Is the Red Bull no longer the fastest car?

[DJRC]

Not an accusation, merely a question and with the rider attached of...on raceday.

Whilst clearly the Bull is still the fastest thing on Saturday, I put forward for the rumination of the ph F1 posse that come Sunday the Macca is now the quickest race vehicle.

I turn it over to you lot to discuss.

[krissstephen]

personally, I'd say the McLaren is the quickest, as both it's drivers seem to get the best out of it.

ferrari is quick, but alonso is driving it to it's limits to stay on top, massa is just not on it, no where near it!

the Red Bull is obviously quick, maybe Webber just doesn't have the edge this year?

[Regiment]

I would say the Red Bull is faster, but the Mclaren has the better race drivers.

[jodypress]

The Redbull really is quick out of the corners, much quicker than either the Ferrari or Mclaren. Notice when LH was trying to overtake in Turkey and Alonso in Monaco. Is this due to the exhaust/throttle tech? If so, we will see the diffeence at Silverstone.

[Jungles]

Red Bull and McLaren are equal now. The only differences seem to be their drivers and conditions, with Red Bull stronger in aero and McLaren stronger in mechanical grip. Ferrari are not far off, maybe 0.2 to 0.5 sec/lap in race conditions when driven properly (ie. by Alonso).

[Fire99]

On aero dependent tracks, I'd say that Red Bull are still a fair step ahead. As Button commented, McLaren seem to have strong mechanical grip, which worked well at somewhere like Monaco.

[DiscoColin]

Regiment said:

I would say the Red Bull is faster, but the Mclaren has the better race drivers.

^ This.

[RJB_666]

Taking a long shot it could be down to the DRS being used more on saturday. As others have said Red Bull have better aero allowing them to open the wing much earlier but still being more planted around corners. Just a stab in the dark.

[Mini1275]

DiscoColin said:

Regiment said:

I would say the Red Bull is faster, but the Mclaren has the better race drivers.

^ This.

Yep, would agree with that as well.

[badboyburt]

Red Bull never have had the fastest car's they have admitted this themselves, the strategists are a lot better than other teams, just the pit stops let them down lol

[seansverige]

Nope. Monaco is so different as to be useless in judging long term form, and if Mr Alonso hadn't bundled it up the inside in Spain they would have romped off into the distance. The gap is smaller on race day, but it's still there. Canada might give us a better picture, but I fear normal service will be resumed... roll on new diffuser rules.

[DJRC]

I wasnt just using Monaco.

[davepoth]

Rumour has it that red bull are running a special fuel map in qualifying that's blowing their diffuser extra hard by burning fuel on the overrun. That is apparently what's making them so fast on Saturday.

[AlpineWhite]

badboyburt said:

Red Bull never have had the fastest car's they have admitted this themselves, the strategists are a lot better than other teams, just the pit stops let them down lol

Er, you what?!

[weyland yutani]

Didn't Webber get fastest lap of the race again yesterday? That would be 5 in 6 for him.

Even though the fastest lap was recorded towards the end of the race so closer to qualy trim regarding fuel load, its clear the RB7 is fastest but the McLaren is right with it on race pace.

[Castrol Craig]

davepoth said:

Rumour has it that red bull are running a special fuel map in qualifying that's blowing their diffuser extra hard by burning fuel on the overrun. That is apparently what's making them so fast on Saturday.

THIS.

Either way, we will surely find out at sillystone, if the RB's dont quali in a blanket front row then expect Alonso/Button to be leading into turn 1.

[Jasandjules]

Well, if they aren't allowed to use their exhaust gasses soon then we will see won't we?

[Satsuma]

RB is the faster car around thwe fast corners. the cars are now fairly equally matched around the slower stuff.

[DJRC]

See this fast corner lark is what I dont get though, to me it looks like its the slower corners they gain on. They can simply get the power down earlier and better. The Maccas for my liking are much quicker through the medium to high corners, much more balanced.

[skinny]

ISTM that the RBR's have much more efficient downforce and therefore can open their DRS much sooner than anyone else - which gives them an advantage in qualy where you can use it whenever you want, but means they are only as quick as the rest (and poss a bit slower on account of the renault engine?) during the race.