[akash_v12]

Honorarily named after the Brazilian driver, Jose Carlos Pace, the Interlagos circuit is a completely old-school driver's favourite track. Overtakes might be few, but the weather turns things around completely and it's no different this week.

All timings IST

Track Details


Lap length: 4.309km (2.677 miles)
Race laps: 71
Race distance: 305.909km (190.083 miles)
Pole position: Right-hand side of the track
Lap record: 1:11.473 (Juan Pablo Montoya, 2004)
Fastest lap: 1:07.281 (Lewis Hamilton, 2018, qualifying 3)
Maximum speed: 331kph (205.674 mph)
Full throttle: 64%
Longest flat-out section: 1,394m
Downforce level: High
Gear changes per lap: 36
Fuel use per lap: 1.35kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel: 0.042s

The Schedule



The Track



The Tyres



Weather

[SAK-XXVII]

This is make or break race for Lewis Hamilton. This has been one of Max Verstappen's strong tracks. This will be a very intresting race considering it includes the sprint format. Lewis and max have come together in both the races which included the sprint format, lets see what happens this time around.

Lewis will be taking a 5 place grid drop for sunday race as he takes a new ICE.

Source:- F1 official insta handle.

[Doge]

Silly season has gotten even more soap opera-ish now.
So Lewis Hamilton's car is with the FIA and they have instructed Mercedes to remove and submit the rear wing for investigation.
The DRS opening is rumored to be more than the permissible limit and that is a slam dunk DSQ and rear wing change means pit start for Lewis. Apparently RB knew about this before qualy too.
What is even more bizarre is that Max has also been summoned to the stewards as he was checking the rear wing of Lewis after qualifying in Parc Ferme.

[Akshay6988]

Can someone please explain what are those "Parc ferme" conditions ? And why Max has been summoned by the stewards ? Will FIA disqualify Hamilton if found guilty of the DRS rules infringement ?

[VRJ]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

Can someone please explain what are those "Parc ferme" conditions ? And why Max has been summoned by the stewards ? Will FIA disqualify Hamilton if found guilty of the DRS rules infringement ?

There are basically two investigations going on at the moment:

1. First one being the flexi rear wing of the Mercedes. RB Technical Director Adrian Newey and Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan went to the FIA office an hour before qualification with evidence that Mercedes rear wing bends too much or flattens out when DRS is open. Remember when Mercedes protested RebBull’s rear wing in the first half of the season? FIA made RB change their wing on short notice. Now, RB allege that Mercedes are doing the very same thing.

2. Second being the DRS issue. Although I don’t understand this in detail, the rear wing breaches the FIA’s code. The gap shouldn’t exceed 85mm and it did. Now comes the role of Max. Right after qualification, max gets down from his car and I guess he notices this. He measures his car and then continues to touch Hamiltons rear wing and measures the distance. According to the Parc Ferme rules, no one is allowed to operate, check or repair the car. Max broke this rule by touching the car and is the reason why he is summoned.

The second issue is what is causing all kinds of chaos on Twitter. Ham fans claim that Max clearly broke a rule and influenced the rear wing by touching it and this is tampering with evidence. Max fans think he was just measuring the gap and there’s no way a normal human can alter the rear wing because we all know how strong they are.

My take is Max is Super Max and not Superman. There’s no way he can alter the rear wing of Ham by touching it for a second. But, he did touch it and this is against the rules. He’ll probably receive a reprimand (which makes the most sense) or a fine or a 3-5 grid drop penalty or a combination. This isn’t fair to be honest because one of Sebastian Vettel’s many nicknames is ‘Inspector Seb’. Just YouTube it and you’ll see he touches Hams and many other cars all the time. He was never penalised for this. In normal times, maybe no one would have cared if Max touched Hams car. But, in this case, Hams rear wing has been tested and is found to breach a rule and Max touched it right before the test. There’s talk that Mercedes are going to use this and avoid any penalty. Few races back, we saw FIA disqualify and take away Vettel’s P2 because there wasn’t enough fuel left thus breaking a technical rule. Similarly, Ham also broke a technical rule today in Brazil.

So, it’s interesting to see what the inconsistent FIA will do. Will they totally disqualify Hamilton from Brazils race? Or will they only cancel his qualification session and make him start from the back in the sprint race? Ham is lucky if the latter happens. He gets two chances to drive through the field. He has a new engine, the fastest car, he’s got the talent and it’s Brazil (good overtaking opportunities). The first issue which I mentioned above has nothing to do with the second. It’s just coincidence.

Cheers!

[SAK-XXVII]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

Can someone please explain what are those "Parc ferme" conditions ? And why Max has been summoned by the stewards ? Will FIA disqualify Hamilton if found guilty of the DRS rules infringement ?

Max has been summoned by the stewards after he was seen touching Hamiltons car in parc ferme. There are a few set rules that need to be followed in parc ferme and they think Max has breached it. The verdict should be out soon but i think it will be monetary penalty or penalty points on his super license than a grid penalty, so he should be good for the race.

Hamilton will be disqualified if his rear wing is not in accordance with the regulations as he has gained advantage on track during a session.

More info can be found on this link:- https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...pdSrj6LDQ.html

[shibujp]

For Hamilton to need a second engine change after taking one in the Turkish Grand Prix speaks about how much Honda is pushing them this season.

But it's a terrific advantage that Hamilton managed to gain after the engine change and also they have been smart about the location of the change. Taking a 5 place grid penalty in the sprint race gives Hamilton a chance to gain positions for Sunday by using his power advantage to overtake cars in the sprint race. This will negate the penalty for the race.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Chetan_Rao]

Both offences appear slam dunk on face value.

Not allowed to touch or inspect another car except under authorisation from officials, so Max is clearly in breach by the letter of the regulations. There surely must be CCTV footage available of the parc ferme infringement?

If the rear wing on Hamilton's car doesn't meet specification, the only plausible explanation (assuming Merc didn't know about it) is extra flex causing it unintentionally (damage?), or it would just be an additional infringement of wing rigidity regulations.

[Ashishkel]

I think it was stupid from Verstappen to touch the rear wing. It goes on to show that he still has a lot to learn and control his emotions.

But even more stupid is, Merc to risk the WCC by doing this kind of cheeky things and risking their WCC and Hamilton's s chance at WDC. I can't believe that Hamilton chose to play along. That is, if FIA finds the maximum gap illegal.

How did Verstappen find this, it's just mm level differences in assuming. May be logical deductions from the sudden pace surge?

Originally Posted by shibujp

For Hamilton to need a second engine change after taking one in the Turkish Grand Prix speaks about how much Honda is pushing them this season.

But it's a terrific advantage that Hamilton managed to gain after the engine change and also they have been smart about the location of the change. Taking a 5 place grid penalty in the sprint race gives Hamilton a chance to gain positions for Sunday by using his power advantage to overtake cars in the sprint race. This will negate the penalty for the race.

Drive on,
Shibu

Assuming that the PU is reliable. Bottas seems to be doing just fine after playing the role of guinea pig. Let's hope delivers.

If the new found speed had to do with the DRS gap tweaking, then it's another thing.

[SAK-XXVII]

Originally Posted by shibujp

But it's a terrific advantage that Hamilton managed to gain after the engine change and also they have been smart about the location of the change. Taking a 5 place grid penalty in the sprint race gives Hamilton a chance to gain positions for Sunday by using his power advantage to overtake cars in the sprint race. This will negate the penalty for the race.

AFAIK the penalty is for the main race on sunday and not the sprint race today. He will be on pole for sprint race as long as he is not disqualified.

[VRJ]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Taking a 5 place grid penalty in the sprint race gives Hamilton a chance to gain positions for Sunday by using his power advantage to overtake cars in the sprint race. This will negate the penalty for the race.

Are you sure that Ham will take the penalty in the sprint race? I believe it is the main race. He will start the sprint race from P1 and will serve the 5 place grid penalty on Sunday. Hamilton clearly has the quicker car this weekend. Even though he has a penalty, he can make up places in no time. He has to pass Perez, Gasly and one of the Ferraris (I’m assuming the top 5 order will remain the same as quali).

Cheers!

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by VRJ

Are you sure that Ham will take the penalty in the sprint race? I believe it is the main race

Cheers!

Yes you are right. I was under the impression that the 5 place grid penalty would be served in the sprint itself. This is fairer to as if a driver had to serve the penalty in the sprint they can potential negate the penalty for the race.

Drive on,
Shibu

[JohaanTJ]

Watch this video from timestamp 6:35 to see how teams check the rear wing using the DRS probe.

https://youtu.be/7cT9ExNcKYw

[ninjatalli]

It'll be interesting to see the result of the investigation. If FIA decide to penalize Hamilton and make him start from the pits, then it'll be interesting to see him try overtake all the slower cars on a racetrack that is a bit difficult for overtaking.

On the other hand, if he doesn't get such a penalty, then it'll be interesting to watch Hamilton vs Perez (on #3), given the recent competition both drivers have had. Red Bull will push Perez to delay Hamilton as much as possible to let Verstappen get a decent lead, primarily for the championship fight.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by VRJ

Are you sure that Ham will take the penalty in the sprint race? I believe it is the main race. He will start the sprint race from P1 and will serve the 5 place grid penalty on Sunday.

He has to pass Perez, Gasly and one of the Ferraris (I’m assuming the top 5 order will remain the same as quali).

Cheers!

The starting grid for the main race is the finishing order in the sprint race. The 5 place penalty would be added to this.