McLaren missed out on one-two in final sector

31 comments on “McLaren missed out on one-two in final sector”

1. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   15th October 2011, 14:07

   Its clear both McLarens are really fast here and Red Bull less so. That wing allowing more use of DRS in qualifying seems to have been just the thing to get the cars on the front row.

   Lets see what everyone will be up to in the race though.
   1. 

      raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
      15th October 2011, 21:32

      Actually it seems that the DRS wing can be used less because it’s so powerful. In Suzuka qualifying the McLarens were the only team not to use it while HRT could use it. Basic logic would then dictate that this means McLaren with DRS open has less downforce than HRT with DRS open.
2. 

   Ady (@ady)
   15th October 2011, 14:08

   I think that this is an another example of why Button doesn’t perform that well in qualifying. You could say that hitting the rev limiter was an oversight, however you could also see it as preferring a setup more appropriate for the race.

   Lower gear ratios will help acceleration, and on a full tank or when DRS is unavailable hitting the rev limiter would be less likely.
   1. 

      Bjust
      15th October 2011, 14:14

      Except the fact that Button actually has top speed in the McLaren cars.
      1. 

         bananarama (@bananarama)
         15th October 2011, 14:33

         How can he be 0.1km/h faster but hit the limiter while Hamilton does not. Or did both McLarens do that just Hamilton got the run from the last corners to the finish line better!? Quite weird.
         1. 

            bananarama (@bananarama)
            15th October 2011, 14:40

            Of course I can think of reasons how that could happen but still its a bit weird.
         2. 

            raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
            15th October 2011, 14:40

            I don’t think he hit the limiter in terms of top speed. He shifted gears too late.
            1. 

               Ady (@ady)
               15th October 2011, 15:29

               It does seem strange to hit the limiter at the apex of a corner, so you are probably correct.
            2. 

               raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
               15th October 2011, 15:31

               @Ady Yep – it may seem trivial but when you’re trying to shift constantly as close as you can to 18,000 without going over 18,000; you’re looking at hundredths and thousandths of seconds for the perfect time to shift gears. Not easy.
3. 

   BasCB (@bascb)
   15th October 2011, 14:11

   One thing I was wondering about, was Perez. He stayed in for a really long time and then did two fast-ish laps, with the first a bit quicker than the last. So was he on the soft tyres there?
4. 

   John H (@john-h)
   15th October 2011, 14:40

   Looks like the Glock vs D’Ambrosio order has been restored then.

   That first sector by Alonso was awful, must have been a mistake. Seems like he clawed some of it back in 2 & 3 but it wasn’t enough.
5. 

   N
   15th October 2011, 15:03

   You could see all weekend that Jenson was 3-4 tenths down on Hamilton in the last sector. He needed to find that before they could have a 1-2.

   The last part of the track is very twisty/technical though, thats where driver skills come under greater scrutiny
6. 

   Fixy (@)
   15th October 2011, 15:14

   Astonishing straight line speed by the STRs! Nearly 4 kp/h faster than the super fast Mercedes!
   1. 

      John H (@john-h)
      15th October 2011, 16:51

      They’re just running less wing angle probably.
   2. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      15th October 2011, 21:51

      @fixy They do usually end up being one of the fastest cars out there.
7. 

   weebbt
   15th October 2011, 16:12

   9 Paul di Resta Force India 1’38.549 1’38.254 (-0.295)
   10 Adrian Sutil Force India 1’38.789 1’38.219 (-0.570)

   why is paul infront of adrain sutil ?
   1. 

      markopoloman (@markopoloman)
      15th October 2011, 16:28

      Paul did a lap in Q3 and Adrian didn’t leave the pits.
8. 

   verstappen (@verstappen)
   15th October 2011, 19:11

   I was wondering after I saw Rosberg got out of the car, is it possible that you alter your set up during Q3, to be more suitable for race conditions?
   Then, you don’t drive and your car goes to parc fermé.

   And what about all the non-drivers this year, or all the only-outlap-drivers?
   Could it be that they, apart from saving tyres, also set up their car beter for both qualifying (more extreme) and the race (during the session in which they don’t, or almost don’t drive)?
   1. 

      Renner (@renner)
      15th October 2011, 19:16

      I think as soon as Qualifying begins the car is under parc fermé
      1. 

         Renner (@renner)
         15th October 2011, 20:55

         Sporting Regulations:
         34.1 Each car will be deemed to be in parc fermé from the time at which it leaves the pit lane for the first time
         during qualifying practice until the start of the race
9. 

   Oliver
   15th October 2011, 19:23

   It is great to see Mclaren has finally found speed when the championship is over.
   Let us hope they can carry this momentum into the new season and also soft out their strategy misfires.
10. 

    Carl Craven
    15th October 2011, 19:41

    Mclaren’s race and I tip Button for the win if Vettel does not take him out off the start line.
    1. 

       KeeleyObsessed (@keeleyobsessed)
       15th October 2011, 19:47

       Why would Vettel take Button out at the start? At what point during this entire season (and indeed the last 18 months) has Vettel looked like he’d take anyone out at any point during the race?
       1. 

          matt90 (@matt90)
          15th October 2011, 20:34

          Not this year hugely, but in the last 18 months there was Webber in Turkey and Button in Spa. But I assume he’s talking about last week where that defending at the start was a bit aggressive.
          1. 

             KeeleyObsessed (@keeleyobsessed)
             19th October 2011, 8:28

             Vettel did not cause either of those collisions. Granted he wasn’t entirely innocent, but he didn’t deliberately take out anyone.

             The Spa incident was just cause he had his wheels on the wet part of the track while he had dry tyres on, he couldn’t have done much else.

             The Webber one, they were both at fault, Webber didn’t give Vettel any room..

             Japan this year? Have a look, he made one move, Button didn’t touch the grass, it was a perfect defensive move yet people still slate him for it, why?
       2. 

          @HoHum (@hohum)
          16th October 2011, 5:30

          In the last two years Vettel has pushed off or banged wheels with any driver that challenged for the first corner, last year it was mostly MW this year mostly nobody.
11. 

    BBQ2
    15th October 2011, 21:05

    I got excited when I saw Vettel take a long look at the MP4-26 after the quali :-) . Then I knew RBR is in big trouble for the reminder of the season!!

    To buttress that, their faster tyres earlier taken was still slower than both McLaren on the harder tyres. Those were very telling of their situation atm.
    1. 

       raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
       15th October 2011, 21:19

       Vettel takes a look at other cars at almost all races this year. It’s not a curious glance; Adrian would have sent him on a mission to look at something specific that they have targeted for copying.

       I think you’ll find that Q1 and Q2 didn’t see the Bulls pushing. They were just driving to target times to get through to the next session.

       I wouldnt say they’re in trouble yet. Vettel only lost pole by around 2 tenths after getting slightly held up by a Force India
       1. 

          AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
          15th October 2011, 22:03

          @raymondu999 Agreed. It would be naive to think RBR have anything at all to worry about. Even if they do spend this part of the season on the backfoot, they have all but tied up the Constructors and could use the remaining sessions to test out 2012 aero.
          1. 

             raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
             15th October 2011, 22:14

             I don’t think they care much about the results anymore. Sure they want to win; and they would LOVE to win the last 4 races; but I think it’s inconsequential to them.

             Given that it’s a German at the helm; who are renowned for their clinical efficiency; I have a very sneaky suspicion that this tyre strategy is Vettel’s doing.

             As Autosport wrote in a piece about Vettel working very closely with Pirelli engineers over the winter, “Vettel’s title defense began days after he won his title,” referring to the Abu Dhabi tyre tests.

             I think that Vettel is going on a tangential strategy with a purpose. They will have strategy information that other teams don’t have. When have we seen a team that has dared to go option-prime-prime-prime? Using the prime as the “primary” race tyre? I’m willing to bet that this is a strategy simulation exercise for them.
    2. 

       Mads (@mads)
       15th October 2011, 23:03

       To buttress that, their faster tyres earlier taken was still slower than both McLaren on the harder tyres. Those were very telling of their situation atm.

       Christian Horner said in an interview afterwards that they were not going for it, they were just driving for a target lap time.
       One that was fast enough to get them to Q2 without taking too much out of the tyres, so they could reuse them for Q2.

       If RB’s pace on the option in Q1 were real pace, they would be somewhere like 1.5-2 seconds off the pace of McLaren in Q3, but that didn’t happen.

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