Why hamilton is so good at overtaking

[Belatti]

All drivers do arround 140Kg thats no mystery... Its not that Hamilton does 140Kg and the rest 50Kg...

[ringo]

@ dave, But you have to admit not all drivers are equally adept at racing.
Yes it takes some superiority of the passing car to actually approach and pass, the majority of Hamilton's overtakes may be with an equal or slightly superior car, but there has to be human reaction, judgment and error involved.
I think this is what is being disputed. Especially late braking.
What comes to mind is a battle with Webber and Hamilton last year, i think malaysia. The Rb5 was obviously the better car, and almost certainly had to win out in the squabble, but it was still evident that Hamilton was putting up a pretty decent performance overtaking and struggling to match the RB5.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6W9HS6PEHg[/youtube]

watch from 4:12, obviously he is braking later and out crafting Webber. If he isn't then i would like to hear what advantage the Mp4 24 had that allowed this kind of flare and flashiness.

[ISLAMATRON]

All drivers do arround 140Kg thats no mystery... Its not that Hamilton does 140Kg and the rest 50Kg...

source?

[timbo]

All drivers do arround 140Kg thats no mystery... Its not that Hamilton does 140Kg and the rest 50Kg...

source?

Alain Prost did 140 once. I think if he could do that, everyone can)))

I think a lot of his overtakes are done because he doesn't think much when he sees the space. He just goes for it and don't waste time on hesitation.

And last year he used KERS to his advantage a lot.

[Mystery Steve]

All drivers do arround 140Kg thats no mystery... Its not that Hamilton does 140Kg and the rest 50Kg...

source?

I don't have a source, but from experience I can say with confidence that it is definitely a believable number.

[lebesset]

just to go back to the original point of this thread , have just had a look at The Times this morning

they have sent their senior reporter who does F1 to south africa for the world cup ; the reporter they have sent to turkey for the GP has blogged that he knows NOTHING WHATEVER about F1

I suppose that is better than the 50% of 'on the spot' reports that are actually done from somebody sitting at home surfing the web with their laptop , equally who seem to know nothing at all about F1

[mbvinnie]

Wouldn't the F-Duct, making the car faster on the straights have something to do with it.

Assume the Ferrari is an overall consistent car with no really strong points and no really weak points. It would never have a great advantage to pass other cars.

However if the McLaren does the same lap times, however has some bad points (downforce) and some strong points (straight line speed) it would offer much more opportunities to pass.

This would be especially true as the ends of straights offer the most opportunities to pass, if you are 20kmh faster in a high speed corner where you can't pass, it doesn't really help you overtake. If you are 5kmh faster on a straight, it may well give you an opportunity to pass.

[lebesset]

just watched the video clip [ thanks ringo ] , and it seems to me that yes, it IS about pressure
nothing to do with his left leg though , it's in the mind ! he pressurises the other drivers ..they know that he reacts so quickly that if they give him the slightest opportunity he will exploit it

[timbo]

Wouldn't the F-Duct, making the car faster on the straights have something to do with it.

It would, of course. Note that he had problems with Petrov and Sutil. And both cars are among fastest on the straights.

[shamikaze]

This would be especially true as the ends of straights offer the most opportunities to pass, if you are 20kmh faster in a high speed corner where you can't pass, it doesn't really help you overtake. If you are 5kmh faster on a straight, it may well give you an opportunity to pass.

Just my 0,02$:
The F-Duct has the positive effect of higher top-speed, but that brings along the side-effect that at the end of the straight you obviously need to brake earlier and heavier into corner (similar mass moving at higher speed = more kinetic energy to get rid off). And this is especially heavier for the MP4-25 since their downforce levels are lower then the RB6 so they can't carry teh same speed mid-corner.

So although the F-Duct gives them an straight-line advantage, they MUST be in the upperhand position going into the corner (ie on the inside or ahead of the opponent) or the F-Duct hasn't served any purpose at all apart from wearing out the tire and brakes more.

GReetz,

S.

[mbvinnie]

Looking at the youtube clip posted, most of the passes were decided on the straight before the braking point. Or if they were at the braking point he was already on the inside due to superior speed.

Superior corner speed or downforce are not going to make much difference if you are on the outside or off the racing line due to being passed by a faster car.

Assume that you have two cars that run the same lap times:
The worst car to pass in overall would be the one that is consistent all round, with no clear advantages.
The best car to pass in would be one that gives up a little in many places, but has a clear advantage in a passing area (usually only 1-2 per lap).

While I believe Hamilton is a ballsy racer, and a great passer, I think his 'inconsistent car' with a straight line advantage over the last 2 seasons has certainly helped.

[internetf1fan]

Hamilton has passed pretty much everyone this season bar Alonso. So you can't just claim he was in a better car. Even if he was in a better car it's not like the car is 2+ seconds faster than the rest. The differential is <0.2 second within the top teams. So clearly it's not just the car.

[mkay]

Hamilton has passed pretty much everyone this season bar Alonso. So you can't just claim he was in a better car. Even if he was in a better car it's not like the car is 2+ seconds faster than the rest. The differential is <0.2 second within the top teams. So clearly it's not just the car.

The only poster with a hint of common sense.
Thanks.

And, by the way, KERS does not give a higher top speed (so much for 'straight-line' speed advantage); only gives a better acceleration.

Furthermore, while Alonso has outqualified Hamilton frequently, Alonso has had very bad starting positions (Malaysia, Monaco plus penalty in China) which, like Hamilton, helped boost his tally of overtakes.

Lastly, Hamilton is the only driver to have passed all but one driver in the Top 4 teams. To me, this is the most important part. Not even his teammate has a record that impressive.

[ISLAMATRON]

Hamilton passed Alonso at the start in Malaysia... and Lou was on the dirty side... does that not count? Passed him in Austrailia too when Fred was too busy playing bumper cars with MS & JB.

[mkay]

Hamilton passed Alonso at the start in Malaysia... and Lou was on the dirty side... does that not count? Passed him in Austrailia too when Fred was too busy playing bumper cars with MS & JB.

Well, then, he has passed everyone. Even more darn impressive