2022 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[chrisc90]

Im a little unsure how there can still be a deficit between the two drivers. Surely the setups arent going to be that much different come qualifying after 7 races in. I simply cant see why the team would run 2 different cars that are miles off the pace of each other.

Something isnt adding up here.

Maybe a disagreement where to take new engines and how hard to run them? Ham taking the long view of having engines when the car is improved, and Rus taking the points now.

Both drivers are on the same number of components though.
If they were running different power modes between them, id expect them to come into line very quickly after a few races when they accessed any degradation on the PU running the higher mode.

[PlatinumZealot]

Chris I know you are a new Mercedes fan but we are very used to a winning car. Even the scraps of a lucky podium is not something to trigger jubilance.

Poles and wins anything else doesn't exist. So far the season hasn't started.

[Hammerfist]

Don't worry, Russell will do that at some point too.

Everything is driver vs driver to you guys huh?

I'm talking about the team getting back to winning ways! Driver support or driver Vs driver threads are not really allowed on the forum.

How do you think the team is going to get back to winning ways? The team of engineers come up with some ideas to improve the performance of the car and they put different things on different cars. One driver is getting the results that would provide the verification necessary for development and the other one is simply complaining about everything under the sun and not going out there trying to get the best out of the settings on the car. Clearly, engineers aren't getting what they want from one car. How is that going to help getting back to winning ways?

As an engineer, I really feel for the folks at the factory working their a$$ off to fix this car. Imagine if they also keep complaining about things and not give their 100%.

Your sole aim is to criticize hamilton and everything he does. You are an engineer but you act like one of these dts fans that understand very little about the sport. How about posting constructive stuff for a change?

If you want to praise russell and you genuinely are in awe of what hes doing then focus on telling us why and stop bringing hamilton into it. Nobody cares if hes in fifth place for the whole 23 races of the season. If it was hamilton nobody would care either. We merc fans aspire for more than that.

[chrisc90]

Chris I know you are a new Mercedes fan but we are very used to a winning car. Even the scraps of a lucky podium is not something to trigger jubilance.

Poles and wins anything else doesn't exist. So far the season hasn't started.

Red Bull fan here

I was talking about the difference between the two drivers in the team. One seems to have got to grips with the car and can get into some decent places, one seems to be struggling a little bit more.

Nobody can deny Mercedes dominated the turbo/hybrid era up until the last season where there was some competition on the table. I think the cracks started to show then, with a new era of regulations, Mercedes haven't just got to grips fully with their car yet. Even given we are now 7 GPs and 2 testing events in, I'd have expected a top team like Mercedes to have a grip on the problems. Maybe this is a testimony to RB and Ferrari who both have aerodynamicists who have worked in the Ground Effect era and studied cars throughout the GE era. Newey being a prime example.
I dont even think Ferrari have got a full grip on the porpoising yet as still evident in some scenarios, whilst the RB looks rock solid with the very slight hint of bouncing.

I think Mercedes have to take it how it is really, especially the constructors titles they have had. 8 in a row. They, and the fans, might just have to accept its time to pass the baton, at least for this season. Unless they can massively turn the car round, it is still a mountain to climb against Ferrari and Red Bull to even get near. (it would need multiple non finishes for both teams to allow Merc to catch up IMHO).

I think the next race or 2, possibly 3, are going to be absolutely pivotal to Mercedes. Either the car, and its improvements they brought to Spain are going to work and give the team a better setup window, or they are going to be back to square 1. (maybe Monaco was the start of that with a new area of bouncing from the front axle)

Id love to see them giving the top 2 teams a 3 horse (6 car) race/challenge. But I also think they need to be very wary of those from behind with teams bringing upgrades or getting the car setup right.

I think Lewis is struggling this season aswell and probably losing a bit of interest in it (despite his claims), he simply isn't/has been used to battling in the midfield where the action is generally a lot more spicy and drivers are a lot more hungry for position. I think that showed in interviews in Spain when questioned he looks a lot more happy when the car was working better. Lewis is a driver that's used to being 5-10seconds out in front and having a comfortable car that's got a lot more pace than anyone else, probably only needing to drive it at 90% in order to keep position. Now the car is needing 100-110% to battle for positions and I dont think he's used to that. George has always been used to a 'weaker' car and having to give it everything to get places on the grid. Which is why I think he's getting better results at the minute. George has a huge career ahead of him so needs to make sure he's getting results. I wonder what would be the thoughts at Mercedes HQ if the positions were reversed and it was George at the lower end of midfield.

Here's hoping they can get the car competitive, however, as I've mentioned prior in the W13 thread, I think this car design is flawed in terms of how the airflow goes over the car. Isn't it Williams who also have a very packaged setup with mid/low side pods and a tightly packaged rear engine cover? That's another car that's been struggling massively in a lot of the races with the occasional result where the teams scored points. (I wonder if there's any relationship between the good races at Merc and those at Williams given the cars bodywork at the rear)

The other side of it is have Merc lost some vital talent to other teams on the grid. I don't know the exact mixture of staff that left to join rival teams, but I'm sure it would have some consequences down the line and this could just be the tip of the iceberg.

[PlatinumZealot]

Chris I know you are a new Mercedes fan but we are very used to a winning car. Even the scraps of a lucky podium is not something to trigger jubilance.

Poles and wins anything else doesn't exist. So far the season hasn't started.

Red Bull fan here

I could have sworn you were an ardent supporter of George Russell. Data shows he's not the faster driver by the way. So the fabricated struggle with the car that you keep mentioning is not affecting one driver alone.

[PlatinumZealot]

Your sole aim is to criticize hamilton and everything he does. You are an engineer but you act like one of these dts fans that understand very little about the sport. How about posting constructive stuff for a change?

If you want to praise russell and you genuinely are in awe of what hes doing then focus on telling us why and stop bringing hamilton into it. Nobody cares if hes in fifth place for the whole 23 races of the season. If it was hamilton nobody would care either. We merc fans aspire for more than that.

We have many person's who don't really care about the team in the team thread. All they are here for is to "attack" one particular driver. The man is not even on camera half of the time, but he still holds such strong attraction to detractors. It's amazing, but also distracting because we can't have a clean discussion on team matters.

[chrisc90]

Chris I know you are a new Mercedes fan but we are very used to a winning car. Even the scraps of a lucky podium is not something to trigger jubilance.

Poles and wins anything else doesn't exist. So far the season hasn't started.

Red Bull fan here

I could have sworn you were an ardent supporter of George Russell. Data shows he's not the faster driver by the way. So the fabricated struggle with the car that you keep mentioning is not affecting one driver alone.

Max and Checo for me all the way. In that order.

I like George though, he just needs to be himself more instead of being PR boy for the team. If he took the 'lines' of say Lando, Max who are themselves in interviews and around the track, it would be a lot better for him. I really hope he doesnt fall too foul of the Merc PR ways.

I guess data is irrelevant when one driver is 34 points clear of the other. That's almost double. Where is the race pace going for one driver not to get more points than a slower team mate?

[pursue_one's]

(6:38～)Hamilton:
" We’re trying everything, we’re trying in both cars doing much different thing and sometimes it works on car and sometimes it works on the other car so, that makes things difficult to then be concise and kinda streamline it and get both cars in the same direction. Also, we’ve been trying different things in races to just get the data, the information on tyre wear. It’s definitely been a challenging time. "

[PlatinumZealot]

Red Bull fan here

I could have sworn you were an ardent supporter of George Russell. Data shows he's not the faster driver by the way. So the fabricated struggle with the car that you keep mentioning is not affecting one driver alone.

Max and Checo for me all the way. In that order.

I guess data is irrelevant when one driver is 34 points clear of the other. That's almost double. Where is the race pace going for one driver not to get more points than a slower team mate?

You will have to watch the races. It's not any deep analysis to answer your question how pace doesn't translate into points.

[chrisc90]

I could have sworn you were an ardent supporter of George Russell. Data shows he's not the faster driver by the way. So the fabricated struggle with the car that you keep mentioning is not affecting one driver alone.

Max and Checo for me all the way. In that order.

I guess data is irrelevant when one driver is 34 points clear of the other. That's almost double. Where is the race pace going for one driver not to get more points than a slower team mate?

You will have to watch the races. It's not any deep analysis to answer your question how pace doesn't translate into points.

I still think its irrelevant. The race results speak for themselves. There must be something going wrong if your have a faster race car than your team mate, and others around you but cant turn it into more points. Granted GR was much more lucky with the safety car in a couple of races mind. But I dont think that accounts for a 34 point deficit to your team mate.

[PlatinumZealot]

I still think its irrelevant. The race results speak for themselves. There must be something going wrong if your have a faster race car than your team mate, and others around you but cant turn it into more points. Granted GR was much more lucky with the safety car in a couple of races mind. But I dont think that accounts for a 34 point deficit to your team mate.

Over a season Lewis has lost to team mates in qualifying (once), in wins(once), in points (twice) already, so there is nothing new or profound there really. Can't beat everybody all the time.

[Big Tea]

Red Bull fan here

I could have sworn you were an ardent supporter of George Russell. Data shows he's not the faster driver by the way. So the fabricated struggle with the car that you keep mentioning is not affecting one driver alone.

Max and Checo for me all the way. In that order.

I like George though, he just needs to be himself more instead of being PR boy for the team. If he took the 'lines' of say Lando, Max who are themselves in interviews and around the track, it would be a lot better for him. I really hope he doesnt fall too foul of the Merc PR ways.

I guess data is irrelevant when one driver is 34 points clear of the other. That's almost double. Where is the race pace going for one driver not to get more points than a slower team mate?

For the last few seasons Hamilton would hardly bother getting in the car for less than a dozen or so points, while Russell would be grinning with a point or two. It would not really be a surprise if Russell was far more motivated then Hamilton. The part of the field they now fall the difference between 5th and 10th is a very small fraction most times.
I would find it hard to motivate myself if I was Lewis. Lets hope it picks up again when there are decent points on offer for a week ends work. (or as you are a BRB fan, maybe not hope )

[Gillian]

I could have sworn you were an ardent supporter of George Russell. Data shows he's not the faster driver by the way. So the fabricated struggle with the car that you keep mentioning is not affecting one driver alone.

Max and Checo for me all the way. In that order.

I guess data is irrelevant when one driver is 34 points clear of the other. That's almost double. Where is the race pace going for one driver not to get more points than a slower team mate?

You will have to watch the races. It's not any deep analysis to answer your question how pace doesn't translate into points.

Ain't that the truth. Looking solely at points is a bad way to analyse a driver's race pace. More so after just a few races...

Russell is doing a good job but on average Hamilton has been a bit faster.

[chrisc90]

Max and Checo for me all the way. In that order.

I guess data is irrelevant when one driver is 34 points clear of the other. That's almost double. Where is the race pace going for one driver not to get more points than a slower team mate?

You will have to watch the races. It's not any deep analysis to answer your question how pace doesn't translate into points.

Ain't that the truth. Looking solely at points is a bad way to analyse a driver's race pace. More so after just a few races...

Russell is doing a good job but on average Hamilton has been a bit faster.

You could have the fastest car on the grid, but if you cant convert it to a points haul, then your fastest car is totally meaningless.

Regarding the team mate battle stats.

Bahrain:
Qualifying: Lewis
Race: Lewis

Saudi:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

Australia:
Qualifying: Lewis
Race: George

Imola:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

Miami:
Qualifying: Lewis
Race: George

Spain:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

Monaco:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

So overall its:
4 Quali to George and 3 Quali to Lewis
6 Race to George and 1 Race to Lewis

Thats quite a difference in race results.

[Tvetovnato]

You will have to watch the races. It's not any deep analysis to answer your question how pace doesn't translate into points.

Ain't that the truth. Looking solely at points is a bad way to analyse a driver's race pace. More so after just a few races...

Russell is doing a good job but on average Hamilton has been a bit faster.

You could have the fastest car on the grid, but if you cant convert it to a points haul, then your fastest car is totally meaningless.

Regarding the team mate battle stats.

Bahrain:
Qualifying: Lewis
Race: Lewis

Saudi:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

Australia:
Qualifying: Lewis
Race: George

Imola:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

Miami:
Qualifying: Lewis
Race: George

Spain:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

Monaco:
Qualifying: George
Race: George

So overall its:
4 Quali to George and 3 Quali to Lewis
6 Race to George and 1 Race to Lewis

Thats quite a difference in race results.

You are literally citing the official results without any consideration of what actually happened in the races, or qualifying for that matter. So, quite meaningless in other words. We all know how the races ended and what the standings are. We also know why the races are in Georges favour at the moment. And it’s not pace related, that’s for sure.

You know that too most likely, but looking at your posts in every thread which somehow always comes back to how bad you think Lewis is regardless of the topic, I expect you to only highlight things that favours your agenda.