Practice sessions - gap to leader

[SterlingMoss]

Not sure if this is a bug, but should be looked closer to and improved. After taking the driver in for pit in practice session 1 and improve the cars setup based on the drivers feedback, the gap to practice leader stay pretty much the same. I find this very strange when the setup has improved significantly and sometimes even put on new fresh tyres. I know the other drivers also have improved their setup, but seems to be very little movement in lap times.
I'm in season 3 and normally I manage practice session 1 for best possible setup and I simulate session 2 and 3. After session 3 it seems to work better though.

 

[Ian Skippy]

Car setup has zero impact on car performance currently. It only gives a few points to various driver statistics, making him drive a bit faster. This effect is only active in Quali and race. You will never see any effect of setup in free practice, and the effect is never related to the actual setup. For example, changing downforce to min/max has no effect at all on top speed, it only makes the driver 'more confident' so he will drive a bit faster through corners and such. The bonus is also really small, so unless you enjoy the minigame just skip them all.

It is just one example of this being basically a cheap mobile game hiding behind a pretty Unreal Engine fascade.

 

[SterlingMoss]

Car setup has zero impact on car performance currently. It only gives a few points to various driver statistics, making him drive a bit faster. This effect is only active in Quali and race. You will never see any effect of setup in free practice, and the effect is never related to the actual setup. For example, changing downforce to min/max has no effect at all on top speed, it only makes the driver 'more confident' so he will drive a bit faster through corners and such. The bonus is also really small, so unless you enjoy the minigame just skip them all.

It is just one example of this being basically a cheap mobile game hiding behind a pretty Unreal Engine fascade.

That’s shocking and a much worse scenario than I could imagine, if it’s true.
Hope this will be corrected in the next patch.

 

[Ian Skippy]

That’s shocking and a much worse scenario than I could imagine, if it’s true.
Hope this will be corrected in the next patch.

You can test it by getting a good setup, and then intentionally setting it to the worst possible and do another lap. It doesnt matter, at all.

sometimes even put on new fresh tyres..

Fresh tires don't really matter much either. There are three levels of tire wear right now: fresh (between 30-100%), old (20-30%) and very old (<20%). Within each level there isn't much difference at all: a 35% soft isn't much slower than a 100% soft. Because compounds are very similar here a 35% hard tire is only a few tenths slower than a fresh soft.

Once you start digging it is just a never ending barrage of disappointment: it is mostly just illusion, there is no meaningful simulation on any level.