2020 Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps, August 28 - 30

[Sieper]

What is Racing Point’s explanation for Perez’ inexplicable strategy?

Well, I have a quite firm believe.

Stroll did not have to risk a pass on Perez now. Gasly was almost put in the wall today by Perez.

[Moore77]

Who knows, what if loosing party mode will really have an effect. Plus RBR is still working to improve the car race by race. Certainly still a gap there but without party mode Max would have started P2 here almost certainly.

Red Bull fans seems to be putting all their eggs of hope in the basket of "party mode" ban (or is it so?). I am afraid such a thought process would be shocked in Monza. Especially after the failed bets on hot weather and tyre life. Every manufacturer would have to find a compromise between max power and it's endurance. So, everybody is going to be hit.

[Sieper]

Who knows, what if loosing party mode will really have an effect. Plus RBR is still working to improve the car race by race. Certainly still a gap there but without party mode Max would have started P2 here almost certainly.

Red Bull fans seems to be putting all their eggs of hope in the basket of "party mode" ban (or is it so?). I am afraid such a thought process would be shocked in Monza. Every manufacturer would have to find a compromise between max power and it's endurance. So, everybody is going to be hit.

Yes. That is true. Everybody will be hit. Monza is a quite specific track, and the qualy itself is an almost laughable matter thesevdays. Look what happened last year. But, without the additional power mercedes produces as opposed to Honda in strat 2 I think they will loose more then 1 hundrest of a second. If so Max would have qualified P2 here in Spa.

[214270]

I think Renault were fortunate here. Renault ran low-drag, RB ran a different package with downforce & Merc were the most sub-optimal with a giant amount of downforce comparatively, anticipating rain. Renault won’t be as close next week if everyone runs a similar package.

The differences were not that big

Mercs 2nd sector was extraordinarily dominant; the DF they carried was unusual and big comparatively speaking

[214270]

I think Renault were fortunate here. Renault ran low-drag, RB ran a different package with downforce & Merc were the most sub-optimal with a giant amount of downforce comparatively, anticipating rain. Renault won’t be as close next week if everyone runs a similar package.

Why not, Renault ran really well in Italy last year as well. Cyril said pre-race that low df and high df circuits are ok for them its just when they are in between they have issues...

The engine map changes will make it difficult to assess, but Renault are not as close to RB as this result will have you believe.

[Wass85]

The Hamilton interview I mentioned earlier, he was being candid yes but shouldn't be making those comments IMO.

[PlatinumZealot]

Who knows, what if loosing party mode will really have an effect. Plus RBR is still working to improve the car race by race. Certainly still a gap there but without party mode Max would have started P2 here almost certainly.

Mercedes will be even stronger. Their engine is the most impervious to damage judging by their high power Qualy mode. When you translate this durability downwards it inversely squares with the power level. They will have a good deal amount of power to use in the race after this. Riding off into the sunset will be the norm now.

[214270]

Everyone did their jobs today. Max as usual the only one against Mercedes.

Certainly some rain would have spiced up the action.

I can't help but feel sorry for Bottas, If there was any doubt Bottas is a 2nd driver not in name but certainly in action, today should be telling again.

In Mercedes whenever there is a call to one driver pass, it has always been in Hamilton's favor.
Whenever the team allows a driver to dictate the strategy, it is always Hamilton.
I cannot recall a single race strategy that Mercedes called that ended up favoring Bottas over Hamilton.

At Silverstone when Mercedes were 2-3 and Hamilton behind Bottas, the team said "you are free to race" knowing how much of an advantage Hamilton had with fresher tires and that the pass was inevitable. Today with Bottas behind, the team protected Hamilton.

How is he not a second driver

The maps used are normally the same between cars; you race your teammate by saving tyres. What BOT was asking for was unusual

[Big Tea]

Who knows, what if loosing party mode will really have an effect. Plus RBR is still working to improve the car race by race. Certainly still a gap there but without party mode Max would have started P2 here almost certainly.

Red Bull fans seems to be putting all their eggs of hope in the basket of "party mode" ban (or is it so?). I am afraid such a thought process would be shocked in Monza. Every manufacturer would have to find a compromise between max power and it's endurance. So, everybody is going to be hit.

Yes. That is true. Everybody will be hit. Monza is a quite specific track, and the qualy itself is an almost laughable matter thesevdays. Look what happened last year. But, without the additional power mercedes produces as opposed to Honda in strat 2 I think they will loose more then 1 hundrest of a second. If so Max would have qualified P2 here in Spa.

Did Max not complain that he run out of party mode a few seconds early? It is not just Merc who lose qualli mode, what ever they call it Honda have it too, and will lose it.

[PlatinumZealot]

Everyone did their jobs today. Max as usual the only one against Mercedes.

Certainly some rain would have spiced up the action.

I can't help but feel sorry for Bottas, If there was any doubt Bottas is a 2nd driver not in name but certainly in action, today should be telling again.

In Mercedes whenever there is a call to one driver pass, it has always been in Hamilton's favor.
Whenever the team allows a driver to dictate the strategy, it is always Hamilton.
I cannot recall a single race strategy that Mercedes called that ended up favoring Bottas over Hamilton.

At Silverstone when Mercedes were 2-3 and Hamilton behind Bottas, the team said "you are free to race" knowing how much of an advantage Hamilton had with fresher tires and that the pass was inevitable. Today with Bottas behind, the team protected Hamilton.

How is he not a second driver

These are the same rules of engagement that Hamilton and Rosberg were given, thought it must be said, that the two ignored the hell out of those rules a few times. It started in Bahrain 2014 on Rosberg's side with Hamilton reacting in due course. It will not be good for Bottas to ignore the rules on his own at this time.

[Hoffman900]

Who knows, what if loosing party mode will really have an effect. Plus RBR is still working to improve the car race by race. Certainly still a gap there but without party mode Max would have started P2 here almost certainly.

Mercedes will be even stronger. Their engine is the most impervious to damage judging by their high power Qualy mode. When you translate this durability downwards it inversely squares with the power level. They will have a good deal amount of power to use in the race after this. Riding off into the sunset will be the norm now.

This.

Since everyone has the same allocation of engines, if Mercedes can crank it up more in qualifying, it means they have a stronger unit.

Trade some power from qualifying and add it to their race maps. Simple as that.

It seems everyweek all the talking heads and forum posters are trying to find the new magic bullet that is going to unseat Merc. It’s not going to happen unless the organizers / Pirelli purposely stack the deck against Merc. to create excitement like in Silverstone 2. At that point it’s not racing.

[zibby43]

Who knows, what if loosing party mode will really have an effect. Plus RBR is still working to improve the car race by race. Certainly still a gap there but without party mode Max would have started P2 here almost certainly.

Red Bull fans seems to be putting all their eggs of hope in the basket of "party mode" ban (or is it so?). I am afraid such a thought process would be shocked in Monza. Every manufacturer would have to find a compromise between max power and it's endurance. So, everybody is going to be hit.

Yes. That is true. Everybody will be hit. Monza is a quite specific track, and the qualy itself is an almost laughable matter thesevdays. Look what happened last year. But, without the additional power mercedes produces as opposed to Honda in strat 2 I think they will loose more then 1 hundrest of a second. If so Max would have qualified P2 here in Spa.

That’s a bit of a logical fallacy.

As Moore77 said, we don’t yet know who is going to lose more relative to the other.

Second, the gap between Bottas and Max in qualifying at Spa could’ve been much different if Mercedes had chosen a different setup, or opted to go with a tow in qualifying.

[JordanMugen]

He’s doing a good job but he would never stand a chance, as would just about anyone else in the field

Alonso was available for both 2019 & 2020 and already showed competent performance against Hamilton previously...

I think Ricciardo would be in the mix too, who likewise was available for 2019 but similarly rejected by Mercedes-Benz despite apparent competence in Formula One driving.

Both drivers seem more than qualified yet were rejected for the vacant Mercedes-Benz position which went to Bottas both times -- most baffling!

[ENGINE TUNER]

I think Renault were fortunate here. Renault ran low-drag, RB ran a different package with downforce & Merc were the most sub-optimal with a giant amount of downforce comparatively, anticipating rain. Renault won’t be as close next week if everyone runs a similar package.

The differences were not that big

Mercs 2nd sector was extraordinarily dominant; the DF they carried was unusual and big comparatively speaking

But their time down the straight or top speed wasn't that low. They have more downforce than the others in Hungary or in Spa/Monza spec. They might have more downforce, but their drag level wasn't holding them back.

What was suprising was how well the Renault hard tires held up, allowing RIC to set fast lap on the final lap after 30 or so laps on the tires. Extremely unexpected.

[Schuttelberg]

The Hamilton interview I mentioned earlier, he was being candid yes but shouldn't be making those comments IMO.

He is putting a spin on things to protect his legacy. Bottas is nowhere near him. The delta between the Mercedes and the Red Bull is so big that even a perfect Verstappen can't prevent front row lockouts and 1-2 sweeps.

As far as Albon is concerned, he has more talent and racing vigour in his little finger than Bottas and he would have had a win and a podium by now if Hamilton didn't crash into him.

Albon and RedBull are also fighting the rest of the midfield and it's evident to even an idiot that the delta between RedBull and the midfield is smaller than the one between Mercedes and RedBull. A bad weekend for either Mercedes driver is P2 while Albon could easily finish 3rd or 8th if things really go south. Albon also hasn't been in F1 or a top team for umpteen years now. Verstappen is simply one of if not the best driver on the grid and he's getting the maximum out of a difficult car. Albon, will get there. At least, he will fight Verstappen a lot harder than Bottas vs Hamilton.

It is exactly this sort of interview that gets fans dawn the red mist. On Friday, it was going to be close with racing Point and Red Bull were quicker and on Sunday it's the second RedBull driver unable to participate in strategy fights. RedBull could have had P3-P6 today with the Alpha Tauri's as well and they were not touching the Mercedes. The only way Max had any hope of getting P2 was if he got those few hundredths in quali. Even then, I don't see him being able to hold Bottas behind considering the power in that Merc engine.

Mercedes got an easy 1-2 today with a wet set up. That says a lot. The fact that Verstappen is P2 in the classification is a testament to his talent and the heap of mediocrity that Bottas is.