Zep
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It was a lot closer than meets the eye as everyone except Hamilton pitted to try for fastest lap. It wasn’t a great race and the RB was a few tenths slower when it mattered, but it’s a lot closer!
Formula 1 Qualifying F1
- Thread starter allandwf
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It was a lot closer than meets the eye as everyone except Hamilton pitted to try for fastest lap. It wasn’t a great race and the RB was a few tenths slower when it mattered, but it’s a lot closer!
redsonnylee
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I think if Max hadn’t made the mistake in qualifying then him getting pole would have made a big difference for the race.
zagatoes30
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Red Bull are certainly closer to Mercedes this year and I suspect some circuits will suit one car or the other, should be good to watch them battle out over the season there is no room for mistakes from either drivers or the pit strategists looking to be a close season.
Perez seems to be much closer to Max than any previous team mate and I as he gets more comfortable with the car I can see him beating Max on occasions. Still not convinced by Bottas, he certainly has the qualities pace but his race craft seems to fall apart once he's not in front.
Perez seems to be much closer to Max than any previous team mate and I as he gets more comfortable with the car I can see him beating Max on occasions. Still not convinced by Bottas, he certainly has the qualities pace but his race craft seems to fall apart once he's not in front.
Trev Latter
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The Merc team was a class act today. I do wonder if Bottas will be invited to see the headmaster after not letting Lewis past as instructed though. It looks like Merc have a handle on the car now. While title no 8 is not in the bag, I suspect they’re well on their way now.
zagatoes30
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Fast car, great strategy and a driver that still wants to win
Red Bull have a car that is now on pace but they have to match the strategy and they have to have the belief that they can win despite being on the back foot
Red Bull have a car that is now on pace but they have to match the strategy and they have to have the belief that they can win despite being on the back foot
P R
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Although RB are closer this year that Merc is still by far the quickest car in race trim.
From the start of the hybrid era (which incidentally Merc assisted the FIA with possible concepts!) they turned the power down for fear of being instantly banned such was their advantage at the first test. Since then of course you are limited on develpment of engines through the token system. No one could possibly catch them through this era
Fear of rules change led Mercedes to run dominant 2014 engine in "idle mode" · RaceFans
From the start of the hybrid era (which incidentally Merc assisted the FIA with possible concepts!) they turned the power down for fear of being instantly banned such was their advantage at the first test. Since then of course you are limited on develpment of engines through the token system. No one could possibly catch them through this era
Fear of rules change led Mercedes to run dominant 2014 engine in "idle mode" · RaceFans
zagatoes30
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Bottas seems to be doing something every race that must make the Merc management team think when not if they swap him out and give Russell the drive.
outrun
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Much as i'd like to see Russell have a go in the Merc, there's no way I'd be changing Bottas. He guarantees that Merc will win the constructor's title every year and is a very good driver in his own right, just up against someone very special. From a business case perspective, changing Bottas would be really silly indeed. You only have to look at Red Bull to see what happens when you change driver too often.
I think the way that Bottas just can't compete consistently with Hamilton shows just how good a job Nico Rosberg did to beat him and why he walked away stright after as the pressure he put himself under to compete was too much to repeat.
The Red Bull looks fast on soft tyres and average on mediums, with the Merc the other way around. Until they get a handle on that, advantage Mercedes. Red Bull may win the sprint races we have coming up though.
MrPea
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I enjoyed yesterday. My two pence is that I think team Hamilton (not just Lewis, but the crew as well) are inside Max's head. Yes, he was slower and he knew it, but a few things he said over the radio sounded defeatest to me. As for Bottas, he's a great driver, but I just don't see him as a team player; he's in it for himself and races that way, as yesterday's antics showed again.
I'm a LH fan, but I would like Max to believe a bit more, and so compete. Twisty tracks ahead, so let's see how the RB works there. Pleased to see Macca up the rankings again at last.
I'm a LH fan, but I would like Max to believe a bit more, and so compete. Twisty tracks ahead, so let's see how the RB works there. Pleased to see Macca up the rankings again at last.
P R
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Yes but they looked at the laptimes and Ham was at least 1 sec faster per lap after his stop. And remained that much faster all the way to catching him. I think I'd be a bit negative with those laptimes!!
Agree there is something to be said for leaving things as they are mind Bottas was a bit awkward when Hamilton passed him yesterday. Big respect to Rosberg - got what he wanted and knew trying to beat Hamilton consistently would eat him up.
The interesting thing is that Hamilton is looking to renew whereas last year the boot was on the other foot and he took his time. Things will change quite a lot at Merc and I don't see either driver being there in 2024, possibly 2023.
CatmanV2
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