I've been thinking about why the gap's widened between 2010 to 2011; and I was just looking at this video here:
[youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ-u9tkFzo4[/youtube]
What struck me was that the lap (as Bruno Senna mentions) is just full of understeer. The rear is well stable, but the front keeps washing out. Mark in the past has gone on record to say that he doesn't like it if the rear has lateral instability.He wants a lot more stability in the rear; and that Seb doesn't mind rear instability.
One of the big things changing this year is the DRS wing; and we need to remember that when activated, the DRS will not only reduce your drag, but it will give you a lot less rear grip, and hence stability. What if Mark is actually very uncomfortable with the instability induced by opening the DRS; and to counter it is actually setting his car up for a lot of stability; in fact overly stable to the point of understeer, so that he is more comfortable with the DRS-open position?
I'd think that having too much understeer with DRS closed would be a big issue.