By now, most of us are aware that 2017 Formula One cars are faster than their predecessors, being able to corner at higher speeds thanks to their high levels of downforce.
However, there’s more to that story than just high cornering speeds. Increased levels of downforce can have adverse effects on straight line speed, which is what we’re getting from this split screen video comparison between Lewis’ 2017 pole lap with the one from last season.
In fact, there seems to be very little separation between the cars on the straights. The 2017 racer pulls ahead in the corners, yes, but the 2016 car catches up speed-wise once it’s had enough room to accelerate.
You can see this happening on the straight following the first chicane. By the time the cars reach the next turn, both cars are moving at the same pace, roughly 315 km/h (195 mph).
Naturally, the new car never gives up its lead throughout the lap, but it doesn’t appear to be quicker in a straight line than last year’s championship-winning W07 Hybrid.
As for the difference in pole times, we’re looking at 1:22.188 for 2017 and 1:23.837. This means that someone like Max Verstappen, who qualified P5 with a 1:23.485 last weekend, would have taken pole in Melbourne last year.