motobaleno wrote: ↑13 Jul 2018, 10:23
Zynerji wrote: ↑12 Jul 2018, 16:10
I am just SUPER EXCITED that no one ca say for sure who will get pole/win.
Thats a huge change from the last 8 years, and one that I welcome!
the huge change is that, till now, noone posted "easy 1-2 for mercedes".
I would. I'm still somewhat convinced (maybe wrongly) that Mercedes has the fastest package. But it's temperature dependent. Tires are key this year, more so than others, and if you fail to work them right, having the fastest package means zilch. Overall, I still think it holds true that Mercedes has a more narrow [tire] operating window than Ferrari, hence too cold and too hot hurts Mercedes more than Ferrari. In Austria, Mercedes were comfortably ahead by a huge amount (3 tenths on a very short track). Then in Silverstone, they should have been, but I think the very high temperatures worked against them in FP2, QF and the race. I definitely think though that perhaps at Silverstone, Ferrari had the slightly better car. This could be indeed down to the very high temperatures or it could be down to the upgrades Ferrari brought. Or the truth is somewhere in the middle...
Anyhow, last year I felt Ferrari had the better package by the same token that I feel Mercedes has the edge this year. This may develop differently as the season progresses though and I think the "hot races" coming up (Malaysia, Singapore) will be crucial for both teams (I see Ferrari as favorites there). Hockenheim? Hard to say. I think Mercedes will be back strong if they don't trip over themselves and the temperatures aren't scorching hot.
Given Mercedes may be slightly on the backfoot in regards to drivers and constructors championship, it may be good news for them that RedBull is lagging just that bit behind.