I think its an engine mode used to maximise the blown diffuser, it must strain the engine to such an extent that they cannot use it during the race at risk of a DNF. McLaren have a better race car, though overtaking in Valencia is impossible so once again qualifying is important. Though the Bulls can always be pipped during pit stops as Button did in Monaco. It will be very interesting as to what happends when the off throttle limit is capped at 10%.
Conversely you could ask what McLaren are doing in the races. They seem to be quick at all stages of the grand prix, and in particular, they seem a lot faster than Red Bull and Ferrari towards the end of the race. One theory could be that they're less dependent on their floor to generate downforce, therefore the increasing ride height (as a result of decreasing fuel load) has less of an effect on them. But this would make them fast in qualifying. Another theory is that they're able to adjust the ride height during pitstops. Just putting it out there.
My previous tip on pre-season McL working on 'unusual' exhaust routes was true. Now I am suggesting they are working on lots of floor possibilities. Just putting it out there.
I'm not sure it strains the engine, Matt. I think they probably do use it during the race but with 150kg of fuel onboard anyway, carrying enough fuel to allow extensive use of off-throttle blowing could compromise their race pace. I don't think overtaking will be impossible in Valencia this year. There's a double DRS zone and the tyres will still have a big effect on strategy.
hmm, sounds bitter to me "an ordinary driver who is quite bad at overtaking". Really? what proof do you have on that and who do you consider a great overtaker?
Basil said that's not what the thread is about, Miggins. Besides, you know perfectly well that Hamilton is the most successful overtaker in terms of clean passes of all the current drivers, notwithstanding his recent errors. You also know that Vettel's rarely been in a position to be tested, but drives like Brazil in 2009 belie the common accusation that he can't overtake.
A very light car on brand new tyres will squeeze more performance out of the aero package, of which RBR is clearly the best. And maybe because they know they will get to Q3 easily (if KERS is working) they have no need to pointlessly overstress the engine before going for their pole lap, which could cause problems with their engine allocation come the end of the season.
Did not Horner once say that the Red Bulls race pace is potentially the same as the quali pace, but due to the extreme tyre wear in a grand prix they cant push the RB7 to its full race capabilities due to the tyres reaching the cliff, where as in quali they can push the RB7 to its full potential due to only doing a few laps as compared to a race. This says to me that Vettel at stages in a race is driving the RB7 well within the cars capabilities to prevent tyre burn out. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/49417.html
- Unless it's McLaren and Alonso has said "It's not fair!", thus presenting an opportunity for the vindictive settling of an old scoreâ¦
Good point, Slayer, and welcome to the forum. That does imply, however, that the MP4-26, while lacking absolute pace compared to the RB7, can maintain tyre performance at a higher speed than the Red Bull car. It explains why the Red Bull is slower during the race but it doesn't explain why it's so much faster during qualifying. I thought Ron Dennis invited Carlos Gracia in to ensure Alonso was being treated equally, as a means to shut Alonso up.
Hi genj, thanks for the welcome I've just left another forum where the mods seem to dislike any topic regards Lewis Hamilton. I feel the reason why the Red Bull driven by Vettel is so much quicker in quali is that he can blitz a set of soft or super soft with the RB7 at maximum pace due to the tyres not wearing because they will be only doing a few laps for the pole shoot out, compared to the same tyres trying to do 20 laps in a race with tyre management having to come into play.
This is all within the context of F1, and not just any old driver in any old racing car. I've just never thought that Vettel was that good. I don't have to back it up to be honest. It's clear that the Red Bull has been top of the tree for two seasons now, and even Jaques Villeneuve can be world champ in a dominant car. I think at least half the grid would be able to do what Vettel is doing if they were sat in the Red Bull. Of course this is all my opinion, but I do have a right to express it. If I was saying that Vettel is rubbish or atrocious or a terrible teutonic twat then I might be being bitter. Saying he's ordinary (within the context of F1) is really not so bad. I recognise that there are people who feel emotionally attached to him or rate him better than others, but again, that is their opinion, and I certainly wouldn't try to stop them having it. As far as who is a great overtaker goes, I would go for Senna, Mansell and Villeneuve (the good one). It is ok to like and not to like certain drivers, and this isn't the place to try and be unbiased as if you are some sort of hack.
Hahaha! Basil: I would have included a few more drivers in such a sentence but your reference to Villeneuve is an absolute classic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh_OyIjjBNA 4:40 Looks alright to me. Maybe if someone had asked you, cosicave, you could have given your opinion so that everyone can laugh at it.
Basil, My first post in this thread was simply a theory that has no evidence to support it. In other words, my suspicions are about as valid as the BBC's when they banned my first 606 account for being EL_NANDO. I do still believe that Red Bull have some sort of superior overrun system, but I suspect Red Bull might be doing something else with the exhausts which gives them an advantage on the first lap of a stint (whether that be qualifying, or the first lap of race/ safety car restart). We know the importance of heating the tyres to optimal working temperature - for example, Felipe Massa had tyre problems last year, which made his gap to Alonso in qualifying huge. As we know, the earlier you can get the tyres heated to optimum temperature, the better. If it takes 2 hot laps to heat the tyres sufficiently, you've already lost the best available grip from the tyres. Today I read this article in which a Pirelli source says that the Red Bull exhausts are too close to the tyres. With all the hot gas blowing, it's bound to play a role in heating up the rear tyres, and would play an even bigger role if the overrun system is superior to rivals. Could it be that Red Bull's exhaust placement allow them to heat up the tyres much faster than other teams, explaining how Vettel can always pull away on the first lap of the race, and also in qualifying? Whatever the real reason for Red Bull's unbelievable pace, I remain convinced that the exhausts (in some way) play a huge role in Red Bull's advantage. The way Red Bull have been trying to stop the FIA banning it suggests that they are going to lose out big time when we get to Silverstone.
This is probably a little far-fetched, but is there anything to stop the teams having 2 sets of exhaust exits? One set the blow the exhaust gases through the diffuser, and a second set which aims them at the tyres? This would mean the exhaust gases could be used to heat the tyres on outlaps, safety car in laps, and on the parade lap, to get the tyres to full temperature, and then change to using the exits to blow the diffuser from the moment they start racing (or trying a quali lap)? Would a system like this work, or is it against the regulations?
