Sandbagging
VerifiedDeliberately hiding a car's true pace in practice so rivals can't read how fast it really is.
Practice times are public, and every rival team is watching them. So a team that thinks it has genuine pace often doesn't show it: they'll run a touch heavier on fuel, turn the engine down a notch, or simply not push a lap to its limit. That's 'sandbagging'.
The motive is simple game theory. Showing real pace on Friday tips off rivals on setup direction and strategy before it matters, in qualifying and the race. Better to look ordinary on Friday and fast on Sunday.
It means practice classification should be read with real caution. A team near the back of the FP2 times isn't necessarily slow; it might just not be showing its hand yet.