2012 Japanese GP - Suzuka

[PlatinumZealot]

P1 results in and Mclaren are dominating [so far].I expect Hamilton or Button to get the win with Vettel on the podium.
EDIT: Interesting to see Hamilton Faster than Button in sectors 2 and 3 but slower in sector 1.Could it be different setups again?

Button is a Suzuka Specialist. He is mega through the S's.

[adam2003]

Live race is at 6am ish, in 2006 I remeber when watching schumacher blow up was mid afternoon when if was live in uk? has it changed

[godlameroso]

Long runs seem surprisingly close amongst the top teams, we'll have to see what they can eek out for FP3 tomorrow. I expect pole in the high 1:31's. The hard tire seems to hold out quite a bit while the soft degrades more rapidly. I expect to see the hard as the tire of choice for the race. Top qualifiers will do O P P, for cars with good tire management it could be possible to do P O O(i said poo lol), O P O. I don't see a one stopper as realistic, some might even have to do a three stopper, although a lot of time is lost in the pits.

[FLuidd]

Long runs seem surprisingly close amongst the top teams, we'll have to see what they can eek out for FP3 tomorrow. I expect pole in the high 1:31's. The hard tire seems to hold out quite a bit while the soft degrades more rapidly. I expect to see the hard as the tire of choice for the race. Top qualifiers will do O P P, for cars with good tire management it could be possible to do P O O(i said poo lol), O P O. I don't see a one stopper as realistic, some might even have to do a three stopper, although a lot of time is lost in the pits.

2 stops and we will see yet another race being decided by tyre degradation.

[banibhusan]

Surprisingly many had predicted that RBR would struggle on this track. But they very well seem to be on par with McLaren.

[Gerhard Berger]

Surprisingly many had predicted that RBR would struggle on this track. But they very well seem to be on par with McLaren.

I think their strong performance in Singapore was not just track specific, but because their updates worked well.

[NonNewtonic]

Surprisingly many had predicted that RBR would struggle on this track. But they very well seem to be on par with McLaren.

I think their strong performance in Singapore was not just track specific, but because their updates worked well.

Last year RB was on pole however they were suffering from high tyre deg during the race

[Guisson]

Last Year they had Monster Downforce that's why they suffered from High Tyre Deg and not only in Suzuka ( SPa also if my memory doesn't betray me)
Theoretically This year they should have less problems with Tyre Wear..But Still ( Wasn't Vettel complaining about the tyres by the end of FP2? )

My Bets Are :

1-HAM
2-BUT
3-WEB/VET

[Gerhard Berger]

Last Year they had Monster Downforce that's why they suffered from High Tyre Deg and not only in Suzuka ( SPa also if my memory doesn't betray me)
Theoretically This year they should have less problems with Tyre Wear..But Still ( Wasn't Vettel complaining about the tyres by the end of FP2? )

My Bets Are :

1-HAM
2-BUT
3-WEB/VET

Spa was because teams were too aggressive with their camber settings on the front wheels.

[Richard]

Regarding worn and new asphalt, polished, non-polished, worn-down or green, I can only quote Jamie Lannister in Game of Thrones: "the things I do for love"

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5625&hilit=Bo+Persson&start=39

I'm sure if Ciro were between us he could give us a better link with more references about structure, mictrostructure, tribology and all that stuff. However, I was happy enough with that search result.

who cares about wore asphalt, we got a world championship battle on our hands developing

err.... the title of the site might give you a clue?

As for asphalt, when it is first laid it has a smooth surface formed by the rollers. As the traffic runs over the new surface it wears away the soft binder (bitumen) and filler (fine aggregates). The result is that the hard coarse aggregate (ie stones) are left standing proud. That's the optimum texture for tyre friction.



Then as further traffic passes over the surface it wears down the aggregate, and the sharp arises (corners) of the aggregate are worn to rounded edges. Hence the overall "friction" goes down.

Depending on traffic and climatic conditions, the optimum roughness is roughly 1 year, then the roughness trails off over 10- 20 years.

So that's why a new asphalt looks smooth, and old asphalt looks rough. They both looked the same when new.

Incidentally, surface friction is measured by a pendulum that skids across the surface to mimic a skidding car tyre. Here's a portable version, they can also be truck mounted for checking long stretches.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sctWKuk1qk0[/youtube]

You can also measure the degree of roughness using lasers, or traditional sand patch test

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOYNVZa0Vew[/youtube]

[godlameroso]

perhaps then excess downforce doesnt affect tire wear as much with a smooth surface.

[adam2003]

http://www.stockcarscience.com/scienceT ... sphalt.php

[Nando]

I think Mclaren are sand bagging to be honest.
ferrari looks twitchy.

[aero expert 807]

Has the whole track been repaved? I thought only a small section was.

[raymondu999]

I think Mclaren are sand bagging to be honest.

Comparing their quali sim laptime to their race run laptime it looks like they're on a 1st stint (race start) fuel load. But the Red Bull was arguably more impressive, with similar dropoff and 3-4 tenths quicker. The pace advantage is way too small to be down to fuel IMO. (Mind you this in the context of fp2 - McLaren didn't run their upgrades in FP2)

Has the whole track been repaved? I thought only a small section was.

Dengner 1 all the way up to the chicane.

Depending on traffic and climatic conditions, the optimum roughness is roughly 1 year, then the roughness trails off over 10- 20 years.

The asphalt, to my understanding, was laid down last year. So the texture should be close to optimum by now, no?

perhaps then excess downforce doesnt affect tire wear as much with a smooth surface.

I think excess downforce is a boon on smooth surfaces. Remember Canada 2010? The asphalt was too smooth - cars were graining all over the place. Teams were adding downforce to counter.

I think OPP will be the default strategy, and if there's a safety car it will lock in OPP as the strategy (for those who, by the safety car, are able to finish using OPP - ie they haven't gone OPO) however I think a 3-stopper with OOPP or OOOP might be on the cards too. I think that could be quite fast, competitive with the 2 stop, but you lose track position which isn't easy to overtake back around Suzuka. But if a safety car pops up just as the 3 stoppers are making their final stop, or too early for the 2nd stop of the 2 stoppers - then the fresh tyres would be mega.