2019 British Grand Prix - Silverstone, July 12-14

[izzy]

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.

I suppose if they'd dropped down by the 0.5s delta they were talking about between the C3 and C2 then that'd have made Charles 6th and Seb 8th or 9th on the Mediums, pretty disastrous! Ferrari fans have to hope they didn't really mean it. But it was a good lap from Charles at least. For the race surely the Softs need the extra rubber, towards the end of the race

[Mansell89]

Two stop might bring the race into Ferrari hands tomorrow. I’m not sure anyone will enjoy the hard tyre in cool conditions and Ferrari might be quick in the second part of the race.

We keep saying this is a Merc track but Max being less than 0.2 within pole on a fast track like this suggests that RBR have suddenly started to understand and get the best from the front of their car. Their race pace should be bang in the mix.

Difficult to discount anyone at this stage. If Bottas keeps Hamilton behind it really could open up in behind.

[iotar__]

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.

- Vettel is a 4 time champion. Beaten or not Sainz's one lap pace is a decent benchmark. Not on every track and everytime but on average. Ofc it does not warrant overenthusiasm shown above .
- Future whatever is an empty marketing gimmick and means as much as Gasly's FP1 time .
- Bottas and Grosjean are the best at high speed corner stuff.
- Vettel was never top at it but his qualifying here must be FIA's fault since Ferrari corporate brass makes no mistakes. They extract 100% 110% of the time. Losing every year.
- Surprising small Merc advantage is surprising. When in doubt blame temperatures.
- Wrong tyres are too hard tyre predictions are wrong. When in doubt attack the tyres before the weekend.

[pb6797]

Any indication if one side of the track will be better than the other, given how new the surface is? Wondering if Leclerc may get the jump on Hamilton thanks to being on the "clean" side. Might let him make the strategy work?

[Juzh]

ok here it goes

P04 verstappen q3 1.25.276
https://streamable.com/dms62


P02 hamilton q3 1.25.099
https://streamable.com/l53qt


verstappen vs hamitlon q3 lap - synchronised driving until final corner complex.
https://streamable.com/o1dvf


P03 leclerc great britain q3 1.25.172
https://streamable.com/07z8b


P08 norris 1.26.079 - this is his PB lap from Q1 which would put him ahead of ric in q3
https://streamable.com/xb3h5


P07 ricciardo great britain q3 1.26.182
https://streamable.com/q7g2g


norris's q1 lap 1.26.079 vs ric's q3 1.26.182 - renault is running with very little DF and it shows as they are the fastest car on the straights. faster than ferrari even.
https://streamable.com/iezgw


P01 bottas q3 1.25.093 - mercedes owns stowe corner, 250 kmh min speed
https://streamable.com/hflp9

[ringo]

Redbull much faster in the corners and less fussy.

[pantherxxx]

It seems to me that the Silverstone track just doesn't suit Vettel's driving style. I mean in 2015, 2016, and 2017 Vettel was beaten by Kimi in the qualifying, and in 2018 Seb only beat Kimi by half a tenth. Also it seems that he had some issues with the tyre management, and just didn't find the right setup for his SF-90.

[LM10]

I'm actually impressed by Merc's qualifying performance.

With all the talk of how this is a power track loaded with fast corners and straights (Ferrari's strengths), Merc locking out the front row was a solid performance, especially with Hamilton failing to put any of his best sectors together.

Merc haven't had any big updates like Ferrari or Red Bull have had in recent races. Last time Merc had a big update was Spain.

That'll change in Hockenheim.

To be honest, there is no reason to be impressed by Merc's front row lockout. You still need a big chunk of downforce at Silverstone. Everything other than a 1-2 by the silver arrows would have been surprising. Binotto told that this track is not suited to them. Considering this and the general big advantage Mercedes has had over the season, Ferrari's performance gave us more reason to be impressed. Same goes for RBR. They made huge steps in the last couple of races.
However, as you've mentioned, Mercedes will come with a big upgrade package to Hockenheim. No good news for us non-Mercedes-fans.

[yelistener]

ok here it goes

P04 verstappen q3 1.25.276
https://streamable.com/dms62
https://streamable.com/dms62

P02 hamilton q3 1.25.099
https://streamable.com/l53qt
https://streamable.com/l53qt

verstappen vs hamitlon q3 lap - synchronised driving until final corner complex.
https://streamable.com/o1dvf
https://streamable.com/o1dvf

P03 leclerc great britain q3 1.25.172
https://streamable.com/07z8b
https://streamable.com/07z8b

P08 norris 1.26.079 - this is his PB lap from Q1 which would put him ahead of ric in q3
https://streamable.com/xb3h5
https://streamable.com/xb3h5

P07 ricciardo great britain q3 1.26.182
https://streamable.com/q7g2g
https://streamable.com/q7g2g

norris's q1 lap 1.26.079 vs ric's q3 1.26.182 - renault is running with very little DF and it shows as they are the fastest car on the straights. faster than ferrari even.
https://streamable.com/iezgw
https://streamable.com/iezgw

P01 bottas q3 1.25.093 - mercedes owns stowe corner, 250 kmh min speed
https://streamable.com/hflp9
https://streamable.com/hflp9

Holy f**k Leclerc almost took T12 flat, but then he loses quite a bit through T13 Becketts.

In Silverstone you always need to be careful with not using too much ERS at non-DRS straights, but in 2019 it goes to an extreme level. In 2019 the top speeds at non DRS straights are at v8 level, they save so much for the DRS straights, that the speed trap at the end of Hanger straight in 2019 shows higher speeds even than 2016. This is quite bizarre.

BTW Riccardo has higher top speed partially because he had a tow.

[yener]

Great comparisions! If you watch Hamiltons vs Verstappen you can see that the Redbull loses time because of the lag. Watch when they get back on throttle on/after the apex. Lewis gets instant power while Max has a little lag.
If Honda can fix this problem tomorrow i think Max is the one who's gonna take the biggest trophy on the podium.

[Shrieker]

ok here it goes

Thanks a lot man.

[zibby43]

I'm actually impressed by Merc's qualifying performance.

With all the talk of how this is a power track loaded with fast corners and straights (Ferrari's strengths), Merc locking out the front row was a solid performance, especially with Hamilton failing to put any of his best sectors together.

Merc haven't had any big updates like Ferrari or Red Bull have had in recent races. Last time Merc had a big update was Spain.

That'll change in Hockenheim.

To be honest, there is no reason to be impressed by Merc's front row lockout. You still need a big chunk of downforce at Silverstone. Everything other than a 1-2 by the silver arrows would have been surprising. Binotto told that this track is not suited to them. Considering this and the general big advantage Mercedes has had over the season, Ferrari's performance gave us more reason to be impressed. Same goes for RBR. They made huge steps in the last couple of races.
However, as you've mentioned, Mercedes will come with a big upgrade package to Hockenheim. No good news for us non-Mercedes-fans.

I’m still impressed. Merc failed to get the tires working and still locked out the front row.

I’m impressed that they’ve managed to do that without Hamilton at his best, with Ferrari and Red Bull improving their cars with updates, and at a circuit with 2 attributes that have suited the Ferrari all year, **indisputably** - 1) straights and 2) high-speed corners.

If they would’ve trounced a totally inept Ferrari, then I wouldn’t have been impressed.

I was trying to give some credit to Ferrari and RBR for their development.

[yelistener]

2018 vs 2019

Due to no DRS, 2019 is about 0.5s behind 2018 before T3. But at T5 exit 2019 is already ahead. New tarmac really worked, helping 2019 cars to create a 0.5s advantage throught just two slow corners.

[falonso81]

I reckon Leclerc lost pole at Chapel.

[J_Ryder]

The McLaren seems very sorted specially in low speed corners.
Hamilton seems to push too hard in Club.

What a great track!
If one of the Mercs is passed at the start, it will be a good race.