2020 Tuscan Grand Prix - Mugello, September 11 - 13

[214270]

Gap VER to ALB seems to be reducing since the mapping directive.

4 1/2 tenths back has put him in the right spot for race day.

Good point. I wonder if they were doing something slightly different on each car before that? Would they have been allowed to? He does seem to have picked it up, luckily for him. Seeing a lot less spins from both drivers than at the start of the season too.

Yes, definitely something to keep an eye on. I’ve been very hard on ALB dismissing that it could just be the difference between the cars

[Wass85]

If beating your teammate by half a tenth after also having an extra run in Q3 is putting him in his place I'd hate to know what you would call what the likes of Verstappen and Russell are doing to their teammates.

Hamilton surprised me by his recovery but I'm guessing he learned some tricks after doing his homework last night.

[godlameroso]

Mercedes dialed a considerable amount of understeer into the car to protect the tires in the race.

Sacrificed a fair amount of qualifying pace, but that’s the benefit of having a huge margin. Same strategy that the team employs in Bahrain.

The understeer is going to hurt them tomorrow, the front tires will overheat and it will only get worse from there. Even with DAS I expect a lot of blistering tomorrow.

[search]

Hamilton surprised me by his recovery but I'm guessing he learned some tricks after doing his homework last night.

his final (normally decisive) lap wasn't good though, which is fairly unusual. So I guess he doesn't really feel familiar with the track yet

[Wass85]

Hamilton surprised me by his recovery but I'm guessing he learned some tricks after doing his homework last night.

his final (normally decisive) lap wasn't good though, which is fairly unusual. So I guess he doesn't really feel familiar with the track yet

Yep that was disappointing of him especially since Verstappen improved, Bottas will be gutted after having his second run aborted.

[ricardo-rs]

Pole Lap (open in yt)
--youtube url--

NOTICE: FOM has blocked your video.

[maxxer]

Hamilton surprised me by his recovery but I'm guessing he learned some tricks after doing his homework last night.

his final (normally decisive) lap wasn't good though, which is fairly unusual. So I guess he doesn't really feel familiar with the track yet

Yep that was disappointing of him especially since Verstappen improved, Bottas will be gutted after having his second run aborted.

Bottas took a risk letting so many cars between him and Hamilton i think or the team

[Scorpaguy]

So...Ham is now at 95 poles...69 in his Merc alone. Bot has 13 in his Merc (none before). Nico had 30 poles in his Merc. Lots of things can happen in a race (bad luck, crashes, strategy gone awry, safety cars, dive bombs, etc)...much less chance for misadventure over a 1-lap dash. Since 2012, Big Red has 22 poles. I would think this is pretty damning evidence to state the Merc is and has been the superior package since 2012. Taking nothing away from Ham...as he has easily been one of the top 2 drivers over the last 15 years...but no way he hits 95 in another car. Strange, as I do not recall Nico besting him that many times.

As an "official Ham/Max hater"...in a perfect world, Ham and Max would have been teamed in 2016. Then we would know.
Sad times indeed for us Italiphiles when our world has been reduced to cheering for Max

[Wass85]

his final (normally decisive) lap wasn't good though, which is fairly unusual. So I guess he doesn't really feel familiar with the track yet

Yep that was disappointing of him especially since Verstappen improved, Bottas will be gutted after having his second run aborted.

Bottas took a risk letting so many cars between him and Hamilton i think or the team

Yes I noted that and I think that's what compromised Bottas in their first runs, Lewis was out in front with clear air whilst Bottas was stuck in the pack.

Again an opportunity thrown away whilst being the arguably the fastest of the pair.

[zibby43]

Mercedes dialed a considerable amount of understeer into the car to protect the tires in the race.

Sacrificed a fair amount of qualifying pace, but that’s the benefit of having a huge margin. Same strategy that the team employs in Bahrain.

I feel they have toned down the engine mode to avoid overheating issues that hampered them in Monza. Bottas was doing 312 in FP2 yesterday on the straight and Hamilton on his pole lap did 314. They are being cautious.

Could very well be. But Monza was a result of running in dirty air, no?

The lower trap numbers can also be a result of running plenty of downforce to protect the tires.

[foxmulder_ms]

There will be a leclerc train tomorrow. I think many behind him are actually faster.

[dtro]

There will be a leclerc train tomorrow. I think many behind him are actually faster.

Depends on the start, and how much he needs to push to stay ahead. Seems like the car is very edgy.

[PlatinumZealot]

I'm not impressed by Vettel and Albon. Same 3 and 4 tenths gap to teammate respectively. Vettel paid a steeper price and Albon was lucky.

In Vettel's case, Leclerc is just that much faster. I don't believe it has anything to do with car control anymore. 3 tenths is 1.5 tiers faster. For precisely this reason, I don't think Vettel will set the world alight in Aston Martin, might be the same performance level as Perez but his winning mentality will be good for the team morale.

I am now firmly of the view that Albon is average and Max is two tiers above him into the elite segment. (2 tenths plus 2 tenths). One segment below max is the very good drivers, like Ricciardo, Bottas. I don't think Albon is a bad driver, he's just not good enough to partner an elite level like Max.

[Cold Fussion]

Pole Lap (open in yt)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJxy8mX4qH8

Do you store these somewhere other than youtube? It would be nice to be able to download them since your videos get FOM'd quite often.

[Mchamilton]

If beating your teammate by half a tenth after also having an extra run in Q3 is putting him in his place I'd hate to know what you would call what the likes of Verstappen and Russell are doing to their teammates.

Hamilton surprised me by his recovery but I'm guessing he learned some tricks after doing his homework last night.

You do realise it was both of their first q3 run times that counted right? So the extra run means nothings at all?
Hamilton regularly does 2 runs good enough for pole where bottas can't even get close with his second run.