[Tech Issue] Bridgestone - Sauber to have huge tyre friendliness advantage

[duke_toaster]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81937

So, it looks like it's more than just timed laps, there's good long run pace here, plus more strategy options. It could be very interesting - I'm not a betting man, but I wonder what odds can you get on Kamui Kobayashi to win a race this year ...

[nea]

I'd love Sauber to do a Brawn!

On a more realistic note, it's great that Sauber is back in Peter Sauber's hands. I know he wasn't all that interested in remaining in F1 but he's one of the last "privateers" and he should be commended for doing not what he wanted, but what would save 100's of jobs.

They deserve all the success they can get in my books.

[jab]

The fact that the media has largely ignored Sauber until now is indicative of the sensationalisation of the F1 media today, headed by Autosport. It's all been about the big 4 until now, so the unattractive boring Swiss team headed by the boring old Spaniard going quickly since the first day of the first test has been brushed under the carpet in favour of more attractive stories that people are likely to read

I've been following Sauber closely since the first test and they have been on the pace in every test. They've had the odd niggle but no more than anyone else. The long run pace in Barcelona was pretty much the same as Ferrari and Red Bull and yet none of the "experts" took any notice

And people should not be surprised. The BMW in the name may only be a technicality but it certainly gives a hint to the fact that they funded the development of this car. This is a team that built a title-challenging car 2 years ago and were a team on the up that has more track experience with the current aero rules than any other team. But it seems in the eyes of the media, they're only as good as their last season, because it doesn't make a good story

I'm glad Autosport have finally woken up because this has been on the cards for a while and they've blanked it. Perhaps that is a bad sign too - they need sponsors and finance. Now if they'd have done a deal with Ferrari for them to offload Kimi there for a year (a team he used to drive for of course), then they'll have got a lot more attention

[Sodemo]

Ban them, 100 million dollar fine.

[tblincoe]

I'd expand your sentiments to much more than just F1-related media jab - ALL media is sensationalist these days. It's certainly a growing source of awareness and criticism here in the States...

Back to Sauber, there's a reason why I chose them as my constructor in the fantasy competition. HOWEVER, I'm not completely convinced that they can fully exploit any particular equipment advantage due to the relative strength of their driver pairing. I'm prepared (waiting) for Kobayashi to prove me wrong, but after De La Rosa's last stint as a stand-in at McLaren, I'm not that impressed by his abilities. With the "top 4" stacked with talent in 2010, I just don't see Sauber producing a Brawn-style performance surprise without drivers of the caliber and experience of Button or Barichello.

All of that being said, tires, even more so than aero, are the single most important performance factor in modern F1... c'mon Bahrain!

[jab]

I think de la Rosa can do the job if the car's good. If the car is a midfielder, I think Kobayashi will beat him and it'll be more apparent. But if the car has few flaws, then I don't think it'll make that much difference. And I think it'd prove a point about how much the cars influence performance too

I'd love it if Pedro won a race this year. He's such a nice guy and underrated as a racer as well

[courageous]

Problem is that although the car may be easy on the tyres, you can't say the same about De La Rosa & Kobayashi - meant as no critisism of the drivers, but their style is not exactly softly-softly.

[duke_toaster]

We haven't seen that much of Kobayashi though, what we did see last time, however, was an excellent display of man-on-man overtaking and defending and very good raw pace.

[herowassenna]

Originally Posted by jab

and underrated as a racer as well

Scuse me whilst I kiss the sky.... whoops wrong forum, anyway, I have never seen anything in DLR's ability to convince me he is potentially a winner.
His time at Jaguar when teamed with Irvine didn't stand out in any way at all, and this is a man who in another thread wasn't rated at any level.
It always struck me as odd that Mclaren test drivers got such a great rep from the media. Wurz, DLR and Panis were called the best out there and yet during their tenure at Mclaren it was Ferrari that dominated, yet Gene, Badoer and Larini never got any credit at all, it was their misfortune to be in a team with MS

Wurz at Williams, Panis at BAR, what exactly did they bring to their respective teams....

[p-matt]

While it's nice to see Sauber potentially have a very strong car and be in a position to actually race Ferrari despite being their customer, I can't say that either driver will get the most out of the package. de la Rosa is solid but not spectacular and Kobayashi has been wildly overrated based on two admittedly good performances. I don't think he can string out a consistent season. He certainly hasn't in GP2.

It's such a shame that Heidfeld or Glock never got their hands on this car

[strider]

Originally Posted by courageous

Problem is that although the car may be easy on the tyres, you can't say the same about De La Rosa & Kobayashi - meant as no critisism of the drivers, but their style is not exactly softly-softly.

If the information is coming from Bridgestone, and apparently it is, then it applies to the combination of the car and the drivers who have been testing it.

[jab]

Originally Posted by herowassenna

Scuse me whilst I kiss the sky.... whoops wrong forum, anyway, I have never seen anything in DLR's ability to convince me he is potentially a winner.

I'll give you 3 races, then: 2000 European GP, 2005 Bahrain GP and 2006 Hungarian GP. 3 great performances

Originally Posted by herowassenna

Wurz at Williams, Panis at BAR, what exactly did they bring to their respective teams....

Well, Olivier wasn't the same driver after Canada 97 (another one for the drivers who didn't reach their potential thread). But Alex brought Williams a podium and another near-podium

I used to think like that - when the DLR comeback rumours were first mooted in July (when he was strongly linked to Campos), I thought "why should he come back at 39 and take up a seat that could go to a decent youngster?" But, the truth is, experience is invaluable right now, and Pedro is one of the most experienced drivers in F1 - he's been in and around F1 as a tester or races since 1998, so only Jarno, Rubens and Michael of the racers have been around longer. Sauber need a good car developer this year in particular because they can't throw money at it as in previous years

Plus he is a genuinely nice guy - I know it's a cliche but he is the nicest of the nice, one of the humblest racing drivers around. He's my honourary 2nd favourite driver this year. If I was to start up an F1 team, Team Nice Guy, I'd have him and Wurz, pretty much the 2 best car developers in F1, from what I've read - that's why McLaren had both on their books. Not only are they both really experienced but they're good guys. Probably wouldn't win much to start with but it would give good grounding for later

[Knowlesy]

I haven't followed F1 that closely and was aware that Sauber were quick. So I do not understand what you are talking about in your initial post Mr Jab.

I know the media is generally rubbish, but your anger towards them in recent days is excessive and bordering on obsessive.

[threep]

There are other teams gentler on tyres than the big 4 too. If they take a gamble and stick the softer tyres on for quali then it'll be interesting to see if they can put a cat or two amongst the pidgeons.

[jab]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I haven't followed F1 that closely and was aware that Sauber were quick. So I do not understand what you are talking about in your initial post Mr Jab.

All the focus has been on how the "big 4" have been quick and how it's going to be a battle between them, but there is has been little focus in the mainstream on how Sauber, Williams and Force India have been nearly/just as quick - Lewis mentioned that there are 6 teams (not Williams) out there who could be fighting for the win, but it hasn't been picked up on much. But I reckon if Mr Raikkonen was driving one of those cars, we'd have heard about it more

It is quite frustrating because we saw this last year. Autosport and other journalists in tow were bleating about how it was going to be between Brawn, Ferrari and BMW for the title, as if they had to bring the big teams in to the "battle" maintain interest because either they knew Brawn were streets ahead or because they would be battling with small teams instead of telling it as it is. The teams know who is quick and who isn't

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I know the media is generally rubbish, but your anger towards them in recent days is excessive and bordering on obsessive.

It is a coincidence that they've both cropped up at the same time. I just have a distaste for a lot of the mainstream F1 stuff and it's appeared on here in 2 places on the forum at the same time. It's particularly frustrating for me because I want to be where they are in a few years time

At the same time, there are some great journalists out there - Joe Saward, Adam Cooper, Will Buxton et all. So I'm not anti-F1 media in general. I'm not against the individual journalists that contribute to Autosport or the BBC either. But clearly they are being stifled