One lap is one second slower, which is a blow to Vettel. If every lap is like this, Vettel can simply give up the idea of overtaking.
Under normal circumstances, a gap of 0.2 seconds per lap between two similar cars is considered very large. A gap of one second per lap means either the gap between the two cars is very large, or a driver made a mistake.
Vettel never thought that someone could be one second faster than himself in a lap. In the last lap, although Vettel's performance was not perfect, he did not make any mistakes. If he was only 0.2 seconds or 0.3 seconds behind , it’s still normal. If he is 0.5 seconds behind, Vettel can barely accept it, but if he is one second behind in one lap, it is obviously beyond the range that Vettel can accept.
"Why? Why was I so slow on the last lap?" Vettel asked into the microphone.
“Force China’s car is really fast. Although I don’t want to admit it, I have to admit that the double-layer diffuser is really effective. Zhang Guan’s car has very obvious advantages in corners, especially at high speeds. In the corners, his speed is obviously much faster than ours, which shows that his downforce is much better. And on the straight track, they are not weaker than us. After all, they use Mercedes engines. "Newey's voice sounded.
Engines provided by different manufacturers certainly have different performance. For example, Ferrari has always been known for its speed, so they can dominate high-speed tracks like Monza. Mercedes' engines are actually not much inferior to Ferrari in terms of speed, and their performance on the straights is also great. Although the overall performance of the Renault engine used by the Red Bull Racing Team is not bad, it is certainly not as good as Ferrari and McLaren in terms of absolute speed.
"Although Force China has a very fast car, don't give up, we still have a chance!" Newey continued: "Although Force China also uses medium tires, we currently don't lack their fuel capacity. Maybe they started the race with light fuel, that’s why they are so much faster than us. Come on, follow him, don’t give up!”
…
McLaren also uses a combination of light cars and super-soft tires, so Hamilton, who started 18th, reached ninth place after 6 laps. After replacing the transmission, McLaren still took advantage of its fourth-degree advantage, and Hamilton, the world champion, could not be satisfied with this ranking. He wanted to sprint towards the podium.
However, the degree of attenuation of the super-soft tires is indeed very severe. After about 10 laps, the super-soft tires became somewhat unbearable. Barrichello used the opportunity to overtake two Ferraris in succession.
Ferrari also knew that its tires could no longer hold up, so the two cars pitted on laps 11 and 12 respectively. Hamilton, who had rushed to ninth place, also pitted at the same time. They both had super-soft tires. This time, they only refueled for a relatively short period of time. This was another light-loading strategy, which meant that they would definitely stop for refueling again.
Vettel, following Zhang Guan, became increasingly powerless. Both he and Red Bull Racing only paid attention to the benefits brought by the double-layer diffuser, but ignored Zhang Guan's own technology.
Force China's car is indeed very fast, but if you look at Barrichello, you will know that the advantage of the car is not as big as one lap per second, but Zhang Guan's driving allows the car to maximize its performance. He still maintains The advantage of one second per lap continues to widen the gap between him and Vettel.
Of course, the Albert Park track has some relatively gentle curves, which require very high traction and grip of the car. The advantages of the double-layer diffuser become more and more obvious on this track. If it is other tracks, Zhang Guan may not be able to gain such a big advantage.
"If you can't catch up, you can't catch up at all! The gap between us is getting wider and wider!" Vettel was full of unwillingness. He could only hope that Zhang Guan's car would race with a light load of fuel.
"Has Zhang Guan pitted?" Vettel asked.
"No, he just passed the pit entrance, he didn't come in, he was still outside."
One lap later, when Vettel was about to enter the thirteenth corner, he asked again: "Has Zhang Guan pitted?"
"Not yet, he's still running outside."
Another lap.
"Has Zhang Guan pitted?" Vettel asked again.
Both Ferrari and McLaren were carrying light fuel, so they started to pit on laps 11 and 2. It was at that time that Vettel began to ask Zhang Guan if he had pitted, and he would ask every lap, but On the fifteenth lap, Zhang Guan was still on the track. At this time, Vettel had already vaguely guessed that Zhang Guan might not be carrying light fuel.
On the sixteenth lap, Vettel could no longer see the driver's shadow on the track. The lush woods in Albert Park blocked the noise of the engine, but Vettel estimated that Zhang Guan should have arrived at the pit lane. Entrance.
He was just about to ask Zhang Guan again if he had stopped for refueling, when a call from the team came through his headset.
"I have news for you," the team's strategy engineer said.
"Is Zhang Guan pitting? He is really going to run out of gas!" Vettel said with a hint of excitement in his tone.
"No, Zhang Guan just passed the pit entrance, but he didn't come in. He is now running to the end of the straight." The strategy engineer paused and then said: "What we want to inform you is that the next lap Get ready to pit, you’re running out of gas!”
"Should I refuel first? So Zhang Guan has more fuel than me!" Vettel made a surprised sound. He looked at the track ahead, his eyes filled with disbelief. One second he was excited because Zhang Guan ran out of gas, but the next second the team informed him that he was the one who ran out of gas. This gap was really hurtful.
Vettel's set of medium tires can actually last for a while, but his fuel capacity can't last that long, so he has to stop for fuel.
Vettel originally thought that Zhang Guan could lap one second faster than himself because of the light load of fuel, so he had been looking forward to Zhang Guan pitting for refueling. In that case, he could take advantage of the lighter weight of his car and run a few laps. The fastest lap, and he recovered some results, but now it seems that his plan has completely failed. Zhang Guan obviously has as much fuel as him.
Even if both sides have the same amount of fuel, if Zhang Guan also pits to refuel in the next lap, the two sides will be tied at best. However, the current advantage Zhang Guan has has cannot be made up by Vettel.
"How could this happen? I have less fuel, but I run slower than Zhang Guan!" Vettel complained.
The first chapter has been delivered, please give me a guaranteed monthly ticket.
(End of chapter)