DC's paranoia for quals and race

[Valve Bounce]

From F1-Live:

"With forecasting the way it is nowadays, if you were to find out that they were expecting rain on Saturday and they were expecting rain towards the end of the (qualifying) session then you might not want to qualify quickest on Friday," Coulthard said. "You might want to actually qualify slowest so you can go first on Saturday and get the opportunity to have the dry track. I think it's still going to be tactical. I think what we're losing is the opportunity to see grand prix cars absolutely running at their maximum in qualifying. The reality is that, somewhere like Monaco, it would be an advantage to be able to qualify last on Saturday - so therefore to be quickest on Friday - because the track gets quicker as it gets more and more (tyre) rubber."

I fail to see how anyone can foretell rain to the accuracy of plus or minus 15 minutes from the day before.
There is more paranoia in the article in F1-Live as DC is terrified of a repeat of being blocked again during the race like Bernoldi did to him at Monaco.

[Adam43]

Originally posted by Valve Bounce
There is more paranoia in the article in F1-Live as DC is terrified of a repeat of being blocked again during the race like Bernoldi did to him at Monaco.

F1-live
"If they qualify on less fuel then they can hold you up for the duration of the race that they can run to but they're going to have to pit earlier than you," he [DC] said. "They can screw your race up because while you're being held up behind them your main competitors are going to be running at their track pace."

Ah, but you have the same (exactly with the new rules) car in qualifying and the race.

If they have a quicker car than you in qualifying by running less fuel then they will also have a quicker car than you in the (first part of the) race.

So they won't be holding you up because they will be quicker!

If you being held up it is because you under performed in qualifying.

[NiceGuyEddie]

He is somewhat right. The full throttle superlap will be of the past. With only one chance, risks won´t be taking, and superlaps just aren´t driven within the safe margins.

[Adam43]

That is true and I will miss them too.

[Glen]

DC makes himself look pretty dumb here. For a start he fails to appreciate that the "slower car" in front will actually be a faster car, because they qualified faster (lighter). Then he goes on about collusion between teams coming into play, presumably a thinly veiled snipe at sSauber and Ferrari, all the time failing to remember that inter-team orders were illegal Before!

Blockhead.

[Logrence]

A Minardi with no fuel will be about the same pace as a McLaren with lots of fuel - I can see exactly what he means, with the lesser teams qualifying light.

[av8rirl]

Taking the weather aside, it might still be an advantage to go out first/early on Saturday.

BAR will surely be one of the teams that end up going out first on Saturday (after qualifying slow on Friday).

Now with their track record, can we assume that at least one of the cars will put down a lot of oil (when the Honda goes bang). Who wants to go after that?

[Glen]

Originally posted by Logrence
A Minardi with no fuel will be about the same pace as a McLaren with lots of fuel - I can see exactly what he means, with the lesser teams qualifying light.

How? If the Minardi qualifies ahead of the McLaren it will be because it is faster in that set-up (fuel level). If it slow enough to hold up the McLaren it isn't fast enough to out-qualify it.

DC could always get really radical - and overtake it!

[Adam43]

Originally posted by Glen
How? If the Minardi qualifies ahead of the McLaren it will be because it is faster in that set-up (fuel level). If it slow enough to hold up the McLaren it isn't fast enough to out-qualify it.

Spot on. Not an issue.

Everyone can just play out their strategy. And attention grabbing low fuel/high grid places will serve no purpose at all in the race.

I suppose you can drive slowly in the race to hinder someone else for your team mate, but I don't expect this to be the case.

[BootsOntheSide]

DC's point was supposedly of the Sauber's acting as spoilers, perhaps running ultra-light when Ferraari wish to run heavy and expect Williams or McLaren to run semi-light, or the six Ford-powered cars all run light so as to help each other. This could happen, and if the Suabers drive intentionally slow to block the McLarens before making their early pitstops, it could compromise a Williams or McLaren race.

But, essentially, you guys are right - the average intellegence here is certainly higher than DC's.

[Super Tourer]

DC still hasn't learnt anything from Mika and now Kimi - stop talking and get on with it......

[av8rirl]

To be honest, I don't see the six Cossie powered cars working to help each other.

[NiceGuyEddie]

The mere fact that Sauber gets its engines from Ferrari, doesn't mean they will sacrifice their own race just to favour Ferrari. Sauber pays a hell of a lot for 1 year old engines, but thats pretty much as far as the relationship goes. To call Sauber a 'Ferrari-satteliteteam' is a bit exeggerated.

[Bononi]

Originally posted by NiceGuyEddie
He is somewhat right. The full throttle superlap will be of the past. With only one chance, risks won´t be taking, and superlaps just aren´t driven within the safe margins.

Good point. So, we can expect that this year they won't break records laps for qualifying.

[KC]

I think the reason why we see so many quotes from DC is because he will talk to the press with more than monosyllable answers. We all remember Mika Hakkinen answering the post-race interviewers with a "yes" for every question.

[Logrence]

He's a sensible version of Irvine - an intelligent, well-considered, but not too political motor mouth. He's been around such a long time that people respect his and Schumi's opinions as the two elder statesmen of Formula One.

[RWC]

Yeah he's just talking for the sake of it.Some idiot british journo puts a microphone in front of him and he thinks he's important.
As for his specific comments,he's wrong.He just hasn't thought it through-but then we've all been confused at first as to whet the new rules will mean.

[Glen]

It is just a shame that the journalist wasn't smart enough to ask how he thought that would come about when the rules expressly forbid it. I would also have pushed him on his little snub to Sauber - does he really think they are just puppets to the red team? And, just as importantly I'd ask him why he thought a quick (light) car on Saturday would suddenly turn into a slow car on Sunday. Der.

[steve_r]

Hang on a minute - I've re-read the quote and you guys are all reading way too much into it.

He does not mention Sauber at all. He doesn't mention inter-team collusions.

Is he talking for the sake of it? I'd guess what he said only took 30 seconds. Do you lot want all the drivers not to comment on anything?

He makes a good point about qualifying no longer being an ultra light fuel-load blast any more.

[Glen]

That's because you hadn't read this bit, presumably...

(from further down the same story)...

Coulthard also forecast the possibility of a top team and a backmarker outfit, which had links, helping each other during a race.

"You could imagine a scenario ... where if teams became aligned with each other (and) a small team was to qualify in a strong position, and a competitor had some influence on that team, they could ask for favours from that team," he said. "So although there's not allowed to be team orders directly in terms of a radio link there could be inter-team orders."

He is right that qualifying won't be as it was, he is wrong about virtually everything else.