2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Luscion]

Russell's tires at the end of the race. Very worn and no chips as in other races. At Spa after the chequered flag there is no celebration lap.
He was 1.5kg under minimum weight

[CjC]

I’m a bit in awe of the whole situation. Number one, how did Mercedes end up with a reverted upgrade, the fastest on race pace?

Once the mechanical issue was resolved, where do the new upgrades place them relative to MCL?

How on earth do you do such a mistake, then not drain the car? It has to be one of the most braindead decisions I have long seen in Formula 1.

And I know this isn’t the thread, but golly, what’s going on at RedBull?

Race pace= all the free air

Upgrades relative to Mclaren= potentially on par? Lewis was 15 seconds behind the McLarens who were pacing themselves in Hungary- Lando had gapped Oscar before they swapped positions so it’s really a larger gap than 15 seconds….?

[TeamKoolGreen]

So that's 2 races now where Russell was ahead of Hamilton , but Hamilton won and Russell DNF'd for reasons that weren't his fault..

The points race between them is over. George did his job , his team didnt. In a year or less , some fans will say hamilton dog walked Russell in 2024. But it's just not true of course

[venkyhere]

So both cars reverted to some "previous spec". But then why only one car is underweight by 1.5 kg ?
Carbon fibre part like rear wing or front wing (the change between drivers) could contribute 1.5kg ?
Something fishy

[Luscion]

So that's 2 races now where Russell was ahead of Hamilton , but Hamilton won and Russell DNF'd for reasons that weren't his fault..

The points race between them is over. George did his job , his team didnt. In a year or less , some fans will say hamilton dog walked Russell in 2024. But it's just not true of course

a DNF and a DSQ in 2 out of the last 3 races suck for him

[SKYnRacing24]

If I'm Lewis, I'm not going to give a damn about how it feels to get the win here.

If I'm Lewis, the biggest thing I want to know is why I'm racing on saturday and sunday with a car approaching 2kg heavier than.that of my team mate, given that every kg removed lowers laptime by a tenth or so which amounts to seconds in total at the end of the race.

How many times could this have happened at tracks where there was a cool down lap to pick up rubber and nobody would have noticed?

And considering the gap was 0.5 at the chequered flag and that he could have had a couple.more laps to attempt to.pass.

And that's before we even talk about Lewis saying they switched their strategies without telling him.

Or the seeming lack of any chatter about whether George was on the one stop and what he needed pushing wise to maintain his lead.

And then there's Lewis concluding early on that his car will not be faster than George's on Saturdays this year.

It all has a bit of a poo poo smell to it.

Beautifully said mate, this is a crappy situation for all involved. Lewis will disconnect and go on a well deserved break. Do i feel for Russell? of course but this strategy team needs to have a good ole look in the mirror because even if this win stood for Russell the micromanagement of Lewis's pace is a damn redflag.

[leblanc]

Had that statement ready from the get go.

agreed lol

[Big Tea]

Could it have been that the upgrades were heavier and they did not account for it when they swapped them out?

[xaero]

So that's 2 races now where Russell was ahead of Hamilton , but Hamilton won and Russell DNF'd for reasons that weren't his fault..

The points race between them is over. George did his job , his team didnt. In a year or less , some fans will say hamilton dog walked Russell in 2024. But it's just not true of course

Neither he as leading GBR when he retired nor he was winning today until team betrayed Ham. I will say it poetic justice

[leblanc]

They probably didn't expect so much mass loss due to tire wear on a one-stop

[TeamKoolGreen]

Monumental blunder from the team holy hell

But Russell was saving tires so he was. 1.5 can't be explained by driving at all

yea..... 1.5kg is a lot

Ted and Fabrega did the maths again and said that even if they took out all the fuel the car was 0.5kg short ...

This situation may be due to RUS didn`t do enough lift and coasting as HAM did during the race as per radio transcripts on Multiviewer ... we all know that all teams underfuel the cars after all ...

In addition, I fear that the plank wear could be higher too ...

[GrizzleBoy]

Now that I think about it regarding Totos emotionless face face at the first 1-2 since 2022 Brazil.

If you knew for sure that one of your drivers was about to find out that through FIA report that their car was what equates to tenths or so of a lap heavier than their team mate, in a race where the pit wall seemed to have given away a win they earned even with a heavier car....

What would your face look like?

[214270]

If I'm Lewis, I'm not going to give a damn about how it feels to get the win here.

If I'm Lewis, the biggest thing I want to know is why I'm racing on saturday and sunday with a car approaching 2kg heavier than.that of my team mate, given that every kg removed lowers laptime by a tenth or so which amounts to seconds in total at the end of the race.

How many times could this have happened at tracks where there was a cool down lap to pick up rubber and nobody would have noticed?

And considering the gap was 0.5 at the chequered flag and that he could have had a couple.more laps to attempt to.pass.

And that's before we even talk about Lewis saying they switched their strategies without telling him.

Or the seeming lack of any chatter about whether George was on the one stop and what he needed pushing wise to maintain his lead.

And then there's Lewis concluding early on that his car will not be faster than George's on Saturdays this year.

It all has a bit of a poo poo smell to it.

It seems you’re saying that RUS has been underweight all season & it’s only now, here at Spa that the stewards figured out the ruse & stopped it? I’m not sure bro, truth be told.

What I will say is, the cheat (if real) has now been exposed. I’d therefore expect HAM to crush him moving forward.

[Luscion]

Could it have been that the upgrades were heavier and they did not account for it when they swapped them out?

Wouldnt explain why Lewis passed his checks and Russell didnt

[Farnborough]

...


Pretty bad the team tried to lie about having drained all the fuel aswell.

BAR were banned for two races for what appears to be exactly the same behaviour.

Part of the problem with teams being able to self-scrutinise their cars prior to the race weekend.

Looks like bigger questions need to be considered.

How would you "contain" an error found post race if using it as operational procedure ? Couple of rolls of lead in mechanic's pockets to chuck down the airbox ? A few ballast tungsten "lumps" to put down into sidepod intakes while pushing the car ? Can easily be "dissapered" into toolbox if FIA demand dismantle to verify further any inspected components.

Its all been done before ......

That's just too close to run in a planned minimum to avoid some level of error in compliance. It should bring more scrutiny to their operations.

Technically, the drivers can't even touch anyone after car exit and before weighing of them and their safety wear either. Weights in pockets of drivers is another, previously applied method in that area.