Just 0.009s in it between Webber and Vettel

Brazilian Grand Prix second practice analysis

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Mark Webber, Red Bull, Interlagos, 2010

There’s hardly anything to choose between the two Red Bull drivers in their battle for supremacy in Brazil.

Sebastian Vettel may have topped both sessions but Mark Webber’s faster sector times put him ahead by just nine thousandths of a second around a 4.3km lap of Interlagos.

Closest rivals Ferrari showed their hand in the second session but were over three tenths of a second slower than the RB6s.

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Tick/untick drivers’ names to show their laps, click and drag to zoom

The two Red Bull drivers were fastest in first and second practice on Friday at Interlagos.

But although Sebastian Vettel headed both timed sessions, Mark Webber has got the pace to challenge for pole position.

At Korea Vettel took pole position by less than a tenth of a second. Today just 0.009s separated their best ‘ultimate laps’ of the Interlagos track (see below).

Ferrari showed their hand in second practice. Interestingly, Felipe Massa was faster than Fernando Alonso up until his clutch problem halfway through the session.

But McLaren looked out of sorts, Jenson Button complaining about poor rear grip and ending the session 1.2s slower than Vettel. Lewis Hamilton fared slightly better but was still well off the pace.

These three cars look more closely matched on race pace. The front runners’ lap times much more closely matched at the end of the session when they were running higher fuel loads (zoom in to the last 12 minutes’ of the session on the chart above to see).

The super-soft tyre appears to give its best on its first lap – few drivers found an improvement on a later lap. An exception was Alonso, but that could be related to the timing of the yellow flags following Massa’s stoppage.

However with rain expected to fall ahead of final practice and qualifying tomorrow, the grid for Sunday’s race may yet become even harder to predict.

As ever, it’s hard to guess exactly what fuel levels the teams will have been using in this session and a true picture won’t emerge until qualifying.

One driver who was particularly happy with his performance is Nick Heidfeld:

I am quite satisfied because I didn’t expect us to be that strong here, and the lap time isn’t on the edge yet. The long runs were even better than eighth fastest. I feel here I made a step forward with the set up of the car.
Nick Heidfeld

Pos.CarDriverCarBest lapGapLapAt timeLaps
15Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’11.968177328
26Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’12.0720.104166434
38Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’12.3280.360237036
42Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’12.6560.688216833
57Felipe MassaFerrari1’12.6770.709186318
611Robert KubicaRenault1’12.8820.914206437
71Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’13.2061.238216833
822Nick HeidfeldSauber-Ferrari1’13.2221.254235940
94Nico RosbergMercedes1’13.3331.365238034
103Michael SchumacherMercedes1’13.3461.378227036
119Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’13.5201.552247137
1223Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’13.6101.642226141
1310Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth1’13.7251.757206439
1414Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’13.7411.773206832
1512Vitaly PetrovRenault1’13.8181.850115226
1615Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes1’14.0452.077226337
1716Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’14.3042.336166333
1817Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’14.5782.610144737
1918Jarno TrulliLotus-Cosworth1’14.9843.016215347
2019Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’15.1013.133134843
2125Lucas di GrassiVirgin-Cosworth1’15.4333.465287635
2221Bruno SennaHRT-Cosworth1’16.0704.102255942
2320Christian KlienHRT-Cosworth1’16.0824.114236038
2424Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’16.1504.182267335

Ultimate laps

An ultimate lap is a drivers’ best three times in each sector added together.

Pos.CarDriverCarUltimate lapGapDeficit to best
16Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’11.9550.117
25Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’11.9640.0090.004
38Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’12.3280.3730.000
42Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’12.6000.6450.056
511Robert KubicaRenault1’12.6630.7080.219
67Felipe MassaFerrari1’12.6770.7220.000
71Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’13.1151.1600.091
83Michael SchumacherMercedes1’13.1381.1830.208
94Nico RosbergMercedes1’13.1481.1930.185
1022Nick HeidfeldSauber-Ferrari1’13.1521.1970.070
119Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’13.4121.4570.108
1210Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth1’13.4851.5300.240
1323Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’13.6101.6550.000
1414Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’13.6511.6960.090
1515Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes1’13.7541.7990.291
1612Vitaly PetrovRenault1’13.7681.8130.050
1716Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’14.0822.1270.222
1817Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’14.1872.2320.391
1918Jarno TrulliLotus-Cosworth1’14.9663.0110.018
2019Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’15.1013.1460.000
2125Lucas di GrassiVirgin-Cosworth1’15.3363.3810.097
2221Bruno SennaHRT-Cosworth1’15.9714.0160.099
2320Christian KlienHRT-Cosworth1’16.0334.0780.049
2424Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’16.0424.0870.108

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

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    Image © Red Bull/Getty images

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    47 comments on “Just 0.009s in it between Webber and Vettel”

    1. I’ll stop reading F1 news until tomorrow’s qualy. I’m too nervous and anxious about everything really! I can’t think about it anymore!

      So goodbye all! see ya tomorrow

      1. Bye & have a nice time.

    2. There is 0.1sec in it, barring team orders Vettel seems to have Webber covered.

      1. Webber hasn’t beaten Vettel in qualifying or a race since Spa. Which is probably why Red Bull are so reluctant to put their full support behind him.

      2. As Keith’s analysis indicates there’s not a 0.1 sec in it. in fact there’s 0.01 sec in it in Webber’s favour. It’s ascloseasthat really.

        1. but there is 0.1 in it, that is a FACT.

          Quickest sectors stitched together means nothing.

    3. Webber is the only driver on the grid whining about how he needs no.1 status. Except Alonso, but what the hell? That’s a totally different story… And Who’s gotten the car without all the problems? Webber.

      1. It appears rather that he is “whining” about not wanting no 2 status.

        1. I don’t see how he has number two status. They have equal rights to race on the track. He should just be happy that he gets the best car on the grid and has a chance to go and win with it. And he have had far less problems with the car then Seb have had. Some might due to a more aggressive driving style, but others were clearly just bad luck.
          I think the problem is that because Webber is in front in the points he thinks that Red Bull should axe Vettel’s championship and give him number two status just like Massa.

          1. Webber hasn’t whined, he simply said what all of us are thinking, that Red Bull would prefer if Vettel won the title. That’s not to say they won’t like it if Webber wins the title, just that they would PREFER if Vettel won it. Of course they would still be delighted if he took the title, as 1 of their drivers would have still won.

            THe issue here is that most Australians like to ‘call a spade a spade’,(i.e tell it how it is without flowering it up). Unfortunately some people have a hard time understanding the differnce between straight talk (being honest) and whinging.

            In that case just pretend he did what Vettel did & said “There are some things I prefer not to comment on”. Um, Yawn?

            1. It could simply be down to marketing. Having vettel win while he is young and his Red Bull career is still fresh, would carry far greater benefits for Red Bull than having the old Mark Webber win. All the hype around Webbers win would disappear the second he retires at the end of the year – what a waste, they must be thinking.

      2. Car problems should be put down to chance, Red Bull are not purposefully giving Webber a more reliable car, and secondly, Vettel probably can’t be blamed for the problems with his car.

        Also, consider that Webber hasn’t actually complained about not getting no.1 status, He has on the other hand complained about not getting equal status. Which is what at the very least you would expect, given their championship positions.

      3. please don’t take his comments out of context as the media has. you forgot to mention the end of his sentence “but that’s fine”. he’s not whining at all

        1. Exactly Tommy, good point :-)

        2. lets not get the facts involved in a good bashing……

        3. If it’s fine why Mark let this out? clearly he intentionally wanted to stir it up and make Vettel or Red Bull looks bad and then added “but that’s fine” there is a catch in it, one of hyprocricy at its best…perhaps Mark learns this tricky trick from his manager Flavio Briatore

          1. Since when is just making a statement considering whinging?

            1. He is not making a statement, he is complaining.

          2. it was in response to a brazillian reporter asking 4 or 5 times ‘so why arn’t you getting the same support as vettel’.

            Exactly as TommyC said, dont take it out of context!

    4. so looks like tomorrow rain could affect the quali.. hope mclarens could be 3rd and 2nd

    5. Ferrari looking very strong with fuel there at the end. Faster than RBR. Hamilton didn’t seem to try to run with fuel later. Button did but was slow. I don’t think there is a race-pace miracle on order from McLaren, though. Hamilton simply has to qualify ahead of Alonso if he wants to get a look in for Abu Dhabi.

    6. “Ultimate” lap-time advantage is irrelevant though. Vettel is[/em] putting the sectors together and Webber hasn’t been for a while now. I hope he manages to tomorrow though.

      I’m also interested to see how Alonso will fare tomorrow. The engine he used today obviously wasn’t too slow, but I can’t help but wondering how much (if any) performance Ferrari are holding back.

      1. groan… silly BB-code tags getting in the way of proper html. Sorry.

      2. The ‘ultimate’ lap time is a bit of a fur-fie when the gap is so small. If you are too fast into a corner at the end of a sector your sector time for that sector will show up as being quick, but your next sector is compromised.

        1. Exactly, this has shown to be true time and time again..

    7. Poor old Petrov… stacking his motor, it looked very much like a goodbye off. At some point there’s gonna be that uncomfortable conversation, I’m sorry Vitali, we’ve had a discussion and we’ve decided.

      In fact, I was playing the conversation in my head when I was watching him go off in FP1. If I was him, I’d be ‘bricking it’.

      1. According to Renault, it was a fault with the rear wing that caused the crash, it wasn’t Petrov’s fault. Even the accident itself looked strange, he was almost moving in a straight line when the car just snapped away from him.
        http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/246589/renault-confirms-petrov-rear-wing-problem/

    8. What it shows? Webber can drive as fast as Vettel, if he makes perfect lap, but he cant…

      1. What it shows is that this is FP2.

        We should all know by now FP means nothing really.

      2. lol, always so negative. This person can’t do this, this person is being destroyed and murdered by this driver on track.

        Can’t we be a bit more positive? “Glad to see it so close at the top, if Mark get’s a solid run together we could be in for a great race!” :D

      3. What it shows?

        Everytime someone mentions how fast the new “Wunderkind” (Vettel) is for the next 10 years or so, I will always think about how a teammate that no one rated stuck it to him for 2 years straight. Can’t wait to see how fast Vettel is once Webber leaves & Vettel can’t steal all of his practice session setup work.

        I really hope Webber wins the title, bad mouths Red Bull, is released from his contract & ends up in a Ferrari alongside Alonso next year. :-) I know I know, wistful thinking…

    9. C’MON WEBBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    10. webber has every right to stand up for himself.
      1. Silverstone – Webbers wing gets removed on the grounds that quote CH: “Vettle is higher in the championship” yet when webber in higher in the championship their is nothing done to help him. lets be honest vettle is not going to win this championship.
      2. Do you really think that if the positions were reversed with webber 25points down we would be seeing this “driver equality” **. arrr no vettle would be favored end of story.
      3. Vettles a great driver no doubt about it. but their is a telling fact in race performances. when vettle has won the race 5/7 times webber has followed him home for the 1,2. but when webber wins only 2/6 times vettle has brought the 1,2 home. i dunno it speaks for itself really.
      4. and only 1 week ago CH comes out and says “next years car will be based around vettle.” why would you say that while your “no.2” driver is leading the championship i mean no wonders webbers ****** off.

    11. Just looking at the lap times, I’d say that Massa is looking good not to be arrested Sun afternoon.

      1. I am glad that law is also against team orders!

    12. what I think people should acknowledge, Seb is an awesome qualifier, and if we took a step back a few years I think younger Webber may have even had his match fully..given his age now and still only being a flea’s member away from the golden child is testament to Mark’s staying power after too many years in dud cars.

      Also Seb has shown the Saturday race means not so much especially for him anyway. He has to wear some blame for some car faults I belive…
      WhY?
      He needs humility, why bother to set fastest lap near the end of a GP…glory? certainly doesnt help nurse or preserve car (engine) for next race!
      Brakes have been an issue for him also, but not Mark…maybe he should ease off and not over work the car, He always seems to hammer the suspension by using alot more curbing than webber or alonso, button and others..
      He also is overly aggressive, not race smart, Turkey, Silverstone, Spa to name 3, every time he cracked and not used the gray matter but instead the red mist juice.

      Last race the team came on radio a lap or so before the engine let go, also as Alonso was starting to catch him, asking about light….they knew engine was going to let go and were hoping to influence race control to call it before he parked it.

      So all his dramas are not all his fault but I say after looking at some of the issues, he has to wear alot of the blame.

      To brutal on car, stupid driving lack of over taking ability apart from back markers, and arrogance that is backed by high ranking RBR authorities.

      RBR have rocks in the head if they allow him to seek personal glory and loose the #1 plate, by hoping Alonso has drama.
      Next race Alonso can use the replacement engine as it is the last race of the season…!!!! The one he couldn’t use untill the last race as per the rules.

      1. “He needs humility, why bother to set fastest lap near the end of a GP…glory? certainly doesnt help nurse or preserve car (engine) for next race!”

        Webber did just that in Japan.
        And Webber also cracks under pressure. I can name a few races where he had lost well over 5 positions on the first lap. Not due to anything special. Just a bad start and then it goes wrong for him from there on. Valencia for instance and there he weren’t able to overtake a Lotus.
        Not to bash Mark, but Seb is not the only one who makes mistakes.

        1. Webber did just that BECAUSE Vettel always does that. He wouldn’t have bothered otherwise, but he already knew that Vettel had been on the radio asking.

          Also at this point in the season, Webbo KNOWS he has fresher engines, so he may have been simply hoping Vettel tried to respond & maybe blew his engine at Suzuka instead of Korea. Solid tactic, not quite the same as Vettel doing his “Glory Laps” just so he can brag about “getting all three results” (in his mind) on the weekend.

          Fastest lap really doesn’t mean anything anymore nowdays anyway with fuel load & tyre strategies this year. I Don’t know why it matters to Vettel so much, oh wait, I do, because already he desperatly wants to be remembered by everyone as better than Schumacher & to do this he knoew he needs to attack the record books.

          That sort of ego = FAIL!

          1. couldn’t agree more

          2. How exactly does doing something because your teammate is doing it make it right?

            A: Person X murders. He’s evil. Person Y is better.
            B: Person Y murders too.
            A: He does it BECAUSE Person X does it.

            Huh?

        2. Mark knew that was the last time he was using that engine, so setting fastest lap on the last lap wasn’t going to harm his next race.

    13. No matter whatever happens to Webber in the championhip I think he’s done a remarkable job this year. No one gave him much of a chance for WDC at the start of the year. He’s won at Monaco, a race every driver would want if they could choose one race to win. He’s come back from a busted leg, driving crap cars all his career and WingGate. He’s honest, fast and pretty damn cool.

    14. anto the irish
      6th November 2010, 6:06

      did seb say this weekend,mark wont be my friend iv tryed or somthing like that??

      seb seems to be a cool guy and mark aswell but im starting to wonder about mark tho.after alonso id go for them two to win the wc..as for hamliton and button their to dry and boring..

    15. Just start the engine and race…too much!!!

    16. Mark has had tough career and proved in the last few years that with a decent car he can deliver, he comments are honest and the media puts there own swings on things. As I stated earlier, Incredulous should win comment of the year as his words explain it all. Helmut Marko controls the strings attached to Christian Horner who in effect runs the team. Helmut himself shouldn’t even be in the pits, yet he is at most races, making sure Vettel is looked after. As much as Horner is team principal it seems he only controls the staff, not the teams decisions.
      Nothing against Vettel he is great talent, but the favoritism is blantantly obvious???

    17. I just hope to God McLaren don’t persist with their “best of all worlds” policy and crank up the downforce on their car. Yes it will nullify their speed advantage on the straights but even at Interlagos the corners matter more. And with the possibility of rain coming but a dry race, higher downforce will help them through qualifying.

    18. Look at webbers achievements before F1. And what vettel has. Vettel is much more talented as webber. He is still young. He will be WC in a few years.

      Respect for every F1 driver.

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