There is no magic and neither is by chance. They have to protect their hardware on Friday, but get their setup work done and as a result, they keep their engines turned down and focus on a program. They have a good car and behaves more predictable since last year, unlike 2016 and before. So, nothing odd to figure out and hence, just concentrate on program. When comes qualifying, turn up the wick. It's not like they go wrong direction and overnight take right direction.Bill_Kar wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 17:29But they can't just take wrong direction and then finding the solution overnight in every GP. I think it's safe to say that they are sandbagging on Fridays.Vasconia wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 17:19This trend began last year when, for the first time in years, Ferrari was hidding some potential, or at least being better on Saturdays and Sundays. This year this trend is even stronger as we see how the team can extract much more potential from the car when they find the correct set-up.
Mercedes are also predictable. Almost every FP1 they top and then stay there for FP2. Their top times remain the same from FP1 to FP2, whereas Ferrari doesn't even turn up decent level of performance until FP2 and then you see, they converge for FP2 and difference is not much. Come qualifying, they are on par. That has been the story, except for some outliers.
