2018 Brazilian Grand Prix - Interlagos, 9-11 November

[TAG]

Mercedes will not run the new wheels until the WCC is clinched. Looks like 40% chance of rain around 2pm Friday, Sat, Sun.

[Manoah2u]

Mercedes will not run the new wheels until the WCC is clinched. Looks like 40% chance of rain around 2pm Friday, Sat, Sun.

free practice surely they will

[Mattchu]

I`m curious as to why you`d think they`d run them in free practise Manoah? Surely if they aren`t going to qualy/race with them then the data abtained from practice would only be valid if the same fundamentals were in place.
Surely Mercedes will want to spend as much time as possible getting the best set up without the use of the air gapped rear wheels!

[WaikeCU]

I don't think it's necessary to run them. They only have tire problems when it's hot I think. So I doubt they will need them.

[Cannonballer]

Not even close.

It needs to be remembered that Hamilton has never won a race after securing the title and Bottas has currently been miles off.

This. I am very curious to see if Hamilton does have the motivation to do his best though since he has mentioned that the job is not done - referring to the Constructor's Championship I suppose.

I wonder what happened to Bottas. He was on the sharp end of the stick earlier in the season. Seems like he has been broken down by playing wingman?!

As mentioned by others, there is still a championship on the line. If Hamilton fell off so much as to cost Merc the WCC, that would leave a huge asterisk by his 5th driver title. There is no way that Hamilton would let the team down like that.

[Morteza]

https://twitter.com/andihaupt1/status/1 ... 6154742785

[subcritical71]

2) Changes to the circuit
2.1 The guardrails on the left between turns 3 and 4 have been raised where they had previously subsided a little.
2.2 A new double kerb has been installed on the exit of turn 4.
2.3 The foam blocks in the SAFER barrier around turn 14 have been renewed.
2.4 A small section of the pit entry has been resurfaced.
2.5 In order to ensure that the grip of the track is more consistent it has been cleaned twice with very high pressure water.
2.6 Additional grooving has been carried out in various places around the track to help improve drainage.

[search]

https://twitter.com/andihaupt1/status/1 ... 6154742785

well, that should deliver a decent show then at least. For Ricciardo's result, the penalty will probably not make too much of a difference anyway

[PlatinumZealot]

I`m curious as to why you`d think they`d run them in free practise Manoah? Surely if they aren`t going to qualy/race with them then the data abtained from practice would only be valid if the same fundamentals were in place.
Surely Mercedes will want to spend as much time as possible getting the best set up without the use of the air gapped rear wheels!

Except the front tyres were the real problem in Mexico!

[AJI]

I'd love to see 2 wins for Kimi in the final races

[Polite]

I`m curious as to why you`d think they`d run them in free practise Manoah? Surely if they aren`t going to qualy/race with them then the data abtained from practice would only be valid if the same fundamentals were in place.
Surely Mercedes will want to spend as much time as possible getting the best set up without the use of the air gapped rear wheels!

Except the front tyres were the real problem in Mexico!

not really m8, they suffered for graining also on the rears.. the only car in the gp!

...

Poor Ricciardo!.. really dont know where the luck ends and the politic begins!

[Vasconia]

Not even close.

Why? Ferrari should be strong this weekend and this would let us an exciting battle for Abu Dhabi.

[wesley123]

I wonder what happened to Bottas. He was on the sharp end of the stick earlier in the season. Seems like he has been broken down by playing wingman?!

He probably just looked better because his teammate had such an abysmal start to the season

[Polite]

I wonder what happened to Bottas. He was on the sharp end of the stick earlier in the season. Seems like he has been broken down by playing wingman?!

He probably just looked better because his teammate had such an abysmal start to the season

really and also i think that in some gps MERC setups is car for lasting tyres longer and let him have a different strategy to do his wingman job.

Dont remember which gp it was, but there was one in which for all the friday Bottas was near Hamilton, than on saturday he falls back in performance.

[wesley123]

Not even close.

It needs to be remembered that Hamilton has never won a race after securing the title and Bottas has currently been miles off.

That hardly matters.

Assuming Ferrari grabs the top steps of the podium, Mercedes needs 32 points to claim the WCC.
If one Ferrari DNFs and they still grab maximum points(one win and a 1-2), Mercedes needs 14 points to claim the WDC. So even if Mercedes would DNF with one car and finish sixth in both races, they claim the WCC.

If Mercedes wins in Brazil or Abu Dabhi, they win the WCC.
If Mercedes outscores Ferrari in Brazil or Abu Dabhi, they win the WCC.

To claim the WCC, Mercedes needs to average 16 points in the last two races, which is ~14 points less than their current average.
For Ferrari to win the WCC, they at least need 56 points, this is equal to their average this year. Assuming Mercedes scores points, in whatever position, Ferrari needs to score over their average.

So knowing this, Ferrari winning the WCC is incredibly unlikely, as Mercedes needs to score far under their average to win the title. Being the third fastest team in both races is enough to claim the title.