"Cato Batista" 30/07/2011 18:55:28 ID #98
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Now it seems that McLaren has the faster car in qualifying, but somehow Vettel did his old trick to preserve Red Bull’s supremacy on poles this year. All it took for Alonso was a slow sector 1 to drop to 5th, the first time he’s behind teammate Massa. Webber hasn’t been on the pace since Friday but is still half a second quicker than both Mercedes –Rosberg a of Schumacher as usual-. The surprises were Sutil in a superb 8th and rookie Perez in 10th. The Mexican, by not completing a single lap in Q3 leaves him with flexibility on tires for the race.
We were a total disaster in qualiying scoring only 10 points collectively. The best we could do was 2 points for Matias (2-3) and me (1-2). In fact, we broke our futility record with 13 colleagues going blank -ouch!
Here is where the thinking process starts: VET HAM BUT MAS ALO WEB ROS SUT SCH PER
More than any other circuit, the left row with all of the rubber build up represents a big benefit when the lights go green, particularly in this tight layout where is easier to defend position from a faster car. So, that is VET BUT ALO ROS & SCH with a better chance of a jump start. After that crucial moment the possibilities to overtake will be the short (and only) start-finish straight-line where the single DRS zone is, and of course strategy.
According to Vettel both DRS and KERS will not have such a big effect on the outcome, it would be getting the most out of the tires.
The challenge the drivers are facing is to look after their tires when new (particularly on full tanks) and then anticipating the crucial moment when they go ‘over the cliff’ or the point in which they lose their grip, a sudden process that could cost a handful of time on track. That’s when we could see all the passing.
For the leading pack it will be a 3 stopper for the 70 lap race, but we could see variations on the use of compounds for the stints. Some will try to change the expected soft-soft-soft-hard order to try to find a way through. ‘Primes’ are the yellow-side wall Pirellis, the soft ‘options’ are the red ones.
Despite all the criticism, you’ll be surprised to know the Hungaroring is a driver’s track, where talent is rewarded a of car’s performance. The reason is the many corners with long apexes where you have to be committed to lean the car for long periods and accurate throttle control, and as mentioned before, it’s physically very tiring.
Another very intriguing and exciting prospect awaits us, and impossibly hard to predict!
Let me try first (I think I need a drink): Cato VET HAM ALO BUT WEB MAS
Good luck, enjoy!