2019 British Grand Prix - Silverstone, July 12-14

[Just_a_fan]

Hey, what happened to the super duper, mighty, perfect Mercedes car ?

Wow, trolling so early in the weekend...

[ringo]

Maybe they are already locked into a 2 stop?

even if they've decided they have to two stop, starting on mediums and going longer is surely better than finding out they have terrible deg vs people on mediums and ending up pitting into traffic. If they need the second stop they can do it later in the race with a more rubbered in track, they've far more chance of pitting earlier than others on the same tire but being clear of F1.5 so not getting held up. I can't see a single reason to start on softs and more so considering Leclerc had a nice lap on mediums there seemed to be no reason for them to change it last second by going on the softs.

I always have the belief starting on the softer tyre is always the best strategy. Going longer on the first stint on a harder compound usually means while you are staying out to run long and maybe not going as fast as possible, the other guy has gone as fast as possible and is on new mediums enjoying the speed the fresh tyres give.

[NathanOlder]

Max and Leclerc are on another league compared to Norris, who I think is very hyped. I see Russel and Albon doing a more impressive job but Norris is getting all the hype and the spotlight.

Norris is showing up Sainz, in qualifying, who is generally well regarded. I think Norris is doing a good job.

2 years ago, Norris was in Euro F3, he's come so far in such a short time, and still performing outstandingly. As you say Norris is doing a good job. 1 thing he lacks is a little aggression but that can be added fairly easily.

Max, Charles, Lando and George are all 4 future champions. it just depends how good the 4 teams perform who they drive for.

[Just_a_fan]

I always have the belief starting on the softer tyre is always the best strategy. Going longer on the first stint on a harder compound usually means while you are staying out to run long and maybe not going as fast as possible, the other guy has gone as fast as possible and is on new mediums enjoying the speed the fresh tyres give.

You need to lead to make use of the softer starting tyre. If the medium tyre gets ahead and controls the pace, you lose because you put earlier and come out on the slower tyre. The medium can then pit later before swapping to the faster tyre to finish.

So, the Ferraris need to be leading after the first lap to make their soft choice work.

[LM10]

even if they've decided they have to two stop, starting on mediums and going longer is surely better than finding out they have terrible deg vs people on mediums and ending up pitting into traffic. If they need the second stop they can do it later in the race with a more rubbered in track, they've far more chance of pitting earlier than others on the same tire but being clear of F1.5 so not getting held up. I can't see a single reason to start on softs and more so considering Leclerc had a nice lap on mediums there seemed to be no reason for them to change it last second by going on the softs.

yes and the problem is wear, not graining, so they could lose several seconds in one lap if they wear down to the base layer before they pit, they can't wait for the driver to say "the tyres are going off", cos it's the cliff, going: grip, grip, grip, nothing

There is no cliff like there was years ago anymore. The tyres won't lose performance dramatically out of nothing.

If Ferrari went for Softs, it's because they analyzed and came to the conclusion that this might be better for them. It worked in Austria already. It's a big wrong conclusion being made that Ferrari's decision to start on Softs was the reason for Leclerc's loss in Austria. They were doing pretty fine on Softs, being faster than the rest on Mediums and until they pitted there were no signs of tyre wear or decreasing performance in relation to others. The mistake was that they overreacted and wanted to prevent an undercut from Bottas, hence their way early pit stop. They could have easily gone several more laps and then Leclerc could have had as fresh Mediums as Max and probably have defended his position.

So let's wait and see first. I don't think that Ferrari foolishly finished Q2 on Softs with both cars today, without sensing a benefit.

[NathanOlder]

I always have the belief starting on the softer tyre is always the best strategy. Going longer on the first stint on a harder compound usually means while you are staying out to run long and maybe not going as fast as possible, the other guy has gone as fast as possible and is on new mediums enjoying the speed the fresh tyres give.

You need to lead to make use of the softer starting tyre. If the medium tyre gets ahead and controls the pace, you lose because you put earlier and come out on the slower tyre. The medium can then pit later before swapping to the faster tyre to finish.

So, the Ferraris need to be leading after the first lap to make their soft choice work.

I can see a point in that if the soft tyre sits behind the medium for 15 laps, then as the soft starts to drop off, they pit for new mediums. they come out 1 pit stop behind +2-3 seconds. The medium runner can't pit, unless they take the hard. When their window is open to pit for softs for the standard 1 stop, the guy who pitted a while ago has now reduced the gap to 15 seconds with his new mediums. The leader pits for fresh softs but has to now pass on track, which is likely but a risk nonetheless.

I'd still rather start on the medium though

[izzy]

There is no cliff like there was years ago anymore. The tyres won't lose performance dramatically out of nothing.

If Ferrari went for Softs, it's because they analyzed and came to the conclusion that this might be better for them. It worked in Austria already. It's a big wrong conclusion being made that Ferrari's decision to start on Softs was the reason for Leclerc's loss in Austria. They were doing pretty fine on Softs, being faster than the rest on Mediums and until they pitted there were no signs of tyre wear or decreasing performance in relation to others. The mistake was that they overreacted and wanted to prevent an undercut from Bottas, hence their way early pit stop. They could have easily gone several more laps and then Leclerc could have had as fresh Mediums as Max and probably have defended his position.

So let's wait and see first. I don't think that Ferrari foolishly finished Q2 on Softs with both cars today, without sensing a benefit.

oh yes there must be an engineering reason why Ferrari did it, but Mario Isola was saying how the tyres have been wearing at Silverstone, with the base layer being exposed now the outer running layer is only 3mm thick. That was the original plan, to generate pitstops with wear instead of graining or blisters

and that inner layer is there to protect the belt of the carcass not to provide grip, its job is completely different and so it is a cliff if they get onto it

and a LOT of people would love Charles to get his first win and it's making everyone nervous. It might be a strategy that depended on him being on the front row and he isn't

[epo]

Max and Leclerc are on another league compared to Norris, who I think is very hyped. I see Russel and Albon doing a more impressive job but Norris is getting all the hype and the spotlight.

Norris is showing up Sainz, in qualifying, who is generally well regarded. I think Norris is doing a good job.

2 years ago, Norris was in Euro F3, he's come so far in such a short time, and still performing outstandingly. As you say Norris is doing a good job. 1 thing he lacks is a little aggression but that can be added fairly easily.

Max, Charles, Lando and George are all 4 future champions. it just depends how good the 4 teams perform who they drive for.

Let the dude drive, it's stupid to give someone already a championship title in the future but not has proven anything yet in F1. Besides Sainz has been beaten by everyone on the grid so far, he's not A class for sure.

[falonso81]

It might be a strategy that depended on him being on the front row and he isn't

Leclerc himself and Binotto said that 3rd was the maximum they could extract and they are very happy with the performance.

[zibby43]

AMuS reporting that the reason for Mercedes not destroying the competition in qualifying was because of the low temperatures.

Track surface temperatures were 10 degrees lower than on Friday. Toto Wolff: "We had a hard time getting the tyres into their working window."

[zibby43]

Both Mercedes lost 2 tenths in the first sector compared to the first not sure what happened there.

My theory is that their tyre preparation was not ideal for the 2nd runs. I totally disagree with Martin Brundle that Hamilton overheated his tyres in the first run because Hamilton was actually quicker than Bottas in the 3rd sector in that 1st run. I think that the Mercedes is softer on the tyres than the Ferraris which means they need to push harder on the preparation as they did in the 1st runs but their preparation for the 2nd runs was compromised with traffic.

You were 100% spot on in that they couldn't energize the tires enough today. The cooler track temperatures were a factor.

[Restomaniac]

Well thankyou to all who gave advice. We moved around and tried all over the place and found a little spot near the bridge on the Wellington straight. We got a lovely view of Village A&B and the start of the DRS on the straight. It’s been a few years (for me) but you forget just how big those cars are!

[McMika98]

AMuS reporting that the reason for Mercedes not destroying the competition in qualifying was because of the low temperatures.

Track surface temperatures were 10 degrees lower than on Friday. Toto Wolff: "We had a hard time getting the tyres into their working window."

Hmm. Interesting but still not buying this from Toto always crying Wolf; all other teams struggled to improve lap times but in Q3 Merc had solid one lap pace with massive gains.
But saying that Ferrari might have played a blinder starting on soft tomorrow. There apparently will be rain this evening so track is going to be cold and green again.

[Restomaniac]

Both Mercedes lost 2 tenths in the first sector compared to the first not sure what happened there.

My theory is that their tyre preparation was not ideal for the 2nd runs. I totally disagree with Martin Brundle that Hamilton overheated his tyres in the first run because Hamilton was actually quicker than Bottas in the 3rd sector in that 1st run. I think that the Mercedes is softer on the tyres than the Ferraris which means they need to push harder on the preparation as they did in the 1st runs but their preparation for the 2nd runs was compromised with traffic.

You were 100% spot on in that they couldn't energize the tires enough today. The cooler track temperatures were a factor.

Which I imagine tomorrow won’t be a problem as constant driving will build temps also I guess a driver would much rather have a tyre that needs to be pushed to build temps over a tyre that is too hot and starts to blister.

[zibby43]

My theory is that their tyre preparation was not ideal for the 2nd runs. I totally disagree with Martin Brundle that Hamilton overheated his tyres in the first run because Hamilton was actually quicker than Bottas in the 3rd sector in that 1st run. I think that the Mercedes is softer on the tyres than the Ferraris which means they need to push harder on the preparation as they did in the 1st runs but their preparation for the 2nd runs was compromised with traffic.

You were 100% spot on in that they couldn't energize the tires enough today. The cooler track temperatures were a factor.

Which I imagine tomorrow won’t be a problem as constant driving will build temps also I guess a driver would much rather have a tyre that needs to be pushed to build temps over a tyre that is too hot and starts to blister.

Yep, and to that point, I think with all the unknowns about degradation on the new surface tomorrow, Merc opted for a setup that was going to be easy on the tires during the race.

Hamilton: “The set-up suited the race trim best. I think yesterday I really did struggle with it on a single lap and tried to improve it throughout the evening and into today. It was also windy but the race trim was still good and I didn’t want to move the set-up I had too far away."

“Fingers crossed, the strength in the race should be quite good, but it depends on what position we are, the wind, and a bunch of other factors.”