I spoke with Andre Lotterer after qualifying (in Fuji) and he was lamenting the fact that their hybrid system’s deficiencies (generating energy from a sole axle and the increased weight of their diesel engine) were somewhat magnified at Fuji and possibly Shanghai.
Audi are racing in a different Mega joule class to us and I think having a better hybrid system should be rewarded, especially on a single lap effort. In qualifying we know we have an advantage thanks to the super capacitor that we run being in the 6 mega joule class.
Toyota’s seems to have the edge on pure pace at the moment. Certainly Sebastien Buemi’s early stint at Austin appeared to indicate that – even considering Porsche’s qualifying pace.
Yes, but that’s not what endurance racing’s about. In race conditions it’s more about how you manage the tyres, plus the chassis a lot more important. The real points are on Sunday and Audi seem strong in race conditions. There are some benefits of course in not relying solely on your hybrid package. It’s not all bad for Audi, especially in traffic where they rely on the pure power of their combustion engine. They can make quite a lot of headway in those situations. With traffic management, relying on the power of your combustion engine is advantageous sometimes.
Audi seems to think that’s exactly where they DO struggle on some circuits. Silverstone was more flowing so the gaps tended to yo-yo depending on the sections of the circuit.
I think we’re seeing very close lap times in race trim, but when you’re looking at ultimate peak performance there are some circuits that obviously suit us better than them and vice versa. I think they might have to think about running a six or eight mega joule hybrid system next year!
I think they’ll have to!
After following them last year with a clear horsepower advantage, my heart certainly doesn’t bleed for them! (He laughs)
I saw a lot of different lines at turn one at Fuji… A lot of opportunities to lose time too!
Turn one is difficult. Always has been. You’re arriving from 300km/ph to 65 kph. It’s downhill, there’s very late braking into there and it’s very easy to have a lock up. It’s not quite a 180 degree corner, but it’s wide and there’s quite a few scenarios where you carry a front-lock going into there and wash the car out.
The other thing that makes it difficult is where you get your fuel cut, or your fuel allocation going into the corner. If you’ve got a much later fuel cut than on the previous lap then it completely skews your perception on where to brake. As a result you’re forever re-learning your braking zones.