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An additional point I noticed this weekend that may have a contribution to their qualifying pace is that all cars can use their DRS at any time, with no restriction in qualifying..... I noticed that particularly Vettel was opening the DRS flap in some high speed corners well before the apex of the turn.
Not only does this indicate the effectiveness of the aero package RBR have in raw form, for them to do what most others are it seems unable to do, to the same degree.
This reduction of drag by opening the flap obviously reduces the amount of downforce available, but it does not seem to affect the balance on the RBRs as they are audibly flat to the floor. Perhaps they have downforce to spare with their better optimised exhaust system / engine management, thus allowing the opening of the rear wing mid turn with no apparent detrimental effects to the handling.
Nett effect is the RBR seem to have a much greater corner exit speed, which would be reflected in increased straight line speed as well..... all of which would add up to a fair chunk of time over a full lap.
That Vettel was particularly aggressive in its early use on many corners would in turn perhaps explain Webber's relative lack of particularly qualifying pace compared to Vettel..
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