Back to Vettel, it surprises me that a guy with his attention to detail didn't master the new driving style of these cars on the simulator prior to the season starting. This is the same guy who went to Pirelli to check the new tyres out before they came in, yet this time he didn't bother practicing a new style? Sounds like he didn't think Ricciardo would be a threat.
You could sit in a simulator until you are blue in the face, but It's not going to give you any kind of physical feedback like a real car.
I'm in agreement, they program a simulator to work as they expect the car to work, how will it help him if the reason he seems to be struggling is that certain parts of the car aren't doing what they're supposed to do properly yet. I'm more of the opinion that it's the lack of any meaningful testing in the pre season tests that has him on the back foot, and Ricciardo didn't get bumped up to the parent team just to fill a seat. (I've heard Ricciardo referred to as a 'rookie' by Hamelots, not here of course, but it does well to remember that some people make the assumption all Hamilton fans are Hamelots, great care should be taken when dealing with people who have been in contact with unfortuantes that have contracted Hamililitytis.)
It might be possible to program the simulator based on the telemetry from the car, rather than the theoretical performance they're expecting. In which case you might be able to get the feeling he's experiencing in the real car, so he can try to adapt. Not the easiest though I suspect.
But even then each race they are trying to improve the software so it's 'annoying' characteristics will be changing from race to race until they can get the mappings right. (If that's what it is)
Ricciardo might of been preparing for the new era simulator wise for months where Seb was still trying to find the maximum out of the old cars so to get the 9 win streak, when Ricciardo was picked as Webbers replacement I wouldn't be surprised if he was preparing early than Seb as he wasn't fighting for the title. I'm truly hearing rumours that both Lewis and Nico for example were simulator testing these new cars since mid season last year to be prepared for any setup problems. They were not lying when they said 2013 meant nothing to them and 2014 was the focus, the more they race the more and more you can see in scale of how much they went to prepare for this. They are easily half a season ahead of anybody else in driver and engineer development. The only other logical reason other than the chassis (maybe) being damaged is that the simulator before pre season was giving false feedback and both drivers have been lead down the wrong street? Maybe Vettel only focused on the simulator when the Renault power unit is actually working 100% properly rather than if it was partially buggered? I mean what's the point training for something that will pass in a few months and be the norm for years to come for you? Vettel is the kind of driver that will always try and maximise the season and isn't afraid to sacrifice a few early races if it means he has the chance to win 10 others. Simulators can only do so much, but it has to be accurate to be of any use to the drivers.
Fair point, you'd end up getting better at driving the set-up you're trying to improve upon, rather than the one you want. Alternatively I suppose if you can predict the feel you'd be expecting from the proper mapping (even if you can't quite get the mapping right) based upon the rear downforce being generated, regulations , etc, then perhaps it might be a start. I'm probably hugely oversimplifying this though and it still sounds complicated! Will Buxton has written some thoughts on Vettel and Raikonnen's issues: http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/styling-it-out/
Mark Hughes did a good article on Vettels issues on Sky Sports saying that it's not really about the EBD just being gone and thats it, it's much bigger and more complicated than that and that it's too easy to point at the EBD being gone. He highlighted that the whole dynamic of the car has changed completely and you can't use the last era as a reference point for a reason of a lack of form or why he dominated. All you are really getting now are just armchair "professionals" saying the same paragraph "well its the EBD, it's gone now so that's it really" it's like they don't even bother to report that it might be something else. I mean I'm no driving expert, but when you hear Horner and Helmut say "he's struggling under braking", Vettel saying the problem can't really be solved by him as "its more in the hands of the engineers" rather than him now and F1 "got a bit complicated". Then if you actually read a bit that the regulations have changed to brake by wire systems, a "software to control how the car collects energy under braking which shuts off suddenly when it collects enough, but the software shouldn't effect the drivers feel..." and if it doesn't work properly in every corner, you are very likely to be f**ked in short. I mean it's obvious from one of the legtimate articles that look into engineering properly of brake by wire systems and have experts in F1 tell them the brake by wire "is probably the biggest issue the teams and drivers will face in 2014 and mostly the Renault teams" as they did fk all testing etc... For me it's a sad story when you have to do the digging yourself, ok I might be wrong but for me this is 2+2=4 and the media are just side jumping on the theory that Vettel will struggle with no EBD which after reading in my opinion the most solid facts around in what's happening with Vettel. I have no idea how Daniel is coping so well, maybe he is a lighter braker or something or the setup he has is already perfect enough for him, I don't know, but I'm becoming more and more convinced its the brake by wire upsetting Vettel. I haven't been this insistent on a subject since flag gate at Brazil 2012!
I think that trying to pick one thing that has thrown Vettel off his game may be not the way to look at it... it's possibly a number of factors contributing to it. Not only are there technical aspects that could be contributing factors, he also recently became a father. Could it be possible that there is presently a shift in his priorities, if not only temporarily?
ok..now suppose he gets a new chassis, spend dozens of hours more in the simulator and the engine is totally beefed up – yet he is getting the same results..Then What? You see, once he gets the new chassis and his performance doesnt improve then we could assume it is not the car... I think he just needs to change his style of driving a bit to be at once with the car and his results will improve. Just my opinion.
There's no doubt his driving style will have to change if he wants to get the maximum out of these cars. It should be pointed out he is no the only one who is struggling, but it's just more apparent with him becuase of what he has acheived over the last few years and also shown up even more by having a team-mate who is much more competitive than Webber ever was, though again was this down to Webber not being able to adapt to the previous regs as well as Vettel as before full blown diffusers and faancy exhausts, Webber was always much closer to Vettel. Only after the end of 2010 did he truly get his ass handed to him on a plate by Vettel.
Remember back in 2011 when me, ASC and Miggins had this little discussion about Sebs form dipping slightly at Nurburgring with the introduction of a new front wing which was then changed back to the older slower model for Vettel during FP3 Hungary in which his form went back to normal? Webber did seem to prefer the newer and "better" wing over the older and slower version, but Vettel was faster with the older version and didn't touch the newer one until Singapore-Japan when RBR introduced a more refined version and he got used to it. http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2011/859/890.html That didn't have anything to do with the EBD being cut off in proportion mid season, his form in qualifying was the same and on target for the win at Silverstone. We just suspected Vettel is sensitive to even the smallest change anywhere in his driving style front or back. In China 2012 remember when Vettel refused to use the tunnel-floor and opted for the far more simple stock model and zero EBD effect because the diffuser kept on sealing and vanishing at various points while under braking? I think he said he just wanted the confidence under braking and stability during cornering more than looking for the lap time as I guess he believes he can get more out of himself and the car if he gets it how he likes it and he's very picky and that tyre wear was more important back then. So I don't think it has everything to do with the EBD as front wings have been reduced as well, but it could be that Vettel is very, very sensitive to any car changes maybe?
He seems to be less sensitive than Kimi and Button with changes on the plus though. He can still do a decent qualifying and a race where the other 2 might fall out of the points if they don't like the handling of the car, if his car is actually working though (Australia and Bahrain). I don't think it's a coincidence that he seems to eventually find the permanent setup he wants and then goes forward with it step by step and improving it in his own time. Maybe other drivers don't actually register these changes and can carry on while be left in a loop wondering what the problem is if they're still slow?
Did he do the post Bahrain GP test, or was the another one when he got in bugger all running becuase of reliability issues? It would have hurt him a lot if he lost further opporunity to sort the set-up.
Nah, he didn't do either day of the Bahrain test, although I have no idea why. If he's struggling with these changes, ideally he'd want as much testing time in the car as possible.
Vettel was in the simulator when Daniel was testing in Bahrain, he must be training for when the car is 100% ready or trying to understand and reduce any negative feedback, maybe both. The previous times he was in the car it just kept breaking down and the time was pointless being there. Daniel might do 60-90 odds laps in 1 day, but Vettel could do about 300 without the fear of it breaking down then times that over 3 days as Ricciardo comes back to the UK and recovers from jet lag. Seb could of done 400-500 simulator laps thanks to the data collected by Daniel in Bahrain.
But what's the point of using the simulator if it doesn't recreate the issues that Seb is having on the track? Surely would have been better for Seb to potter around the track?
