Vettel: Tyres have made Suzuka more challenging

2011 Japanese Grand Prix

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Vettel heads for the barrier at Degner

Sebastian Vettel admitted Suzuka has become more challenging with the current generation of F1 tyres.

He said: “The circuit seems pretty tricky this year on these tyres – they make the cars seem more alive, so Sunday will be an interesting race.

“Taking 130R with the DRS open isn’t as easy as it used to be!”

Vettel ended the first practice session in the barrier at Degner after going off. He said: “It wasn’t a big mistake this morning, but in that moment I wasn’t 100% awake and mistakes around here can be quite costly.

“I went off and tried to slow the car down, but I hit the wall slightly. It wasn’t a big impact, but it did some damage to the car, so it wasn’t perfect.

“It did affect our run plan a little, but we had a solid afternoon.”

2011 Japanese Grand Prix

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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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    30 comments on “Vettel: Tyres have made Suzuka more challenging”

    1. Keith, I can’t seem to see the FP1 analysis article.. Which is a shame, cause I always enjoy reading them for the inside view (which you rarely get on TV), and for the fact that the title makes it seem incredibly interesting!

      1. Glitch on the link, it’s fixed now.

      2. Okay, forget that, it’s fixed now!

    2. He proved it by himself.

    3. I would’ve thought taking 130R with DRS open would be 100% easier than last year….

      1. Yep, as DRS is only available from 2011 it is definately easier to open your rear wing than last year. Seb must’ve been thinking ’bout something else while saying this

        1. I think Seb meant that 130R wasn’t as easy any more because of kers and DRS.

          1. I think Vettel means to say its harder on these tyres with DRS open then it was last year using the F-Duct

      2. Why would it? No double diffusers mean less downforce; and the DRS removes more downforce than the F-duct did.

      3. Clearly Red Bull have been testing in Suzuka for years with DRS.

        1. Huh? DRS only came into F1 this year

          1. *face palm*

    4. “Taking 130R with the DRS open isn’t as easy as it used to be!”

      You mean you’ve done it before?

      1. Do you think the doctor will let him race on Sunday?

      2. Maybe RB were testing the component during practice last year knowing that it was going to be legal this year – and perhaps he’d already tried it.

    5. So Vettel used to driver with DRS on Suzuka before ? interesting !

    6. I’m sure what Vettel meant to say was “It’s more difficult to take the 130R than it used to be, now that we are using DRS”

      Another plausible explanation is that Adrian Newey invented a time machine which allowed Vettel to practice here with DRS before…

      1. @MW I agree. The time machine idea if plausible because his cars are so fast that Vettel actually won Suzuka just as everyone else was starting FP1.

        1. Maybe he was was practicing on the F1 2011 VG?

    7. He wasn’t awake? Seems like he was relax as the Wc is his.

    8. Has anyone else tried 130R with DRS open? Well, I guess Mark Webber had a stab at it, but any other drivers from any other teams?

      1. FP2 commentary stated that;

        15:04 Hamilton just took 130R with the DRS open
        15:05 Oooh Kobayashi! Kamui drops it in 130R as he tries to take the corner with the DRS open, but somehow manages to catch the car as it spears to the inside before it hits the wall. A great save
        15:10 Schumacher takes 130R with his DRS open, and sets the sixth fastest time despite getting blocked by a Sauber exiting the chicane. He’s 0.8s slower than Button

    9. Maybe he is thinking in German and speaking English.

    10. “Taking 130R with the DRS open isn’t as easy as it used to be!”

      That’s because you never took the 130R with the DRS open, Seb.

    11. vettel should lose all his points for this season …he clearly went and did some illegal testing pre-season !

    12. Teams are allowed to test parts for next year during practice, they just can’t use it during quali and race. And from memory, several teams started experimenting with different options during practice in the last few races. RB may have been testing the DRS during FP at Suzuka last year.

    13. It wasn’t a big impact, but it did some damage to the car, so it wasn’t perfect

      No, perfect would be when the car was totally written off?
      :-)

      Nice that it’s more difficult to use a Kill Downforce Device than last year. As BasCB pointed out above: last year we had F-Duct and this year we have DRS, which amounts roughly to the same: give the car less downforce, so it can go faster when there’s less downforce needed.

    14. How did it affect their routine when it happened at the end of the session.

    15. In essence the f duct was a drag reduction system so maybe this is what he meant.

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