F1 2010 Car Development

[spiralmagic]

hi guys, im new to the forum, huge f1 fan
just got into the f1 10 game on ps3, i was just wondering when i become no1 driver for my team what car developing strategy would be best employed? do you have to put it on a certain setting for the car to develop and be better for the following season or is this done automatically? cheers

 

[Andrew Bortz]

If you become the number 1 driver there are 3 settings you can go down, depending on your driving style would depend on the setting I believe, for instance I set mine to Aggresive as I know I can handle a more twitchy car. but theres balanced and defensive to.

 

[David O'Reilly]

From my reading and experience in game the way I think it works is that.
-Becoming #1 Driver: If you get this status you will determine R&D focus. This choice is made once per season late in the season (at Abu Dhabi) and determines focus for next season. You will be offered the choices once per season (at Abu Dhabi) of Minor, Balanced or Aggressive paths. The more aggressive the path you choose the more upgrades car will receive but the teams expectations of you in Quali and race result will also be higher. One imagines that this replicates higher investment and higher level of expectation from sponsors etc. As #1 driver you will find that your team mate will do some of the Testing and earn R&D upgrades for the team.
(from F1 2010 Advanced Drivers Guide)
I noticed that when in the balanced R&D choice I got an upgrade say about every 3 races and I was expected to get around 8th-12th in Quali and 6th to 8th in the races. Once I chose Aggressive I got an upgrade nearly every race BUT I was expected to get say 4-6th in quali and 3-4th in the races.
The upgrades were essentially the same sort of things just more of them. The car didn't get any harder to handle. For that reason I don't concur with Andrew on this one.

 

[spiralmagic]

well iv just accepted contract with lotus as no1 driver for next year, am already outperforming team expectations, 7th in drivers championship, averaging 14th in qualifying, points finish most races, so i think i may go for aggressive. i was under the impression the car would start the 2nd season a bit better than it was at the start of the 1st even if you were still no2 driver, is this true or has someone been having me on?

 

[David O'Reilly]

It is true, they go up a tier in base performance if you outperform their tier in WCC.
I had two wins in season 2 with Lotus and 7th in WDC. Season 3 the car has improved again as have I somewhat plus better setups, strategy etc. I have had 7 wins and am 2 points from #1 after 10 races. 50% dist, expert mode (so Legend AI etc except Auto and no fuel sim) .
You will lose the throttle maps in the new season and have to do R&D to get them back. I had the fast map in Melb I think.
Download the F1 2010 Advanced Drivers Guide and have a read all the tiers and data are at the back.

 

[Andrew Bortz]

Yeah I hadnt thought about it like that david I would agree after today doing cataluyna p2 I noticed im expected to finish 6th..... im stuffed for this race I think.

 

[spiralmagic]

thanks guys, really helpful insight into car development, do you have the link for the advanced drivers guide or do you know where i can find it? cheers

on a side note i expect pit stops get quicker depending on tier of team, sucks being sat in the pit for 6.7 seconds lol

 

[David O'Reilly]

Spiral the link is on the news (home) page about 4 items down the list now or in the sticky threads at the top of this page.
And Andrew yes 6th at Catalunya the suns got to them I think. I think I was P17 in season 2 and P12 in season 3 and thats w/out fuel sim.

 

[Andrew Bortz]

well doing qualifying tonight so guess I will do the race tomorrow you will all get to see my performance by the end of the week

 

[spiralmagic]

cheers guys, great guide, answers all my questions except 1, do pit times improve season after season, just finished 5th at monza but still sat in pits for 6.7 seconds, i did have a stop earlier on in the season which was 4.3 seconds so a little confused on pit times

 

[David O'Reilly]

Good question. Let us know!!

 

[Andrew Bortz]

Dont think pit times improve, from what ive seen so far its all about entering the pits and getting down to speed bang on the line and braking perfectly so your not running at 41mph for ages down the pit lane and holding the brakes once your in the box.

 

[Gareth Jones]

It was a bit bizarre for me, I finally stay with the same team for a second season (driver 1) and set the r&d focus to aggressive at abu dhabi for my final season. When I get to Bahrain, I find it's been set back to intermediate. Have no idea why. Anyone else experience this?

Oh just to add, the Williams' objectives have so far wanted me to get pole in every qualy and win every race, I'm currently at Monaco. Good job it's my last season, lol.

 

[David O'Reilly]

Gareth, you can see the sort of pressure Ayrton was under