2014 Spanish Grand Prix - Barcelona

[thomin]

Yes, he had to overtake on the break as he couldn't get by on speed. Since that's exactly where he struggled in the previous races, it seems as if the new chassis helped.

Yeah, He seem to find his Confidence on breaking but is that true that he had anti roll failure before race when he was going to grid ??

Yes, apparently they forgot to install it, but Vettel realized there was an issue and they could fix it on the grid.

[iotar__]

About the the pit stop strategy. First stint Hamilton gained about 3.5 seconds, but he burned through his mediums 3 laps earlier than Rosberg. Second stint Rosberg on hards could keep up with Hamilton on mediums. But at the expense of his tyres; after 23 laps the Hards of Rosberg were gone, while Hamilton still had good pace on the Mediums after 25 laps. Finally they did 23/21 laps on the hards resp mediums.

I think it is part calculation on Hamilton side, overuse the first set to create a gap, pace the second set to keep the running on hards limited. Where it went wrong is when he didn't really get the Hards working for him.

If Rosberg had pitted earlier like you suggest then he would have to an even longer stint on the mediums, mount an overtake and defend to the finish. Whatever tyre advantage he had left now at the end of the race, surely would have disappeared by then.

1st stint - He didn't gain 3,5s by burning tyres as you put it, forced by strategy longer stint for Rosberg created the gap. NR started closing from lap 13. Or alternatively longer planned stint with stretched pace. Alternative is getting close enough and pit earlier with smaller gap, cost: longer stints later.
2nd stint - If Rosberg's tyres "were gone" why did they pit him 2 laps later and not one after Hamilton? The fact that he could keep up on slower tyres shows driver pace on any tyre.
3rd stint - No, on the contrary 1. you sacrifice tyres closing the bigger gap created by later stops (trade-off with shorter stint ofc - depends on tyres/pace but it's not 2013 ) 2. Last stint on mediums wasn't that long anyway. 1st one - 19-21 laps with heavy car - compared to 3rd let's say 23+ with a light one. 3. What happened was the opposite - Rosberg was gaining from the beginning to the end of the stint, no indication of losing tyre advantage. Too fast for Merc - they even slowed him down with a radio message when he was gaining too much on Hamilton early in the third stint.
Merc's fault for trying to be half-virgins and having manufactured almost battles one lap from the end.

[Edax]

3. What happened was the opposite - Rosberg was gaining from the beginning to the end of the stint, no indication of losing tyre advantage. Too fast for Merc - they even slowed him down with a radio message when he was gaining too much on Hamilton early in the third stint.
Merc's fault for trying to be half-virgins and having manufactured almost battles one lap from the end.

I think you have to look at the post race interview. Rosberg himself admitted that he was struggling with graining at the end of the second stint. He did not want to switch to the mediums earlier, because that would have meant that he would have no tires left at the end of the race. So he had no option than to run on the hards a bit longer to maintain a "pace delta" at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG6XDmprack

Anyway. Best strategy for Rosberg would have been to overtake Hamilton in the first stint, like Hamilton did to him in Bahrain. That would have given him the pit stop choice. Second on track always gives you a disadvantage, in any team, except when you are called Alonso and drive for Ferrari

[komninosm]

Yes, he had to overtake on the break as he couldn't get by on speed. Since that's exactly where he struggled in the previous races, it seems as if the new chassis helped.

Yeah, He seem to find his Confidence on breaking but is that true that he had anti roll failure before race when he was going to grid ??

Yes, apparently they forgot to install it, but Vettel realized there was an issue and they could fix it on the grid.

Forgot?

[beelsebob]

Forgot?

Yes, that thing that happens to humans all the time - their brain doesn't store something, or fails to retrieve it at the appropriate moment.

[Pierce89]

Forgot?

Yes, that thing that happens to humans all the time - their brain doesn't store something, or fails to retrieve it at the appropriate moment.

I think he was implying that the anti-roll bar is very important both for handling and aerodynamics and would seemingly be a very unusual part to forget. But, you already know that's what he meant.

[beelsebob]

I think he was implying that the anti-roll bar is very important both for handling and aerodynamics and would seemingly be a very unusual part to forget. But, you already know that's what he meant.

I do, and my point was that forgetting things is by definition unusual, and that humans forget all sorts of unusual things.

[Richard]

Missing an anti roll bar is surprising, almost on the level of Button's WTF moment when his radiator was blocked at Monaco. Most unlike RB's usual level of perfection.

I'd be extremely surprised if memory played any role in the normal procedure, there are things called checklists and tell tales to make sure the right bit is in the right place.

[johnsonwax]

Steve Matchett some years ago mentioned that when they're rushing in the garage because they needed to fix something last minute, the checklists inevitably go out the window to some degree.

Although wasn't there a race maybe 8-10 years ago when one of the mid-field cars was left up on the dollys at start of the installation lap and it was sitting there wheels up in the air?

[WaikeCU]

Steve Matchett some years ago mentioned that when they're rushing in the garage because they needed to fix something last minute, the checklists inevitably go out the window to some degree.

Although wasn't there a race maybe 8-10 years ago when one of the mid-field cars was left up on the dollys at start of the installation lap and it was sitting there wheels up in the air?

That was Belgium GP in 2001. A Williams front row, but Montoya stalled on the installation lap, making him join the back of the grid. After Burti had that crash, there was a third restart and that's when the world watched Ralf Schumacher's Williams sitting on those blocks from P1 on the grid, because the team wanted a rear wing change.

[johnsonwax]

That was Belgium GP in 2001. A Williams front row, but Montoya stalled on the installation lap, making him join the back of the grid. After Burti had that crash, there was a third restart and that's when the world watched Ralf Schumacher's Williams sitting on those blocks from P1 on the grid, because the team wanted a rear wing change.

Oh, that's right. Whatever luck Ralf might have had in racing seemed to always escape to his brother.

[Chuckjr]

That was Belgium GP in 2001. A Williams front row, but Montoya stalled on the installation lap, making him join the back of the grid. After Burti had that crash, there was a third restart and that's when the world watched Ralf Schumacher's Williams sitting on those blocks from P1 on the grid, because the team wanted a rear wing change.

Oh, that's right. Whatever luck Ralf might have had in racing seemed to always escape to his brother.

True that. The luck of Michael is/was legendary. Look what happened to deliver him the front row at that race. Incredible. Man I miss that guy on the track in that red car.
(Sorry for the OT, it may need to be deleted but since it pertains to above dialog, I thought it was a nice OT addition)

Wiki~
"The first start was aborted when both pole-sitter Juan Pablo Montoya and Heinz-Harald Frentzen stalled on the grid. As a result, they were relegated to the back of the grid for the second start.

On lap four, Luciano Burti, while speeding through Blanchimont, made contact with Eddie Irvine's rear wheel, causing his front wing to break off. He lost grip and speared straight into the tyre barrier at over 180 mph. The resulting injuries caused him to miss the rest of the season. The race restarted over 36 laps, with the results of this part of the race counting as the overall results.

Irvine did not take part in the restart, and nor did Kimi Räikkönen or Fernando Alonso, both of whom had retired before the race was stopped.

What was the third start was also aborted when Ralf Schumacher couldn't leave the grid, due to the pit jack being left on his car following a rear wing change. He followed Williams team-mate Montoya and Frentzen to the back of the grid, and Michael Schumacher thus found himself at the front for the fourth start."

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Belgian_Grand_Prix

[raymondu999]

I think this race brought an interesting realisation to light. Since RB get their speed in the corners and not on the straights (where overtaking is generally done) then they have to go contra-logic and actually have to do more stops. While it means more overtaking, the extra grip is ironically then able to allow the bulls to overtake.

[Blackout]

Has someone recorded fP2 on SKY? Skysports has briefely showed the new left hand exhasut/left sidepod coolers during the free practice 2 broadcast, just before an advertising page. Anyone got a screenshot?

[johnsonwax]

I think this race brought an interesting realisation to light. Since RB get their speed in the corners and not on the straights (where overtaking is generally done) then they have to go contra-logic and actually have to do more stops. While it means more overtaking, the extra grip is ironically then able to allow the bulls to overtake.

You think their cornering is good for 20s over the race? Vettel did a great job working up through the field, but he was still ⅔ lap behind the Mercs, and ⅓ lap behind his teammate. It's probably a good strategy for ensuring the RBs finish in the top 4, but so is a decent qualifying position. So, I agree when they start mid-pack or farther back, but not in general.