F1 Digest - Japan Free Practice

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By Christine Blachford

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A bright and sunny first day of action in Fuji, which meant there was actually very little of note. However, F1 Digest takes a quick look at what we saw and what the teams thought of their day.

Free Practice 1

A very quiet session, with Massa leaving it the longest before setting a lap time. Hamilton got an early glimpse of glory, whilst a couple of drivers ran wide off track.

Free Practice 2

Much more action, and the hot debate over which driver was on soft and hard tyres, impossible to tell. Glock and Trulli gave the plans plenty to see in FP1, and the former made it stick through FP2 as well.

Conclusions

The lack of bumps at this track compared to Singapore seems to be a bonus for the drivers, although grip and setup are top priorities. The long straight is causing some issues, and it will be interesting to see developments through the weekend.

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8 Responses

  • 10/10/2008 at 21:45:26#1 - me said:

    ferrari are in real trouble when it comes to doing a flying lap aren't they?

    also, how is it possible that toyota haven't found a way to get glock out for a run on their own circuit until today?

  • 10/10/2008 at 22:40:35#2 - Alianora La Canta said:

    By the way, I've finally caught up with my comparitor, which in turn has finally got up to date.

    Predictions:

    [b]Qualifying[/b]

    Out in Q1 - Button, Heidfeld, Fisichella and Coulthard
    Transition area Q1/Q2 - Barrichello and Glock
    Solid Q2 - Webber, Trulli and Rosberg
    Transition Q2/Q3 - Nakajima and Kubica

    Top 6:
    Kovalainen(?!?)-Hamilton
    Massa-Raikkonen
    Alonso-Piquet

    [b]Race Top 6:[/b]

    Hamilton-Sutil(?!?)
    Massa-Raikkonen
    Alonso-Webber

  • 10/10/2008 at 23:48:14#3 - Stuart C said:

    ferrari are in real trouble when it comes to doing a flying lap aren’t they?

    The track surface is quite abrasive, which in combination with the tyre characteristics gives the Ferrari an understeery balance.

    Wet here today – not raining much at the moment, though. People are just arriving so there's no weather data up on the screens yet. There are clear skies to the south...

  • 11/10/2008 at 00:51:29#4 - me said:

    The track surface is quite abrasive, which in combination with the tyre characteristics gives the Ferrari an understeery balance.

    4 laps to get up to speed though. will they have enough time in qualifying?

    Wet here today – not raining much at the moment, though. People are just arriving so there’s no weather data up on the screens yet. There are clear skies to the south…

    appreciate the heads up. haven't been checking the local radar maps for this gp, must go dig some out... assuming i can read 'em.

  • 11/10/2008 at 00:53:12#5 - me said:

    Top 6:
    Kovalainen(?!?)-Hamilton

    where's that kovi figure coming from then?

  • 11/10/2008 at 16:38:30#6 - Alianora La Canta said:

    I don't know, but I didn't see him on pole. It could have been worse though - before I took the adjuster out, it was claiming Sutil for 3rd!

  • 11/10/2008 at 16:52:46#7 - Alianora La Canta said:

    Looking at the comparitor, it was because Kovalainen got 3rd in first practise, which happens to be the session that's the most reliable indicator for qualifying pace in his case. After the normalising element of -0.9 kicks in (that's -0.57 for the difference between average FP1 and average qualification minus the reduction of that difference made necessary by the season being incomplete), the raw predicted place for Kovalainen was 2.1. This was 0.6 positions better than the next driver, Hamilton.

  • 11/10/2008 at 17:08:30#8 - me said:

    Looking at the comparitor, it was because Kovalainen got 3rd in first practise, which happens to be the session that’s the most reliable indicator for qualifying pace in his case.

    ahh, okay, makes sense.


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