the first European race, and all teams will want to deliver their best efforts. They will get out a lot of upgrades, and hopefully make things interesting for the fans. Let's face it, if a driver dominates for the wins, it gets pretty stale quickly.

Spain ... Alonso ... he would absolutely love to pay back to his loyal fans by a win in Barcelona, so this race almost has as much priority as Monza. I wouldn't have any trouble enjoying that scene if it ever pays out.

The DRS is slowly being adjusted to deliver what it always intended. Yea, at times passing has been too effortless, each pass should entail some difficulty. I hope that by race time, the organizers have set a DRS activation zone that does allow passing, but not without effort. My ideal scenario is for both the attacker and defender to arrive at the corner pretty much side-by-side, and may the best man win.

So far, the races have involved a lot of confusing pit strategies. Everyone has been on a steep learning curve when it comes to tire degradation. But each race generates more data, and it won't be long before all the teams learn what strategies are effective. I hope it doesn't degenerate into a predictable procession, because so far, I've enjoyed the chaos and mayhem of different cars on different strategies. Well, not that much chaos because in the end, the best driver and car wins, and the finishing order usually reflects the general progression of accomplishment.

Personally, I haven't been able to come to terms with the new chicanes, turn 14 and 15. To me it's like witnessing a failed nose job on an old girlfriend. Somehow disturbing, and just not right.

[PlatinumZealot]

So Turkey is not Considered Europe? Interesting.. I mean, I am not European so I don't know how you guys decide what in in Europe and what is not Europe.

[beelsebob]

So Turkey is not Considered Europe? Interesting.. I mean, I am not European so I don't know how you guys decide what in in Europe and what is not Europe.

Turkey strictly speaking is the gateway to europe – half of Istanbul is in Europe, half is in Asia. Istanbul park is on the west of the river, so strictly speaking is in Europe, but is in a country that is 90% in Asia, so yeh... very border line... literally.

[HampusA]

Pretty funny when i tell some turkish friends that they are Asian

[PlatinumZealot]

And Russia is Asian Correct?

[HampusA]

Same story there, Europe and Asia.
Russia is generally considered a european country but more of the landmass is actually in Asia. But around 75% of the russians live in the European part.


Green Europe, Blue Asia.

[raymondu999]

Kind of digressing, but as I understand it Turkey is divided into Asia/Europe by the Bosphorus.