Phil wrote: ↑06 Jul 2017, 11:04
IMO that conclusion only holds true if the PU was in fact inferior. Ringo has been arguing for months that Ferrari have matched Mercedes (except for perhaps in qualifying) and the coincidence with the 2nd oil tank is too big to ignore. Then there are also the factor of the tires. The tires may be a bigger factor in slower corners (mechanical grip being key there), but don't underestimate the effect of not getting tires into the correct temperature range. Tires outside their ideal range will lead to less grip which will also have an effect on the cars performance through fast corners. In other words, you could have the car with the most efficient and effective downforce, but if the tires are not in the correct range, another car with less downforce could still achieve higher cornering speeds.
The points that you make there, and in the rest of your post, are entirely correct. Indeed, tyres out of their ideal working temperature will lead to less grip anywhere. The extra weight of a car is a minor effect, though, because it means Mercedes have/had less ballast to play with, in order to balance the car, but that will affect the handling and the subsequent effect on the overall grip of the car will be smaller than, say, the tyre factor. Unless they had a car over the min weight, then, that would be around 0.3s for an extra 10kg.
I didn't see Ringo's reasoning to support the claim that Ferrari's PU is/was on par with Mercedes' and I will return to that a little bit later because I believe otherwise.
Juzh wrote: ↑06 Jul 2017, 13:05
And why would anyone believe him, especially after baku?
Yes. Imho there is plenty of evidence out there of the contrary and, when I have time, I'll look for them and share it here.
About the actual Austrian GP, I think Mercedes will once again play it cool on the FPs and unleash their power on Q3 with Lewis getting another confortable pole