2019 German Grand Prix - Hockenheimring, July 26-28

[Bill_Kar]

I was wondering why Toto came on the radio, what was special about this pole when there was no Ferrari to fight with? Being sick and still be able to cruise to pole is no easy feat, well done, he indeed never stops to amaze us.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I expect an easy 1-2 by Merc, Verstappen third and Ferrari 4-5.

I think it's plausible that Max might get the jump on Hamilton (he is a good starter + softer tyres, albeit run to turn 1 is not much), but even in this scenario, I can't believe he will stay in front much longer.

[Pyrone89]

I was wondering why Toto came on the radio, what was special about this pole when there was no Ferrari to fight with? Being sick and still be able to cruise to pole is no easy feat, well done, he indeed never stops to amaze us.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I expect an easy 1-2 by Merc, Verstappen third and Ferrari 4-5.

I think it's plausible that Max might get the jump on Hamilton (he is a good starter + softer tyres, albeit run to turn 1 is not much), but even in this scenario, I can't believe he will stay in front much longer.

They are notorious for milking the drama. It is basically a standard F1 meme

[Capharol]

fastest pitsstop strategy:


lets go through some options of what could happen (DRY):
1. Szenario:
Hamilton has a better start as Verstappen, who stayes 2nd, Hamilton on the Mediums need to defend Verstappen off for around 3 laps, who is on the Soft, which means if he can fend off VER should can go longer because he is on the Mediums.
Now i am not sure if the undercut or overcut is better, but lets go that HAM has a gap of 3-5 sec over VER, VER needs to come in on lap 18-22 (according to Pirelli) then switch to the Hard tyres.... now here it's getting interesting because IF the undercut could be powerfull ..... VER could pound in some very good laptimes in the hope that he reduced the gap to hamilton within his pitwindow which will be on lap 24-29.
of course all depending on the tyre degradation, we also know that VER can manage his tyres very well and that HAM could get problems with his tyres and starting to complain if he gets pushed a bit longer.
If HAM can get this gap up to 6-10 sec. he will trail home whilst whistling "God save the Queen" for the next 45-50 laps

2. Szenario:
VER jumps Lewis, due to the grippier tyres at the start and can manage his tyres in front, it's well known that the Mercs don't like driving behind another car and that could compromise HAM his strategy by starting on the Mediums, because this way HAM needs to push more and wearing his tyres a bit more then VER needs to if he drives in front.
This way VER can manage his tyres maybe until lap 24-26 and be in the medium tyre window to stop (according to Pirelli the fastest) and still try to do the undercut by going in first and start pushing on the hard tyre, this way HAM needs to react and pit right after VER.

the first two szenarios could be of course in favor of the mercs if they really has so much more race pace, but then we will have a good battle for 2nd and 3rd between Bottas, Verstappen and Leclerc, whom i think will go easily through the field and by the end of lap 3 will be on the tail of Gasly..... and by the end of lap 10 could be close to the two in front of him

3. Szenario:
It rains and all of the above szenarios can be dumped in the bin and all start on Inters or full wet, then it's up to the drivers to feel when to change to slicks (if started on inters) or inter and/or later on slicks( if started on full wets)

explicit said:
These are the way I THINK it could go .....

[GPR-A]

The most preferred strategy that Red Bull has adopted over the past couple of years, is to let Max run longer on first stint and then he can attack with fresh tyres in second.

You are forgetting how Lewis hunts his prey and especially with this year's tires, we have seen how he stays within a second for a long duration (in Baku, Canada and Silverstone). Not sure if Max can hold off that kind of charge.

If Max is behind with Lewis with a 5-6 seconds gap and Max pits first, then he really need to push the tires for the first few laps on his second stint to close the gap. Pirelli compounds need to be baby sit at the beginning of a stint and only then a driver can push. If Max pushes hard to close the gap to Lewis, then he has the danger of running out of tires.

Red Bull hasn't tested the hard tyre for this weekend at all. So, they would be in dark as far as bolting hard tyre is concerned. But they have tested Mediums and they went in Q2 for Softs. Clear give away that they are either banking on S-H OR S-M-S/S-S-M. If they want to do S-H and if Max gets ahead of Lewis, then Max doesn't have the choice to baby sit the tires. He will be pushed very hard by Lewis on Mediums. That means, Softs can't last longer to make S-H and have to go for S-S-M/S-M-S.

If Lewis gets ahead, then he can easily open a decent gap on first stint to cover off any undercut threat from Max. Max can't push his Softs as long as Lewis can do on his first stint, unless Max wants a two stopper.

[Capharol]

lets see GPR-A who gets it right this time..... but i like your answer

[Zarathustra]

It continues to amaze me how #blessed Mercedes is, but credits to them and their fans- they deserve it.

What a joke btw- Ferrari.
I’ve been a ‘tifosi’ for as long as I can remember, but just WoW.. how do they do it?!!!

Hopefully Max will race Hamilton hard tomorrow- this could be a legendary race in the making.

[KiLLu12258]

I was wondering why Toto came on the radio, what was special about this pole when there was no Ferrari to fight with? Being sick and still be able to cruise to pole is no easy feat, well done, he indeed never stops to amaze us.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I expect an easy 1-2 by Merc, Verstappen third and Ferrari 4-5.

I think it's plausible that Max might get the jump on Hamilton (he is a good starter + softer tyres, albeit run to turn 1 is not much), but even in this scenario, I can't believe he will stay in front much longer.

maybe its a special weekend for mercedes? But only maybe they bring a special livery to that race lol
And the weekend was not going perfectly for them.

Its really amazing how mercedes is blamed for everything they do. Now we are at a point which they should be sad if they get the pole? okay

[erudite450]

fastest pitsstop strategy:
https://i.imgur.com/WE4EzKC.jpg

lets go through some options of what could happen (DRY):
1. Szenario:
Hamilton has a better start as Verstappen, who stayes 2nd, Hamilton on the Mediums need to defend Verstappen off for around 3 laps, who is on the Soft, which means if he can fend off VER should can go longer because he is on the Mediums.
Now i am not sure if the undercut or overcut is better, but lets go that HAM has a gap of 3-5 sec over VER, VER needs to come in on lap 18-22 (according to Pirelli) then switch to the Hard tyres.... now here it's getting interesting because IF the undercut could be powerfull ..... VER could pound in some very good laptimes in the hope that he reduced the gap to hamilton within his pitwindow which will be on lap 24-29.
of course all depending on the tyre degradation, we also know that VER can manage his tyres very well and that HAM could get problems with his tyres and starting to complain if he gets pushed a bit longer.
If HAM can get this gap up to 6-10 sec. he will trail home whilst whistling "God save the Queen" for the next 45-50 laps

2. Szenario:
VER jumps Lewis, due to the grippier tyres at the start and can manage his tyres in front, it's well known that the Mercs don't like driving behind another car and that could compromise HAM his strategy by starting on the Mediums, because this way HAM needs to push more and wearing his tyres a bit more then VER needs to if he drives in front.
This way VER can manage his tyres maybe until lap 24-26 and be in the medium tyre window to stop (according to Pirelli the fastest) and still try to do the undercut by going in first and start pushing on the hard tyre, this way HAM needs to react and pit right after VER.

the first two szenarios could be of course in favor of the mercs if they really has so much more race pace, but then we will have a good battle for 2nd and 3rd between Bottas, Verstappen and Leclerc, whom i think will go easily through the field and by the end of lap 3 will be on the tail of Gasly..... and by the end of lap 10 could be close to the two in front of him

3. Szenario:
It rains and all of the above szenarios can be dumped in the bin and all start on Inters or full wet, then it's up to the drivers to feel when to change to slicks (if started on inters) or inter and/or later on slicks( if started on full wets)

explicit said:
These are the way I THINK it could go .....

Mercedes have 2 cars with which to play with. If there was a race where they would readily screw one driver for the sake of a team win, this would be it.

[Big Tea]

Mercedes far far ahead (and this was in the 39 degree heat which they dont like, so expect it to be more tomorrow)
https://scontent-amt2-1.cdninstagram.co ... tagram.com

If you take that as a meaningful representation of pace over 67 laps, you have a lot to learn little buddy. It's ok, you'll see tomorrow.

Numbers in an excel sheet look different than an actual race. If a car that is faster by 7 tenths, if lead for 10 laps, it would create enough gap to then switch to cruise mode. Forget 67 laps!

May be more to this than first meets the eye. Max is racing for wins Lewis is racing for titles and records.
(Ferrari have their work cut out to score well so take advantage)
If it should come to a couple of 50/50 moments (or even 60/40) I think Hamilton has shown a few times he will take the sensible option and take the low fruit. Max probably appreciates this too, and may use it, not to the extent of the hammer, but enough to give hi an edge.

Straight, fight though I still think Hamilton in that car has all the cards.

[Pyrone89]

If you take that as a meaningful representation of pace over 67 laps, you have a lot to learn little buddy. It's ok, you'll see tomorrow.

Numbers in an excel sheet look different than an actual race. If a car that is faster by 7 tenths, if lead for 10 laps, it would create enough gap to then switch to cruise mode. Forget 67 laps!

May be more to this than first meets the eye. Max is racing for wins Lewis is racing for titles and records.
(Ferrari have their work cut out to score well so take advantage)
If it should come to a couple of 50/50 moments (or even 60/40) I think Hamilton has shown a few times he will take the sensible option and take the low fruit. Max probably appreciates this too, and may use it, not to the extent of the hammer, but enough to give hi an edge.

Straight, fight though I still think Hamilton in that car has all the cards.

Wins is one of those records and Ham already knows Bottas is not WDC material so he knows he has the championship in the bag. Very different than Malaysia 2017 when he was fighting for the WDC with Vettel.

[Big Tea]

Numbers in an excel sheet look different than an actual race. If a car that is faster by 7 tenths, if lead for 10 laps, it would create enough gap to then switch to cruise mode. Forget 67 laps!

May be more to this than first meets the eye. Max is racing for wins Lewis is racing for titles and records.
(Ferrari have their work cut out to score well so take advantage)
If it should come to a couple of 50/50 moments (or even 60/40) I think Hamilton has shown a few times he will take the sensible option and take the low fruit. Max probably appreciates this too, and may use it, not to the extent of the hammer, but enough to give hi an edge.

Straight, fight though I still think Hamilton in that car has all the cards.

Wins is one of those records and Ham already knows Bottas is not WDC material so he knows he has the championship in the bag. Very different than Malaysia 2017 when he was fighting for the WDC with Vettel.

But second adds to his score and deducts from Ferrari possible score on the day. I think he will take second over DNF every time he is not playing catch up

[Pyrone89]

May be more to this than first meets the eye. Max is racing for wins Lewis is racing for titles and records.
(Ferrari have their work cut out to score well so take advantage)
If it should come to a couple of 50/50 moments (or even 60/40) I think Hamilton has shown a few times he will take the sensible option and take the low fruit. Max probably appreciates this too, and may use it, not to the extent of the hammer, but enough to give hi an edge.

Straight, fight though I still think Hamilton in that car has all the cards.

Wins is one of those records and Ham already knows Bottas is not WDC material so he knows he has the championship in the bag. Very different than Malaysia 2017 when he was fighting for the WDC with Vettel.

But second adds to his score and deducts from Ferrari possible score on the day. I think he will take second over DNF every time he is not playing catch up

I think he is so far ahead especially on Ferrari he is willing to risk it this time to win the GP. Just my gut feeling.

[Big Tea]

Wins is one of those records and Ham already knows Bottas is not WDC material so he knows he has the championship in the bag. Very different than Malaysia 2017 when he was fighting for the WDC with Vettel.

But second adds to his score and deducts from Ferrari possible score on the day. I think he will take second over DNF every time he is not playing catch up

I think he is so far ahead especially on Ferrari he is willing to risk it this time to win the GP. Just my gut feeling.

Just my gut reading. Pure speculation (but someone has to do it )

[NL_Fer]

Maybe Verstappen can just follow Hamilton an baby the tyres, than lure him into an early stop to prevent an undercut, maybe challenge at the end of the race. Or Hamilton wil run Hammertime after Max’ stop, try to stay in front. Or it rains. Either way, enough chance for an exiting race.

Like Big Tea says, Verstappen is always ready for some big balls move to win. Hamilton, just wants the points, although this weekend is Mercedes’ party afterall.

[TAG]

Just a thought about Bottas on days like this. When you have to DRIVE the car, it's where his gap to Hamilton is greatest. We know there are some drivers that can squeeze just a little more out of a car that isn't in the perfect window, adapt their style to suit. I would have loved to have seen Leclerc's lap, I believe there would have been less than a tenth between them, despite Mercedes being down all weekend.

I'm hoping for rain tomorrow because a performance between Hamilton and Verstappen in the wet for an entire race would be sublime.