SparkyAMG wrote:Somebody alluded to Ferrari highlighting Kimi for the best strategy prior to the race and using Vettel as a decoy. I don't think this was done deliberately in Bahrain, but I do think it's Ferrari's best chance of results for the short term.
I agree. Vettels tyres started to drop earlier relative to the Mercedes, so at that point, it was clear that the Ferrari wouldn't be able to go longer than the Merc on either stint and gain an advantage there. So the logical move was to try an undercut which worked great. Doing so with both drivers would have only made things complicated for themselves, as both Kimi and Vettel would be fighting among themselves instead of challenging the Merc. Getting Kimi on an alternative strategy was brilliant, as it put him into clean air and because Merc were occupied covering Vettel, they stayed on the OOP strategy making Kimi's even more effective.
SparkyAMG wrote:Merc are obviously concerned with covering whatever Ferrari do with their lead car, which I think is all they need to do at this stage. They've shown that their tyre wear isn't as bad as everyone first thought and can go as short / long as Ferrari dictate. I don't think Ferrari will ever win under normal circumstances using this strategy as I still don't think the lead Merc is really pushing as hard as it could, but if they can keep splitting them like in Bahrain then they'll be first in line to pick up on DNFs.
It's really interesting. On one hand, covering Vettel and cutting their stints short obviously paid out for Mercedes as they secured the win and managed to get 3rd with their 2nd driver (and nearly a 1&2). So even though they slightly outside their comfort zone, they still ended the race in a very good way.
If they had not cut their stints short and not covered Vettel - then Vettel would have ended in the lead at some point. The big question then would be if they would have had enough to pass him on track. Seeing Rosberg overtake Vettel multiple times would suggest so, so either way, I think Mercedes would have come flying by. This may not work on all tracks though - some tracks, the DRS zones are less effective, so they can't do it on all tracks. I think come mid season, it will be interesting to see how they will fair.
Mercedes is at a definite disadvantage though; They have two drivers who are potential WDC candidates - and they are a German team. So they will not abandon Rosberg. This also means they will try to give both drivers equal status and a fair shot at winning a grand-prix, which will put them at risk if Ferrari are happy to play both their drivers as pawns to get ahead. They might not have planned this in Bahrain, but Bahrain showed nicely how it could work. At some point, Mercedes will have to decide if it's more important to retain a fair battle ethos for both their drivers, if 1&2s are more important than winning with one driver and to what point they are willing to take a gamble on strategies at the expense of either driver...
