2022 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir, March 18 - 20

[JPower]

The Mercedes PU cars were very likely turned down. Outside of George they were all slow in S1. I think it'll be close tomorrow.

[Dee]

The Mercedes PU cars were very likely turned down. Outside of George they were all slow in S1. I think it'll be close tomorrow.

This has been a trend the entire testing. P5, P3, P6 the highest positions for a Merc on the speed trap.

Unless all Merc powered cars have been given a directive to not put up the power which is highly unlikely..

[Juzh]

On his best lap in fp2 russell was lifting down to 275 kmh into T14 because of bouncing problems, compared to verstappen's 290 kmh. He was also around 7-8 kmh down on main straight, so I don't believe mercedes is in any kind of real trouble as there's just no way they're that slow on straights. At worst they'll be somewhere on 2nd row, but 1st row is still entirely possible once they're fully committed.

[silver]

The Mercedes PU cars were very likely turned down. Outside of George they were all slow in S1. I think it'll be close tomorrow.

Whatever the reason is, Mercedes is running lower power modes in their long run sims. Verstappen was doing 296kph, Ferraris doing 289kph and Mercedes doing 282kph. Strangely, Mercedes ERS cuts out quite early on the start straight. McLaren/Aston/Williams were clocking 289kph on the same long run sims.

The most strange thing I observed was what Lewis Hamilton was doing. On every flying lap, he was switching the DRS on and off multiple times on the start straight! No idea what he was trying or hiding.
[Edit] Data from F1 live timing.

[dans79]

Unless all Merc powered cars have been given a directive to not put up the power which is highly unlikely..

Actually it's a good possibility that's the case, but not like you are wording it. It wouldn't be a directive, it would be an outline of how various PU and deployment modes affect the longevity, and degradation as mileage increases.

[_cerber1]

[Hoffman900]

I think the reason is on paper, 3 engines have to survive 23 races. Why burn it down in FP2 of the first race when they are clearly still sorting aero / chassis issues?

[silver]

I think the reason is on paper, 3 engines have to survive 23 races. Why burn it down in FP2 of the first race when they are clearly still sorting aero / chassis issues.

They didn't use higher power modes even in pre season testing. Only once Williams used it when it clocked 323ph on softs and on the same day, Verstappen clocked 327kph on hards.

[Fulcrum]

Well, lets put it this way.

If their engines are not turned down, Merc are properly off the pace.

If their engines are turned down, great, they can improve. But that doesn't imply Ferrari and Honda can't turn the wick up as well.

Another observation, albeit entirely anecdotal. The Ferrari looked very easy to drive, while the Merc looked a bit of a handful. The Red Bull seems to understeer, from my perspective anyway.

I'm sure Hamilton can wrestle a lap time out of a difficult car, but it won't make it any easier. If field spread is smaller this year, mistakes made in qualifying will cost more places than has usually been the case for Mercedes.

[PlatinumZealot]

Hmm. Lets give 0.6s to all Mercedes teams..

New pecking order if porpoising solved and engine turned up:

Mercedes, RedBull, Ferrari
+0.5s
McLaren, Alfa
Alpine, Haas
Aston, Alpha Tauri
+0.5s
Williams

[tpe]

I'm sure Hamilton can wrestle a lap time out of a difficult car, but it won't make it any easier. If field spread is smaller this year, mistakes made in qualifying will cost more places than has usually been the case for Mercedes.

This will make it extremely difficult for him for the whole race. OK, he can fight it, he can make a fast lap. Can he maintain this rhythm for 300Km?

[Artur Craft]

He was already faster in Pre-Season testing than in Qualy last year… In T4 (can’t pinpoint T5 in the telemetry data) he did 125km/h in 2021 Qualy… He did 126km/h in testing… In T6/7 he did 195km/h in 2021 and 197km/h in 2022

I remembered the f1-tempo site, now that Juzh brought it up, and did the comparison I was looking for.

Last year on his best QLF lap, Mick had a min speed of 195 kmh through T5, or which ever number the corner is assigned to. On the 3rd day of testings, he had a min speed of 180km/h during his 1.33.1 on C3(the same as today) and 197km/h during his C4 lap of 1.32.2.

I´ll wait for Q3 to reach a conclusion

Btw, has anybody already posted the Steiner quote, on AMUS, about Mercedes sidepod? I assume it was already debated on the Mercedes car thread but I don´t follow it. It´s concerning, to say the least, anyway

[Mr.S]

It is fair to say that Ferrari have made a step up in PU, huge step up. Whether they are better than Honda or Mercedes is difficult to say, but they could be. Renault have too but difficult to predict but likely not as much. Honda look good. Mercedes don’t look that great with their PU. Maybe all 4 cars have magically turned down their PU for every single lap which is unlikely & will give no data but what is likely is that unless they do some fast degarading engine mode stuff which they did last year, Mercedes PU gives no advantage over a Ferrari or a Honda. That time has gone.

Anyways Ferrari vs RB for pole tomorrow should be fun but I do expect Mercedes to solve their problems & fight for victories by 3-4 races but Bahrain looks tough !

[grubschumi13]

Mercedes is not bad. Russell is +0.6

[grubschumi13]

Verstappen again making all the difference. Perez is not even in the same dimension.