2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Hammerfist]

Quick maths: HAM overtook RUS on lap 52 & was 11secs behind VER after the pass. That’s 2 tenths/lap deficit in race conditions.

That has to drop considerably to be a credible threat.

He was told not to push. So not representative at all.

[AR3-GP]

Delete

[CHT]

Quick maths: HAM overtook RUS on lap 52 & was 11secs behind VER after the pass. That’s 2 tenths/lap deficit in race conditions.

That has to drop considerably to be a credible threat.

The relevant gap is actually Hamilton vs Norris, not Hamilton vs Verstappen in that final stint. Everyone is chasing Mclaren.

On lap 52 the gap between them was 6.5. At the end it was 15.5. 9 seconds in 14 laps is around 6 tenths a lap slower. Tire offset was only 3 laps in favor of Norris.

Also, Hamilton gave up pushing the last 10-12 laps, he definitely wanted to do the fastest lap at the end, but Bono said definitely not, although Lewis said that he could well have put him at the end

RB and Max were managing Lando very well, and Max was not reacting to Lando because they knew they will finish the race ahead on lap 66.

[214270]

Quick maths: HAM overtook RUS on lap 52 & was 11secs behind VER after the pass. That’s 2 tenths/lap deficit in race conditions.

That has to drop considerably to be a credible threat.

He was told not to push. So not representative at all.

Not sure if you quoted me accidentally? But after lap 52 he’d have backed off bud; the quick calc is simply pace thru laps 1 - 52 only

[Shrieker]

rb are creating fake drama (just like in imola); they could've easily finished 10+ seconds ahead.

[sport777]

rb are creating fake drama (just like in imola); they could've easily finished 10+ seconds ahead.

Well, there are no first ones, McLaren was a little faster today, Mercedes a little slower, the Red Bull car is actually not that effective anymore, it seems to me that McLaren and Merc and Ferrari are on the same level, it’s just that Verstappen makes this car at the level of other top teams, let’s say this Red Bull Stroll will turn out to be Perez

[Hammerfist]

Delete

I didnt say redbull was definitely faster. I questioned that Mclaren was the outright fastest car. For me its inconclusive because Max had the pace to easily pass george while lando didnt. So for me in that opening stint redbull must have been faster than mclaren.

Its hard to know where Merc is. The faster Merc was being held up until lap 52 and was told to manage when finally in clear air. I dont think the 2 tenths a lap shows lewis real pace. He was limited by george. I think there was a brief window when they pitted george and Lewis was in clean air basically matching max until they both pitted around the same time. But thats only a handful of laps. So also inconclusive imo.

[Hammerfist]

Quick maths: HAM overtook RUS on lap 52 & was 11secs behind VER after the pass. That’s 2 tenths/lap deficit in race conditions.

That has to drop considerably to be a credible threat.

He was told not to push. So not representative at all.

Not sure if you quoted me accidentally? But after lap 52 he’d have backed off bud; the quick calc is simply pace thru laps 1 - 52 only

Gotcha. I originally misread what you wrote. But we cant use that math as a true indicator of pace because lewis was being held up by George.

[sport777]

Delete

I didnt say redbull was definitely faster. I questioned that Mclaren was the outright fastest car. For me its inconclusive because Max had the pace to easily pass george while lando didnt. So for me in that opening stint redbull must have been faster than mclaren.

Its hard to know where Merc is. The faster Merc was being held up until lap 52 and was told to manage when finally in clear air. I dont think the 2 tenths a lap shows lewis real pace. He was limited by george. I think there was a brief window when they pitted george and Lewis was in clean air basically matching max until they both pitted around the same time. But thats only a handful of laps. So also inconclusive imo.

In general, I think that Merce is, in principle, one of the leaders, given that soon they will have enough time in the pipe, they can improve greatly and get ahead of the rest of the top teams, it was significant that Lewis at the end wanted to set the fastest lap, but they answered him no, he was sure that it was quite possible, this tells us that Lewis definitely had a reserve

[ringo]

The fight with Lando wasn't too bad imo. These tyres need nursing in first couple laps and his outlap was blistering.

George knows the tyres need nursing... But he doesnt care. He is so thirsty for the spot light.
"Look at me, i'm just as good as Max and Lando". We get it George! Just stay focused and be more measured. George is fast, can defend and can counter attack. His fight with Norrise was lovely to see. But it was misplaced.
His white knuckle pace just to run at front is also misplaced. It's like he only thinks about now on lap one. Not on getting to lap 66. A true gambler. Nico Rosberg had this mentality going up against Lewis. He needed to be on pole and needed to be ahead by lap 1. Both just don't want to deal with racing Lewis across stints so they get desperate.
I think George can manage tyres. He showed it many times. He just gets too impulsive in the moment.

[ringo]

As for the pace of Lewis. I dont think he had much more in the tank.
There was a period in the race where he was behind Russel floating between 1.5 and 1 second behind for quite a few laps.
He couldnt close the gap any further and russel was responding. So both were getting everything out of the car. I think this was the second stint on the mediums.
The redbull still the quickest or equal to Mclaren. We will never know Max's true pace if he isn't on the same strategy as his pursuer.
He cooled of the jets today and managed the pace biding his time for Norris to come within 2 seconds. It didnt happen.

Anyhow i think McLaren will be super strong ij Austrai. That track will reward them and redbull for their high speed performance. Redbull look like they have a lazier front end than Mclaren.
So Lando may have the edge. Mercedes can sneak another podium if Piastri and Perez struggle again.

[Sevach]

The fight with Lando wasn't too bad imo. These tyres need nursing in first couple laps and his outlap was blistering.

George knows the tyres need nursing... But he doesnt care. He is so thirsty for the spot light.
"Look at me, i'm just as good as Max and Lando". We get it George! Just stay focused and be more measured. George is fast, can defend and can counter attack. His fight with Norrise was lovely to see. But it was misplaced.
His white knuckle pace just to run at front is also misplaced. It's like he only thinks about now on lap one. Not on getting to lap 66. A true gambler. Nico Rosberg had this mentality going up against Lewis. He needed to be on pole and needed to be ahead by lap 1. Both just don't want to deal with racing Lewis across stints so they get desperate.
I think George can manage tyres. He showed it many times. He just gets too impulsive in the moment.

It was clear that Lando was going to eat the Mercs alive pretty soon, might as well just let him by like Hamilton did.
Maybe they could've held him up by creating a DRS train.

[atanatizante]

Delete

I didnt say redbull was definitely faster. I questioned that Mclaren was the outright fastest car. For me its inconclusive because Max had the pace to easily pass george while Lando didnt. So for me in that opening stint redbull must have been faster than mclaren.

...

In the end it's a driver strategy for the race rather than what's car capable of. VER said after the race that it was primordial to pass RUS as soon as possible in order to manage his tyre for the entire race. LAN does the opposite opting for longer stints that needs more tyre management in doing that thing ...

Besides that, VER's strategy is based on at least 2 facts/advantages:
1. his car is optimized around (if not entirely) the race pace and particularly on the first stint when the car is the heaviest;
2. VER knows better that drivers need to manage tyres as soon as possible at the start of the race, hence drivers are not so keen to get a fight at this stage...

And last but not least there's phycological factor in drivers mind involving both RB's dominance car and VER's ruthless when it's come down to overtaking, isn't it?

[organic]

Kallenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, has now made it clear that Verstappen is firmly on his radar, believing the new regulations firmly open the door.

"The best driver wants to have the best car," said Kallenius, speaking to Sky Sports Germany. "And that's our job, to bring the best package together.

"The cards will be reshuffled in 2026. New order with new rules. That's also an opportunity.

"But I think Max would look good in silver, wouldn't he?"

[Dunlay]

So it seems like Ola is behind pursuing Max while I hazard a guess that Toto wants George and Kimi pairing.