xpb Race analysis GP India 2011
10/30/2011
Who was to blame for the Massa-Hamilton crash?
T he fourth collision between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton sparked discussions long after the race. The race management saw the blame on the Brazilian. But this opinion was otherwise only shared in the McLaren camp. The TV pictures clearly show that Massa is ahead when it comes to turning. Hamilton damaged his front wing on the rear wheel of the Ferrari.
Massa is certainly not entirely innocent either. 'If he had driven a meter further to the right, he could have prevented the accident,' analyzed Pedro de la Rosa afterwards. RTL expert Christian Danner countered: 'If a pilot speculates in an attack on the goodwill of his opponent, then he should actually be punished.' We agree with the compromise opinion of part-time steward Alex Wurz. 'It was a normal racing accident. 50:50 - you can do without a penalty completely.'
How did Alonso get past Webber?
Mark Webber started the race in the first Start row and in the end didn't even get on the podium. On the first long straight, the Australian lost a position to Jenson Button. When trying to stick with the McLaren, the Australian wore his tires so badly that he even fell behind Fernando Alonso after the second pit stop. But why does the veteran have to fight so hard when teammate Sebastian Vettel at the front seems to be cruising to victory with ease?
'It's always the old story,' complained Webber afterwards. 'At the end of the stints I just don't have the pace and my tires are losing too much. Then I lose my strategy, which means that I have to pit earlier. I just wasn't fast enough.' Fernando Alonso thanked for the gift. 'I was surprised that he pitted so early. We did two quick extra laps and got past.'
Why did Felipe Massa's wing break?
The Ferrari front wings were the big topic of the weekend. At certain speeds and angles of attack, the blades suddenly begin to swing wildly in front of the front tires. 'You seem a bit excited,' smiled Ross Brawn from competitor Mercedes after analyzing the television images. On the 31st lap the flutter became so strong that Massa had to switch to an older version.
Ferrari had hoped that the problem would not arise in the race. 'We will now analyze the data,to see what causes this flutter, 'announced team boss Stefano Domenicali. The pilot does not seem to have been at risk.' It's like an airplane, 'explained aerodynamics guru Adrian Newey of competitor Red Bull.' If it does is built firmly enough, it can move smoothly. Whether the effect is so strongly desired is another matter. '
The flexible front wing is actually a Red Bull invention. At Ferrari, the copy seems to work a little too well.' I don't think that Ferrari had this effect in mind, 'Newey grinned after the race.' It kind of doesn't look quite right. But they will certainly still work on it. 'The designer did not want to call the Ferrari wing a bad copy.' We see that as recognition if we are used as a role model. '
How did Schumi in Three places good on the starting lap?
As so often, Michael Schumacher played all of his experience on the starting lap, but this time there was another trick: After staying out of the chaos on the first corner, he took Adrian Sutil decided on the long straight: 'I didn't use KERS at the start, I used everything on the straight,' the old master later triumphed. Sebastian Vettel also saved most of his hybrid boost for the straight by not using the straight To be attacked slipstream.
How successful was the strategy with the hard tires at the start?
Three pilots entered the race with the tougher mixture: Sergio Perez, Paul di Resta and Vitaly Petrov. All three pilots got rid of the unloved concrete rubbers after just a few laps. With a safety car, the risky strategy would have worked perfectly. But without a crash in the start-up phase, everyone had to fight. In the end only Sergio Perez came into the points. 'He took perfect care of his tires', praised team boss Peter Sauber. 'You have to find the right mix of attack and caution. He's already very good for his age.'
Perez also benefited from saving two new sets of soft tires in qualifying . Petrov had to put on a used set of 'soft tires' in the last stint and could not start an attack with them. While Perez and Petrov got through with two stops, Di Resta even required three stops. That threw the Scot back to 13th place.
In our photo gallery we show you the best pictures of the race again.
