Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
Formula One
F1: Brawn – 2010 Will Be A Reactive Process
Mercedes GP’s Ross Brawn says that in 2010 “It’s going to be a much more reactive process”...
Adam Cooper  | http://www.speedtv.com  |  Posted March 09, 2010   GMM Newswire
Ross Brawn says the new proximity wing coming in 2011 will work just fine. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Ross Brawn says that this year strategy is all about being ‘reactive,’ in that teams will always be responding to what others are doing.

With fuel not determining the timing of pit stops, drivers will often come in response to the strategies of others.

“In previous years you had X amount of fuel in the car,” Ross told this writer. “And you wanted to run to that point and pit, and that determined your first pit stop. The reactivity of your decision making was how long to the second pit stop, where were you going to judge that gap.

“Now it’s completely open when you make your stop, be it one or two, and how soon you make it. If you make it early you can gain an advantage because you’re back out on new tires, but if those new tires are shot by the end of the race, you can become exposed. It’s going to be very interesting, but it’s going to be a much more reactive process on the pit wall than past years.

“I think there will be a lot of one-stop races this year, particularly if you’re starting on the soft tire. If the hard tire is durable then all the race will really take place in the first 10-15 laps, then right at the end if people run into problems with fuel consumption or tire wear or brake wear.

“So I think there will be two windows of racing, in the early part when everyone is jockeying for position and the end of the race where someone might start to struggle with their tires or their car.”
Having pulled off a surprise by dominating the start of last season Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn says expects to see the ‘usual candidates’ at the front this year, although he concedes that the top four may be under pressure from behind.

“Last year McLaren and Ferrari did a pretty average job at the beginning of the year, and that created an unusual situation. They recognized, particularly Ferrari, that they were off the pace, and in the end sacrificed the year to get back into shape for this year, which was probably the right decision. So it was an unusual year in that respect, so I don’t think we’re going to see that this year.

“I think in 2010 you’ll have the usual candidates at the front, and Renault and Williams and one or two others will be right there. I think Williams with the Cosworth engine will be very interesting. Renault has undergone a fairly major restructuring, and we’ll see what affect that has the Sauber looks like quite a good car, I think they did the same as Ferrari, I think they recognized their failing, and knuckled down and devoted all their efforts to the new car.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter

Play! SPEED Fantasy Racing - GP Edition
adam_cooper's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Cooper

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.