Grand Prix of Canada (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) 06.10.2012

Jason Campbell70 said:Don't you think if the track in the USA is such a total tire killer, they'd pick the harder compounds for the race (and the FP sessions and qualifying) too?

🤣 🤣

Either I haven't had enough coffee yet... what even is your question? I can't make heads or tails of that sentence above... 🤣

Jason Campbell70 said:Judging by the comments coming out of Pat Fry, Ferrari is heading to the USA with a brand new front and rear wing—which makes sense given the track layout—along with several exhaust variations. It looks like the FP sessions will be quite a mixed bag in terms of the F2012 aero package upgrades.

Yet, curiously, no one has brought up the DDRS. Even if they were to implement the DDRS, it would necessitate modifications to the monocoque, which in turn requires new crash tests. If Ferrari had actually conducted any crash testing, wouldn't that news have leaked to the press already?

Essentially, certain posters here are peddling nonsense that isn't even worth a response.

In short, there is nothing happening with the DDRS; there would need to be an entire regulatory process where the FIA declares everything legal before giving the green light.

Furthermore, one shouldn't hold their breath expecting these upgrades to bring them anywhere near the leaders.

Ferrari is currently struggling with qualifying pace, and I sincerely hope they have addressed it; I have no desire to sacrifice my football time only to waste my free hours on Formula 1.

Jason Campbell70 said:Based on what Pat Fry has been saying, it looks like Ferrari is heading to the USA with a brand new front and rear wing—which makes sense given how this track plays out—plus a few different exhaust configurations. It sounds like the FP sessions are going to be a bit of a mixed bag regarding the F2012 aero package.

Still, nobody has brought up the DDRS. Even for that, you'd need to modify the monocoque, which means running more crash tests. If Ferrari had actually started doing those tests, word would have leaked by now.

I read somewhere that they'll be testing the original exhaust design.
That was easily their biggest headache, though I assume they've tweaked it somehow since Fry mentioned they finally have a much better handle on how the car behaves.

Man, a win from Schumacher would be just what we need heading into the Canadian Grand Prix.
But honestly, looking at how this season is playing out, I’d say Rosberg is actually more likely to grab his second win.

This is the real litmus test for Ferrari. We're going to see if those upgrades actually hold up on a track like this. They looked great at the last two races, but those were completely different beasts compared to this one.

Hamilton is still a massive contender to snatch a win. My only caveat? His team finally needs to step up and actually do their job if they want to make that happen.
The guy is a beast in qualifying. He's already got two poles, two second-place finishes in QP, and let's not forget that absolute masterclass of a lap during QP in Barcelona.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I read they’re going to test the original exhaust setup.
That was the biggest headache, though I assume they tweaked it since Fry mentioned they have a much better grasp of the car now.

Yeah, those are the talking points circulating in the press.

Fry announced testing for several new exhaust versions (plural).
One of those should include the original design—the one Fry noted worked "very well", even if it did overheat the tires.
So, what happened? Ferrari arrived in Jerez, realized the exhaust was cooking the rubber, and used their limited window to shift the exhaust pipe a few centimeters toward the car's centerline. Of course, without extensive wind tunnel or CFD testing, you get exactly what you get.
We saw the fallout from that "quick fix" during those first four races.

This latest version (shown at Mugello) is a modification of that initial setup, sure, but it’s a version that actually underwent rigorous aerodynamic validation first.
We saw the payoff from that serious engineering in the last two races.

Now... remember those rumors about the "super diffuser" and floor designed by Rory Byrne? There was talk that this incredible floor wouldn't be unveiled until the final pre-season test in Barcelona.
If that magic floor actually exists, it was designed around the original exhaust (those Acer ducts). It won't work with the current configuration.

Is it possible that this floor is exactly why they're revisiting the original exhaust? Maybe the Ferrari fans think—who knows—that this floor is the championship-winning upgrade. Something along the lines of what Brawn GP or Red Bull Racing achieved.

That legendary, almost mythical chassis!
From what I can gather, joseluis kicked off this whole rumor mill, and it just spiraled from there.
But he was also the one who first suggested Ferrari would show up to Barcelona with an exhaust setup similar to what Sauber or McLaren uses... at the time, it felt like a foregone conclusion.
He even went into detail about the crash tests, mentioning how they’d be swapping out the front nose... crunch, smash, pop.

By the way, I read somewhere that Rory isn't actually involved with the F2012. Apparently, he just drops by the factory every now and then, takes a quick look at how things are progressing, and that’s it—he isn't contributing any actual design advice to the car's development.

We really need to wait until Friday to see what's actually happening. I can hardly wait... and that's before the weekend even hits.
Upgrades are absolutely necessary; in my opinion, the current package Ferrari is running just isn't strong enough to fight for the championship.
Now comes the real test for Ferrari...

I’m honestly expecting the race to get cut short after just a few hours—kind of like what happened last year—so the drivers can go grab some ice cream... and I can finally sit down and catch the game.

Last time we had an EP race, I’m pretty sure it kicked off around 6:00 PM. But now they’ve pushed the whole thing back two hours because Italy and Spain are playing at 6:00 PM instead.

Forget about rain—Lotus actually stands a chance here 🙏

darkmarlin16 said:If I recall correctly, the last time there was an EP race, it kicked off around 6:00 PM. This time around, they’ve pushed it back two hours because Italy and Spain are playing at 6:00 PM during UEFA Euro 2012.

So, basically, Fernando Alonso and Ferrari just gave in.😳

Drew Bennett68 said:So, it appears that Alonso and Ferrari have finally conceded.😳

It seems entirely plausible. ☕

Is it really acceptable that we have such a meager amount of commentary prior to the race? Has the majority of this community truly migrated over to the UEFA Euro 2012 thread already? 🤣

Is it not incredibly frustrating when the Creator Group decides to pull the plug on broadcasting free practice sessions? Why should we be deprived of the opportunity to listen to the technical expertise and that steady, reliable commentary provided by our favorite expert, Sep? It feels like a blatant disregard for those of us who actually want to dive deep into the technical nuances of the sport. 🤣

At any rate, I fully expect Fernando Alonso to maintain his grip on the top spot in the drivers' championship.

That Williams rear wing looks specifically tuned for high-speed tracks.
It’s no surprise if it nets him at least half a second per lap over the field, and honestly, I wouldn't be shocked to see a gain of one or two seconds during qualifying.
As for the race itself, though? I'm not feeling quite as optimistic.

Tyler Bennett5 said:

The Williams rear wing designed specifically for high-speed tracks.
Naturally, this should grant them an advantage of at least half a second per lap over the rest of the field, and I anticipate seeing a gain of one to two seconds during qualifying.
As for the race itself, however, I am far less optimistic.

What kind of rear spoiler manages to yield roughly 0.5 seconds?

For teams fighting in such a tight mid-field pack, that is actually a brilliant solution—perhaps even more effective than Brown's implementation of the DDRS at Mercedes. 🤣

ruggedfox28 said:no rain in sight—Lotus might actually have a shot here 🙏

Actually, I'd say the opposite http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2...rain-expected/

redsurfer11 said:Actually, I disagree... http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2...rain-expected/. Check this out

But that's just for Friday 😁...

Despite all the forecasts (weather and standings alike), I'm expecting both—or at least one—Mercedes-Benz on the podium 🙂

Like someone else already pointed out, I just hope there isn't a broadcast outage like last year. That was a total nightmare. Sitting stuck in front of the TV from 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM or whenever... 🙂

Lewis Hamilton is my guy, hands down 😁 so check out this quote he dropped right before the GP Canada

It’s a good thing this thread is so wide open. The opening post already lays out the full schedule for the FP sessions, qualifying, and the race itself. 🙏

Practice 1 Fri 16:00
Practice 2 Fri 20:00
Practice 3 Sat 16:00
Qualifying Sat 19:00
Race Sun 20:00

See, with a little help from the rest of you, we can all be happy here 😬

I'm setting the race to record, but I'll be watching the game as long as we aren't losing... 😬 🤣