Manufacturers - Mistakes Were Made
Interlagos is a weak track for me. I've always struggled for pace but using the 4C seemed to have given me a bit of a boost. I decided before the event that I'd take a top 10 finish. Qualifying goes unbelievably well and I get P5, and that was without a slipstream. Couldn't believe it. A decent result is now mine to lose.........
So I kinda forgot that cold tyres are a thing
I get turns 1 and 2 HORRIBLY wrong, go off track on the inside to turn 3 and power slide my way through the rest of the turn. I pick up a .5s penalty and immediately drop to 10th. By the time the penalty is served a lap later I'm down to 17th
Then it turns out the racing in the mid-pack was absolutely brutal. There was an Austrian in a GTR who thought they were playing wreckfest as I saw them punt two others and then miss a massive attempt at a side swipe on the start finish straight. I was lucky to get past cleanly as they served their 6 second penalty. Thanks to the new system though they (and everyone), finished the race with a blue SR.
The 4C is fortunately strong on tyres and it kinda got me out of jail. The plan was to pit at the end of lap 7 to switch to hards. Due to being held up with the bumpfest midpack by the end of lap 7 I felt my tyres were still 'okay' and perhaps another lap was possible. I had a moment of indecision. Pit? Don't pit? I decided to pit and my indecision meant crossing the pit line and picking up another .5s penalty
The second stint I was basically on my own. I was alongside a corvette with another car right behind us after turn 4 when the corvette decides to do a huge brake check on the car behind. Couldn't believe it but it cleared the track for me. Crossed the line P9, but a car ahead didn't use both tyre compounds so get promoted to P8. Could have and should have been a lot better but I was one shotting FIA yesterday so left it at that.
Not the ideal line for turn 3.
Not the ideal line into the pits.
Not the ideal result, but it will do!