Shanghai will be the true test of 2017 F1 cars
Since the first race with the new-look Formula 1 cars in Australia, the doubters have had gleaming smiles on their faces telling everyone ‘I told you so’.
They had warned for months that the 2017 designs would result in poor on-track action and the lack of overtaking at Albert Park justified their claims.
What has been more concerning since, is just how little faith some now have in these cars to generate any kind of wheel-to-wheel action throughout the entire season.
The whole topic also overshadowed the aftermath of what was an excellent event for F1.
The all-time lap record was broken in qualifying, Ferrari ended Mercedes’ domination on outright pace and the midfield was as competitive as it ever has been. All that was forgotten, however, because in total there were just five overtaking manoeuvres in the entire race.
While all the blame has been cast on the new aero regulations, that admittedly poor figure was the result of many factors.
The midfield is the area where the bulk of passes are usually made during any race, but when so many cars have a similar outright pace, gaining a sufficient pace advantage to overtake is nearly impossible.
Also, when there is a train of cars with less than a second between the drivers, the DRS is hopeless because everyone in the queue has access to it. F1 has seen this before at other circuits with the previous car configuration.
Let’s not forget too, the midfield train in Australia was headed by Fernando Alonso, a man deemed one of the best in F1. So despite his horribly underpowered McLaren, passing him shouldn’t be easy and it duly wasn’t.
Then there’s the obvious fact, Melbourne is traditionally not a good circuit for overtaking. The straights are quite short and there’s only one major braking zone into Turn 3.
Anyhow, let’s now look ahead to why this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix will be a much better indicator as to how good or bad this year’s action will be.
Last year the Shanghai International Circuit set the record for the most overtakes ever in a single race with 161 over the 56 laps.
The main reason for that was a mixed-up grid and a layout that has one of, if not the longest straight on the calendar at 1.1km. At the end is one of the tightest hairpins of the year, making it the perfect overtaking opportunity.
Even more helpful in determining the racing ability of the new cars is the corner that proceeds the straight will perfectly illustrate just how close a driver can stay behind another car.
Turn’s 11-13 consist of a tight left-right chicane onto a long, banked sweeping curve which, with this year’s grip levels, should be almost flat out.
If the driver behind can keep a tight enough line to not lose too much time, he will simply breeze past with DRS. If the turbulent air causes him to drop back, it will be interesting to see, first by how much, and then how quickly he can close with DRS and a slipstream before the braking zone.
Below is a perfect example from last year of how the whole process typically plays out.
YouTube: F1 2016 Chinese GP Hamilton vs Räikkönen
Another factor missing in Australia was tyre wear. Though some struggled, notably Mercedes, it was a pretty comfortable one-stop race with teams finding they could have pushed harder earlier as there was sufficient life in the new Pirelli rubber.
One of the main characteristics that have changed this year is the wider tyres are now less sensitive to overheating. But on a street circuit like Albert Park, multiple traction zones mean heat generation is the principle cause of tyre degradation.
That is different in China, however, as long radius, high-speed corners put high lateral loads through the compounds which cause wear rather than thermal degradation.
This means a tougher challenge for the Pirellis this weekend, perhaps more consistent with the majority of races, and, potentially, more on-track action as a result.
What could ruin all of our hopes for answers is an early forecast for rain on Sunday. As good as wet races in Shanghai normally are, this once, F1 could do without the wet stuff interrupting a highly anticipated second chapter in the Hamilton vs. Vettel battle.