quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
...Nothing wrong with the tires...

They were beginning to blister around Lap 12, I think. I seem to remember that even Hamilton was complaining about it, and despite his penchant for whining, he's easy on tires.

Vettel radioed his concerns fairly early on, and I thought at first it was because they found extra power in one of their engine booster thingies since it was his rears, but soon after, more drivers were having trouble.

A couple seasons back, drivers were staying on slicks in wet weather long after I would have thought possible. No so today, and since the Inters didn't seem to help, I'll stand by my criticism.

Tires are made with wear and speed goals per FIA request and tested before the season.
The reason some dove into the pits for inters was because they expected a sudden downpour that would have made slicks undrivable. They gambled and lost. That didn’t happen (heavy rain) and in a drizzle slicks were still better, as shown by those that stayed out.
The slicks were still faster and any sort of rain tire won’t last on a track that is dry 3/4 of the lap.
That wasn’t a tire design or quality issue.

Don’t forget, Vettel was abusing the shit out of his tires when he was behind Kimi. Locking one or both of the front tires a few times as he was try to close the gap.

Racing in the rain is what really sets these guys apart.

The other big Ferrari news of the weekend, the Sergio Marchionne sudden replacement due to illness story.

https://thesportsrush.com/serg...rtedly-irreversible/

Complete and sudden management reshuffle throughout the Fiat Chrysler Ferrari organization.

Well, that certainly wasn't dull! Way more shouting at the TV than usual..... throughout!

Racing in the rain is what really sets these guys and series apart.

The Sergio story is indeed awful and a huge disruption to such a large organization. The article above indicates that

quote:

An invasive disease emanating from the prostate had already spread in a devastating manner, but only discovered a short time ago.”

. If that's prostate cancer, that is unusual for it to spread undetected to the point he ends up in a coma. Hard to tell if it was some surgical complication, which is certainly not uncommon. Certainly seems to have little to do with a shoulder....

In other news, Shamilton continues to demonstrate what a tool he is and why I can't enjoy his skill or drives.

Dickhead asks FIA to not allow Nico to do interviews. And they actually comply....

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:


In other news, Shamilton continues to demonstrate what a tool he is and why I can't enjoy his skill or drives.

Hammy is an amazing talent but I can't think of any dominant athlete more fitting to wear a tutu.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
...Nothing wrong with the tires...

They were beginning to blister around Lap 12, I think. I seem to remember that even Hamilton was complaining about it, and despite his penchant for whining, he's easy on tires.

Vettel radioed his concerns fairly early on, and I thought at first it was because they found extra power in one of their engine booster thingies since it was his rears, but soon after, more drivers were having trouble.

A couple seasons back, drivers were staying on slicks in wet weather long after I would have thought possible. No so today, and since the Inters didn't seem to help, I'll stand by my criticism.

I rewatched the race (probably one of the best this year) last night, a I noticed a few things.

A) Hammy was putting up fast laps until lap 17, when other drivers were coming in for tires, and he was running faster laps than either Ferrari after their first pit stop.

B) He didn't have blister issues until lap 21, and the tires were supposed to last 24 laps on the long side, yet he still got 36 laps from them.

C) years ago, the first sight of rain, drives would come in for inters because the delta was something like 9 seconds (slower for inters on dry), but on semi wet conditions (think Canada 2011 or 2016 Brazilian) the inter was 14 seconds faster than the slicks (which is essentially a pit stop).

D) Pirelli said at the beginning of last year that the bigger tire with more weight, and bigger surface patch would handle better in changing conditions - which it did. BTW - I read an tweet from Pirelli that said inters would not have lasted but 6 laps with only 30% of the track covered in rain - it was a losing proposition.

E) If you were on twitter, all the former drivers were questioning why you would go on inters, and it was a valid question. They asked Toto and Nico, and both said they would not have done it. Coulthard genuinely was surprised too. The people who did it (except Red Bull) had the most to gain. Non points runners hoping for a top 6.

I stand by my comments at Red Bull. I don't know what they are doing with their drivetrains, but Daniel is going to start taking grid penalties because he has used up his engines for the year. If you look at their engine/ transmission/ MUGH issues compared to the others running Renault drivetrains, they have almost 50 % of the issues.

While I am by no means a Ferrari fan, I am saddened by the passing of former Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne just days after surgery.

It is roumored that following surgery, a massive embolism put him in a coma as of last Friday, forcing Ferrari to announce a replacement.

RIP Sergio.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/...ies-aged-66-1063782/

Anyone want a Pirelli speaker?

https://jalopnik.com/which-of-...i-bluetoo-1827873936

Jacques Villeneuve: F1 champ Lewis Hamilton must think he's Jesus

Villeneuve takes aim at Hamilton's antics


Not everyone buys what four-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is selling, and that's at least in part why the Mercedes F1 driver is often booed during introductions or cheered when he makes a mistake on the track.

So says opinionated 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

"Lewis should not be surprised," Villeneuve is quoted by German media outlet Auto Bild. "He confuses Formula 1 with Hollywood. Everything he does is staged.

"He portrays himself on social media like he is Jesus. The way he knelt next to his car after his problem in qualifying looked like the suffering of Christ. And what he said afterwards was the Sermon on the Mount. Then he gestured so dramatically on the podium that everyone could see who sent the sudden rain."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, however, wants Hamilton to remain being himself.

After watching the TV replay of the German Grand Prix, Hamilton wrote on social media that he thought Sky's ex-driver pundits could not find "a good word to say" about him.

He deleted the Instagram post.

But Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told the Sun: "I actually encouraged him to leave all that stuff online and speak his mind. It is what we need. We need to create stories. We need controversies. We need polarizing stances."



We need polarizing stances?
F1 -- Little bitches one and all?

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Anyone want a Pirelli speaker?

Saw another article....2,400 euros
Nope...

Definitely the busiest Q1 in a long time.

.

4/5 yawns

quote:

Originally posted by petr:

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
https://www.formula1.com/en/ch...lane_procedures.html

Personnel are only allowed in the pit lane immediately before a pit stop and must withdraw to their garages as soon as their work is complete. 

How then was Merc allowed to be in their pit box with no stop?

What lap?

When the VSC occurred.

Following Martin Brundle's throwing of Renault under the bus, and telling Red Bull they need to ask for their money back, I reviewed the notes for all twelve races this year, and here is a breakdown of Renault Engine/ Transmission/ MGUK failures this year, by team and by race:

Australia - All Renault engines finished the race in points paying position.

Bahrain - Max retired with a transmission problem, and Daniel had an electrical issue (on the start). Both McLaren's and one Renault was in points, while the second Renault finished in 11 position, 3 seconds arrears.

Chinese - Five of the six Renault engines finished in the points, with Stoffel having a bad pit stop (14 seconds) and finishing 10 seconds from 10th place.

Azerbaijan - Nico crashed his Renault in turn 2 on the fist lap, and Daniel and Max played bumper cars and crashed each other in turn 1 on lap 39.

Spanish - Nico crashed on lap 1 with Piece Gasley. Stoffel had a gearbox issue and it locked in 2nd gear. The other four Renault powertrains finished in the points.

Monaco - Fernando had a gearbox issue on lap 7. The other five Renaults finished in the points.

Canada - Fernando retired due to an exhaust related fire (not sure this can be chalked up to powertrain). Stoffel finished 16. The Red Bulls and Renaults were both in the points.

French - Fernando retired due to suspension break (collision), Stoffel finished 12th, 4 seconds behind Romain. Both Renaults and Red Bulls finished in the points.

Austrian - Nico retired with engine issues on lap 10 (the engine had 7 full races on it), Riccardo retired with an exhaust turbo issue on lap 53. Stoffel crashed on lap 65, and Carlos finished 12th (without particular cause).

British - Max killed his breaks (had something stuck in duct), Stoffel finished 11th, less than 1 second off 10th place. Carols had a collision with Romain on lap 37. 3/6 Renaults in the points.

German - Daniel retired on lap 27 with power loss (2nd engine with 6 races). Fernando's gearbox expired on lap 65. Carlos and Stoffel both finished 9 and 12 seconds behind 10th place (12th and 13th respectively).

Hungarian - Max retired with power loss on lap 5, Stoffel lost his top gear on lap 49. Nico finished 12th.

Over 12 races, there have been eight powertrain issues on the Renaults broken down as the following: (3) Transmission); (3) engine; 1 MGUK and 1 Turbo.

Renault powered cars (3 teams, 12 races, 2 cars) have finished in the points 45 out of 120 possible opportunities, and have 3 wins this year.

Mercedes powered cars (3 teams, 12 races, 2 cars) have finished in the points 31 out of 120 possible opportunities, and have 5 wins this year.

Ferrari powered cars (3 teams, 12 races, 2 cars) have finished in the points 39 out of 120 possible opportunities, and have 4 wins this year.

More impressively is that of those 8 power train issues, four are from Red Bull, 3 are from McLaren, and 1 is from Renault.

Mercedes has had five powertrain issues across its three teams, and Ferrari has even had one powertrain issue this year. Honda (who runs only 1 team) has had three.

This only covers the race, not qualifying or practice.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
When the VSC occurred.

Without having the ability to hear the radio traffic, it is hard to know, but I just rewatched that part and both Lewis and Valteri were at pit road in when it came out on lap 50.

That said, on lap 6, when there was also a VSC, you can see four members of the Torro Rosso team mulling around in the box lane as Sauber is servicing their car.

quote:

Originally posted by petr:

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
https://www.formula1.com/en/ch...lane_procedures.html

Personnel are only allowed in the pit lane immediately before a pit stop and must withdraw to their garages as soon as their work is complete. 

How then was Merc allowed to be in their pit box with no stop?

I’m not sure who, but it has been done before. They can say it was a precaution and they changed their mind.