2019 Russian Grand Prix - Sochi Autodrom, 27 - 29 September

[dans79]

Toto Wolff explains Mercedes’ problem:

"We didn't put enough time into developing the car, that's a problem now"

https://www.gptoday.net/nl/nieuws/f1/25 ... n-probleem

Thats a differnt zip code compared to what you said.

They are done for this season. Stopped the development of the car too early.

not to mention its taken out of context.

We have not improved much lately. The problem may be that we didn't put a lot of effort into developing the car. "

[zibby43]

Toto Wolff explains Mercedes’ problem:

"We didn't put enough time into developing the car, that's a problem now"

https://www.gptoday.net/nl/nieuws/f1/25 ... n-probleem

Thats a differnt zip code compared to what you said.

They are done for this season. Stopped the development of the car too early.

not to mention its taken out of context.

We have not improved much lately. The problem may be that we didn't put a lot of effort into developing the car. "

I was merely translating the headline of the article, word-for-word.

We can parse words, but when Toto is admitting that they didn’t put enough effort into the car, and the last visible update on the car was Germany, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they stopped development of the car too early.

[Wynters]

We can parse words, but when Toto is admitting that they didn’t put enough effort into the car, and the last visible update on the car was Germany, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they stopped development of the car too early.

We'll only know at the end of the season, but if they win each Championship by a point, then they'll have judged it perfectly and got a head start of pouring resources into future performance. Of course, if they get overhauled then, yeah, they've boned themselves.

[zibby43]

We can parse words, but when Toto is admitting that they didn’t put enough effort into the car, and the last visible update on the car was Germany, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they stopped development of the car too early.

We'll only know at the end of the season, but if they win each Championship by a point, then they'll have judged it perfectly and got a head start of pouring resources into future performance. Of course, if they get overhauled then, yeah, they've boned themselves.

Yeah, I think my earlier comment was interpreted as hand-wringing by dans79. That's probably my fault, because I could've included the quote/article I was paraphrasing and extrapolating from in that original post.

I still stand by comment that Merc is unlikely to grab a pole or race win on pure merit with their current package. Superior race pace isn't a silver bullet, and the race pace advantage over Ferrari is dwindling. It was about 0.5 sec in Singapore; it's down to 0.3 sec in Sochi. A race pace advantage is only beneficial if you A) can pass on straights; B) have a big enough pace/tire advantage that you have legitimate strategical options in the race.

Merc have to be concerned. When you hear Toto and the engineers saying things like: "We're too slow and don't know why. Now we have to catch up and acknowledge that the others are doing a good job. If we are honest with ourselves, then we are only the third best in Sochi."

Being slow is a problem, but it's fixable. Not knowing why you're slow complicates that.

The fact that Merc slowed down development on the W10 to the extent that they did signals to me that Merc are changing up their concept fairly significantly in 2020. They desperately need a more efficient car, aerodynamically. They need to be able to figure out how to be kind to the tires via suspension kinematics (perhaps that's why we're seeing the new suspension with Belleville washers).

[SmallSoldier]

I don’t think the situation at Mercedes is as gloom as some paint it... In Monza they could have won that race if not for Leclerc’s rough defense and Singapore was lost more on strategy than on pace... They are still the team to beat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NL_Fer]

Ferrari race pace and tyre degrad is still pretty bad. They used Vettel as a road barrier in Spa to slow Hamilton down. Leclerc used some very agressive, on the limit defence in Monza and the both executed a perfect slow down, tyre saving tactic in Singapore.

It was just elbows out en snatch those wins for Ferrari.

[dans79]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFeZ5MaXoAI ... me=900x900

The table isn't correct, it left off Lewis's last medium lap.

[Capharol]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFeZ5MaXoAI ... me=900x900

The table isn't correct, it left off Lewis's last medium lap.

you mean the 1.38.055 lap?

[dans79]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFeZ5MaXoAI ... me=900x900

The table isn't correct, it left off Lewis's last medium lap.

you mean the 1.38.055 lap?

Yea

[zibby43]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFeZ5MaXoAI ... me=900x900

The table isn't correct, it left off Lewis's last medium lap.

I think it was left off because it was an unrepresentative push lap.

Don’t know that it changes a whole lot if you add it back in.

[dans79]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EFeZ5MaXoAI ... me=900x900

The table isn't correct, it left off Lewis's last medium lap.

I think it was left off because it was an unrepresentative push lap.

Don’t know that it changes a whole lot if you add it back in.

It means the tires had enough life left in them to actually accomplish it.

[Zarathustra]

I don’t think the situation at Mercedes is as gloom as some paint it... In Monza they could have won that race if not for Leclerc’s rough defense and Singapore was lost more on strategy than on pace... They are still the team to beat.

Same goes for Ferrari- who could have won Bahrein, Baku and Canada but didn’t.

[GPR-A]

I don’t think the situation at Mercedes is as gloom as some paint it... In Monza they could have won that race if not for Leclerc’s rough defense and Singapore was lost more on strategy than on pace... They are still the team to beat.

Same goes for Ferrari- who could have won Bahrein, Baku and Canada but didn’t.

This is what the world wanted to see and Mercedes have managed to moderate their success well (OR if it appeals to other sensibilities, one can say, the competition has caught up!) . A happy F1 world now.

[Bill_Kar]

As it seems, we are heading for a wet quali. This is probably Mercedes' best shot to win the race.

[Unc1eM0nty]

its looking very wet right now

https://balticlivecam.com/cameras/russi ... on-square/