2017 United States Grand Prix - COTA, 20-22 October

[Restomaniac]

I haven’t seen the splits but I think i’m right I’m saying all of Mercedes’ advantage came in S2.

After the first runs you saw that Vettel was only fractionally off in S1 and S3 (Kimi fastest in S1) but lost a massive 6 tenths in S2. On the final run, I believe I’m correct in saying that Vettel’s S1 & 3 were actually faster than the pole lap (albeit some others did faster S1’s on other laps).

I don’t see any mention from Lewis or Bottas about being hampered in their prep for the final run - Valterri points to brakes as his issue, not tyres - so think this is a bit of a red herring, likely taken from the fact Crofty called it out on commentary.

Expect a close race.

On his last flier, Hamilton did a 24.861 for S1, which was the fastest S1 time of the weekend. Then he did 37.502 for S2, which was less than a tenth slower than his banker lap S2 (37.434). His S3 on last flier was 30.866, which again was slower than 30.660 from his banker lap. There seems to be something not right there for the last flier.

Up until the last flier, Hamilton kept improving with every lap. And then, everyone except the two Mercedes', improved on their last flier compared to their banker laps. Co-incidence OR KIMIncidence?

Well a few points that I think point against Kimi’s positioning having been a factor:

- as I say, neither Mercedes driver made reference of it; Bottas in particular ought to be looking for explanations (excuses?) for why he was again so far off the pace - and indeed did so https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/bott ... in-968729/ - but did not list Kimi as a factor

- as you point out, Lewis went quicker in the first sector; if there had been any problem preparing tyres on his out lap, it would show more at the start of the lap rather than the end

- this is far from the first time we’ve seen a Mercedes get pole with the first Q3 run - it was actually quite a feature between Lewis and Nico; given Lewis’ gap to the field, it’s quite possible there was really not much left in it at the end - indeed, I think it’s one of Lewis’ biggest talents to find the limit straight away (bit like Michael) whereas the others take longer to get into the rhythm and so get gradually closer during the weekend (I personally think Seb’s always had that trait - he eases into it more) as they gain the confidence to push to the extreme. As I say, we often saw first fliers taking pole last year


I think all of this talk of Kimi’s involvement also diminishes what was a great lap from Seb; we all give credit where it’s due to Lewis and the constant record breaking is very impressive regardless of what car you’re in (Michael wouldn’t have set the records without great cars and a period of dominance) but let’s also recognise Seb’s achievements - just as we do his self-inflicted shortcomings (Baku, Singapore) - remembering that the championship would still be alive if results of the last three races were a reflection of pure pace.

With regard to Vettel's lap I agree. I came out of nowhere and was impressive after the times that had been set by the Ferrari previously.

[jz11]

the big deal is that there is a rule book, rules are there to be followed, if you start making exceptions, then the teams/drivers will push ALL rules every way possible hoping for exceptions, which in turn will create loads and loads of drama and excess work for the stewards to clear the mess, make additional rules on top of rules on top of exceptions, you see where this is going?

That isn't what's happening though. There's no more tendency recently to push the limits of the rules than has always been inherent in the sport.

I very much disagree, there was more than enough episodes in last couple of years, where, for instance, leading driver, while being chased or defending against an overtake, leaves the track, cuts the corner etc, and remains in the lead, not just for the leader of the race, but down the lines, that, in my opinion, is a blatant disrespect for the spirit of racing and other competitors.

Few minor things, like leaving the track here, leaving the track there, not getting any penalties for that, because supposedly "didn't gain an advantage" opens up the road to more serious stuff. And it is not like there is some gray area in the rules, the problem is with the stewarding, officials simply don't want to enforce the rules, and that is it.

As I said - they would not leave the track unless there is advantage to be gained, or they made a mistake, and in both cases a penalty is in order, making a mistake, going wide with basically the whole car not just outside the white line, but even outside the curbs should lead to a problem for the driver, and if you make the track so ultra safe with high grip surfaces outside the curbs, then you must enforce the track limit rules, else it leads to chaos.

The only "problem" with what I state here are the fights for position on the first lap, where you have 2-3-4 cars going along side in the corner, and track limit rules would discourage some ballsy moves, but then again, those ballsy moves more often than not lead to accidents, and as entertaining as they might be for some portion of the fans, I find that they mostly steal the racing from the race.

[Restomaniac]

Damon Hill nailed the point.
If the stewards don't think it's a problem then remove the curbs and make it a wider corner.

It was a tongue in cheek comment but it gets to the heart of the issue.

[somesortofnick]

Any news on the track conditions so far?

[Manoah2u]

This is a real pity. I wonder how thorough the cleaning process is, or if this is actually on part of the track used by F1.

https://twitter.com/pressracing/status/ ... 3748375552

apart from my disgust to people littering and being so irresponsible, it's not that of a big deal at all. It makes little difference to any concert, really. Some street cleaning cars , some brooms, and it's gone. They're not gonna leave it like that for the race, that would bring some twists in the field though, it must be said

but anyway, i'm always surprised, really when seeing discussions about track cleaning.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/12118 ... ng-devices

this already exists





there's even a game for it



the only issue offcourse with 'wet cleaning' is that it is problematic to do during a race, as it instantly changes the track conditions. when you're dealing with a rainy day, not so much, but on a dry track a wet patch due to wet cleaning, that's a different story alltogether.

[k.ko100v]

Any news on the track conditions so far?

Its raining
[media]https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/statu ... 7129222145[/media]

[Manoah2u]

this is gonna be great

[NathanOlder]

I think they should put a couple of feet of gravel on the ouside of turns, then the tarmac runoff after that. The drivers will definitely lose time by running wheels on to the gravel, and the big tarmac run offs are still there for the safety aspects.

[FW17]

But the track gets dirty and every driver will complain

That is the reason for grass lining the kerbs before the actual gravel

[ringo]

Toto Wolf doesn't mind the cars going off track for an advantage. He says it adds drama and visual impact to see the cars going wide. I tend to agree. I believe there is a balance; and it just might be the case that everyone was cool with it yesterday. The cars look faster in those last 2 corners, and it's always all "for the show" these days so why not?
Anything "for the show" is excusable in modern F1. So i'm not too hung up on track limits. The drivers like the feeling of going as fast as possible so it would be a buzz kill to be too restrictive.

As for the race today, i think Vettel will give Lewis hell. The ferrari will be very fast in the race i am guessing.
I don't think Hamilton will walk away from Seb, and i hope we do get a show down with both drivers. Max is around the back so Seb should be able to make it to lap 3 scotch free.

[atanatizante]

1. Presumably we are heading towards a wet race but had we got a dry one what was the reason behind Max went for SS tyres in Q2 ... maybe he wants to go longer on the first stint but SS tyres are not designed to work in lower track temps like US ones ...

2. Who will benefit with a wet race in prospect and more of that having a low track temp, taking into account that here Pirrelli have brought a new intermediate tyre which has a softer shoulder construction as a reaction to the drivers complaints for not lasting to long on a stint?

3. Is there any truth in this presumption saying that (at least) Ferrari and Red Bulls philosophies are for always setup their cars 100% towards the race and only Merc car is come 5 or 10% towards qualy, bearing in mind that even now - after so called glorious RB-Seb era - track position is king?

[Moose]

Given Lewis' performances in the wet this year, I would suggest that only he could benefit from this. I would say that... except that he was already sitting pretty, so this can only really serve to mess things up for him.

[ClaudiuC]

Toto Wolf doesn't mind the cars going off track for an advantage. He says it adds drama and visual impact to see the cars going wide. I tend to agree. I believe there is a balance; and it just might be the case that everyone was cool with it yesterday. The cars look faster in those last 2 corners, and it's always all "for the show" these days so why not?
Anything "for the show" is excusable in modern F1. So i'm not too hung up on track limits. The drivers like the feeling of going as fast as possible so it would be a buzz kill to be too restrictive.

As for the race today, i think Vettel will give Lewis hell. The ferrari will be very fast in the race i am guessing.
I don't think Hamilton will walk away from Seb, and i hope we do get a show down with both drivers. Max is around the back so Seb should be able to make it to lap 3 scotch free.

It still remains to be seen if Ferrari can deliver in the wet, they haven't exactly been stellar in the wet in Monza but hopefully this will change here.

[mercfan]

Well based on Red Bull's latest Instagram shot, the track seems bone dry now....

[notsofast]

The rain is gone, and clouds are moving away too. It will be a dry race.