2020 Russian Grand Prix - Sochi Autodrom, September 25 - 27

[etusch]

Anyone talking about the fact Red Bull tried to use Alpha Tauri to hold everyone up so they'd miss getting a lap after the restart? How is that legal? Shades of crash-gate if you ask me.

I also want to talk about chequered flag and red lights saying end of session when ham turning last turn.

That didn’t happen though as he clearly made it over the line. Alpha Tauri sh**housing did.

there must be too much people thinking like you. othewise mersedes and Hamilton would get more penalty

[PlatinumZealot]

This is news to me. Mercedes did not send the drivers out to wait st the redlight because they would have been sbort on fuel as their MUGK doesnt have a starting capability.

They had to wait till the count down first to ensure that the light will be green soon start the cars up in the garage and send them out.

This explains why the Mercedes cars went out last.

Could be the reason to why Stroll had cooling problems too after going out early.



On another note this is another weekend of Gasly out qualifying Albon.. Smh. i dont know... Those Thai shareholders seem to be very influential.

[zibby43]

It was suspicious but not enough to be able to say it was some kind of cheating.

It's not allowed on entry to the pitlane, I think Norris got investigated for doing it recently when the team was trying to double stop? I don't see how this was any different, it was a pretty blatant attempt to try and put the cars behind at risk of not making it over the line. There's nothing wrong with Kvyat wanting to create a gap, but he can't do that on the exit of the pit lane and impede all of the drivers behind him. It seems Masi was too busy deleting people's lap times to even notice this

Lewis got a penalty for driving too slowly in the pit lane during a race but both Leclerc and Vettel avoided penalties from driving too slow in quali for in lap and out lap last year. Leaving pit lane in quali is a first come first serve ordeal, and as long as the minimal average lap time is met there shouldn't be an issue, and in this case cars were parked waiting for the green. Mercedes could have put Ham front of the line but they didn't. Mercedes Boys could have easily done the same and tried to create a gap between the car in front. They could have "teamed up" with pink Mercedes and RedBull could have been left out all the same. Truth is AT weren't blocking anyone on a flyer and leaving pitlane exit from a red flag can't be timed as an enforcible out lap. It's a stretch to say RedBull had Alpha Tauri hold up the cars behind. Mercedes just didn't get things right and were flustered. It can happen, no one gets everything right always, even with all their brilliant engineers and strategists. Throw in some random chaos and you can get occasional brainfarts in logic.

Had nothing to do with being flustered.

Mercedes could not queue up in the pitlane because they can't start their engine with the MGU-K. The cars that queued up cannot sit there waiting with the PUs on without overheating. So they wait, and switch the PUs on with their MGU-Ks (like LEC did this season on track).

Not to mention, the tires get cold because they're sitting without the warmers on and they lose their temperature. So even if they were able to do MGU-K starts, they couldn't sit there with the mediums and make them work in the time left.

[maxxer]

It's not allowed on entry to the pitlane, I think Norris got investigated for doing it recently when the team was trying to double stop? I don't see how this was any different, it was a pretty blatant attempt to try and put the cars behind at risk of not making it over the line. There's nothing wrong with Kvyat wanting to create a gap, but he can't do that on the exit of the pit lane and impede all of the drivers behind him. It seems Masi was too busy deleting people's lap times to even notice this

Lewis got a penalty for driving too slowly in the pit lane during a race but both Leclerc and Vettel avoided penalties from driving too slow in quali for in lap and out lap last year. Leaving pit lane in quali is a first come first serve ordeal, and as long as the minimal average lap time is met there shouldn't be an issue, and in this case cars were parked waiting for the green. Mercedes could have put Ham front of the line but they didn't. Mercedes Boys could have easily done the same and tried to create a gap between the car in front. They could have "teamed up" with pink Mercedes and RedBull could have been left out all the same. Truth is AT weren't blocking anyone on a flyer and leaving pitlane exit from a red flag can't be timed as an enforcible out lap. It's a stretch to say RedBull had Alpha Tauri hold up the cars behind. Mercedes just didn't get things right and were flustered. It can happen, no one gets everything right always, even with all their brilliant engineers and strategists. Throw in some random chaos and you can get occasional brainfarts in logic.

Had nothing to do with being flustered.

Mercedes could not queue up in the pitlane because they can't start their engine with the MGU-K. The cars that queued up cannot sit there waiting with the PUs on without overheating. So they wait, and switch the PUs on with their MGU-Ks (like LEC did this season on track).

Not to mention, the tires get cold because they're sitting without the warmers on and they lose their temperature. So even if they were able to do MGU-K starts, they couldn't sit there with the mediums and make them work in the time left.

This was mentioned on sky , but there was a pink mercedes in the queue also so even the sky guy said this was nonsense as they have the same pu and all

[zibby43]

Lewis got a penalty for driving too slowly in the pit lane during a race but both Leclerc and Vettel avoided penalties from driving too slow in quali for in lap and out lap last year. Leaving pit lane in quali is a first come first serve ordeal, and as long as the minimal average lap time is met there shouldn't be an issue, and in this case cars were parked waiting for the green. Mercedes could have put Ham front of the line but they didn't. Mercedes Boys could have easily done the same and tried to create a gap between the car in front. They could have "teamed up" with pink Mercedes and RedBull could have been left out all the same. Truth is AT weren't blocking anyone on a flyer and leaving pitlane exit from a red flag can't be timed as an enforcible out lap. It's a stretch to say RedBull had Alpha Tauri hold up the cars behind. Mercedes just didn't get things right and were flustered. It can happen, no one gets everything right always, even with all their brilliant engineers and strategists. Throw in some random chaos and you can get occasional brainfarts in logic.

Had nothing to do with being flustered.

Mercedes could not queue up in the pitlane because they can't start their engine with the MGU-K. The cars that queued up cannot sit there waiting with the PUs on without overheating. So they wait, and switch the PUs on with their MGU-Ks (like LEC did this season on track).

Not to mention, the tires get cold because they're sitting without the warmers on and they lose their temperature. So even if they were able to do MGU-K starts, they couldn't sit there with the mediums and make them work in the time left.

This was mentioned on sky , but there was a pink mercedes in the queue also so even the sky guy said this was nonsense as they have the same pu and all

"Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have."

https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-hami ... ting-15th/

[maxxer]

Had nothing to do with being flustered.

Mercedes could not queue up in the pitlane because they can't start their engine with the MGU-K. The cars that queued up cannot sit there waiting with the PUs on without overheating. So they wait, and switch the PUs on with their MGU-Ks (like LEC did this season on track).

Not to mention, the tires get cold because they're sitting without the warmers on and they lose their temperature. So even if they were able to do MGU-K starts, they couldn't sit there with the mediums and make them work in the time left.

This was mentioned on sky , but there was a pink mercedes in the queue also so even the sky guy said this was nonsense as they have the same pu and all

"Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have."

https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-hami ... ting-15th/

So why does force india with a mercedes engine have the facility ? Dont believe all you read on the internet
Did you see men with a starting engine behind hamilton or bottas before they left the pits ?

[ispano6]

"Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have."

https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-hami ... ting-15th/

That's not Alpha Tauri's fault now is it? Albon and Max were quick to leave pit exit, if they had "stalled" and did the same as Kvyat maybe Lewis wouldn't have made it. Lewis barely made it because he was flustered on cold tyres. But hey, he made it through in spite of Mercedes opting to keep his tyres warmed up and in the garage due to their overheat weakness. What are you people complaining about?

[LM10]

I’m pretty sure none of the cars switched off engines while waiting for the light to turn green. You could easily hear them on TV.

[zibby43]

"Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have."

https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-hami ... ting-15th/

That's not Alpha Tauri's fault now is it? Albon and Max were quick to leave pit exit, if they had "stalled" and did the same as Kvyat maybe Lewis wouldn't have made it. Lewis barely made it because he was flustered on cold tyres. But hey, he made it through in spite of Mercedes opting to keep his tyres warmed up and in the garage due to their overheat weakness. What are you people complaining about?

Where did I say anything about AT?

Or any other team for that matter?

[zibby43]

This was mentioned on sky , but there was a pink mercedes in the queue also so even the sky guy said this was nonsense as they have the same pu and all

"Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have."

https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-hami ... ting-15th/

So why does force india with a mercedes engine have the facility ? Dont believe all you read on the internet
Did you see men with a starting engine behind hamilton or bottas before they left the pits ?

Did you see the Racing Point self-start itself in the pit lane? They could’ve simply decided to go out with the PU running and risk overheating.

On an unrelated note, they have an air-to-air cooling arrangement, unlike Mercedes.

I trust Scott Mitchell. Toto Wolff said the same thing about their inability to MGU-K start their PU.

[dans79]

What are you people complaining about?

No one is complaining, so there's no need for you to be overly sensitive!

[zibby43]

What are you people complaining about?

No one is complaining, so there's no need for you to be overly sensitive!

No kidding. That came out of nowhere lol. I was just sharing information about why Merc did what they did, per both The Race and Toto Wolff himself.

Had nothing to do with AT. Said nothing about AT. Merc operates their PU a certain way, and given that, plus tire/time constraints, they made the best possible choices for their team.

What was Hamilton’s theoretical best time? Wasn’t one of the sectors on the pole lap not a PB for Hamilton?

[ispano6]

"Mercedes avoided it because it would have required being at the front of the restart queue to guarantee tyre preparation. And it couldn’t send Hamilton down the pitlane early enough to get that track position as it would require sitting with the engine turned off and starting it on the MGU-K, a facility the Mercedes engine does not have."

https://the-race.com/formula-1/how-hami ... ting-15th/

That's not Alpha Tauri's fault now is it? Albon and Max were quick to leave pit exit, if they had "stalled" and did the same as Kvyat maybe Lewis wouldn't have made it. Lewis barely made it because he was flustered on cold tyres. But hey, he made it through in spite of Mercedes opting to keep his tyres warmed up and in the garage due to their overheat weakness. What are you people complaining about?

Where did I say anything about AT?

Or any other team for that matter?

You were the one making a comment about a comment I responded to regarding suspicions that Red Bull had AT intentionally hold up cars in the pitlane. You were just triggered because you wanted to say something about Mercedes not being flustered and not wanting to have Ham sit in pitlane with cooling tires and because their engine can't start their MGUK. I wasn't talking to you but then you decided to join the conversation. I continued the conversation. Carry on.

[ispano6]

What are you people complaining about?

No one is complaining, so there's no need for you to be overly sensitive!

You guys are all the same. Feelings hurt because Mercedes nearly blundered, and now Hamilton is on a less than optimal tire to start the race. You guys got lucky Hamilton made it through.

[Moore77]

It was just a lucky day for both Hamilton and Mercedes. Despite the mistakes that Hamilton kept making in Q1 and Q2 and having screwed the optimum strategy of starting on Mediums, Hamilton barely managed to get a final run in Q2. Mercedes' comments post qualifying about all that, was more managing the PR situation than what they would have liked. I am sure they wouldn't have thought about a possibility of their driver screwing a decent run in Q2 and then having to make adjustments. When the other cars made out of garage to go and sat at the pit exit, FIA hadn't published the restart time for the session. Red Bull and others gambled and went out, without knowing how long they had to sit there. Most likely, Mercedes got off guard with that situation and were waiting to know the start time of the session.