2018 French Grand Prix, Le Castellet, June 22-24

[Vasconia]

Haven't got used to Mercedes looking in trouble.
I have this funny sense that Vettel will be winning again..

It's Vettel's title to lose. Hamilton is seriously on the back foot.

Being only 1 point behind and with an upcoming PU update(I dont know if now or in Austria) I think its too early to think this. Anyway, I hope Ferrari and Vettel won´t make the same mistakes this year again and that the fight will last until the end of the season.

[Vasconia]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merc ... s-1047199/

Smart move utilizing the extra day they have to continue dyno running before making the final call.

Looks like it's 50/50 at this point.

Perhaps they have taken some risks to introduce a great improvement and they are not sure if realiability can be enough good. I am expecting a new and super powerful PU...

[zibby43]

You don't understand, he both lost motivation and is distracted by new huge contract that can buy private jets and stuff, it's over indeed. I can't imagine statements like that are serious.

- I forgot this is a special tyres track, if Merc wins - here we go again.
- They lump next three tracks into a power label, maybe they are but they look very different to me.

Haha you're right! I had forgotten about those factors. Too funny, my friend.

France, Austria, and Britain in 3 consecutive weeks. A good time to be an F1 fan! Each poses unique challenges but all 3 are indeed power-sensitive circuits.

[zibby43]

Perhaps they have taken some risks to introduce a great improvement and they are not sure if realiability can be enough good. I am expecting a new and super powerful PU...

Bottas has alluded to the fact that it's worth a few tenths.

The initial hangup/delay was due to a manufacturing defect (out of spec tolerances).

I'm guessing they rectified the defect but now are playing catch-up in racking up the mileage on the "fixed" Spec 2 to ensure that the defect that was discovered was the proximate cause of the initial dyno hiccup.

So it seems that Brixworth is unwilling to cut any corners in terms of dyno mileage. The "fixed" spec must meet the mileage requirements without fail before introduction and integration.

Pure speculation on my part.

[f1316]

It's Vettel's title to lose. Hamilton is seriously on the back foot.

He's down 1 point heading into a triple header.

Last year Hamilton was down 14 points after the Hungarian Grand Prix, just before the summer break.

Way, way, way too early to make a statement like that, IMHO.

You don't understand, he both lost motivation and is distracted by new huge contract that can buy private jets and stuff, it's over indeed. I can't imagine statements like that are serious.

- I forgot this is a special tyres track, if Merc wins - here we go again.
- They lump next three tracks into a power label, maybe they are but they look very different to me.

I agree.

I think France and Britain will be similar - both in terms of the tyres being used and the number of fast corners - and I don’t think it’s necessarily top power, per se, but how much on throttle there is; it may be more a question of deployment, albeit coupled with aero efficiency, of course.

Austria to me is different - it’s more like Canada and has more slower corners; more start/stop, less flow.

I tend to think Red Bull will actually be better in Austria as I don’t necessarily buy that they’re as aero efficient as the other two - nor is Renault’s deployment as good (I don’t think - tough to draw too many conclusions post update) - and I think their biggest strength is slow corners.

[Vasconia]

Perhaps they have taken some risks to introduce a great improvement and they are not sure if realiability can be enough good. I am expecting a new and super powerful PU...

Bottas has alluded to the fact that it's worth a few tenths.

The initial hangup/delay was due to a manufacturing defect (out of spec tolerances).

I'm guessing they rectified the defect but now are playing catch-up in racking up the mileage on the "fixed" Spec 2 to ensure that the defect that was discovered was the proximate cause of the initial dyno hiccup.

So it seems that Brixworth is unwilling to cut any corners in terms of dyno mileage. The "fixed" spec must meet the mileage requirements without fail before introduction and integration.

Pure speculation on my part.

My thoughts exactly. Their current PU is good enough to be competitive and win races so they don´t want a DNF because lack of enough testing. This delay is obviously a problem because all these tracks(Canada, Austria,France, England) are quite power dependent.

[atanatizante]

Track layout, asphalt abrasion and tyre alocation resemble of China, so knowing track position is king nowadays, all teams will work towards a one stop strategy, cuz I don't see worse tyre deg than Barcelona...

Had it rain during qualy should be interesting, but in the race will be the same China race scenario: everyone will nurse the tyres and who will get lucky with a VSC or SC will finally win this race!

[Bill_Kar]

Crofty says that to their knowledge, Merc is running a new new-spec engine.

[f1316]

So... what's going to happen to the F1 tyres if they hit the blue run-off? How abrasive is it, and how much damage will it do to the tyres?

This is what I’ve been wondering for ages; Wikipedia says they’re designed to be abrasive and hence be a safer way to punish mistakes, but discussing on here, most people seem to think that’s a myth.

But I can’t believe the red bits aren’t in some way different than the blue bits, given their placement; there must be a reason for it. I hope it’s what Wikipedia says since it seems like a really good idea.

Confirmed from Anthony Davidson on commentary (based on his experience from driving there in an LMP1 car); to paraphrase:

"It's not just blue tarmac, there are bits of glass in there to create a sandpaper effect and slow cars down"

Kravitz:

"Blue stripes slows you down a bit, red stripes slows you down a lot"

Very interested to see what effect that has on punishing mistakes - it's long since seemed to me to be a good compromise between run-off areas and gravel traps.

[MtthsMlw]

[media]https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/1010104583316787200[/media]

[Bill_Kar]

https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/1010104583316787200

Now we can fight.

[F1Krof]

https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/1010104583316787200

Now we can fight.

Although they will decide to use it only after FP1.

And tbh, by the looks of it, that front end of the Merc is looking incredibly lazy. Either they have a bit more fuel, but considering they are on Ultras, and Riccardo on softs... chances look very slim for them, as I expect Ferrari is doing their usual Friday sandbagging.

All and all, I'm not optimist on their chances.

[Bill_Kar]

F1Krof, It's Hamilton with balance issues, not Mercedes. Bottas is looking in great shape.
Fp2 will be a better indicator.

[Shrieker]

Anyone else think the pit exit and the racing line overlapping looks very precarious ?

[Sierra117]

A slightly less-discussed topic, how about the teams include a mini-map of everyone on the grid (same way we see on TV or in a racing game)? Like on a tiny section of the dash, maybe not even a map just a name that suggests someone is immediately behind you. That way we can finally eliminate this issue of someone going too slow in front or suddenly turning in or teams forgetting to inform of someone faster. Or at least to reduce the events. I'm sure there can be some sort of solution, it doesn't seem like a monumental task.