Rosberg expects “very exciting races” in 2011

2011 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Barcelona, 2011

Nico Rosberg says race strategies are going to be fascinating” in 2011 due to the Pirelli tyres.

He told the official Mercedes website strategy would “definitely” play a bigger role:

“The strategy is going to be really interesting this year and, thanks to Pirelli, we will have some very exciting races, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how it works out. As a driver, you always want to be more involved in the race, so that should be good.”

He added: “The race strategy is going to be fascinating and the number of pit stops should make it really exciting for the fans.”

He believes Mercedes have a good handle on the new tyres and other changes for 2011:

“We understand the Pirelli tyres well now, both over race distances and shorter qualifying runs, and had the opportunity to try them out in the wet on the last day in Barcelona.

“KERS took some getting used to: it was a completely new system for the team, and also for me as a driver.

“The trickiest thing from a driving point of view is under braking, because the amount of energy you try to harvest can really affect the balance of the car. The adjustable rear wing is actually fairly straightforward to operate and should bring an extra interest to the races.”

2011 F1 season


Browse all 2011 F1 season articles

Image © Mercedes

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...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

42 comments on “Rosberg expects “very exciting races” in 2011”

  1. somerandomguy
    16th March 2011, 10:45

    i like exciting races.

    1. I think that’s the least controversial comment we’ve ever had!

      1. Comment of the day?

        1. It’s got my vote… hahaha

          1. same here

          2. COTD for sure!

      2. I’m going to disagree.

        Just ‘cos I can :P

    2. I completely disagree! ;)

      1. Too bad Icthyes! If that’s not COTD I will be very upset. :P

    3. me too, although I wonder if “the number of pitstops should really make it exciting” excites me all that much, preferring them to pass on track and not solely due to strategy. I also think that extra stops only make it exciting for the right reasons if not everyone needs to make them.

      1. you’re not understanding…

        one team stops 4 times and is fast all the time on fresh rubber…

        the other team, tries to hand on, with 2-3 stops, while the other car is catching…..

        it makes perfect sense.

        when we had tires which easily last the whole race, nothing happens.

        canada 2010 ?

      2. Laranja Mecanica
        16th March 2011, 19:01

        Put in a few banana peels for more excitement… F1 is getting more and more Mariokart-like. They should take a hint from MotoGP.

      3. I wonder how many who think a pit-stop fest is going to kill the “soul” of the racing (not meaning you in particular) were also the ones who complained that Bahrain was a boring procession?

    4. Definately! Exciting races are exciting.

    5. i couldn’t agree more! COTD for sure.

    6. Reminds me of the ‘I like turtles’ internet phenomenon!!

  2. The trickiest thing from a driving point of view is under braking, because the amount of energy you try to harvest can really affect the balance of the car

    Thats an interesting point Nico brought up. I completely forgot that cars will be adjusting their brake balance with regards to the amount of energy that can be stored in KERS.

    1. That was something that amazed me in 2009 as well. Given that when the batteries are empty the brakes slow the car down quicker than when the batteries are loaded, you have to adjust your braking points accordingly. It’s mind blowing how the driver’s cope with all that.

      1. I understood, that that was where the McLaren KERS was a lot better than the Ferrari KERS in usage.

    2. I’m assuming that the drivers and the teams will know where the optimum point to use KERS will be after 3 free practice sessions. Can’t they just set the generator to cut in for a fixed percentage of the braking force applied at each braking zone? That way there are no sudden changes between braking with spent batteries and braking just before using KERS.

      Or is everything I just said not practically feasible?

      1. I completely forgot that cars will be adjusting their brake balance with regards to the amount of energy that can be stored in KERS.

        Me too! Now everyone (or nearly everyone) has KERS and the DRS, I think we can expect to see more people outbraking themselves. Especially if there are two drivers side-by-side who are on the KERS button before trying to outbrake each other… This could be fun! :)

      2. The varying fuel loads during the race should change brake characteristics throughout the race, so I guess its quite complicated to find the right balance/strategy. And every circuit will have the KERS and brake system adjusted differently, so it does seem very hard for the driver to adapt.

      3. It’s a fair point. But energy is never lost, just transferred so I guess that could create unpredicatability in the brakes?

        If it doesn’t end up in the battery…then where does it go?

        1. Heat going off the brake discs like usual.

          1. The sound of a squeaky tyre…. remember them?

        2. That is where they change the brake biasses to make the braking the same. Energy then gets transferred to warmth in a greater extent.

  3. Nico forgot to sing his trademark prologue ;)

  4. More positive comments from a driver regarding the tyres :D

    Hurry up Melbourne!

    1. Wait for 8 days,seems like it is taking ages for that to end.

  5. A Nico Rosberg article where no one has mentioned the name “Britney” yet? Impossible!

    1. Jenson would be mad :D

  6. Two weeks ago;

    The tyres are rubbish and they fall apart!

    Now;

    He added: “The race strategy is going to be fascinating and the number of pit stops should make it really exciting for the fans.”

    Call me a cynic but it seems like the the drivers’ sudden change of tune could be down to the Pirelli marketing men having strong words with the F1 drivers managements.

    1. I think it is rather about 1) the drivers getting to learn how to set up the car for these tyres 2) Mercedes making the car better and possibly most important 3) temperature was a lot closer to racing conditions making the tyres work more like they should.

  7. Many says that the races this year will be exciting same we predicted last year but in some high downforce circuit it was a different story in the dry,so we waited so long just 8 days later we will have the answer.

  8. As long as NR is happy with his package and can take the fight to MS, then I’m happy too.

    I’m intrigued though to see if in fact NR and the rest really do understand the tires over race distances and quali given that some have commented how the testing days were pretty cool in temperature compared to once they will be at racing venues, racing in anger.

    I think how the tires Pirelli brings to each track do will depend on the compounds they bring, the abrasiveness and layout of the track, and the weather. And every car will treat the tires differently too. I think the learning curve is far from over when it comes to these new tires.

  9. Just hope Roserb is right, can´t wait to see lots of races like 2010 Canada race, it can´t be much exciting than that.
    From the 2011 new rules, i just don´t agree with the DRS device being used only at one place, let the drivers use it as far as they can even to defend their position like Kers.
    Kers should be also allowed to use when ever they wont and the time they wont.

  10. these tyres will kill the on track racing and will make pit stops more important again at the expense of on track racing.

    the talk coming from drivers/teams is that strategy will be key, i dont want to see strategy be key I want to see RACING ON THE RACETRACK and not in the pit lane.

    for fans of real, pure racing this season is going to be a total nightmare!

  11. I still have the same concern I had when Pirelli announced there tyres would degrade faster & the testing has done nothing but strengthen my concern. That concern been that Pirelli have gone too extreme with tyre performance falling away too quickly & by too much.

    The thing I love about F1 & Motor Racing in general is the actual ‘Racing’. I love watching one driver trying to fight his way past while the other is desperately trying to keep him behind.
    I won’t find it exciting to watch if one car catches another at 4-5 seconds a lap & the car he catches has so little grip & is so slow he’s defenseless to do anything to keep that car behind. Like Ive said before that sort of performance gap will be like watching a 2010 Ferrari racing against a HRT.

    I have other concerns such as the amount of marbles been higher which will negatively affect the racing.

    Also I don’t necisarily want to see everyone making more pit stops, I like to see them racing on the track, I always hated refueling because it often made the pit lane the primary focus of the race as strategy became more important than racing.

    I think teams & drivers should have an option on how many (Or how few) times they stop & not have a specific number forced on them because the tyre supplier want at least x number of stops per-race.

    I think instead of bringing just 2 dry weather compounds to each race weekend, Pirelli should bring 3 & have them perform like this:
    Soft’s = Best performance, High Wear, last about 20 laps.
    Medium’s = Maybe 0.8 slower, Last around half race distance.
    Hard’s = About 1.5 second slower than soft’s, Can last a full race distance.

    Also allow them to switch to any compound they want to during a race. This way Teams & Drivers would have an option on if they wanted to Make no stops, one Stop, Two Stops or maybe more.

  12. JamieFranklinF1
    16th March 2011, 23:36

    To be honest, I have no idea how the tyres will effect the racing. In my personal opinion, I would say that it will make the racing a lot more unpredictable and therefore will keep a lot more viewers glued to their tv’s until the end of the race.

    However, if people want pure, on track racing, then they may have to wait until 2013. With the new aerodynamic regulations, I think overtaking on the track will be more than we see now…as long as you don’t get a very spaced out field in terms of times…

  13. If the new factors (DRS, KERS, Pirelli) can make the Melbourne GP – which is usually a snorefest – exciting then it bodes well for the rest of the season.

    Fingers crossed!!

    For those bemoaning the new tyres thinking it will mean passing occurs only due to pitstops – wait and see how wrong you are!

    1. Melbourne a Snorefest?

      Melbourne is as popular as it is amongst most fans because it often produces a fairly exciting race.

      Only really dull races at Melbourne I can remember are 1998, 2004 & 2007.

Comments are closed.