2015 Austrian Grand Prix - 19-21 June

[Juzh]

Although Ferrari has done a fantastic job this year to recover it's chassis and PU, ultimately Mclaren will win title before Ferrari does.

Nah, Vettel for WDC 2016

off-throttle and blow diffuser to aid rear DF is gone so Vettel title prospect is gone whit it.

Off- throttle was banned in 2012.

[PlatinumZealot]

Nah, Vettel for WDC 2016

off-throttle and blow diffuser to aid rear DF is gone so Vettel title prospect is gone whit it.

Off- throttle was banned in 2012.

Not entirely... Fuel overrun with delineated throttle was banned but "Cold blowing" while off throttle was still allowed as long as the engine manufacturer could demonstrate that they need just that bit more fuel for reliability reasons.... and guess what? It so happens that the RedBull Renault engine needed it or else it would blow up...(or so they said).

[evered7]

Apparently his performances were so mesmerizing that a few thought he had traction control in his car . Given the equipment to his liking, he certainly can do a job to get the wins. Tires or traction, that was a scintillating season for him.

4 wins before the tire change as well and 9 successive wins to stamp his authority.

He did what any upper percentile driver should have done given the best car on the grid, and a second/third tier teammate.

There were doubts for a few on that (upper percentile thingy) earlier in the thread and hence the reason to bring some stats up for support. I already mentioned that if he has the equipment to his liking, he can be a very dominant force with consistency as well and Ferrari will be looking to do exactly that.

[Juzh]

Not entirely... Fuel overrun with delineated throttle was banned but "Cold blowing" while off throttle was still allowed as long as the engine manufacturer could demonstrate that they need just that bit more fuel for reliability reasons.... and guess what? It so happens that the RedBull Renault engine needed it or else it would blow up...(or so they said).

True, but so were other engines (to a lesser extent). Anyway, effect was nowhere near compared to original OT ebds of 2011.

[SiLo]

Apparently his performances were so mesmerizing that a few thought he had traction control in his car . Given the equipment to his liking, he certainly can do a job to get the wins. Tires or traction, that was a scintillating season for him.

4 wins before the tire change as well and 9 successive wins to stamp his authority.

He did what any upper percentile driver should have done given the best car on the grid, and a second/third tier teammate.

Interesting that only one other driver has ever achieved that though (and with Indy it's debatable for Ascari); think that's also a bit unfair on Webber (and hence Seb).

That said, he did have a big pace advantage at that stage of the season.

I actually think his Malaysia win this year was arguably his most impressive since monza 2008.

Schumacher blow Barrichello out of the water for quite some period of time. It just depends on how good the other driver is.

[Jonnycraig]

Apparently his performances were so mesmerizing that a few thought he had traction control in his car . Given the equipment to his liking, he certainly can do a job to get the wins. Tires or traction, that was a scintillating season for him.

4 wins before the tire change as well and 9 successive wins to stamp his authority.

He did what any upper percentile driver should have done given the best car on the grid, and a second/third tier teammate.

, the butthurt here is strong.

Note that Hamilton hasn't achieved it with an even more dominant car and a weaker teammate that Webber ever was.

[wickedz50]

Apparently his performances were so mesmerizing that a few thought he had traction control in his car . Given the equipment to his liking, he certainly can do a job to get the wins. Tires or traction, that was a scintillating season for him.

4 wins before the tire change as well and 9 successive wins to stamp his authority.

He did what any upper percentile driver should have done given the best car on the grid, and a second/third tier teammate.

, the butthurt here is strong.

Note that Hamilton hasn't achieved it with an even more dominant car and a weaker teammate that Webber ever was.

I think thats too harsh a statement..

[ME4ME]

Superb video with Mark Webber:

[Phil]

Note that Hamilton hasn't achieved it with an even more dominant car and a weaker teammate that Webber ever was.

Not that I agree; I think the results show that Rosberg has been a lot more consistent than Webber was in the time Vettel dominated. I put it down to the EBD simply not suiting Webber, as he was very competitive in 2010. It is funny though; Hamilton won most races in 2014 - and the ones he didn't win were nearly all plagued by technical issues. The only few Nico won without any doubt and on the track, were Brazil and Monaco. It's anyones guess if he had also prevailed against Lewis in Melbourne (Hamilton DNF from pole), Hockenheim (brake failure), Hungary (car on fire), Austria (brake/ers and lap canceled) and Spa (collision with Nico from the lead).

Not that I put much value in who has how many consecutive wins, as if that means anything.

Considering this, it actually doesn't bode well for Nico this year and perhaps shows how DNFs and technical issues could taint the WDC to the point that it ended up being a race to wire... if it weren't for many of these issues, the championship should have been wrapped up earlier.

Anyway, on to this weekend; I think Lewis will get pole. He was very strong last year if he hadn't had to abort his lap on the last corner and run into problems on the 2nd run. Given how consistent he's been this year so far, I think he'll do it. Unless the weather is too unpredictable which could throw a few surprises...

[PlatinumZealot]

Can we get to see Vettel and Kimi BOTH get a clean race this time? It is nearly half way through the season and the two haven't gone head to head on track yet.

[f1316]

Interesting that only one other driver has ever achieved that though (and with Indy it's debatable for Ascari); think that's also a bit unfair on Webber (and hence Seb).

That said, he did have a big pace advantage at that stage of the season.

I actually think his Malaysia win this year was arguably his most impressive since monza 2008.

Schumacher blow Barrichello out of the water for quite some period of time. It just depends on how good the other driver is.

No, sorry, I meant only one other driver had ever won 9 straight gps and that's Ascari and only works if you say Indy (which was part of the championship then) doesn't count.

So of all the people with dominant cars in F1 history, only one/two has achieved 9 straight wins, so you could argue this is more than just 'upper percentile'.

I'd also say Schumacher's dominance over all his teammates in first career (and outperforming rosberg at 43 in his final year) is more a sign of Michael's greatness not Barrichello's lack of speed.

[Samraj_official]

And also note webber was not the same fast teammate to vettel after 2010.............PIRELLI TYRES..............

[F1NAC]

And also note webber was not the same fast teammate to vettel after 2010.............PIRELLI TYRES..............

It's not only tires. Vettel simply mastered EBD

[Juzh]

Can we get to see Vettel and Kimi BOTH get a clean race this time? It is nearly half way through the season and the two haven't gone head to head on track yet.

China, Bahrain?

[iotar__]

Can we get to see Vettel and Kimi BOTH get a clean race this time? It is nearly half way through the season and the two haven't gone head to head on track yet.

China, Bahrain?

Why only two? When weren't they head to head on track during racing weekends, what stopped those theoretical head-to-head battles? AFAIR only Vette's technical problem in Q in Canada, wheel change in Australia was irrelevant. "Clean" race is a different story and good luck with that.

Since discussion turned into random comparisons of team-mates here's mine: Rosberg is better than Vettel. Speaking of random silliness: Mercedes and LH are trying to sell lifting and coasting and Horner is complaining about number of stops, extraordinary hypocrisy even for F1's standards. When Red Bull's propaganda forced conservative choices and one stop races (India) I don't recall them complaining.