F1 Fanatic

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes, Shanghai, 2011

Mercedes relegated Ferrari to the fourth-fastest team around Shanghai.

Nico Rosberg beat both the red cars but Michael Schumacher suffered a repeat of his Drag Reduction System problem from Sepang.

See below for analysis of all the data from qualifying.

Qualifying times in full

• Red Bull only showed their hand when they had to – Sebastian Vettel’s margin over the McLarens ballooned in the final part of qualifying
• Lewis Hamilton saved a set of new soft tyres by only doing one run in the final part of qualifying
• Nico Rosberg showed much better performance from the Mercedes, out-qualifying both Ferraris and coming within two tenths of a second of the McLarens
• Unusually, Paul di Resta got progressively slower throughout the session yet still made it into Q3.

Team mate comparisons

Compare the best times of each team’s drivers in the last part of qualifying in which they both set a time.

• Following a KERS failure in practice, Mark Webber had to qualify without it. According to Williams, KERS is worth 0.24s per lap. Therefore Webber was at least half a second off what should have been possible in Q1, which would have comfortably secured his passage to Q2.
• There were some tiny gaps between team mates, with just hundredths separating the McLaren, Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Force India team mates. The latter, separated by just 16 thousandths of a second, was the difference between Paul di Resta getting in and Adrian Sutil missing out.

Ultimate laps

An ultimate lap is a driver’s best time in each of the three sectors that make up a lap combined.

• Having been within half a second of reaching Q2 in Sepang, Lotus struggled in the cooler conditions in Shanghai, and were well over one-and-a-half seconds away. They can’t have been expecting the car in front of them would be a Red Bull, though.
• Michael Schumacher had another problem with his Drag Reduction System on his last effort in Q2. His sector times indicate at least eighth place was possible instead of 14th.
• Hamilton did not have the luxury of two runs in Q3 and probably missed out on second place because of it.

Sector times

Here are the drivers’ best times in each sector.

Maximum speeds

• The Renaults have the highest top speeds which should prove useful as they fight their way up from tenth and 16th.
• Surprisingly little difference between the two Red Bulls despite Webber not having KERS

2011 Chinese Grand Prix

• Hamilton: ‘It’s sweeter to win by overtaking’
• 2011 Chinese Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
• Who was the best driver of the Chinese GP weekend?
• McLaren: Button’s pit mistakes almost cost Hamilton
• Red Bull: Poor qualifying gives strategy advantage to Webber
• Ferrari: Montezemolo demands reaction after poor result
• Mercedes: Rosberg beats Ferraris despite fuel worries
• Renault: Points salvaged after poor qualifying
• Sauber: Two penalties in one race for Perez
• Lotus: Kovalainen joins in midfield battle

Image © Daimler