Grand Prix World 1998: The Tyrell Challenge Part 34
Quick Nick Rises: The 2001 French and British GPs
Welcome back to the Tyrell Challenge. Last time out, we had a solid series of results but ... uhhh ... only by one driver per race. Monaco was Pedro's day, Canada was Nick's day. This was partially a result of me testing different strategies. I still plan to do that, unless something disastrous happens. Of course, since Diniz is our lead man, he'll get the "better" strategies. Or at least those I think are better.
Stewart and Jordan pack upgrades for France. Not much movement at the front of the field (fortunately). Our French upgrade puts us pretty much even with Sauber and Williams, but the Tyrell Manage is smarter.
That "Pole" column. I love it.
Other than the low "Heat" rating, this track is pretty damn good. Unfortunately, it is pretty damn hostile to the human. Still, we are looking for a solid points finish.
So, Diniz on the Softs, we'll use our free point on "Tarmac" to make them last. We can stretch the first and/or second stints without too much drama.
Nick, on the Hard, gets the extra "Heat" rating so he can push without burning the tires or killing the tires.
Pedro Diniz nearly puts it on pole. Nick Heidfeld, on hards, beats MSC (Yes, off day and all). That upgrade really, REALLY doing work.
... how good was Takagi? Yes, he's on the worst car, but how much of the previous season was related to the car/team manager combo?
So, Diniz gets a simple, stretched 2 stopper. I later learned that the "Stretched" part is a bad idea. However, I didn't knew that just yet.
Obviously a 1 stop for Nick. I hope he can maintain a good race pace today. Historically, I think the Hard tire is a terrible race tire around here, but experimenting must happen.
OK, the Hard on France is horrible. LOOK AT DINIZ! The strat put him in a position to fight, but MSC + Ferrari = Stupid Fast. Diniz + Tyrell = Just Fast. Heidfeld just could do nothing because the Hard was THAT bad! I'm ... I'm so sorry Nick.
Herbert (I assume) spun into the gravel while getting lapped by Diniz. Yep. Diniz is The Intimidator.
Getting closer to Jan now. Could overtake him on this very next race, you know? Heidfeld ... I'm sorry.
More likely than not, the WCC is out of the cards now. It was on the table, yes. I didn't expect us to get close to it though.
McLaren is nowhere to be seen.
McLa-
... McLaren Ford ...
McLaren Ford!
HAHAHAHAHA!
Ron Dennis forgot the last time Ford powered McLaren!
I'm sorry, Nick.
Now Ferrari wants BEEF.
What the fok do you mean, in decline?! We got a podium last race! And the race before! AND THE RACE BEFORE! What do you mean, in decline?
We have bigger fish to fry than Williams and Stewart.
Maxed out Brakes Performance for extra attack/defense. Now we can focus on Reliability. I could improve the Throttle Performance for a bit more fuel efficiency, but that's not critical.
Typical Test Day.
Next year's car is about 2 race weekends away from being done. We should be a title contender as long as the Ferrari engine is good.
Who ordered a set of ULTIMATE Soft tires? I sure did.
I see an 03A Spec engine. I'd love remapping that thing ASAP, so pls Mugen-Honda.
Silverstone, the scene of our first win in the series by Pedro Diniz, dubbed "The Pay Driver God" by some (me). Rain is a concern, as the British weather be random in this game, overtaking is complicated too. Also, the Dust setting is high already so we can't dump all points there.
We fill up the "Dust" bar anyway, we add 2 points of "Rain" because I want some pace in the wet, and a point of "Speed". That makes the engine a bit more grenade-ish, but I trust that our Automatic Gears Driving Aid should keep us safe. Both guys on the Softs. I felt so bad about Heidfeld that I gave him Softs too.
Dear Lord Nick, wow! Over 2 tenths faster than the next best guys and 4 tenths faster than Diniz! I am legitimately surprised and amazed.
There was some rain, of course. That explains Hill being down there. But, of course, that means Nick >>> Damon, as we all know, right, right? RIGHT!!
It won't rain, so those "Rain" points are wasted. Better to be safe that sorry, tho.
While this is the planned strategy, I switched Nick's 2nd stop to just 20 laps of fuel. Diniz did maintain this strategy.
So ... the first win of this season is at Silverstone, over Jacques Villeneuve, also the first ever win for a driver. Heidfeld put a defensive masterclass on the Ferraris on the first stint, then I lowered the fuel load of his 2nd stint (From 24 to 20 laps of fuel) to come out ahead of the Ferraris, after that there was no catching him. He was gone. Diniz was holding Villeneuve, but a backmarker ruined that. Then he couldn't overcut anyone. There's a minimal pit stop time I see.
The first 5 places would have stayed static, however JMag had that Hydraulics issue.
Speaking of JMah, Diniz is ahead, and is now at striking distance of The Mika. Nick is slowly climbing up. This is looking really good.
Nice for Prost but fantastic for both of our guys. We need results as good as day down the stretch. We need another Silverstone Split.
Look at Benetton. Team Enstone be smart.
Oh, Juan, why?
Here, I present the very ironic signing of Mastercard by Stewart. Also, we keep Petronas.
Finally! OK, I won't update you on denials, just approvals and builds.
Reliability Upgrade. I want everything on Level 4 in Reliability, then maybe working on the Performance of the Throttle and Clutch.
Another Elite Testing Day.
And finally we have the ULTIMATE 4 Tire Specs. We don't need to do any more tire testing, as we are fully kitted out for the rest of the season.
The missing piece of the 2002 Tyrell puzzle, at least big piece, is the Shell Works deal. 2 years of this will be lovely.
That's it for this chapter. On the next chapter we'll go to my favorite track in the game, the Hockemheimring, but before that we'll go to the A1-Ring. Kinda like France in terms of strat. I want a solid result in both, will we get it? I don't know. Only one way to find out. See you then.
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