Picking RB for this race hoping that their pace will be as good or better than the previous races is a little more risky, considering that the teams have had two weeks to develop their cars. That said, I still think RB is the fastest and my guess is that they will hold together, so I picked Vettel to win and Webber to come third. I think Lewis has had some good races but some bad luck has caused him to finish further back than he should be. That, in combination with the Mclaren's strengths in high speed corners, makes me think he'll finish second.

full article here: www.formula1.com
Paddy Lowe Q&A: Ride-height clarification will not harm McLaren

Ride-height control systems have dominated Formula One racing’s technical chatter in recent weeks. But following the FIA’s reiteration of the rules, McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe isn’t concerned about how the British team will be affected. In a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 'Phone-In' session, Lowe also discussed their strategy decisions during qualifying for the Malaysia race, the strengths and weaknesses of the MP4-25 and this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix…

Q: As a result of the FIA suspension ruling, have McLaren had to change anything?
Paddy Lowe: Well we have been working with the FIA for a few months on this subject. It is a complex one that goes back to 1993 when active ride suspensions were banned. So exactly how you interpret the regulations, in relation to ride height adjustment, is very complex. I have to say we respect the FIA's difficult job of navigating through that difficult area. We were aware over the last few months of a slightly different approach to it, which we hadn't historically thought to be the normal interpretation, and we were reacting to that. I think that now the FIA have taken a fresh view of it and drawn a different line - one that we think is nearer the historical line - we are reacting to that too, which has meant that we have had to change some of the things that we were doing.

Q: There’ll be no alterations to the suspension system on the McLaren for China then?
PL: You're absolutely correct.

Q: Are you still confident of being closer to Red Bull in China?
PL: We made some improvements for Malaysia and we have a few more for China, which are all aerodynamic. What was more than a disappointment in Malaysia was our experience in qualifying. A side effect was that we didn’t get the chance to test ourselves against our immediate competitors in a dry qualifying session. Hopefully we can do that in China and see where we’ve got to with our latest developments. The circuit is similar to the Malaysian track and we were strong in practice in Malaysia and strong in the race, so there’s promise. Hopefully we can be a bit more competitive in qualifying than we were at the first two races and really fight for a win.

Q: Looking ahead to next year, Michelin have talked about possibly coming back if Formula One racing were to adopt low-profile tyres. How much extra cost and work would that mean for the teams?
PL: Michelin are talking to the FIA about a return to F1 for 2011-2013, and 18-inch wheels would be a requirement on their part. I think principally they feel that those wheels would be more contemporary in terms of appearance and technology. For us, it depends how we manage it as to how big a problem it could become. I think in terms of being conscious of the time and the costs, the teams, I hope, will agree to a set of constraints that mean we don't expand the development into an envelope that's screwed up by that. Obviously with a bigger wheel you have a smaller amount of volume around the brake and the upright. I think we can do it in a way that manages the cost. I don't think it would be too bad.

Q: Where would you say the MP4-25 is strongest and weakest?
PL: I think the car is good overall on race pace, particularly in the early to mid part of the race we seem to be in good shape relative to our competitors. Generally if you are trying to win the race, you want a good qualifying position, but given the position you do have then the first third or two thirds of the race are crucial. It's proven that our car has a very strong pace in that period. I think it has shown a good ability to overtake, which has proved very fruitful, so we have good straight-line performance. I think really qualifying is the one thing we need to solve - I couldn’t really put my finger on another. We are pretty happy with the car and I know Lewis has been saying some nice things about it lately relative to last year. Last year's car, we freely admitted, was very poor in high-speed corners and this year’s car, if anything, is stronger in the high-speed corners relative to the low-speed corners. So it tends to be in the low speed, where the drivers have the most complaints.

Q: How successfully have wing restrictions reduced the downforce levels of the cars?
PL: I think things are getting worse in regards to how close we are to the intentions of the Overtaking Working Group (OWG), which set the rules for 2009. Principally, this is because the cars are generating much more downforce out of the floors than was ever envisaged, and that’s driven by the opportunity you get with the double diffuser interpretation. One of the intentions of the OWG package was the downforce generated from the floor should be much lower, and this helps overtaking for two reasons. One, is that if the cars have less downforce altogether, there is a direct correlation between the amount of downforce cars have and the wake problem. It’s really obvious because if you lose downforce in the wake, and you have less to start with, then you lose less. The second one is to do with where the downforce is generated, and generating it from the floor is a bad characteristic, because of wake. So we’ve gone in the wrong direction. Downforce now in these cars is approaching where it was in 2008. At the same time we have slick tyres, whereas in 2008 we had grooved tyres, so it has escalated. We have all agreed for next year to ban double diffusers and also to reduce the height of the diffuser exit. Both will instantly reduce floor downforce, which is better for following cars and therefore for overtaking. We are looking at whether even that is sufficient. It’s an ongoing discussion as to whether even more should be done. I think what we've already agreed are very good steps and absolutely correct directionally for what we learnt from the OWG.

 

2 comments, #1:
What does this mean - smaller amount of volume around the brake???

And #2: Get a clue OWG (should be OWC as in Obviously Without a Clue) If you want more passing, get more mechanical grip to go with the less aero - i.e. wider tires, DUH.

 

No idea ... obviously you get more space around the upright and brake rotor with a larger wheel ...

 

Indeed, hence Alonso will have the new "aero tube" system a/la McLaren in his car, they only have one so Massa doesn't have it in his car.
Santander money baby.

 

So I take it that Alonso has assumed the #1 position within the team.

 

Ofcourse, he has been faster than Massa in every race. It's expected.
Regards.

 

Or it could be the fact that everyone can see that he is faster and a much better racer than Massa??
Regards.

 

Bold move going with Rubens Barichello.

 

No disagreement there, especially since Massa is way out there somewhere, hasn't been himself at all.
But even before the season started this was the (Santander's) pecking order.

 

The only proof of #1 is how they perform on the track. So far, Alonso has completely outperformed Massa. We can use Massa not being 100% or not being himself as an excuse, or can call it Santanders Pecking order. Bottomline is, Massa has been outshone by Alonso and thus he will get #1 status eventually. If anything, Alonso has held back from attacking Massa on the track. How bad would it look if he pulled a clean pass on him?
What will people say then? 'he was given orders to let Alonso by'. If that is the case, he would have already passed Massa twice on track.
I look at all this as either excuses from Alonso haters or Kimi fans. You guys can remain in denial but the proof is in the pudding.
Regards.
Raj

 

I don't know what Kimi has to do with this?

I know you're Alonso fan so I understand the fact that he gets the new parts first or the that Ferrari's title sponsor brought him to the team and is Spanish doesn't mean anything.

 

I think it's irrelevant because he is performing. If he didn't perform and was given the job based on connections and not merits, then I can see people having an issue with it.
He has done everything he has been expected to do and then some. Not sure how people can still find excuses. He had an amazing drive at the last GP, that very few would have been able to pull off.
Regards.
Raj

 

I see a lot of disrespect for Massa here. He has always been fast, but took a while to become tough. Now he's tough, but needs to regain that last bit of speed after what was a horrific incident. For crying out loud, we're only up to the 4th race of the season. Who's leading in points again?

 

And I guess Alonso having 2 bad races in a row had nothing to do with it, correct. He had a dnf or else they would be sharing points lead. Also, Alonso has not been allowed to race Massa, so we will never know what could have been the outcome. It's a long season, the cream will rise to the top, whomever it may be. I am sure this subject will be revisited plenty before the new Champion is crowned .
Atleast we know one thing, Alonso does not need coaching from his chief mechanic like Massa does, lol.
Regards.
Raj

 

Wayne, is that you?