F1 2011 Beginner questions

[Vice Fielder]

Hello, first, sorry, I know what I'm about to ask has probably asked quite a few times, but I can't seem to figure search on this forum, and googling for a couple of hours also didn't point me to the answers I really need.

I'm racing with a g27, all assists turned off, AI is on professional, tyre and fuel simulation are on, rules set to realistic.

How do I tell if it's me being an awfull driver, or if the setup is terrible, or the car just can't keep up?

I restarted my career, set race duration to 100%, qualified 4th at Melbourne doing a mid 1:26 lap. Though that was a setup with very high downforce abusing drs.

For the race I lowered wing from 8-9 to 5-6, lap times are around 1:34, but I just can't keep up. It feels I corner a lot slower, and even then I can't keep up on straights.

Another thing that bugs me is race strategy. I can't recall what was my quali tyres condition, but I did 2 warm-up laps on mix 1, and the hot lap that got me that time.

But then, using the suggested race strategy, my first stop would be at 16th lap. At the 10th lap it's already really hard to stay on track.

On 100% races, how long does each type of tyre last?

What posistion is Williams able to achieve on first Season, professional AI difficulty?

 

[David O'Reilly]

Hello, first, sorry, I know what I'm about to ask has probably asked quite a few times, but I can't seem to figure search on this forum, and googling for a couple of hours also didn't point me to the answers I really need.

I'm racing with a g27, all assists turned off, AI is on professional, tyre and fuel simulation are on, rules set to realistic.

How do I tell if it's me being an awfull driver, or if the setup is terrible, or the car just can't keep up?

I restarted my career, set race duration to 100%, qualified 4th at Melbourne doing a mid 1:26 lap. Though that was a setup with very high downforce abusing drs.

For the race I lowered wing from 8-9 to 5-6, lap times are around 1:34, but I just can't keep up. It feels I corner a lot slower, and even then I can't keep up on straights.

Another thing that bugs me is race strategy. I can't recall what was my quali tyres condition, but I did 2 warm-up laps on mix 1, and the hot lap that got me that time.

But then, using the suggested race strategy, my first stop would be at 16th lap. At the 10th lap it's already really hard to stay on track.

On 100% races, how long does each type of tyre last?

What posistion is Williams able to achieve on first Season, professional AI difficulty?

Hi there Vice.
Couple of thoughts:
Melbourne in career season 1 is a tough race to do wel. I think from memory in a 75 % race my Willams result was P14 or so. 100% is a bit harder. (Expert mode so legend AI)
Tyre life- as a rough guide look at the in game tyre screen and deduct 20% then deduct 2 laps for quali.
If I recall correctly i t says 18 laps for options. So about 14 is optimal less quali so 11-12 is probably it if you quali on options. They will start to feel very ropey as they go off and you need to predict that and adjust your driving a little. Spins in the last 2 laps before pitting are common otherwise. lowering engine mix can help. But in essence fresh tyres will gain you much time.
Tyre Strategy-My testing has shown me that the "prime penalty" at Melbourne is about 1 sec on low fuel and .half that on high fuel, so... its faster to use them in stint 1. It will also mean that you have good consistent tyres all the way to stop 1 as the AI start to pit off their option stint.
Each track is different at Sepang and Turkey its the opposite. At China you must be on options inthe final stint as they fly compared to primes.
Test in GP mode and use say 30 laps fuel and 10 laps fuel with both primes and options. Mo KERS and no DRS (variables) and use Mix 2. Thats your race simulation runs. Restart after each test to avoid track rubbering in.
So in a 75% race the optimal strategy is P/O/O. stops at lap 13 and 27. I guess you would add another options stint if you have them for a 100% Options will also last longer on low fuel than high and you avoid the agonisingly slow outlaps on primes.
Setup despite Albert Park having several long straights your race aero is too low. I'm running 8/9 or 9/10. Its faster.
You need to work on setup. Its a big topic. Refer to my f1 2011 advanced drivers guide
http://www.racedepartment.com/forum/threads/f1-2011-advanced-drivers-guide-by-david-oreilly.43837/.

Your Williams will soon get faster with upgrades. Its almost as Albert Park is the hard one and it gets easier..
Oh also fuel load affects us more than AI. Starting fuel in 100% race hurts!Your relative pace should improve over the race.

Good luck

EDIT:
I want to correct my aero statment. I checked and my setup follows. However be aware our inuagural WDC Martin Ott has worked a lot on setup and he tends towards higher wing. So I may experiment up a notch.
Career HRT setup Melb
Aero 6/7
Brakes 47/53 High, Standard
ARB 5/10
Susp Ride Height 1/1, Springs 8/6
Gears
1-131
2-161
2-190
4-219
5-249
6-282
7-320

Camber -3.30/-1.10
Toe 0.12/0.35

 

[Vice Fielder]

Thanks for your reply. I did read your guide, and the guide referred about setups. Good job, btw, helped me a lot.

But do you think with Professional AI rather than Legend, would a 1st be feasible?

Anyway finished Melbourne as 8th, having to do an extra stop 'cause Rubens Douchebarrichelo punctured my rear tyre near the end of sector 2. And went on to Malaysia, quali'ed at pole, finished 7th. And yes, 18 laps for options.

I did manage to keep fastest lap on Malaysia, which makes me think Williams could get a 1st. But then, after tyre wear really kicks in and until I switch tyres it feels impossible to keep up.

For both races, except for Aero and Gearbox, settings were like this:

ARB 2-9
Brakes: 46/54
Ride Height: 2-2, Springs 9-6
Camber: Front and Rear one step to the left, can't recall it's value
Toe: Front is 3 or 4 steps to the right, Rear is far right.

Does that setup eat away tyres faster? I raced carefully to keep lock-ups, wheelspins and drifts to a minimum, though for malaysia I did notice Front tyres wearing out a bit faster.

Should I make an extra stop? I didn't do the Math but it doesn't feel like the time lost adds to it, so far as those two races go.

Thanks again, and what position would someone really good at this game manage on China? 1st?

 

[Martin Ott]

Don't worry about tyre wear, you should be able to run standard strategy with any setup.
You should also run no less than:
- 9 on front wing
- 11 on rear wing,
- high pressure brakes
- maximum (left) camber
on every track (not too sure about aero in Monza, haven't driven there much).

And pole and win is doable in the Williams on every track.

 

[Vice Fielder]

Guess it's the driver then. Gotta practice =P

Thanks

 

[David O'Reilly]

Guess it's the driver then. Gotta practice =P

Thanks

Vice bear in mind that Martin is an Alien (very fast).
In my 5 season career I only scored one win in Williams in season 1 (Monaco).
Its the slowest (with Force India) KERS car. It really shouldnt be winning races in career yr 1.
I won the WDC in career season 4 with it.

AND your 100% races place a much heavier fuel load. So its harder.
My take on it is that from a career perpective it will be great for the lower ranked teams to perform like lower ranked teams and then the buzz from a signing with a top team will be just that - a buzz.
Personally I would be adjusting Assists downwards first then once all off adjust AI pace upwards until the car is performing where it should be.
For example I am in a Toro Rosso and am 1-1.5 sec on average off the pace in quali but getting sensational racing.
I mean if you are winning in the Williams where can you go later?

If you want to see how your pace is use GP mode and drive the Red Bull. That will tell you if you have race winning pace.

 

[Vice Fielder]

Just one more question, why does force feedback feel so different when playing single and coop?

 

[David O'Reilly]

Just one more question, why does force feedback feel so different when playing single and coop?

Sorry mate cant answer that one. FFB on Xbox is weak but existent and same in all scenarios.. I dont have your wheel.
One little tip. Use wet TT to work on setups. Save for brake settings (which need to be wet obviously) the fastest setup in wet TT will be the fastest in GP/Career and its easier to guage the setups performance..

 

[Martin Ott]

David coming up with weird strategies again.

I don't even change brake bias for the rain. Only +2 or +4 on the ride height.

 

[Vice Fielder]

Well, just an update, improved my times overall about 2 seconds. Guess all this setup talk was distracting me a lot from the actual driving.

My save got corrupted so I had to start over once again, still can't figure how to keep up with with the AI on Expert. My best times can't make it to 1st, but then I've been f'ing up most often than I'd like to admit.

Anyway, I got a rear right puncture on Melbourne, then my KERS went bust for quite a few laps, then it got fixed in the middle of the lap, and I got yet another puncture on front left. what's up with that?

Btw, saw that f1 2012 is 66% off on steam, wonder if I should buy it or wait for 2013.

 

[Martin Ott]

Anyway, I got a rear right puncture on Melbourne, then my KERS went bust for quite a few laps, then it got fixed in the middle of the lap, and I got yet another puncture on front left. what's up with that?

Yeah, we had that in Melbourne too one time. Like 4-5 people got punctures in a 75% race. I happens rarely though, iirc.

 

[David O'Reilly]

Well, just an update, improved my times overall about 2 seconds. Guess all this setup talk was distracting me a lot from the actual driving.

My save got corrupted so I had to start over once again, still can't figure how to keep up with with the AI on Expert. My best times can't make it to 1st, but then I've been f'ing up most often than I'd like to admit.

Anyway, I got a rear right puncture on Melbourne, then my KERS went bust for quite a few laps, then it got fixed in the middle of the lap, and I got yet another puncture on front left. what's up with that?

Btw, saw that f1 2012 is 66% off on steam, wonder if I should buy it or wait for 2013.

I got F1 2012 for free but still didnt drive it. My time has a value even if the game is cheap!!

 

[Vice Fielder]

Yeah, my co-op partner decided to buy that for me =P. It feels weird. I'm having the easiest time not spinning. And he seems to be struggling with his traction control and abs/auto gears. Anyway, good to get a few laps on him.