2020 Sakhir Grand Prix - Sakhir, Dec 04 - 06

[falonso81]

Merc double stack pit stop:

Hard to tell under the helmets, but did I see Toto, Ham's Dad, and Bot's wife doing the tire changing?

OR

It sure was nice for Ferrari to loan Merc their pit crew for the weekend!

Impossible! The Ferrari pit crew was busy messing up Seb's pit stops. I would be surprised if they can change overalls and hop between teams like that!

[Big Tea]

Merc double stack pit stop:

Hard to tell under the helmets, but did I see Toto, Ham's Dad, and Bot's wife doing the tire changing?

OR

It sure was nice for Ferrari to loan Merc their pit crew for the weekend!

Impossible! The Ferrari pit crew was busy messing up Seb's pit stops. I would be surprised if they can change overalls and hop between teams like that!

Why, everyone must be good at something.

The Ferrari wheel problem looked as if it was just lack of arm strength in the gun man. It worked fine second time when he hung on

[Restomaniac]

The tyre situation at Mercedes is a strange one.
Both Bottas and Russell had a new set of Mediums and both were trying to fit them. At what point are the tyres allocated (genuine question I don’t know) and what’s the problem anyway.
Driver A has an unused set and puts on Driver B’s unused tyre from exactly the same compound. Then Driver B who also has a unused set put’s in Driver A’s unused tyre from the same compound. End result both driver have an unused tyre of the correct compound as part of an unused set on their car.

[Phil]

I very much doubt this will happen, unless Bottas kills it. But even then, i see Verstappen as the far more likely contender to take the lead, given the clean side. And then there is also the point that both Mercedes are starting on the mediums, while everyone behind them will be on softs.

Whoops!

Fair play. Bottas did mess up his start though. While he did, Russel had a very good start.

A few points from the race:

Russels first stint was very good, though Bottas was pretty much matching that. All in all, I feel Bottas was driving a bit messy, perhaps under a bit too much pressure of "having to beat Russel".

The 2nd stint, Bottas was quicker it seemed. Perhaps some of it was down to the engine problems, but Russel didn't seem to have them later, so who knows. Bottas was definitely catching though, but Russel was driving strong enough to probably keep him in bay (and Bottas simply lost too much by staying out long).

Unfortunately, the Mercedes tire mess up killed us all of a straight up match up between Russel and Bottas on equal terms. There's not much more to add - one had practically new tires, the other the old tires (that were cold). We all saw what kind of huge advantage new tires were after the pitstops (very powerful undercuts), so it would be unfair to judge the performance of either driver after that point.

Very rotten luck for Russel too with the puncture, but equally, Bottas had equally very bad luck too with his stop. Given their positions after the safety car, I'd say Russel came away quite good despite running a lap on the wrong tires and with having the right tires eventually.

All in all, a very good performance by Russel this weekend, I'd say a very messy performance by Bottas. Either way, I was never going to draw any conclusions between those two based on this track. It seems though Hamilton will be not driving in Abu Dhabi (he has medium to strong symptoms apparently), so it seems Russel will get another go on a much more technical circuit. I'd wait until that race for more data.

Anyway, very pleased for Perez to get his win. Very good race by him, despite being at the back of the field after lap 1.

I also felt really gutted for Vettel after his race. He had two stops and both were horrendous. Huge fail Ferrari. Also felt robbed because both Verstappen and Leclerc were out of the race. Too bad Leclerc wanted to win the race on the first lap. Also a big shout out to Verstappen - amazing race craft in the race leading up to his crash. They way he read the other drivers and backed out was really impressive. Too bad he was just in the wrong spot when Leclerc went in too ambitious and rammed Perez.

[search]

Anyway, very pleased for Perez to get his win. Very good race by him, despite being at the back of the field after lap 1.

definitely, basically everyone up there who made a one-stopper work did a very good job, and Perez-Ocon-Stroll would most likely have finished on 3rd to 5th even without the late safety car (and what followed) - but Perez did it from re-starting last.

For sure, to win he needed something crazy to happen to the Mercedes', but it was a way more normal race than Monza, for example.

[Sieper]

The tyre situation at Mercedes is a strange one.
Both Bottas and Russell had a new set of Mediums and both were trying to fit them. At what point are the tyres allocated (genuine question I don’t know) and what’s the problem anyway.
Driver A has an unused set and puts on Driver B’s unused tyre from exactly the same compound. Then Driver B who also has a unused set put’s in Driver A’s unused tyre from the same compound. End result both driver have an unused tyre of the correct compound as part of an unused set on their car.

All the sets are allocated to each driver already prior to starting the weekend. That is why they have those barcode stickers. In this case first George came in (by the way, both merc guys had only 1 set of unused whites left prior to race start, and only used yellows). And he should have received four tires of his own slightly used yellows. He received 1 or more from Bottas slightly used yellows, and some of his own. Then was send off. Bottas came in. No complete set of slightly used yellows left (and mistake realised) so the re-mounted his whites they just took off of him and send him on his merry way. Then the called George in (has to happen within 3 laps) and gave him the rest of his own slightly used yellow set in doing so making that a complete set of tires (allocated to himself) again. Offcourse he later had a slow puncture and had to mount slightly used reds.

[Restomaniac]

The tyre situation at Mercedes is a strange one.
Both Bottas and Russell had a new set of Mediums and both were trying to fit them. At what point are the tyres allocated (genuine question I don’t know) and what’s the problem anyway.
Driver A has an unused set and puts on Driver B’s unused tyre from exactly the same compound. Then Driver B who also has a unused set put’s in Driver A’s unused tyre from the same compound. End result both driver have an unused tyre of the correct compound as part of an unused set on their car.

All the sets are allocated to each driver already prior to starting the weekend. That is why they have those barcode stickers. In this case first George came in (by the way, both merc guys had only 1 set of unused whites left prior to race start, and only used yellows). And he should have received four tires of his own slightly used yellows. He received 1 or more from Bottas slightly used yellows, and some of his own. Then was send off. Bottas came in. No complete set of slightly used yellows left (and mistake realised) so the re-mounted his whites they just took off of him and send him on his merry way. Then the called George in (has to happen within 3 laps) and gave him the rest of his own slightly used yellow set in doing so making that a complete set of tires (allocated to himself) again. Offcourse he later had a slow puncture and had to mount slightly used reds.

No I understood it but I thought they both had an unused set of Mediums left. That was why I asked the question. My point is that if we have a situation where we are talking about unused tyres then where is the problem?

Edit- With regard to me thinking they had an unused set I had forgotten they had used a set in Q1.

[Sieper]

The tyre situation at Mercedes is a strange one.
Both Bottas and Russell had a new set of Mediums and both were trying to fit them. At what point are the tyres allocated (genuine question I don’t know) and what’s the problem anyway.
Driver A has an unused set and puts on Driver B’s unused tyre from exactly the same compound. Then Driver B who also has a unused set put’s in Driver A’s unused tyre from the same compound. End result both driver have an unused tyre of the correct compound as part of an unused set on their car.

All the sets are allocated to each driver already prior to starting the weekend. That is why they have those barcode stickers. In this case first George came in (by the way, both merc guys had only 1 set of unused whites left prior to race start, and only used yellows). And he should have received four tires of his own slightly used yellows. He received 1 or more from Bottas slightly used yellows, and some of his own. Then was send off. Bottas came in. No complete set of slightly used yellows left (and mistake realised) so the re-mounted his whites they just took off of him and send him on his merry way. Then the called George in (has to happen within 3 laps) and gave him the rest of his own slightly used yellow set in doing so making that a complete set of tires (allocated to himself) again. Offcourse he later had a slow puncture and had to mount slightly used reds.

No I understood it but I thought they both had an unused set of Mediums left. That was why I asked the question. My point is that if we have a situation where we are talking about unused tyres then where is the problem?

I see, sorry. In this case they both had slightly used sets left only, but if they would have been brand new, both, it would have indeed made no difference, but it would still not have been allowed. You have to use your own set at all times.

In this case the used sets were also of equal age, usage. I guess that is why the line is so hard. It has to be your own set, where else draw the line.

[Sevach]

Fair play. Bottas did mess up his start though. While he did, Russel had a very good start.

A few points from the race:

Russels first stint was very good, though Bottas was pretty much matching that. All in all, I feel Bottas was driving a bit messy, perhaps under a bit too much pressure of "having to beat Russel".

The 2nd stint, Bottas was quicker it seemed. Perhaps some of it was down to the engine problems, but Russel didn't seem to have them later, so who knows. Bottas was definitely catching though, but Russel was driving strong enough to probably keep him in bay (and Bottas simply lost too much by staying out long).

Unfortunately, the Mercedes tire mess up killed us all of a straight up match up between Russel and Bottas on equal terms. There's not much more to add - one had practically new tires, the other the old tires (that were cold). We all saw what kind of huge advantage new tires were after the pitstops (very powerful undercuts), so it would be unfair to judge the performance of either driver after that point.

Bottas had newer tires than Perez, Ocon and Stroll, yet he was the only driver who dropped like a rock after the SC.
He also made a mistake that led to the Russell overtake (though inevitable in hindsight due to tire difference).

Simply not good enough.

[matt_b]

I very much doubt this will happen, unless Bottas kills it. But even then, i see Verstappen as the far more likely contender to take the lead, given the clean side. And then there is also the point that both Mercedes are starting on the mediums, while everyone behind them will be on softs.

Whoops!

Fair play. Bottas did mess up his start though. While he did, Russel had a very good start.

A few points from the race:

Russels first stint was very good, though Bottas was pretty much matching that. All in all, I feel Bottas was driving a bit messy, perhaps under a bit too much pressure of "having to beat Russel".

The 2nd stint, Bottas was quicker it seemed. Perhaps some of it was down to the engine problems, but Russel didn't seem to have them later, so who knows. Bottas was definitely catching though, but Russel was driving strong enough to probably keep him in bay (and Bottas simply lost too much by staying out long).

Unfortunately, the Mercedes tire mess up killed us all of a straight up match up between Russel and Bottas on equal terms. There's not much more to add - one had practically new tires, the other the old tires (that were cold). We all saw what kind of huge advantage new tires were after the pitstops (very powerful undercuts), so it would be unfair to judge the performance of either driver after that point.

Very rotten luck for Russel too with the puncture, but equally, Bottas had equally very bad luck too with his stop. Given their positions after the safety car, I'd say Russel came away quite good despite running a lap on the wrong tires and with having the right tires eventually.

All in all, a very good performance by Russel this weekend, I'd say a very messy performance by Bottas. Either way, I was never going to draw any conclusions between those two based on this track. It seems though Hamilton will be not driving in Abu Dhabi (he has medium to strong symptoms apparently), so it seems Russel will get another go on a much more technical circuit. I'd wait until that race for more data.

Anyway, very pleased for Perez to get his win. Very good race by him, despite being at the back of the field after lap 1.

I also felt really gutted for Vettel after his race. He had two stops and both were horrendous. Huge fail Ferrari. Also felt robbed because both Verstappen and Leclerc were out of the race. Too bad Leclerc wanted to win the race on the first lap. Also a big shout out to Verstappen - amazing race craft in the race leading up to his crash. They way he read the other drivers and backed out was really impressive. Too bad he was just in the wrong spot when Leclerc went in too ambitious and rammed Perez.

Source? Toto told Sky Sports he had a conversation with Lewis today and he feels better today and has made a big step and if the test is negative he will be in the car. So I am bit confused by your comment and curious of the source.

[Restomaniac]

All the sets are allocated to each driver already prior to starting the weekend. That is why they have those barcode stickers. In this case first George came in (by the way, both merc guys had only 1 set of unused whites left prior to race start, and only used yellows). And he should have received four tires of his own slightly used yellows. He received 1 or more from Bottas slightly used yellows, and some of his own. Then was send off. Bottas came in. No complete set of slightly used yellows left (and mistake realised) so the re-mounted his whites they just took off of him and send him on his merry way. Then the called George in (has to happen within 3 laps) and gave him the rest of his own slightly used yellow set in doing so making that a complete set of tires (allocated to himself) again. Offcourse he later had a slow puncture and had to mount slightly used reds.

No I understood it but I thought they both had an unused set of Mediums left. That was why I asked the question. My point is that if we have a situation where we are talking about unused tyres then where is the problem?

I see, sorry. In this case they both had slightly used sets left only, but if they would have been brand new, both, it would have indeed made no difference, but it would still not have been allowed. You have to use your own set at all times.

In this case the used sets were also of equal age, usage. I guess that is why the line is so hard. It has to be your own set, where else draw the line.

Thats fair enough. When the FIA want to though they allow new unallocated tyres on old sets (on safety grounds) never mind tyres of equal life.

[zeph]

Somehow I feel this conversation should be more about Checo...

[maxxer]

Checo does what he needs to do

[ESPImperium]

I have to say that I thought this layout was a success. It was a knucking futts race. More short go-cart layouts please. This season has shown that more short-overgrown go-cart tracks for these cars will actually give good racing. Imola, good. Mugello, Good, Red Bull Ring, Good, Bahrain Short, Good. Only Hungary was the poorer one.

Ideally, Pirelli should have brought one step softer for this layout as making it a 3 stopper would have been mega. Making it a harder one for those in Q2 on the Mediums as they would have been at risk in Q2.

Unlucky for George, this is a massive headache now for Mercedes. Perez has caused a headache for Red Bull.

Abu Dhabi is going to be a great finish to the end of this season. The end of a season we may not have had if things had gone worse this year. Grande Lavoro, Graze Tutti to all at F1, FIA and all the teams.

[Sieper]

No I understood it but I thought they both had an unused set of Mediums left. That was why I asked the question. My point is that if we have a situation where we are talking about unused tyres then where is the problem?

I see, sorry. In this case they both had slightly used sets left only, but if they would have been brand new, both, it would have indeed made no difference, but it would still not have been allowed. You have to use your own set at all times.

In this case the used sets were also of equal age, usage. I guess that is why the line is so hard. It has to be your own set, where else draw the line.

Thats fair enough. When the FIA want to though they allow new unallocated tyres on old sets (on safety grounds) never mind tyres of equal life.

That is true. If you have one badly hit tire, or braked square, they add brand spanking new ones to your allowance to start the race on. A bit unfair indeed as that driver now has a partially brand new set to start on. This exception is indeed made for safety grounds. We do not want people have exploding tires in the opening laps with lots of competitors close by.