Red Bull have 10kph speed deficit on straights (Practice one analysis)

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High straight-line speeds helped McLaren and Renault to the fastest times in first practice at Korea.

Sebastian Vettel used the Red Bull’s superior downforce to go quickest in the second half of the lap at Korea but a lack of straight line speed appeared to be their vulnerability in first practice.

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Tick/untick drivers’ names to show their laps, click and drag to zoom

It’s advisable not to read too much into the lap times from the first session at a new track which was both slippery and rapidly-evolving.

But there are a few headline numbers and likely performance indicators for the rest of the weekend to keep an eye on.

McLaren and Renault topped the times and were quickest on the long straight leading to turn three.

Renault’s F-duct, introduced at Spa, appears to be a particularly efficient solution – Robert Kubica was fastest through the speed trap at 316.6kph with the two McLarens and his team mate not far behind.

Red Bull were giving away almost 10kph through the speed trap which is comparable to what we saw from them at tracks like Montreal. If they’re concerned about the disadvantage that could put them at on the first lap of the race they may choose to reduce their downforce levels.

That would lessen their advantage in the twisty second and third sectors. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest times of the session in those sectors – unfortunately for him they account for less than half the total lap time.

Lewis Hamilton was four-tenths of a second faster than anyone in the first sector which accounts for why his ‘ultimate lap’ is almost half a second quicker than anyone else’s.

But the improving grip levels at the track may further alter the picture. As the track cleans up, it may well mean more time can be found in the corners than on the straights. That’s certainly what Red Bull will be hoping for.

And, as at Suzuka, Ferrari don’t appear to have set representative lap times in the first practice session.

CarDriverCarBest lapGapLapAt timeLaps
12Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’40.887149215
211Robert KubicaRenault1’40.9680.081179218
34Nico RosbergMercedes1’41.1520.265208521
45Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’41.3710.484179218
51Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’41.9401.053149316
63Michael SchumacherMercedes1’42.0221.135249325
76Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’42.2021.315228723
822Nick HeidfeldSauber-Ferrari1’42.2931.406178818
910Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth1’42.6781.791168621
109Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’42.8831.996177623
1112Vitaly PetrovRenault1’42.8962.009199222
127Felipe MassaFerrari1’43.0542.167244825
1323Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’43.3092.422198920
1414Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’43.6022.715159118
158Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’43.9283.041157521
1616Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’43.9403.053228423
1715Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes1’44.8874.000209321
1817Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’45.1414.254229326
1924Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’45.5884.701199220
2025Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1’46.6135.726168717
2119Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’47.1156.228189022
2220Sakon YamamotoHRT-Cosworth1’50.3479.460147529
2321Bruno SennaHRT-Cosworth1’50.8219.934146714
2418Jarno TrulliLotus-Cosworth1’51.70110.81495711

Ultimate laps

An ultimate lap is a driver’s best three sector times added together.

CarDriverCarUltimate lapGapDeficit to best
12Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’40.5240.363
211Robert KubicaRenault1’40.9680.4440.000
34Nico RosbergMercedes1’41.1520.6280.000
45Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’41.3710.8470.000
53Michael SchumacherMercedes1’41.5230.9990.499
61Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’41.7721.2480.168
76Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’42.0791.5550.123
822Nick HeidfeldSauber-Ferrari1’42.2931.7690.000
912Vitaly PetrovRenault1’42.6312.1070.265
1010Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth1’42.6782.1540.000
117Felipe MassaFerrari1’42.7852.2610.269
129Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’42.8252.3010.058
138Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’43.0652.5410.863
1423Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’43.2832.7590.026
1514Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’43.5092.9850.093
1616Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’43.5232.9990.417
1715Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes1’44.4793.9550.408
1817Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’44.9114.3870.230
1924Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’45.5885.0640.000
2019Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’46.5125.9880.603
2125Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1’46.6136.0890.000
2220Sakon YamamotoHRT-Cosworth1’49.9249.4000.423
2321Bruno SennaHRT-Cosworth1’50.80610.2820.015
2418Jarno TrulliLotus-Cosworth1’51.70111.1770.000

2010 Korean Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
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    18 comments on “Red Bull have 10kph speed deficit on straights (Practice one analysis)”

    1. Good signs for a close weekend with Hamilton and Kubica looking fast.

      It will be very interesting to see some more of Ferrari’s hand this afternoon – I think they should be right up there if not fastest.

    2. So i terms of time, what does 10kph represent on the straight? How many tenths is lost?

      1. Hamilton was 1.1 seconds faster than the Red Bulls in the first sector which is half of the start straight and the all next two plus turns 4,5 and 6.

        1. thanks mate, thats a huge gap

    3. wat is funny is the fact that both RBR n Renault use the same engine. And RBR always blamed the engine for having shorter revvs for their loss in top speed. And now the same Renault powered Renault is almost as fast as the Mclaren!

      1. Downforce comes at a cost. And nobody believes the Renault engine excuse by now.

    4. yea i been wondering about that, same engines and not as fast on the str8’s as Renault. u know ferrari run a different program than the other top 2 teams, in the afternoon ferrari is gonna come alive and be fastest.

    5. Williams were performing well too….
      I thinks its gonna be awesome…..and as i said according to me whoever wins this race deserves the title….

    6. Would be nice to see Kubica on the podium with the McLaren boys after this weekend – that would tighten the championship back up once again.

    7. With that top speed advantage on the straights I think there’s really a decent chance we could see Kubica on the podium if his team can tighten the wheel nuts.

    8. It would be interesting to see how far Ferrari push their cars during practice with no spare engines.

      1. I think they can use old engines in practices.

    9. CarsVsChildren
      22nd October 2010, 6:10

      Surely as the track grips up the red bulls will streak ahead.

      Staightline speed won’t change so much over the weekend, however the speed the RB will carry around the second and third corners “should” increase greatly.

      I think the red bulls are going to streak away on Saturday, so long as it doesn’t rain.

      1. Saturday might still be the Red Bull day of the week, but with such a huge deficit in the only overtaking friendly S1, I just cannot see them holding back the Mclarens and Ferraris on raceday.

    10. It’s a testament to Adria Newey’s design ability that Red Bull are 10kp/h slower than everyone else on one of the longest straights in the championship, yet their drivers are still topping the time sheets. The RB6 must be absolutely phenomenal through S2 and S3.

      But we already knew that.

      1. It won’t help the RBRs that much if they get overtaken at the end of the long straight in S1 and then they can’t overtake in S2-S3 where they are faster. Vettel might do a Vettel, though.

    11. CarsVsChildren
      22nd October 2010, 12:23

      @hyoko

      you may very well be right, but surely having the better handling car will mean less stress on the tyres, therefore the chance to overtake later in the race.

      Plus as a Webber fan I wouldn’t be terribly upset if Vettel drove into Alonso.

    12. It seems lap times improves… what can we expect from race? :)

    Comments are closed.