GPS data reveals Ferrari gains 0.7s on the straights but loses everything in the slow corners. GPS data reveals Ferrari gains 0.7s on the straights but loses everything in the slow corners.

As usual, Friday practice gives the first indications regarding the form of Formula One team and free practice two says a lot about a teams race pace as teams simulate long runs on real fuel loads expected on Sunday.

In China, Free practice 2 was marked by a bit of a split in strategy for the weekend in which we might see Red Bull Racing nearer to the sharp end than previous thought, some even say there could be a potential win on the cards, in a similar vein to last year.

Red Bull’s race pace was impressive despite the lack of power from Honda compared to Ferrari and Mercedes. In fact, Honda appears to be near on a par with Mercedes on the straights whereas Ferrari are hugely faster than everyone. Their competitors are not wholly convinced this is purely down to engine power either, with Red Bull’s Helmut Marko claiming an 8 tenths advantage for Ferrari on the straights alone.

However, according to AMuS, despite Ferrari dominating on the straights (as expected) they are lost at sea in the corners. It appears that Ferrari might well be running incredibly low downforce which might explain the Maranello team’s poor pace in Melbourne. Once tyres slip in the twisty sections, tyre performance disappears.

GPS data from FP2 puts Mercedes just ahead on race pace with Ferrari qualifying simulations at the very top. Red Bull are thereabouts on race pace, but slower in qualifying.