[ 2020 ] Scuderia Alpha Tauri - Honda

[etusch]

He drove very well.

[etusch]

[Wouter]

[Wouter]

[Wouter]

Gasly: “Today was by far the best Friday since the start of the season. We were sixth this morning and fourth in the afternoon, and I must say the feeling in the car was really good! I could push and managed to put in some good laps. Unfortunately, we had a small issue with a damper at the end of the session while doing the long run, so we had to stop a bit earlier than the others, but generally speaking, we are pretty happy. The low downforce set-up that we have here in Monza works quite well, but I feel like we can still improve a bit for tomorrow. I think there will be a few surprises with the new engine mode rules, so we’ll see. It’s very tight and, especially here with the tows in Qualifying, it will be important to get it right.”

Kvyat: “It was a pretty good Friday. We worked on both short and long runs and managed to complete many laps without any issues. I think we did a good job today, even if I wasn’t entirely happy with my shorter runs. We’ll keep on working to improve further for tomorrow when it really counts.”

Jonathan Eddolls (Chief Race Engineer): https://www.scuderiaalphatauri.com/en/i ... tice-2020/

[search]

the not-quoted part is quite interesting as well:

It will be difficult to understand where everyone is because of the introduction of the latest technical directive, which refers to engine modes. We know what is best for our weekend, but we don’t know what other teams are doing on Friday. It will be a bit trickier to understand the true ranking of the field, but from all of the data we’ve gathered, we’re in the mix and we’ve got the ability to fight in the midfield.

sounds like they expect a bigger difference in the pecking order between Friday/Saturday than usual (with some teams running more or less their race mode already, and some not). Hard to say, in which direction though...

Also in the team, it could be interesting. Kvyat's engine is significantly younger than Gasly's (two races), and therefor also has suffered less. Could that mean, that he gets a higher mode for the weekend?

[Wouter]

Also in the team, it could be interesting. Kvyat's engine is significantly younger than Gasly's (two races), and therefor also has suffered less. Could that mean, that he gets a higher mode for the weekend?

Tanabe: " Our programme was slightly different to the usual one on Friday, as we worked on assessing the best engine management settings to comply with the new FIA technical directive, which requires us to use the same mode for qualifying and the race across all four of our cars."

So the answer is no.

[search]

thanks, that's a bit strange though, as it does not match with the rules communicated in advance. According to those it's possible to use different modes until they introduce engine #3

[KelsO]

Does anyone know if Gasly used a slip stream on his fast lap? He was first in top speed after his best time.

[Sieper]

Kvyat just 0.2 behind. So I think not. Or they both had it.

[Wouter]

thanks, that's a bit strange though, as it does not match with the rules communicated in advance. According to those it's possible to use different modes until they introduce engine #3

This has nothing to do with the third engine.
Honda supplies the 4 Red Bull drivers. So they must also all 4 use the same mode.
Mercedes must have their 2 Mercedes drivers drive with the same mode from the FIA. Renault must have their 2 Renault drivers drive with the same mode, Ferrari must do the same with their 2 drivers. This does not apply to their customer teams yet, that is only with the third engine.

[KelsO]

Kvyat just 0.2 behind. So I think not. Or they both had it.

Kvyat used a rather weak slipstream effect because someone from Renault (I think Ricciardo) was quite far ahead. Everyone who had the fastest speed on the straight used the slipstream effect, but I did not see Gasley's fast circle, because he showed his time later.
On the other hand, Sainz showed his best time on an empty track. It is also unknown if Norris used a slip stream on his best lap.

[search]

thanks, that's a bit strange though, as it does not match with the rules communicated in advance. According to those it's possible to use different modes until they introduce engine #3

This has nothing to do with the third engine.
Honda supplies the 4 Red Bull drivers. So they must also all 4 use the same mode.
Mercedes must have their 2 Mercedes drivers drive with the same mode from the FIA. Renault must have their 2 Renault drivers drive with the same mode, Ferrari must do the same with their 2 drivers. This does not apply to their customer teams yet, that is only with the third engine.

can you link the source for that please? I don't mean to question your statement, but AMuS reported the opposite (and usually they are well informed), that's why I'm wondering

[Sieper]

Kvyat just 0.2 behind. So I think not. Or they both had it.

Kvyat used a rather weak slipstream effect because someone from Renault (I think Ricciardo) was quite far ahead. Everyone who had the fastest speed on the straight used the slipstream effect, but I did not see Gasley's fast circle, because he showed his time later.
On the other hand, Sainz showed his best time on an empty track. It is also unknown if Norris used a slip stream on his best lap.

Norris had a lot of track evolution. He was out of running (engine related issue) for a long time and got 2 fresh sets in the last 20 minutes of FP2. Reds as last.

[_cerber1]

Norris had a lot of track evolution. He was out of running (engine related issue) for a long time and got 2 fresh sets in the last 20 minutes of FP2. Reds as last.

Monza won't give you much time because of the rubber. here you can only win on straight lines. Plus, after his fast lap, Lando stayed on for a long series of laps and had a lot of fuel in his tanks.