Looks like the Ferrari is actually gaining a bit midway down the straights.
The Merc is incredible on the brakes though.
Been so for years now yet there are still some people claiming as if Merc performance is all or largely down to PU superiority. Of course engine is part of it, and so is vehicle dynamics like suspension, so is aero, so is driver. Last year it just took them few months to calibrate and optimize things fully. I saw f1 at Suzuka Esses last sev years and Merc is just monster, taking visibly different line to others and its stability and sharpness of direction change is mad. Well visible on TV, but much more so in person. Their turning radius is more compact than any others, finishing the turn and placing the car in a direction towards the next corner at a point quite earlier than any others even Fer and RBR. Slower cars dive too deep, late to make and complete the turn and press on pedal, unable to give the car speed and ride on top of it, and it's a vicious cycle of this at sections like Suzuka S. Merc has been in different league. Absolute time difference by it in mere one corner should not be visually discernible esp in person because it must be only 0.1s or even less in one corner, but car's motion behavior and the line it takes to make that happen are so visibly different that it's absolutely astonishing. 2017 wider car made F1 in general even more awesome in Suzuka S and kinds of sections like that, but even among them the Merc was different and totally jaw dropping.NoDivergence wrote: ↑24 Mar 2018, 20:53Hamilton gaining ALL the time from the corners. Ferrari is lacking downforce, NOT engine power.
Expressing my thoughts here as this seemed like the appropriate thread.dans79 wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 17:18No to mention if they are out front leading by 20 seconds people complain like children that they are destroying the sport.GPR-A wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 17:15Mental scars (China, Russia and of all, Malaysia) of 2016, I guess.digitalrurouni wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 17:02And I don't understand the need for Mercedes to always run a tiny gap with the cars behind them. From what I could see Lewis could extend his gap at will.
Which inevitably brings home the point when people say "Hamilton is dominant and winning WC's because of his car ONLY. Put any other driver on the grid and they would win as well!" That is so not the case with Bottas. He seems to be under pressure to perform and is buckling. I think Bottas is a good driver but not an outstanding one. I see Danny Ric joining the Mercedes team next year and Bottas being dropped and he will go back to Williams.
Maybe, but the quicker you are reaching a certain target speed you will be faster although your top speed is lower due to the time spent at the straight.
digitalrurouni wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 17:38Which inevitably brings home the point when people say "Hamilton is dominant and winning WC's because of his car ONLY. Put any other driver on the grid and they would win as well!" That is so not the case with Bottas. He seems to be under pressure to perform and is buckling. I think Bottas is a good driver but not an outstanding one. I see Danny Ric joining the Mercedes team next year and Bottas being dropped and he will go back to Williams.
That has a lot more to do with the fact that a lot of tracks where not designed with today's cars in mind.
Have to agree. We are not just talking about the Tilkedromes in general or Monaco. But to be fair the Australian GP has never been a nail biter of a GP.
That's the point, none of the tracks have been adapted/updated to make overtakes more probable. The cars have been down-force constrained for well over two decades now, yet they still race around tracks that are designed for cars that where limited by mechanical grip.
So is this not a problem with the cars rather than the track? If you live on a farm you get a 4X4 not a Ferrari and it does the job you want.dans79 wrote: ↑26 Mar 2018, 21:29That's the point, none of the tracks have been adapted/updated to make overtakes more probable. The cars have been down-force constrained for well over two decades now, yet they still race around tracks that are designed for cars that where limited by mechanical grip.