"Our advantage over second-placed Vettel is more than 15 seconds, and you have a perfect pit stop window." Ross Brawn's voice sounded in the headset.
The length of the pit area of each track is different, and the amount of fuel required at each pit stop is also different, so the pit time will also be different. Starting from entering the pit area, stopping to change stations and refueling, and then exiting the pit area. It takes at least 20 seconds. The pit area and the straight are basically parallel. Passing through the pit once is equivalent to running past the end straight. That is, the distance in the pit can also be regarded as the distance to the track. However, some time will be lost during stop and start and the speed limit in the pit area.
There is a 15-second advantage in the competition. As long as the refueling time is controlled to about 10 seconds, you can basically guarantee that you will still be in front of your opponent after refueling and coming out of the pit area. This is the so-called "perfect pit stop window."
To put it simply, if Zhang Guan stops to refuel and change tires now, he will still be in front of second place Vettel when he comes out. However, when he finishes refueling, the 15-second advantage will be almost lost.
"Then do I need to go back to refuel?" Zhang Guan asked.
"Of course not!" Ross Brown continued: "As long as your current tires and fuel can hold it, keep running. Taking advantage of the fact that the fuel is low and the car is lighter, set a few more fastest lap times and try to Expand the advantage! It’s best if we let Vettel pit first. Oh, wait, Vettel pits to refuel! In this case, our advantage is already very large.”
On lap seventeen, Vettel chose to pit for fuel and tire changes. It took him 11.6 seconds to refuel, which was probably less than 20 laps of fuel.
On the 18th lap, Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima made a mistake when exiting a corner. The front of his car hit the protective wall directly, and debris scattered all over the ground. A yellow flag was shown during the stage.
Overtaking is not allowed when the yellow flag appears. The yellow flag in the stage means that overtaking is not allowed in this stage, and the yellow flag in the whole field means that overtaking is not allowed in the whole field. At that time, the safety car will often come out to lead everyone to lap. Yellow flags in a stage generally indicate that there is an emergency in a certain stage, such as a car crash, water accumulation, foreign objects, etc.
If a red flag is shown, it is usually a serious situation. At this time, all cars must return to the pit area the next time they pass through the pit entrance.
The blue flag is given to drivers who are lapped, telling them to let the fast car pass first. A black flag will result in immediate ejection from the game.
In order to make it easier for drivers to know these situations, there are often lights on the driver's steering wheel to remind them. For example, when there is a yellow flag in a stage, or when entering a stage where overtaking is not allowed, the light will light up to remind the driver.
Kazuki Nakajima, who crashed this time, can tell by his name that he is a Japanese driver. He joined the Williams team with a sponsor contract. Others drive cars to earn wages, but he paid to compete. of. In terms of driving style, Kazuki Nakajima is very fierce and tough. So his accident and crash were more caused by his driving style.
In fact, the driving styles of Japanese drivers in Formula One are similar. They all dare to fight hard, such as overtaking. Sometimes they overtake if they win, and they crash if they lose. Therefore, the previous two Japanese drivers Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto were both roadkill drivers. Their completion rate was less than two-thirds. For example, when they were lapped and saw the blue flag and were unwilling to give up, this was all done by Japanese drivers. matter.
Although Zhang Guan had not yet reached the yellow flag stage at this time, Ross Brawn had already reminded you: "I'll tell you some bad news. There was an accident ahead. Kazuki Nakajima of the Williams team crashed."
"Is it serious? Will a safety car be deployed?" Zhang Guan asked.
"With the debris all over the place, maybe the safety car is really possible. Next time you pass the pit entrance, come in and cheer!" Ross Brown's voice became more urgent.
Zhang Guan was not the only one who chose to stop for fuel at this time. Other racing cars that had not yet stopped for fuel also chose to stop for fuel at this time. Yellow flags during stages will affect the speed of the car, and of course the results of the drivers. Instead, it is better to go to the pit station to refuel and let the staff clean up the car debris on the track. So even some slow trains at the back chose to stop at this time.
When Zhang Guan ran out of the pits, he was still in the first position. The advantage he had accumulated before was large enough. Vettel, who was second, was still 15 seconds away from him.
On lap 20, the safety car was dispatched, which was extremely bad news for Zhang Guan. But it is good news for the cars behind that want to catch up.
The rules require that after the safety car is deployed, it will be stuck in front of the first place. All cars are not allowed to overtake and must follow the safety car according to their ranking. However, the speed of the safety car is much slower than that of the car, so the car behind will quickly catch up with the car in front. Basically, the appearance of the safety car means that all the advantages gained by the leader are instantly wiped out.
After the safety car passed by the slower car, it found Zhang Guan, who was in first place, and started to lead in front of Zhang Guan. Zhang Guan's speed slowed down instantly. He could only turn on the fuel-saving mode and follow the safety car behind, while the cars behind him quickly chased him.
Second place is still Red Bull's Vettel, third place is Ferrari's Massa, fourth place is BMW's Kubica, and fifth place is Ferrari's Raikkonen. The cars behind also followed, and the eighteen cars formed a long snake formation. Even the few cars that had been lapped were once again queued at the end of the group.
Zhang Guan was in a bad mood. He had a huge advantage before, but now it was all gone because of the safety car. He was back to where he was at the start, and all his efforts in the first twenty laps were in vain.
"When the safety car leaves later, pay attention to Ferrari. They have a kinetic energy recovery system." Ross Brawn's voice sounded from the headphones again.
In the static start just now, Ferrari was originally ranked 7th and 9th, but relied on the 80 extra horsepower of the kinetic energy recovery system to rush to 4th and 5th. Now that it is a dynamic start, the advantages of the kinetic energy recovery system will be even greater. And now that Ferrari is ranked 3rd and 5th respectively, it is definitely possible to threaten Zhang Guan, who is in first place.
…
"This safety car allowed us to see an opportunity. Just now we were more than fifteen seconds behind Zhang Guan, and now through this safety car, we have closed the gap." Red Bull Racing's strategy engineer said into the microphone.
"Yes, we are back on the same starting line again." Vettel's voice sounded excited: "I like this kind of change."
The second chapter is delivered, thanks to Tiger in the Mountain 556, Zhili*Zhijie, Swz Don’t Forget, 43ewq, xsf9800, Home in Inner Mongolia, Shaomai ONE, Ye Yidan, l Lao Amu, and the king sent me to read the book and give rewards! Thanks.
(End of chapter)