xpb Sebastian Vettel
23.03 .2012
D he first training day in Malaysia confirmed the picture of Australia. Red Bull has a problem on one lap. Both drivers again complained of serious balance problems. In the endurance runs, the world championship cars are competitive. 'That is the positive aspect of this day', summarized team advisor Helmut Marko. 'However, we were unable to balance the cars for one lap. That applies to both tire compounds. Both drivers have difficulties setting up the car.'
Red Bull shows unexpected reactions
Worse still: the car continues to surprise drivers and engineers with unexpected reactions. Despite the data analysis after the Australian GP. Marko adds: 'Every change to the car raises more questions. There are reactions that we don't expect. We are still looking for the answer to the question: What does what?'
An example that's what the new front wing is for. The TV camera moved from the nose behind the middle section of the wing. That should give more downforce at the front. However, the results do not meet expectations. Marko doesn't bother about the bush for long: 'We lost our sole control in qualifying. McLaren is one lap better, and Mercedes looks strong again thanks to its F-shaft.'
Mercedes and Alonso could become problems
That could become a problem in the race. You don't always get past the men in front as easily as in Australia. Not even with a good racing speed. 'The Mercedes are super fast on the straight, and Alonso drives incredibly consistently. That could also be a problem in the race,' fears Marko.
The Austrian ex-racing driver explains the reason for the discrepancy between a lap and a series of laps as follows: 'With a lot of fuel on board, the car reacts more slowly. The car's reactions are slowed down. That gives the drivers more trust. Anything that leads to errors on a lap can be better balanced out in the endurance run. '
Red Bull is testing setups for the race
Because of the problems with the Auto, Red Bull changed its training program. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were sent to the afternoon training with different votes to collect more data. Both drivers stood in the pits three times for ten minutes each to have the set-up modified.
Red Bull has now largely completed its race preparations. 'In the third training onOn Saturday we will focus on qualifying. We have to improve ', demands Marko. Sebastian Vettel concludes from the first day of training very clearly:' McLaren is too strong for us here too. '
