The perceived wisdom is that teams in their second season in F1 struggle to match the heights reached in their first year, in part due to the burden of having to design their second car while still racing and developing their first. However, many (including myself) felt that the 2010 debutants were so slow in their first season that surely they couldn’t be as slow again. Could they?
Well, in HRT’s case hopes weren’t exactly high before the weekend began, the team having somehow failed to run their new car at all before Australia. The mechanics put in a 24 hour shift in the Albert Park pit lane to get the cars finished, but they didn’t manage any meaningful running in practice before failing to qualify by the fairly comfortable margins of 1.7 seconds (Liuzzi) and 3.0 seconds (Karthikeyan).
Given the rumours flying about the paddock (that the team didn’t have enough parts to run both cars, or that the car couldn’t run at all because it hadn’t passed the mandatory crash tests), things could have been worse, particularly bearing in mind that the season should have started two weeks earlier in Bahrain - one wonders what state the team would have been in then.
The problem now for HRT is that there is no more testing, so they will have to continue to learn about their new car in public while trying to beat the 107% limit in qualifying so they can at least attempt a race distance.
Well, in HRT’s case hopes weren’t exactly high before the weekend began, the team having somehow failed to run their new car at all before Australia. The mechanics put in a 24 hour shift in the Albert Park pit lane to get the cars finished, but they didn’t manage any meaningful running in practice before failing to qualify by the fairly comfortable margins of 1.7 seconds (Liuzzi) and 3.0 seconds (Karthikeyan).
Given the rumours flying about the paddock (that the team didn’t have enough parts to run both cars, or that the car couldn’t run at all because it hadn’t passed the mandatory crash tests), things could have been worse, particularly bearing in mind that the season should have started two weeks earlier in Bahrain - one wonders what state the team would have been in then.
The problem now for HRT is that there is no more testing, so they will have to continue to learn about their new car in public while trying to beat the 107% limit in qualifying so they can at least attempt a race distance.
Over at Virgin things were better, but only just. As early as Friday Timo Glock was worrying about the 107% cut-off, and admitted that the team’s new car was “not quick enough at the moment”. He also went as far to say that he hoped “that the guys who are behind the new package for the car know what they are doing”- a far cry from the positive noises being made by Tonio Liuzzi, despite his non-qualification.
However, both Virgin cars qualified for the race (D’Ambrosio scraping in by only half a second) and were still running at the end, albeit several laps adrift, and in Glock’s case not classified as a finisher. The team appear to be pinning their hopes on a major upgrade planned for Turkey, but no doubt the bigger teams will develop at an even faster rate, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team falls foul of the 107% rule at some point this year. Glock himself has acknowledged this in recent interviews, and it’s hard to see him staying at the team beyond the end of the season unless the upgraded package is a vast improvement.
Given their lack of performance, Virgin will also be concerned that HRT (assuming they ever get their new car running properly) could give them a run for their money, as they did on occasions last season. Signing Sakon Yamamoto as reserve driver is hardly a statement of intent for a team looking to move up the grid, either…
However, both Virgin cars qualified for the race (D’Ambrosio scraping in by only half a second) and were still running at the end, albeit several laps adrift, and in Glock’s case not classified as a finisher. The team appear to be pinning their hopes on a major upgrade planned for Turkey, but no doubt the bigger teams will develop at an even faster rate, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team falls foul of the 107% rule at some point this year. Glock himself has acknowledged this in recent interviews, and it’s hard to see him staying at the team beyond the end of the season unless the upgraded package is a vast improvement.
Given their lack of performance, Virgin will also be concerned that HRT (assuming they ever get their new car running properly) could give them a run for their money, as they did on occasions last season. Signing Sakon Yamamoto as reserve driver is hardly a statement of intent for a team looking to move up the grid, either…
Of the newer teams, Lotus in particular had high hopes of improvement, having started design work on their 2011 car fairly early and secured Red Bull’s 2010 transmission package. Because of these expectations, their performance was probably the most disappointing of the new teams. Things didn’t start well, with an inauspicious debut for Karun Chandhok as test driver – the Indian crashed at Turn 3 on his first lap out of the pits on Friday morning!
The Lotuses (Loti?) were well off the tail of the midfield runners and only half a second clear of Glock’s Virgin in qualifying. The race was better, with Trulli finishing two laps clear of D’Ambrosio, but also two laps behind the winner. The problem was apparently getting heat into the Pirelli tyres, but it seemed strange that this problem wasn’t picked up on in winter testing (which took place entirely in Europe and therefore provided ample cold weather running).
Nevertheless, the team at least look equipped to improve in future races, and seem to be the only one of the three ‘new’ teams to have improved relative to this time last season. Lotus may struggle to catch the midfield runners though, simply because they all look potentially strong this year – teams like Toro Rosso and Sauber have clearly improved, while Force India look quicker than expected after testing, and two of these three teams have already scored points (with Sauber looking well placed to do so in future after the blow of their post-race double disqualification). It could therefore be a lonely year for Heikki and Jarno and another 10th place in the championship for Lotus.
The Lotuses (Loti?) were well off the tail of the midfield runners and only half a second clear of Glock’s Virgin in qualifying. The race was better, with Trulli finishing two laps clear of D’Ambrosio, but also two laps behind the winner. The problem was apparently getting heat into the Pirelli tyres, but it seemed strange that this problem wasn’t picked up on in winter testing (which took place entirely in Europe and therefore provided ample cold weather running).
Nevertheless, the team at least look equipped to improve in future races, and seem to be the only one of the three ‘new’ teams to have improved relative to this time last season. Lotus may struggle to catch the midfield runners though, simply because they all look potentially strong this year – teams like Toro Rosso and Sauber have clearly improved, while Force India look quicker than expected after testing, and two of these three teams have already scored points (with Sauber looking well placed to do so in future after the blow of their post-race double disqualification). It could therefore be a lonely year for Heikki and Jarno and another 10th place in the championship for Lotus.
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