2019 Spanish Grand Prix - Catalunya, May 10-12

[yelistener]

Ferrari winter testing vs quali (telemetry from Juzh)

[zibby43]

Yeah...I wonder if Peter Windsor still thinks Ferrari can win Monaco. Gosh, Merc is going to dominate there. Heck Merc is going to dominate everywhere except Canada and Monza, which will likely suit Ferrari more. But the championship is effectively over imo.

That give me a good chuckle re: Peter Windsor. I have no idea why he keeps saying Ferrari are the ones to beat in Monaco. The past two years (pre-Singapore 2018), Mercedes was terrible in slow corners and still managed to be relatively close to Red Bull and Ferrari there.

I expect a Ferrari front row lockout at Monza. The race could be spicy though.

Canada has precisely the type of corners that suit the current iteration of the W10. They'll be able to win a big chunk of time there and they'll be bringing their fresh (and updated) power units to that race.

[zoroastar]

And we still hear people saying Bottas isn't a top driver...

The fact that Bottas wins indicates how good a Mercedes car is. Last season when Mercedes did not have such advantage, Bott-ass was nowhere.

Strange logic. Does Lewis not have the same car as Bottas both this year and last year? Why can’t people simply say “great drive from Bottas” and move on?

logic? whats that? you are on the internet, where people have complete anonimity, and can show how ignorant they are with no repercussions.

[CRazyLemon]

Yeah...I wonder if Peter Windsor still thinks Ferrari can win Monaco. Gosh, Merc is going to dominate there. Heck Merc is going to dominate everywhere except Canada and Monza, which will likely suit Ferrari more. But the championship is effectively over imo.

That give me a good chuckle re: Peter Windsor. I have no idea why he keeps saying Ferrari are the ones to beat in Monaco. The past two years (pre-Singapore 2018), Mercedes was terrible in slow corners and still managed to be relatively close to Red Bull and Ferrari there.

I expect a Ferrari front row lockout at Monza. The race could be spicy though.

Canada has precisely the type of corners that suit the current iteration of the W10. They'll be able to win a big chunk of time there and they'll be bringing their fresh (and updated) power units to that race.

September is long way away, there's PU upgrades before then and Merc could always have a low drag aero kit developed for Monza if they such an advantage now.

As for Monaco, Ferrari where not bad in Baku, I wonder if with a tow and Leclerc in the mix if Ferrari could have got pole, hard to guess.

What's Mt point? Baku is just twisty with straights, needs confidence. Monaco just twisty without straights, just need confidence. Maybe the issue Ferrari have is setting up the car for twisty when they also need to have a car to handle other types of corners in the same lap? Just a hopeful theory to try and guess water Peter Windsor thinks. Maybe his review after this race will contain a rethink.

[zibby43]

Yeah...I wonder if Peter Windsor still thinks Ferrari can win Monaco. Gosh, Merc is going to dominate there. Heck Merc is going to dominate everywhere except Canada and Monza, which will likely suit Ferrari more. But the championship is effectively over imo.

That give me a good chuckle re: Peter Windsor. I have no idea why he keeps saying Ferrari are the ones to beat in Monaco. The past two years (pre-Singapore 2018), Mercedes was terrible in slow corners and still managed to be relatively close to Red Bull and Ferrari there.

I expect a Ferrari front row lockout at Monza. The race could be spicy though.

Canada has precisely the type of corners that suit the current iteration of the W10. They'll be able to win a big chunk of time there and they'll be bringing their fresh (and updated) power units to that race.

September is long way away, there's PU upgrades before then and Merc could always have a low drag aero kit developed for Monza if they such an advantage now.

As for Monaco, Ferrari where not bad in Baku, I wonder if with a tow and Leclerc in the mix if Ferrari could have got pole, hard to guess.

What's Mt point? Baku is just twisty with straights, needs confidence. Monaco just twisty without straights, just need confidence. Maybe the issue Ferrari have is setting up the car for twisty when they also need to have a car to handle other types of corners in the same lap? Just a hopeful theory to try and guess water Peter Windsor thinks. Maybe his review after this race will contain a rethink.

Good point about Merc bringing a lower downforce spec to Monza. Another good point about the future PU upgrades.

The big difference in Monaco is that all the teams will bolt on as much downforce as possible. And for qualifying in Spain, VET said Ferrari were maxed on on their wing(s).

In Baku, Mercedes stripped downforce (their strength) from their car to be more competitive on the massive straight. It was a compromise. Mercedes also compromised their setup in Bahrain (dialing *in* understeer) to make the tires last in the race.

Merc won't have to make that Baku-style tradeoff in Monaco. If that makes sense.

[Carl Mccoy]

I think Ferrari will finish on 5th and 6th place with a lap down.

[Ringleheim]

After tomorrow, the gap from Ferrari to Mercedes is going to be too big to overcome.

Mercedes is too reliable, their drivers too strong, and the organization of the team too complete for them to have a "collapse" and without something like that, they are already the champions.

And there is no one in the field, other than Ferrari, who had a shot at them to begin with.

It officially becomes the "Lewis vs. Valtteri" show now.

[yelistener]

Cornering Onboard Comparison 2019 vs 2018 (telemetry from Juzh)

[JordanMugen]

Mercedes is too reliable, their drivers too strong, and the organization of the team too complete for them to have a "collapse" and without something like that, they are already the champions.

If Mercedes are the best then don't they deserve to win?

[Mansell89]

Anyone got the Q2 tyre list for start of race? Did anyone get through on mediums yesterday?

[Sieper]

No one.

[Javert]

Cornering Onboard Comparison 2019 vs 2018 (telemetry from Juzh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8trq8mijH00

Interesting.. Less front down Force than last year apparently but way more rear downforce

[MtthsMlw]

Hulk starting from the pitlane and GIO +5 places for a gearbox change.
https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/1127514290813063168
Heard him saying that it was a different spec otherwise he might have gotten away with it..

[wesley123]

And we still hear people saying Bottas isn't a top driver...

The fact that Bottas wins indicates how good a Mercedes car is. Last season when Mercedes did not have such advantage, Bott-ass was nowhere.

Strange logic. Does Lewis not have the same car as Bottas both this year and last year? Why can’t people simply say “great drive from Bottas” and move on?

To be fair, Hamiltons season starts are abysmal.

[GPR-A]

The fact that Bottas wins indicates how good a Mercedes car is. Last season when Mercedes did not have such advantage, Bott-ass was nowhere.

Strange logic. Does Lewis not have the same car as Bottas both this year and last year? Why can’t people simply say “great drive from Bottas” and move on?

To be fair, Hamiltons season starts are abysmal.

In fact, this is actually the best first part for Lewis compared to past seasons by his own standards! His championship assault typically comes at summer break and after.