- Login or Register
No account yet? Sign up
If Mercedes can prove they are replacing parts with older lesser spec because they don't have enough spares of the good stuff Russell should keep his position.Formula 1 fan 1996 wrote: ↑20 Oct 2024, 10:25Will both Hamilton and Russell start race from pitlane?
Hamilton had his car modified. Russell changed nothing. Both drivers noticed early on that their cars felt completely different to the day before. “The conditions were similar to yesterday,” puzzled Russell. The asphalt temperatures were 37 degrees on both days. Only the wind had picked up a little. But that could not explain why a potential winning car suddenly became a problem case.
Russell saw this as a reflection of the entire season. “If we get our car into the magic window, we can get pole position and win races. If not, we're nowhere.” Hamilton described nowhere like this: “The car was a nightmare. I couldn't find any grip, the balance swung from one extreme to the other.”
Because the yellow flag at this point slowed everyone else down, Russell kept his sixth place. But there was no joy. The 26-year-old Englishman knew full well that there were only two of the upgrades (front wing, underbody, engine cover, front axle, wishbones) that had been accompanied by so much hope. And his had deformed into a pile of carbon fiber garbage.
Hamilton immediately offered his colleague his upgrade kit, because Russell's chances on Sunday were significantly better than those of the record winner. But the noble gesture is unlikely to be realized. The mechanics are not allowed to work on the cars until 8am. Until then, they will be parked in the parc fermé.
If Mercedes were to accept Hamilton's offer, two cars would have to undergo a general exchange of parts. That is not feasible in the short time available. “We can't completely rebuild two cars at the same time. There are a lot of components involved in the upgrade,” explained a team spokesperson. Due to the high workload, it has also not yet been decided whether Hamilton's setup will be modified again, which would lead to a start from the pit lane.
The situation is different for Russell. Even if he has to bite the bullet and make do with the Mercedes in the Singapore configuration, he will keep his grid position. A special rule for sprint weekends applies.
If a team brings a new development to the start but is short of parts, it can apply to the FIA in advance to be allowed to revert to an older specification without penalty in the event of an accident. For Russell, the GP USA will be a journey into the unknown. He only has three to four laps on the way to the starting grid to get used to the unfamiliar car.
Making the situation more complex is the fact that the two drivers suffered from different problems during the Sprint Race, then highlighting a general lack of pace against McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari. “We saw that we are not at the level of our rivals. In the Sprint Race we had to push to keep up with them, but then we overheated and overused the tires,” analyzed Race Track Engineer, Andrew Shovlin. Specifically, “Lewis suffered with the rear tires, George with the front tires,” said Toto Wolff. A complicated situation for sure. The common feeling, however, is that the Mercedes W15 was not in the ideal window of use compared to Friday and this cost a lot in performance.
“Lewis was unlucky in Qualifying, because he found traffic that cost him elimination in Q1,” revealed Shovlin, who, however, then confirmed what his driver said immediately after the race, with the No. 44 Mercedes suffering damage during the Sprint Race, in the front suspension area, which was quickly repaired later between the two sessions. In addition to that, changes were made to improve balance and behavior of the W15, clearly with poor results. “Despite the changes, we are not back to Friday's level. We have an uphill race ahead of us. There will be a lot of work to do on George's car, and for Lewis it will be about damage control and trying to score some points.”
If you intend to patronize my post, ask yourselves the question - "why are members (including me) here, in an internet forum called F1-technical" ? You will have your answer.
For all of your explanation, trying to simplify the problem, the track temperature was 36C throughout Q3. Watch live timing replay on F1 app. George did two attempts in Q3, one where there was no such problem and he sets a time and the other when he crashed, despite track temps being the same. Guess what, the track temp was 35C in Sprint qualifying when that car was flying. Some basic research would help. It's better not to try and justify the oversimplification by using vague explanations. What happened in that particular incident is very peculiar and there must be far more intricate reason for it. That car is quite unpredictable and little changes are causing major behavioral issues. So I wouldn't try to sound like I know exactly why it happened, because I don't and I don't think most people know either.venkyhere wrote: ↑20 Oct 2024, 16:42If you intend to patronize my post, ask yourselves the question - "why are members (including me) here, in an internet forum called F1-technical" ? You will have your answer.
We are not here because we are experts, it's because we are trying to bounce our layman-enthusiast ideas with each other, to satiate our hunger to learn and discuss more about the 'machine' aspect of the sport.
As to your question :
Of course Mercedes know this, the drivers know this... their fundamental problem is they are too sensitive w.r.t tyre temperature as regards the car's grip balance. Whatever 'setup' they had optimized for 35C track temp, is not just becoming 'sub-optimal' (like it does for other teams) if the track temp rises to 40C, it's becoming undrivable. Their car's aero grip isn't working harmoniously with mechanical grip. Everyone knows this. Probably you don't. And the reason the issue strikes in 'of all the high speed corners, that's the one place such a simle issue strikes' is because T19 is the place where both steering angle and cornering speed are both together super-high.
Why wouldnt they give him a new PU whilst they’re at it? Is that not permitted?
Of all the high speed corners, that's the one place such a simple issue strikes!