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Still too soon to judge. An italian journo previewed China to be a kind track for Bottas, historically he did well in qualy against his teammates. Will probably struggle even more in Bahrain because of a)Hamilton's breaking b)traction track
The stumbling blocks were personnel-related, not car related. It's perfectly clear in the article that is what he was saying.
That the pesonel are having difficulty getting all the performance of the car and there's obviously more to come. I don't believe I took anything out of context. They are still narrowly the team to beat, for now.
Bear in mind the Mercedes is still overweight (AFAIK), by about 5kgs. At least that was the state in Melbourne.
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
The stumbling blocks were personnel-related, not car related. It's perfectly clear in the article that is what he was saying.
That the pesonel are having difficulty getting all the performance of the car and there's obviously more to come. I don't believe I took anything out of context. They are still narrowly the team to beat, for now.
The stumbling block was that a driver and a high-placed manager left during the development of the car. This took focus away from the car to a degree (more so the manager, of course). No doubt if they had had a nice smooth winter, the car would be closer to where they want it to be.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
I am expecting a dramatic improvement in the pace of the car once Europe starts and i have no concern whatsover of Ferrari becoming a threat then. Really i'm glad to hear this news by Toto and it only confirms that Merc never left any stones unturned.
Its just my humble opinion, but i wouldnt be surprised either if over the course of the next few races, the gap slightly increases to the point Mercedes will be confident and solid enough to dictate the outcome of most races. Given the second race hasnt happened yet, its just a very bold speculation on my part - but after what this team has showed these past 4 seasons (yes, starting 2013), i am inclined to think they have the man power and resources to overcome any difficulties they have.
There is a point though that might make this a bit more difficult though - that being suspension rules and the legality of it as well as that they have gone in a different direction than Ferrari with long wheelbase and low rake. The Ferrari in that regards might be more conventional and as such maybe easier to set up and extract at lot of its potential.
I will have to say though that the Ferrari PU is definitely impressive, but given that Mercedes still can pull out that extra bit of performance in Q3 makes me think they are still slightly ahead there too.
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
I think the Low rake and suspension thing is overblown. The diffuser openings are about the same height off the ground for all the cars. THe longer floor actually makes the difffuser less agressive at low speed, but works a bit better at high speed, and this is extremely small differences to the actual air-stream under there. Mercedes though are using shear area of it all to make up the downforce. The big disadvtange is weight. The suspension is fine. It's the same rules for everyone: only passive opposing movements are allowed. No "jacking" up or down in response to other inputs such as speed or "mechanical timers."
With Lewis now 20 points ahead of Bottas and an extremely fast Ferrari, what will Toto do with the Championship priorities between the drivers? Would he continue to allow his drivers to race each other OR would he establish an unproclaimed de facto Number 1? I know it's just 2 races, but can they afford to lose points by allowing the drivers to race to race each other?
IMHO they sill never tell one driver to slow doen for the other.
The only team orders i see happening is if
- one driver ends up behind the other and is quicker and it intefers with strategy
- one driver clearly quicker than the other and in order to get the best team result (Monaco 16)
Not for nothing, Rosberg's Championship is the only thing that lends credibility to Hamilton's recent success. Otherwise, he'd just be the guy who's had the best car. — bhall II #Team44 supporter
Once one driver is mathematically out of the title race I would expect the team to help the one still in with a chance. Before then, orders would only be used to help the team's overall result. Anything other than that is likely to be frowned upon by just about everyone.
If you are more fortunate than others, build a larger table not a taller fence.
I thought Bottas would be a challenge here but that never materialized. He hasn't shown the race pace yet to call orders into play. Lets see how he runs in Bahrain. Should be a good track for him.
Once one driver is mathematically out of the title race I would expect the team to help the one still in with a chance. Before then, orders would only be used to help the team's overall result. Anything other than that is likely to be frowned upon by just about everyone.
I more or less agree. But even with one out of the race, the team can only ask for a favor. But I guess Bot will be out early and do every favor he can to get a seat again.
I thought Bottas would be a challenge here but that never materialized. He hasn't shown the race pace yet to call orders into play. Lets see how he runs in Bahrain. Should be a good track for him.
Some say the opposite...
I can not see anything else than the usual 0.3 sec advantage of the top drivers in Q (Alo, Ham, Vet, Ric, Ros). I do not see Bot in this class in Q and for the race we do not have enough data...but my bet is that he can keep up on a normal day of the champs, but when they have a good day he can't follow.