LionsHeart wrote: ↑27 Aug 2024, 10:31
mwillems wrote: ↑27 Aug 2024, 09:24
LionsHeart wrote: ↑27 Aug 2024, 02:06
Regarding the very first sentence. The problem here is not the car, but only Oscar. He wants a lot from the tires to stay close to his rival. And thus he kills his tires, instead of taking a breather, as Lando did. Oscar also attacked aggressively to catch up first with Russell, and then with Leclerc. There were not enough tires to make another attack. The pace of the cars simply equalized. I think Oscar needs to accelerate a little smoother, and not attack with all his money at once.
Indeed. Lando will take his time on the long approach, prioritise arriving with a full battery and cooler tyres. He's not stressing the tyres when behind a car by trying to be as close as possible. He picks his overtaking opportunity and then it begins, throwing everything in to try to get it done quickly. If it doesn't work after a couple if tries he backs off to a 2 to 3 second gap and then goes again.
Oscar will possibly not be able to keep his tyres as cool on the long approach and when close, seems to be always looking for opportunities, always harassing. It looks nice, but it seems not very efficient. The tyres don't get a breather and eventually lose their life.
To be fair, it's something Lando has only started doing since the car improved last year, but there is some racecraft and tyre management still to go.
It works better at some tracks than others and I think a small part it is experience of the track.
Well, as some people have said, Oscar has a long way to go. Experience comes with experience.
He can do it.
Lando is doing a strong job on the racing sections. Let's just say I was surprised that on the Hard tyres he kept gaining ground, it even seemed like he was going to make two pit stops. And even then he managed to save a little bit of tyres and battery to get the fastest lap on the last lap. Encouraging.
If the car suits Lando's style very well, with optimal balance and handling, then it's no wonder why Lando has become more consistent in qualifying. And if the chassis allows for better tyre conservation, then it's worth using an undercut against your rivals in every race.
I think Oscar is making very good ground. A few races I think he has got it perfect this year. But there is more to do.
The Mclaren does seem to get better on lighter fuel loads, more so when looked at relative to other cars. It's not unusual to see the best performance from Lando in the second half of the race. Whether that is setup, design or a combination of the two, I don't know. But even last year in the second half of the season the Mclaren we doing very well with tyre wear, only at the time it was being put down to the "heat treated" tyres giving the tyre super-tyre properties..
For me, this trait of the tyres maintaining performance is more normal than not. Partly from the car and partly from the driver. The car does seem to naturally favour the harder compounds too, or at least circumstances where the tyres are not reacting so much to temperature. More so than our competitors.
