Does this race Change Strategy

[neilap]

Jense made the call before the start of the season that some teams will make early stops and go for it. Well, he said he felt the slower teams might do that. Now that he has won using what might be called a pretty nutty strategy will this change the way the next races are run? LH was obviously the loser in the traditional line of thought.

[dyewat808]

The first thing to notice is that his early pit strategy only worked because of changing track conditions. So I'd say it won't make a huge difference to future races.

[Ralf's Girl]

I agree - an early stop wouldn't have done him any good if it hadn't been to change from inters to slicks, and he only did it that early because he was really struggling with the inters. I don't see early pitstops becoming the norm.

[ralf fan]

It only worked because everyone had to stop. As the Ferraris and Kubica showed track position is key. Even if you have fresh tyres and are 2 seconds quicker it is impossible to overtake.

[OZ_HCR32]

I think if you have pace in the car, then pitting early means you may be able to get the clear space and be able to punt clean, consistant and fast laps without chewing tyres and burning time behind a car. You would think if you have the pace you will be able to get past the back markers and by the time you get to the rear wings of thos in say 12th or higher they will be pealing off for their stops.

I still think its a shame to see F1 cars racing around 6-8 seconds off the pace the car is capable of

[Taprobane]

I think they should remove the rules about having to use both sets of tyres and make it so someone like Jenson could run the rntire race on one set with others such as Lewis would maybe stop twice and charge harder. Of course for this to work the cars have to be able to overtake.

[neilap]

In Bahrain most teams agreed that they were surprised by how durable the tires were. I am starting to believe we will see drivers, especially if they can get clean air coming out of the pits come in as early as possible then maintaining till the end. Hope I am wrong.

[Adam43]

Nope, the having to use both compounds rule ruins it.

And the cars still can't overtake.

It does show that the lack of fuel stops hasn't hurt it. It has added value, IMHO, but we still have the two problems above. It also shows that adding another compulsary pitstop does not help, it just masks the problem.

[Knowlesy]

You have to bear in mind the track. Somewhere easier to overtake would be worthwhile pitting perhaps, but get out of step at, say, Hungary or monaco and it's hello traffic for the rest of your afternoon.

However any proper variety is not really possible due to the compound rules.

[BootsOntheSide]

Button's strategy only worked because the track was trying, and he got onto the right tyres more quickly. In normal conditions, I can't see much changing. What this race has changed is that teams are less likely to consider making a second pitstop to run softer tyres in the latter stages - Hamilton was set for at least 3rd before he pitted, and never had any hope of fighting back.

The race has changed my strategy for Sundays though - turn the TV on, watch if it's likely to rain or the grid's mixed-up, give it a miss otherwise.

[Cynic]

If a set of soft tyres can be made to last 50+ laps, then there is no sense in using the harder compound for any other reason that the rules force you to. If Malaysia is dry I fully expect teams to qualify on the soft tyres and run them as long as possible in the race. I wouldn't be suprised if some of the back runners take a punt and pit a handful of laps from the end.

[rocketracer]

Originally Posted by neilap

In Bahrain most teams agreed that they were surprised by how durable the tires were. I am starting to believe we will see drivers, especially if they can get clean air coming out of the pits come in as early as possible then maintaining till the end. Hope I am wrong.

whilst i agree that Jenson's win was only due to the changing track conditions, i do think you have a valid point - that pitting as early as possible is where the benefit lies.

the only consideration is clean air.

By pitting early, you will theoretically be lapping quicker than you would on a slightly worn set, thereby making ground on the cars you were following before the pit stop.

What might be interesting is if a top running car bombs out their quali lap and gets stuck in the mid - low quali positions (like 15 - 20). You might opt to pit in the first couple of laps, get clear track and therefore be able to circle faster than the cars up to 6 / 7 (especially if they are having on-track battles and slowing each other down), so that by the time these cars pit, you would hold track position. Then manage tyres and fend off chasing cars until the finish.

pitting early also holds all the benefits in case of safety car.

but i'm with you, in that i hope this doesnt happen, as it means the rewards lie with avoiding on-track car to car racing.

[strider]

Being vaguely optimistic, I think the teams are learning about the tyres as they go along, so they could get more adventurous as their knowledge increases.

[vancecooley]

it seemed to me that there was a lot of overtaking... did you guys see something I didn't?

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by neilap

Jense made the call before the start of the season that some teams will make early stops and go for it. Well, he said he felt the slower teams might do that. Now that he has won using what might be called a pretty nutty strategy will this change the way the next races are run? LH was obviously the loser in the traditional line of thought.

If they can take care of the tires, it's possible.

[Belatti]

With the pitting early strategy, you can charge hard at the beggining of the race, when everyone is driving like my grandma. Try to gain some places or make a difference if you are ahead.

Then pit early, try to clock 3 or 4 good laps and wait the rest to pit, just to administrate the final stint, where you should be ahead.

Nice in theory, would it work in practice?

[neilap]

Ofcourse my limited knowledge of the sport leads me to think that as soon as the field spreads out it would be time to pit. Rocketracer pretty much eloquently elaborated on what I was saying. My bet; more teams will pull the JB strategy, especially on tracks where passing is just about impossible.