F1 2010 Tyre Strategy in 100% races

[David O'Reilly]

Race: 100% Montreal. Expert Mode but Auto.
Fresh from some relative success with a prime-option tyre strategy in 50% races I wanted to try it in 100%.
Feeling confident (Quali pace 1.13.8) and looking for an exciting race with big challenge and lots of overtaking I skipped qualifying and started 24th on the grid in the Red Bull on Primes
Opening couple of laps saw me make it to about P17. From there on is was slow attrition. Each overtake took consistent fast lapping to get in range.
To catch and pass P8 (Schumacher) and P7 (Rosberg) each about 5 sec apart took about 10 laps each with gains only occurring with good laps. Smallest error and they would pull away by 1 sec.
P1 was pulling a lead and had 30 sec by 1/2 race distance.
48 laps on Primes felt an eternity as I tried to catch and pass the Legend AI.

Pit stop saw me rejoin in 9th and now on options I caught and pass P8 but that was it.
On the last lap however Rosberg had an accident with a lapped car and handed me P7.

After the race I did a quick start and 10 laps on options to compare.
at lap 10 I was in P3 +18 sec to P1.

Observations and conclusions

• AI pace and behaviour was consistent. They also made mistakes!
• Primes are a tough start when in 100% as the option runners have 22-25 laps. By this time most are more than a pit stop ahead so you won't jump them in the pits. Unlike 50% where with (quali) worn options most are pitting at say lap 9 or so.
• 48 laps on primes is a long time.
• Will try 2 stop: Options, Options, Primes next time. (or do quali but where's the fun in that?)
• 100% races are more interesting strategically

Mod Edit: Part 2 can be found here

 

[Tom Michelmore]

Very interesting observation there. I feel option prime option is the fastest strategy on 100% races as you can easily gain back 20 seconds in 20 laps as fresh options I find are normally 1.5 seconds faster then the worn primes. I'll probably test this today in a back end car.

 

[Dylan Hember]

It depends what track you are racing on.

 

[Tom Michelmore]

Did a 100% race in a Virgin at Canada as well on the primes to start with (Expert). Was very good fun and found myself 17th place and chasing after lap 10. After everyone had pitted I found myself in 15th place and right behind Luizzi. Took 3 laps to get past involving a very dangerous move into the chicane that almost lost me my front wing. Carried on with Barrichello 17 seconds in front then Hulkenburg had pitted and was in front but still 14 seconds away. Then just over half way distance I got a drive through and it broke my racing bubble so I accidentally clipped the wall at the exit of the chicane (where you go underneath a bridge) and boom race over . Going to try it again now but with dynamic weather.

 

[David O'Reilly]

Yes the gap can vary, eg I was only.5 sec slower at Catalunya on primes.
Regarding the order of use in a two stop: (Starting out of position like in P24 in AI races) The later the race the more spread out the field and the fewer overtakes available per lap so to speak. My instinct would be to do two stints on options where most of the overtaking would be done hoping for the lead then a prime stint on the rubbered in track on low fuel defending my position.
If I had dominant pace (like Montreal where AI quali times are slow and a good quali time is 3 sec faster) one can run primes from pole and defend.
In multiplayer of course its impossible to predict the tactical situation in such a way.

 

[NoobBlaster]

I usually don't bother about tire strategy, I find in 100% races I'll only do one pit stop, if I try the Fancy 2011 style 2 or 3 stop strategy the AI gets an impossible lead.

The only time I find pit strategy becomes interesting is in 100% wet/dry races.

I finished a 100% career race today in Hokenheim, the race started off wet on Intermediates. I ended up pitting 3 times.

I began on pole in RedBull Car #6 and managed about a 5-7sec lead.
Around lap 26 I got a message that Massa (P2) had gone onto Prime tyres, which was the only indication that the track was drying.
It was still raining lightly & the sun hadn't appeared & there was NO SIGN whatsoever of a drying line (I am yet to see this in F12010).

My Inters still had plenty of grip but I began to worry that Massa was going to catch me as he was setting fastest laps each lap, so two laps after Massa's Prime tyre change I pitted for a set of Options.

I exited the pits in fourth & proceeded to fight my way back to Massa over the next 15laps or so.
I pitted again around LAP 44 for another set of Options, didn't lose a place on pit exit so I still held the lead (+1-2secs).
It felt like I lapped the back markers atleast twice?
I thrashed my 2nd set of Options as I made some slight errors & needed to rebuild my gap.
I made my finale pitstop somewhere around Lap52 for a set of Primes.
Again exited the pits in front & won the race.

RE: the AI making mistakes, I've noticed Suzuka is a very accident prone track for the AI. I've seen some great race action there!

I'm really looking forward to F1 2011 as the tyres & pit strategy had been greatly improved, "or so we've been told "

 

[David O'Reilly]

Sounds like Great Race NoobBlaster.

I guess starting on Pole under normal conditions we can pretty much use whichever tyre as AI won't get past without an error.
The fun part of starting 24th is you have to race all the way and the strategy implication becomes relevant. That was the bit that got interesting.

 

[My993C2]

I have only ever raced 100% length races in this game.

If it will be a dry race, it is usually best to start on options because you need to be able to drive fast in the opening laps to make up as many positions as you can. I like to go one maybe two laps longer than the original race strategy that my race engineer recommended. But don't stay out too long after the AI makes their stops. When tire sim is turned on, only we the human drivers are effected, only we the humans will see our lap times diminish as our tires degrade (thank you for that brain dead feature Code Masters). Even though we can lap faster on options, I am not convinced making two stops in a dry race will work in this game since Code Masters invents AI lap times out of thin air. Ever notice as the race develops (especially in these 100% length races) as long as you are consistent, the AI lap times begin to mirror your lap times and they always stay "x" number of seconds ahead of you or behind you. You may think you can lap faster doing two stints on options and one on primes, but the AI even though they are on primes will still mirror your lap times if you are consistently lapping at the same pace.

Wet races are a tough call as the game does not tell you when it will rain, only that it will rain. I have had success in wet races making less pit stops than the AI, but I have also be caught out on the track on the wrong tires. If I am in a wet race where I suspect it will rain for greater than 20% of the race, I won't bother stopping for intermediate tires. I will go straight on to wets. There has been a number of wet races where the rain starts, everyone puts on intermediates, then the rain gets worse only a few laps later and everyone has to stop again to put full wets on. Oh and I really wish the AI was not so slow in the wet. It is ridiculous how I can gain "x" number of seconds per lap against my AI opponents when it rains, but then be at a huge disadvantage when it does not rain due to "invent out of thin air lap times" and AI cars not effected by fuel and tire sims.

This is a fun game to drive in, but the AI is retarded.

 

[Zanarkand]

I didn't know the com cheat with tires and fuel. I am doing a 100% race career and I can get poles on some tracks but I am much slower in the race unless its Bahrain which I can pace well. Atm I am upto Hockenheim and had 3 attempts at the race and then I ve gone into the gravel and turn it off annoyed lol.

The first 10 laps starting from pole is fine I lap about the same as the com and then suddenly the com picks up 1-2 seconds per lap as I get slower. Now I see its cause they cheating with better tires than me. By the time the pit stop comes around lap 20 if I ve managed to block them that long it don't matter they get faster and faster and I fall down to about 10th place which I can hold that kinda pace unless make mistakes.

 

[Zanarkand]

Someone try starting on hard tires at Valancia and then switching to Softs for last stint. I can't remember the details exactly but my fav race of the season was there was odd. I always do practice on hards, never use the softs until Q3 if I can help it. I found I was fast on hards and confident of getting pole with softs. I never found out as it rained in Q3 and I got pole cause com slow in rain. I started on hard and was 1st until I made a mistake lol then the com was too fast for me on their softs. By the time I switched to softs I was about 8th a good 25-30seconds behind 1st. Then the strangest thing I was 2-4 seconds faster than the com who were now on hard tires and I managed to catch them all up and took 1st on the very last lap :o

I just found it odd how the soft were sooooo much faster than myself on hards I almost felt like the com wasn't trying it was weird.

 

[Andrew McNeil]

Ok guys, so tonight I've got a 100% league race at Bahrain. What strategy do you think I should use? Maybe soft and then hard - so then I keep up with the front runners. Also with a full tank of fuel from the start - maybe it will handle better with soft tyres? Thanks guys.

 

[My993C2]

I would start on options (soft) and then pit one lap after most other cars stop and then put on the prime tires (hard).

 

[Tom Michelmore]

If you haven't played it yet then don't use the fast engine option or if you do, also use cruise since Bahrain is a gas guzzler.

 

[Zanarkand]

Posting this in 2 threads. I have never ran out of fuel or ever had any warnings and I kinda use fast engine for at least 50% of a 100% race. I thought it was the ps3 version I use that it was bugged. I use auto gears mind, perhaps I not going as fast as you lot and not using as much fuel.

 

[jonnyk]

I only ever turn down the engine on circuits where I have a good lead over the field, only to conserve engine life. Never had a problem running low on fuel.

 

[Gareth Jones]

I just tried a 100% race at Valenica, went straight to the race in a Renault. I started on options (P7) and intended to do a two stop race, primes then back to options. It was going quite well, I was leading by not much of a margin (I was surprised how fast the AI were on 95 % of the track) until I did my last stop, and then I hit the lapped cars, I mean literally hit them. The AI are just terrible!!

After exiting the pits on my second drive through penalty I had another penalty for pit lane speeding, at this point I quit the race as I was pretty annoyed. I might try again sometime.

 

[David O'Reilly]

To My993C2
In my 100% Montreal the AI behaviour (speed banding) that you speak of did not occur.
Their speed dropped a little at the end of their otions stint and they maintained a consistent pace allowing me to catch and pass If I drove well.

 

[My993C2]

I have only raced there on two previous occasions, but I find Montreal one of the easier races to do well in (Bahrain, Montreal and Monza seem to be the easiest for me). Ironically my next race is Montreal (LOL) so we shall see how that goes.

 

[Tom Michelmore]

Montreal is a bit tougher at 100% races with fuel sim on. I think Abu Dhabi has the slowest race pace though then Bahrain. Anyway, I tried Montreal again today but this time it had put me in 19th place in the Virgin. I started crawling up the order before moving up to 11th place when suddenly a Ferrari and a Renault just rejoined in front of me. Another Ferrari was also up the road meaning there was about 2 second gap between me in 11th and Massa in 8th. I overtook Kubica into the hairpin before overtaking Alonso into the chicane. Massa took longer but finally I managed it albeit a scary moment into the chicane when I didn't properly get alongside him. I then started to try and chase Rosberg down for 7th gaining around 2 tenths a lap and started to get near the zone (where the AI suddenly slow down because you are close so 2-3 seconds suddenly become 1) before I had to quit the game. I was building up to a pass as well which was annoying. But from my observations:

• Grid position is essential on primes more so then options
• The first 3 laps are equally important
• The AI is very consistent
• AI lose a lot of time lapping
• Don't try a move into the hairpin when your almost side by side!

 

[Jack Curzon]

Around lap 26 I got a message that Massa (P2) had gone onto Prime tyres, which was the only indication that the track was drying.
It was still raining lightly & the sun hadn't appeared & there was NO SIGN whatsoever of a drying line (I am yet to see this in F12010).

Just wondering, but have used the 'puddle fix'? (codemaster's forums sticky). I was running Q1 in Monza this morning and i was getting a drying line as the rain eased off. Must admit though, find it very hard to judge when to switch on to/off of Wets, but I've taken the advice on these forums and no longer run the intermediates.