2018 Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg, 29 June - 1 July

[JonoNic]

Also all halo weight is above shoulder height.

[bonjon1979]

I think Silverstone is the only other track where the modified tires will be used.

Spa?

No

Ok

[bonjon1979]

Spa?

No

Ok. I think they've asked for them at Spa in the past but I see that it is just the three circuits this year.

[Gr1ff]

The mystery of the thinner tyres is an easy one?

They are used on specific tracks because of those track characteristics. The tracks require high aero efficiency and power which plays perfectly into Mercedes hands.

They are used because of a specific brand of tarmac not corner characteristics.

Anyway... Austria will be another one stopper and you won't even need to run the harder tire.

Edit: yeah seems correct but it doesn't make my point any less valid that Mercedes already have an advantage at these tracks hence it seem like the tyres favour them more.

[Vasconia]

[atanatizante]

1. In that short race sim at the end of FP1, Lewis was doing a lap at 1.08.5 (on average) with Vettel being 1 tenth slower, Bottas & Kimi 3-4 tenths and Max almost 1 sec??? (maybe more fuel or another PU mode)
- Lewis and Bottas`s tyres were 8 and 9 laps older than Vettel and Kimi;
- Worth to mention Grosjean`s times, which were on average 6-7 tenths slower than Lewis

2. At the top speed values, Bottas and Lewis are the fastest with 317-318km/h which were 5-6 km/h faster than Ferrari and 10km/h - Max and 13km/h in Ricci`s case. Renaults are 2-3km/h faster than RB team and Honda on par or slightly better

3. After FP1, we are at 6 tenths away from 2017 pole! Yeah, I know that we have an extra DRS zone (which worth up to 4-5 tenths) but the car`s height increased for this year (Halo and fuel plus chassis) makes it even remarkable ...

[majki2111]

The Halo weights a lot more: "teams have found that the Halo and its mountings can weigh up to 15kg"

source: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fia- ... lo-997615/

Thats massice. It must be more than 0.5 seconds I think.

[Sevach]

It's not! its because of the extra loads through the tyres at these tracks that cause blistering. The large amount of rubber moving around under the huge loading of these specifics tracks (all very similar)

Please tell me the specific brand of tarmac you are referring to and that its only at the 3 tracks with different tyres.

All these tracks have been resurfaced this season with the same type of tarmac, this tarmac didn't really wear the tires down but caused overheating (and blistering).

Only resurfaced tracks with this tarmac will get this tire, that was the entire reasoning.

[atanatizante]

Someone saw had Merc tested back to back their old and new aero update?
Or they just don`t need it anymore, for they are so confident in their wind tunnel results and CFD models?

[Vasconia]

1. In that short race sim at the end of FP1, Lewis was doing a lap at 1.08.5 (on average) with Vettel being 1 tenth slower, Bottas & Kimi 3-4 tenths and Max almost 1 sec??? (maybe more fuel or another PU mode)
- Lewis and Bottas`s tyres were 8 and 9 laps older than Vettel and Kimi;
- Worth to mention Grosjean`s times, which were on average 6-7 tenths slower than Lewis

2. At the top speed values, Bottas and Lewis are the fastest with 317-318km/h which were 5-6 km/h faster than Ferrari and 10km/h - Max and 13km/h in Ricci`s case. Renaults are 2-3km/h faster than RB team and Honda on par or slightly better

3. After FP1, we are at 6 tenths away from 2017 pole! Yeah, I know that we have an extra DRS zone (which worth up to 4-5 tenths) but the car`s height increased for this year (Halo and fuel plus chassis) makes it even remarkable ...

It was a reasonably good FP1 for Ferrari taking into account how much they improve from FP1 to FP3. Mercedes being very strong as expected.

[LM10]

Is it common for teams to use spec 1 on Fridays to minimize mileage on the new engine? Just from listening to the (bit of different) sound Mercedes seemed to use spec 2.1. The Williams sounded quite different, though.
Kimi obviously is on spec 1, but what about Vettel? Does Ferrari give him spec 1 on Fridays?

[MtthsMlw]

Is it common for teams to use spec 1 on Fridays to minimize mileage on the new engine? Just from listening to the (bit of different) sound Mercedes seemed to use spec 2.1. The Williams sounded quite different, though.
Kimi obviously is on spec 1, but what about Vettel? Does Ferrari give him spec 1 on Fridays?

If you have an older engine/gearbox available you'll definitely want to use it on Friday.

[LM10]

Is it common for teams to use spec 1 on Fridays to minimize mileage on the new engine? Just from listening to the (bit of different) sound Mercedes seemed to use spec 2.1. The Williams sounded quite different, though.
Kimi obviously is on spec 1, but what about Vettel? Does Ferrari give him spec 1 on Fridays?

If you have an older engine/gearbox available you'll definitely want to use it on Friday.

Seems logical. But in my opinion Mercedes was using the new engine. The noise was significantly different. Could be a sign of confidence in terms of reliability.

[Sierra117]

Is it common for teams to use spec 1 on Fridays to minimize mileage on the new engine? Just from listening to the (bit of different) sound Mercedes seemed to use spec 2.1. The Williams sounded quite different, though.
Kimi obviously is on spec 1, but what about Vettel? Does Ferrari give him spec 1 on Fridays?

If you have an older engine/gearbox available you'll definitely want to use it on Friday.

Seems logical. But in my opinion Mercedes was using the new engine. The noise was significantly different. Could be a sign of confidence in terms of reliability.

It would make sense to try out the new spec with the new aero as someone (GPR I think?) mentioned here or in the Merc thread.

But even if it is the new spec, it was probably in its lowest setting. The sluggish way it was climbing through the RPMs was quite off-putting.

[radosav]

How big are kerbs here when drivers brake wings, floors or suspension ?