Analysing and Reviewing the two Qualifying Rounds, the factors that played into them, and how the drivers and teams performed!
Extreme E’s two Qualifying Rounds for the Island X Prix, to set up the grid for the Semi Finals and the Crazy Race as per the sporting format and also award championship points for the qualifying, took place under the brightly shining Sun on the Island of Sardinia in Italy, in hot and dusty conditions as some were left with just the hopes of rain with rain nowhere on the radar for the Island. There was a lot to be done, and a lot to be answered as well. The Qualifying Rounds do not only hold the key to starting in specific qualification Race (Semi – Finals and the Crazy Race) but also hold championship points up at stake as the top qualifier gets a big haul of 12 championship points, which is half of what one gets on winning the X – Prix(25 points) and equal to what a team gets on finishing 5th in the Final Race. The value of those points even higher as RXR look to seal the championship in Sardinia. The Qualifying Rounds were defined by the use of experience, and how well the cars were handled and taken care of. Something that X44, especially their driver Sebastien Loeb, excelled in.
Sebastien Loeb – A champion driver and someone who knows what he is doing so well, that him and the car just seem to becomes one entity. While the others keep deciphering what to do, he already has set the tone and done what needs to be done. His two Qualifying Laps in the two rounds were good templates for what is good racing and intelligent driving as he did not stick to what was the prevalent racing lines but created his own ones to get the most out of every corner and to not be slow anywhere. There’s two standouts from his performance – one that was seen in some laps by the other drivers as well and some that is more like a characteristic. The first one that some other drivers, especially very evidently Kristoffersson did in the Super Sector section of the track, and ABT Cupra XE and Timmy Hansen also did more throughout, and that was to create their own lines that firstly, gave them a better entry into corners allowing them to carry more speed and also make that turn smoother meaning not only do they carry good speed they also are safer through that corner, and secondly, was that it gave them shorter routes, less bumpy routes at times when others were still looking to find the better line. Loeb was ahead of everyone, while others switched from one line to another from one qualifying round to other, Loeb had already been using a better line. The second standout was the way he crossed the two water splashes, which was not repeated well by the other drivers, wherein he did not take his car straight into the splash and plunge into it but took a line towards one side wherin he wasn’t completely taking a deep and the car as a result was going smoothly and he did not seem to lose much time.
The way Loeb controls his car is what is good. He does not push it to its limits such that he loses control over the car and he is the only driver under whom the ODYSSEY 21 seems to be floating over everything and seems to be on a smooth ride even at very high speed, it looks as if it isn’t being tested bit it is capable of what it is doing whereas in the hands of drivers such as Kristoffersson and Kyle LeDuc it just a looks as if it is being pulled a bit more. This also translates to him being able to complete the lap without any damage on the car which helps them even more as they do not lose anytime to punctures or the car spinning around or the car’s bodywork causing issues with its handling. Handling is key and he masters it. This helps him use the power that he is putting in to the fullest as the car is not wasting any power on damages.
A lot of the handling bit also does come down to the setup of the car which every team does slightly differently. Andretti United Extreme E got a very good setup in the Arctic X Prix but for the qualifying it has always been the X44 team which has gotten the setup that creates a good balance in the car, instead of creating understeer issues such as faced by others, or the issue of the shock absorbers not being suited to the driving style and so on. The team’s preparation is good in all races and they study the tracks well something that can be seen in their setups, the lines they take in their first run of the day and the way that the team is confident in what they do and their are no slipups from their end.
THE ONES WHO WERE THE FASTEST
Where the difference between the Top 3 appeared in the Qualifying Round 2 was that noone came close to beating X44 and that is because both the drivers for the team were great and then the difference between second and third position was most probably the puncture that the X44 suffered at the end due to which Kristoffersson lost those crucial seconds. The difference between these two and X44 was that Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing was close at the start of Leduc’s lap but then he lost around 3 seconds even though he was so fast just in the manner that his car lost out on small tenths at the corners, the water splashes and at some bumpy straight, something much better handled by Carlos Sainz Sr. And when it comes to Kritoffersson, he gave good sectors and was the fastest especially in the finals few waypoints but wherever he was slower, he was slower by a bigger margin that he was ahead in those points of the circuit, and hence lost out.
In the overall Qualification, it was RXR that slotted in second as Chip Ganassi Racing failed to get in a time in the first round, and as a result it was ABT Cupra XE that slotted in third with a very close time in the second round to that of RXR’s but just losing out a bit as Erkstrom lost the handling a bit and had a spin. Jutta was also trying out different approaches and taking certain lines that came well and smooth into her path but she just wasn’t that fast overall, something that meant she lacked just a bit of that pure pace.
TIMMY HANSEN’S DRIVE
Timmy Hansen had an injury that wasn’t new and he had been carrying for around 5 years now, but he dislocated it when he fought his car as he lost power steering at the start of his lap in Qualifying Round 1. It is a very very big feat to drive around a 1800kg + car for 7 to 7.1 kilometres on such a bumpy track with so many tricky jumps and hard landings as well tight corners, while the car isn’t assisting you in the same and is all just brute muscle power. He did lose time but he got the car back safely without damaging the steering wheel any further or going too off-line, something that he did in Qualifying Round 2 with power steering when he did not turn in at the right time. The power was restored for Catie’s lap while the car stood stationary in the Switch Zone but for Timmy to drive one whole lap in that much pain and still be able to handle the car with precision and get through all the waypoints properly, and then do the whole lap once again, even though with lesser need to apply as much manpower, with a shoulder that isn’t hurting as much just because of painkillers is a big feat.
WHICH LANE AT THE START?
Teams have figured out the fastest one with the left most lane from the starting grid position seemingly the favourite as it does have a fair pace advantage which stems from the distance being slightly shorter and probably even that the exit is better with it having smoother turns and a straight rundown to the first turn, as evident, reported by some drivers, and analysed. But that is also subject to the capability of the team and the drivers as many have been able to come very close to that times on the more straighter option whereas some have not been able to be as fast out even on the left most section. In the race, this will be even more tricky as depending on the grid positions the leftmost lane or the starting lane might not be the best or easiest to access and that is also why the importance of GridPlay increases.
All in all, the qualifying was dominated by experience and composition and intelligence mixed with some pure pace and the rest have learned a lot in terms of the lines to take and more. The races will be a lot different as different lines will be in play for overtaking and the intelligence required them will be different!
|CLOSE ELECTRIC EXTREME INTELLIGENT RACING AWAITS|
spielens 