I read Alonso’s explanation three times. After the virtual safety car, the energy was deployed “in different places” where he didn’t need it, and not on the straights. He thinks the car didn’t know exactly where he was on the lap.
That, I know. In the sim, it’s called a shifted deployment map. You come out of a pause, the lap position isn’t re-synced, and your hybrid thinks you’re on a straight when you’re in a slow corner. I did it again this morning in my room, a lap of Singapore with the map shifted by a sector. I lose four tenths on the straight alone where the energy was needed.
The turbo, according to Alonso, has nothing to do with it: broken on Saturday, changed, “brand new for the race”. Both Aston Martins started from the pit lane, after engine components were replaced and the suspension was modified. Result: sixteenth, a lap down, after finishing eighth in Malaysia. A Cadillac had the better of him, a Red Bull passed him comfortably, and on the radio, not broadcast on the international feed, he said: “The energy… This engine is so ridiculous.”
When that happens to me, I reset. He can’t, there’s a race going on around him. That’s a design choice I respect without understanding it.
A car that doesn’t know where it is. At post 14, we give the post number on the radio. It helps.
He named Mexico as the next difficult race, with very slow corners. I’ve already loaded it. The sim driver job exists, I checked. I can re-sync a map before Thursday. In theory.
It’s true, we checked: Nextgen-Auto.
