Kimi looks better this weekend no doubt. I still think Alonso might come out ahead. Alonso is good at this circuit traditionally. I think Alonso could have been ahead of Kimi on the medium qualifying run. He had a purple middle sector, but a bad S1 he must have made a mistake on S1. If you look at Kimi's sector times alone then they weren't the best, but he obviously didn't make any mistakes and thus he was second. Perhaps he could also have gone faster, since his sector times alone wasn't that good.
The long run was very interesting. Alonso was faster in the first laps, in the middle laps they were about the same, but in the last part of the stint Kimi was faster. Ferrari could have been testing different strategies, or it could just be that Kimi was better at conserving his tyres.
It is nice to see Kimi much more comfortable so far this weekend. However I still think that the main problem of the car being bad at turning-in is still there. It just seems like Kimi has a much better setup so far this weekend. I still think Alonso will come out ahead, but it will be closer. I would still like to see Kimi getting a car that is better suited to his driving style. But things are definitely looking more positive, small steps!
TS wrote three different news about Malaysia practise, saying Kimi is still having problems with the front end, but Ferrari is working hard to get the parts for Kimi and the car to his driving style. Kimi has been very strickt about it, he hasnt agreed to do any compromises about his driving style, because they know he can be very fast with his style and these cars. Overall Ferrari has problems with car balance, rear downforce and engine. Alonso had problems with too heavy understeer( !!) and he suffered graining with medium tyres in rear tyres, which was seen with Kimi too. Merc suffered a lot more about rear tyre wear, so it evens a bit their performance benefit compared to others. Red Bull was gentle and balanced car which hints they are going to try two stop in stead of three stops for example for Merc.
quoteFernando Alonso: “We are on a learning curve, which is not unusual for the start of a championship and, to find out how competitive we are, as usual we will have to wait until Saturday and Sunday. Usually, Friday is a very confusing day, because everyone is working on their own programmes, but this year it’s even more the case because of all the new elements. Everything went well, with no reliability problems and we managed to do a fair number of laps, enough to get a good understanding of the tyres, which will be a very important factor here because of the high temperatures. The Hard compound seems to stand up better over a long run, but it’s still too early to talk about qualifying and race strategy. For now, the only thing one can be sure of is the need to do everything to perfection.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “This was definitely a positive day and I had a better feeling compared to Friday in Melbourne. I was more comfortable with the F14 T today and even if we had no problems whatsoever, we know there’s still a long way to go and a lot to do. Our programme concentrated on car set-up and on testing the compounds that Pirelli has brought here. The handling seemed to be good even if, as we found on the race simulation, we will have to pay very close attention to degradation, which is particularly high here. Now we will spend the evening carefully analysing all the data we gathered over the day, to try and work out how to improve.”
Pat Fry: “Although the Friday work hasn’t changed, the number of variables on which we need to concentrate has increased compared to previous years. Among the many parameters that require particular attention are the management systems of the new power unit, especially in terms of its reliability. That’s what we focused on this morning, while in the session just finished we went through the usual set-up work, trying to adapt the balance of the car to the characteristics of the Sepang track. The tyres are harder than last year, but they still come under a lot of strain from lateral loads in the fast corners and so managing their degradation will be a key factor. Even if we are just a few thousandths off the top of the time sheet, as usual on Friday, it’s impossible to give any real assessment. The actual pecking order will only be seen tomorrow in qualifying.”
Quote: Boudica wrote in post #32Kimi looks better this weekend no doubt. I still think Alonso might come out ahead. Alonso is good at this circuit traditionally. I think Alonso could have been ahead of Kimi on the medium qualifying run. He had a purple middle sector, but a bad S1 he must have made a mistake on S1. If you look at Kimi's sector times alone then they weren't the best, but he obviously didn't make any mistakes and thus he was second. Perhaps he could also have gone faster, since his sector times alone wasn't that good.
The long run was very interesting. Alonso was faster in the first laps, in the middle laps they were about the same, but in the last part of the stint Kimi was faster. Ferrari could have been testing different strategies, or it could just be that Kimi was better at conserving his tyres.
It is nice to see Kimi much more comfortable so far this weekend. However I still think that the main problem of the car being bad at turning-in is still there. It just seems like Kimi has a much better setup so far this weekend. I still think Alonso will come out ahead, but it will be closer. I would still like to see Kimi getting a car that is better suited to his driving style. But things are definitely looking more positive, small steps!
Pretty much how i read things myself Boudica, and these small steps all help to contribute towards a great journey, I was so relieved to see Kimi looking much more settled than he has been, a happy Kimi is an effective Kimi, I think when he returned to F1 in 2012 many people noticed a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle shift in his attitude, I think he's certainly taken that with him to Ferrari, i think he's much more likely to press his points and opinions across this time around, hopefully that attitude will reap its own rewards, I also think that despite initial outward appearances the relationship with Mr Spagnolo will flourish, lets hope that the race confirms and continues the small but noticeable upward trend, I have high hopes.
Quote: Boudica wrote in post #32Kimi looks better this weekend no doubt. I still think Alonso might come out ahead. Alonso is good at this circuit traditionally. I think Alonso could have been ahead of Kimi on the medium qualifying run. He had a purple middle sector, but a bad S1 he must have made a mistake on S1. If you look at Kimi's sector times alone then they weren't the best, but he obviously didn't make any mistakes and thus he was second. Perhaps he could also have gone faster, since his sector times alone wasn't that good.
The long run was very interesting. Alonso was faster in the first laps, in the middle laps they were about the same, but in the last part of the stint Kimi was faster. Ferrari could have been testing different strategies, or it could just be that Kimi was better at conserving his tyres.
It is nice to see Kimi much more comfortable so far this weekend. However I still think that the main problem of the car being bad at turning-in is still there. It just seems like Kimi has a much better setup so far this weekend. I still think Alonso will come out ahead, but it will be closer. I would still like to see Kimi getting a car that is better suited to his driving style. But things are definitely looking more positive, small steps!
Pretty much how i read things myself Boudica, and these small steps all help to contribute towards a great journey, I was so relieved to see Kimi looking much more settled than he has been, a happy Kimi is an effective Kimi, I think when he returned to F1 in 2012 many people noticed a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle shift in his attitude, I think he's certainly taken that with him to Ferrari, i think he's much more likely to press his points and opinions across this time around, hopefully that attitude will reap its own rewards, I also think that despite initial outward appearances the relationship with Mr Spagnolo will flourish, lets hope that the race confirms and continues the small but noticeable upward trend, I have high hopes.
I do agree with you, and I ve said so much during testing as well. There is a subtle change with Kimi since his return to F1, he just seems to be a bit more assertive. It properly also helped Lotus a lot when he was their lead driver. This new approach could also work well with Ferrari.
I ve always had the idea that this so-called driver skill of adapting quickly might have more to do with a driver's communication skill and relationship with the team then just by pure driving. If a driver can get a team to give him what he wants then he would get more comfortable with the car at a quicker rate. This kind of thing is easier when you are already the no. 1 driver in a team.
I honestly didn't expect Kimi to look better this weekend. So am surprised things are coming together even without the new parts. But then again Friday practice could be misleading. Last year Kimi looked by far the best on Friday in Malaysia, but then they made some setup changes and he was completely lost for the rest of weekend. These things happen unfortunately. So I would first like to see Kimi actually doing better in the race and in qualifying. But so far I am quite impressed.
There is a rumour that Ferrari is running with less fuel on Friday, I cant it would surprise me if the rumour is correct. I ve also gotten that feeling.
quoteMomoD wrote: PitLaneTalk @pitlanetalk 5m Ferrari tested a new software upgrade during FP1 and FP2 and until now can run full power without any glitches over a longer stint. #F1
Let's hope it's true
I did know Rosberg speaks 5/6 languages but I didn't know Maldonado speaks fluent Italian and Kvyat speaks Spanish!