McLaren losing most time in first sector | 2011 Spanish GP qualifying analysis

21 May 2011 by Keith Collantine

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Barcelona, 2011

Red Bull?s^[1] closest rivals in Barcelona are losing the most time in the first sector of the lap.

Lewis Hamilton^[2] was only 12th fastest through sector one. That includes the long turn three where downforce is especially important.

Here is all the data from qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Qualifying times in full

• The differences between the Q1 and Q2 times of the Red Bull^[3] and McLaren drivers show how big the performance difference between the hard and soft tyres is ? around two seconds per lap.
• Their decision not to used softs saved the HRTs and Virgins from elimination under the 107% rule. The 107% time, based on the fastest lap in Q1 by Michael Schumacher^[4], was 1?28.767.
• Repair work on Nick Heidfeld?s^[5] Renault kept him from setting a time but he will be allowed to start.

Team mate comparisons

Compare the best times of each team?s drivers in the last part of qualifying in which they both set a time.

• With a faulty KERS, Sebastian Vettel^[6] was one fifth of a second slower than his team mate. It?s likely he would have been faster ? and taken his sixth consecutive pole position ? had his KERS been working.
• Fernando Alonso^[7] was almost a whole second faster than Felipe Massa.
• Rookie Paul di Resta^[8] beat Adrian Sutil for the fourth time out of five qualifying sessions.

Sector times

Here are the drivers? best times in each sector.

• McLaren^[9] are weak in the first sector, Jenson Button ninth fastest and Lewis Hamilton only 12th.
• Ferrari^[10] are stronger in the first sector, but there?s a trade-off, as Pat Fry explains: ?A track like this favours cars that have a lot of aerodynamic downforce: that can be seen very clearly by analysing the best times in each sector. Our car is competitive in the first one, but we pay a very heavy price in the other two. That?s where we must improve.?
• Schumacher did not do a Q3 time due to a KERS problem. His sector times indicate he could have been eighth.

Speed trap

• There is a large spread between the fastest and slowest cars, with the KERS-less Lotuses^[11] 18kph down on the Force Indias.

2011 Spanish Grand Prix

Browse all 2011 Spanish Grand Prix articles^[12]

Image ? McLaren

References

1. ^{^} Red Bull (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Lewis Hamilton (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Red Bull (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Michael Schumacher (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Nick Heidfeld (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Sebastian Vettel (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Fernando Alonso (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Paul di Resta (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
9. ^{^} McLaren (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
10. ^{^} Ferrari (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
11. ^{^} Lotus (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)
12. ^{^} Browse all 2011 Spanish Grand Prix articles (www.f1fanatic.co.uk)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/bsH7EhG9MbY/

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