2020 Styrian Grand Prix - Spielberg, 10-12 July

[NathanOlder]

True. Albon sounds especially cheesed off.

So much time proclaming that they were ready to beat Mercedes and I can´t see the slighlest sign of this.

Agreed.

But Horner said they are ready....

[McMika98]

The Redbull car is still not tuned in, wonder what the excuse will be if they cant sort it out.

[Restomaniac]

So much time proclaming that they were ready to beat Mercedes and I can´t see the slighlest sign of this.

Agreed.

So should Marko and Horner get as much grief on here for overhyping their team as Wolff does for downplaying Mercedes' chances?

That’s a fair argument.

[Restomaniac]

The Redbull car is still not tuned in, wonder what the excuse will be if they cant sort it out.

How can it not be after already having FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3 and a full race on this track already?

[Restomaniac]

So much time proclaming that they were ready to beat Mercedes and I can´t see the slighlest sign of this.

Agreed.

But Horner said they are ready....

Well....

[Wouter]

Well RBR isn’t particularly setting the world on fire either right now to be honest

True. Albon sounds especially cheesed off.

So much time proclaming that they were ready to beat Mercedes and I can´t see the slighlest sign of this.

Max said yesterday that major steps had been taken at RBR. You can also see that when you look at Ferrari.
However ... he also said that Mercedes had taken even bigger steps and that is clearly visible.

[basti313]

The Redbull car is still not tuned in, wonder what the excuse will be if they cant sort it out.

How can it not be after already having FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3 and a full race on this track already?

In the past fast cars were never easy to drive...a setup is not perfect, it is always a compromise of what you still can control and a compromise of downforce, breaking and straight line speed.
Only Merc has the luxury to make the car handle like a charm...

[El Scorchio]

The Redbull car is still not tuned in, wonder what the excuse will be if they cant sort it out.

How can it not be after already having FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3 and a full race on this track already?

In the past fast cars were never easy to drive...a setup is not perfect, it is always a compromise of what you still can control and a compromise of downforce, breaking and straight line speed.
Only Merc has the luxury to make the car handle like a charm...

You make it sound like they are operating with preferential rules vs the rest of the field.
Everyone else starts with the same blank sheet of paper. (Granted not quite the same budget but RBR, Renault and Ferrari are hardly paupers in comparison) They've just found a better compromise or done a better job with their R+D.

[McMika98]

Max said yesterday that major steps had been taken at RBR. You can also see that when you look at Ferrari.
However ... he also said that Mercedes had taken even bigger steps and that is clearly visible.

Well Ferrari took a major step backwards. One car have a car that is excellent to drive and handle yet be a dog. Also a car be twitchy but very fast. Redbull just ain't there. The mclaren is a beautifully stable car and so is the pink mercedes.

[Restomaniac]

The Redbull car is still not tuned in, wonder what the excuse will be if they cant sort it out.

How can it not be after already having FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3 and a full race on this track already?

In the past fast cars were never easy to drive...a setup is not perfect, it is always a compromise of what you still can control and a compromise of downforce, breaking and straight line speed.
Only Merc has the luxury to make the car handle like a charm...

Or maybe the RedBull is nowhere near as good as the RedBull team made out. I and others in this thread see it.

It’s funny you mention Mercedes I see McLaren and RP as rather planted cars too.

[basti313]

How can it not be after already having FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3 and a full race on this track already?

In the past fast cars were never easy to drive...a setup is not perfect, it is always a compromise of what you still can control and a compromise of downforce, breaking and straight line speed.
Only Merc has the luxury to make the car handle like a charm...

You make it sound like they are operating with preferential rules vs the rest of the field.
Everyone else starts with the same blank sheet of paper. (Granted not quite the same budget but RBR, Renault and Ferrari are hardly paupers in comparison) They've just found a better compromise or done a better job with their R+D.

This was not my intention, they just did a better job. And unfortunately this job was/is so good, that they do not need to compromise the handling and are still miles ahead.

[214270]

Is BOT first on track again between the Merc drivers or is it HAM?

[Jolle]

There are lots of examples of dominating fast cars that were good to drive (in other words predicable), but it takes a special driver to make a car that’s a handful (iow unpredictable) go fast. That’s why sometimes you see a big difference between team mates.

[El Scorchio]

In the past fast cars were never easy to drive...a setup is not perfect, it is always a compromise of what you still can control and a compromise of downforce, breaking and straight line speed.
Only Merc has the luxury to make the car handle like a charm...

You make it sound like they are operating with preferential rules vs the rest of the field.
Everyone else starts with the same blank sheet of paper. (Granted not quite the same budget but RBR, Renault and Ferrari are hardly paupers in comparison) They've just found a better compromise or done a better job with their R+D.

This was not my intention, they just did a better job. And unfortunately this job was/is so good, that they do not need to compromise the handling and are still miles ahead.

Fair enough! Their hard work is paying dividends. The evolution of the progress over the last 6 years has been very good as well. The engine was the big difference for a few seasons, then when the gap was closed, their aero team really stepped up. I had thought that RBR would really shine again and be very tough competition with the engine no longer a big factor, but Merc have done a good enough job so far to stay ahead. Ferrari sadly have been dismal, aside from 2017 and 2018. Maybe we need to wait for the new regs to see if there can be some tightening of the pack.

Anyway, I'm probably going a bit off topic for a specific race thread here, so...

[matt_b]

Is BOT first on track again between the Merc drivers or is it HAM?

Assuming you mean first on track for Q3? Bottas was first last time so they will probably switch it for this race as they have done each year.