Three-stop strategy works for Kobayashi, not Button

2011 Turkish GP analysis

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Jenson Button, McLaren, Istanbul, 2011

Jenson Button did not use the four-stop strategy favoured by most in Istanbul.

He lost places late in the race running a three-stop strategy.

But Kamui Kobayashi used the same strategy to gain 14 places during the race.

Lap 1

Lap 1 position change

The short run to the first corner meant there weren’t many significant position changes. But Nico Rosberg stealing second from Mark Webber at the start was fairly predictable.

Pit stops

Pit stops

A total of 81 pit stops made this one of the busiest races ever in the pit lane. Most drivers used four-stop strategies.

Vettel’s fourth stop was purely precautionary, to keep him from being vulnerable in the event of a safety car period – which is why his previous stint was only seven laps long.

Among the few three-stoppers were Jenson Button, Sebastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi. The latter used his to rise from 24th to tenth through the race.

But Button and fellow three-stopper Sebastien Buemi both lost two places towards the end of the race as they struggled for pace.

There was a lot of variation in the tyre combinations used, with Mercedes and Renault making early switches to hard tyres.

Tyre compounds

Stint 1Stint 2Stint 3Stint 4Stint 5
Sebastian VettelSoftSoftSoftHardHard
Mark WebberSoftSoftSoftHardHard
Nico RosbergSoftHardHardSoftSoft
Lewis HamiltonSoftSoftSoftHardHard
Fernando AlonsoSoftSoftSoftHardHard
Jenson ButtonSoftSoftSoftHard
Vitaly PetrovSoftHardHardHardSoft
Michael SchumacherSoftSoftSoftHardSoft
Nick HeidfeldSoftHardHardHardSoft
Felipe MassaSoftSoftSoftHardHard
Rubens BarrichelloSoftSoftSoftHard
Adrian SutilSoftSoftHardSoft
Paul di RestaSoftSoftHardSoftHard
Pastor MaldonadoSoftSoftSoftHard
Sergio PerezSoftHardSoftSoftHard
Sebastien BuemiSoftSoftSoftHard
Jaime AlguersuariHardSoftSoftSoftHard
Heikki KovalainenSoftSoftHardHard
Jarno TrulliSoftSoftSoftHard
Vitantonio LiuzziSoftSoftHardSoftHard
Timo Glock
Narain KarthikeyanSoftSoftHardSoft
Kamui KobayashiHardSoftSoftSoft
Jerome d’AmbrosioSoftSoftHard

Race progress

One of the striking features of the race was the large gap that opened up between the leading trio and the rest.

Among the reasons for this, aside from Alonso nearly matching Red Bull’s pace, was the time Lewis Hamilton lost in his pit stop, Felipe Massa’s slow pit stop and driving error, and Button getting stuck in traffic after his second pit stop.

This chart shows how far each driver was behind the leader (in seconds) on each lap.

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758
Sebastian Vettel000000000000.9140000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Mark Webber1.932.3713.0753.5264.464.7235.4115.6515.7626.16921.0684.6982.7412.9992.8873.113.0623.2253.684.7546.63322.44623.50923.74223.1628.1518.5398.7489.6349.8810.49510.92611.30412.42314.11728.75427.55426.92226.88726.510.15510.21210.52110.73110.80826.42225.5637.9987.0777.2167.4898.2378.0097.7987.9297.8638.0748.807
Nico Rosberg1.291.8162.462.9814.6476.6228.19.91110.7511.52928.79513.11512.17613.48614.53715.98517.06218.71520.62724.42628.1731.99549.54650.71150.53336.52338.98440.17641.08442.45244.02545.39346.74363.05863.14362.56461.97861.62961.3761.95246.05246.75147.48448.18863.0862.81462.58346.20446.34247.09247.57347.90348.12548.78348.79848.08747.55147.539
Lewis Hamilton3.5834.7026.0517.0827.8748.85810.21211.97814.12829.71629.36413.51812.92313.0413.70414.64815.39416.58318.3921.51237.63238.64240.09640.18939.61425.06626.12826.84727.32427.76827.74927.72927.94328.92560.51659.64659.18758.70858.49358.70242.45442.57442.2942.1641.74941.61658.14340.98340.43540.91541.52641.8741.94842.11342.09841.15240.55940.232
Fernando Alonso2.3113.2914.194.5245.0756.7817.5147.6827.6517.49422.5026.7175.075.4325.4415.835.7375.7756.2517.0177.5978.5559.72425.7824.5469.1689.1979.2429.0129.0058.8558.848.9399.50210.3710.63925.7925.03524.48823.2817.1127.1017.2167.6167.5387.51823.2436.2545.9666.3257.5899.0219.1029.2889.7159.6359.79710.075
Jenson Button3.0824.2195.5846.7177.3988.7810.37411.39312.47513.04513.65701.15119.10720.13921.49822.39523.23924.15625.66427.92529.25531.45232.41433.03419.06137.96839.04339.36741.17742.39443.61745.76447.10447.76947.83648.59949.75550.88967.51152.35553.72654.37454.86255.34455.51955.88240.17141.26443.14644.45546.10447.28349.51452.2154.13256.32959.431
Vitaly Petrov5.0618.2859.96510.81911.93412.93514.87916.30332.4633.9137.05923.35722.17122.99523.71724.50425.46326.82328.04345.57345.74946.4348.14948.5648.86734.24535.83537.49538.74240.04741.41542.90144.42446.62165.12165.52665.92166.98767.60969.11954.13555.57957.02858.43359.5775.89276.12459.47459.59461.95463.61964.57665.13465.81166.48268.50468.1168.168
Michael Schumacher4.498.00933.35633.65134.39435.4136.66137.71638.09838.44539.15826.97528.98732.31448.61949.58649.99350.52750.93351.92353.03553.754.49354.77554.60640.55342.2143.70745.147.23362.85562.9263.53566.05667.83367.85768.62969.89871.89275.85361.14962.43564.81366.90568.69484.92785.27669.45370.10471.61873.03676.61178.54982.09483.40383.54684.02985.444
Nick Heidfeld5.4658.54611.04112.44114.0315.20515.9516.67917.36117.95837.36524.26623.73824.51525.10926.00526.71828.00928.91730.18831.08532.94150.06851.43651.12136.93339.3140.81241.75143.41644.76146.35347.79649.85251.48452.01767.90368.36770.01371.10555.90757.04358.2259.13660.18561.16678.14661.31460.98862.19562.64962.37462.19362.82463.18362.67161.81960.857
Felipe Massa5.6186.9777.6078.3799.1569.86311.1612.40113.20330.46429.64814.25413.4114.01215.01616.35217.38619.02220.9424.727.06428.93132.87749.10549.16834.91436.09637.88539.20840.63741.91743.33845.39747.7870.00469.44569.28770.10371.40572.26357.15558.38259.63761.11862.2563.66286.18370.04870.61471.88573.41676.96878.78679.68580.47580.26979.93479.823
Rubens Barrichello6.3428.62110.62212.01613.64515.69117.57319.19220.79422.60440.22727.39628.0429.50430.69733.02634.45436.31137.04738.43339.76441.63944.05745.71364.01250.33352.34153.81654.73455.73556.33657.19458.61759.81562.16863.43765.3867.85771.29175.50478.49280.80482.65384.48985.46686.35987.81972.974.57577.34380.51784.62287.93191.84695.934100.589105.517
Adrian Sutil6.8369.31911.99413.77115.44616.86718.84620.71122.54924.53641.8627.75429.48131.89932.76134.02935.07436.59937.80439.05840.50542.28544.77247.37349.74752.33953.95155.17556.47757.78858.95259.78663.34466.13468.73870.29372.12774.08776.30579.32280.52282.13483.13784.79286.03487.15288.58273.64775.07977.52379.5881.5383.61785.87288.84791.65294.993
Paul di Resta7.2089.79112.28914.20115.89618.18620.57922.48924.13726.06828.04828.68929.79132.15133.73835.1836.41137.78639.25141.11242.72145.4748.80752.58969.26655.80158.38960.23361.88163.37265.48267.17383.71484.61285.7485.80486.30387.18988.2989.16874.44176.37778.89181.781
Pastor Maldonado7.94410.6313.81816.07718.21721.16323.95226.32928.56432.34336.9541.96642.7443.90644.96346.31347.37848.65349.65951.6154.16358.02861.65465.52670.39573.97675.95277.81280.11581.65783.60384.73486.06887.35789.37291.05893.31495.86998.819102.44890.633109.09110.437111.445112.264122.008124.182109.361110.896113.08115.09117.691119.518121.499123.361124.511126.216
Sergio Perez25.19351.09351.97952.95553.76754.19855.03855.81956.22256.53457.30244.10544.16947.3149.99454.48272.03471.41170.56870.26669.92970.31870.59871.45671.39557.73160.73162.40663.85666.1568.51471.87889.04688.76789.40289.94189.32289.21389.35989.97775.0976.96194.24894.05493.66593.27693.30977.22677.93579.34680.65382.05683.98586.35789.48691.26195.024
Sebastien Buemi8.96411.14513.31314.86316.84718.03720.1421.88623.55139.92639.52226.33726.41927.59728.23529.30430.09530.69431.35632.74934.11237.57941.75559.64758.75543.9244.87445.82146.15746.59347.13247.65248.46250.10252.05252.84253.80755.51258.1162.28764.79765.22665.71966.04366.90168.08469.56954.68556.21957.75459.18960.53361.90664.16665.87566.61367.59769.394
Jaime Alguersuari10.82113.64216.22118.49120.73922.54224.54327.86730.06432.8835.80824.17128.44649.31950.08451.07951.5151.78352.18352.79954.21955.46656.61757.15257.55345.16847.44649.89352.3477070.43670.25369.88370.11871.42872.00373.26875.30477.0894.50777.93678.32279.64980.97381.20781.34181.94366.48667.9770.46472.72875.46579.02384.63390.996107.23105.671
Heikki Kovalainen8.26211.5514.30217.320.88423.3225.49228.05230.32833.13337.48726.19830.29935.22639.99360.63163.04565.19967.40269.82873.01775.31777.93780.36482.08669.98273.71377.02680.96284.53389.092107.653109.321111.293113.516114.737115.927119.787122.01124.459111.375114.777117.501120.119122.799125.702129.673117.236122.114129.71138.446147.421156.926182.704184.809186.887
Jarno Trulli9.40412.36715.64218.82121.51324.10126.35828.89831.1434.42337.98328.24631.80551.54453.3555.32757.11258.90860.82962.99264.89467.11269.80773.31776.24581.383.92886.27388.20390.2794.10896.25298.586100.983105.058106.957109.338112.085115.926135.852122.618125.231127.349129.332131.291133.892136.571122.658124.833128.086131.976136.693142.08146.179149.761152.67157.93
Vitantonio Liuzzi10.70715.67220.25124.29228.2732.61236.98341.44145.39151.40955.06544.87948.43354.38960.41142.549200.521205.32209.507215.923221.03226.456231.372236.414242.855234.08240.037246.707253.176259.298265.741272.59279.297284.863291.074315.268371.263415.731420.498425.566412.777417.215421.458427.788431.886436.043443.179432.159436.802443.022449.184457.615463.041
Timo Glock
Narain Karthikeyan11.42116.39121.85527.14431.26136.75841.10844.73848.42752.61256.87446.72850.38656.67383.14687.68791.624101.203105.468109.605113.521118.624123.583128.595131.968123.213128.83155.61160.549165.611169.423172.608180.083185.143189.847193.583197.748202.037210.44215.916206.771211.878216.938221.747228.589252.405256.782247.007251.969259.252262.81267.819274.882279.008283.636
Kamui Kobayashi10.28113.00615.11917.06418.67320.67222.30523.55324.73825.77126.51812.6212.60431.47131.66932.3332.38632.42132.42233.08334.50636.65950.54869.05169.85455.34456.08256.9157.37158.33659.51760.38463.16266.89270.63771.6397375.24892.43592.07976.16977.12778.178.18877.90578.09479.31463.34764.14165.76766.96768.38469.48971.38373.27574.32876.36978.021
Jerome dAmbrosio11.68216.86421.47625.16728.76932.82137.38141.6745.05448.40351.65540.34943.79350.0255.38161.96383.4486.489.40293.49396.821100.47104.079107.426111.09101.887106.95111.737116.44121.658126.9132.046137.451163.904167.888171.066174.283177.971182.197189.066176.793180.901186.434190.974195.107199.438205.922194.012199.06204.508210.759215.65220.043224.505228.886233.215

Lap chart

Sebastian Vettel led every lap apart from lap 12, when Button briefly held first place.

Kobayashi’s progress from last is an interesting line to follow on the chart below, and you can also see the delays Michael Schumacher and Massa’s races.

This chart shows the drivers’ positions on each lap.

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758
Sebastian Vettel11111111111121111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Mark Webber23333222222333222222223322222333333333333333333333322222222
Nico Rosberg32222334444765555555566121098888888811987775555597666666655555
Lewis Hamilton46666665671187744444441010655544444444776664444444554444444444
Fernando Alonso54444443333444333333332233333222222222222222222222233333333
Jenson Button65555556555212777777755444477777776444447666655445555566666
Vitaly Petrov789888888181612998888881414141086655555555101098887777610888899999998
Michael Schumacher8782222222119191918161414151716161616161515151311101010101114141412111111111212101010111113121212121212111212121212
Nick Heidfeld99101010109998613111099999987713111099999999855101099888876999988877777
Felipe Massa10107777777612988666666644597766666667131212121110999988131313131313121111111111
Rubens Barrichello111111999101010971815121111121212121111118614131313131211111110898910111616151514141414141415161616161515
Adrian Sutil1212121111111111111081916151313131313131212129781414141413121213131213131313131717161615151515151514141414131413
Paul di Resta13131312121213131312106181614141414141413131311121516161616151515161616161616151412121314
Pastor Maldonado14141414141415151514131120191716151515151516171716171919191818181817171718181818181818181817171717171717171717171717
Sergio Perez15232323232323232323232321211818182020202019191918181717171716161718181817171716151313171716161616161616151515141314
Sebastien Buemi1616151313131212121119171311101010101010989715131111111110101010966555611111110109777777788889
Jaime Alguersuari17201918171616161615141010131919171717171717161614121212121217171615151515151514171515141313121111111111111313151616
Heikki Kovalainen181516151617171717161514121716152019191919202020202018181819191920202020202020201919191919181818181819191919191919
Jarno Trulli19171717181818181817171517182120191818181818181819192020202020201919191919191919202020202019191919191818181818181818
Vitantonio Liuzzi201920191919192020212121222222222323232323232323232323232323232323232323232323232323232323222222222222222222
Timo Glock21
Narain Karthikeyan2221212121212222222222222323232322222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222121212121212121212121
Kamui Kobayashi2318181615151414141395561212111111111098141716151515151413131214141414141716141412121211101010101010101010101010
Jerome dAmbrosio242222202020202121202020192020212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121212121202020202020202020202020

Fastest laps

Mark Webber set the fastest lap for the third race in a row.

RankDriverCarFastest lapGapOn lap
1Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’29.70348
2Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’29.8940.19157
3Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’29.9370.23450
4Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’30.1080.40548
5Nick HeidfeldRenault1’30.1580.45552
6Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’30.2790.57648
7Nico RosbergMercedes1’30.5730.87047
8Vitaly PetrovRenault1’30.6180.91548
9Sergio PerezSauber-Ferrari1’30.7971.09446
10Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’31.0381.33545
11Felipe MassaFerrari1’31.1181.41557
12Michael SchumacherMercedes1’31.1531.45047
13Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’31.1671.46447
14Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’31.3601.65744
15Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth1’32.0442.34144
16Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’32.0702.36743
17Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’32.0792.37646
18Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes1’32.5192.81640
19Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault1’32.6952.99255
20Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault1’32.8623.15949
21Narain KarthikeyanHRT-Cosworth1’33.9484.24551
22Vitantonio LiuzziHRT-Cosworth1’34.6994.99641
23Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1’34.9715.26855

All lap times

Button’s three-stop strategy may not have served him well, but it might have worked better if he’d stayed out longer in his second and third stints.

His lap times show his tyres had not started to go off when he came in on those two occasions.

Had he stayed out longer then, he could have shortened his final stint when he hit tyre trouble.

This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds).

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152535455565758
Sebastian Vettel95.26994.08293.76893.82793.76293.80193.82193.85394.20194.21894.314109.99194.17492.91993.16892.83793.11692.88493.05892.74992.992.57192.47392.75593.284107.37791.791.85392.19492.07792.08492.24892.13191.91591.62692.45692.20591.70891.59591.641107.48891.08391.06791.03691.32191.18690.804107.26890.68789.93790.3990.43390.58690.62190.5991.38491.45391.619
Mark Webber97.19994.52394.47294.27894.69694.06494.50994.09394.31294.625109.21392.70793.13193.17793.05693.0693.06893.04793.51393.82394.779108.38493.53692.98892.70492.36692.08892.06293.0892.32392.69992.67992.50993.03493.32107.09391.00591.07691.5691.25491.14391.1491.37691.24691.398106.889.94589.70389.76690.07690.66391.18190.35890.4190.72191.31891.66492.352
Nico Rosberg96.55994.60894.41294.34895.42895.77695.29995.66495.0494.997111.5893.39794.14994.22994.21994.28594.19394.53794.9796.54896.64496.396110.02493.9293.10693.36794.16193.04593.10293.44593.65793.61693.481108.2391.71191.87791.61991.35991.33692.22391.58891.78291.891.74106.21390.9290.57390.88990.82590.68790.87190.76390.80891.27990.60590.67390.91791.607
Lewis Hamilton98.85295.20195.11794.85894.55494.78595.17595.61996.351109.80693.96293.23194.49393.03693.83293.78193.86294.07394.86595.871109.0293.58193.92792.84892.70992.82992.76292.57292.67192.52192.06592.22892.34592.897123.21791.58691.74691.22991.3891.8591.2491.20390.78390.90690.9191.053107.33190.10890.13990.41791.00190.77790.66490.78690.57590.43890.8691.292
Fernando Alonso97.5895.06294.66794.16194.31395.50794.55494.02194.1794.061109.32293.29293.44193.28193.17793.22693.02392.92293.53493.51593.4893.52993.642108.81192.0591.99991.72991.89891.96492.0791.93492.23392.2392.47892.49492.725107.35690.95391.04890.43491.31991.07291.18291.43691.24391.166106.52990.27990.39990.29691.65491.86590.66790.80791.01791.30491.61591.897
Jenson Button98.35195.21995.13394.9694.44395.18395.41594.87295.28394.78894.92695.4296.239110.87594.294.19694.01393.72893.97594.25795.16193.90194.6793.71793.90493.404110.60792.92892.51893.88793.30193.47194.27893.25592.29192.52392.96892.86492.729108.26392.33292.45491.71591.52491.80391.36191.16791.55791.7891.81991.69992.08291.76592.85293.28693.30693.6594.721
Vitaly Petrov100.3397.30695.44894.68194.87794.80295.76595.277110.35895.66897.46395.37593.90293.74393.8993.62494.07594.24494.278110.27993.07693.25294.19293.16693.59192.75593.2993.51393.44193.38293.45293.73493.65494.112110.12692.86192.692.77492.21793.15192.50492.52792.51692.44192.458107.50891.03690.61890.80792.29792.05591.3991.14491.29891.26193.40691.05991.677
Michael Schumacher99.75997.601119.11594.12294.50594.81795.07294.90894.58394.56595.02796.89497.196.246109.47393.80493.52393.41893.46493.73994.01293.23693.26693.03793.11593.32493.35793.3593.58794.21107.70692.31392.74694.43693.40392.4892.97792.97793.58995.60292.78492.36993.44593.12893.11107.41991.15391.44591.33891.45191.80894.00892.52494.16691.89991.52791.93693.034
Nick Heidfeld100.73497.16396.26395.22795.35194.97694.56694.58294.88394.815113.72195.97894.5693.69693.76293.73393.82994.17593.96694.0293.79794.427109.694.12392.96993.18994.07793.35593.13393.74293.42993.8493.57493.97193.25892.989108.09192.17293.24192.73392.2992.21992.24491.95292.3792.167107.78490.43690.36191.14490.84490.15890.40591.25290.94990.87290.60190.657
Felipe Massa100.88795.44194.39894.59994.53994.50895.11895.09495.003111.47993.49893.68394.24493.52194.17294.17394.1594.5294.97696.50995.26494.43896.419108.98393.34793.12392.88293.64293.51793.50693.36493.66994.1994.298113.8591.89792.04792.52492.89792.49992.3892.3192.32292.51792.45392.598113.32591.13391.25391.20891.92193.98592.40491.5291.3891.17891.11891.508
Rubens Barrichello101.61196.36195.76995.22195.39195.84795.70395.47295.80396.028111.93796.24695.73294.38394.36195.16694.54494.74193.79494.13594.23194.44694.89194.411111.58393.69893.70893.32893.11293.07892.68593.10693.55493.11393.97993.72594.14894.18595.02995.854110.47693.39592.91692.87292.29892.07992.26492.34992.36292.70593.56494.53893.89594.53694.67896.03996.381
Adrian Sutil102.10596.56596.44395.60495.43795.22295.895.71896.03996.205111.63894.97196.81595.33794.0394.10594.16194.40994.26394.00394.34794.35194.9695.35695.658109.96993.31293.07793.49693.38893.24893.08295.68994.70594.2394.01194.03993.66893.81394.658108.68892.69592.0792.69192.56392.30492.23492.33392.11992.38192.44792.38392.67392.87693.56594.18994.794
Paul di Resta102.47796.66596.26695.73995.45796.09196.21495.76395.84996.14996.294109.71896.1995.27994.75594.27994.34794.25994.52394.6194.50995.3295.8196.537109.96193.91294.28893.69793.84293.56894.19493.939108.67292.81392.75492.5292.70492.59492.69692.51992.76193.01993.58193.926
Pastor Maldonado103.21396.76896.95696.08695.90296.74796.6196.2396.43697.99798.921114.09395.86294.08594.22594.18794.18194.15994.06494.795.45396.43696.09996.62798.153110.95893.67693.71394.49793.61994.0393.37993.46593.20493.64194.14294.46194.26394.54595.2795.673109.5492.41492.04492.14100.9392.97892.44792.22292.12192.493.03492.41392.60292.45292.53493.158
Sergio Perez120.462119.98294.65494.80394.57494.23294.66194.63494.60494.5395.08295.8895.15296.0695.85297.325110.66892.26192.21592.44792.56392.9692.75393.61393.22393.71394.793.52893.64494.37194.44895.612109.29991.63692.26192.99591.58691.59991.74192.25992.60192.954108.35490.84290.93290.79790.83791.18591.39691.34891.69791.83692.51592.99393.71993.15995.216
Sebastien Buemi104.23396.26395.93695.37795.74694.99195.92495.59995.866110.59393.9195.89295.1794.09793.80693.90693.90793.48393.7294.14294.26396.03896.649110.64792.39292.54292.65492.892.5392.51392.62392.76892.94193.55593.57693.24693.1793.41394.19395.818109.99891.51291.5691.3692.17992.36992.28992.38492.22191.47291.82591.77791.95992.88192.29992.12292.43793.416
Jaime Alguersuari106.0996.90396.34796.09796.0195.60495.82297.17796.39897.03497.24297.4499.363113.79293.93393.83293.54793.15793.45893.36594.3293.81893.62493.2993.68594.99293.97894.394.648109.7392.5292.06591.76192.1592.93693.03193.4793.74493.371109.06890.91791.46992.39492.3691.55591.3291.40691.81192.17192.43192.65493.1794.14496.23196.953107.61889.894
Heikki Kovalainen103.53197.3796.5296.82597.34696.23795.99396.41396.47797.02398.66897.78899.18997.84697.935113.47595.5395.03895.26195.17596.08994.87195.09395.18295.00695.27395.43195.16696.1395.64896.643110.80993.79993.88793.84993.67793.39595.56893.81894.0994.40494.48593.79193.65494.00194.08994.77594.83195.56597.53399.12699.408100.091116.39992.69593.462
Jarno Trulli104.67397.04597.04397.00696.45496.38996.07896.39396.44397.50197.87499.3498.647112.65894.97494.81494.90194.6894.97994.91294.80294.78995.16896.26596.212112.43294.32894.19894.12494.14495.92294.39294.46594.31295.70194.35594.58694.45595.436111.56794.25493.69693.18593.01993.2893.78793.48393.35592.86293.1994.2895.1595.97394.7294.17294.29396.713
Vitantonio Liuzzi105.97699.04798.34797.86897.7498.14398.19298.31198.151100.23697.9798.89198.64298.87599.189174.976151.08897.68397.24599.16598.00797.99797.38997.79799.72598.60297.65798.52398.66398.19998.52799.09798.83897.48197.837116.65148.2136.17696.36296.70994.69995.52195.3197.36695.41995.34397.9496.24895.3396.15796.55298.86496.012
Timo Glock
Narain Karthikeyan106.6999.05299.23299.11697.87999.29898.17197.48397.8998.40398.57698.93198.74699.206119.64197.37897.053102.46397.32396.88696.81697.67497.43297.76796.65798.62297.317118.63397.13397.13995.89695.43399.60696.97596.3396.19296.3795.99799.99897.11798.34396.1996.12795.84598.163115.00295.18197.49395.64997.2293.94895.44297.64994.74795.218
Kamui Kobayashi105.5596.80795.88195.77295.37195.895.45495.10195.38695.25195.06195.17995.072111.78693.36693.49893.17292.91993.05993.4194.32394.724106.362111.25894.08792.86792.43892.68192.65593.04293.26593.11594.90995.64595.37193.45893.56693.956108.78291.28591.57892.04192.0491.12491.03891.37592.02491.30191.48191.56391.5991.8591.69192.51592.48292.43793.49493.271
Jerome dAmbrosio106.95199.26498.3897.51897.36497.85398.38198.14297.58597.56797.56697.77198.53299.14698.52999.419114.59395.84496.0696.8496.22896.2296.08296.10296.94898.17496.76396.6496.89797.29597.32697.39497.536118.36895.6195.63495.42295.39695.82198.5195.21595.19196.695.57695.45495.51797.28895.35895.73595.38596.64195.32494.97995.08394.97195.713

2011 Turkish Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Turkish Grand Prix articles

    Image © Pirelli

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    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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    46 comments on “Three-stop strategy works for Kobayashi, not Button”

    1. Kamui Kobayashi: Hard, Soft, Soft, Soft

      I think that’s probably the answer to the difference. I’m amazed Alguersuari was the only other person to try it.

      One of the striking features of the race was the large gap that opened up between the leading trio and the rest.

      It’s amazing. Clear the chart, add in Vettel, Webber and Alonso. Then add in Hamilton. The scale is more than doubled!

      Great work, thanks as always.

      1. Its times were not so awfully off, except for the horrible pitstop.

      2. i think what doing that actually shows is that if Lewis didn’t fall back at the start, and didn’t have the bad pit stop, he would have been able to compete with the top 3.

        Of course people will say there is no point in ifs, but what it does show is that the Mclaren still has the pace, despite the lack of updates, and that this was just an off weekend

        1. “races are races” (fangio)
          :)

        2. True, but as it is, his first two stints clearly show the tyres were done three laps before the end of the stints – as it is he might have done better to listen to the team and be less agressive there, being slightly slower, but more consitent; as it is, by that bad pitstop, he had already lost about a pitstop worth of time already.

          1. It’s hard to manage your tyres when you’re trying to overtake a slower guy who’s holding you up.

    2. Keith, a question regarding the data – how did you get the tyre compounds used during the stints, since the official f1 timing doesn’t provide the data (I don’t think at least)?

      1. It’s published by Pirelli.

        Which is great – Bridgestone didn’t bother to do that, although usually it was pretty straightforward to keep track of who’d used what. Not so easy when there’s over 100 stints in a race though!

        1. Another plus for Pirelli then! nice job.

        2. With Bridgestone it was pretty straight forward: Soft, Hard, fullstop!

          1. Exactly!

    3. Jenson was just too slow on the 2nd stint, he should’ve been about 1 second a lap faster to make it work.

      1. am i right in thinking that was the stint he got held up with Massa and Rosberg? I think it was that battle that cost him 4th

      2. On Jensons 3rd stint he was stuck behind Massa and Petrov (who was on hards) for 8 laps and was over a second a lap slower then Hamilton for that part of the race and maybe damaged his tyres or lost his rhythm for the last 5 laps. I think thats what lost him 4th place.

        1. what i don’t understand is why teams persist with using the hards in the final stint, surely it is better to do a longer second stint on the hards and if it doesn’t work out you can still switch onto a 4 stop. the benefit of leaving the softs until last is that at the very least the car will be as fast (if not faster) than everyone else

          1. i think the problem is that it will lose you track position and the driver will have to do a lot of overtaking, which, whilst possible, is not ideal

          2. I don’t understand it much either. Starting on the hards pays off as it gives you more time on the softs throughout the race, because you’ll be running three soft stints on lighter fuel and get the slow tyres out of the way.

            1. But as jake says, clean air plays a part in making it work. I think the strategy works best when starting on the hard tyres too.

            2. Starting on hards works for fast drivers out of position. Starting on hards works because the time you would be losing passing the other slower cars around you when on softs, you don’t as you’re now the same pace as them.

            3. @Ichtyes. If you are staring on hards while most of the others around you are starting on softs, you will be bombarded at the start by drivers trying to overtake you. At the start (first 5 laps or so), the entire field is together. So it is very possible that if you are over a second a lap slower .. you could easily lose 5-6 positions at the start. It will be much harder to make those 5 to 6 positions up in the last stint of the race, as those 5 to 6 cars might have a gap of close to 20 seconds or so between them. So there would be a lot of pressure for you to go more than a second a lap quicker in making up those positions. I guess if the hard tyres lasted significantly longer than the softs than it might be a little different.

            4. @Todfod so what? You’ll be going a second a lap slower than the guys on soft tyres around you, so what does it matter that they pass you at the start? They’d pass you anyway.

              If you can get clean air or not being held up by a slower driver (unlikely now because of the DRS – look at how the drivers who passed Webber in China sprinted away from him), it’s swings and roundabouts, except with a slight advantage.

              If by your last stint you have to pass five cars who are 20 seconds apart from first to last, chances are the front one or two probably would have beat you on race pace anyway.

            5. Strategy is the key-issue in F1 nowadays. I expected Massa to start on hard tyres, as it’s impossible to be very fast in the first laps in the midfield. An important advantage is, by delaying the first pitstop, you avoid “traffic”, which otherwise may ruin your valuable laps on fresh tyres. So probably the timing is more important than the number of stops. Besides, what’s the performance-difference between fresh soft and hard tyres? It can’t be that much, I think, as the hard tyres are only slightly more durable.

          3. This time round a lot of the leading drivers used the hards in the 3rd stint, to have the option of making another stop, but not having to do that.

            1. Starting on hards or a second stint on hards and there is a safety car and you are laughing.
              At the end of the day no one wants to lose track position which is why they go with the softs first.

    4. Now here’s a funny thing… someone on the LF pointed out Perez’s FLAP about a third in. Showing Perez’s lap over Button and Kobs is rather impressive – this guy had speed, but was he flattering for the team?

    5. Great work Keith (as usual)
      Hamilton seemed to have lots of degradation on the first to stints (compared to Vettel) but after that he was matching on pace.
      Hopefully when they get the big update at the next race he could really be challenging them.

      1. In the 1st stint Hamiltons high degradation was down to him being right behind and having to pass Button, where as Vettel had a completely empty track in front of him… Lewis himself mentioned that in a post race interview I think.

    6. If you see Michael Schumacher did actually 3 stopper because his 1st stint was 2 laps only. He is only driver on 4 stopper to use soft for 4 stints and hard for 1 (Others, soft-3 and hard-2)
      So in fact he saved tires better than Rosberg.
      Maybe, just maybe if he can qualify better than he could get podium in Barcelona, because race pace wise they are almost equal and Michael is much better with tyres and brakes management though.

      1. But each car only has 3 sets of softs for qualifying the race.

        Therefore he must have used his first set of softs (that were on when he pitted for his new nose) for another stint later in the race, or he didn’t actually change tyres when he made his first pit stop.

        1. Usually the teams will change tyres as a precaution, in case they have a slow puncture. My guess is they saw they were fine and stuck them back on later.

        2. He came in for damage repair, not sure maybe front wing, after his clash with Petrov there.

    7. Last 10 laps clearly show that 3 stops wasn’t the way to go for Button, massive loss compared to everyone else. He was losing time even in the middle stints.

      Heidfeld really had a go at him as well, probably the fastest guy on track in those last 5 laps.

    8. Button’s three-stop strategy may not have served him well, but it might have worked better if he’d stayed out longer in his second and third stints.

      His lap times show his tyres had not started to go off when he came in on those two occasions.

      Ted Kravitz brings this up on his after race pitlane whatsit, apparently Jenson was saving his tyres too much and could have gone faster.

      1. Yeah, shows Jens could be just a bit more agressive on them.

        I guess the teams and drivers are still learning those tyres.

        1. He should be a bit more aggressive on them. ;) It seems his “tyre-saving” driving-style is only a pitfall for him, not a strength.

    9. I don’t understand why Mercedes didn’t put Schumacher onto the Hard tyre when he came in to replace the nose.

      Because of that early stop he was effectively on a 3 stop strategy. He was also out of step with everyone else, meaning it looked (deceptively) like everyone and their dog was able to pass him – when he was on old tyres at the end of his stint they had much newer ones.

      However, if they had gone with a longer initial stint on the Hard tyre his strategy could have worked like Kobayashi’s. As it was, he wasted a soft tyre set in traffic, when he could have been getting the hard set out of the way.

      1. True, a fresh set of softs is not worth wasting while running in traffic and carrying a heavy fuel load.

      2. I think the fans are starting to pick up how strategies work nowadays…. quicker perhaps than the teams.

    10. Mclaren just messed up Button’s race. With a smaller time penalty for pitting, going for extended runs are not worth it, as the time lost per lap with degrading tyres, ends up being greater than the length of a pit stop.
      The moment Vettel came back just behind Button, after his stop, I just had a feeling Button would have been lucky to finish in 8th position.

    11. i got the pole posn, first, second and fifth right in my predictions..how many points am i looking to get now?

      very good race though..got to watch the bbc coverage instead of the espn coverage here in india.must say its so much better on BBC..

    12. D’Ambrosio did well on the tyres, though you could argue.he didn’t have much to push for.

      Perez had a pretty poor start!

    13. Why did drivers do two stints on the hards? Won’t the idle way be 4 stints on softs and 1 on hards? Or is it that the drivers ran out of softs to use?

      1. They may have been suffering from massive degradation.

        1. Why did drivers do two stints on the hards? Won’t the idle way be 4 stints on softs and 1 on hards? Or is it that the drivers ran out of softs to use?

          They may have been suffering from massive degradation.

          At the beginning of qualifying you have three sets of prime tyres (hard) and three sets of option tyre (soft). You also have to use these tyres for the race. If you start the race on the soft tyre that you qualified on, then that leaves two sets for the race. So that’s the first two pit stops changing to the soft tyre. If you stop two more times, you then have to use the hard tyre for each of those stops. You have then one set of hard tyres left that were not used in the race, but had probably been used in qualifying.

    14. Given the dramatic increase in the number of pitstops per race this season compared to last, it would be useful to see some analysis of average (normal i.e. just tyres) pitstop times for each time. Does anyone have this to hand?

    15. Anatoly Nechaev
      10th May 2011, 17:06

      I wonder if Renault would have chosen soft tyres for Petrov after 3rd stop, would he be able to maintain position before Rosberg? He lost 4 seconds in two laps.

      Quite strange to see Renault on S-H-H-H-S strategy. No one else have chosen it. Was there any problems in Quali?

    Comments are closed.