Next season performance problem.

[Honza27]

Hello. I am trying to start research for the next season as soon as possible. I mainly improve the floor, front and rear wing. But every time at the beginning of a new season I fall to the bottom in terms of performance. I am doing something wrong ? Is there anything else that needs to be done with the research? Or should I mainly focus on the development for the current season and start the new one towards the end?

[LouM561]

When you start a new season each car part will have the default weight/durability. If your car's parts had weight/durability removed in the previous season then you will need to design parts with the weight removed again.

[Honza27]

Publicado originalmente por LouM561:

When you start a new season each car part will have the default weight/durability. If your car's parts had weight/durability removed in the previous season then you will need to design parts with the weight removed again.

So that's a nice lag compared to other teams. Why don't they have it too? Does the weight really have such a dramatic effect on performance that it moved me from the front positions to the bottom?

[LouM561]

Publicado originalmente por Honza27:

So that's a nice lag compared to other teams. Why don't they have it too? Does the weight really have such a dramatic effect on performance that it moved me from the front positions to the bottom?

Yes it really does and it's good to start designing new parts on Jan 1 so you can get ahead of the AI.

If you want video proof from my Williams run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1wmzUwi4NY&t=17299s
Here in my video at 4:48:19 I hover over it fast so you may need to pause to see it. Before the last race of 2023 my car 1 performance has single digit "rank on grid" in everything except acceleration.

(same video different timestamp)
Then fast forward to 7:25:24 at the start of 2024 my car 1 has ranks 11th to 15th in everything except top speed and acceleration (I switched to the Ferrari PT).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbQk2UEF2oQ&t=3238s
53:59 At this timestamp for the 2025 season, my car 1 cornering downforce ranks are close to the same thing as the other video, though I did do research in 2024 to prepare for the airflow technical regulations. When I start removing weight the "rank on grid" numbers show a rise back to the top 10.

[LouM561]

Here's NeroBax's guide on car design in the 1.9 patch, there's a whole section about the lifespan stat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Y8FGkydJ0&t=410s

[Honza27]

Publicado originalmente por LouM561:

Publicado originalmente por Honza27:

So that's a nice lag compared to other teams. Why don't they have it too? Does the weight really have such a dramatic effect on performance that it moved me from the front positions to the bottom?

Yes it really does and it's good to start designing new parts on Jan 1 so you can get ahead of the AI.

If you want video proof from my Williams run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1wmzUwi4NY&t=17299s
Here in my video at 4:48:19 I hover over it fast so you may need to pause to see it. Before the last race of 2023 my car 1 performance has single digit "rank on grid" in everything except acceleration.

(same video different timestamp)
Then fast forward to 7:25:24 at the start of 2024 my car 1 has ranks 11th to 15th in everything except top speed and acceleration (I switched to the Ferrari PT).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbQk2UEF2oQ&t=3238s
53:59 At this timestamp for the 2025 season, my car 1 cornering downforce ranks are close to the same thing as the other video, though I did do research in 2024 to prepare for the airflow technical regulations. When I start removing weight the "rank on grid" numbers show a rise back to the top 10.

Thanks for the video and help :) Looks like I still have a lot to learn.