2014 Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang

[Jano11]

Lewis' fuel management with lap time almost seems illogical.

Just how?

Can't trust those numbers from those FIA flow meters, it makes no sense when you consider this is the very same car.

[henra]

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone at this point can think the Merc has aero dominance. The RedBull is clearly better in this area for me.

Seeing how big the RB disadvantage in acceleration during medium to high Speeds appeared to be, I tend to agree.
They seem to be massively missing power compared to Merc. (Me having ridiculed People who suggested Merc might have a 100HP Advantage during the winter, I'm right now humbly eating my Hat with Salt and Pepper).
The fact that the RBs are not that far from challenging the Mercs (at least if those don't get it 100% right) seems to indicate that the RB10 Chassis itself is very good. They are also still a bit behind in aero fine- tuning due to their lack of testing mileage in the winter tests.
I wouldn't be suprised to see them head to head with the Mercs in a few races.
Which is probably a good thing seeing today's procession as long as it doesn't start to invert.

What made the procession today look even worse than some races last year is the fact that in the whole field there didn't seem to be to much action.
The only noteworthy thing to me was between Hulk and Alo.

Observations today:
Hamilton very good, mature and focussed drive.
Vettel: Difficult to judge but probably pretty good Performance of him. Always seems to rise to the top if not hindered by retiring. Usually no coincidence.
Hulk: Excellent. Deserves a top ride in the future, IMHO
Ricciardo: Incredible. If it wasn't so unfortunate for him you would have to laugh. You couldn't make this stuff up.
Alonso: Poor guy! Another year with dim prospects of winning WDC for him. Today's Performance also difficult to judge. Probably not among his personal 10 top drives of all time.

[Waywardism]

I wonder if Massa will be in much trouble for not letting Bottas through. I felt it was a questionable call myself. I could see the teams point of view but I also felt that if Bottas could take Button then he should've been able to get by Massa too, or at least give him a harder time than he did. I don't blame Felipe for holding station in that situation.

I think we did see somewhat of a glimpse of Mercs pace today. In the first stint Hamilton was 1s per lap quicker than Vettel, and after his last stop he took 5s out of him in 3 laps. His fastest lap 1.2s quicker than Vettels and both men set those on their first flying lap of their last stints. Merc is at least 1s quicker in race trim.

[Maelstrom]

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone at this point can think the Merc has aero dominance. The RedBull is clearly better in this area for me.

Agreed. I think it is ominous that Red Bull has shown this kind of improvement. They were looking like they wouldn't make the top ten in the first few races. But Riccardo's 2nd place in Aus and Vettel's performance today was unexpected. They are now solidly number 2 behind Merc. But I wouldn't be surprised if they catch up by China.

I definitely don't think Merc has a bad aero package though... If they run a good development program they can give the Bulls a run for their money. It certainly won't be like the last few years. Which will be good for the sport.

I can't see Ferrari lagging behind too... the winter tests prove that they have a solid car and they are hungry to win. In a fe races I expect them to improve and catch up... or atleast reduce the gap significantly.

McLaren are the big surprise... another winter testing where they were looking faster than they are? I was expecting them to be better than the Ferrari's atleast... but dunno if that's true... Or maybe it was just a bad qualifying session that has come to bite them.

[ACJJ619]

If Mercedes are over a second faster than everyone else due to the engine, where does the 1.5/2 second advantage to their nearest Mercedes powered rival come from? They're near enough two seconds quicker than any other Mercedes powered car - it can't all be engine.

Make no mistake - that is a very, very good chassis.

[Maelstrom]

If Mercedes are over a second faster than everyone else due to the engine, where does the 1.5/2 second advantage to their nearest Mercedes powered rival come from? They're near enough two seconds quicker than any other Mercedes powered car - it can't all be engine.

Make no mistake - that is a very, very good chassis.

It is a good chassis... but perhaps it would be better to say that they have a far more developed chassis compared to some of the other cars (except maybe Red Bull) since they have had started development for 2014 long ago and they had a good winter test.

Red Bull had a horrendous test. They learn more about the car every race... so I can see them improving quicker once they sort out their engine and software problems.

[Jonnycraig]

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone at this point can think the Merc has aero dominance. The RedBull is clearly better in this area for me.

I don't think anyone has said that have they? RB clearly have the better car, but Mercedes have the better engine. So far this season though engine > chassis.

[Dragonfly]

..................
The only noteworthy thing to me was between Hulk and Alo.

^This

[ACJJ619]

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone at this point can think the Merc has aero dominance. The RedBull is clearly better in this area for me.

I don't think anyone has said that have they? RB clearly have the better car, but Mercedes have the better engine. So far this season though engine > chassis.

I don't think Red Bull do 'clearly have the better car'. Hamilton was around 10-15kph faster through the speed trap than Vettel. The second or so advantage can't come from that alone. Red Bull have often found themselves way off the speed trap leaders over the past few years and that didn't seem to hinder them too much in the past.

[Juzh]

Honestly, I have no idea how anyone at this point can think the Merc has aero dominance. The RedBull is clearly better in this area for me.

I don't think anyone has said that have they? RB clearly have the better car, but Mercedes have the better engine. So far this season though engine > chassis.

I don't think Red Bull do 'clearly have the better car'. Hamilton was around 10-15kph faster through the speed trap than Vettel. The second or so advantage can't come from that alone. Red Bull have often found themselves way off the speed trap leaders over the past few years and that didn't seem to hinder them too much in the past.

They were slower in top speed but faster in acceleration because they had shorter gears. This is no longer the case. RB (and other renaults) was 15-20 kmh slower than any merc powered car in S1 speed trap, and again 10-15 kmh slower in S3.

[beelsebob]

They were slower in top speed but faster in acceleration because they had shorter gears. This is no longer the case. RB (and other renaults) was 15-20 kmh slower than any merc powered car in S1 speed trap, and again 10-15 kmh slower in S3.

If I could +1 you, I would. This is why they're slower, pretty much entirely. They're not only slower at top speed, but slower accelerating too.

[prince]

They were slower in top speed but faster in acceleration because they had shorter gears. This is no longer the case. RB (and other renaults) was 15-20 kmh slower than any merc powered car in S1 speed trap, and again 10-15 kmh slower in S3.

If I could +1 you, I would. This is why they're slower, pretty much entirely. They're not only slower at top speed, but slower accelerating too.

Sector Times from FIA.com

[Redragon]

I am starting to miss the 2012 tyres.
Despite all the criticisms about Pirelli tyres, they brought some spice to the racing. That it was what they were asked for.
With unpredictable results, except for the P1.
Now wherever you start you finish, if not thouches or problems.
I hope on future races they mix more the compounds so there is more different between them and a bit more degradation.

[ACJJ619]

So would you not expect Red Bull to shine in sector two if their chassis is 'so much better'?

[Rikhart]

If Mercedes are over a second faster than everyone else due to the engine, where does the 1.5/2 second advantage to their nearest Mercedes powered rival come from? They're near enough two seconds quicker than any other Mercedes powered car - it can't all be engine.

Make no mistake - that is a very, very good chassis.

Dont underestimate being the factory mercedes team... I would bet they keep all the latest/best engine stuff (software ofc) for themselves.