Monaco free practice run # 01 and #02

[levensnevel]

Same old song after the first two free practice sessions

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=20971

Mind you poleposition last year was a meager 1'15.529 :roll:

As Ralf's engine has been switched after the 1st free practice session he will automatically drop 10 places on the starting grid on Sunday.

[bobafett]

I've never seen that website. Thanks for the link.

--Dan

[levensnevel]

Bonafett,

As far as I'm concerned it's one of the best websites around when it comes to Formula One.

[schnell318]

looks llike the outcome of the race won´t be too hard to predict :roll:

[sameerrao]

Anthony Davidson did a great job. I hope he gets a race drive next year. Also good to see Kimi in the sharper end of the grid for change.

Trulli again outshone Alonzo today. He might put in a blinder in qualifying with low fuel - after all he put a Jordan on P2 in 2000.

Barrichello must be trying the more consistent but less outright grippy tire - he was 0.4 secs slower than Schumi.

Schumi was powersliding the Fezza at St. Devote - superb to see the meister's car control - would have been cooler if they showed some onboards...

I think Button was taking it easy in session 2 - the pace is there in BAR. Should be P2 i think.

[DMbaseball1604]

How much do cars improve (in terms of lap time) over a year, I was just wondering because of the pole time last year and the fastest time so far this year is..1:14.741 and pole last year was 1'15.529..is it always this way, or how much does it change from year to year? And when they change the regulations like they say they are going to, it seems like the lap times will drop considerably..

[sameerrao]

How much do cars improve (in terms of lap time) over a year, I was just wondering because of the pole time last year and the fastest time so far this year is..1:14.741 and pole last year was 1'15.529..is it always this way, or how much does it change from year to year? And when they change the regulations like they say they are going to, it seems like the lap times will drop considerably


Well under stable technical rules, I remember a quote saying that the cars improve by about 1 second per lap on average within the year by optimizing the current car and a further 1 second a lap with a new car. So about 2 secs a lap on average may be improvement you will see year on year on a given circuit.

But "stable technical regulations" is a pipe dream. The FIA keep tinkering with the rules to slow the cars down or meet other criteria. This year they removed the third wing element which caused a 6% loss in downforce. They forced manufacturers to build long life engines (though Ferrari, BAR and BMW seem to still have as much power as last year.

Despite these changes the lap times have dropped considerably this year even though the circuits so far have been medium to high downforce circuits - where you would expect them to loose out most.

With faster top speeds (due to lesser downforce in the rear) and better tire grip, the cars are way faster than last years car. I cant wait till Monza and Spa (the high speed circuits to see what speeds they will be hitting. :shock: :shock:

This is fascinating thing about F1 - the tech guys keep getting fresh challenges and rise to beat them --> I can imagine the Ross Brawns/Patrick Heads of the world saying to themselves "... So you want to cut downforce is it? I'll show you. The new car will be faster even so..."

[sameerrao]

Looking at the sector by sector times:
- Trulli would match Schumi's pace if he could only improve in Sector 1
- Barrichello is only losing out to Schumi in Sector 2 he is v. close in sectors 1 and 3
- Kimi is second fastest in sector 2 - Way to Go!!!
- Williams is consistently mid-pack all the way through
- Fisichella is finally asserting his dominance over Massa
- Zonta is quicker than his Toyota teammates by .3 seconds in each sector

Sector 1 emphasises engine power and high speed grip while sectors 2 and 3 favour handling as much as raw speed. So you can see the Renaults (particularly Trulli) do well in Sectors 2 and 3 but lose out in Sector 1.

2004 Monaco Grand Prix

Position No Driver Time

SECTOR 1
1 35 Anthony Davidson 19.340
2 1 Michael Schumacher 19.443
3 2 Rubens Barrichello 19.580
4 9 Jenson Button 19.595
5 10 Takuma Sato 19.774
6 38 Ricardo Zonta 19.782
7 8 Fernando Alonso 19.879
8 6 Kimi Räikkönen 19.881
9 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 20.002
10 7 Jarno Trulli 20.020
11 11 Giancarlo Fisichella 20.063
12 17 Olivier Panis 20.066
13 5 David Coulthard 20.094
14 12 Felipe Massa 20.142
15 4 Ralf Schumacher 20.148
16 19 Giorgio Pantano 20.202
17 16 Cristiano da Matta 20.259
18 39 Timo Glock 20.281
19 15 Christian Klien 20.465
20 18 Nick Heidfeld 20.522
21 20 Gianmaria Bruni 20.683
22 21 Zsolt Baumgartner 20.726
23 40 Bas Leinders 20.844
24 37 Bjorn Wirdheim 21.172

SECTOR 2
1 1 Michael Schumacher 37.050
2 6 Kimi Räikkönen 37.223
3 7 Jarno Trulli 37.330
4 35 Anthony Davidson 37.336
5 8 Fernando Alonso 37.376
6 2 Rubens Barrichello 37.429
7 38 Ricardo Zonta 37.486
8 10 Takuma Sato 37.520
9 9 Jenson Button 37.589
10 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 37.632
11 4 Ralf Schumacher 37.712
12 5 David Coulthard 37.718
13 16 Cristiano da Matta 37.784
14 11 Giancarlo Fisichella 37.816
15 17 Olivier Panis 38.254
16 12 Felipe Massa 38.304
17 19 Giorgio Pantano 38.368
18 18 Nick Heidfeld 38.561
19 39 Timo Glock 38.658
20 15 Christian Klien 38.741
21 21 Zsolt Baumgartner 38.898
22 20 Gianmaria Bruni 39.011
23 40 Bas Leinders 39.572
24 37 Bjorn Wirdheim 42.762

SECTOR 3
1 7 Jarno Trulli 17.996
2 9 Jenson Button 18.217
3 1 Michael Schumacher 18.248
4 2 Rubens Barrichello 18.275
5 35 Anthony Davidson 18.286
6 38 Ricardo Zonta 18.296
7 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 18.330
8 8 Fernando Alonso 18.330
9 10 Takuma Sato 18.370
10 6 Kimi Räikkönen 18.375
11 5 David Coulthard 18.417
12 16 Cristiano da Matta 18.532
13 17 Olivier Panis 18.552
14 4 Ralf Schumacher 18.571
15 11 Giancarlo Fisichella 18.594
16 39 Timo Glock 18.617
17 19 Giorgio Pantano 18.739
18 15 Christian Klien 18.765
19 18 Nick Heidfeld 18.790
20 12 Felipe Massa 18.963
21 21 Zsolt Baumgartner 19.001
22 20 Gianmaria Bruni 19.028
23 40 Bas Leinders 19.047
24 37 Bjorn Wirdheim 19.618

[Toronto]

I've never seen that website. Thanks for the link.

--Dan

never heard of pitpass?? that site is huge

[bobafett]

I use itv-f1.com ...

--Dan

[nejcdolinsek]

I use itv-f1.com, f1-live.com, f1racing.net, planetf1.com,.......

I wonder who'll win Monaco :wink: .... again!

[SFDMALEX]

As far as lap times are concerned each year then in the past two years lap times changed dramaticaly I would say. It wasnt like that before. A 1 second jump is major improvement.