2020 Sakhir Grand Prix - Sakhir, Dec 04 - 06

[djones]

3rd in qual.

DNF in the race.

[PlatinumZealot]

If he can hold off Max i would be very impressed.

[SiLo]

People seem to forget how bad Red Bull were in Monza, which is closest to this track.

[bosyber]

Yeah, it's still possible Red Bull find a better setup than in Monza, but with the asphalt being very rough, I'd say they all need enough downforce to make sure the tyres can last through still rather fast corners, so they may well be threatened by, for example, the renaults.

[NathanOlder]

People seem to forget how bad Red Bull were in Monza, which is closest to this track.

Yeah I said this earlier. Max will surely have to worry about the Mclarens and Perez more than look towards the Merc's.

2 & 2 is my prediction.

[Scorpaguy]

1st in quali...DNF in race.

[Mogster]

George needs to avoid another one of his horrific starts. Last Sunday was truly awful.

[dans79]

If he can hold off Max i would be very impressed.

Given the layout, I think this is going to be like Monza. Low drag, Maximum Power, and braking, so i think he will do ok.

[Zynerji]

I still think its going to come down to the pre-set gear ratios with these high-speed, but not top gear, corners...

The torque is going to make all the difference during the fast direction change.

[Mogster]

I still think its going to come down to the pre-set gear ratios with these high-speed, but not top gear, corners...

The torque is going to make all the difference during the fast direction change.

Possibly. Especially as the teams didn’t choose the ratios with this venue in mind.

[ENGINE TUNER]

I still think its going to come down to the pre-set gear ratios with these high-speed, but not top gear, corners...

The torque is going to make all the difference during the fast direction change.

Nope, with 8 forward gears and the wide power range and the torque fill from the mguk, it is a non issue. These cars are wheelspin limited because of the high wheel torques that are able to be generated by the ice and the mguk.

Victory on this track will all be down to aero efficiency/drag, and Merc will dominate as they did in Monza.

[ENGINE TUNER]

George needs to avoid another one of his horrific starts. Last Sunday was truly awful.

Yes, it seems his starts are the worst part of his skillset.

[Zynerji]

I still think its going to come down to the pre-set gear ratios with these high-speed, but not top gear, corners...

The torque is going to make all the difference during the fast direction change.

Possibly. Especially as the teams didn’t choose the ratios with this venue in mind.

My point exactly. The launch leaving these 5th/6th gear corners is going to be a huge factor in overall lap times...

[Juzh]

I still think its going to come down to the pre-set gear ratios with these high-speed, but not top gear, corners...

The torque is going to make all the difference during the fast direction change.

There's no super long straights monza style that require extra long gear ratios or anything like that. If anything top speed will be up only by about 5-8 kmh from the regular track, down to teams running lower wing angles. This difference will mean nothing overall. Only at 350+ would it MAYBE start to have an effect, but no one will be getting close to that number. Quali top speed last weekend were in the 320-325 range, race DRS trains 330-335 kmh.

Bottom line is teams know how to calculate best possible gear ratios.

[Zynerji]

I still think its going to come down to the pre-set gear ratios with these high-speed, but not top gear, corners...

The torque is going to make all the difference during the fast direction change.

There's no super long straights monza style that require extra long gear ratios or anything like that. If anything top speed will be up only by about 5-8 kmh from the regular track, down to teams running lower wing angles. This difference will mean nothing overall. Only at 350+ would it MAYBE start to have an effect, but no one will be getting close to that number. Quali top speed last weekend were in the 320-325 range, race DRS trains 330-335 kmh.

Bottom line is teams know how to calculate best possible gear ratios.

I understand that they can calculate, but I also know this track was not a consideration when they calculated.

The cars bog slightly during the 5th/6th gear cornering... A slightly different gearing between teams could be a big time difference.

I'm just speculating from previous SIM experience on this layout (rFactor 2012ish). The gearing was worth a lot.

We find out, for sure, soon enough!