Everyone is having a terrible time in p3 so far.
To be fair this one is a bit pointless conditions wise.
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Lewis Hamilton has won the Bahrain Grand Prix after a very close battle with Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race. Verstappen finished furiously in second after having to give up first place for exceeding track limits. Bottas completed the podium for Mercedes.
If the effect is negligible it is still a fair comparison. A bigger effect than that is tyre degradation through the lap. But that can also be adjusted for somewhat. I find the ideal lap stats, while not scientific, have been fairly usable over the years. Its not like it's a new contrivance.PhillipM wrote: ↑27 Mar 2021, 00:03
This kind of analysis is pointless, because the lines from one sector affect the other, so going fast in one sector may slow you in another, and going fast at the start may kill your tyres for the final sectors because of overheating.
They haven't 'left' half a second on the table - they've been trying different lines and different strategies with how much they take out of the tyre over the lap to find the best option.
This is the key for me. They have a car handling like a dump truck yet can still go pretty fast, especially on the long runs.Schippke wrote: ↑27 Mar 2021, 14:30It is a bit eye opening watching Red Bull onboard vs. Mercedes onboard. Verstappen looks like he is on a Sunday cruise, very easy to drive and under control despite the conditions. Fast track to Lewis who is fighting the car a lot.
... and yes, fuel loads and settings and night time blah blah blah, but it is quite telling. Has to be said, if Mercedes is able to do those times with a car as twitchy as that, one has to imagine the sort of pace they potentially have when they get that car sorted out (... or when they take the fuel out).
