2012 car strengths

[raymondu999]

So 3 races in- whaT do most people think of the cars' strengths? As in Car X is suited to all circuits of type Y, etc? Last year we didn't see much of that, but for example the year before, the Red Bull was rubbish on straights, but mighty on most, if not all, corners. The 2010 McLaren could match the Red Bulls at the high speed corners and were the straight kings, but were somewhat rubbish through the slow corners, other than having a beautifully crisp turn in. Ghe 2010 Ferrari was somewhere middle of the road.

I think the Red Bull this year doesn't have a clear edge anywhere, but is one of the best in fast sweepers, as demonstrated in China Q2. The Merc we know is a straights demon, and the McLaren is quick at most tracks, with an extra emphasis on slow corners

[Tomba]

It's still hard to tell, although I believe RBR are still as weak on the straights as they have always been. It is however strange that at China so many were having the same problem, seemingly all choosing for the same, too short, 7th gear.

Toro Rosso meanwhile are adamant that China did not suit their car, and say Bahrain or Melbourne is more appropriate for them. Not sure what is so different about those tracks though.

Williams on the other hand claim they are very strong under braking.

McLaren are strong in general, but seem to be a little less comfortable at lower temperatures. They had trouble in Malaysia when the track was drying, and in China as well, because ambient temps were quite low there as well. The McLaren can effectively use its tyres, but it needs some track temp to get the rubber well up to temperature.

[myurr]

My view is that McLaren's big strength this year is a relatively wide operating window. So whilst they're not always the number one car, they're always consistently in the top two or three. Over a season that looks as close as this one is likely to turn out that could be a killer feature.

[Lycoming]

Its difficult to read; as China showed, its very much down to getting tyre usage right, which seems to be more setup based.

All I really feel comfortable saying is that sauber have retained their high top speed.

[dren]

My view is that McLaren's big strength this year is a relatively wide operating window. So whilst they're not always the number one car, they're always consistently in the top two or three. Over a season that looks as close as this one is likely to turn out that could be a killer feature.

Yes, this is how I see it. The Red Bull also looks like a pretty good car everywhere. The Mercedes is good on tracks with long straights which helps them set up their car for more downforce relative to the competition. The Merc is a beast in qualifying as well. The Lotus looks like a good all around car, about the same as the Red Bull.

I would not be surprised to see a Lotus and a Red Bull win a race this year. I think a Sauber win could happen in the next few races if they can nail the set-up.

[raymondu999]

The Mercedes is good on tracks with long straights which helps them set up their car for more downforce relative to the competition.

Unless you're at a max downforce track, it makes no difference. You can still make the compromise of straight speed for downforce.

[dren]

The Mercedes is good on tracks with long straights which helps them set up their car for more downforce relative to the competition.

Unless you're at a max downforce track, it makes no difference. You can still make the compromise of straight speed for downforce.

I was getting at their ride height advantage is better relative to the competition on tracks with long straights.

[raymondu999]

Ride height I'd understand; but not setting it up for more downforce.

[raymondu999]

I thought it was interesting. Other than China I think Saturday temps have all been different from Sunday temps and when that has happened, the polesitter has not won. Vettel however took pole and won in different temps. I wonder if the revitalised RB8 has a wider sweetspot they can hit in terms of tyres.

[MarkedOne8]

I think that Lotus is stronger than most people do believe.They gave up qualifying pace for good pace in race.So, they demonstrated real picture of the E20.This year is much more important to pay attention to setting up the car than previous years.

This is for sure:
Red Bull still uses short 7th gear.(Maybe they think they won't need it longer if they are leading the race like in 2011)
McLaren is very fast in qualifying as always but they are not so in race.Maybe they are using setups which more suites car for Q than Race.
Mercedes suprises from time to time, but they are getting slower and slower by time just like last year.
Ferrari is relatively slow everywhere comparing to above teams.

[raymondu999]

So what do we think then? Do we have a clearer picture now? I certainly think we do.

[RB7ate9]

Whatever aero package Lotus is using, it is definitely allowing them to have a lot more speed compared to RB who use the same engine. I forget which race it was this year (and could be seen in Silverstone), but on the DRS straight, the RB didn't often have the speed to close that gap with the tow compared to Ferrari/Merc/Mcl (as evident with Webber's 1-2 tries on Alonso before pipping him). Lotus, though, has been seen to be good through corners but be able to catch others down the straight much more effectively. As they use the same engines, I can only assume that it is down to aero. Particularly interesting is their front-wing design philosophy of vanes rather than additional elements or cascades compared to RB and others. Overall, very speedy, as evident with Grosjean's climb from the back to 6th at Silverstone. If they can combine that with better strategy and some better luck, wins are completely possible.

[mike]

this years tyres allows cars to be different and just as fast which is good for racing
tyres now wears off via the force it generates which is the function of downforce and wear
The cars that has the downforce can drive faster in a single lap while the car that has less downforce and drive faster in the straight, the trick is to get a good balance between the two.

cars that are good at qualifying and therefore has more downforce: (in order)
-Mclaren (great qualifying pace at Valencia, slow in the race)
-Redbull (great qualifying pace in Valencia, Silverstone, Bahrain; Valencia had Lotuses not been held up RG would have Challenge Vettel for the win)
-Mercedes (good at qualifying and slowly improving race pace)
-Ferrari (better race pace at the start of the season, the car has gotten easier to drive and improved qualifying)

cars that are good at the race and has good top speed: (in order)
-Sauber (Always had amazing race pace, but hardly in Q3)
-Lotus (gotten into Q3 easily, but never look like challenging pole, great race pace)
-Williams (3rd in terms of race pace, with better qualifying)

The race pattern goes like this, high downforce cars has to go slower than it can do, lower downforce cars qualify in the back and fights with better tyre life, the reason why lotus hasnt won a race is because when it never qualify in the front row and it always gets blocked by cars that are conserving tyres. if they qualify lower they could actually had more clear air to use their pace as well as more sets of new tyres, but it is always a risk starting from the back.

Cars with Ferrari engines: good in rain because of special driving map they have, can anyone verify this?

[f1316]

Interesting that the posts a few months back talk about McLaren's strength being its wide setup window; now, the general consensus is that its problem is the narrow window it has for setup - or at the very least the difficulties they are experiencing with setting up the car.

The Ferrari car seems to be very good in high-speed corners, which correlates with their supposed design philosophy of specifically chasing downforce (possibly at the expense of other areas where they previously excelled, such as traction out of low speed corners); they, like RBR, lack top speed, and seem to really struggle at the end of races, which would also explain why their qualifying (low fuel) performance is not as good as their initial race pace.

Merc, on the other hand, are completely the other way - good in a straight line and in slow corners, relatively poor in high-speed corners. They seem to still burn out the rear tyres more quickly than many of the others - with possible exception of McLaren - particularly when the conditions turn out to be warmer than expected. Actually, with both cars, it seems to be that their setup for low temperatures can really hurt them if it turns out hotter than expected.

[adrianjordan]

Is it possible that the difference between Lotus and RBR in terms of top speed is also something to do with the exhaust setups?

Could it be that RBR have gone for an exhaust that offers better downforce (through where it blows) which has resulted in a slight drop in outright engine power when compared to Lotus who have a straight forward exhaust?

Has anyone noticed how the other 2 Renault teams, Williams and Caterham, compare in terms of top speed??