Qualifying pace vs Race Pace

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zenvision
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Joined: 12 Sep 2006, 19:06
Location: Malta

Qualifying pace vs Race Pace

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How come some teams are better than others (excluding fuel and possibly tyres)? Couldn't find any possible reason in my very green mind!
"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build good engines" Enzo Ferrari

dumrick
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Joined: 19 Jan 2004, 13:36
Location: Portugal

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You can't exclude tyres! Tyres and balance under different fuel loads are the factors that determine diverse rankings between qualy and race paces. The penalty for heavier fuel loads comes from the sensitivity to the CG movements as a result of full tanks.

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zenvision
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Joined: 12 Sep 2006, 19:06
Location: Malta

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So how specifically a team can improve the qualifying pace as I've read Williams are trying to do so, and will it affect the race pace then?
"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build good engines" Enzo Ferrari

Jersey Tom
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Joined: 29 May 2006, 20:49
Location: Huntersville, NC

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Tire compound, whether or not they've been scrubbed in before hand, overall car quality, driver consistency, setup and how much tuning time, race strategy (heavy or light fuel).. all tie into both qualifying and race pace.

They're all huge influences with racing in the 2000s. Say in qualifying the difference between P1 and P2 is 0.150 s out of an ~85 second course. Thats what, 0.17%. Could be difference between 26 psi hot pressure and 26.05 psi in the tires, or any little little tuning thing.
Grip is a four letter word. All opinions are my own and not those of current or previous employers.

dumrick
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Joined: 19 Jan 2004, 13:36
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zenvision wrote:So how specifically a team can improve the qualifying pace as I've read Williams are trying to do so, and will it affect the race pace then?
There can be some setup work designed, e.g., to specifically get the most out of tyres in a single lap or in a short stint (like Q3). Example: if the tyres long getting into temperature, tyre pressures may be adjusted, suspension angles can be modified and wings "clicked down" to achieve greater slip angles and force heat in the tyres. This may not be good for race as it could generate too much degradation too soon and inconsistent stints. But, I might be wrong, but I believe that now the cars don't go to "parc fermé" after qualifying and, therefore, all specific adjustments for qualifying may be changed to revert to a better and more consistent race setup.
Another thing, CG height is higher with heavier fuel loads and this may influence the ideal suspension setup. Same goes to different tyre pressures, that vary the spring rate of the tyre itself, needing other spring rates for ideal performance.

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joseff
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Joined: 24 Sep 2002, 11:53

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IIRC top 10 cars go into parc ferme

waynes
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Joined: 23 Aug 2006, 23:23
Location: Manchester

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joseff wrote:IIRC top 10 cars go into parc ferme
they do indeed

10 cars left in Q3 start on there race fuel level

i'll be watching more intently at Malaysia qualifying to see if there is a distinct difference between qualifying and race pace

i mean - look at the Hondas at Melbourne. started low down and finished in pretty much the same position

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jaho101
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Joined: 16 Oct 2006, 07:02

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When in ferme, they can't really change anything physically except for wing angles and tyre pressure. However, they can change electronic stuff like engine maps and differentials.

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