Can someone copy and paste the article please as quite interested to know what Gary Anderson has to say.
http://www.autosport.com/premium/fea...-than-mercedes
Thanks in advance
Can someone copy and paste the article please as quite interested to know what Gary Anderson has to say.
http://www.autosport.com/premium/fea...-than-mercedes
Thanks in advance
Ferrari was very fast in the race in Australia, but in qualifying not so much. How do you explain that? Could it be that Mercedes has the faster car over a single lap, but not over a race stint? And, if so, could that make for a great season?
Henry Davis, via email
I think Ferrari underperformed in qualifying and that things will get closer between it and Mercedes on Saturdays. It wasn't that Ferrari was faster in the race, it's that the car was able to maintain a faster pace for longer and still look after the tyres.
This is what Ferrari put so much effort into during testing in Spain. There was no over-excitement about headline times, even though Ferrari was top of the timesheets most of the two weeks. The focus was on tyre management. Melbourne, with a little help from Max Verstappen, showed that work paid off.
Watching the cars in testing at Barcelona, when Ferrari was on a long run the car stayed consistent, well-balanced and easy on the tyres. The Mercedes lost its balance, and when that happens the tyres go off much earlier.
Will this continue? Well, don't underestimate the ability of Mercedes to fight back.
Everyone says the new cars are harder to drive. From what you've seen, is that true and what does that really mean? Is it just physical or is it harder to correct if something goes wrong, and if so why is that? Does going faster in corners mean less time to save yourself if the rear goes, or are there other factors at play such as wider tyres?
Catherine Williams, via email
Physically, the cars are more demanding in that the braking and corner forces are higher. Ultimately, they will probably be around 20% higher, so the neck muscles will take a hammering, especially in qualifying on fresh tyres.
As far as the normal physical requirements are concerned, the power steering assistance will have increased, so the loads there will be similar and the braking forces will be a little higher but nothing desperate.
The faster a car is, the more focused and concentrated you need to be as a driver. Every millimetre is important when you are braking or placing the car into a corner and by going faster you are covering more metres in a second. So if the car breaks away you have less time to react before you are in the kitty litter. As Fernando Alonso puts it, you can't have a coffee break before reacting to a moment.
It is an accumulation of the extra downforce and the wider tyres that have created this. However the wider tyres are also a bit of a saviour because when the car does break away you lose a high percentage of the downforce, but the tyre grip is still there to slow the car down.
If we had high downforce levels and narrower tyres, then they would really have a problem.
Do you think we're reacting too hastily to the 'boring racing' or should we give it time given Australia is boring anyway?
Aditya Bhat, via Twitter
Yes, we should give it a little time for everyone to reach their true potential. But I'm afraid for this season the grid split, which is bigger than over the past few years, will still be there.
Unfortunately, the teams that are not as fast as the ones at the front are also the teams that are budget-limited, so they can't just go out and spend, spend, spend to get out of this situation.
The objective of the regulation changes was to make the cars look more mean and nasty, to go faster and to be more difficult to drive quickly. These objectives have been achieved, but in reality the price for this has probably been too high.
I believe the majority of enthusiasts and viewers want to see more cars racing together and not to know the results until very near the end of the race. I'm afraid these changes have done nothing to achieve this.
How different will the Chinese Grand Prix cars be update-wise? Would teams have had time to bring new upgrades and improve?
@manixmania, via Twitter
Other than any circuit-specific changes for China, the teams will have a drip feed of developments planned. There won't be anything major until around the Spanish Grand Prix next month, but every weekend there will be small additions; a Gurney flap here, a turning vane there, a flick-up somewhere else will be the order of the day.
As far as 'would they have time?', that's what the teams at the front concentrate on just as much as the car components. They put a lot of effort into reducing manufacturing times, so they are ready for this type of situation and can respond.
But before you actually get to making parts, you need to make sure you understand the problem you're trying to solve with the new components. Too many times, teams just fire ahead and before you know it you've made matters worse.
How many bhp would you put as Honda's power deficit to Mercedes? Does McLaren have any chance of being the fourth best team this year?
@hatari1611, via Twitter
We hear lots of numbers, but nobody really knows. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem, if it were a linear deficit through the usable range then 10bhp equals about one tenth of a second. So a second is 100bhp.
Some have suggested Honda is at a 180bhp deficit, but I find this difficult to believe as it is more or less what the ERS brings to the package.
I'm pretty sure Honda is losing around the 100bhp level, but only at some points during a lap. The current power units are so complicated that it's not just about the power output, it's about harvesting energy under braking and using the turbo correctly. Fail to maximise this and you don't have the battery capacity when you do need it.
Both McLaren and Honda have a lot to do if they are going to get back to the front of the midfield. To get to the very front and race with Mercedes or Ferrari, well, as David Coulthard said, they need a miracle and I don't think that will happen this year.
Based on what you've seen so far, do you see Lance Stroll scoring points?
@Lloydguy82, via Twitter
If he is to score points before mid-season, he will need help from others having problems.
But I think Stroll is talented and very capable, he simply needs to use the time to get himself up to speed without making stupid mistakes. These cars, with the extra performance, demand respect and to do that you need the miles. Sitting in the kitty litter does nobody any good.
If I were at Williams, I would want to see Stroll build his consistency and to be confident that, if he is in a points-scoring position, he will bring it home and not get over excited.
He has the talent, don't rush him.
I recently watched the Tommy Byrne film Crash and Burn, in which you appear. Do you believe that Byrne was the equal of Ayrton Senna and was he a driver motorsport let down? Or should he have changed the way he was to fit in?
David Murphy, via email
You never know who is as good as whom until they end up in competition with each other.
No doubt, Tommy was a very talented driver, but there is more to success in motorsport than that. Those things are what separates the good from the great
I don't think motorsport let him down, I think he let himself down. In the car he was as hungry as anyone, but outside of the car he never showed the same commitment that some others did. That true determination, 24 hours a day, just wasn't there and he expected others to get it sorted for him.
Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun with Tommy and he was hugely talented. But it was all just fun, and as the years went by I realised what was missing - that true hunger to succeed at all costs.
Sometimes, that means you have to eat a bit of humble pie every now and again, just as we all have to, but you need to do that while keeping a firm eye on the big picture of where you want to get to in the end.
Are you surprised at the lack of performance of Renault? They say they could be fourth by the end of the year, but weren't even able to score points in Australia.
Michael Curtis, via email
I'm not surprised Renault is where it is, but I am surprised that statement was made about being fourth by the end of the year. Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer, who suggested that, are being very optimistic.
Over the past few years, the team has been robbed of many of its good staff and it will take time to rebuild that. It has probably the smallest of the works team budgets, so can't spend its way out of trouble. That never works anyway, but it doesn't stop some teams trying.
If Renault can spend 2017 moving forward bit by bit, then by the end of the season it could be fifth or sixth best. That's not going to be easy given how competitive the midfield is, but it would put Renault in a more confident position with the design of the '18 car.
By then, it will have more experience on board, and perhaps some people that might not make stupid statements about the future.
Got a question for Gary Anderson? Send it to askgary@autosport.com, use #askgaryF1 on Twitter or look out for our posts on Facebook giving you the chance to have your question answered
Thanks
I actually believe Ferrari may be even stronger in China as it is a proper race circuit unlike Melbourne which is not. We did well in Spain testing and i think we will take what we learned from that and will be able to use that data more in China. Lets see what happens but of course id love 2 see Ferrari kick sum Merc butt even more.
As for Kimi going beyond 2017, he has alot of work to do before he can be considered imo. He needs to up his game big time, Melbourne was very poor so hopefully he comes good in the next few races or else i think theres no point keeping him.
CUT ME. CUT YOU. BOTH OUR BLOOD IS FERRARI RED!
Agreed. Melbourne is a street track and China is a race track. Kimi is "picky" when it comes to "his" car but IMO this car so far seems to be dialed in with the Mercs; it looks obvious to me that Gio might be next in line should he prove himself worthy in this race as he has the last race.
If Kimi is right behind Seb at the end of the season then he deserves a race seat for next year. However, we shall see if he even wants to continue racing.
Though Melbourne was a Merc circuit as well and we win there so if a car is good at spain, it's good everywhere so I'm not to worried about Merc and I have trust in Ferrari!
Hero's come and go, but legends never die!
Guys remember what happened in 2016??where torro rosso ran with ferrarri 2015 power unit...and later in the season renault upped their game..with the engine...my assumption is renault (red bull)had acess to its sister team..and somehow got the engine schematics of ferrarri 2015 power unit...which they used to benefit their own engine...and i think now honda is trying to do thesame with sauber...to get their hands on our 2016 power unit... does anybody feel this is a legit assumption
Even if they see the 2016 engine, unless they can reverse engineer it, it wouldn't help that much. They had access to mercedes engine through McLaren and they still suck.
Its not rocket science...engineers can figure out a thing or two from the engine...what goes where and what its supposed to do...simple ideas go a long way
Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is set to unveil a special tribute to his hero Michael Schumacher at the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend in Shanghai. The Ferrari legend took his 91st and final Formula One victory at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix and in order to highlight this major achievement, Sebastian Vettel has prepared a touching tribute in Shanghai on Sunday. The current Ferrari driver will wear a helmet emblazoned with a picture of Michael Schumacher’s former racing car.
The artwork was created by Jens Munser who worked with seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher in order to design the iconic red helmet he used at the height of his career. Sebastian will definitely hope to emulate his hero this weekend as he competes for his second win of the new season.
http://scuderiafans.com/sebastian-ve...er-chinese-gp/
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As for Kimi going beyond 2017, he has alot of work to do before he can be considered imo. He needs to up his game big time, Melbourne was very poor so hopefully he comes good in the next few races or else i think theres no point keeping him.[/QUOTE]
Last race Seb in 1st, 2 mecs, and next , Kimi. Lets try and get one of the drivers who came in after Kimi!!! Kimi needs to sabotage Seb's chances up front to show he's trying!!
I think they can get some ideas from Mercedes and Ferrari engine. They had access to McLaren's Mercedes engine, with all the data, the acceleration, fuel consumption, engine rpm, the temperature, the engine maps, the torque curve, the hp curves, and few other details. Honda is very closed minded, I dont know if they used it or not, but they should have used those details and they have the basic design of most components and the power delivery of the MGU-H and MGU-K. Its a lot of data, you can make a simulation of the engine using all that data. Then, can use that as a very good base. But I do not know why they didnt use. Maybe Honda was too cautious, or maybe they had the samurai pride and wanted to do it on their own.
Seeing an engine can help somewhat with design and how to package items... but knowing fuel consumption and power output can only be used as targets.. You still have to figure out how the engine makes those figures. Unless you can get an engine to study, you do not learn very much. I think the secret to these PU's ICE is all about the combustion, and you need to open an engine to understand that.
That was exactly what Michael said many time if I'm correct. " if the car is good in Barcelona... the car will be good everywhere!!! And Ferrari was very good and consistent in Barcelona.
I understand what people said about Merc, but I have the grates confidence that Ferrari will do good in China.
Also I think if rain comes Ferrari will be good too.
My opinion it is!!!
"Big things have small beginings"
"Perseverence is power"
That what I was saying, those are the targets, so they know exactly what is happening now. Also, they can get the exhaust temperatures, the turbine rpms, the fuel mixtures, and other data, you can have some more data to help reverse engineer.
There are combustion maps, you can use those to get an idea by the rpm, of course, not the exact design, but a real good target, real info, and they can use a CFD to see how the combustion should be. I think they did not try hard enough.
They have so much money, its a shame they dropped the ball.
I was half joking about the samurai pride, but, they still design by a committee, which is not a good way to design something, you need one guy to lead.
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