Fernando Alonso has suggested there may be a quirk of the current generation of Formula 1 cars that is causing the lack of Safety Car interventions in recent Grands Prix.
F1 is currently on a nine-race streak without the Safety Car coming into play, which is the first time this has happened since the gap between the 2003 Hungarian GP and the 2004 Spanish GP. The streak also includes the first Singapore Grand Prix concluded without the need for neutralisation.
While there is no obvious explanation for why races have been relatively accident-free since the Spanish GP, Alonso hinted that the characteristics of modern ground-effect cars are a factor.
In particular, it suggests that the fact that cars are actually faster when not driven at the absolute limit could explain the reduction in accidents.
“These cars are not easy to drive, but I think the problem with these cars is also to extract 100% of the potential,” said the Aston Martin driver. “So if you drive at 90%, sometimes you’re faster because you don’t put the platform at awkward ride heights or angles. You’re not pushing the limits, and that’s where it all falls apart. So sometimes driving at 90% % is faster”.
Alonso says the performance of current cars can be very confusing when pushed to the limit, as must happen in qualifying.
“Baku was a great example, he added. “I was P15 in Q1, with Lando’s problem. Otherwise I would have started 16th in the Grand Prix and stayed out of Q1. Seven minutes later, I put on another set of tires and was fifth in Q2. I improved by about 1″1, but driving the same way”.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
“I was braking in the same places. The preparation was the same on that lap, but I managed to improve by 1.1. Some of us did the opposite: we were very fast in Q1 and very slow in Q2, and sometimes we can’t find explanations as to when we are fast or when we are slow and why.”
“If you get into the details and the unlimited number of sensors we have in the car, we can spot the little differences when the car is slow. We put the car in slightly different conditions that maybe aren’t ideal and that kind of thing.”
“That’s why sometimes in races, because we’re all driving at 90%, having to take care of tires and fuel economy and all these things, we don’t see too many problems or errors and we don’t see too many Safety Cars or accidents.”
“The cars are ‘happier’ when you drive at that speed. It’s a bit against the instinct of the driver, who wants you to put on a new tyre, go into qualifying and drive at 110% if possible. But, with these machines, sometimes it’s something you have to manage.”
#GPs #row #Safety #Car #Alonso #curious #theory