2015 Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai, April 10-12

[Juzh]

Vettel said in the interview they saved 1 set of softs, which could be crucial in the race. So they are almost certainly going for a soft-soft-medium. Otherwise, what's the point? Unless SC comes into play.

[PlatinumZealot]

Soft is two seconds faster so it would make sense to run the soft for the first stint undercut instead of mediums.

[PlatinumZealot]

I want to point out that McLaren unlike every other team, did NOT turn up their engine for qualifying for reliability reasons. In other words 17th and 18th are not their true positions. In the actual race the other teams will turn back down their engines to normal and McLaren will be much closer. Dare I say they can fight for points if there is some attrition.

[f1316]

A few things (sorry can't quote all the relevant people from mobile):

1. Hamilton implied he started changing philosophy on set up to favour the race in the second half of last season - not top speed but a setup which would help him in the race over qualifying
2. I don't think a high downforce setup is better for the race; you want to avoid overloading the fronts so setting it up for a bit of understeer is quite logical
3. I wouldn't necessarily bank on the fact that what Allison tells the media is what he's really thinking

[ferkan]

Speed trap from Q:
http://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/speed_trap_0.pdf

Maximum speeds:
http://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/ ... eeds_0.pdf

Incredible what utter sh*t the renault PU is at this stage compared to mercedes and ferrari. Unbelievable really. They deserve every inch of blame they're getting. And more.

Wow anywhere from 10-15kph from Mercedes/Ferrari engine teams. Quite weird that they are running around saying they have most tokens to spend when in reality Ferrari made quantum leap with 2 more. They do seem to have problems with the budget that Ferrari doesn't have so there is that...but this is just crazy how far behind they are.

[ecapox]

I doubt that they are going for a one stop strategy as well. I was just saying that, based on the testing laps with the soft ~20+ and based on track witnesses they still looked good, it would be feasible.

I do think that if they put Kimi on a one stop, what does he have to loose? It will be tough to do, but with the hiring of the new strategy guy, <insert name here>, he may be the one that has the final call.

We shall see, at 3:00am my time.....

[ferkan]

I think Ferrari is bound for OOP or OPO. Merc on the other hand might find it hard to do the same so probably OPP. Depending on the start Ferrari have the chance to push Merc in "degradation" territory when fuel is full, but I reckon Hamilton will take it in the end.

[f1316]

Yeah, point is, if they split the strategy with kimi they give Mercedes another headache. So starting 6th, with the possibility of being caught in traffic, seems worth a go from the team's perspective if they think they can even get close.

[Juzh]

Rosberg said soft is not a good race tire this year apparently.

[analyst]

To enter the discussion on Engines. I ran some analyses on Max Speeds in km/h in the different sections in the qualifications for Shanghai and splitted those per constructor.

For the losers: Renault is failing to pick up pace since the last race. RB didn't come a lot closer and Toro Rosso lost quite some pace to Williams. Also McLaren can not get the Honda running well. Gap to Williams is increasing.

Big Winners are Sauber and Mercedes in terms of pure pace.

Ofcourse top speed isn't everything, but it is a clear reflection of engine power the teams are getting from the engines.

Reading the data myself I am surprised as quite some positive press was written on Renault improvements; this just didn't happen in terms of speed. Sauber did some amazing stuff compared to Malaysia. And Manor coming from nowhere seem to get their engine under control.

Table with Max Speeds / Constructor / Race in qualification.

[PlatinumZealot]

The Ferrari engine looks almost as powerful.

[Juzh]

The Ferrari engine looks almost as powerful.

Not measured on any speed traps, but Vettel did in fact clock 329 kmh on the start/finish straight. Higher than lotus/merc/williams. Sauber only at 320.

[dans79]

the speed trap has no bearing on power, because it doesn't take the amount of downforce on the car into account.

[mrluke]

the speed trap has no bearing on power, because it doesn't take the amount of downforce on the car into account.

"No bearing" isn't exactly true is it.

[Moose]

the speed trap has no bearing on power, because it doesn't take the amount of downforce on the car into account.

"No bearing" isn't exactly true is it.

Not exactly true, but it's close enough that it might as well be. The coefficient of drag the cars are running has a much greater effect on the car's top speed than the engine power, as the level of drag squares with the speed.