Valencia Street Circuit: The eighth race of the season took place at the Valencia, Spain asphalt track that hosted the European Grand Prix from 2008-2012 (the last such event on the schedule until 2016). The track was designed to meet the same safety standards as a permanent track, and features many overtaking opportunities due to its minimum 14m width. The race is scheduled for 14 laps on the 5.42km circuit resulting in a total distance of 75.9km and 350 turns.
The track is very easy to drive in F1 2012 in my opinion, and it is not difficult to attain pole, lead all of the laps and ultimately win the race. While easy, it does cause a driver to lose focus due to the mundane aspect of being out front, and therefore it is equally not difficult to suffer a lapse in concentration and smash into one of the retaining walls. Tire wear is rated at medium and brake wear is rated at high, however I did not notice any decrease in car performance.
The weather forecast for the race is partly sunny skies and a 22% chance of rain, and my objectives for the weekend are to qualify in sixth and to finish the race in third place or better.
My teammate Daniel Ricciardo is presently in 17th position and P1 on the team while I am leading the Drivers’ Championship but in P2. With seven races down and 13 more to be run, I was seriously hoping for a bump to even driver status, if not to outright take the top spot due to my performance week in and week out.
The track is very easy to drive in F1 2012 in my opinion, and it is not difficult to attain pole, lead all of the laps and ultimately win the race. While easy, it does cause a driver to lose focus due to the mundane aspect of being out front, and therefore it is equally not difficult to suffer a lapse in concentration and smash into one of the retaining walls. Tire wear is rated at medium and brake wear is rated at high, however I did not notice any decrease in car performance.
The weather forecast for the race is partly sunny skies and a 22% chance of rain, and my objectives for the weekend are to qualify in sixth and to finish the race in third place or better.
Prerace and Qualifying
My teammate Daniel Ricciardo is presently in 17th position and P1 on the team while I am leading the Drivers’ Championship but in P2. With seven races down and 13 more to be run, I was seriously hoping for a bump to even driver status, if not to outright take the top spot due to my performance week in and week out.
The practice session was run on the white tires and I posted
a top time of 1:48.028, 4.5 seconds faster than second place Fernando Alonso.
The backdrop of the screenshot features the Swing Bridge part of the circuit,
one of the more technically difficult areas to get in and out of with speed.
The first qualifying segment was run using the yellow option
tire and I would improve my time to 1:46.350.
During the second qualifying session I would improve my time
yet again to 1:46.314, also on the yellow option tire.
The final qualifying shootout saw me post a top time of
1:46.452 to take the pole, alongside my pseudo-teammates making it for an all
Red Bull top three.
It gives you wings, bitches.
Race Strategy
The pole position altered my prerace goal of finishing third
or better to finishing first. Here the default offering is to pit on lap six,
and although I know rain is a possibility in the final laps I am not making any
changes at this point, allowing the condition of the track dictate whether I
adjust on the fly (or begrudgingly pit with a lap left because I can’t keep the
car on the track).
Track Overview
While the track diagram makes it appear to be a difficult undertaking, I find this to be the easiest track on the circuit (even easier than Monza).
Event Information
The 22% chance of rain during the race given the dynamic weather program built into the game has me somewhat concerned, however not enough to alter the default pit strategy.
Research and Development
Nothing new on the R&D front: I am currently running with the Suspension Arm Improvement (which increases mechanical grip by 10%) gained at the Chinese Grand Prix in week three, and the Rear Wing Update upgrade (which reduces drag by 5%) acquired at the Canadian Grand Prix in week seven.
Car Setup
I am leaving everything as is which is what I have done all season. I know there is a wide range of tweaks that can help or hurt the car, however I am not inclined to do anything more than drive the package they put under me.
Race Laps 1-5
Being on pole makes this job a whole lot easier.
At the start of the race I would employ KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to keep me ahead of the pack heading into the turn one and two kink.
I would secure the fastest lap of the race on the second
circuit, posting a top time of 1:48.203. Here on lap three I am navigating
through the Swing Bridge area of the track.
Lap Time Results
Lap 1: 1:53.899 (P1)
Lap 2: 1:48.203 (P1) Fastest Lap of the Race
Lap 3: 1:49.850 (P1) DRS Enabled
Lap 4: 1:49.348 (P1)
Lap 5: 1:49.623 (P1)
Race Laps 6-10
At the start of lap six I received notice to pit at the end of the lap.
So far the car has been handling great and there is no
reason to deviate from plan.
The pit crew nails a fast stop of 3.178 and sends me on
my way with four fresh whites.
Although I would fall to sixth place after exiting the pits,
I would regain P1 by the end of lap seven during the pit sequence of the other
drivers.
Here just after the start of lap nine I would smack the right side wall coming out of a turn, tearing off a part of my front wing assembly (lying on the track behind me).
My crew chief would tell me to stay on the track as the
overall damage was not significant enough to pit. This is what happens sometimes
when you are running out front, unchallenged while just trying to make laps and
concentration is lost for just a split second.
Coming into the same turn on the next lap the damage is
visible on the left front end.
Lap Time Results
Lap 6: 2:05.247 (P6) Pit Entrance Lap
Lap 7: 1:54.382 (P1) Pit Exit Lap
Lap 8: 1:49.390 (P1)
Lap 9: 1:51.102 (P1) Incident Lap
Lap 10: 1:48.960 (P1)
Race Laps 11-15
Having lost almost a full second during the previous lap,
here on the 12th circuit I manage to start improving some sector
times to increase the gap over Mark Webber in second place.
During lap 13 the weather would shift somewhat as a very light
rain began to fall on the track, however with one lap to go there is no point
in pitting for new tires.
Although this race was not a challenge in that I had to
fight for the lead with another driver, it was satisfying to achieve another
podium finish and victory to further cement my iron grip on the Driver's
Championship.
Lap Time Results
Lap 11: 1:49.873 (P1)
Lap 12: 1:48.674 (P1)
Lap 13: 1:49.430 (P1)
Lap 14: N/A
Race Result
It is yet another podium sweep for the Red Bull sponsorship
program as I finish 6.763 ahead of Mark Webber and 7.026 ahead of SebastianVettel.
Drivers’ Championship
My lead in the standings over Mark Webber has increased to 35 points. Although I have won five out of eight races this season, I am only two non-points finishes and Mark Webber wins away from being knocked off of the top spot.
Constructors’ Championship
My valiant effort for Scuderia Toro Rosso can only do so
much.
Parc Ferme
I should start renting space at this place.
Race Recap
The fastest lap came early on (lap two) and I could never seem to get back close to it.
Team Mate Challenge Data
With no competition to speak of here, I am bewildered how I am still driver number two on the team.
Post Mortem
The whole event took less than an hour to run. Using FRAPS
as the screen capture device set to a three second pulse interval, it took a
lazy ten days to cull all of the images and write this after-action report. The
race itself was fun as I really like driving this track, however I suspect this
may have been a gimme by the developers as it looks crazy difficult in terms of
layout but is actually quite effortless to drive (unless you start
daydreaming).
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