Mercedes progress despite Schumacher’s DRS trouble

52 comments on “Mercedes progress despite Schumacher’s DRS trouble”

1. 

   mateuss (@mateuss)
   16th April 2011, 15:29

   Didn’t Schumi have a few rear wing problems last year as well? Some voice in my head is telling my that its just become a standard non-disprovable excuse for him.
   1. 

      Sideshow Bob
      16th April 2011, 17:43

      Right, so the seven-time world champion is content to bumble around the track in 14th and blame some phantom ‘rear wing’ issue. Riiight.

      People forget Michael’s skill and determination so very quickly.
      1. 

         Patrickl (@patrickl)
         16th April 2011, 19:44

         Schumacher is helping people forget
      2. 

         mateuss (@mateuss)
         16th April 2011, 19:51

         Because he hasn’t shown it since he made his comeback. And exactly because of his legend status, he may feel the the need for excuses. There is no denying the fact that he has lost his edge.
         I was hoping for improvement from him, because I have a lot of respect for him, and more competitive field is more exciting, but it simply hasn’t happened and probably wont.
         1. 

            Mike
            16th April 2011, 23:11

            Well it has happened, many times, it just hasn’t taken form over a whole weekend, or generally in terms of pace.
2. 

   Atticus (@atticus-2)
   16th April 2011, 15:30

   Keith, sic at third point below ‘Q times in full: ‘Nico Rosberg showed much better performance from the Mercedes, out-qualifying both Ferraris and coming within two tenths of a second of the Ferraris’.

   The second ‘Ferraris’ should be McLarens.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      16th April 2011, 15:33

      Thanks – fixed.
3. 

   Nin13 (@)
   16th April 2011, 15:31

   Don’t how much longer can Schumacher give more reasons for his failure to get into Q3. At once I was his biggest fan now I feel bad that he has to fight in midfield and come up with silly reasons after every session.
   1. 

      slr
      16th April 2011, 15:34

      Seems like a legit reason to me.
      1. 

         Bigbadderboom
         16th April 2011, 15:51

         I agree, he just seems to lack that extra 5% required to make it happen. I actually looked forward to his return and thought it would be good to have another WDC on the grid. But I’m beggining to think this was a mistake, and perhaps although only a few years ago his success was of a different era.
         1. 

            Bren
            16th April 2011, 23:39

            look at the article. schumi set a 1:35.5 in first session.

            he was a second slower in q2 due to wing. and probably tyres not being warmed up cos sitting in pits so long.

            but anyway, the pace was there
         2. 

            Last Pope Eye
            17th April 2011, 2:08

            Lets wait for the race. MSC is brilliant compared to Brittney..
4. 

   Timi
   16th April 2011, 15:39

   Keith you said it was surprising there was barely any difference between vettels KERS equipped car and webbers. But it’s not at all surprising since KERS is an acceleration boost of sorts, rather than affecting top speeds. At the en of the 1.2km straight, drag and gear ratios are the effectors on top speed.
   Vetted probably got to his top speed quicker than webber, due to KERS, but like I said, after 1.2km, theyd both hit top speed.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      16th April 2011, 15:44

      Fair point – goes to show how little difference KERS (under the current regulations) actually makes.
   2. 

      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      16th April 2011, 16:26

      Yes . If the driver is hitting top speed earlier, then that means he’s covering greater distance at high speed. Time = Speed/Distance. Remember the margins we are talking about are actually small – 0.3s is the standard figure for KERS – that they do take only a short time to manifest. After all, we’re talking about 0.3% of the laptime here.
      1. 

         King Six
         16th April 2011, 16:34

         Exactly, things like KERS and the DRS…they are all about acceleration rather than top speed.
         1. 

            bananarama (@bananarama)
            16th April 2011, 17:35

            Mostly yes, but DRS also reduces drag overal and therefore increases the topspeed (but DRS worked for both, so no difference there).
            1. 

               Ral
               16th April 2011, 20:04

               Also, as both Vettel and Webber were bouncing off the limiter, we can safely assume that the DRS does not determine top-speed, but rather the gear ratios.
            2. 

               Mike
               16th April 2011, 23:15

               Makes Red Bull look a bit silly when they can’t overtake.

               Actually, considering how chaotic races are going to be this year, and how important it will be to make passes. Don’t you think it might be worth sacrificing a very slight bit of pace, to actually be able to utilise slipstream + DRS?
5. 

   Bigbadderboom
   16th April 2011, 15:42

   Keith, why suprised that despite no KERS the red bulls top end was similar. KERS does not change the gearing, and as all the cars are bouncing of their limiters on the straight there wouldn’t be a noticable difference unless the gearing on the two cars was setup differently.
6. 

   ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
   16th April 2011, 15:43

   Ferrari were possibly even the 5th fastest team in qualifying, as I think Petrov probably could have outqualified them.

   I think their race pace should be more competitive compared to the Mercedes and Renaults though.
   1. 

      xxiinophobia (@xxiinophobia)
      16th April 2011, 18:16

      Good catch there, ed.

      Looking at their times from Q2, Petrov was actually just a bit ahead of both Ferraris, and had his car not failed he may have improved enough in Q3 to stay ahead of both of them. Even with the failure, Petrov’s Q2 time is only 0.03s slower than Alonso’s time in Q3.
7. 

   open mind
   16th April 2011, 16:03

   hey mateuss… pretty sure the drs system did not exist last year… you fast chatin haters are pretty non aware type…
   1. 

      mateuss (@mateuss)
      16th April 2011, 18:01

      Yeah :D I am very much aware of that, but I said rear wing problems not DRS. I seem to remember there were a number of occasion when they were reporting stalling wing issues (as they had passive F-ducts last year), but where my memory falls short is remembering weather Rosberg also was affected? At least it wasn’t an excuse for him for not making Q3, as he did not need one.

      It does seem a legit reason, but odd at the same time, when his wing stalls exactly when he is under pressure (on last qualy attempts), and his team mates does not seem affected. Maybe it is a genuine problem, but rather one because he himself just cant make it happen. Like Webber saying today, I had a hard compound tyre problem (fortunately he is very much straight forward guy and wouldn’t excuse himself like that). Normally I wouldn’t be so skeptical of what someone is saying, but I just felt a bit of a déjà vu – MSC falling out of Q2 + stalling wing problems, and not for the first time. I think there is a possibility.
      1. 

         Alexi
         17th April 2011, 2:44

         Well so what do you think tyen? That Schumacher is like “Hey, I don’t think I will cut it this time, so let’s mess with the rear wing!”
8. 

   RandomChimp (@randomchimp)
   16th April 2011, 16:10

   Hamilton did not have the luxury of two runs in Q3 and probably missed out on second place because of it.

   Just out of interest, why do you think this to be the case?
   In practice Button looked good compared with Hamilton to me.
   1. 

      RandomChimp (@randomchimp)
      16th April 2011, 16:11

      oops wrong article
      1. 

         RandomChimp (@randomchimp)
         16th April 2011, 16:12

         Wait no, right article. I’m going to have a lie down…
   2. 

      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      16th April 2011, 16:27

      He chose to save a set of tyres.
      1. 

         RandomChimp (@randomchimp)
         16th April 2011, 16:32

         Sorry, I mean the

         probably missed out on second place because of it.

         bit.
   3. 

      jake
      16th April 2011, 16:35

      I’m guessing because of the ultimate laptimes? I think while it may have cost him P2 on the grid, it may very well gain him P2 or even P1 in the race.
   4. 

      Ilanin (@ilanin)
      16th April 2011, 16:42

      I have to agree the statement doesn’t make a huge amount of sense to me, given that neither Button nor Vettel completed their second runs after Hamilton failed to beat the time they set with their first attempts.
      1. 

         jake
         16th April 2011, 16:45

         Button was slower on his second run. I think Keith is referring to the fact Hamilton had a faster ultimate lap time
         1. 

            RandomChimp (@randomchimp)
            16th April 2011, 17:06

            Ah yes, makes sense now. Cheers jake.
9. 

   bob80
   16th April 2011, 16:38

   Anyone knows if DRS enabled area is on the whole main straight for tomorrows race?
   1. 

      jake
      16th April 2011, 16:40

      nope, just the last 752 (i think) metres. Obviously they will have to deactivate it for the last 150 odd to brake
   2. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      16th April 2011, 16:56

      Drivers can’t use DRS for full length of Shanghai’s longest straight
      1. 

         jake
         16th April 2011, 16:59

         Keith, Jenson said something in the press conference today about the line being moved to 752 metres. Do you know anything about this? is he correct?
         1. 

            Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
            16th April 2011, 17:48

            Bit more on that here:

            Webber needs to limit damage as Vettel eyes five-in-a-row
10. 

    Fixy (@)
    16th April 2011, 16:59

    5 tables! How long does it take? They are really detailed and well-made, though, fabulous!
    1. 

       DaveW
       16th April 2011, 19:26

       Agree with that. Obviously a lot of work and well appreciated. But you know, some people are never satisfied. For example, I would find it quite informative to have chart for the 10 ten driver’s tire collection status (used/fresh/ruined). Since this season is now “tires-formula,” that is critical information.
11. 

    Calum (@calum)
    16th April 2011, 17:28

    Look at Sebs Q2 time: 1’34.776
    Now see my pole time: 01:34.786

    That was extremely close! :O
    1. 

       Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
       16th April 2011, 17:49

       Last week we had two people within 0.001s, one either side:

       F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship race-by-race statistics (select ‘Malaysia’)
12. 

    Pedal to the Vettel (@pedal-to-the-vettel)
    16th April 2011, 19:50

    tisk tisk tisk, what ever next schumi…

    “I sneezed on the straight which cost me a second”
    1. 

       Todfod (@todfod)
       16th April 2011, 20:27

       Well I think I finally figured out the ‘Scumacher surprise’ Ross Brawn was talking about during pre-season testing – A hat trick of Q2 exits!
13. 

    jbenzz
    16th April 2011, 20:00

    What’s the point of having a 107% rule if the top teams aren’t setting a competitive time in Q1. Karthikeyan wouldn’t have made the race if the 107% rule was applied to the best times.
14. 

    TheBrav3
    16th April 2011, 22:56

    Seems alot of people are talking about schumacher so we should not forgot that the last 2 mins of qualifying were not the standard affair.

    It was completely inevitable that some of the drivers in that 11? car long queue were going to miss out by running in dirty air. Massa would have failed to get to q 3 if he haddn’t passed perez right at the start of his outlap. heidfeld did drop out but no one’s slating him. I’m guessing because you all already got egg on your face with the way he bounced back to take a podium in malaysia after his oz showing.

    Finally drawing an absolute speed comparison between them is impossible since schumachers fastest times of any weekend so far have come in Q 2 when he would have likely not been running in the ultimate engine setting. So at the moment we can only base their speeds on sessions they both took part in which at the moment indicate a good even fight between them even if you discount the malaysia race where schumacher completely outraced nico.

    It’s the start of the season and the term “knee jerk reaction” goes no where near to covering how over exaggerated peoples reactions are to grand prix racing at the moment. First the tyres were terrible after a winter testing period in sub 15 degree temperature then in australia they were to effective. Where as the drs was not good enough in australia then in malaysia it was to good, heifeld judged a failer at oz and a hero at malaysia. If you are all really f1 fanatics why do you have such difficulty in understanding that it’s a learning process to the teams as much as it is to us this season. It’s alot closer than any of you are giving credit for at mercedes and that’s something you can bet on.
    1. 

       sam3110 (@sam3110)
       16th April 2011, 23:28

       Ah, now this is a proper comment, none of that ‘COTD!!!!!!’ nonsense for badly written jokes, just a proper point of view that sums up many people on this forum. Yes, Schumi has been disappointing in Quali, but his race pace and racecraft is still good, look at the start he had in Malaysia.

       Oh, and another thing, can we stop all the Ferrari bashing, because yes in ultimate lap times Ferrari may be only 4th or 5th fastest, but funnily enough they are the second team in terms of the starting positions on the grid this weekend, and as Webber proved, it’s not how fast the car is, it’s how the driver dials up a lap when it counts, and for all the negativity here, Ferrari got an under performing car on 5th and 6th when many reckon they should be 9th and 10th or lower
    2. 

       AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
       17th April 2011, 7:59

       Spot on. Alot of people are just so quick to criticise. It gets boring pretty quickly.
15. 

    Prisoner Monkeys
    17th April 2011, 2:13

    You know, looking at it, I’m not sure I get the whole argument that the DRS should be available under the same conditions in the race and in qualifying. Because when you really think about it, racing and qualifying are two vastly different ways of driving. Qualifying is all about getting in a single perfect flying lap; racing is about long stints, managing fuel and tyres and strategy.

    When the new engine and design regulations come into effect for 2013, I would not object if the sporting rules were amended to include a slightly different qualifying procedure. Keep the knockout format, but give teams special qualifying tyres that can only be used during qualifying, and limit each driver to doing one flying lap in each period to put maximum pressure on them. Give them an unlimited DRS and KERS for qualifying as well. Tailor everything to essentially turn qualifying into an event as well. You could even take a leaf out of the WRC’s book with the Power Stages and award one point for the fastest Q1 time, two points for Q2 and three point for whoever ultimately gets on pole. And whoever is fastest in Q1 automatically qualifies third, whoever is fastest in Q2 is second and whoever is fastest in Q3 is on pole with everyone else lining up based on times – but the catch is that if you enter into the next qualifying period, you give up the grid place you had secured.
16. 

    BasCB (@bascb)
    17th April 2011, 17:02

    Interesting to see what have might been for Renault here. They had a lot of speed that did not come out at the right moment.
17. 

    lunarrune
    18th April 2011, 8:44

    wow i must admit – it will be better for Schumacher to leave the sport as a driver. why doesn’t he start his own team? he just isn’t competitive any more. don’t get me wrong, i’m a big schumacher fan but i feel the time has come for him to move on.

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